The Secret to Living Life to the Full

The following comes from The Radical Life site:

Here is one of the most wonderful and terrifying sentences I have ever read, from William Law’s Serious Call, “If you will look into your own heart in utter honesty, you must admit that there is one and only one reason why you are not even now a saint. You do not wholly want to be.”

That insight is terrifying because it is an indictment, but it is wonderful and hopeful because it is also an offer, an open door. Each of us can become a saint. We really can. We really can. I say it three times, because I think we do not really believe that deep down. For if we did, how could we endure being anything less?

What holds us back? Fear of paying the price. What is the price? The answer is simple. T. S. Eliot gave it when he defined Christianity as “a condition of complete simplicity…costing not less than everything.” The price is everything—100 percent. Martyrdom, if required, and probably a worse martyrdom than the quick noose or stake, the martyrdom of dying daily, dying every minute for the rest of your life. Dying to all your desires and plans—including your plans about how to become a saint. (Peter Kreeft, Culture War)

So the minimum requirement is everything. Sounds kind of extreme, right? It is. But God doesn’t ask this of us to torture or test us. And he doesn’t do it to keep us from enjoying pleasure and joy.

On the contrary, He does it because he wants us to experience life to the full. Because giving everything is what sets us free to love most perfectly and to enjoy life most fully. It’s what sets us free to be who we were made to be.

We can give God everything else, but if we hold back even the smallest corner of our lives for ourselves, we remain slaves. Slaves to our own desires and wants. Unfree to love perfectly and completely. Unfree to experience life to the full.

Give everything. And how do we give everything? What does that look like? Our next posts will be exploring just that.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen on the Spiritual Life

“The ideal of spirituality is to be found in the first and last words of Our Lord’s public life. The first word of His public life was: ‘come’ (John 1:39; Mark 1:17; Matthew 4:18). The last word was ‘go’ (John 20:21; Mark 16:20; Matthew 28:19). The disciple first comes to absorb His Truth, to become inflamed with His Love; then and then only, he goes to accomplish his mission. Both words are summarized in the summary of the call of the disciples: He called the men He wanted; and they went and joined Him….these He would send out to proclaim the Gospel (Mark 3:14). Unfortunately today, we have too many ‘go-goes’ and not enough ‘come-comes.’ The proper balance is found again in the story of Martha and Mary which follows in the Gospel the Good Samaritan. In the latter, social service is praised. But in the story of Martha and Mary, it is suggested that we are not to become too absorbed in serving, that we have become too absorbed in serving that we have no time to sit at the food of Jesus and learn

His lessons.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Those Mysterious Priests)

Pope Francis at Mass with religious and priests: The disciple is not content with a life of mediocrity

Make Disciples, Not Converts

The following comes from Relevant:

What if I told you that Jesus didn’t want us to win converts? What if I said that in all of Scripture we are never told to convert anyone? What if I proposed that people accepting Jesus into their life does not fulfill our mission?

We may share the Gospel, but it’s not always the same Gospel Jesus shared. Our version can be a little softer. It can be easier. The message, too often, has been watered down. Many of us don’t want to be called radicals. May of us take the message of Jesus, and we omit some of the more intense parts because they might scare people away.

An Inconvenient Truth

Out of our desire to win converts we’ve often tried to make Jesus more convenient. That’s what our culture is all about. So watering down the Gospel to reflect the culture can be an easy trap to fall into.

We often make following Jesus comfortable and easy, reducing the expectations: You don’t have to do anything different. Just believe.

The Consumerism Gospel

When we sell people on a Jesus who is easy to follow, can we really blame them for bailing out or drifting off when things don’t go smoothly?

It shouldn’t be surprising living in a consumer-based culture, that many times people bring the same attitudes into church: It’s my way, my preferences, my desires that are important. If I don’t get my way, I’ll take my business elsewhere.

In watering down the Gospel we have taken what is all about Jesus and made it all about us.

Jesus is a part of our lives when He should be our life. He is life. Following Him requires all our life. The disciples ate, drank, sweat and slept ministry from when Jesus called them to the day they died. Jesus wasn’t a part of their lives. He was their life.

We all are guilty of putting things above Jesus. Whether it's health, wealth, comfort, causes, dreams, hobbies or interests, we all come to Jesus with expectations of what He will do for us. We all have our passions and causes.

But Jesus didn’t come to take sides. Jesus came to take over.

Disciples vs. Converts

Many people come to Jesus thinking it is enough to believe, to stand on the sidelines and root for Him. Jesus isn’t looking for cheerleaders. He is seeking men and women who will follow Him whatever the cost. He is looking for radical devotion, unreasonable commitment and undivided dedication.

Jesus isn’t looking for converts. He’s looking for disciples.

Converts are new believers. We all start as converts. Too often we stop there. We make Christianity all about what we believe. Converts aren’t bad or wrong. They are like babies. There’s nothing wrong with being a baby. The problem comes when that doesn’t change. When a baby acts like a baby, it’s cute. When a 35-year-old does, it’s sad. As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13:11, “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.”

For years churches have worked to get people to make a decision to accept Christ, which is a great thing. It’s important. But what happens next? Where’s the follow up? How do we train up new Christians?

