As titles go, this is an obscure one. I've replaced the lyric 'personality' with 'disponibility'. Maybe you're old enough to remember the old song 'Personality' by Lloyd Price. The idea is to help introduce a new word I learned this week while reading 'My Life with the Saints' by James Martin, SJ.
In his book, Martin reviews the lives of a number of 'saints'- technically only folks recognized by his church as saints. He writes about them because he 'sees them as models of holiness relevant to contemporary believers, and to understand the remarkable ways that God works in the lives of individuals.' He writes about what inspires him about their stories. I am reading it out of curosity and to learn from these people what I can.
Anyway, enough about my goofy reading list, the point is it was in this book, in the St. Ignatius of Loyola section that I learned the new word 'disponible' which means to set in different places, place here and there, available and disposed. Which all these holy folks seem to be, perfectly placed, available for and disposed to do God's will.
And I like the idea that God set people in different places, arranged us in a meaningful and purposeful way. Like I'm a chess piece in the hands of the ultimate ChessMaster. The question is, am I and are we ready to act on His call? Are we really fully disponible? I know that's an unusual question- when was the last time someone asked you about your disponibility?
Maybe I'm like a perfectly placed pawn that decides I'll just stay on this here red square thank you very much. I faintly hear His call to move, to act, but quite frankly I'm a very busy pawn right where I am- besides the further I move forward the more I get out of my comfort zone. Plus pawns that move to far out in front generally don't last very long. I say move some other guy, a more disponible person than me.
Martin writes about Loyola, 'He was ambitious to do great things ad majorem Dei gloriam - for the greater glory of God.' And that 'After discerning God's will for himself, he resolutely set out to do it.' Very cool. What I am learning is that these saints were pretty normal common folks who heard God's call and made were moved to act (or acted to move) where God led them. What makes them notable to me isn't as much about what they did but what God did with them!
I believe we are all saints. You don't have to be a hero of the faith to achieve this title- Jesus earned you that title. Let us give thanks for such a great gift by using our charm, love, personality and disponibility for Him! This week consider just how willing you are to be disponible- afterall, it's better to be 'disposed for' than to end up 'disposed of'. Who knows, if we all become more disponible here at Atonement maybe I can write the sequel, 'My Life with the Saints at Atonement'!
Blest Regards,
kp
hey, kp, browsing the web to find out about the use of the word 'disponibility', if it existed, i came to your Bottom Corner Thoughts, and to this one in particular which i liked pretty much, by the way. Tho i'm not a man of faith, i enjoyed the reading and above all i liked how you interpreted the meaning of 'Personality', a sense i'd never have given to it. ;)
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