Posts Tagged: Pascal

“Extraordinarily Ordinary”

On January 20, 2019 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer


Sunday, January 20, 2019

“The power of a man’s virtue should not be measured by his special efforts, but by his ordinary doing.
  —Blaise Pascal”

How is my ordinary doing doing  today?  That is a question that I need to ask many times during the day.  And I need to reply as honestly as I possibly can.

God will not judge me my extraordinary doings, but by my mundane trust in God, and tasks done for God and others.

Too often, I despise the little deeds, willfully forgetting that almost all of life is comprised of little deeds.  If I despise the little moments and the little things, I am despising most of life.  And to despise life is to despise the God who gives life.

Do I even know what is big or little or medium-sized?  I doubt it very seriously.

So, right here and right now, I pledge myself to God, to myself, and to this day as follows: Today, by God’s grace, I will do ordinary things with extraordinary attention and love.  Whether I am shoveling snow off the drive, grading papers, conversing with my sweetheart, or playing with our little dog, I will do my best to do my best with the ordinary.

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“LISTENING TO MYSELF AND OTHERS”

On December 13, 2018 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer


I subscribe to a daily online devotional put out by Loyola Press.  I find these meditations helpful, even when I disagree with them, as I did today.

The Scripture text was from Luke 3:10: “And the crowds asked him [John the Baptist], “What then should we do?”

The author of this retreat makes the following comments on Luke 3:10.

“In our attempts to do the right thing, we often ask this question of others. We want clear answers to life’s confusing questions. That’s understandable. But when we ask ourselves this question the answer can lead us to our heart’s desire. Have you yet pondered your heart’s desire? For it is there that we can hear the voice of God guiding us. We need not look outside of ourselves, but in the depths of our own hearts.” (“3-Minute Retreat” for December 13, 2018)

Now, obviously, the people were asking someone outside themselves (John the baptizer) what they should do.  And John did not say, “Look in your own heart.”  Instead, he gave the people very simple, direct instructions in verses 11-14:

“11 And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.” 12 Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” 13 And he said to them, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do.” 14 Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages.”

Now, I don’t entirely disagree with the author of today’s meditation.  I am reminded of someone (Pascal perhaps?) said: “People are rarely wrong in what they affirm, but they are often mistaken in what they deny.”

So, here’s the deal, at least, as I see it: I need to listen to other people and to myself.  If I don’t listen to myself, but only others, I become a people pleaser.  And since people are going to pull me in different directions, I will soon be pulled apart.  Soon, there will be no “me” to please anyone.

On the other hand, if I listen only to myself, I will probably miss a lot of good, wise counsel.  My heart does not always lead me in the right direction.  In fact, unaided, it rarely leads me in the right direction.

So, as is often the case, this business of listening to my own heart versus listening to others is a false dichotomy.  I need both, as surely as I need to inhale and exhale.

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