Some Greater Glory
Hopelessness is poison for the soul. With nothing to look forward to in the future, man starts to unravel. Slowly, we give up on reality, sinking into ourselves, captives to boredom. We lose the will to impose any sort of discipline on ourselves or self-control.
We live in a world that our ancestors could’ve never imagined. Every single fact is accessible to us from a single website, carried on a super computer in our pocket. We have years worth of entertainment options to choose from on our televisions, yet we usually just end up scrolling for hours instead. Food is plentiful and easily summoned to our front doors with a press of a button.
There’s nothing wrong with comfort or advancement, we’ve conquered many of the natural foes that killed our ancestors before they reached the age of 30. But we’ve lost our desire to achieve some greater glory.
Glory in ancient times was often found in battle. Seeking it, men marched to foreign lands, though a large number died of communicable diseases before taking the field. They braved harsh weather, rough terrain, scant food, and the great unknown, all to achieve glory for their name and their family. They endured all trials because they knew they had a purpose.
The softness and laziness of the modern era has sedated us, making us unwilling to pursue any objective or destiny. The path to sainthood is hard, so why start?
We need that higher purpose to call us on, to fulfill our true purpose, and to grasp that glory. We need to wake up.
Just War
As advanced as we all like to think we are, even in this post-modern era, still struggle with the same essential flaws. Though we long for peace, and the social and economic prosperity that it brings, conflict is a central theme in the human story. Wherever there are two or more people, there will be differences of opinion and, thus, conflict.
Modern technology has made war more precise. Laser guided weapons, GPS satellites, and a professionalized military allow for the brunt of the force to be focused on the intended target. Collateral damage, when desired, can largely be avoided.
Although armed conflict should always be a last resort, it’s a lawful tool for the defense of a nation. There are circumstances when, for the defense of innocents and the survival of a nation, war must be prosecuted.
When that point is reached, when ethical and moral justifications are present, there is no point to a restrained or proportional response. Instead, the only true choice is to eliminate the threat through a precise, targeted, and intensive military action.
The terrorist attack on Israel earlier this year, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, are the two latest examples of a just war. Israel and Ukraine did not start the fight, but they have the unequivocal right and moral justification to end it, with extreme prejudice.
Aslan’s Roar
The Chronicles of Narnia are legendary in their own right, a series of books worthy of sparking the imagination of any young reader. As noted before on this blog, they also make for a profound spiritual experience reading them as educated adults.
CS Lewis masterfully translated the genius and mystery of God into a story that is so relatable and comprehensible. It’s a story filled with beautiful imagery, like Aslan strolling across the vast darkness, singing the world into existence through beautiful melody.
Throughout the series, we see Aslan close at hand and seemingly far off. The forces of good and evil are in a constant struggle, at various times each gaining the upper hand. When the children are drawn back to Narnia in Prince Caspian after just one year away in England, they stumble into the ruins of their ancient castle. The story of their existence disputed as fanciful nursery tales.
Whenever the forces of evil are on the march, and victory in their grasp, Aslan always returns in great glory. With a single roar, he marks a return to reality as the force of his voice destroys all who oppose him.
Lewis took the time, in each story, to explore the different dynamics of Christology, from Genesis to Revelation. We see him creating the world and, in his absolute power, crushing evil. The truth in this power is that, though we see evil on the march in our time, and injustice abound, Christ is never far off, ready to herald in a return to reality, the world in which He has already conquered death and reigns supreme.
It’s an honor and a privilege to be counted among Christ’s followers, a side that, though always purportedly on the verge of total defeat, instead exists in the reality in which total victory is already achieved.
Moment of Conversion
Life is a series of checkpoints, moments along the path that lead us to our final destination. In our Christian life, many of these checkpoints are moments of conversion. The culmination of perseverance and hard work, winter breaks, and you experience that fresh, new spring.
These moments are profound times of spiritual insight. We get a taste of the reality we were designed to exist in. Our understanding of our faith, and the wisdom of loving God’s law, is crystal clear. Temptation bounces off us, and an effervescence permeates all aspects of our day.
Those they may be fleeting, grabbing hold of these turning points is critical. We are large ships, and turning is never easy. Incremental progress is the tried and true way to success. Although we may get down the path and lose sight of these lampposts, they remain touchpoints that we always return to. For in these moments, these short periods of time, we live as who we were made to be.
Breaking Faith
It’s challenging to remember the feelings we experienced at the election of Pope Francis. A total wild card, a true Vatican outsider, swept onto the world stage and took the Chair of St. Peter by storm. It was, in some ways, a bit refreshing. Pope Benedict XVI was deeply intellectual, providing the theological underpinnings that we need to sustain the faith. Still, we longed for the charismatic and energetic days of Pope John Paul II.
In those early days, Francis lamented the parochial clericalism. He dispensed with bestowing the rank of Monsignor on priests as a sign of gratitude for their good works. He asked us to go out and make a mess in our dioceses. Indeed, in this regard, he’s truly practiced what he’s preached.
Over the last decade, under the influence of living at the Curia, Francis has become a creature of the Vatican. He’s become exactly who he asked us to reject. He wields administrative law against his opponents, and uses the media as a tool of his decidedly ideological agenda.
The first few off-the-cuff remarks to the press that caused a stir could be understood. As a local bishop in Argentina, his media profile was a fraction of the attention that the pope receives. Now, ten years on, it’s his preferred method of stirring the pot. He knows the weight of papal words, even in casual settings, and has used them to move the ball down the field.