Not only is a disciple willing to die for Jesus, but they are dedicated to living every day of their life for Him.

Our mission isn’t to win converts; it’s to make disciples. So what is the difference?

1. Converts are believers who live like the world. Disciples are believers who live like Jesus.
2. Converts are focused on their values, interests, worries, fears, priorities, and lifestyles. Disciples are focused on Jesus.
3. Converts go to church. Disciples are the church.
4. Converts are involved in the mission of Jesus. Disciples are committed to it.
5. Converts cheer from the sidelines. Disciples are in the game.
6. Converts hear the word of God. Disciples live it.
7. Converts follow the rules. Disciples follow Jesus.
8. Converts are all about believing. Disciples are all about being.
9. Converts are comfortable. Disciples make sacrifices.
10. Converts talk. Disciples make more disciples.

A disciple is someone who whole-heartedly follows the life and example of Jesus, who makes His mission their mission, His values their values, and His heart their heart.

A disciple is someone who desperately seeks to be like Jesus. A disciple is someone so committed to the cause of Christ that they would follow Him through the gates of hell and back.

A disciple is someone who finds their entire identity, purpose and meaning in Jesus. Jesus is the center of their lives. They are all in, fully committed.

Not only is a disciple willing to die for Jesus, but they are dedicated to living every day of their life for Him.

Read the rest here.

Who Do You Want To Become?

Who Do You Want To Become? from Saint Paul's Outreach on Vimeo.

Some Hard Spiritual Truths That Will Set You Free

The following comes from Msgr. Charles Pope:

I have written before on Five Hard Truths That Will Set You Free. In this post I would like to ponder Some Hard Spiritual truths that will set us free.

In calling them “hard truths,” I mean that they are not the usual cozy bromides that many seek. They speak bluntly about the more irksome and difficult realities we confront. But, if we come to accept them, they have a strange way of bringing serenity by getting us focused on the right things, instead of chasing after false dreams.

For it sometimes happens that a person can spend his whole life being resentful that life isn’t peachy, forgetting all the while that we are in exile, that we are making a hard journey, we pray,  to a life where, one day,  every sorrow and difficultly is removed, and death and sorrow are no more. But not now.

There is a kind of unexpected serenity in living in the world as it is, rather thanresenting the world for not being what we want it to be. For now, the journey is hard and we have to be sober about our obtuse desires and destructive tendencies. And that is why there is a value in calling these insights, “hard truths that will set us free.”

In the very opening section of his Spiritual Canticle, St. John of the Cross lays out a presumed worldview that the spiritually mature ought to have attained. And because he presumes it of his reader, he states it only briefly.

Yet, for us who live in times not known for spiritual maturity, we ought to slow down for a moment and ponder these truths which are not only poorly understood, but even actively resisted today by many who call themselves wise and spiritually mature.

Remember now, these are hard truths, and many today wish to bypass the harder teachings of God. Thus we do well to pay special attention to a Spiritual Master who is deeply immersed in Scripture, as a remedy for the soft excesses of our modern times.

Lets first look at the quote from St. John and then, by way of a list, examine his points. With this preamble of sorts, St. John begins his Spiritual Canticle:

The soul… has grown aware of her obligations and observed that life is short (Job 14:5), the path leading to eternal life constricted (Mt. 7:14), the just one scarcely saved (1 Pet. 4:18), the things of the world vain and deceitful (Eccles. 1:2), that all comes to an end and fails like falling water (2 Sam. 14:14), and that the time is uncertain, the accounting strict, perdition very easy, and salvation very difficult. She knows on the other hand of her immense indebtedness to God for having created her solely for Himself, and that for this she owes Him the service of her whole life; and because He redeemed her solely for Himself she owes Him every response of love. She knows, too, of the thousand other benefits by which she has been obligated to God from before the time of her birth, and that a good part of her life has vanished, that she must render an account of everything – of the beginning of her life as well as the later part – unto the last penny (Mt. 5:25) when God will search Jerusalem with lighted candles (Zeph. 1:12), and that it is already late – and the day far spent (Lk. 24:29) – to remedy so much evil and harm. She feels on the other hand that God is angry and hidden because she desired to forget Him so in the midst of creatures, Touched with dread and interior sorrow of heart over so much loss and danger, renouncing all things, leaving aside all business, and not delaying a day or an hour, with desires and sighs pouring from her heart, wounded now with the love for God, she begins to call her Beloved…

Let us look at these hard but freeing spiritual insights one by one.

The soul has grown aware of her obligations and observed

1. That life is short (Job 14:5).

More than any other age we entertain the illusion that death can be easily postponed. It cannot be. We are not guaranteed the next beat of our heart, let alone tomorrow! It is true that with advances in medical science, sudden death from lesser causes it not as frequent today. But too easily this leads us to entertain the notion that we can cheat death. We cannot.

Life remains short, and we do not get to choose when we will die. Both my mother, and sister died on a sudden, were swept away in an instant. They never got to say goodbye. You do not know if you will even finish this sentence before or article before death summons you.

This is wisdom. It is a hard truth that gives us an important perspective. Life is short and you don’t have a calendar to know how short.

