A Thirst for the Incarnate

Last week, a lovely article entitled "18 Things Everyone Should Start Making Time For Again" was making the rounds amongst some friends of mine. I read it, thought it was perfect (minus one subtle suggestion that there might be a time and a place for drunkenness - but we will overlook that one minor flaw in a sea of perfection), and therefore shared it on my own Facebook wall.

As a side note (sorry, we're taking a detour already!), can I just say that, not feeling comfortable with using both "perfect" and "perfection" in that last sentence, I Googled the definition of "perfection" and found this?

a person or thing perceived as the embodiment of perfection.

"I am told that she is perfection itself"

synonyms:

the ideal, a paragon, the ne plus ultra, a nonpareil, the crème de la crème, the last word, the ultimate, the best; informalone in a million, the tops, da bomb; dated,the bee's knees, the cat's meow/pajamas/whiskers "for him, she was still perfection"

Huh-larious, no? Next time I shall use "crème de la crème" or "da bomb." By the way... am I the only one who thinks that Google needs to chill with the special days of celebration? I miss the days of the basic Google, in all its blue, red, yellow and green-lettered glory. These days, it's as if we have mandated celebrations, practically daily, of the birthday of every obscure famous person and the anniversary of their obscure, albeit apparently important to their field, work! (I realize that "obscure famous" is sort of an oxymoron, but just go with it. Life is a paradox.) It used to be special to see a nifty little animated Google hompage, decorated for the day's event; now it's simply normal and confusing. Bring back the magic, Google! Celebrate real holidays! Or at least, include some saints! (Sorry about all this... I have had a beef with Google ever since they changed the definition of the word "literally" to mean, literally, "not literally." Check it out here. But despite my pent-up personal issues with the world's most famous search engine, I still probably use it 5,682 times a day. Ah well.)

Back to the wonderful article about eighteen lovely things! After I shared it, I was struck by how several others were sharing it and liking it, and seemingly struck by it as well. And they weren't all Franciscan girls in love with Jane Austen and accustomed to regular coffee dates with household sisters, either. I'm used to talking about such things with that sort of crowd; I identify with handwritten letters, good conversation and cookie-baking. That's kinda my scene, you know? My friends own tea-sets. But this article didn't only pique the interest of those particular friends!

(Update: Google has slightly redeemed itself. The sample sentence for the word "struck," when I was looking for a synonym, is "Lucy was struck by the ethereal beauty of the scene." Very nice, Google dictionary people. You get one point back.)

What is so striking to me is that it's nearly universally acknowledged that we are losing a sense of presence, culture, and humanity. How often do you have a conversation with someone about everyone always being on their phone, over-sharing their personal business on Facebook, constantly taking a picture for Instagram instead of actually enjoying the beauty before our very eyes? At least in my life, the topic comes up all the time! No one gasps when you bring up the thought that we spend too much time online, or that we all feel so super crazy busy and wish we didn't. More or less, everyone agrees!

And everyone continues to thirst.

For presence. For culture. For beauty. For real, incarnate humanity, in all its tangible goodness.

We are all thirsting for reality.

A few weeks ago, I was going through a very stressful, busy period; so was a dear friend of mine. We had both been so on edge, and not particularly present to each other, when something dawned on me. "I don't think God wants us to live this way," I suddenly thought. "I think Jesus wants more for us." And doesn't he? Didn't he make us to be genuinely free, truly human, full of beauty and grace? Ready at all times to love, to really see the other person in front of us.

What does it say about our culture, that reading a real book, writing a real letter, listening to music instead of making it mere background music to our multi-tasking, making a true commitment, thinking before responding to others, and just taking time to be with people are all seen as unreachable ideals? Beautiful, of course; our grandparents once knew these arts in the past, but sigh, things that no one has time for anymore and that we can never truly recover. Sigh, sigh. Like those little wispy clouds that you wish you could float around in, but that it's probably not possible to reach and experience for yourself (does anyone else wish this, besides me? Also, if you take a hot air balloon ride, can you play in the clouds? Just curious). At any rate, we all seem to be wistfully longing for something past, something better than what we have now. Yes? Do you sense this, too?

So, here's the sitch, as I see it (Kim Possible reference, yes ma'am):

On one hand, we have gotten ourselves into quite a cultural predicament, up in hurrr (this phrase is another example of the degeneration of culture... ha, ha).

On the other hand, this is so extremely hopeful!!! Let me explain.

