Faith
Discounting the Eucharist
In my previous reflection on the intimacy of the Eucharist, I started to write about the insidious nature of complacency in the Catholic life, but realized it would be better to explore this topic separately. The fact is that we all have times in our lives when we don’t give the Eucharist the prayerful respect that we should. It’s a part of our fallen nature to not be able to fully recognize God within us, or even to view ourselves as God.
You’ve heard it said that grace is often made available to us when we need it, but we have to accept it. Grace is offered when we receive the Sacraments, on special feast days, when we’re in a particular personal trial, and even when we’re faced with temptation. The thing is, it doesn’t feel like it. When I’m tempted, and I mean really tempted, grace doesn’t ride in to save the day and take it away. Those moments of serious temptation can be extremely oppressive and leave you feeling like there’s no alternative but to commit that sin just so you won’t have that feeling of the air leaving the room. Accepting grace, however, isn’t about having your problems taken away. Accepting grace is about the strength of character and relationship that emerge when you walk away the victor after a serious standoff with temptation.
There is no more powerful direct interaction with God in the universe than the Eucharist. Even when you consider Mary’s acceptance of the Christ child within her, we experience the same reality of the fullness of God coming to live physically within us, and all of the grace that comes with the physical presence of God. That intensity of divine presence is enough light to completely blot out the darkness. No evil can withstand the presence of the physical presence of God.
Ok, so if we receive the Eucharist and carry Christ within us, why do we commit sin? I find the answer in the Gospel of Mark. “Do you not realize that everything that goes into a person from outside cannot defile,” (7:18) “but what comes out of a person, that is what defiles.” (7:20) Satan’s goal is to provide the temptation to get you to freely choose to commit sin, he cannot do it for you. So in the moment of temptation you have evil exerting pressure on you externally, you have Christ living within you offering to exert overwhelming opposing pressure, but only if through the gift of free will you choose to accept His help.
God is not a genie and He has no interest in being one. He’s a dad. As a father, I don’t want Benedict to get hurt, and I don’t want him to fall, and I want him to make good choices and I don’t want to hurt his feelings when he sees that he’s disappointed me. Yet, if I don’t discipline him, I’ll have an out of control jerk who will live a miserable life. If I am constantly saving him from every little scrape and fall, I’ll have a robot not a human. I don’t want a robot as a son. I want a happy, well adjusted son who is able to freely choose to love me. This is exactly how God views us.
When we consider the true power of the Eucharist and the sublime power of having Christ take up residence physically within us, it becomes evident that the Eucharist is not to be discounted. We know why temptation abounds, we are grateful for the gift of free will, and we understand that He’s ready to help us overcome the evil in our lives if only we’ll get out of the way, stop playing God, and let Him be who He is.
Eucharistic Intimacy
Your faith life has the potential to be the most intimate relationship in your life. It’s a relationship that you have 100% control over. God is standing halfway, unmoved, just waiting for you to come out and greet Him. At the center of this relational treasure trove is the Eucharist. Its humility is unmatched and, while the Eucharist presents itself in simple terms, it’s anything but simple.
I’ve been spending a significant amount of time lately pondering the intimacy of the Eucharist and the reality of receiving the Sacrament. Breaking it down to its most basic level, the Eucharist is the physical presence of God entering into and dwelling within us. That description is deceptively simple. Exploring the reality opens up an entire world of thought and emotion.
Think back on a time when you and your wife were truly in sync. There was low stress, happiness and joy abounded, and you both felt incredibly connected. There was likely lots of cuddling and quality time spent together, and you both felt extremely close to one another. When you were both in this state, you likely wanted to continue to delve deeper into this state of closeness. You wanted to continue to grow closer all the way to the absolute center of closeness. Yet, there is only so far we can go. You can only cuddle so close. Renewal the marital covenant though the loving self-donation of one another in the marital embrace is the physical limit.
The Eucharist breaks down those barriers and takes you to the absolute center that you so desperately crave. There is no closer communion with God than to have the fullness of His presence within you, and you in Him.
I have several Christian friends who are on fire with faith and live the Christian life even better than I do. They crave that closeness and it makes me sad to know that they could have that which they desired if they entered into the fullness of the faith that only the Church can provide. It’s here that we find our calling to spread the Gospel to all nations, including those Christians who have not yet found what they seek, namely the Eucharist.