What are you doing to get ready to meet God? What are you getting worked up about and what are not concerned about? Are your priorities rooted in the truth that life is short? Or are you waging bets in a foolish game where the house (death and this world) always wins on its terms and not yours?

There is a strange serenity and freedom in realizing that life is short. We do not get as worked up about passing things, and we become more invested in lasting things, and the things to come.

2. The path leading to eternal life constricted (Mt. 7:14) 

Another illusion we entertain today is that salvation is a cinch, that it is a done deal. The “heresy” of our time is a kind of universal salvation that denies the consistently repeated biblical teach which declares: Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. (Matt 7:13-14 inter al).

In parable after parable, warning after warning, Jesus speaks with sober admonition about the reality of hell and the closing reality of judgment. No one loves you more than Jesus, and no warned you about Hell and Judgment more than Jesus.

Salvation is not easy, it is hard. Jesus said this, not me. This is not because God is mean, it is because we are stubborn, obtuse and prefer the darkness to light. We need to sober up about our stubbornness and our tendencies to prefer “other arrangements” to what God offers and teaches. In the end, God will respect our choice and there comes a day when our choice for or against the Kingdom and its values will be sealed forever.

This is a hard saying, but it sets us free from the awful sin of presumption, a sin against hope and instills in us a proper priority for the work that is necessary to root us in God. Accepting this hard truth will free you from silly and baseless presumption. It will make you more serious about your spiritual life and aware of the need for prayer, sacraments, Scripture and the Church. It will help you have better priorities that are less obsessed with passing worldly things and people, and be more rooted in what it eternal. It will make you more evangelical and urgent to save souls. It will turn you to Jesus and away from Belial and passing pathetic worldly things.

3. That the just one scarcely saved (1 Pet. 4:18) 

Here is a further truth that sets aside modern errors about an almost universal salvation. The fuller context of the quote is this: For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And, “If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” (1 Peter 4:17-18)

And yet, despite this and many other quotes and teachings like it, we go one presuming that almost everyone will go to heaven. We set aside God’s Word, for human errors and wishful thinking. We substitute human assurances for God’s warnings. We elevate ourselves over St. Paul who said that we should work out our salvation in fear and trembling (Phil 2:12) and spoke of disciplining himself, lest, after preaching to others, he should be lost (1 Cor 9:27). Are we better and more enlightened that Jesus? Than Paul, Than Peter?

Salvation is hard. This is not meant to panic us, but it is meant to sober us to the need for prayer, Sacraments, Scripture and the Church. Without these medicines we don’t stand a chance. And we must persevere to the end.

This hard truth sets us free from illusion and sends us running to the Lord who alone can save us. Smug presumption roots us in the world, Godly fear and sober awareness of our stubborn and unrepentant hearts sends us to Jesus and this frees us.

4. The things of the world vain and deceitful (Eccles. 1:2)

Such a freeing truth. First that the things of this world are vain. That is to say, they are empty, passing, and vapid. We so exult power, popularity, and worldly glories. But they are gone in a moment. Who was Miss America in 1974? Who won the Heisman Trophy in that same year? If you know, do you really care and does it really matter? Empty show, glitter and fools gold, yet we spend billions and watch this stuff forever.

And even though we should fight for justice, for the sake of the kingdom, even here the Scriptures counsel some perspective: I have seen a wicked, ruthless man, spreading himself like a green laurel tree. But he passed away, and behold, he was no more; though I sought him, he could not be found. (Ps 37:35-36).

And how deceitful is this passing world.! The main deceit of this world is to say, “I am what you exist for, I am what matters, I am what satisfies.” Lies and deceptions on all counts. The form of this world is passing away. It cannot supply our infinite desires. Our hearts were made for God, and only being with him one day will satisfy.

Yet so easily do we listen to the world’s seduction and lies. Too often we want to be lied to and prefer to chase illusions, vanity and indulge deceit.

How freeing this truth is, if we can lay hold of it. We learn to make use of what we need, but begin to lose our obsession with vain and passing things, and our insatiable desire for more. Yes, perhaps you can live without that granite counter top.

This is a very freeing truth if we can accept its hard reality. And becoming more free a deeper serenity finds us.

5. That all comes to an end and fails like falling water (2 Sam. 14:14)

The world is passing away. It can’t secure your future. The world cruel lies that it can supply you is on display in every graveyard. So much for the world’s empty promises: “You can have it all!” Yes, and then you die.

Meditate on death often. Indeed, every night the Church bids us to rehearse our death in night prayer by the reciting of the Nunc Dimittis.

Scripture says, For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come (Heb 13:14). Do you have your sights fixed where true joys are? Or are you like Lot’s wife?

Let this truth free you to have proper perspective. Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God (Col 3:1).

6. And that the time is uncertain. 

You got plans for tomorrow? Great, so do I. Only problem, tomorrow is not promised or certain. Neither is the next beat of your heart. Another hard, but freeing truth.

7. The accounting strict -

Jesus warns,  But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken (Matt 12:36). St. Paul says, He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart (1 Cor 4:5). And adds, So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad (2 Cor 5:9-10). And James chillingly says, So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy (James 2:12-13) What he says is chilling since so many are without mercy today.

If God judges us with the same strict justice we often dish out, we don’t stand a chance. The accounting will be strict, so don’t pile on with unnecessary severity and wrath toward others.

