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?
All on the Field
I have 60–90 minutes each evening between when the children are finally in bed and when it’s time for me to go to sleep. I find myself incredibly pensive during this time, and often seeking to maximize the conclusion to my day. Frequently, I feel too tired to do anything and opt to go to bed early.
I’ve written about the nature of rest, and how sometimes being active and productive gives us a deeper sense of rest and peace than idleness. This is true, but I want to order my days so that when it’s time for me to finally go to bed, I have a sense that I left it all on the field.
Athletes use this phrase to describe giving everything that they have in a game. Win, lose, or draw, they didn’t hold any of their talent or ability back. They poured themselves into the game and did all that they could to achieve victory. That’s how I want to live.
It’s easy to become tired from the tedium of my day. The many tasks which must be accomplished, though easier left undone, the sameness of my weekdays. It’s easy to leave much on the field and to give myself the day off.
The truth is, if I leave everything on the field, all things will be done well. It means I’ve woken up early and taken the time that I need to train my body and prepare myself for the day. It means my family has eaten, learned, prayed, and played together. It means my home is picked up, the kitchen is clean, and the laundry is put away.
It takes hard work to stay on top of everything. But the reward is going to bed knowing that I left it all on the field. Tomorrow I have the privilege of a whole new day to do it all over again.
Ski Trip
After a very, very long drive, today begins our family’s annual ski trip. It’s a much anticipated vacation, with the kids especially giddy about the break. Over the coming days, we’ll build our skills, play, and eat together with our extended family. Aunts and uncles will join us throughout the week, we’ll all share time with the kids, and hopefully there will be many pictures and great stories.
This trip, more than anything, emphasizes the importance of play. For the child’s brain, play is equivalent to work. It’s necessary and helps with overall growth and development. For adults, play is still important! It’s the best form of stress management, and it gets everyone out of their element and into a new environment. Away from the ordinary, we can build our relationships in new and unique ways.
Play is a wonderful thing.
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.
Work from Home Dad
Over the past few weeks, I’ve spent more time working at the kitchen counter than I have working at my desk. In a way, that’s a shame because I have the perfect desk setup in our family office. The reality of my daily responsibilities means that for large parts of the day, I’m downstairs with the kids.
While working at the kitchen counter has been fine, I need more space. I’ve migrated from the kitchen to the dining room table. Now, throughout the day, the kids see me working away in the dining room as they play and get their work done.
It’s a daily challenge to balance my responsibilities at work and at home, but my children and I now share a special bond. I get to involve them in my work. They see what I do, got with me to visit customers, and get to share my love of aviation. I remember how special it was as an Air Force kid to go over to the squadron and hang out in my dad’s office, or walk out on the flight line and see the jets. Now my youngest daughter jumps with glee when I announce that we’re going to the airport.
Parents have plenty to manage when it comes to raising children; even more so when throwing work into the mix. It’s a special thing for me to be able to share my work with my kids.
Permission to Push
It’s easy to be overwhelmed with work. There are busy seasons, bad weeks, and times when illness or scheduling get you behind the power curve. When your inbox overflows with emails, your task list falls apart, and you feel completely overrun, it’s important to remember that you have a productivity superpower.
We underestimate just how much we can get done with 90 minutes of solid, quiet work. The number of overdue tasks and unread emails may seem huge, but the time that it takes to process most emails is miniscule. A well-used time block can go a long way to clearing the backlog.
The best way to get back to a manageable pace is to push due dates. There are some tasks that are true priorities, but most can be accomplished in the reasonable near future. Getting behind is normal, so rescheduling overdue tasks to be completed in the coming days is usually all you need to get back on top.
Good work is only possible when you’re in a good headspace. Flailing from task to task, while feeling overwhelmed, is a recipe for mistakes that will require even more work in the future. When you get behind, take a pause and give yourself permission to push off due dates. You’ll be back in control in no time.
Work or Workout
I’ve thought a lot about scheduling over the past few months. Some of it was the normal end of year reflection, and some of it was the realization that I haven’t been walking like I had planned.
Life is about balancing competing priorities, and over the past 12 months, work and sleep have too often beat out workouts. I enjoy working out, and listening to podcasts during my walks is a great use of my time. But the pressures and deadlines have knocked me off course, and I need a reminder of why I should get back out there.
The truth is, I work better when I’ve exercised. Sleeping in gets me an extra 60 or 90 minutes of sleep, but those precious minutes don’t make nearly as big of an impact as waking up on time does.
Sleeping in pushes my workout into my work hours, derails my morning quiet time, and gets me off to a bad start. Occasionally, it’s necessary, but it usually does more harm than good.
I do best when I stick to the plan; it’s a plan that I crafted for a reason. I can get a full night of rest, workout, and get all of my work done in the same day. It just takes a recognition that everything has a time and a place, and if I want a full successful day, I need to commit to the plan.
Create Beauty
There’s so much darkness and ugliness in the world. The links that get clicked and shows that get watched thrive on it. We almost indulge the darkness.
But when we look up from our screens, when we behold the world around us as it truly is, there’s nothing but beauty. Colors, textures, weather, and creation changes from moment to moment. Each morning, the sunrise is different from the morning before. On many evenings, the gradient of the sunset delights the eyes and soothes the soul. Animals come and go, along with the seasons. We’re treated to a buffet of beauty, a world always in motion bringing new sights to our doorsteps.
We have a duty to not give into the darkness, but to bring beauty into the world. We should create beautiful art, to speak beautiful words, and share beautiful actions. We must be more intentional about creating beauty in a dreary world.
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.