Faith
The Simple Path to Holiness
When I wrote my first book, I didn’t take a month off work and rent a cabin in the woods. That may have been a nice setting, but I wrote in the early morning hours before work and the late evening hours when work was over. The same is true for writing my second book, and my third.
Giving into fantasies, or believing myths, is easy when we have big goals. If only we could just quit this one thing, or wake up an hour earlier, then we could get it all done. If only we had no distractions and total silence and focus, everything would be possible. If only I went on this one retreat, took this one course, or found the perfect prayer, I’d become the person that I want to be.
The truth is, as many of the modern saints have shared, the path to holiness in our daily lives. Making breakfast for the children, helping with math homework, and even doing the laundry is how we become holy.
I’m not making a second piece of toast, I’m ensuring my children have a full breakfast. I’m not trying to remember how to solve equations with fractions, I’m helping my child prepare for their future. I’m not getting mustard stains out of shirts, I’m serving my family.
In these mundane, rote, and mediocre tasks, I’m giving of myself. While I make the breakfast, the children laugh. When I help with homework, their minds unlock. When I’m doing the laundry, they’re free to run and play.
God has trusted us to care for our families and to share his title. Like the cave in Bethlehem, it’s in the simple, the humble, even the dirt, that we find Christ and the simple path to holiness.
Start with Listening
For the first time in many years, our parish is holding a weekly Bible study. Although the children get plenty of opportunities to learn about their faith with their peers, adults are often forgotten. The Catholic faith is deep and wide, and we could all use an opportunity to grow.
The series is on prayerful reading of Scripture. Instead of picking up the Bible and reading it like a good book, we approach portions of Scripture as a starting point of prayer. In the series, the lecturer offered that prayer should begin with listening.
It was a profound insight, and one that I had not considered. To my mind, I have a set amount of time to pray, a full agenda, and I need to get right to the point.
The lecture focused on Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well. Through the framework of this well-known story, he demonstrated that the events of the story and the words that Jesus used communicated this deep truth. It was Jesus who spoke first, and then invited the woman into conversation.
Though the dialogue, they had a shared experience. Jesus was able to communicate deeply with the woman, and she heard the particular message of hope and healing that Jesus had for her.
Prayer takes many forms, but perhaps it would be wise for us to slow down, take a moment, begin with Scripture, and then listen.
Preparation
It’s been just over sixty days since the joy of Christmas morning, and here we are back in a time of preparation. Though much attention is given to the what and when of Lent, acknowledging that this is a time of preparation has piqued my interest this year.
We prepare for things all the time. I prepare for my work week ahead by reviewing and updating my task list. I prepare for a week’s worth of dinners by menu planning and grocery shopping. We all go through a preparation of sorts every Sunday morning, trying to get everyone out the door and to Mass on time.
What does it mean to prepare for Easter? In the Jewish custom, there are strict protocols for preparation. They are lengthly and require much effort and attention to detail. Violating these preparations means that a person cannot fully participate in the feasts. Think back to the reading of the Passion, when the Jewish leaders wouldn’t enter into the praetorium because they wanted to avoid being defiled before the Passover.
Easter is the high point of the Christian year; it’s the proof that Jesus is who he claims to be, and that our faith is not misplaced. How can we best prepare for this the highest of feasts? The Church tells us through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.
Prayer strengthens our relationship with God, breaks our hearts of stone, and opens our minds to the will of God. Fasting removes obstacles to holiness in our lives. It breaks the power of mindless rhythm and shakes us awake, calling us back to the reality that Christ is coming again, and we must be ready. Almsgiving separates us from ourselves, and makes us attuned to the suffering around us. It reminds us of our obligation to care for the sick, the hungry, and the poor among us, all of them being Christ in disguise.
We have just six weeks to prepare for the greatest mystery in human history. How will we use it to become the people that we were made to be?
Obedient to Prayer
If I were to sketch out a schedule for my ideal day, there would be several opportunities for prayer sprinkled throughout. No matter where I was in any given day, I’d only be a few hours away from a pause. The positive benefits of prayer are well established, spiritually and psychologically. Why is it so hard to commit?
Like any of the other things we should do each day to be and feel our best, resistance to prayer is strong. Our minds wander, we’re overwhelmed by our to-do list, and there’s always something else to do at that moment that feels “right.”
Discipline is required to accomplish anything great, but I think that nurturing and developing ourselves spiritually requires more than just raw discipline. It’s not enough to just show up and go through the motions; we have to desire to pray. We have to be obedient.
God’s great plan for our lives is revealed through scripture and tradition. He wants us to live freely and joyfully. Our experience in this fallen world shows that living out that plan is no easy task. Even when we’re spiritually healthy, the responsibilities and chaos of our day wears on us. Our vision for the future fades in the onslaught of the here and now.
