mountaineering: lover of high place

Romans 11:1-2,11-12,25-29; Ps 94 The Lord will not abandon his people; Luke 14:1,7-11

Look at the Psalm today.

It is short and sweet. The last part of the psalm is striking and rings true for all of us who are honest on this journey.

"Were not the Lord my help, my soul would soon dwell in the silent grave. When I say, "My foot is slipping," your mercy, O Lord, sustains me."


Mountaineering or the sport of climbing mountains is simply one of the finest outdoor opportunities available to the lover of high places.

Mountain climbing is all about challenge and perseverance, about putting hands and feet onto rocks and ice and snow and finally reaching a summit. There, high above the world of cities and civilization, the climber can pause and look across a natural world ruled by nature and her raw beauty.

In order to truly enjoy the height and breath of the mountain experience, the climber can't start at the top but must begin at the base of the mountain and slowly and steadily work upward.

There are a lot of tools that necessitate the climb: axe, ropes, harness, boots, crampons, webbing and cord, slacklines, slips and runners, quickdraws, carabines, etc.

On perilous journeys, the rope acts as a safety line that gives support and safety as the climber heads upward. Just in case there is slippage, then the rope will catch hold and the climber will not tumble to his or her demise.

Mountain climbing is a good analogy for the spiritual life. The spiritual life is only for those lovers of high places.
There are no slick mountains, for then the climb would be impossible.

The climb necessitates crevices and steep and sharp cliffs as wells as gentle slopes and rocky terrain all of which allows the climb to move upward.

This is our movement back to God.

All the while we climb upward it is the mercy of God that is our safety rope, that which sustains us. IT is always there to encourage us and to eliminate the fear of the climb, the ascent.

Jesus doesn't say we hsould be in high places in today's gospel rather he just reminds us not to cheat ourselves of the climb. We have start at the bottom.

We start at the bottom and we slowly make our way to the top but we only do so with humble awareness that were it not for the rope of mercy we would all simply fall.

All that is left is simply to climb on!
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From the Pope: through faith, we can recognize the face of the risen Lord in those who ask for our love!