Catholic Hospital

I was haunted by a phrase I saw in the boardroom this morning as we reviewed the day's cases: "We serve each person as a Christian would serve Christ himself."
It is too easy to start to think of patients in terms of tests to be followed up on, probabilities of severe vs. mild disease, and more work to be done. Pre-occupied with these gnats, it is easy to question "When saw we thee sick?"
But asking this question is not where the folly lies: both righteous and unrighteous ask, only one ministered.

Lose myself

To lose my life in service to God, I have to give up on being constant and give myself up to daily repenting and changing. If I cling to an identity reputation, I haven’t really lost myself. I can’t anchor on my past: I have to anchor to my future: my hope in the surety of a better world which Jesus the forerunner has entered for us.

AIDS

I had a wonderful experience yesterday. I met a man with AIDS. Usually innocuous spores have preyed upon his weakened state; he was cachectic: his muscles have wasted away. But there was a moment of authenticity:

When I had no desire to step in front of him in a potential queue to partake of goodness.

When I found him no less worthy of God’s overwhelming grace than myself.

When he became a brother and I wanted all of the best for him.

Thoughts

“When a feeling or a thought arises, your intention should not be to … chase it away, hate it, worry about it, or be frightened by it. So what exactly should you be doing concerning such thoughts and feelings? Simply acknowledge their presence.”

Like this: "We are unworthy before thee; because of the fall our natures have become evil continually; nevertheless, O Lord, thou hast given us a commandment that we must call upon thee, that from thee we may receive according to our desires."

Paraphrasing from Miracle of Mindfulness: Trying to chase a thought only reinforces it: it means that you are spending more time on that thought. Let unwholesome thoughts, when they come, slip through your mind after a brief acknowledgement, and welcome and nurture the gentle, generous, and genuine thoughts when they come.

Offended:

If we are not watchful, our injured, childlike spirit will retreat back into the cold, dark crust of our former bloated ego, leaving behind the warm, healing light of the Savior.

How to overcome evil

Dismiss your feelings of self-doubt and inadequacy.
The most powerful cure for any unclean act may be to ignore and avoid it.
Christ suffered temptations but gave no heed unto them.