Holy Action Figures!!!

When I was a kid, like so many young boys with wild imaginations, I LOVED action figures.  I would spend countless hours (not to mention Lord knows how much of my Nana's generously given dollars) picking out my favorite heroes - Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, Michelangelo, Venkman, Stantz, Spengler, Zeddemore, He-Man, Darkwing Duck, Luke/Han/Obi-Wan, Batman... you NAME it!

No contest... After all, who do you think Batman turns to when he can't
find the keys to the Batmobile? My patron St. Anthony, of course!

When I surrounded myself with these guys, I was transported to other worlds, other places where good and evil duked it out to the death.  I was in control of their every move.  I made them go wherever I wanted, say whatever I wanted, do whatever I wanted.  I called all of the shots and it felt pretty good - usually much better than it did to do homework, clean up my room or let my brother play what he wanted to play.

Recently, it occurred to me as I was glancing around at the plethora of religious figurines and statues I have surrounding me at work, in my car and at home just how similar this characteristic of my life these days is to when I was a kid with all of my action figures.  I don't collect toys of my heroes from Ghostbusters, Star Wars or Ninja Turtles anymore (although every now and then I'm tempted to!).  But I have other heroes - SAINTS!  Men and women of courage and devotion who gave everything in the name of justice, peace, honor and love.  They have great names, too - Saint Ignatius of Antioch (bishop who knew the Apostles and who was eaten by lions in ancient Rome), Saint Tarcisius (killed by a mob for refusing to hand over the Eucharist he was carrying to condemned Christians in prison), Saint Therese (paradigm of humility and pure witness to the love of Christ).

These are my heroes now.  But I notice that there is one HUGE difference with these "holy action figures."  I don't bend them to meet my will - it's the other way around.  When I look at these depictions of my true heroes, I'm once more transported to other places where good and evil duke it out to the death.  But I'm not in control of their every move.  I don't make them go wherever I want, say whatever I want, do whatever I want.  I don't call any of the shots - and it feels pretty good.  These heroes call me out of myself.  They invite me to a life of service, a life of love in which I look to them for guidance on how to bend my own will to be more like the will of Him whom they all cherished to the end and beyond.

I wonder if this isn't the reason we all search for heroes in the first place?  In the end, they indeed exist.  But the most powerful ones of all are the ones who discover what true power is - to lay down one's life for Another.

Another great quote from the Holy Father

"Jesus teaches us another way: Go out. Go out and share your testimony, go out and interact with your brothers, go out and share, go out and ask. Become the Word in body as well as spirit."

Of Yokes and Burdens

Jesus said: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”                              

                             (Matthew 11:28-30)

Now, I'll be honest with you - EVERY time I hear this, my first reaction is something like this (even if only deep down): "HUH?!"

If you're anything like me, this is a tricky saying of Our Lord at first glance. Following him, taking "his yoke" and living an authentically Christian life usually seems to be anything and everything BUT easy and light! Be honest, how easy is patience in all things for you? How "light" does the duty to proclaim the Gospel in your daily life (including on the highway) feel to you? How often do you feel completely and utterly "at rest" in his arms with not a care in the world, no stress, no doubts or fears?

I guess I'm mulling over this idea today - does Jesus mean not so much that following him will be "easy" and "light" as we understand those words, but rather something more like "simple" and "right?" If Christ is truly "THE Way, THE Truth and THE Life," how could we ever pursue any of these apart from him? I regularly find myself making the distinction between something being "easy" and something being "simple." A simple task is oftentimes not easy at all, if by easy we mean effortless or something we can do without working hard at it. But at the core, it's not something that necessarily has lots of moving pieces or is tremendously complicated - it's just hard. Growing in holiness is, I think, more like that than anything else. It's not about how many prayers you say or the perfect formula for winning salvation all on your own. It's about making the choice to follow him through all things, to listen to him, to believe in him.

I think in today's Gospel, Our Lord is merely reminding us that his way is the correct one. While it is one that will entail suffering, challenge and pain, it is the only one that leads us to the glory we are each meant to one day experience. He never said it would be easy... he said it would be right.

"The Lord is the Living One, he is merciful."

"God is the Living One, the Merciful One; Jesus brings us the life of God; the Holy Spirit gives and keeps us in our new life as true sons and daughters of God. But all too often, as we know from experience, people do not choose life, they do not accept the “Gospel of Life” but let themselves be led by ideologies and ways of thinking that block life, that do not respect life, because they are dictated by selfishness, self-interest, profit, power and pleasure, and not by love, by concern for the good of others. It is the eternal dream of wanting to build the city of man without God, without God’s life and love – a new Tower of Babel. It is the idea that rejecting God, the message of Christ, the Gospel of Life, will somehow lead to freedom, to complete human fulfillment  As a result, the Living God is replaced by fleeting human idols which offer the intoxication of a flash of freedom, but in the end bring new forms of slavery and death. The wisdom of the Psalmist says: 'The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes' (Ps 19:8). Let us always remember: the Lord is the Living One, he is merciful. The Lord is the Living One, he is merciful."

                                                                         
                                                                                -  His Holiness, Pope Francis
                                                                                   June 16, 2013

A True Queen's Courage...

