Catholic Faith Space
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One CCD class during the last school year, my class of eighth grade students was talking about Confirmation. Several of the students were asking questions about the sacrament and what it all entailed. The students were also commenting about the reasons why they thought it was important. A good number of them expressed something along the lines of, “so we can get married (in the church).” It was rather disheartening to hear. These kids were under the impression that the reason they were going through years of Wednesday night faith formation was so that they could have their potential future weddings in church. Is this what they truly believed? Is this what they were being told by their parents? Sadly enough, this is the mindset of a lot of people these days, not just the group of eighth graders. For a lot of people, the faith is treated like a checklist. People show up at church when they need to complete the next sacrament on the list and then Jesus is irrelevant again.
I cannot comprehend why so many parents send their kids to CCD year after year, not even making an effort to attend mass, only so that their kids can get confirmed. I have never understood why people bother if Jesus doesn’t really matter to them. These kids fill the classrooms on Wednesday nights but are missing from the pews on Sundays. It seems as if some people appear out of thin air at church to have their babies baptized, never to be seen again until the time comes to enroll them in CCD. Then it is time for First Communion, when the parents are so proud of their children for receiving Jesus in the Eucharist for the first time. The years following that pass by until they enter high school and get ready to be confirmed. Once the kids get to that point, many of the parents and students are relieved because they are finally done with CCD classes. They have completed the program and have “graduated.” They are done with the Jesus stuff and can get married in the church if and when the time comes. If Jesus isn’t important enough to attend mass every weekend, why would He be important to people a few days out of each year? So many people see being Catholic as a list of things to do rather than as a way to live. The beautiful thing is that God is loving, merciful, and desires nothing more than to have a personal relationship with each and every one of us. Whether a Catholic is on fire, lukewarm, or cold, they receive God’s outpouring of grace, gifts, and strengthening to the same extent in the sacraments. God loves each person the same and welcomes all who come to him with open arms, even those who only show up when it’s time to check another sacrament off the list. The sacraments we have in the Church are true gifts that can impact our lives in ways that nothing else can. I think most people, even those who don’t actively practice their faith, see the sacraments as beautiful experiences in which Christ is truly present. Christ is fully present when a baby is baptized, in Reconciliation, when a child receives the Eucharist for the first time, when a high school student receives a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Confirmation, and when a couple enters into the lifelong commitment of marriage. Many Catholics see these experiences as big life events, and rightfully so. They know that something special is taking place. But let’s be real. God is not a part-time God, only present at the baptismal font and on white-dress occasions. God is God 24/7. It’s time for a lot of Catholics to wake up and start being consistent. Of course, we are only human and are not perfect in our faith lives. We are all also at different levels and this is totally okay. However, it’s time for people to stop being half-hearted Catholics who only show up when they need something. Christ offers us His body, blood, soul, and divinity. The least we can give Him is our worship.
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A few weeks ago, I was scrolling through Twitter when I saw an abundance of tweets about a new single released by a current pop singer/rapper. The song was getting all of the hype and the artist was being praised for her supposedly iconic and amazing song that promoted “female empowerment.” In reality, the song is the exact opposite of that. To give you an idea of how disgusting and degrading the song is, I felt like I needed to cleanse myself in holy water after simply reading the lyrics. Since the song’s release, several popular conservative and Christian voices have taken to social media to criticize the song and call it out for the complete garbage that it is. What shocks me the most are the attacks, hatred, and intense backlash that they have faced for their criticisms and for taking a stand for what is right. When it comes to entertainment and media, there is a lot of garbage that we can consume. As Christians, we are called to reject the things that do not align with our faith.
How many of us can explain how our lives would be different if we did not believe in Christ? How many of us can say our lives look different than those who are not Christians? How many of us have given up watching certain TV shows or listening to certain music because it is not compatible with our faith? So much of the entertainment produced these days is filled with everything that is contrary to our faith. It’s hard to find a show these days that does not include the mockery of religion, constant hook-ups and sexual sins, or destruction of marriage and the family. Much of the music we can hear on the radio is vulgar and inappropriate. People have become so desensitized to things like hearing God’s name taken in vain, not only from other people, but also from the media they watch and listen to. Why do Christians find it so easy to consume these things? “It’s what everyone else is watching. It’s entertaining and funny. What’s the big deal, it’s just a TV show. There’s nothing else to watch.” How many of us are willing to give up something for Christ? Christ gave His whole life and suffered on the cross for us and we can’t even sacrifice a Netflix series? Of course, we probably cannot avoid every single TV show or movie with some poor language in it or some questionable scenes. That is not what it is about anyway. We can however, actively choose what to watch and listen to and what to avoid. We can take a stand for goodness, truth, and beauty. Our faith needs to affect every part of our lives, including what we consume. It’s not like we have to walk around listening to church hymns all day. However, we can choose to give up the garbage and be different from those who do not profess Christ. Let’s choose to fill our minds and hearts with all that is good and avoid things that are preventing us from growing in holiness! Two weekends ago, my family had a rummage sale again after not having had one for a few years. It was a great feeling to do some major cleaning and get rid of a lot of stuff that had built up over time but that we didn’t need. It was a time of organizing and decluttering. I think this experience of decluttering can, in a small way, relate to our lives as followers of Jesus.
