All The Cool Kids Are Doing It

Posted on 04/24/2013 by jsk

Come on! All the cool kids are doing it..

Jennifer Fulweiler

Steve Ray

Al Kresta

Scott Hahn

More and more people are surprised by truth!

And many, many, many more, forever.

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Year of Faith

Posted on 03/19/2013 by jsk

In the final days of lent with Easter fast approaching, and all the hub-ub surrounding the election of our wonderful  New Pope Francis, not much has been said regarding the Year of Faith, which began October 11, 2012, and ends November 24, 2013.  We are deep in a season of conversion, deeper still in a year dedicated to the same goal.

When the calling is fresh, ambitions are high.  At the promptings of an amazing priest, my aim for Lent was to “fall more in love with Jesus” through prayer, attending daily Mass, spending time in Adoration, and reading Scripture.  Such wonderful, simple things that I love to do, but somehow life squeezes me too much, and it seems all I am capable of is pitiful prayer and sleepy scriptures.

At the encouragement of our holy bishop, my aim for the Year of Faith was to read three of the documents of Vatican II.  I am working my way through Lumen Gentium, which is Latin for “Dogmatic Constitution on the Church.”  Don’t let the lofty title scare you – it is one of the most beautiful texts ever written.  I am especially fond of the following passages in the section on the Laity:

From paragraph  31   “It is the special vocation of the laity to seek the kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs and directing them according to God’s will… They are called by God to contribute to the sanctification of the world from within, like leaven, in the spirit of the Gospel, by fulfilling their own particular duties.  Thus, especially by the witness of their life, resplendent in faith, hope, and charity they manifest Christ to others.  It is their special task to illuminate and order all temporal matters in which they are closely involved in such a way that these are always carried out and develop in Christ’s way and to the praise of the Creator and Redeemer.”

From paragraph 34  “For all their works, if accomplished in the Spirit, become spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ: their prayers and apostolic undertakings, family and married life, daily work, relaxation of mind and body, even the hardships of life if patiently borne.  In the celebration of the Eucharist, these are offered to the Father in all piety along with the body of the Lord.  And so, worshipping everywhere by their holy actions, the laity consecrate the world itself to God.”

We live in a world where physical beauty is all around us.  It can be hard to look at someone who is deformed, or severely burned, or undernourished, or near death.  It can be hard to see them as beautiful.  Suffering is scary.  Souls have a beauty too, and it occurred to me today that mine is without a doubt leprous.  Pride, fear, selfishness, uncertainty, ingratitude, and insecurity are all bulging, bruising, pussing, repulsive sores on my soul that prevent me from loving God and allowing Him to love me.  I am so glad that God is not afraid of suffering, and loves me as though I was beautiful.

When the calling gets hard, or boring, the soul-eating disease can cause us to grow depressed, impatient, and to lose motivation.  We have so far to go on our goals, and the progress is so slow that it looks like failure.

Which is why these passages are so amazing.  They affirm our dignity loudly and clearly:

You can do this!
What you do matters!
What you try to do matters!
Keep going!
Do what you can!
The Church is on your side!
God is on your side!

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Mom! Open Your Present!

Posted on 02/04/2013 by jsk

My kids are the coolest. My 2-year-old, for instance, is very generous at Christmas and birthdays. She will help anybody open any present, without being asked, until all presents have been successfully shucked.

During bath time yesterday, I was sitting on the tile floor in our shoe-box size bathroom while she played happily. (Buoyancy is one of God’s neatest creations.)

(Side note: Children have the most exuberant personalities – she doesn’t just politely hold my shoulder while I’m helping her put her boots on – she gives me a huge bear hug that almost knocks me over. If the baby makes a noise in her sleep, she don’t come to me quietly and suggest I might check on her, she goes barreling up the stairs to get her herself, yelling “MOM! BABY’S AWAKE!!” When the bath fan runs, she thinks there is a tiger in the next room. She pretends to call Grandpa and Grandma on the telephone, she makes the sign of the cross on her dolls, and she prepares cookies for dinner in her pretend kitchen.)

So during bath time yesterday she says to me, “Mom, open your present!” And sure enough, she has created a “present” for me to open that is sitting precariously on the edge of the tub. It is a hard plastic cup full of water and a soaking wet washcloth, and on top is a bath-book, and on top of the bath-book is an octopus bath-toy that squirts water if you squeeze its head.

So, I open the present. I take off the bow (octopus), and the wrapping paper (book). I take out the tissue paper (washcloth), and in the bottom is the gift. It is Baby Jesus. Yup, Baby Jesus.

You’re familiar with Fisher Price Little People? Well, they have a Nativity Set, and Baby Jesus is the crowd favorite. Well, Baby Jesus was there with us at bath time, and HE was the gift that my daughter wrapped up especially for me, and gave to me to open. There, at the bottom of that silly plastic cup, under a soaking wet wash cloth, under the book, under the octopus. I feel bad that He technically would have been drowned in that particular situation, but it struck me that He really is the perfect gift.

