Integrated Living 5/14/06
by Fr.Gus Carter

At various times in my priestly life people have said to me that their lives seemed like a rat race. I wondered if individuals still use that phrase. I found that it is still in an unabridged dictionary that defines the term: "any exhausting, unremitting activity or routine that leaves no time for relaxation or contemplation." The people who were referring to their lives as rat races were complaining about not having time to pray. I have heard others say that their lives at times seemed like they were always "putting out fires." Everything feels so urgent that they have no time for themselves. Modem psychology speaks of this as "fragmentation." People do one thing here and another thing there, but few of these things seem related to each other. The ideal life is one that is integrated. What one does, does not seem to oppose other activities, but they are able to reinforce each other. In an integrated life lower goals are meant to serve higher goals. These days people speak of "keeping their priorities straight. A recent book was entitled. "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff."

Jesus tells us in today's Gospel, "Remain in me. As I remain in you." We remain in Jesus through faith and love. Through faith we trust what he tells us to do. When we do what Jesus tells us, we are demonstrating our love. Jesus also said, "This is how all will now that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." The top priority for all who would follow Jesus is to be loving persons. Jesus promised to send his own Spirit, the love of God, to enable us to carry out his command of love.

First, we must realize that love is something that touches all of life. St. Paul tells us that our first priority is to love those closest to us. When we love spouses, children, friends, we are expressing our love for God. Generally, this is the way we return divine love. St. Therese became the most popular saint in the world because she said that she would make love the center of her life. This gave meaning to every aspect of what she did. She showed how even the most ordinary life could become triumphant living. She decided to do everything she did carefully and well as a way of showing her love for God. Jobs well done may not always e appreciated, ut they are a kindness in many ways. Being on time, having reports ready as scheduled make life more serene for all involved. We are making spiritual progress when we constantly see the serving of others as a way of loving.

We often lose sight of the general agreement that love is the greatest human experience. St. Paul told us that without love all our successes are nothing. World literature is full of tales of those who sought power and wealth at the expense of relationships. They find terrible loneliness "at the top" as the saying goes.

Some years ago I read a book about living a peaceful life. One of the things the author said was. "I am no longer going to express how busy I am. That kind of talk gives busy-ness a good name. " Our American culture in many ways glorifies busy-ness. To live peaceful, contemplative lives we must have time to reflect on our lives or we find ourselves in a "rat race." Remaining in Jesus requires that we spend time remembering the presence and grace of God in our lives. If our lives seem to be getting out of hand with multiple tasks, we must slow ourselves down from time to time and see what inessentials we can eliminate. One of the saints said, "I must pray, because I have so much to do." Years ago some kind of experiment was carried out about working habits. The finding was that those who work at a contemplative pace actually get more done. By working thoughtfully and peacefully we make fewer mistakes and have less to redo. We think more clearly and approach our work more knowingly. Our human nature has been made to work better when we are mindful of God.

In the parable of the vine and branches, Jesus is the trunk of a tree rooted in the earth. As roots gather nutrients from the soil to keep the plant alive, Jesus funnels the grace of God to us, the branches. We are incapable of living the divine life of love offered us without the grace of God. If we keep faith with Jesus, we will produce a life that brings the love of God to ourselves and to others in greater and greater abundance. We will live integrated lives. We will produce much fruit.