Catholic Hermit: Focus on Jesus, Simple and Easy?

One would think that remaining focused on Jesus would be easy.  Indeed, it is "simple" in the essence, the statement, to "focus on Jesus." But this nothing consecrated Catholic hermit realizes already that while it is simple enough to state and to desire, focusing on Jesus is not easy commensurate with the amount of distractions that abound to hijack simply to focus on Jesus.

We understand from the Gospel of John, Jesus' living Word recorded in 6:35-40, how and why Jesus is to be our focus.  Jesus "came down from heaven not to do My own will but the will of the One Who sent Me."  "Jesus said to the crowds, 'I am the bread of life; whoever comes to Me will never hunger, and whoever believes in Me will never thirst.'" 

And, we are told all the more clearly by Jesus:  "For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.'"

Yet last night already I vented in an email my opinions and frustrations regarding someone who keeps building more problems and bad choices upon an initial bad choice.  Now the complication is finally marrying and bringing a second child into the world, but the bad choice initially remains; and now there was the outcome of a choice to take the children and move out, and move in with the person texting the prayer request.

I did not simply keep my focus on Jesus.  Rather I opined and offered advice, such as the one person in this complication of bad choices made upon bad choices over the course of now nearly five years and two innocent children later, is that the one person will need counseling with a clinical psychologist adept in video addictions and whatever else, and the other person would do well with counseling by a clinical psychologist on co-dependency and whatever else. 

But the problem with what persons might need that would help them, is that most do not realize nor accept what would help, nor to the level of the person best suited to help--beyond a Masters' level counseling degree or the advice of others not trained or specialized in such matters.  

All this of my mind and thoughts opining and frustrated over what could have been rather predictable in that most of us who are older have lived through and still do, is noting our human proclivity to make bad choices and heap more upon them until we face ourselves and others realistically.  And what is obvious to me in its simplicity yet again clear:  Focus on Jesus.  

Had I focused on Jesus and not the complicated mess that the prayer request back-history entails, I'd not have spent time and energy and mental thought and heartfelt emotion on relaying the obvious frustrations and unasked-for advice.  

Praying for conversions and deeper conversions is also simple enough.  No need to go into all the thoughts and emotions of facts of bad choice begetting more bad choices upon bad choices like a kink or knot in yarn tangling all the more until a seemingly impossible entanglement of yarn requiring cutting out the knotted, tangled mess and starting over with far less yarn than one was given to begin with and try to continue the project of living based upon the effects of having to cut and begin again yet with the remnants and consequences of that mess created from persisting in bad choices.

This is true of all of us humans who take our eyes, minds, hearts, and souls off the focus on Jesus.  Or, we might be praying and think we are including Jesus in "our" thoughts and actions, but we are not waiting in listening nor assuring ourselves of the reality that our focus is on Jesus.  So many human and temporal factors, including the devil's quick movement in on any opening provided, easily distract and disrupt what on the outset or surface seems easy and simple enough:  Focus on Jesus.

Even aspects of the temporal church, the more secular and human aspects, can sometimes distract us from a simple focus on Jesus.  Our human weaknesses and natures can put a kink or knot and then over time make a mess of our simply focusing on Jesus in the way He desires and asks of us.  Pride is a major bugaboo, and any type of pain or other weaknesses of body, mind, and emotions--especially of the senses.  

My own more recent tendencies that have taken root as a result of higher level of physical pain and the weariness it engenders, is to distract from the pain with that which does not help me focus on Jesus.  I can tell myself all kinds of  excuses or reasons that I can make seem as if logical or not harmful.  And having news droning in background noise or used as a distraction from pain, only keeps me from the energy I'd muster to focus on Jesus even if simply being still in the bed, and going into the pain rather than trying to run from it.  

Or, I could focus on Jesus through more focus on His Word or focus on those who were adept and gained the ability to focus on Jesus in their life times on earth--focus on the saints and spiritual masters and their writings and advice or just let the mind think about them, such as Catherine of Siena today on her feast day.  She focused on Jesus.  

Facing reality in oneself when it comes to honestly noting if one has focus on Jesus, can be powerfully revealing.  If it is not at all easy and not as simple as it seems on the face of those three words--focus on Jesus--then why is it difficult and complex? The answer lies within the person's mind, heart, and soul.  If honest and one prays to have the curtains rent and the scales removed from one's eyes--inner eyes as well as outer--the reality of the various distractions that are not Jesus will be exposed.  

Then one must decide to face that one prefers to focus on all these other things and situations and persons and ourselves that are entangling messes to one degree or other, or also just wastes of time and energy of God-created and given mind and heart and soul.  Decide to focus on Jesus, or to focus part-time on Him, or mostly on Him or a tiny bit on Him, or focus all on Jesus.

I myself also must pray and sincerely ask Jesus what He truly wants of me.

