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Isn’t the Mount of Beatitudes beautiful, Catholic Pilgrims? Can you imagine being taught here by Christ?
As I was meditating on the Beatitudes today from our Gospel reading, I was drawn over and over again back to one—Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God.
It is incredibly difficult to have a clean heart these days. One the one hand, you want to remain pure and innocent, but then on the other, you can’t bury your head in the sand and not be unaware the uncleanliness going on all around.
Specializing in the study of s€xual crimes has brought me face-to-face with some of the darkness places and people in society. It truly does become a burden on your heart. Detectives and police officers have to witness some pretty heinous stuff and it can leave you jaded.
Many times, when I would be involved in some case, I’d sit stunned that a person could reach such lows in their life. Nobody grows up wanting to become a monster and, yet, here they are doing unspeakable acts.
Part of my job was to study behavior and look into the lives of those that commit some of the most egregious crimes. It was always the same pattern—a slow walk down a path of impurity typically started in childhood.
Too many people think they can compartmentalize a good life and some dabbling in the impure. You cannot. Opening the door to impurity, even a little, will eventually seep into your life and take over.
Too many people digest pornography.
Too many people encourage and celebrate s€xual fetishes and deviances from what God intended.
Too many people refuse to monitor what they watch, listen to, or read, because “it’s just entertainment, it won’t affect me.”
Too many people think a clean heart means a boring life.
A burden I carry is the visions of all the impurity I’ve dealt with through my work. It is not easy to enter that dark world and come out unscathed. Sadly, it’s all around us because people thought they could crack open the door just a tad on this stuff and be okay.
Protect your families, Catholic Pilgrims. Protect your own soul. A clean heart is a beautiful and a joyful thing.
Live the Faith boldly and travel well this Monday.
I got a question yesterday in the comments from someone responding to the post I made on Sunday. The question: "How does one really be transformed?" They commented that they know that they need a change, but not sure what that looks like. So, I thought I would respond in a more general area in case anyone else wants to see what I would say. My answer is by no means the ultimate answer, it simply is what I know from my own life. In my late teens and early twenties, most of you know that I lived a very worldly life. I called myself a Christian, but there was no evidence in how I lived to witness to that...at all. By my own choosing, I had walked away from God because I was mad at Him and I decided that I was going to fix myself and that I didn't need His help. As time went on, I became more and more unhappy. I tried to find happiness in worldly things, but mostly I just ended up more unhappy and disappointed in myself. After many, many years, I found myself giving my general confession right before my conversion to Catholicism. I had finally realized that I couldn't fix myself. I needed God. The first thing you have to do to be transformed by God is identify what it is that you are struggling with? What sins and vices are you clinging to? You must identify what needs to change or you can't change it. For that, I would recommend sitting down in silence and giving at least 15 minutes for reflection. Doing this at church in front of the Tabernacle is best, but regardless, just do it. If you've established what the problem is, you must ask God for help. Grace is Divine help. You will need it. I had to learn that I couldn't fix myself on my own. I needed God's Divine Life within me to help me, but we must ask for it. Lastly, start with small, positive changes. Oftentimes when people think of being transformed, they think they need to drop everything and run off to become a monk who spends 15 hours in prayer in order to be transformed. Very few people on earth can do this. If you haven't worked out your discipline muscle in a long time, you will need to build it up first. So, start small. Read one chapter of one of the Gospels each day. Just one. Set a timer and pray starting at 3 minutes. Go to confession and then commit to going to Mass each Sunday. Start here and then build from there. We are all a work in progress. Somedays we do well, somedays we don't. Each day is a day to get up, ask for the grace we need, and start again. Over time, you will see the effects God makes in your soul. Have a blessed day, Catholic Pilgrims.
Continue ReadingThis past week, our priest was TDY to Georgia, so we didn't have daily Mass on base. TDY means temporary duty for military members in a different location than where they are stationed. Nearly every day for Mass, it's me, my son, and another lady that works on base. We'll call her Maria. Other people come and go, but we are kind of the constants. I love when we have a full little chapel. Anyway, Maria and I decided that we would still come up to the chapel to pray the Rosary together during Mass time. Well, I quickly found myself making excuse after excuse not to go up. "Oh, we need to finish up some school." "Oh, the door will be locked. Who wants to bother trying to find someone with a key." "Oh, I can pray it here at home." "Oh, this. Oh, that." Maria, though, has such a beautiful level of piety that it's infectious. She has a bag of religious books that she carries with her everywhere. She says her daily prayers with such love and devotion. She is always excited to do anything that brings her closer to God. I love her and her beautiful spirit. Because I knew she would be up there to pray, I went even when the inertia of my soul wanted to keep me at home being lazy. One day, I got there early and the door to the Blessed Sacrament room was locked and I was so sloth-like that I didn't even put forth the effort to go find someone with a key. I just kind of was like, "Oh well, guess not today." But, when Maria showed up and heard that the door was locked, she immediately turned around and went to find someone. In that moment, I felt so pitiful. Here I was standing around, not on my lunch break, but with time and I couldn't even move to go get someone to open the door. Maria on the other hand didn't even think twice. And I thought to myself right then and there, "God, I still have much work to do. Please forgive my lazy ways and help me be more like Maria." This is why we need each other, Catholic Pilgrims. This is why our Catholic Faith can't just be about a personal relationship with us and Jesus. We will easily slip into the deadly sin of sloth. Maria is a shining example for me and she holds me accountable. I need her witness. Have a blessed Monday.
Continue ReadingMost people want to go to Heaven. I was thinking today, though, at Mass, that while most people want to go to Heaven, they don't want to bring Heaven to earth quite yet. What do I mean by this? Well, early on in my Christian life, I wanted to go to Heaven. Mostly, it was because I just wanted to see departed loved ones again. And, it sounded nice, to be in a perfect place. I felt kind of like I was owed it simply by the sheer fact that I called myself a Christian. But, in the meantime, I didn't really want to live a holy and pleasing life here on earth. I wanted to indulge in a few choice sins, if you know what I mean. Heaven sounded good for after I'd had all the "fun." Though I felt I was owed it, I certainly didn't want to try to create Heaven here on earth through my own actions or cooperation with God. So, when suffering came my way, I was appalled that God would allow me to go through that. I felt I was owed a suffering-free life and Heaven. "Don't ask anything of me, yet give me all that I feel I deserve." This is what we call insufferable pride. I just didn't really understand anything about sacrifice or suffering as it should be understood to a Christian. When you are constantly told that Jesus did it all, there's nothing for you to do but sit back, call yourself a Christian, enjoy the ride because Jesus has got you, and live however you would like, because, again, you are covered by the Blood of Jesus, well, you will grow lukewarm real quick. Baptized believers are the Body of Christ, and that means, that we all make up Jesus' Body in a mystical, spiritual way. Christ suffered for us. As part of His Body, we can unite our suffering to His suffering and offer it to the Father. We are to participate with Him, not just hit cruise control. God has always wanted our participation and the craziest thing about Christ's suffering is that it was/is redemptive. Our suffering and sacrifices when united to His are redemptive, too. This is one of the ways we become more Christ-like. And so, this means, that we have to necessarily live differently. We can't "conform ourselves to this age" but instead "be transformed," as St. Paul tells us, Catholic Pilgrims. Our lives should look different. Have a blessed Sunday.
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