The Lord calls you to be his witness, reflecting his love and mercy in a world in need. Catholics are counter-cultural. Ask God for the courage to live this prophetic life and shines his light in the darkness of the world.
I think everyone will agree that we live in very challenging times as Catholics. The prevailing culture stands absolutely at odds with much of what we value and believe to be true, good, and beautiful. This reality makes it difficult to always do the right thing and to be the person we know we should be.
The cultural messages and peer pressures that we constantly experience can mislead us so that we become blind to what really matters. We can easily lose sight of our identity and the incredibly wonderful reason we exist. The prologue of the Catechism has this to say:
“God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life… In his Son and through him, he invites men to become, in the Holy Spirit, his adopted children and thus heirs of his blessed life.” – Catechism of the Catholic Church, Prologue I.1.
This truth is the very dignity of every man and woman, no matter your age, no matter your race, no matter your sex, no matter your background. When we lose sight of this truth, we will likely search for purpose and meaning according the the culture’s metrics for success. We all want to belong. We all desire to be admired and viewed by others as successful.
When we are young and in school, we want to belong and be included. We want to have good friends and be accepted. When we are older, we want the same thing; in our work life and in our personal life.
The type of person you are will manifest itself in what you do and how you define success. What you do and how you live will naturally determine what kind of people become your friends and the type of friends they are.
If you have lost touch with your true identity, it is likely that you will measure your success according to the culture’s standards:
- Is my physical appearance attractive?
- Are my clothes stylish and sexy?
- Are my friends popular? Do I hang with the in crowd?
- Do I eat at the best places and listen to the right music?
- How much money do I make and have?
- Do I have the finest house and the latest, the most expensive car, the latest technology?
- Am I powerful at work, home and among my friends?
- Are my children enrolled in the finest schools so that they too can achieve worldly success?
If you remember and value the reason you were made, God provides a different measure:
- Do I love God with every fiber of my body and soul?
- Is my love of God manifested in my love of neighbor? Do I share his love and mercy with others?
- Do I care enough about the spiritual and material needs of others to do something to help them?
- Am I dependable… can others count on me?
- Am I a person of integrity and honor… can others trust and believe me?
- Am I kind and compassionate?
- Am I humble and selfless or am I prideful and jealous?
- Do I strive to do good things and avoid evil?
There is a stark warning in the Epistle of James that reminds us that to follow the way of the world—pursuing material wealth and popularity without regard to our obligation to love God and serve our neighbors—does not lead to our happiness, but to our destruction (see James 5:1-6).
And Jesus reminds us in Mark’s Gospel that pride can even slip in when we are trying to serve Him. We sometimes try to prevent others from doing what is good as if it somehow detracts from our own efforts (see Mark 9:38-41). And He speaks forcefully about the necessity to avoid occasions of sin:
“If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life crippled than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. Better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna, where ‘their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.’” -Mark 9:43-48
Practical Advice for Spiritual Growth as a Disciple
God desires only good things for us. He has created each of us out of His goodness to enjoy His eternal beatitude in this life and the life to come. It is important for us to know which measurement drives our behavior and actions. If we do not examine how we live and what motivates our behavior, we will quite likely drift further from God’s plan for us.
Here are some simple and highly effective steps to help us see ourselves as God see us and to take corrective action to deepen our conversion away from sin and toward God.
Begin each day by embracing who you are, a child of God. Praise God for who he is and thank him for giving you life and his love.
Make time for prayer throughout the day. This is how you spend time with the one who loves you, who gave you life, and sustains you in life. Love God above all with all you heart, soul, and mind.
Strive for excellence in all you do especially through service to others. If you treat others with integrity and kindness, you will attract friends who will treat you the same.
Incorporate a daily examen (examination of conscience) into your prayers.
- Just like with your morning prayer, begin by praising God and giving thanks for His goodness. Ask God to grant you the grace to be wise and open to what He desires to reveal to you.
- Identify the ways in which God has blessed you since your last examen.
- Identify the times and occasions since your last examen where you have followed God’s will for your life… identify those times and occasions where you have failed, through commission and omission, to follow God’s will.
- Identify recurring patterns of behavior. Where you have done well, seek more such occasions to live in virtue. Where you have sinned, seek to modify or avoid such occasions.
- Ask God to grant you the grace and strength to see yourself as he sees you.
Then, make regular sacramental confessions, offer worship to God in Holy Mass and receive the Lord in Holy Communion. He will nourish and strengthen you. The Lord desires to give you more than you can even imagine. This is how you will find true fulfillment and joy.
God wants you to be his missionary disciple. Share the goodness you have received from God will your friends, your family, and everyone you encounter. The Lord calls you to be his witness, reflecting his love and mercy in a world in need. Catholics are counter-cultural. Ask God for the courage to live this prophetic life and shine his light in the darkness of the world.
Into the deep…
The scripture readings during Holy Mass for the Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) are Numbers 11:25-29 | Psalms 19:8, 10, 12-13, 14 | James 5:1-6 | Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48.
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