For the World

Time to share a sweet Papa Benny quote on the idea of being "set apart!" Read it slowly and let it sink in: 

"The process of consecration, 'sanctification,' includes two apparently opposed, but in reality deeply conjoined, aspects. On the one hand, 'consecrating' as 'sanctifying' means setting apart from the rest of reality that pertains to man's ordinary everyday life. Something that is consecrated is raised into a new sphere that is no longer under human control. But this setting apart also includes the essential dynamic of 'existing for.' Precisely because it is entirely given over to God, this reality is now there for the world, for men, it speaks for them and exists for their healing. We may also say: setting apart and mission form a single whole." (Pope Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week)

This is beautiful! Did you catch what he's saying? We are consecrated in Christ (made holy/set apart) "for the world... for their healing."The world needs us to be real Catholics! We need to be going deep in prayer, loving sacrificially, in the heart of the Church, for the sake of all of the people around us. We need to come out of the sin in the world... so that we can go back in and set it free from that sin, in Christ! 

It's a good ol' Catholic "both-and." If we try to transform the world without being holy, that will seriously flop. On the other hand, we won't actually be holy if we become arrogantly or selfishly closed in on ourselves! We really can't do one without the other! (Don't you just love the way the Church sees the whole picture? She's such a good mother, making sure her silly little kids don't go to crazy extremes!)

I pray that we all continue to go deeper and deeper into the heart of Christ, so that we live in a way that heals the world!

"They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world." (John 17:16-18) 

Optimism, Pessimism, Hope

It dawned on me a couple weeks ago: I read articles by Fr. Robert Barron before he was cool! I was reading excerpts from "And Now I See" before the Catholicism series came out, probably before he was on Twitter, and definitely before he became the official spokesperson for Pope Benedict XVI's third Jesus of Nazareth book. This wasn't because I'm exceptionally fantastic, myself; it was all thanks to a fabulous catechetics professor I had in college. Thank you, Professor Pauley (and thank you, Franciscan University)! Woohoo! #coolnessbyassociation

But now that Fr. Barron is a more well-known name on the parish level (definitely a good thing!), I hear about him off and on. Yesterday, it took the form of a parking lot conversation after our youth ministry finished caroling at a nursing home. Dude, believe me: if nothing else, I am an expert in parking lot conversations. I'm not truly at home with someone unless I can talk with them for hours in the cold/snow/heat/dark. You know how when you were a little kid, sometimes after church/at the grocery store/while picking you up from Scouts, your parents chatted with their grown-up friends forever, and you felt like you'll never go home? Now I am that grown-up (minus the little child tugging at my coat).

So one person brings up a talk by Fr. Barron about optimism, pessimism, and hope. Usually, in this particular group, we're all on track with each other. But this time, controversy! Definitions being demanded! Dictionaries being threatened! Frowns and dismay! Okay, it wasn't really that serious... we were all still friendly. But this was the issue: apparently Fr. Barron said that pessimism is better than optimism, because it's more realistic. Now mind you, one of the people in our little parking-lot-conversation-circle is probably one of the most joyful, bubbly, happy people the world has ever known. Really. And I'm not really the gloom-and-doom type either, you know. So of course, we demanded an explanation.

Tonight, I looked up this homily, and found that the explanation we got was pretty accurate to what Fr. Barron said. I'll let you listen for yourself, if you'd like. Basically, the idea is that optimists are ignoring reality, because everything isn't fine - we live in a fallen world. Pessimists are much more realistic, due to the brokenness and sin around us. We cannot hope in the present world - the only way we will ever be totally fulfilled, the only way everything will be completely fine, is in eternity.

I understand what Father is saying. Of course things aren't perfect here, and they won't be until heaven! Of course! I totally agree! I don't think that Fr. Barron is advocating escapism, where we avoid the world altogether. And I don't think he's advocating a gloom-and-doom reality, where we view life as a drudgery (although when he brought up Sartre, I was tempted to think so. I had to read him in college, and I hated it! No Exit was one of the most depressing reads ever. Blech. But at least it's interesting to compare and contrast with C.S. Lewis' The Great Divorce! And now I'm just rambling in parentheses).

Yet, I think he might come across that way, if you're not listening carefully. I suggest that we throw out the terms "optimist" and "pessimist" in this talk, since they already come with so many pre-conceived definitions. Instead, let's just focus on the concepts - that instead of pretending evil doesn't exist, we should look realistically at the world. But we shouldn't lose hope! God can bring good out of evil, and we have a perfect, beautiful eternity with him to look forward to! So far, I'm totally on board.

(Side note: dude, sometimes I think that half of coming to terms with theology is working through the language that different theologians use. Specific, precise definitions for all words, and ya gotta know how those definitions differ from common usage. So for Fr. Barron to hone in on a certain definition of "optimism" and "pessimism," which isn't the exact way that most of us mean it, I shouldn't be surprised. It's just what they do. I think it's the same thing with philosophy... but I don't know enough about it to go there.)

But maybe the part that rubs me wrong is the impression I got from listening to him, which is that we can have no hope in this world. Even Pope Benedict, in the encyclical that Fr. Barron quoted, said:

"Let us say once again: we need the greater and lesser hopes that keep us going day by day. But these are not enough without the great hope, which must surpass everything else. This great hope can only be God, who encompasses the whole of reality and who can bestow upon us what we, by ourselves, cannot attain." -Spe Salvi

Gotta love a good Catholic "both-and." Little "h" hopes, if you will, in the day-to-day world. And big "H" Hope, for eternity. Not one or the other... both are important! But, bottom line: if the little "h" hope fails, we'll still turn out okay in the end, because we've got big "H" Hope.