Here is another freeing truth that helps us take heed of the coming judgement.

8. Perdition very easy - I wonder why he might have repeated this? I just wonder….!

9. And salvation very difficult - Hmm… look he repeated this too! I wonder why? Maybe repetition is the mother of studies.

10. [That we are often and strangely ungrateful and unmoved] She knows on the other hand of her immense indebtedness to God for having created her solely for Himself, and that for this she owes Him the service of her whole life; and because He redeemed her solely for Himself she owes Him every response of love. She knows, too, of the thousand other benefits by which she has been obligated to God from before the time of her birth, and that a good part of her life has vanished,

Here is a sober truth that calls us to remember. What does it mean to remember? To remember means to have present in your mind and heart what the Lord has done for you so that you are grateful and different. 

And yet we live so many years and hours of the day in ingratitude. We get all worked up resentful about the smallest setbacks, and almost totally ignore the trillions of blessings each day.

In a sense our ingratitude is obnoxiously massive because of the easy manner with which we mindlessly receive and discount incredibly numerous blessings, and magnify every suffering setback or trial. So much of our life passes in the complaint department. And so commonly we are stingy with even a simple “Thank you Lord, for all your obvious and hidden blessings, thank you Lord for creating, sustaining and loving me to the end, and for inviting me to know, Love and serve you.“

11. That she must render an account of everything – of the beginning of her life as well as the later part – unto the last penny (Mt. 5:25) when God will search Jerusalem with lighted candles (Zeph. 1:12) - Did he repeat himself again? Now why do you suppose he does that?! You don’t think he considers us stubborn, do you?

12. and that it is already late – and the day far spent (Lk. 24:29) – to remedy so much evil and harm. Repetitio mater studiorum

13. [That the unrepentant will experience the wrath to come] – She feels on the other hand that God is angry and hidden because she desired to forget Him so in the midst of creatures,

The wrath of God is really in us, not in God. It is our experience of discomfort before the holiness of God. It is like being used to a dark room, and suddenly being brought into the bright afternoon sunlight. We protest and say the light is harsh. But the light is not harsh. We are incapable of tolerating the light due to our preference for and acclamation to the dark. In the same way God is not  “mad” He is not moody or harsh. He is God. And God does not change.

Thus St. John teaches here, the hard but freeing truth that God is holy and no one is going to walk into his presence unprepared. If we prefer the world and its creatures to the Creator, we thereby prefer the darkness and cannot tolerate the light. Heaven is simply not possible for those who prefer the darkness. And thus Jesus says, And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil (John 3:19) – That’s right, just three verses after John 3:16

And while the sinful soul may “feel” that God is angry and hiding himself, the problem is in the sinful soul, not God.

The freedom of this hard saying comes in reminding us, and urging us to get ready to meet God. He is not going to change. He can’t change. So we have to change, and by his grace, become the light of his holiness.

14. [We Need to Call on the Savior] - Touched with dread and interior sorrow of heart over so much loss and danger, renouncing all things, leaving aside all business, and not delaying a day or an hour, with desires and sighs pouring from her heart, wounded now with the love for God, she begins to call her Beloved

And yes, here is the real point of all these hard truths: to make us love our savior more, learn to depend on him, and run to him as fast as we can. Only when we know the hard truths are we really going to be all that serious.

After all, who goes to the doctor? One who is convinced he has no cancer (even though he does). Or the one who knows he’s got it bad and that ain’t good? The answer is self evident.

Bad sadly the answer is self-evident enough to this current generation where, even in the Church, there are so many who don’t want to discuss any of the hard and sober truths we need to lay hold of before we get serious.

A steady diet of “God loves you and all is well, no matter what…” has emptied our pews. Why? Well, who goes to the spiritual hospital if all they hear is that nothing is wrong and that their salvation is secure, almost no matter what?

The good news of the gospel has little impact when the bad news is no longer understood. What does salvation mean if there is no sin and nothing to be saved from? Now of course the bad news should not be preached without pointing to the good news. But the point is that both are needed.

Thus, St. John’s hard truths are not meant to discourage. They are meant to sober us and send us running to the doctor.

Now look,  you’ve got it bad and that ain’t good. But the Good news is, there is a doctor in the house. Run to him now, he’s calling you!

Fr. Robert Barron on Intentional Discipleship

Fr. Robert Barron on Pope John Paul II and John XXIII: Two Radical, Converted Disciples

Pope Francis: Heart full of desire for possessions is 'empty of God'

(CNA) Crowds filled a rainy St. Peter’s Square today to hear Pope Francis’ Angelus message, which focused on the importance of seeking God above all else, especially earthly goods.

“A heart occupied by the desire to posses is full of this desire to possess (things), but empty of God,” said the Pope on Sunday, March 2.

“In a heart possessed by riches, there is not much space for faith. Everything is occupied by riches: there is no place for faith. If instead one allows God his rightful place, that is, first, then his love also leads to sharing the wealth, putting riches at the service of charitable and development projects, as evidenced by many examples, even recent ones, in the history of the Church.”

The Pontiff explained that for a Christian, wealth can never become a goal in itself. “We cannot serve two masters: God and wealth.”