Reading today’s Gospel presents a challenge, especially in today’s world. Americans love stuff and we have a lot of it. We live in a materialistic world that tries to tell us we need to have the best and newest version of everything and that our worth is based on what we have. A lot of our focus is on the “treasures” of this world rather than the treasure in heaven. Oftentimes, we seem to become consumed by the possessions we have. While material things are not bad and they allow us to enjoy ourselves, accomplish tasks, and live well, there is always the chance that we can become attached to these things and the pleasure they bring us. Sure, a new car is great and that big house is proof of our hard work, but do they offer us something that Christ does not? Having new cars, big houses, and the latest iPhone is not an issue at all. It is when we become attached to these material possessions and the pleasures they may bring that it becomes a problem. Do we rely on the things we have more than the real treasure that is found in the Lord? Most of us are not called to give up all our possessions and live in poverty. However, we are all called to examine the things in our lives that we cling to that prevent us from growing closer to Christ. It is not just material items that can keep us from growing closer to God either. We can dig even deeper and look inward, at the spiritual clutter we may have. What things are in our hearts and minds that stop us from having a deeper relationship with Christ? Negativity, comparison, worry, and pride are just a few things that can harden our hearts and make it difficult for us to better follow Jesus and love how we should. When our minds and hearts are filled with unnecessary burdens, we can miss out on the love, joy, peace, and goodness that we are offered. My hope is that we can all remember that Jesus is the only treasure that can fully satisfy our hearts and fulfill all of our deepest longings. Will we give up what we have in order to follow Him? A few weeks ago at work, one of the program residents walked by my office and showed me a purchase that he had made. It was not anything too exciting, just a black oscillating fan. However, he was ecstatic about it, as he commented, “Check out this fan I bought! It was only $10, praise the Lord!” Although his statement was simple, it was so profound. He recognized that something so small and simple was good and thanked God for it. I think that is one thing we can all do more of. How often do we take time to thank God for all of the good in our lives? How often do we fail to see the goodness around us?
The word “good” is used so much that it can seem to lose its meaning. If we want to truly understand goodness, we can look to God. Good is a word that is all-encompassing for who God is. He is good in His love, grace, compassion, and mercy. Even when we talk about God being good, it can be hard to remember what that really means. “God is good. All the Time.” This is one of those phrases that we tend to walk around saying on a regular basis. It’s definitely not a bad thing, as it is certainly true. But for me, it is one of those statements I hear so often that I don’t usually give much thought to it. How often do we actually soak these words in and let them penetrate our souls? God is so good that we cannot comprehend the depth of His infinite goodness. I think it starts with recognizing that every single good thing we have or experience, no matter how big or small, comes from God. We cannot know or truly understand goodness apart from God. Most of the time, it is easy to recognize the large blessings and gifts in our lives. When it comes to the news of having a baby, a big accomplishment, or healing from a sickness, we are quick to thank God for being so good to us, our families, and friends. However, it is in the small, everyday occurrences that we may fail to see God’s goodness. Whether it is a coworker buying us lunch or someone opening the door for us, these small and simple things are opportunities for us to thank God. God always gives out of His abundant goodness for our good. In a world that can seem like it is filled with evil and darkness, God is still good. In a world that throws us curve balls and changes our plans, God is still good. In a world where there is pain, suffering, and loss, God is still good. There are so many blessings we have in life. It is often in the small, ordinary moments that we can take the opportunity to see God’s providence. Let's open our eyes to all of the goodness around us and start praising God for the $10 fans in our lives. Today’s Gospel is one of my favorites. It is one of the passages I vividly remember hearing years ago at Fun n’ Faith Vacation Bible School. As a little kid, what stood out to me was how cool it was that Jesus could walk on water! Reading it now, something that stands out to me is the lack of trust Peter had in Jesus. This leads me to reflect on my own trust in Jesus. It is so easy for me to say, “Jesus, I trust in you” as a nice little phrase or in moments of prayer. But do I really? When it comes down to it, do I take everything in my life and hand it over to him, trusting that He is in control?
We all experience so many opportunities in our lives to deepen our trust in Christ. For me, one of those times came after college. I was thinking I would get a full-time job somewhat easily, maybe after a month or two. Little did I know that I’d spend almost a whole year applying to countless jobs, only to be rejected by all 40+ of them. I would check my email only to find that I was turned down due to my lack of experience and qualifications. My motto kind of became “another week, another rejection.” It was a few months after graduating and in the midst of my job search that things changed. I went to Eucharistic Adoration at my parish one early morning, after having not gone since being on campus. There was a peace that washed over me and I was reminded to trust. Jesus was calling me to get out of the boat and have faith in him. He was telling me to stop doubting and just trust that he had a plan that was better than my own, even if I didn’t understand. I needed to be reminded that everything would happen in his timing and that He would not abandon me. It was all for good. He was using that particular season to help me grow in my trust. Trusting Jesus is not one of those one time experiences you have and then it’s done. It is a lifelong process. We can always grow more and trust more deeply. Each day, in whatever situations we find ourselves, we have the opportunity to decide to trust Jesus. When the world around us seems to be crashing, we can take our struggles, worries, and fears to Jesus and trust that he will catch us. The world seems pretty crazy right now. There is a lot of wind and we probably feel like we are being tossed about by the waves. It is easy to feel like we are drowning and lost at sea. In all of the waves of life, Jesus is ready for us to walk to him, in complete trust. I pray that we can all get out of the boat, leave our struggles behind, and trust that he will be there to save us every time. Jesus, I trust in You. |
AuthorStriving to share hope, joy, God's love, and all of the good stuff, one blog post at a time. Categories |
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