Clothed with Gladness
A Reflection by Fred Schaeffer, OFS
"You changed my mourning into dancing; you took off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness. With my whole being I sing endless praise to you. O Lord, my God, forever will I give you thanks." (Ps. 30:12-13)
Whenever the Lord gives us some joy, we experience a foretaste of Heaven, though for a very short time. I'll give you an example. Abour 20 years back when I was a Postulant with the Franciscans (OFM), in the Midwest, the whole bunch of us (5 plus our Director), sometimes went on an outing. Generally, that meant either a small retreat at their private retreat house or, we went to some public place. I remember one time we went to a place by a lake with a shelter with benches. One of the postulants was asked to read from some text about the early friars in the 14th or 15th Century, and there was some word that got me going. I began to laugh, first a little, then a lot. I could not stop. I must have laughed for 15 minutes. That's very unusual behavior for me. It's not that I'm a sourpuss but one must stick to a certain amount of decorum, particularly when someone is reading to a group. Then of course, other people began to laugh. Why? Because laughter is infectious. People pine for happy moments. In any case, my eyes were red, my throat was sore, but I was very, very happy. Was this a foretaste of heaven? I don't know, but as I look back on it now, I think it might have been.
More than once, I remember at that the OFM Novitiate, in Indiana, sitting in my room, on a comfortable chair wrapped in my own thoughts. I was wrapped in my inner thoughts of contemplating the goodness of Jesus. When I still lived in a world of fewer distractions, it was easy for me to assume this healthy mental state, as it is a gift of God, and then, too, long afterward, I felt great peace and joy. At present (2024), there are fewer such moments.
It is not necessary for people to be in friaries or convents or other very protected places in order to be close to Jesus. In fact, most of us live in this noisy world around us, and we still manage sometimes to make time for God. That, in itself, is sometimes a miracle. It's pretty hard to have your mind elevated in prayer to God while walking down a busy avenue in New York City. Because if you do not pay attention, especially at intersections, cars just about drive over your toes. And, not being alert can lead to having your pocket picked. Don't get me wrong, New York is a wonderful place, but having lived there 30 years, I've had more than enough of big city living.
There are even distractions here in Vero Beach, Florida, where I reside.
To pray, Our Lord asks us to go into our inner room, as we read in Mt. 6:6, "But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you."
In other reflections, I've referred to an actual room, a space all your own in your house. It could be a chair by a pool or a sun room of some sort, or even a “walk-in closet”. For folks who live near the woods, such a space could be a chair in the garden or in the woods as you contemplate the greenery and creatures around you. And, certainly in autumn up North, I remember often contemplating the palette of nature, God's magnificent creation when the trees are in their "Fall Foliage" colors. That's certainly a great place to pray, but when Scriptures talk of "your inner room," something else is meant by that: The inner room is our Soul, particularly a Soul of someone close to Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the Saints. A prayerful Soul, a meditative Soul: someone who is completely in harmony with God. Is that possible outside of a friary, convent or monastery? Of course it is! Father Benedict Groeschel, C.F.R., (d. 2014) talks about young and old people in Harlem (NY), people who have very little, barely basic shelter, or homeless, but they love God. You see, when you are less burdened with possessions that take up your entire concentration, you have more time for God. You make time for God because it's a wonderful way to speak with Him. Praying is speaking, it is a conversation. And, if it is a meditative or contemplative conversation there are answers. The answers are not heard as if spoken but they are sensed in a most definite way, although usually, one cannot recall much after this intimate time is over. And that doesn't matter, because that sharing in our inner room is a gift of God, and it has nothing at all to do with emotions.
If one desires to have these experiences, one must prepare. How do we do this? We stop committing mortal sins, and we try very hard to stop even venial sins. When I recently mentioned this at one of the evening groups I participate in, a howl of laughter went up - because someone said, "Sin? We all sin!" This statement was uttered with an air of finality as if it would be pointless to even consider daily reform to stop mortal sin. I'm not saying this comes about overnight, but it is more than possible, and it is the only way to be invited by Jesus to meet Him in that inner room. For in that inner room we are clothed with gladness... when we are in deep prayer, unselfish and detached prayer, there is only joy. Now I readily admit that these happy occasions have gone down in number when I left the monastery in 2001 and returned to live among the laity again, with all its distractions of the flesh. (Just turn on the TV and it becomes obvious what I mean by distractions of that nature). But that special joy of Jesus's love in action is worth a lot more than evenings in front of the TV when there are meaningless and potentially dangerous content that unbalance our inner peace. Jesus is waiting for us, he is waiting for us to accept His gift of Life, of Joy, and of prayer.
Peace!
Fred Schaeffer, OFS
February 3, 2024
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