Go for the ‘big circle’!
Is there anything bothering you right now? A problem, an issue, a relationship, a concern perhaps? Try singing this nursery song: “Small circle, small circle, big circle. Small circle, small circle, big circle.” Act it out with your right hand, then your left hand, and then both your hands, as you sing!
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In today’s Gospel (Lk. 12, 49-53), Jesus tells us that there will always be divisions (small circle) in our lives, but that we should not stop working for peace (big circle). The more we keep putting our small circles into God’s big circle, then we can have peace. Let’s not give up on our search for peace.
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AWARENESS. Our journey toward peace starts with our AWARENESS that we have different views and starting points. We can be different, but we should not be indifferent. To be aware means to beware of selfishness and self-centeredness of any kind.
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OPENNESS. Let us not close doors. Let us not shut off others with our biases, judgments, and prejudices. Let us be open to the possibility that we could be wrong and that others can be right.
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LISTEN. Stop, look, and listen is not said only of train crossings but of people interacting. Persons who keep talking cannot listen. Let us learn to really listen and understand, and not listen to prepare to counter and get the upper hand.
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RESPECT. We may have different views, but we must not lose respect for each other. Let us stick to the issue at hand, and not end up with personal judgments, and counterattacks. As they say, we can agree to disagree.
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GOD’S VIEW. Over and above my view and your view, our view and their view is God’s view. He has the vantage point, so let us take into consideration His view. Let us not leave God out of the picture. To give peace a chance, let us give God a chance. Let us put all our small circles into God’s big circle so we can have peace.
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“Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God” (Mt. 5,9). The Beatitudes remind us to continue to work for peace. It is not easy to be a channel of peace. How far easier to be a peace breaker, but then, what does that make us? Children of the evil one!
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If we are hurt, judged, ridiculed, persecuted, and experience all kinds of discomfort, harassment, and oppression in our work for justice and peace, let us not lose hope and be consoled with the thought that God is on our side. “As long as you know that God is for you, it does not matter who is against you.” (Romans 8,31)
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Tomorrow is the Feast of the Assumption of our Blessed Mother. Mama Mary was a woman of peace, who continuously yielded to God’s will, and who constantly put everything and everyone to God’s “big circle.” May Mama Mary, our Mother and our model, teach us to rise above our pride, selfishness, and pettiness, and help us to let go, and let God so that we can have peace.
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“Yield now and be at peace with Him; thereby good will come to you” (Job 22, 21). We started this column by asking what was bothering you. We end by suggesting that you just surrender everything and everyone to Someone greater than yourself.
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Think about this: “Speak in such a way that others love to listen to you; Listen in such a way that others love to speak to you.”
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A moment with our Lord: Lord, help us to go beyond our small circles and keep journeying to your big circle. Amen.
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