MEDITATION TIP —
14th Sunday in Ordinary Time July 7, 2024

“For when I am weak, then I am strong” (II Corinthians 12:10)

　Paul says that he has one thorn in his body, which he says is a messenger sent by Satan to hurt him. I don’t know if the pain of the thorn was spiritual or physical, but it must have been so bothersome that it made him wish he didn’t have it. So he prayed to the Lord to take away this thorn, and Jesus’ answer was, “My grace is sufficient for you, for it is in weakness that power is revealed in its fullness.” What he meant by that was, “You remain as you are. True human strength comes from recognizing one’s own weakness. Do not imitate the strong by trying to be strong.” Perhaps the root of Paul’s suffering, and this can be said of all human beings, is in comparing oneself with others. When I once told someone about my own personality problems (again, comparing myself to others), I was told, “Isn’t that a good thing about you?” Once again I was made to realize something about myself.

　The weakness that Paul refers to is also expressed as failure, setback, or a wall. In fact, failure is often a disguised opportunity. No one who has not experienced failure or setback has ever made a major discovery or invention that contributed to humanity. Failure is a living thing. If we look closely at any failure, we can see that it contains the seeds of a corresponding opportunity. But to find it, to let it sprout, and to let it grow, requires a firm will and imagination. Whether failure or bad luck remains a disaster or becomes a blessing depends on our response. Discovering something new means changing our perspective. Instead of living our lives looking for beautiful scenery, let us seek beauty in our ordinary scenery. If the human mind is left alone to do nothing, it will lean toward the negative nearly 90% of the time. Therefore, we must constantly think positively and speak positive words.

　“A life according to plan is a flat and monotonous life. Rather, a life in which we encounter the sorrow of broken plans and find new and deeper redemption in them is a life of true depth and profundity. In fact, it is in the depths of our sorrows, when our greatest expectations are shattered, that we come into contact with a profound new light. This is the same as the principle of hydroelectric power generation” (philosopher Shinzo Mori).

　If you want to be happy, you should say, “I will do like this next time,” rather than regretting what you should have done then or what you should have done now. Life is interesting. When you let go of something, something better will surely come along. There is a poem that goes like this: “The day my bicycle was stolen, I picked up a cat. The day I lost my umbrella I found a rainbow. The day I caught a cold, I got a flower” (poet Toshiko Hirata).

 　　　　　(Contribution by Father Akabae)