When we all have a common longing, that is an incredible opportunity! If everyone wants ice cream, for instance, it's a perfect time to bring out the banana splits! If we are all longing for presence, thought, art, and incarnate reality (aka Jesus Christ)... this is the perfect entry point into the human heart! People are actually receptive to this stuff!!

Ergo, I'm pretty excited.

Just like Surprise Party Sue... I'm so freakin' excited!!!

The great thing about all of these things is  that they are tangible, concrete, not out of our reach at all! We can sit down and write a letter to a friend; we can intentionally make time to listen to music, and just appreciate it; we can actually stand outside and look at the sky and marvel at its unique beauty for a while! We can all sit down and actually take time to really, genuinely pray.

I'm not even going to pretend to tackle the whole issue of technology, being overly busy, lack of real art and culture, etc., in our world today; it's way too big for my little brain. But I do know this: it's time! Let's go! If the people we know are thirsting for a reclaimed humanity, let's start making the decisions and commitments it takes to put beauty and presence back into our lives.

I heard a story on the radio yesterday about a restaurant owner who is doing his own small, super creative part! Check it out... he is offering his customers a 50% discount on their meals if they agree to one small thing: to turn off their phones during their dining experience! Isn't that incredible? In one restaurant, in one little corner of the world, this guy is making an effort to reclaim personal relationships, to get people back in touch with humanity. I think he is awesome!

So, in the spirit of all this incarnational awesomeness, I have one last thought. Advent is coming up... the season of preparing for Christ, the fullness of true humanity, the Incarnation Himself! What if, for Advent, we tried to be more present as well? For instance (and I can't take credit for this idea), what if we decided to write a letter each day of Advent? Or really, any of the 18 items on that list... or, make up your own list! Whatever floats your boat. But what if, while we are preparing to celebrate Jesus taking on humanity, we became more human, too?

Things I Really Like

I know, I know, it's been a while.

But, to appease you (like a pagan god or something), here is a hodge-podge of things I've ran across lately that are legit. So, so legit! Readysetgo...

Watch this testimony from Edmund Mitchell, a great guy I went to school with! It's about an hour long, but really worth it:

He also had this great quote in an interview recently:

"It also reminds me how important it is to continue diving deeper into our faith because there are a lot of well intentioned Catholics who, not having a solid enough foundation in Catholic doctrine, philosophy, history, or catechetics, are answering modern man’s hunger for deep, living waters with sprinkles from a red Solo cup."

Snap. I 100% agree!

Along the lines of more catechetical thing-a-ma-jigs, a friend sent me this great address to catechists by Pope Francis! (Who, by the way, showed up in my dream last night! Win.) I love this, especially:

"It builds up the Church!  To 'be' catechists!  Not to 'work' as catechists: this will not do.  I work as a catechist because I like to teach… But unless you 'are' a catechist, it is no good!  You will not be successful … you will not bear fruit!  Catechesis is a vocation:  'being a catechist', this is the vocation, not working as a catechist.  So keep this in mind: I didn’t say to do the 'work' of catechists, but to 'be' catechists, because this is something that embraces our whole life."

Next, another friend shared this with me on Facebook today, and I am just in love. Don't focus on the picture or text quality... just look at it for a minute and picture it in real life:

Do you not love it?!

(By the way, her feast day is tomorrow. Just sayin'.)

Went to see Torri Harris with some friends at the Josephinum this past weekend, which was lovely! Here is one of her songs... soak in the beauty!

Listening to this song on Saturday morning, it dawned on me just how much God uses the beauty of music to open my heart to Him... I'll be pondering that for a while...

Prayer cards from the concert. Beauty, right?

I definitely recommend that you look up more of her music. And if you ever get a chance to see her live, do it! She's very real, authentic, holy and fun... and her testimony blew me out of the water. All about fear vs. trust and God's calling for your life... plus, JPII showed up in her dreams. I mean, come on. JPII!

I've been listening to this a lot lately, too. Lyrics here.

I'm still getting the "Read the Catechism in a Year" emails every day for the Year of Faith... some days I read it, and some days I throw it in a folder that I've entitled "Still need to read for CCC." (Lazy, I know... once an email gets filed away, I don't know if I'll ever look for it again...) They've been using the YouCat, which I find super helpful for my line of work. ;) Yesterday was paragraph 470, "The Prompting to Pray":

"What prompts a person to pray?
"We pray because we are full of an infinite longing and God has created us men for himself: "Our hearts are restless until they rest in you" (St. Augustine). But we pray also because we need to; Mother Teresa says, "Because I cannot rely on myself, I rely on him, twenty-four hours a day." [2566-2567, 2591]
"Often we forget God, run away from him and hide. Whether we avoid thinking about God or deny him he is always there for us. He seeks us before we seek him; he yearns for us, he calls us. You speak with your conscience and suddenly notice that you are speaking with God. You feel lonely, have no one to talk with, and then sense that God is always available to talk. You are in danger and experience that a cry for help is answered by God. Praying is as human as breathing, eating, and loving. Praying purifies. Praying makes it possible to resist temptations. Praying strengthens us in our weakness. Praying removes fear, increases energy, and gives a second wind. Praying makes one happy."

