Presence

I come into your presence, Lord and I take a moment to clear my mind of all the conflicting thoughts about this decision I have to make. I hand this decision over to you and ask you to send me your Holy Spirit to guide me through this decision-making process.  I remain open to all options and possibilities that might come to me through my dreams and desires. Come, Holy Spirit and guide me on this journey. 

Dreams

Dream the Impossible Dream – do you remember that old song? I don’t know where it comes from, but it reminds us that we all have secret or shy hopes for ourselves. Of course, they don’t get anywhere unless we stop and listen to them. 

Mary Oliver has a poem which has just seven little words. I love it. In fact, the title is a bit more solemn. It says Instructions for Living a Life. And here’s the poem:

“Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.”

The invitation now is to pay attention to your hopes, your dreams, your desires.

Also, be astonished because they wake you up to all sorts of new possibilities for yourself.

Tell about it in the sense of – listen to yourself. Listen to the story that can begin, that can open up.

As Pope Francis says, “Don’t let them steal your dreams. Don’t let them shrink them”.

Reflection

We need to take note of the wonderful dreams. It is often only when we advert to them that we recognise their power, and it is often only in committing ourselves to them that we experience their potential for good. 

Great leaders invariably have great dreams. Think, for example, of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Helen Keller, Nelson Mandela, Dorothy Day or Ignatius of Loyola: dreamers all. ‘I have a dream…’ said Martin Luther King in his famous speech in August 1963 – a dream of equality, freedom and justice for all, irrespective of race or colour. That dream was a costly one: it cost him his life. But, despite all the pain involved, his dream bore fruit in bringing about radical changes in the United States itself, and it still inspires people around the world today to commit themselves to work for justice and reconciliation.

Ignatius Loyola, too, discovered his dream in life, way back in the sixteenth century. A man of action by nature, he was immobilised after his left leg was shattered in battle. His lengthy convalescence forced him to take stock of his life, and he found that his real dream was not for honours and material success, as he thought, but for something much greater: to help bring about Jesus’ dream for our world. And so he set out on a journey of discovery, in order to determine what that might mean for him. Years later, after much trial and error, he gathered around him a group of like-minded people, and so began a new phase of his dream, one that lasted well beyond his own death and that continues to this day in the order he founded, the Society of Jesus (Jesuits).

We should never underestimate the power of our dreams. Martin Luther King, Ignatius Loyola, and the others allowed themselves to dream big and, by taking up the big challenges of their day, changed the world. Are you willing to dream big, to let yourself be inspired to respond to the challenges of our day? Few people are called to be another Martin Luther King or Ignatius Loyola, but all of us are called to find the big dream in our heart and to spend our lives in pursuit of it. What is your dream?

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. – Nelson Mandela

Jesus said: The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour. – Lk.4:18-19

Next Step

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths, including any decision you need to make. Proverbs 3:5-6. Be open to your dreams.