It can be dangerously easy to go to Mass and receive the Eucharist without a moment’s thought about the reality that you’re experiencing, but that is truly a shame. Even just a simple reminder to yourself as you process up to receive the Blessed Sacrament can be sufficient to not only remind you that you’re about to receive God within you. This is the absolute closeness that you crave that nothing else can offer. Cherish it.
A Rich Spiritual Life
What does it mean to have a rich spiritual life? What would your day need to look like in order to achieve that life? We have daily needs in our spiritual life that need to be met in order for us to keep making forward progress and in order for us to live truly free.
I’ve written many times on the topics of sin, temptation, and reconciliation. The theme of sin in our lives is one that we all share. We’re all in the struggle and the struggle is real. The more we resist sin, at least initially, the more challenging overcoming temptation is. There’s pushback, there’s relapse, and there’s getting back up.
I think that many of us, when working on amending our lives, fail to realize just how big of an impact our daily prayer routine and spiritual habits play in our success. The more time we devote to prayer and turning our thoughts back to God, the more resilient we are to temptation. The less we sin, the more free we are. The less we sin, the more we realize just how trapped our sin was making us.
As with all other aspects of our lives, success comes through integration. A rich spiritual life encompasses all forms of prayer at regular intervals throughout the day. It may include the Mass, the Rosary, the Divine Mercy Chaplet, or any number of devotionals. It may include time reading the Bible, meditating, using the Magnificat, or any other spiritual reading. It should include the more informal conversation with God. A combination of all of these types of prayer make up a rich daily spiritual life.
The key to success is not quantity or duration, but rather frequency. Small doses throughout the day help to maintain focus. Small interactions with prayer lead to increased clarity and awareness. When temptation comes, and it always does, you’ll be less likely to fall for it without a fight. Since your prayer routine has you engaged in your thoughts and your work, you’ll reason through the temptation and be able to dismiss it for what it truly is. You’ll be able to logically discern where engaging with that temptation will end up and whether or not it’s something that you truly want to do.
I believe that the most important part of a rich spiritual life is constant change. As you grow closer to God, you’ll change. You will become a new person, more unique than you were before. In the spirit of that constant change, your daily prayer routine should change with you. There will be times when you’re really into a particular type of prayer and other times when you’re not. If your prayer routine doesn’t change, you’ll become bored and more likely to abandon the pursuit of holiness. Change keeps things new, fresh, exciting, and suited to where you are in life.
A rich spiritual life is necessary not only to be the best person that you can be, but in order to be truly free. By engaging in prayer regularly throughout the day, in varied forms, you’ll live your live more alive and engaged with your day than before and be better prepared to reject Satan, and all of his works, and all of his empty promises.
The Sky Rarely Falls
People have been predicting the end of the United States and the collapse of the dollar since the very beginning of our Nation. There are plenty of threats and things to fear out there, but the sky rarely falls. If you find yourself living in constant fear of the economic or political collapse of your society, then you’ve placed your trust in the wrong god.
None of us can know what’s going to happen in the future, and we’ve all experienced economic, political, and social unrest. The fact remains that things always recover. Our emotions can be so easily manipulated by the media that we consume–it’s important for us to keep our priorities straight. We trust in God to provide for us, we act with common sense, and we build our homes on solid foundations.
I, too, find myself starting to worry when things falter economically, but that fear is more about my lack of security than anything else. I then take that fear and direct it towards sound financial decision making that sets my family on solid ground. While things may be bad today, when looking at the big picture, this is just yet another blip. If I save, eliminate debt, and plan for the future, I won’t be at the mercy of the market.
I don’t fret about political elections because there’s no way of knowing what’s going to happen. In the ten months between now and election day, so much could happen. Worrying about the outcome does absolutely nothing. Instead I research the candidates and vote when the polls are open.
Many claim the sky is falling, but they are shown to be silly when the next day, the sky is still where it ought to be. Place your faith, and trust, in God. Make wise decisions and focus your creative energies on those things that will improve your life and the lives of those around you.
The Daily Struggle for Goodness
When you’re trying to live a better life, a holier life, don’t expect evil to just roll over and take it. The struggle between God and the Devil is a zero sum game. For every person that lives a holy life, there’s that much less capacity for evil in the world. When seeking renewal or change, be prepared for the onslaught.
Evil wants power, absolute control, and absolute corruption. Like a disease, evil from one person can spread to another. A person who’s fallen victim to sin can easily pull someone else into sin with them. In the same way, holiness in one person can spread to another.