“This is why Jesus repeated warned the rich, because the risk of placing their security in the goods of this world is strong for them. And security - definitive security - is in God,” he stressed.

A follower of Christ is part of the wider community of the Church, and therefore called to serve others, including by the use of his material possessions, the Pope explained.

“As long as everyone tries to accumulate for themselves, there will never be justice. If, however, trusting in the providence of God, we seek his kingdom together, then no one will lack what is necessary to live with dignity.”

In fact, he continued, “the providence of God passes through our service to others.” When people share their goods, and put them in the service of others, “the providence of God becomes a gesture of solidarity.”

But when a person who “accumulates only for himself,” is “called by God, he will not be able to bring his riches, because, as you know, the burial shroud does not have pockets!”

“It is better to share, because we bring to Heaven only that which we have shared with others,” he stressed.

Pope Francis led the crowds in the Angelus prayer and then asked for prayers for Ukraine, that “all the members of the country strive to overcome misunderstandings and build the future of the nation together.”

Ukraine has experienced several months of political unrest and violence. Recently, Russian troops have entered parts of the country, prompting deep concern from the international community.

Today the Pope asked “the international community that it might support any initiative in favor of dialogue and harmony.”

He then reminded everyone that as Lent begins this this week, Christians are called to “combat evil with the weapons of prayer, fasting, and mercy.”

“Humanity needs justice, reconciliation, (and) peace, and may only have them when it returns to God whole-heartedly,” the Pontiff said. “And we all need God’s forgiveness. We enter into Lent in a spirit of adoration of God, and fraternal solidarity with those who, in these times, are tested by poverty and violent conflict.”

Pope Francis concluded his Angelus by greeting the many pilgrim groups and wishing everyone a “good Sunday and good lunch.”

Pope Francis: To know Jesus, we must follow Him

(Vatican Radio) Jesus is known more by following Him than by studying Him. That was the message of Pope Francis at his homily during the Mass celebrated Thursday morning at Casa Santa Marta. Every day, he explained, Christ asks “who” He is for us, but it is only possible to answer by living as disciples.

It is the life of a disciple, more than a life of study, that allows a Christian to really know who Jesus is for him. A journey in the footsteps of the Master, where clear witness and even betrayals, falls and new impulses, can intersect. But it is not only an intellectual approach. Pope Francis took the example of Peter, who in the Gospel of the day portrays at the same time both as a “courageous” witness — who responded to Jesus’ question to the Apostles, “Who do you say I am for you?” by saying, “You are the Christ” — and immediately afterwards as an adversary, when he feels he has to reproach Jesus, who had just announced that he had to suffer and die, and then to rise. “Many times,” the Pope said, “Jesus turns to us and asks us: “But who am I for you?” and getting “the same response that Peter gave, the one we learned in the catechism.” But that is not enough:

“It seems that to respond to that question that we have heard in our hearts — ‘Who is Jesus for us?’ — what we have learned, what we have studied is not enough. It is important to study and to understand, but it is not enough. To know Jesus it is necessary to take the journey that Peter took: after that humiliation, Peter went forward with Jesus, he saw the miracles Jesus did, he saw his power. Then he paid the tax as Jesus had told him, he caught a fish, removed a coin, he saw many miracles like that. But, at a certain point, Peter denied Jesus, he betrayed Jesus, and he learned that most difficult knowledge — more than knowledge, wisdom — of tears, of weeping.”

Peter, Pope Francis continued, asks forgiveness from Jesus — and yet, after the Resurrection, he is questioned three times by Jesus on the beach of Tiberias: “Do you love me?” Probably, the Pope said, in his reaffirming his total love for his Master, he wept, and was ashamed at the memory of his triple denial:

“This first question for Peter — ‘Who am I for you?’ — can only be understood along a path, after a long path, a path of grace and of sin, a path of a disciple. Jesus did not say to Peter and to His Apostles “Know me”; He said, “Follow me!” And this following of Jesus makes us know Jesus. Following Jesus with our strength, but also with our sins, but always following Jesus. It is not a study of things that is necessary, but a life of a disciple.”

It takes “a daily encounter with the Lord, every day, with our triumphs and our weaknesses.” But, the Pope added, it is “a journey that we can’t make on our own.” The intervention of the Holy Spirit is necessary:

“To know Jesus is a gift of the Father; it is He who makes us know Jesus. It is a work of the Holy Spirit, who is a great worker. Not a trade unionist — He is a great worker and He works in us always. He does this work of explaining the mystery of Jesus, and of giving us this sense of Jesus. We look at Jesus, Peter, the Apostles, and we hear in our hearts the question: ‘Who am I for you?’ And as disciples let us ask the Father that He would grant to us to know Christ in the Holy Spirit, that He would explain this mystery.”

Fr. Barron comments on The Calling of the Disciples

10 Habits for Healthy Information Consumption

The following comes from The Radical Life:

It’s never been more important for us to take control of the info we consume on a daily basis. Every piece of information we encounter throughout our day – whether we like it or not - changes who we are.

If we are to become who we are made to be, we must be deliberate about consuming the information that will shape us into such!