Obedience to prayer is a voluntary surrender to God’s plan. It’s sacrificing a part of our day to spend time with true peace and true love, and to place God’s will before our own.
Tomorrow morning, in the early hours after my walk but before the kids wake up, when the house is still and dark, I will not go sit down at my desk. I will not open the newspaper or open up YouTube. I’ll sit down in the stillness of the living room and spend a few quiet minutes with the giver of all good gifts.
Bible in a Year
It took me far too long to set aside the time necessary to read the Bible. I went to Catholic school throughout most of my education, and took numerous theology courses in college. Despite all of that education, I’d only studied the Bible piecemeal, and typically not that well.
The problem with the Bible is that we treat it as a singular, linear book, meant to be read in order. The truth is that the Bible is closer to an anthology, a collection of disparate books, that were assembled into one volume. Although written by various authors, sometimes centuries apart, there are themes and characters that run throughout the narrative.
St. Jerome, author of the Latin translation of the Bible, wrote that ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ. Throughout the Old Testament is hidden the New Testament. In the New Testament is fully revealed and fulfilled the Old. Every word, every verse plays its role, weaving together the story of salvation, and instructing us in the reality of the human person.
Truthfully, none of us should attempt to study the Bible on our own. There is too much context, too much history, and too much truth for us to unpack. It’s a much better choice to go with a trusted guide, someone who can help us to see the bright spots, understanding the setting, and fully unpack the message. I went with the Ascension Press “The Bible in a Year” podcast, and it was excellent.
The Bible is more than a book, it is the Book. The daily life of the Church finds all of its roots in Scripture, and many of the prayers that we pray every day and every week are verbatim drawn out of the text. Living the Christian life is living a Biblical life.
There were many surprises, a shocking amount of violence, and a constant refrain of reform. The story of Israel is our story, and we live in the many of the same scenarios that they lived through. We struggle with the same temptations, and make the same idiotic mistakes. And what is God’s message all throughout? Reform, return, come home.
Following the narrative of the story, and watching the puzzle pieces slowly come together, one day at a time, was the perfect way to study, explore, and discover the Bible. All it takes is showing up every day, and pressing play.
The Prodigal Son
The story of the prodigal son is a famous one because of its relatability. We’ve all acted foolishly, like the prodigal. We’ve also experienced that deep love and relief that touches us through reconciliation. While the prodigal son well known, few of us have spent time thinking about his brother.
Jesus uses the imagery of parents and sibling many times throughout his ministry. There are the two brothers who the father asks to go into the field, one who agrees and never leaves, the other that refuses but eventually goes. There are the sisters, Mary and Martha, one preoccupied with temporal things, the other ready to rest in God’s presence. All throughout the Old Testament, we see stories of siblings working together and, more often, fighting.
The prodigal son tells his father that he’s dead to him, takes his inheritance, and dibs. His brother, however, stays. We read near the end about how this “good” son stayed and worked for his father, but we also get a glimpse of the brokenness of this parental relationship. The good son is resentful when he sees how well his brother is treated upon his return. It’s almost as if he stayed with his father, but couldn’t stand to be with him.
There’s plenty more to unpack in this parable. The Bible is relatively short, so every word and image stands for more than one thing. But I think it reminds us of the relationship that God wants with us. He doesn’t just want us to pray, but to pray actively. He doesn’t want us to just go to Mass every week, but to go joyfully. He doesn’t want us to just pick up our cross, but to embrace it.
Heaven is eternal life with God, so what does it say if we would rather not spend time with Him in prayer today?
True Gratitude
Thanksgiving is a remarkably calm period in my life. Not only does it signal the final few weeks of the year, but around this time, I get a palpable feeling of renewal. Major projects are winding down, and I start to ruminate on the bigger things in life. I reflect on the year that was, and start to plan for the year that is to come.
Amid this pause, we collectively take a breath and focus on gratitude. This year, my thoughts are turning more towards true gratitude. It’s simple, and right, that I should be thankful for the many helping hands in my life, or the relative peace that my family enjoys. But true gratitude goes back to the source; true gratitude orients our minds and hearts to the giver of all good gifts.
Our spiritual health functions in much the same way that our mental and a physical fitness do: all need daily attention. In a day stuffed full of commitments, we contend with the paradox of priorities. When the time comes for prayer, we feel that resistance to do something else on our list. We know the good that we ought to do, and too often choose something lesser.
Prayer isn’t about an appointment on the calendar or a time block in your day. It’s a connection with our core identity. Before He formed us, He knew us. Before we took our first breath, He knew all of our sin. Despite our failings, He chose to live and die just to be with us. He lives the deep longing of a parent to connect with their child. He patiently waits for a few moments of our day.
