Blessed is the Kingdom

Last night I had the opportunity to gather with a small group of friends to celebrate ten years of priesthood. One gift that I received at our gathering was a poster of The Dude, with the simple message, Abide. I am a bid fan of the the movie, The Big Lebowski, so the gift was appreciated, but it wasn’t until today that I began reflecting upon what an excellent message the poster has for anyone who is attempting to live a life that involves commitment, whether that be to religious life, marriage or simply  a friendship. Relationships of any kind require us to abide.

A few definitions from Merriam-Webster are:

1 : to endure without yielding

2 : to bear patiently

3 : to remain stable or fixed in a state

4 : to continue in a place

Ten years given to anything requires one to follow the example of The Dude. One must abide. The second reading at my ordination mass is a reminder of the need to bear patiently in all relationships.

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do.

In the last ten years I hope that I have grown in my ability to put into practice these wise words of St. Paul. After ten years of the ups and downs of ministry, of experiencing the joys and sorrows the people I have been called to serve, of wrestling with doubt and despair, I am nothing short of thankful.

God continues to bless me with his love, though many times I am weak and foolish. He has showered his blessings in the times when I have been on the right road and faithful to his will and he has sent them more abundantly when I was lost and during the times I have turned my back on him. Thanksgiving is the only proper response to the kind of love God provides.

The Dude Abides.

Tags: Abide, anniversaries, Colossians, friends, love, patience, priesthood, relationships, St. Paul, stability, Thanksgiving, The Big Lebowski, The Dude

This entry was posted by Fr. Christian Mathis on Saturday, June 12th, 2010 at 2:27 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.