(Another side note: if you were here with me as I'm writing this, you'd totally know that I'm phlegmatic in temperament. I keep wanting to include caveats: "But I really do love Fr. Barron! I think he's great! I'm sure he didn't mean what I think he's saying!" It's a struggle, but I decided that he'll be okay, that you won't assume I'm trying to martyr him, and that I'm allowed to think. Phlegmatic victory!)

With all this pessimism/optimism talk on my brain, it really stuck out to me in the Scriptures today. The first reading was from Isaiah 7, so I wanted to read the whole chapter to get the context. These two lines jumped off the page at me:

"If you will not believe,

surely you shall not be established."

-Isaiah 7:9b 

Which, of course, reminded me of tomorrow's Gospel reading:

"Blessed are you who believed 

that what was spoken to you by the Lord

would be fulfilled."

-Luke 1:45

  

God works in time. This Old Testament attack that Isaiah is referring to, as well as the angel appearing to Mary, were events in human history. They happened here, not in eternity. I think that is why I am so hesitant to say that we only can have hope for heaven... because God is working right now, too.

(Maybe I'm mixing up my definitions of hope and faith?? Papa B goes over that in the encyclical I quoted above, if you want to dig into that more. If I remember correctly, he intertwines them very closely.)

At any rate, I have many more thoughts swirling in my head about this, but hey, it's not a dissertation. I encourage you to devour anything that Fr. Barron puts out, because his stuff is phenomenal - I just wanted to spend some time doing a bit more thinking on this one topic. (I particularly recommend his series about the deadly sins and their corresponding virtues!)

And now I'm rambling... time to see if my laundry is done, and then go to bed! God bless you all - take heart, have hope, trust in the Lord!

 

To Be, or Not To Be (Yourself).

So I found this on the interwebs today:

Gotta love a good Papa Benny quote! But I started thinking... gosh, that's a lot to ask! It's like saying, be happy... but not so much that you're obnoxious! Do your homework... but don't mess up! I'd like an order of french fries... but only the long ones, no little stubby ones please!

And so I wonder, how the heck am I supposed to do that without sticking my fingers in the hot grease and getting burned, hmm? (It's a metaphor, just go with it.)

At any rate, even though I was slightly confused about how to apply this to my life, I was highly inspired. Then I remembered of one of my favorite quotes from St. Paul:

"Although I am free in regard to all, I have made myself a slave to all so as to win over as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew to win over Jews; to those under the law I became like one under the law—though I myself am not under the law—to win over those under the law. To those outside the law I became like one outside the law—though I am not outside God’s law but within the law of Christ—to win over those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, to win over the weak. I have become all things to all, to save at least some. All this I do for the sake of the gospel, so that I too may have a share in it" -1 Corinthians 9:19-23

This happens to be one of my life goals - as a youth minister, of course, but also as a Catholic woman trying to participate daily in the New Evangelization.

It has boggled my mind before... how am I supposed to be "all things to all"? Certainly, I don't want to become a teenager. I like being a young adult! I'm a whole lot more confident, a whole lot less angsty, and God has done a lot of work with me since I was in my teens. I don't actually want to be a teen.

And in terms of the temperaments, I really don't want to be choleric, either. I admire their leadership and their drive, but I also know they are prone to walk all over people if they're not careful. Yeah, that's just not me...

Likewise, I don't want to be a man. I don't feel like I have to elaborate on this... I like being a woman perfectly fine, thank you, and the very idea of not being feminine is just weird.

So what does "all things to all" really mean, then?

Because I really want the lost to get found, kinda like this...

...and I think that St. Paul is on to something (I mean, it's in the Bible, so he must be).

As I mulled over this, I went back to the Pope Benedict quote in the meme above, particularly the last line: "Enter into dialogue with everyone, but remain yourselves."

Ohhhhhhhh.

The classic Catholic "both-and." Which happens to be related to Aristotle's "golden mean," I think. Basically, don't go to one extreme or the other. That's how heresies start... e.g., Jesus is BOTH God AND man. If you get rid of one or the other: oops. Heresy!

So anyway, youth ministry as an example. We love teens where they're at, walk with them, step inside their world, try to bring the Gospel to them through inculturation, etc., but we don't act like them or go back to being a teenager ourselves. We are a much better witness if we don't pretend to be someone else... but we can't stay in our own little worlds, either. If I avoided teens like the plague, I'd be an awful youth minister.

Both-and. Golden mean.

In Blessed Mother Teresa's case, she and her sisters embraced the poverty of those around them. They kept being amazing, authentic Catholic religious (they didn't venture into Hinduism to "relate"), but they weren't afraid to walk side by side with those around them. Both-and. Not snubbing people, but not compromising their faith either: golden mean.

Both balanced and radical. Bam.

(Has anyone else noticed that if you say "bam," after a statement, it just gives it that extra oomph?)

So basically, I'm allowed to be a phlegmatic, feminine youth minister and young adult. And you are also allowed to be who God created you to be (gosh, it took me a lot of words to get to this simple conclusion, didn't it?).

Yet we also have to "enter into dialogue with everyone" and be "all things to all." I still don't have this all figured out. But I'm not gonna lie, I'm pretty excited to see all of us learn how to live this tension, win the world for Christ, and become saints!

Bam.