Being tempted isn’t a bad thing. In fact, sometimes it can be a sign that you’re doing the right thing. That doesn’t make it easier to endure, but it does give you more leverage to resist. The more momentum you have in your quest for holiness, the more successful you’ll be. We can’t reasonably expect for temptation to go away, but we can expect it to subside. Like lifting weights, the more frequently we resist temptation, the stronger we become.
Sin and evil are a fact of life, but participating in them doesn’t have to be. Through the Sacraments, grace, prayer, and diligence, you can live a holy life. Millions of Saints have done just that, so why not be the next one?
Turning Your Thoughts Back to God
We have a lot of mentally idle time. Folding laundry, cleaning the kitchen, running errands, and even doing work that requires low levels of mental resources, and we oftentimes fill those spaces with day dreams, list making, or anxiety. What if instead, we took those times and turned our thoughts back to God?
I think there’s a lot of benefit in using our downtime to thinking about the things of God. Too often we’re tempted to focus on the negative, and so spending our resources and energies on contemplating good things can help us have brighter days. The more time you spend thinking about the things of God, the happier you’ll be, the more energy you’ll have, and the less anxiety you’ll experience.
What kinds of things should you ponder while thinking about the things of God? Thinking about how generous God has been towards you, how amazing the Sacraments are, and the blessings He’s given you can be a tremendous boost to your day. You could also spend the time thinking about ways in which things seemed to work out poorly in the moment, but in hindsight you can see how they were for the best. Of course, you could also have a simple dialogue with God about your thoughts, ideas, and emotions.
I find that contemplating the mind of God helps me to remain grounded. There are many things that impact my attitude on a daily basis, and by keeping my perspective focused upwards, I’m able to remain better grounded. That means less time being impatient or frustrated, and more time being joyful and energized.
Spend less time focusing on the negative and more time focusing on the things of God. You’ll be glad you did.
Hell Isn’t For Me
While I was in Drivers Ed, I learned a valuable lesson. Where your eyes go, the car goes. We’re playing the long game here on Earth. In the routine of our daily lives, thinking about where we’ll be in the life after this one can be easily overlooked. Yet, at the same time, our actions and choices within our daily routine point to where we’re oriented. I’ve never once been happy as a result of committing a sin, yet sometimes I find myself in a cycle of decisions leading me further away from the life that God has planned for me.
The design of the human mind is intriguing. Although intellectually we can grasp that sin is harmful and doesn’t lead to happiness, we still choose it on a regular basis. There are many theological explanations, but isn’t it interesting in and of itself that the human mind, without morals or guidance, will tend toward making decisions based on impulsive wants.
The challenge of the Christian life is to overcome this self-centeredness. The challenge is to respond with love when your wife is annoying you, to respond with love when you’re tired but your children need something from you, and to respond with love when another person deeply offends you.
Heaven is real, and so is Hell. When standing in the Confession line it’s easy to say where we want to end up. Yet, in the moment, when we’re out in the world confronted by temptation, our decision making process can become much more cloudy.
Perhaps the greatest irony is that in order for us to have true happiness, we have to reject things that present themselves as something good or beneficial for us. Sin always dresses itself in the robes of goodness, yet when unmasked its true destruction is revealed. By saying no to sin and denying ourself a passing pleasure, we choose to embrace and accept the lasting happiness that following God’s Will brings.
In the routine of our daily lives, we need to do things that keep us oriented to our destination of choice. Like our eyes in the car, if we look towards Hell, we’ll end up there. But if we keep our eyes fixed on the eternal good, on the fruits of Heaven, we’ll surely end up there, right where we belong.
Ask God for the Big Things
Understanding God with the human mind is impossible. In order to help us bridge that gap into the impossible, we have to equate Him to something we can relate to. At various times and in different situations we may think of Him as our Dad, as a disciplinarian, or perhaps even as Santa Claus. The mistake that we make is that we pull God down to our level, instead of raising our minds to His. When we bring God down to our level, we miss out on the opportunity to truly experience His glory.
Time and time again, Scripture tells us to ask and we shall receive. Truly God hears and answers our prayers in all ways, shapes, and forms. Yet, too often we fail to be like King Solomon. When presented with an offer of anything, Solomon asked for the wisdom to lead his people. Wow! Now that’s a big ask. Not only is it a big ask, it’s the right ask. Solomon asked for a gift that he might use to serve others. He understood in some small way the capacity of God, and asked for a gift that only God could grant.