I have repeated this prayer since late yesterday, and I know from spiritual experience over the years, and practical experience, also, that Jesus will answer and maybe already has.  I have to be patient in the waiting to recognize the answer; that is the usual problem I face--not recognizing the answer that mostly Jesus gives me right away or fairly soon after I've asked Him for an answer.  So Jesus in His mercy answers again and again in different ways to try to help me recognize His answer.  

Already I think I know the answer to what Jesus truly wants of me, at least in the generalized answer.  Jesus wants me to simply FOCUS ON HIM.  That's a start, anyway, and likely the middle and end of it.  Focus on Jesus.  Whatever other I might find "to do" such as writing or getting out of bed and dressing and planting some geraniums and petunias that have been sitting in their containers too long already, wanting transplanting, can all be accomplished while I focus on Jesus.  

This very post of which I am writing, is all about focusing on Jesus.  It is simple when put in writing, and it is easy when I am reminded of the answer to my questions also being to focus on Jesus.  Yes, years ago John the Baptist also tried to tell me how to learn and grow in Christ--and ended his private lesson locution to me by asking, "Now that is truly simple, is it not?"  To keep going, to simply keep going.  

I must simply keep going in focusing on Jesus.  Just focus on Jesus, my true and only hope:  Jesus.  Focus on Jesus!

God bless His Real Presence in us!

Catholic Hermit's Surprise

I did not think that others would so quickly realize how wondrously challenging it can be to simply God-pivot and free ourselves from various prisons (or another metaphor for what we allow to hinder us: bad "marriages").

So I this nothing consecrated Catholic hermit had quite a surprise when two spiritual friends with whom I'd been rather harsh (but not nearly as harsh as I've been on myself) made contact and were grateful and determined to step up to the next level on the stairway to heaven, with me.

The view changes, and we must get used to the perspective, the new challenges, the adaptation to freedom. 

Like true prisoners released, however, the old, learned securities of how we had been, of our habitual cells and chains, tempt us to return.  (It is said that sometimes released prisoners commit another crime in order to return to prison when their freedom and trying to adapt to the outside world becomes too difficult.)

Yesterday I had some thoughts of pain in negative terms that quickly were shooed away.  There were frustrations with using the framing nail gun after months of health challenges and too much time resting.  I did not get the cross-brace 2x6's nailed between the vaulted ceiling joists.  The nail gun was heavier than I recalled--until I faced the reality that my muscles have weakened.  It is going to take time and physical effort to rebuild, and today I continue on with the overhead project.

So we must continue on with adapting to and rejoicing in the next step.  I thought much yesterday of St. Paul and St. Peter--of the times they were imprisoned and of the angel who stood outside the cell, telling them to walk out of the open cell door, light all around.   Surely there were other prisoners in the prison on each occasion in which one or other of the apostles were imprisoned but miraculously set free?

The other prisoners did not just walk out through open cell doors.  This fact reminds me that we all may not be set free at the same time.  Some may need more incarceration, and that can be due to not having the God-pivot moment of seeing that often we are the ones keeping ourselves jailed.  Sometimes it can be that we have allowed some situation or person to keep us locked into negative, imprisoning circumstance, thought, emotion or spiritual darkness.

I suppose the God-pivot I've been experiencing is literally God's angel standing at the door of my mind and heart and spirit, shining light upon my prison cell, and showing me, telling me, that I can simply walk free.  Just walk out of it mentally, emotionally, and spiritually even if I cannot bodily leave my own body or living situation in a physical manner.  The other aspects are so freeing that the physical fades with the new perspective of a higher step on the heavenly stairway.

Then the consideration presents itself:  The apostles freed by walking out of their jail cells when the doors were opened, their chains unlocked did later on become imprisoned again.  And once again they were able to escape. This may happen to us, repeatedly, phase by phase, or even a recurrence of some of our old habits or "crimes."  Or,  we may be in a type of parole, with our angels checking on us and reminding us to stay "clean" and to avoid our incarcerating habits of which we'd been freed.

Eventually, we will have the ultimate freedom from the daily, temporal distractions and habits that imprison us, or at least try to lock us into place, keep us from walking up the stairway to heaven.  That freedom will be as it was for the apostles and for anyone who has lived: we will physically die.  

But if we have freed our minds, hearts, and spirits by God's grace and mercy, and have walked repeatedly out of whatever cells of which doors have been opened for us, we will not consider physical death so necessary a final escape.  We will have already walked free in eternal essence, that which we take with us, our minds, hearts, and spirits.

Such a surprise to this consecrated Catholic hermit, that at least two have not chosen to remain in their cells and are willing to walk out of their cells, as well--as best we can, of course.  We try.  And like others, we may find ourselves tempted to go back to prison in one way or another.  We may find ourselves in the same cell or in some other prison cell, but we can be freed as many times as we are imprisoned.

God provides the God-pivot!  He is Love and Mercy!