I have a long way to go. It’s a difficult process requiring courageous choices, but it’s worth it. Here are 10 things we are doing in our family to encourage healthy info consumption:

1. Get rid of cable TV.

I’m not quite saying throw the TV out the window. But no cable TV. Everything about cable TV is designed to hook and reel you in. Don’t take the bait. Instead, buy TV shows and movies individually (like on iTunes) when you want to watch them. Or you can always go out and watch them somewhere else (sports bar, friends house, etc.).

That way you’ll end up only watching things that are really worth watching, and nothing else. You’ll probably end up saving money in the end, too (we do).

2. Go ad-free radio.

Another great benefit of buying your TV/movies individually, rather than using cable TV, is that it removes a lot of ads from your life. In addition to that, spend <$10/month for ad-free Spotify or Pandora radio and you can listen to anything you want anywhere you go, with no ads! It’s worth it.

Every time you succumb to using a “free” service (that is supported by ads) you are selling a little piece of the formation of your soul. There’s no such thing as a free lunch.

3. Use an RSS reader to follow your blogs/news online.

Many blogs and news sources let you read full articles straight from an online reader (and often with no ads) via RSS. It helps you consume just the content you like while avoiding the sidebars and teasers that litter most websites (which are all designed to suck you in further). Note: Most news sites will make you click over to their website from their RSS feed to read their full story. But you can at least read a little bit before deciding if it’s worth your time to do so and exposing yourself to the rest of their site. If you’re looking for an RSS reader, I recommend Feedly.

4. Sometimes quitting is good.

If you start watching a movie or TV show and it’s not amazing from the beginning, quit. Don’t mindlessly watch the rest of it. There are too many better things to consume. If you start a book/article and it’s not amazing from the beginning, quit. There are too many amazing things to read.

5. Turn off push notifications.

On your computer, on your phone, on your tablet. Check your email/Facebook/etc. when *you* decide it’s time to do so. If something is that urgent, somebody will call or text you. Otherwise, don’t risk it stealing the focus from what you set out to do today. It can wait for the proper time. It’s a great lesson in patience, too.

6. Put down your phone.

It’s practical to carry it with you when you go out, but when you get home or to work, put it across the room. Focus on whatever you are doing and don’t allow bad habits (of checking your phone every 3 minutes) to consume every idle moment of your day.

7. Be not afraid of missing out.

It’s okay if you don’t know the latest gossip, news or reality TV show ending. I promise. Try a month without it and you’ll see that the world is still spinning and that your life is probably better off, too!

Additionally, with so much great information at our fingertips on various topics, it’s easy to become information gluttons. Consume what you can, but let the rest go. If your expectation is to know everything there is to know about something, you will be chronically dissatisfied and stressed. The profound brain things inside your head will constantly hurt. By all means, enthusiastically pursue learning about your passions, but be content to consume an amount that fits well within the limits of the day God gave you.

8. Plan healthy things.

When you diet, it’s not enough to just avoid the junk food. You also need to plan healthy meals to take its place. If you only remove the junk info, you’ll find yourself just falling into new bad habits. When we are tired and idle, it’s easy to end up indiscriminately consuming whatever most easily pops in front of us (i.e. web surfing, channel surfing, DVR digging, gossip, etc.). Plan healthy activities to fill this void.

Play, listen and dance to great music. Sing songs together. Make something. Read a book. Tell stories to each other. Pray. Plan to watch a worthwhile movie together. Go outside. Play a sport. Go for a walk. The list is endless. Make a list of 10 things you’d like to do more of. I guarantee that consuming more mindless information, surfing the internet, watching more TV and listening to advertisements will not be on the list. Plan healthy things into your day.

9. Keep your social media in check.

Social media has found a unique place in our lives. But remember that such tools (especially if they are “free”) are not primarily designed to be what is best for you and your most important relationships. They are designed to keep you on their site for as long as possible by feeding your itchy clicky finger and your fear of missing out. Don’t be afraid to cut some cords or set some hard limits with how you use it. It’s powerful stuff, but don’t let it keep you from greater things.

10. Schedule silence.

You need silence, a complete break from the constant noise. If you don’t schedule silence into your day and then protect it, it won’t happen. Bonus: board up the windows, disconnect the electricity and block all wireless transmission. Guard your silence like a treasure. Flee to it. Cling to it as life. Schedule it in and make it a priority. Start with just a few minutes and try to build it up to an hour each day.

God is whispering to you there. Listen.

Father Jorge Teaches Christianity 101: Living the Countercultural Call

The following comes from Kathryn Jean Lopez at Catholic Pulse:


Whatever is the Christian life? It’s radical and it’s powerful. It’s transformational. It’s sacrificial. It’s joyful.

Francis: The Pope from the New World is a documentary that premiers on the Fox Business Channel on Sunday night, produced by the Knights of Columbus (which also runs this website). It serves as a re-introduction to a man we’ve been scrambling to come to know and understand since white smoke was last seen in St. Peter’s Square.

Recent commentary tries to make sense of Pope Francis through our typical political lenses. This documentary is a healthy Sabbath Day reboot on a papacy we could afford to walk with more than debate about — a papacy that may prove to be all about hitting reset on how we integrate our faith into the hours of our lives, with Christ as the power source and with the Holy Spirit guiding the hand of a holy father, bringing humanity to our eternal Father.