We need to be more generous in what we ask of God. While there’s certainly no limit to the number of prayers and requests we make to God, we should use those prayers to benefit others. Our lives are comfortable and easy compared to many others. This is a habit of the greatest saints in the Church: spending more time asking for graces for others than for themselves.
We also need to stop asking God for the trivial. As students, we asked for help for a test that we didn’t study for. Looking back, we asked the God who created us out of literally nothing, who built us out of two single cells, to help us circle a few right answers. We need to be more like Solomon, and ask God for the big things.
God has chosen to limit our ability to fully understand His existence, and at the same time, through the Church, has fully revealed Himself to us. In order to become the saints we were made to be, we need to stop trying to pull Him down to our level and instead let Him raise us to His. He’s capable of anything, let Him reveal His power to you.
Lean on God
It’s human nature to want to be independent. We want to be free to make our own decisions and have the dignity of supporting ourselves. Our quest to be beholden to no one begins early in our development, becoming most evident in our teenage years. While we see dependence as a weakness, the question must be asked: is it? No matter how independent we seek to become, is total independence really something to pursue? Certainly there are some worthy forms of independence such as that of financial independence or the independence of living on your own. Yet, as humans, I think it’s necessary for us to be totally dependent in one sense. We must be totally dependent on God.
There is no independence from God. Philosophically and theologically, if we were independent from God, we wouldn’t be here because His thought of us sustains our existence. But I don’t want to make this about an intellectual exercise, rather, I want to explore this as an exercise of love. We should embrace our dependance on God and love Him for it.
Benedict is now 2 years old. Little by little, he gains independence from me. Yet, even though he can do little things, he still needs my help to achieve the essential things. He can eat food on his own, but he needs me to prepare it for him. He can walk around outside, but he needs me to open the door for him. He doesn’t loathe his dependance on me. Rather, he embraces it joyfully. He smiles, laughs, and eagerly runs to me as I do all of these things for him. We should take the same tack in our relationship with God.
All of the blessings in our lives are thanks to the good graces of God. Our family, employment, finances, health, and freedom are all a direct result of God giving us those blessings. As a part of our dependance on God, we should be joyful and eager to ask for more blessings. It’s not selfish, it’s what He’s promised. Time and time again we hear in Scripture about God’s promise to provide for us, both in good times and bad.
We should ask God for the big things and for the little things. We should ask Him for help in small ways and for help in big ways. We should also always remember to give Him the praise and thanks that are due. The best way to do that is to live a life of service as He asked.
Our dependance on God is not a burden to be borne, but rather a gift to be embraced. Like any good parent, He wants to shower us with love, graces, affection, and blessings, if only we ask for them.
Evil is Real
How many times have we witnessed the great falls of those whom claim to be holy and religious? How many times have we heard of televangelists, missionaries, and people that we once regarded to be of high moral standing exposed as being other than what they claimed? For some fraction of these cases, the individuals themselves were perpetrating a fraud. For the large majority of cases, we should walk away with one lesson: evil is real.
The more good that you do in the world, the more spiritual fruit that you bear, the bigger target that you become. It’s understandable that if you’re doing good things and people are being changed by them, you’ll become a bigger target for the Devil. Taking down one prominent person does more damage with less work than trying to topple followers one at a time.
Truthfully, I don’t think many of us think about the Devil as being at work in our lives. Certainly we see war, terrorism, and other violence and tacitly acknowledge that it’s the work of the Devil, but by and large, we don’t really believe that he’s real. I even feel weird using the word “devil” in this post, as if I’m some crazy religious nut who should be dismissed by my readers as such.
That’s the thing, though. That feeling that I’ll be perceived as crazy is a sign that his work is effective. The more dismissive we are about his existence and the more complacent we grow, the easier it is for him to work. He’s subtle and subversive, working quietly until it’s too late.
He’s at work, always looking for weaknesses and flaws to exploit. He’s “prowling like a roaring lion” in our world. So if you’re out there doing good things, know that he’s looking for ways to undo them. The good that we do and the holiness that we achieve diminishes his work and effectiveness. He’s looking to take you down. Don’t let your denial of his existence give him greater influence over your decisions.
Evil is real, never doubt that. But evil is so much less than Good.