Overcoming Jealousy in Feminine Friendships
Am I a True Friend of Jesus?
Photo By: Flickr/Darko Škender
Put your security in Jesus. What does that mean? As I sit here at Starbucks and drink out of my red styrofoam cup, I take a brief moment out of the hustle and bustle of the day to reflect on this question.
As I turn on my laptop and look at its desktop background, I am reminded of this theme. The quote I found on Pinterest. It says “Let the lover of your soul restore it.” I picked it and chose that because I liked it, not because I fully understood what it meant or because I plumbed the depths of this rich phrase.
Pinterest says it's from Psalm 23:5. Pinterest has a way of making everything sound cutesy. Let’s look at what the Bible truly says:
“You set a table before me/ in front of my enemies;/ You anoint my head with oil;/ my cup overflows.”
This phrase is not quite so glamorous, but somehow, it is more comforting. It is almost as if Jesus is setting a feast in front of me. The commentary below the verse on the bishops' website states: “In front of my enemies: my enemies see that I am God’s friend and guest.”
Do I live like I believe that I am God’s friend? Do I look like I am God’s friend? When I am calm and serene, passing through activity to activity intentionally and present in the moment, yes, people may say, “There is something about her. She has a peace about her. I can tell she prays a lot.” When people ask me how I am doing with my job and I say that I love it and that I am thankful, yes, I think both my friends and enemies may think that I am a friend of God.
The catechism has this to say about “bearing witness to the truth”:
“All Christians by the example of their lives and the witness of their world, wherever they live, have an obligation to manifest the new man which they have put on in Baptism to reveal the power of the Holy Spirit by whom they were strengthened at Confirmation” (Catechism of the Catholic Church: 2472).
What about the times that I am rushing from event to event, constantly late and in a frenzy, checking my iphone, scribbling in my planner, and applying my lipstick at the last minute? Do I look like a friend of God then? Does it look like “the peace of God that surpasses all understanding” resides in me?
What about the times I get on my pedestal and rant about the injustices in society or wrongs in the world? Would both my friends and my enemies think that I reflect the mercy and love of God then? Rather than acting as a privileged guest at a feast, I am acting like an entitled guest indignant that the feast did not go exactly my way.
As I prepare to go to Mass in an hour or two, I will pray to act as a “privileged guest” at the table of the Lord, asking the lover of my soul to heal me of the times I act entitled. I will ask Him to help me not just to look like a friend of God, but to truly be a friend of God, acting as a privileged follower. With this receptive attitude, I can say with King David, “my cup overflows” and await the graces He will fill me with at Mass.
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd ed.
Retrieved from: http://ccc.usccb.org/flipbooks/catechism/index.html#611/z
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Bible Online. Retrieved from http://www.usccb.org/bible/psalms/23
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About the Author
Andree graduated with her master’s in Marriage and Family Counseling from Our Lady of Holy Cross College. At Holy Cross, she was the secretary of the Association of Graduate Students in Counseling and a member of Chi Sigma Iota, an International Honor Society forcounselors, counselor educators, and students. She joined the team at Crescent City Counseling until April of 2016. She completed her internship at Catholic Counseling Service, a ministry of the Archdiocese of New Orleans. Her undergraduate degree is from the University of Dallas, with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies: English Language Arts 6-8th.