“What becomes very clear in looking at the life of Pope Francis is a Christian witness that is focused on great respect and charity for the human person,” says Carl Anderson, Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus, during the course of the documentary. “He does not choose between social justice or social issues because he sees a unity of all of these issues.” And he does this by encounter – with Christ, with our fellow women and men He’s a Jesuit who, it may be said, is walking us through the great treasure of the “Spiritual Exercises” of his order’s founder, St. Ignatius of Loyola.

Some of the best insights into Pope Francis during Francis: The Pope from the New World come from his spiritual brothers and sons in the Society of Jesus, who knew him as Father Jorge Bergoglio in Argentina, during his years in formation, as a provincial, as a rector, and as a teacher.

Father Angel Rossi recalls the character and routines of Bergoglio during the years he spent as Jesuit provincial and rector at the Colegio Maximo de San Jose in Buenos Aires: “When we would get up at 6:30 or 7:00 to go to Mass, at this time Bergoglio had already prayed and had laundered the bedding and towels for 150 Jesuits. He would have taken them out, hung them up to dry, and we would just be trying to get out of bed.”

It’s a biographical note, but it’s also an aid in understanding what we’re watching. Pope Francis has on his mind the scared woman in the slum; the Muslim risking his life to flee the “Arab Spring” on his way to the Sicilian island of Lampedusa; the young person who sees no hope, who doesn’t know his own worth and dignity; the sinner who does not know there is forgiveness; the elderly woman or man who has been cast aside or forgotten.
“He taught us how to be real friends — not just co-workers, friends,” Jesuit Father Fernando Albistur recalls in the film. This is what Pope Francis means about a “culture of encounter.” We have to look at our brother! We have to be truly Christian. This is not a nice way of life, it is a radical one! “We have to love each other,” Father Albistur continues. “We have to stand together especially in the most difficult moments.”

And so we do not abandon. And we must be vulnerable. Christianity is not a life of comfort. It is a life of sacrifice and joy, even as we suffer, even as we weep for the suffering of our sister and brother, which we must do if we are Christian, the pope insists. Just as Christ was compassionate and empathetic to the plight of the leper and the widow, so must you and I be!

Father Rossi comments that Father Bergolio “was very intelligent. He was academic and studious, but above all he had an intuitive intelligence. He could read people immediately, and he would see through you and you couldn’t hide things from him. And with that, he would help you.” We’re seeing that play out in these phone calls that make headlines — where Pope Francis has reached out to the pregnant woman whose fiancé wanted her to have an abortion, to the rape victim, to the woman who was robbed, to the worried young man, to the atheist journalist.

“He taught us the human dimension of the apostolate, of the mission,” Father Albistur shares. “I can't get the faith across to a boy if that boy is hungry.”

In his initial greeting to the world, Pope Francis referred to himself as “bishop of Rome.” His first Sunday in Rome, at the small parish church of Santa Anna, he presented himself as a parish priest. The Holy Father is addressing the world as a pastor. He is looking at his parish community and giving them what they — we — need.

That parish community is a world of possibility, as his pulpit is not merely Santa Anna on the Vatican grounds, or those who pack the Square for a Wednesday audience or Sunday Angelus, or curia officials in attendance at morning Mass, but the actual world. There are fallen-away Catholics, people hostile to Catholicism, people to whom Catholicism is largely (if not completely) unknown. And, yes, there are the Church-going Catholics who need this examination of conscience as much as anyone. We know… and yet are we living surrender? It’s a question we must ask ourselves every day. It’s the Examen of St. Ignatius. Is there anyone among us who cannot be drawn deeper into the mystery of the Trinity?

With a media welcome to this pope, doors are opening. Whereas the media environment surrounding the Church has been so long been about attacking and defending, now it is more about explaining and understanding. There’s a documentary on Fox Business this weekend, and there was one on CNN last weekend, and they are not attacks! Pope Francis has been a game changer for media coverage of the Church. Is it imperfect? Is that unfair to the teaching and witness of Pope Benedict and others? Sure. But is that as important as walking with Pope Francis as he points to the Incarnation, the Passion, and Resurrection, as he opens doors, getting people to Church, getting people in front of the Blessed Sacrament, getting people back to the Sacraments?

One Argentine senator, in speaking of Pope Francis, provides a preview of what might very well be to come: “He was always a person who had a lot of courage and plenty of bravery to stand before the powerful and say what he thought; the voice of those who had no voice; that was Cardinal Bergoglio.”

Pope Francis is doing that at the Vatican; he’s doing it as a daily preacher; he’s doing it as a world leader. It’s more than letters to the G-8 and calls for peace. It’s the witness of four hours of prayer and days of fasting, reminding us where true power is and how we grow in faith. His first encyclical, Lumen Fidei, a collaborative effort with our pope emeritus, was all about faith as pretty much the answer to everything that ails our world.

In the film, Father Rossi recalls a telling episode from his time with the future pope:

I was doing the Spiritual Exercises, and on the fourth day he called me and said that I was very comfortable praying, sleeping, and eating: “At the door there is a woman with four children without shelter, so stop your retreat and find them shelter. Once they have a house, you can go back to praying.” We came back after we completed the mission, the mission in which he intervened directly. He knew how to help people, and he knew which doors to knock on to find them help.