True gratitude is a recognition that everything that we are, and all that we have, finds its source in God’s love. Surrender to that love is the beginning of gratitude. By shifting our mindset, prayer goes from and obligation to opportunity. Prayer is a respite of calm in an ocean of chaos. The more time we spend in quiet conversation with God, the more our hearts become like His. As we draw ever nearer to Him, we experience a love that gives everything to us and for us. With that measure of wisdom, we can experience true gratitude for the many, many gifts in our lives.
Simple Truths
A common assumption is that children, because their minds are still developing, can’t process complex ideas. In trying to convey a point about something, we try to reduce it to the lowest common denominator. It’s true that children need help grasping complex subjects, but in my experience, they’re capable of much more than we give them credit for.
A child can’t explain to you how pistons fire within an engine, generating energy and torque, which is then sent to the wheels and moving a car. But they can understand and articulate how a driver pressing the gas peddle causes a response within an engine, which then moves the car. They operate at the 30,000-foot level, while adults can get much more granular.
There’s a debate in my parish about the proper sequence of sacraments for children. I’m used to the Baptism — Reconciliation — First Communion sequence, followed several years later by Confirmation. There’s another school that thinks that Confirmation and First Communion should be received together in the fourth grade. I think this misses the mark.
A second-grader can grasp the concept of the bread and wine becoming the Body and Blood of Christ. It’s a simple concept: Jesus said it was so, and so it is. Children are more disposed to accepting the basic tenants of faith because they aren’t jaded. They don’t let their personal experiences and theories get in the way. They can, as we all should, accept the reality of the Eucharist as an act of love and trust in Jesus.
A child doesn’t need to be able to explain transubstantiation to understand the majesty of the Eucharist. The simple truth is sufficient for them.
Confirmation, on the other hand, is a much bigger step. A child who receives this Sacrament accepts responsibility for their continued formation and learning. A recipient should have a solid command of basic theology, including explaining consubstantial and transubstantiation. They should be able to give a basic apologetic and know where to find answers when they need to find them.
The Church, like any human organization, tends towards bureaucracy, institutionalism, and organizational malaise. A child can accept and embrace the simple truths of our deepest mysteries. They should have the full benefit of the Eucharist at the earliest reasonable age, and not be denied years of sacramental participation simply to satisfy the theoretical musings of a few.
Torrents of Mercy
We have a sanitized view of Jesus’ crucifixion. Although we have visuals of it everywhere, the sheer brutality is almost too difficult to think about. Jesus’ torture and execution were not an academic exercise. It was an act of total love and surrender, a bold statement about the dignity of the human person and the sacredness of life that changed the course of human history.
There is no limiting principle to God’s mercy; that’s one reason it is so unfathomable. How can God forgive such grievous offenses? How can He continue to put up with our habitual sin, our failure to course correct, and our inability to live the truth of the Gospel and trust in His love?
It’s because of this that I love the image of Divine Mercy. In it, mercy flows from Christ’s body, but the word that we use, _torrents_ is so descriptive. It’s not a ripple, or a wave, it’s a strong, overwhelming, gushing flow that overcomes everything in its path.
Why is it necessary for this mercy to flow with such vigor? It’s because God understands us intimately; He lived as one of us. He knows the challenges that we face, and the courage required to live the life that He made us for. Think about just a few of the things we’re asked to do. As parents, we’re to care for and raise new life. We have to help our children navigate a broken world, to discover their moral compass, and to internalize the importance of a relationship with God.
We are tested, tempted, and tried in almost every moment of the day. God Himself knew this reality. That’s why, out of the depths of His love and through His own genius, He made this mercy available for us, if only we are to ask of it.
Building a strong habit of prayer is an excellent offense in overcoming our natural weaknesses, but perfection is just not possible. When we fail, we must pray for the humility to be completely inundated with the torrents of God’s mercy.
Constant Renewal
The great spiritual lesson of St. Francis was that the key to a healthy spiritual life is to have a mindset of constant renewal. We live in a fallen state, among a fallen world, and to enter into the presence of God, we must reclaim the perfection that He intended for us. That is no easy task, nor is it a one-and-done type of objective. It’s the work of a lifetime.
Impermanence is the nature of life; things are always in motion and changing. Embracing a mindset of constant renewal inspires a sense of exhaustion, but also one of hope. When we set out with a new goal, it’s all too easy to plan out every single step, become overwhelmed, and give up on the entire project. It’s also easy to become inspired and hopeful, no longer feeling trapped in your current reality.
Constant renewal is a principle that can help us in our daily decisions. When you wake up in the morning, and you know you should spend a few minutes in prayer, it can guide you into your prayer space. It can remind you of your goal, and lead you into the steps and habits that will get you there. It will give you the grace to fail, knowing that you won’t be defined by your past mistakes.
We seek comfort and stability in a world that’s continually changing. Victories once won can be frittered away by quitting the habits and discipline that got us there. The great paradox in all of this is that by submitting ourselves to discipline and diligence, we are truly free to live the lives that God intended for us.