In deepest anxiety, as Haman the Agagite's plot to wipe out the Jews became known, Queen Esther, herself a Jewish girl in disguise, prayed to The Lord: "O my Lord, thou only art our King; help me, who am alone and have no helper but thee, for my danger is in my hand" (Esther 14:3-4).

She was the Queen of the mighty Persian Empire, and yet she was a Jew. Her faith was not just another aspect of her - it WAS her. Her life in God was immeasurably more real and more valuable to her than worldly entitlement. It was her guiding light and her deepest, most sacred treasure. 

What if we had that same faith in God? I'll speak for myself. How often to I actually act (especially in times of trial) as though my fidelity to God is just a given and I need strength to face the earthly consequences? Usually we're quick to jump ship as soon as trouble comes along. We think of all of the options before us - all of the ways we could get out of the uncomfortable or dangerous situation that we're facing.

Bot not Esther! Her true regal character shines forth not in gawdy apparel or the free exercise of earthly power. Her queenship radiates precisely through her unswerving love and devotion to the True King, and I for one hope to emulate her courage. 

MARCO!!!

"When the days for his being taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem."   
                                    Luke 9:51

Some translations say, "he set his face toward Jerusalem," gazing into his destiny boldly, with unwavering resolve.

Truth be told, I don't know how to consistently do likewise. My walk with our Lord has always been one of what often seems like "hide and seek." I sometimes even feel like we're playing spiritual "Marco Polo." One minute, I know right where Jesus is and I leap out toward him, swinging my arms around in the darkness hoping to just brush against him for a moment. Sometimes I do. Other times I'm nowhere near him.

I don't think I ever truly doubt that he's there. It's just that sometimes I get so caught up in the effort I'm making that I don't take my time and pause to listen. I don't quiet my mind so as to notice a ripple in the pool here, a splash there, the sound of someone close by trying to breathe softly or not to laugh because I'm SO CLOSE!

And the longer my eyes remain shut the easier it is for me to become more fearful. Am I alone in this thing? Has he lost interest? Does he even want to play anymore? Should I try a real quick "FISH OUT OF WATER!!!"? How little faith have I to ask such questions? We're not talking about some absentee landlord deity, here. This is the Lord of Luke 9! This is the Jesus who "sets his face" toward my perfect, or rather "perfected," life with him forever and who resolutely determines to guide me there every step of the way.

But he wants me to make the choice, to take the step, to walk the walk - to be truly free. Love bought or sold is no love at all. He'll never take away the challenge or the toil, but neither will he refuse to yell back "Polo!" enthusiastically each time I belt out "Marco!"

Lord Jesus, guide my every step. For I abandon myself entirely to you... MARCO!

The Devil = Creation's biggest loser

Here's how scared of Satan St. Michael
the Archangel is...

The evil one, the "father of lies," is said to be like a lion, "looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8). Always prowling, he lurks about in the shadows. He usually does not come in great pomp and circumstance - not in a show of strength. No. His ways are far more diabolical.

Satan tickles our ears and his wicked patience is sometimes maddening, for he seemingly lures us at every moment. He does not do so in order to have us for himself, but rather to tear us away from God through selfish pride. After all, thieves are sometimes just as motivated by the satisfaction of harming someone they despise by means of theft than they are by the stealing the item itself.

He doesn't really care about any of us or want us "on his side." He wants God to be robbed of us because God loves us. In fact, tradition claims that it was God's unbounded love for human beings that served as the catalyst for Satan's hatred and downfall. He could not accept that God would humble Himself so much that He would become one of us. Being shown such intentions he traditionally uttered those cold, hard-hearted words: "Non serviam!" ... "I will not serve!" Then he and his ilk plunged into darkness.

The Devil, being ancient and a fallen seraph or "angel of light," is more cunning and more dangerous than we can ever really comprehend. Such has been the faithful's understanding from the beginning. His is the way of deception, confusion, trickery. We can meet him around any corner, in a stranger, in a friend, in a relative, in ourselves. Christ saw the devil leading Peter astray and shouted, "Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me," (Matthew 16:23). We must never forget that he is very real and very dangerous - to do otherwise would be a grave mistake (there's a saying that the greatest deception Satan ever managed was convincing countless people that he doesn't exist).

All things considered, though, I think that his pernicious meddling can sometimes lead us to attribute too much power to him. The Devil is not the "God of Evil." He is a created being. He is limited. While we should strive to be more vigilant against his tactics, we should also recall that he is absolutely incapable of separating us from God without some form of our consent. As we hear in the scriptures, "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you," and again, "Resist him, steadfast in faith, knowing that your fellow believers throughout the world undergo the same sufferings" (James 4:7 and 1 Peter 5:8-9, respectively).

Remember the utter cowardice and immediate fear the demons showed the instant they recognized Our Lord? "What have you to do with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the appointed time?" (Matthew 8:29). Only too well do the fallen ones know Christ's power (cf. James 2:19), for when one flips a light switch do the light and darkness battle it out in the room before one eventually wins? No. Light immediately banishes darkness - there is no contest.

We should keep such wisdom in the forefront of our minds and frequently invoke God's most Holy Name in times of spiritual battle. For as St. Paul so wonderfully wrote: "God bestowed on him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:9-11).