Prayer and action. Never being of this world. Never being content living in ourselves but always in Christ, seeing the face of Christ.

Cardinal Bergoglio’s good friend Rabbi Abraham Skorka describes the man who would become Pope Francis as “a different man, a man who tries to get closely acquainted with his neighbor, someone with whom we can begin walking down a path of deep understanding.” As a bishop he would refuse to live in a clerical bubble, being with people in the world, modeling how to refuse to be of it.

He’s a Christian man who loves the tango and sports, with a deep love for his grandmother, who treasures women, who has confronted tough pastoral and political realities, as a priest, even as the media misunderstands.

“If we read Pope Francis’ writings, we’re going to always see this concern with going to the frontiers of poverty, of exclusion, and of those who are furthest from God,” Father Albistur says during the hour-long documentary. These are people we sometimes ignore, who we sometimes don’t see in front of us, or people to whom we become indifferent as we live our busy lives. This pope is resetting, urging and leading renewal, offering us a model of examination of conscience. Whatever you’ve thought or heard, it’s worth considering Francis: The Pope from the New World. Seven months into his papacy, it’s the introduction we never fully had that night last March when we were all scrambling to get to know this man whom the Roman streets around us celebrated, the man who chose the name that says so much. He’s a man who identifies first as a sinner, he’s told us: Loved by the Father, saved by the Son, led by the Holy Spirit.

And this Francis may just be a great gift of the Holy Spirit. Speaking of the conclave and election in which he participated, New York’s Cardinal Timothy Dolan observes: “You want a man of good pastoral governance. You want a man with a sense of the Church Universal. You want a good communicator, and he fills those bills. Where he comes from is gravy… You talk about a booster shot to the Church in the Americas. This is going to be a real blessing.”

Let us pray. And let’s walk with Christ, leaning into the tremendous opportunities the Holy Spirit will run with if we only surrender.

The most beautiful scene in Francis: The Pope from the New World may be when Viviana, a woman whose feet Cardinal Bergoglio once washed on a Holy Thursday, shared her reaction to the news in March that the archbishop of Buenos Aires had been elected pope and was staying in Rome: “I had so many goose bumps. Such a good feeling. It was such a joy. A joy because the first thing I thought was: Oh! He washed my feet! Bergoglio! And now he’s Pope.” She did not say it as someone caught up in a news story that hits close to home, or as one in awe of a celebrity to which she has a connection. She said it as a woman who knows the love of the Father, because she saw Christ in a humble Jesuit, and because he saw Christ in her.

Debates will happen. But what Pope Benedict’s resignation and Pope Francis’s pontificate are about is bringing the world to Christ and pleading with the world to see Christ, especially in one another.

Pope Francis: Become an apostle for the Church through prayer, preaching and testimony

Pope Francis Wants YOU To Be An Intentional Disciple

The following comes from Frank Weathers:

Shouldn’t comes as a shock really, as Jesus Christ wants the same thing from us too.

Here’s a little snippet of Andrea Tornielli’s report on Pope Francis’s message to the leadership in South America, and to the episcopate everywhere.

Francis concluded his trip to Brazil with another wide-ranging speech to the coordinating committee of the Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM). But Francis’ words will most certainly resonate beyond the Latin American continent.

The Pope asked bishops to give a missionary slant to the daily activities of local Churches, explaining that the “change of structures” (from obsolete ones to new ones) will not be the result of reviewing an organizational flow chart” but will “result from the very dynamics of mission.” Francis recalled that the general assembly of Latin American bishops at Aparecida in 2007 had presented “pastoral conversion” as a “necessity”. The Pope then asked bishops to reflect on some questions with regard to the current state of the Church: “Do we see to it that our work, and that of our priests, is more pastoral than administrative? Who primarily benefits from our efforts, the Church as an organization or the People of God as a whole?”

The questions then focused specifically on the laity and their role in the Church: “In practice, do we make the lay faithful sharers in the Mission?” As pastors, bishops and priests are we conscious and convinced of the mission of the lay faithful and do we give them the freedom to continue discerning, in a way befitting their growth as disciples, the mission which the Lord has entrusted to them? Do we support them and accompany them, overcoming the temptation to manipulate them or infantilize them?” His words portray the picture of the Church’s current situation in a number of countries, European ones too.

Speaking of the importance of the Church engaging in dialogue with the world around it, Francis referred to what was said at the Second Vatican Council to explain the basis of dialogue with contemporary society: “The joys and hopes, the grief and anguish of the people of our time, especially of those who are poor or afflicted, are the joys and hopes, the grief and anguish of the followers of Christ as well.” The Church needs to be aware of the varied “scenarios and the areopagi involved.” “If we remain within the parameters of our “traditional culture” which was essentially rural, we will end up nullifying the power of the Holy Spirit. God is everywhere: we have to know how to find him in order to be able to proclaim him in the language of each and every culture; every reality, every language, has its own rhythm.”

Read it all.

Not sure what I mean by the term intentional disciple? Sherry Weddell can help you out there, as can the group of bloggers at Catholic Mom, with their series called theLawn Chair Catechism. Afterall,

"The harvest is great but laborers are few!"