Amazing Catechists

Teaching and learning the faith together

Don’t be a Whiner!

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The title of this post must seem a bit strange.  It becomes a bit stranger still when you consider the one telling you not to be a whiner is not me, but Pope Francis!

He said it (basically) during his homily on Tuesday, May 7th, while reflecting on today’s first reading from the Book of Acts, Chapter 16, where Paul and Silas are in prison yet they are joyful, even “singing hymns to God!”  Imagine that!  Being in prison and yet finding a voice to sing joyfully unto the Lord (cf. Ps 95:1).  I know there are plenty of times when I find myself in far less precarious situations than being in prison and I struggle to even pray, much less sing a hymn of praise.

The Holy Father said in his homily (my emphasis added):

“When the difficulties arrive, so do temptations. For example, the complaint: ‘Look what I have to deal with … a complaint. And a Christian who constantly complains, fails to be a good Christian: they become Mr. or Mrs. Whiner, no? Because they always complain about everything, right? Silence in endurance, silence in patience. That silence of Jesus: Jesus in His Passion did not speak much, only two or three necessary words … But it is not a sad silence: the silence of bearing the Cross is not a sad silence. It is painful, often very painful, but it is not sad. The heart is at peace. Paul and Silas were praying in peace. They were in pain, because then it is said that the jailer washed their wounds while they were in prison – they had wounds – but endured in peace. This journey of endurance helps us deepen Christian peace, it makes us stronger in Jesus.”

Not only does Pope Francis say that people who constantly complain can become “Mr. or Mrs. Whiner,” but they “fail to be a good Christian.”  Wow!  Talk about cutting through all the excess and getting down to the heart of the matter.

But suffering is not something new to God’s people, nor is it news to God that his people suffer.  He knows, understands, and acts decisively in the midst of his people’s suffering in order to bring about their good (cf. Rom 8:28).  For example, consider God’s intervention on behalf of the people of Israel:

Then the LORD said, “I have seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters; I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites (Ex 3:7-8).

The Holy Father reminded those at Mass this morning (and by extension all of us) that Christians are to be imitators of him who moves to relieve his people’s suffering and therefore Christians are to act decisively to relieve the suffering of others (cf. Mt 5:48 and Mt 10:8). Consider the following quotation from The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church (my emphasis added):

The Church, “since her origin and in spite of the failing of many of her members, has not ceased to work for their relief, defence and liberation through numerous works of charity which remain indispensable always and everywhere.” Prompted by the Gospel injunction, “You have received without paying, give without pay” (Mt 10:8), the Church teaches that one should assist one’s fellow man in his various needs and fills the human community with countless works of corporal and spiritual mercy. “Among all these, giving alms to the poor is one of the chief witnesses to fraternal charity: it is also a work of justice pleasing to God,” even if the practice of charity is not limited to alms-giving but implies addressing the social and political dimensions of the problem of poverty. In her teaching the Church constantly returns to this relationship between charity and justice: “When we attend to the needs of those in want, we give them what is theirs, not ours.  More than performing works of mercy, we are paying a debt of justice.”(#184).

One of the things I like most about Pope Francis so far is the simplicity of his language.  Don’t get me wrong, I still really enjoy the mysticism in the writings of Blessed Pope John Paul II, and the deep theological language employed by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, but with Pope Francis you don’t have to spend a lot of time wondering what he was saying; you just have to think about how to apply it.  In closing, check out this example from his homily today (my emphasis added):

And the Lord invites us to this: to be rejuvenated Easter people on a journey of love, patience, enduring our tribulations and also – I would say – putting up with one another. We must also do this with charity and love, because if I have to put up with you, I’m sure you will put up with me and in this way we will move forward on our journey on the path of Jesus.

Easy to understand…tough to put into practice!

Ash Wednesday and Being Thankful for the Changing of Seasons

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So I put the brown, Volume III of the Liturgy of the Hours (Ordinary Time) back on the shelf and pulled down the red, Volume II (Lent/Easter).  I noticed something about it this time as I held it in my hand.  The cover and the spine are a lot more malleable then when I originally purchased the set and a few pages have the corners turned up on them.  Then I opened it and read the antiphon for the Invitatory:

“Come, let us worship Christ the Lord, who for our sake endured temptation and suffering.“

It sounded familiar and I suddenly became thankful for the changing of seasons, the opportunity once again to begin the observance of Lent.  Through all the changes that have taken place in my life in the past year, and there have been a lot of them, the Lord shows his constancy through the Church’s liturgical seasons.  He always invites us to go deeper with him.  As I meditated on that for a few minutes in my office this morning, the “burden” of Lent disappeared and it was replaced by joy.

Lent is best known for “giving up something” and not for its focus on fasting, almsgiving, and prayer.  The problem with the idea of “giving up something” is that we never seem ready to give up our sense of entitlement.  We may put aside chocolate, caffeine, or sweets, and in a sense meet the letter of the law, but we never seem to give up the idea that we are somehow entitled to those things (and many others).  The end result of Lent is that we celebrate Easter by binging in a week long period of self-indulgence.  Somehow I don’t think that is the point of Lent.  What is it that gets lost in the transition from Lent to Easter: from self denial to self-gratification?  The practice of fasting is like the preparation of an athlete for a competition; we are trying to “get fit” (again) as believers in preparation for Easter and the renewal of Christian living beyond Lent.

True fasting, according to Isaiah 58, is not a endurance test for the body to abstain from certain types of food, or even food altogether, but it is an abstaining from sin, injustice, corruption and deceit.  This type of fasting is related to almsgiving and social justice.  The bonus about focusing on this type of fasting is that it doesn’t end at Easter.  In the book of Isaiah, we read:

Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?  Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?  Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you, the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.  Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, Here I am. “If you take away from the midst of you the yoke, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday (Is 58:6-10).

Once again, this is the type of fast that can, and should, be lived year round.  It is a very practical kind where fasting means Christians truly living their faith.  It requires recognizing injustice, protesting against it, and protecting its victims.

Another Lenten focus is on prayer.  Rarely is prayer easy.  At least it’s not for me.  I often wonder if prayer something we do or something we allow God to do in us.  I suppose it could be a little of both.  Prayer is our attempt to remain in conscious contact with God, to remain open to his wisdom and love.  Prayer means remaining open to receiving God’s gifts.  It also means allowing God to work through us in order to bring about the change God wants for his people.  The type of change that ushers in the justice that Isaiah spoke of.

The observance of Lent and its associated “tasks” – fasting, almsgiving, and prayer – last for 40 in remembrance of the 40 days Jesus spent being tempted in the wilderness after his baptism by John (Luke 4:1-13).  There he was tested: was he really serious about the mission he was called to?  Did he really love the Father with all his heart, all his mind, and all his strength?  Was he, at heart, serious about serving God fully, no matter what that might require, even death?

We are tested in this way, not “in the wilderness,” but by life.  Through temptation we learn about our weakness and about the depth of our commitment.  When tempted we should ask ourselves: “To what extent am I willing to serve the Lord?”  During Lent, we consciously invite this kind of test through our fasting; we hold our lives up to God for his scrutiny and beg for his mercy.

During our 40 day observance of Lent we not only have Jesus example to guide us, but his Spirit to accompany us on the journey.  My prayer this Lent is that at the end of it I’ll be a bit more like the red volume of my breviary – a little more malleable than when I began.