Jesus gave me my daughter, and my daughter gave me Jesus.

So, as you know, children don’t do something fun just once. Nope, I opened that present two dozen more times, each time a little sillier, but always with the same result – a happy kid and Baby Jesus.

I think Jesus likes being given as a gift.

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Father My Son, Father My Daughter

Posted on 12/19/2012 by jsk

Ray – lost his infant son 10+ years ago
Scott – lost his 20 yr old son 1 year ago
Connie – lost her 20 yr old daughter 10+ years ago
Vince – lost his 28 yr old son 3 months ago
Adele – lost her 40 yr old son & daughter 10+ years ago
Monsignor Robert Weiss – lost 10 sons & daughters in Newtown Connecticut
Peter Lanza – lost his 20 yr old son in Newtown Connecticut
Mary, lost her 30 yr old Son

I confess that I do not have any idea the pain that the families in Newtown, Connecticut are experiencing. My heart breaks and my gut recoils. It is an outrageous injustice. It’s amazing to me how many people I know who have buried their own children. All I can do is hurt with them, and pray.

Children are so sweet, innocent, feisty, and so unafraid to be themselves – in short, they are full of life. Specifically, God’s Life, His Holy Spirit. And that is why the devil hates them and destroys as many as possible at every opportunity.

But he is not picky; he’ll use these awful events to destroy us old, selfish, jaded adults too. Which is why, when faced with the most horrific pain we can imagine – the death of our innocent children – we must, with the lump in our throats and the tears in our eyes, do as Mary did. She did not harden her heart. She did not demand answers. She did not blame. She did not hate.

Matthew 2: 13-18
Matthew 27: 15-26

She went to Egypt, where God was; and she could be still, and silent, and hurt. She could feel sad and shocked and angry. She could feel alone, confused, afraid, and powerless. She could feel the swords piercing her heart. And she let herself feel these things, and she shared them with God. And He was there with her.

She knew for certain that He is good, but that knowledge did not make it hurt less.
She knew for certain that He loves her, but that did not make it hurt less.
She knew for certain that He loves her Son, but that did not make it hurt less.

In a little while though, her Son did walk back through that door and smile. And all the longings of her heart were burst with immeasurable joy.

But for now, I can hurt with you. And pray.

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The True Shame

Posted on 12/05/2012 by jsk

A friend recently shared this bible verse with me: Romans 1:16

I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.

And then she asks:

Are you ashamed?
Culture tries to make us ashamed about our faith, portraying people of faith as stupid, insensitive, judgmental, and hypocritical.

Are you ashamed?
Are you willing to share your faith humbly and gently with those who do not know Jesus as their Lord?

Are you ashamed?
Your hero left heaven to come to earth and risk everything so that you could come home to heaven with him.

This Gospel is powerful and transformational. The Gospel is for all people.
Let’s not be ashamed;
Let’s be joyous and generous with this incredible gift that we have received.

A similarly convicting verse has been on my heart lately: Luke 12:48

But the servant who did things that deserved a beating without knowing it will receive a light beating. Much will be required from everyone to whom much has been given. But even more will be demanded from the one to whom much has been entrusted.

Yikes. I recognize the weight of what has been entrusted to me. To be a committed Roman Catholic Christian is to accept the highest standard, to confess the most outrageous form of the Gospel, and to endure the most misunderstanding.

On matters of faith and morals, my Church, and no other, claims that it is incapable of teaching error.
My Church and no other claims to speak on God’s behalf, to actually be Christ’s living body on earth.
My Church and no other claims to have been responsible for assembling the Bible.
My Church and no other claims to be the authoritative interpreter of the Bible.
My Church and no other claims that her sacraments actually accomplish what they symbolize.
My Church and no other dares to identify people who have actually obtained heaven.
My Church and no other dares to require my obedience and sole allegiance.

This all seems incredibly audacious… unless it is true. Sounds familiar… People were horrified that Christ would call Himself God. How arrogant for a mere man!

SHAME
a: A painful emotion caused by consciousness of guilt, shortcoming, or impropriety
b: A condition of humiliating disgrace
c: Something that brings censure or reproach, something to be regretted

Now, I can say that I am not ashamed of the Gospel. How can I be ashamed of something and somebody I am madly in love with?

However, I am ashamed of me. If I proclaim the Gospel, the first thing it will do is illicit attention to and attacks against me. My shortcomings are obvious and condemnable. My detractors are right to condemn me as stupid, insensitive, judgmental, and hypocritical.

However, the One who loves me is not ashamed of me. Even when I go to Him and tell Him to His face what I did. The One who loves you is not ashamed of you. Even when I go to Him and tell Him to His face what you did. He even loves us when we haven’t yet repented!

If I let the truth of my unworthiness obstruct the truth of the Good News, than the Devil wins. And that is the true shame.

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