Sorry for the late posting of this. I tried to post it earlier this morning, but I could not get it to work. Apparently, I messed up something by telling Flash Player that I wanted to wait and not immediately install the latest update. I guess I was supposed to install right away because now I cannot get much of anything with Flash to work, and I am not being given the opportunity to update anymore. (And, yeah, I did restart the computer -- that old standby for when nothing else works -- but in this case that did not work, either. Sigh!) I guess I will have to have one of the technically competent members of the family -- sons, husband -- take a look and see what I did or failed to do. Sigh, again! In the next couple of days, I will bring you up to date on my quandering. For now, I have continue reading the Psalms, making it only as far as the next Psalm, Psalm 10. It seems that all the psalms speak to one's daily life, but this one at this time was quite à propos. It begins with "Why, O LORD, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?" and later comments, "in his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak," pleading with God to "break the arm of the wicked and evil man."
Reading: Psalm 10
Meditation: The sentiments expressed in the psalm pretty much sum up the set of emotions that our family has been going through this week since finding out about the violation of Doah. Doah's faith has sustained him well; even the hospital medical personnel who examined him commented on it. I find it a little more difficult to immerse myself as deeply in contemplation, for unexpected reasons. There is so much going on in the wake of this that time simply does not suffice. While I generally do not put off my time with God, there seems to have been no choice. Yes, I know, there is always choice. Dealing with multiple agencies and multiple offices, having Doah at home, facilitating his interaction with well-meaning and supportive friends, and maintaining a link to the office which, right now, is experiencing a historic amount of change, about which I have to weigh in or which I have to turn into reality, simply exceeds a 24-hour day. Yet, I do know that if I find time for God, God will help me find time for the rest of it, so I am trying to do that -- and then the phone rings! Sigh! (I am doing a lot of sighing lately.)
As for the wicked taking advantage of the weak, well, no explanation is needed there. Doah is, however, stronger than one realizes. He did an extraordinarily good job of describing what happened to the sheriff's deputy, such that the deputy told him that he was the "best crime victim" he had ever interviewed, adding that he did not know how much of a compliment that might be and wished it were not the case. Doah was precise, did not mince words, and did not waver in the wake of multiple questionings.
It is the latter point, however, the plea for God to take action, that struck me. Nowhere does the psalm say that God will take action. It is simply David's plea that God do so. I wonder how often we want God to take care of all the hurts and bruises that come our way as a result of free will, which "bad" people also have -- and our definition of taking care of us is for God to hurt ("break the arm") of the other. I was proud of Doah this week. He did not make this kind of plea. Rather, he asked for three things: (1) Do not let the person who raped him out into society to rape others; (2) find a new group home for him where he will not be reminded of what happened; and (3) move his roommate of three years, who witnessed the events and is now afraid, with him. About his roommate, he was the most adamant. I wonder if those of us who are not mentally challenged would be as charitable.
Contemplation: That is far as I can go with you this Monday morning. I must retire to private prayer, repenting for ever thinking that God would hide from me. I will thank God for what He has not done (harm the wicked) so that Doah can practice charity and praise Him for working within Doah to be able to do that (and, of course, for being with Doah so overtly that Doah feels it all the time). As for any petitions, I will ask God as Doah has asked the human authorities: keep the "bad guy" away from other people, protect those who have not yet been harmed by him from ever being harmed by him, and let those who may have feared speaking out to do so now that Doah has taken the first step. I will also ask God to do what He does so well: somehow use this bad thing for greater good. Then I will spend as much time as I can in contemplation, my favorite part of the day, letting God take over the direction in which my relationship with Him moves.
I will leave you to your prayer and contemplation. First, though, I would like to bring to your attention a Monday morning prayer post that you might enjoy:
Fr. Austin Fleming, priest of the Archdiocese of Boston and pastor in Concord, Massachusetts, posts a prayer each Monday morning that he calls "Monday Morning Offering." I enjoy his prayers very much. I hope you also will find them inspirational. He has graciously given me permission to include a link to his blog on my Monday Morning Meditation posts. (During the week, he also posts great homilies and other thoughtful discussions. I enjoy reading those, too.)For additional inspiration throughout the week, I would point out two sets of blogs: (1) the list of devotional blogs on my sidebar and (2) my blogroll, where I am following a number of inspirational priests and writers about spiritual matters. I learn so very much from all these people. I highly recommend them to you.
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