Namasté

Today I saw an old friend, Fr. John Groff. He came to my church as a supply priest and celebrated Mass. Fr. Groff is a good man and is one of the most spiritual people I've ever come across in my Christian walk. I met him for the first time in 2002 as I was discerning a call to the diaconate, a calling in which I ultimately deferred to a later time. He spoke with me in depth about spirituality and made me think about where I was in my own spiritual walk with Jesus. Later, as we were between priests at my church in 2007, he came and celebrated Mass several times. One of his homilies at that time centered around the concept of Namasté (नमस्ते), a Sanskrit word meaning, "The Light of God in Me recognizes and honors The Light of God in You and in that recognition is our Oneness." This concept is similar to a prayer that my former priest, Fr. Jay Lambert, would recite when he did monthly birthday/anniversary blessings: "May you see the Christ in all the people you meet." Fr. Groff opened my eyes to a deeply moving spiritual epiphany. I'm sad to admit that in many facets of my life, I failed to see The Light of God in others and myself. I was self-centered and was in many ways like a bull in a china shop, wanting to do things my way, without spiritual direction. As I dwelled on the words of Fr. Groff, and later studied what Namasté was about, my eyes opened, and opened widely. In the Holy Gospel according to Matthew (20:32-34), there is this passage that spoke to me:

And stopping, Jesus called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.

To see The Light of God in myself and in others is a most wonderful thing, and I'm still learning how to do this. Thanks be to God for this great gift.

Lord, may I be worthy to be your humble servant, and to experience the joy of Namasté in my life and the lives of others. Amen.

Pacem.