At the root of it all, the main problem is that Francis intentionally sows confusion. The Catholic Church is the only organized institution existing today that existed in the same format during the days of the Roman Empire. Why? It’s a ship steered by certain fundamental, immutable principles that keep it on course.
In many ways, Pope Francis is the quintessential theocratic political operative. He grants the Chinese Communist Party the co-authority to appoint bishops, and shrugs when they bypass him anyway. He creates counterfeit sacraments, but admonishes the clergy to only use them if they won’t be confusing. Francis calls an entire conference of bishops who dare question his agenda “backwards” and “reactionary.” He tells the world that our understanding of faith and morals “evolves.” He makes promises that no pope can ever make good on, and then winks when he inevitably cannot deliver.
Throughout Church history, there are many periods when the Church falls into disrepair, and the responsibility to right the ship falls to those outside of the highest echelons of authority. As the ironies pile up, one of the most clear examples is the life of St. Francis himself. Constant reform is the way of the Christian life, and it falls to the vibrant religious communities and the laity to rebuild God’s Church. We find ourselves in need of a new St. Francis to repair the inestimable damage wrought by Pope Francis.
Love the Path
In life, we often have to walk difficult paths to achieve our desired outcomes. Whether at home, at work, spiritually or in our relationships, getting from where we are to the place that we dream about requires an ongoing commitment and thousands of steps. Though it’s easy to be motivated in the beginning, how can we best sustain our good works?
Though the individual steps in our journey may not be desirable or even enjoyable in and of themselves, if we love the path, success is assured. Armed with the knowledge that the path terminates at our objective, we can be confident that by following it, we will reach our desired ends.
Every step of a marathon is not a joy, but crossing the finish line always is.
Foretaste
Although easily forgotten in the midst of this week’s kickoff of the end-of-year holidays, the intent of Halloween, All Saints' Day, and All Souls' Day is to remind us of our mortality. Nearing the end of the liturgical year, the Sunday readings focus on eschatology, or the end times. Throughout the Bible, and in the ministry of Jesus, the fact that our time on Earth is transitional is never hidden. We are all walking on pilgrimage, with judgement assured when our journey meets its logical end.
Though it may seem foreboding, reaching the end of that journey should be cause for joy and hope. Our lives are filled with difficulties, sadness, and sufferings that God never intended. It was only through the entrance of sin into our world, and our complicity with it, that these sorrows have befallen us. Still, although sin and sadness are real, we can choose even today to live as God intended. We can love God’s commandments and experience a wholesome, fulfilling and joyful life as the saints have shown us.
Though true, this is all a bit academic. Time ticks away slowly, and it’s hard to keep the mind focused on an eternity of peace and exuberance. This is especially true when the kids have been fighting all day, you still have to put together a grocery order, the cars need to be waxed, and you have a major project due in two days. God designed every facet of our bodies with great purpose and intent, and He understands the challenge of focusing the mind in the midst of stress and a to-do list pouring off the page.
It’s one of the reasons we go to Mass every week. Not only do we need the rejuvenation and the break, but we need reminders of our future at regular intervals. Why do we not lie, cheat, and steal as others do? Because this peace, this calm, this celebration is what we were created for. It’s the great foretaste of what is to come, if only we run the race and win.
Life is not easy, and in moments of stress, exhaustion, and temptation, failure is the path of least resistance when we lose sight of where we’re aiming. There’s a forever of calm and peace waiting for us if only we choose it.
A Job Well Done
There are plenty of ways to measure our work. Volume, quality, quantity, we’re never short on metrics. I think the best way to evaluate how you’re doing on the job is by the sense of accomplishment you carry away.
External factors always dominate, but your personal pride is a wonderful barometer. Do you feel like you’ve done a job well done? Have you contributed your best work, your best ideas, and your best efforts to your team’s common goal?
Work is an important component of human dignity. It’s the ability to use your knowledge, skills, and abilities in a diversified economy to improve the lives of others. No matter what your role is in the division of labor, if you’ve done your best work and helped others, then that’s a job well done.
Fresh Start
With the house unpacked, and the children returned, today is our family’s fresh start. We are the same people, with the same jobs and school schedule, in a completely new environment.
It’ll take us time to adjust, to figure it all out, but this fresh start feels like a real opportunity. A new house, a new town, a new parish, it’s a chance to look at everything. I wrote last week that I had to touch every single thing that we owned when I unpacked. Now, I have to touch every single routine.
What do I want our days to look and feel like? How do I want to keep building my relationship with my children, expanding their minds, and exploring our world?
We get so few fresh starts in life. When they do come alone, it’s best to seize them.
Every Single Thing
We moved last week. Although I had the benefit of a whole crew to box up our home and relocate it, once the boxes were in the correct room, the crew left, and it was up to me.
The last several days have been chaotic, waking up early, going to bed late, and little to know schedule. I’ve had to physically touch every single item that we own, and decide on a new place to store it.
We grow numb to the magnitude of our property, to the amount of stuff that resides inside our four walls. We have everything we need, everything that could make us comfortable, entertained, even productive.
Moving always inspires people to slim down, and this move was no different for us. It was an exhausting process, even with the kids away. Although I’ve declared that I’m never moving again, I probably will. Hopefully, between now and then, I’ll be more mindful about the things that I buy and the stuff that I bring into my life.