Aug 9, 2010

No respect.

Rodney Dangerfield's comedy album No Respect.
"I get no respect", this of course was the signature statement from the late great comedian Rodney Dangerfield. Theologically speaking, one could make a credible case that the Holy Spirit "gets no respect". Growing up I remember very little instruction concerning the Holy Spirit or, for that matter, even for the Trinity. Of late, under the influence of a number of friends, relatives, strangers, and Secular Franciscans it is increasingly clear that somethings are too big to recognize, too bright to see, and too simple to fathom. The Holy Spirit is everywhere, and if we honestly "seek to find", a kind of recognizable precision emerges in the daily actions of virtuous people. Many people in the course of doing God's will, can see, after the fact, the sheer beauty of how their acts combined with the actions of other people complete very complex missions of love. It would seem that the Holy Spirit is particularly fond of providing an uncanny spiritual mathematics that from moment to moment makes these acts possible. For example I have witnessed people providing for the needs of the poor without really planning a thing but simply being led by the grace in their souls provided by God. The Holy Spirit seems to keep us open to recognizing a need by "seeing" it even though the need is not evident. Everything proceeds smoothly, the timing is perfect, and wham! mission accomplished. For me the Spirit chisels through the "hardness" and lets in enough light so that I might act. Sounds like that Franciscan stuff maybe sticking. JMJ. Mick, SFO