ARE WE THERE YET

By now perhaps you have noted that two recurring themes in my convictions are: The Lord is with us, and heaven is here. Both are quite a challenge if for no other reason than things don’t always go the way we desire. There are countless ups and downs in our life.

Earlier this week, the NBA championship was finally decided. During the series Ray Allen, a professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics, set three records: the most consecutive three-point shots (seven), the most in one half of a game (seven), and the most in a game (eight). The next night he went zero for thirteen. He could not make one single shot. Same player…same intensity…same effort. What a difference from one night to the next. Yet while the championship remained undecided, he continued to persevere and give it his all. In that same week, an Italian just weeks shy of her 30th birthday, Francesca Schiavone, won the French Tennis Open. This in a sport dominated by teens and those in their early 20s. The pre-tournament favorites didn’t quite measure up on this occasion. On this Saturday, the one who had ‘failed’ all of her professional career, finally ‘triumphed’: Francesca had persevered and won the Trophy she had dreamed of since she was a child.

Perhaps these two examples from sports may help us to experience both the Holy Presence and Heaven, even thought there are times we are in the dumps…times when we are sorely tested.

Our journey of life is a quest to have a true experience of God...here and now. It is like these two seeking a championship, a quest for the Holy Grail or the mythical Fountain of Youth…the Fountain of Life. Only it is not a fable.

Imagine that we are told of a Pool of life-giving water, which keeps us forever young and healthy, full of vigor and life. To get to the Pool to which the waters flow is not difficult. They have built a highway that makes it easy to get there in no time at all. Actually it is so easy that few people bother to make the effort, or they go only on special occasions…more to celebrate the special event, such as a birthday or anniversary, than out of any real belief that the waters have magical powers. For the most part these are good people, but their daily struggles or other priorities keep them from coming more regularly. The result is no surprise: no real change takes place in them.

Others do believe, or at least say that they do, and go regularly to the Pool. Some go out of habit or tradition, others to meet old friends and make new ones, to listen to stories about their ancestors…stories of wisdom and hope, lessons of life, and the legend of the Fountain of Life. These, too, are good people and tend to be a bit more involved in the community to help those in need. But in general they are satisfied with simply getting to the Pool, and as a result not much change happens here either.

There are some who are not satisfied with drinking from the Pool, but want to get to the Source of the Spring, and for this they must make a long and difficult journey. It is a steep climb so they can’t take much with them…only their faith and determination. All else that they have accumulated (and valued) must stay behind, and because they don’t know how long the journey will take, it is probably best to simply give them away.

On the journey THEY ARE TESTED time and again with challenges and disappointments, but if they persevere they discover that not only the waters but the woods and the mountains, all of nature and all of creation is filled with the Magical Powers of Newness of Life. It is a journey of ONGOING REVELATION AND TRANSFORMATION that ultimately reveals that the Source of the Spring of Life is not in some physical place, but rather within themselves…and the only way to discover it is to be tested, to not give up, to dig deep within, have faith…in God and in themselves.

This is not an uncommon path to 'success' in all walks of life – professional sports, business, the arts, marriage, religious vocation, etc. Last Spring I was giving a mission in Coachella, CA, just south of Palm Springs. It was the peak week for the cactus flowers to be in bloom. You could see them along the highway, but if you really wanted to see the majestic rainbow effect of the myriad colors you had to get out of the car and walk some long, narrow, and rocky desert trails, up and down cliffs, in blistering heat. Thank God, I did so, for once I crossed over the peak and into the valley I was surrounded by a sea of reds and yellows, purples and pinks…a holy masterpiece beyond my imagination...not unlike the beauty of the fall colors up north. Sadly, few ventured out.

At the same time, there was a major tennis tournament in Indian Wells, just up the road. Daily on TV, radio, and the newspapers there were interviews of these elite players who had dedicated many hours each day to practice their chosen ‘vocation’ from the time they were five or so in the hope of making it to a tournament, and perhaps even winning it. It is a long, grueling journey but their dreams keep them driven to succeed. It is worth pondering: how much do WE dream of the Holy Encounter…how much time do WE dedicate…how persistent are WE?

Are we there yet? St. Catherine of Siena (one of three women doctors in the Church ~ the others Teresa of Avila and Therese of Lisieux) said, “Every step on the way to heaven is heaven.” Heaven (and God) do not await us at some ultimate destination, but are encountered in our daily walk of life, most especially in the tests we face (and in our perseverance or lack thereof) that can either blind us to the love, peace and joy within or make them even more visible.