I thought that was a really good, simple, beautiful, understandable explanation!

Okey dokey... watch/listen/ponder all of that, and then get back to me. :)

(That should buy me some time until my next post, right??)

Beauty Heals

Last night, I had an evening of beautiful people and beautiful music, in someone's backyard out in the country. It was one of those experiences that has come to define my life: going somewhere I've never been, to be with people I've never met (although I had a traveling buddy along for the adventure), and seeing what the Holy Spirit has in store. And, true to form, I had no idea what we'd find!

The only way I can think to describe the experience is that it was startling, unexpected, but in a peaceful way - not jarring or shocking. It was more like a morning when you wake up peacefully, perfectly, without any grogginess. With a warm light coming in the window, and with clarity in your mind... an awakening.

As I continue to bask in the glory, all I can think is this: beauty is healing. It was such a simple evening, but I feel like it began to heal a cynicism in my heart, a hardening that I didn't even realize was there. Hope, beauty, love, truth, goodness: yes, all of these do exist. I'm not fighting an uphill battle for something that isn't real. Sometimes the world can wear us down a lot... but beauty is healing.

It didn't have to be loud or dramatic. It doesn't have to be at a retreat or during a powerful talk or something that we think of as "ministry." Healing can come through a quiet evening of beauty. Hope and renewal can be found in encountering just a few people who understand what it truly means to be human. On a blanket in a grassy backyard, as the sun goes down. Beauty is alive, and love is real, and hope is based in truth.

God in Three Persons, Blessed Trinity

I mentioned yesterday that I'm reading Fr. Michael Gaitley's new book, The 'One Thing' Is Three: How the Most Holy Trinity Explains Everything. SO GOOD. So. Good. Beauty! Glory! Wisdom! Ahhhh... mmmm. (contented sigh).

So far, he's doing a brilliant job of bringing the reader a little closer into the mystery of the Trinity. Fr. Gaitley is simply blowing me away with his ability to teach theology in understandable terms, while still elevating the soul into a place of wonder and awe and gratitude at the immense beauty and love of God. The Trinity is something we often tend to shy away from speaking about, or even trying to think about. The whole 3-in-1 thing can kind of give us a headache, you know?

But as several of my professors drilled into my head in college (and as Fr. Gaitley points out), "mystery" doesn't mean that it's totally off-limits to us. Sure, it cannot be fully and totally understood, but we are still able to know something of it. As I'm reading this book, I can't help but be amazed at how understanding just a few things about the Trinity has the possibility to be completely life-changing. This isn't just some pie-in-the-sky theology with fancy words that no normal person can understand, as Fr. Gaitley himself describes... it has a very real bearing on our spiritual lives, on our relationship with God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and with each other as well.

I realized this very early on in the book, when I reached this passage:
  
"In our heart of hearts, what do we long for above all else? Love. We all want to love and to be loved. Specifically, we long for the communion of love. Look around - our culture makes it so obvious. Almost every song on the radio is about love (or a counterfeit of love). So much of what people say, do, and wear is really just an effort to be lovable, attractive, and accepted. Indeed, we hunger to be in communion with others and seek it out in so many forms, be they good or bad. For instance, we seek it in friendship, family, Facebook, fantasy, or fornication. With desire, we may run to these things while with fright, we run away from what seem to be the alternatives (loneliness and alienation).
        
"Given our situation of being communion addicts, God is the perfect fit! He himself fits the hole in our hearts, for we pine for the communion of love, and God himself is the Communion of Love. We've often heard the 'good news' that Jesus died for our sins - thank God and amen! But perhaps we haven't yet come to realize the good news that's just as good, namely, that God is Trinity. Put differently, he's the Communion of Love that we long for." 

More to come on this beautiful, central truth of our faith!

By the way, you should listen to this new song by Audrey Assad... I'm trying to figure out a way to describe it, but the best I can do is that it will resonate with you, if your soul has ever been wounded by beauty or love (in a good way): http://soundcloud.com/levvmusic