culture Archives - Amazing Catechists

A Culture that Craves Feasts

As I was perusing Facebook the other day I noticed that even in the middle of Mardi Gras and Valentine’s Day, this week also celebrates National Friend’s Day. Our culture has created many such days to celebrate everything from relationships (e.g. National Siblings Day) to simple comforts (National Ice Cream Day).

I could not help but think that what our culture truly craves is much more than ice cream, and even more than Facebook friendships. Our culture thirsts for reasons to celebrate life. It invents new holidays and adopts religious feast days like Mardi Gras and Saint Patrick’s Day, though often without the liturgical significance from which it was established.

Our world grasps for holidays and weekends to look forward to, essentially, reasons to keep going. Most commuters I see on Monday mornings have that “I can’t wait until the weekend” look. But those longed for moments come and go and they often never provide the refreshment needed. Nor do they prevent Monday from coming again.

Without an eternal perspective life seems like a random conglomeration of pointless days…unless there can be something to celebrate! In the attempt to remedy hopelessness, the world embraces feast days but often forgets the One who is at the center of all, the One who gives meaning and purpose to each of our lives, to every moment of every day. He gives us hope for the greatest of holidays, an eternal “weekend” if you will.

We can all get sidetracked by the secular mentality and forget what we are living for, but the Church comes to our aid! On every day of the year there is at least one person to celebrate – a saint who is already participating in the Eternal Life to which we all hope to be invited. There are solemnities, feast days, and memorials throughout the year to point us to the purpose of this life, much more so than Mardi Gras parades and Saint Patrick Day parties. Celebrating these days with the Lord in mind leads us on towards that Life we all hope to inherit.

As we celebrate Mardi Gras and prepare for Lent, here are a few questions that might be helpful as we seek to appreciate the Lord’s presence here and now and also look forward to what is to come:

How can we live in a way that anticipates the underlying meaning of these celebrations that have been secularized?
In this Lenten Season, can we start with celebrating Sunday as the Lord’s Day, truly commemorating His Resurrection?
How can we witness to our families and our world the joy we receive when we are fed by the liturgy and Sacraments that are so much a part of our feasts and celebrations?

I hope that this reflection helps you to find even more joy in your celebrations, so that you will be constantly reminded of the Heavenly feast to which we can participate in the Sacraments and to which we hope to celebrate fully in the life to come.

Living Advent 2: Don’t Judge a Person by Their Christmas Lights

By Maureen Smith

On my walk to the metro the other day, past houses illuminated with brightly colored lights (which were put up too early) and festive cheer, I found myself feeling irritated, lonely, and discouraged.

But this is Advent. I’m supposed to be happy. I work for the Church, so why am I not more excited?

The answer hit me like a snowball to the face.

One of the reasons why my heart has been restless is because I have been so critical of the “happy holidays” culture, separating myself from those who are not more traditional. In an attempt to celebrate Advent “successfully” (whatever that looks like), I put myself above anyone who does not observe this pentential season the “right” way.

I have fallen yet again into the, “I’m not one of those people mentality.”

How many times have we all said this, especially during Advent? Do any of these situations sound familiar?

Criticizing retailers for putting out merchandise too early
Gossiping about the neighbors who decorate the day after Thanksgiving
Rolling our eyes at black friday shoppers
If we did shop, our shopping was completely justified…we’re not one of those rediculous 3am shoppers…
Glaring at the barrista who hands us a red coffee cup and wishes us happy holidays
Plugging our ears in protest of Christmas music played before the Octave

Is this having the effect we really want? Is this really the Christian response? Are we so liturgically rigid that we deny returning charity to others of good will?

These “others” are trying to spread joy in that same secular world which told Mary and Joseph that there was no room for them. Do we not give them room in our hearts? Are we too busy complaining that it isn’t the right time to sing “Joyful Joyful We Adore Thee” that we forget to recognize and adore the presence of Christ whose love is incarnate in the smiling person before us?

Just because it is not the proper time to sing “Joy to the World” our Savior still reigns and we still can be joyful! We can still help others’ hearts unfold before us, opening to the Son of God.

In all of this holiday mania let us be lights of joy and let us receive others as lights of joy. Christ came in the most unexpected place on that first Christmas day, and we have the opportunity to meet him in those very people we are so quick to judge, those who “take Christ out of Christmas.”

No one can really take Christ out of Christmas. Our challenge is to recognize Christ in those place where he is needed most, and bring his love and light into the darkness. As Christians we cannot just ignore the darkness and those who are thirsting within it for a savior.

It was His Heart that beat under the heart of Our Lady waiting to be born for the salvation of the world. It was His Heart that cured the sick, forgave the sinner, and fed the hungry. It was His Heart that beat on the Cross for us and still beats for us in Heaven. It is His Heart that beats within our own Hearts. The question is, are we willing to bring that love into the world?

Christ sees us all men and women as his children, he does not evaluate us as “happy holidays” people or “Merry Christmas” people.

If we find ourselves frustrated by the culture, by the fact that our ministry makes it difficult to pray, or if this season brings with it personal challenges and struggles, let us be consoled by the truth that Christ comes into the world each time at Mass and is always present in our hearts and in the hearts of others.

Whether or not we do Christmas or Advent “right,” no matter when we put out our Christmas lights and decorations, he still comes, for he is always faithful.

Living Advent: How to Cope with the Awkwardness of the First Week

By Maureen Smith

I want to begin by acknowledging the difficulty of entering into the Advent season this year. I almost forgot it was the first week of Advent between the Thanksgiving travels and the craziness of the secular world that started celebrating the holidays weeks ago. Gone is the “PSL” craze, quickly replaced by everything flavored peppermint and dyed red in mid-November.

Mass this Sunday was sufficiently awkward since no one knew the Mass parts yet and everyone was still in Thanksgiving mode.

My confusion was exacerbated because I forgot that Advent starts with contemplating the second coming rather than the first two Joyful Mysteries.

I found myself overwhelmed, not knowing what to pray with or how to live fully this season which is supposed to be a time of peace. I thought, how can I begin to appreciate the Advent Season in such a noisy environment?

For those of us who work for the Church, in ministry, or in catechesis this is an especially busy time of year. The thought of finding and contemplating the silence of Advent and the Nativity only leaves us jealous of the Holy Family.

Here are a few tips that might be helpful for me and for you when it is difficult to live Advent.

1. Journaling. Sharing your thoughts with Jesus, I believe, is the first step towards sorting out the confusing and conflicting emotions of the secular world and its holiday season that started before Thanksgiving and ends on Christmas day.

Not a journaler? Try something else new such as an Advent devotional or making a gratitude list, something that can become a springboard to contemplation when your prayer feels dry or empty and you are tempted to quit because you have so many other commitments.

2. Liturgy. The Church has great tools for entering into Advent aside from the obvious Advent calendars and candles. The First Readings from Isaiah serve as great daily meditation for us to gain access to what the Lord has in store for each of us. I have found it helpful to see how the Prophet’s words are fulfilled in our own lives and in our own hearts.

3. Patience. The last thing Jesus wants is for us to be worried and anxious about doing Advent “wrong.” This year might feel different from other years, but that is because it is! It is a brand new opportunity for us to receive grace and deeper insight into the Love God has for each and every soul.

Happy Advent!

Healing the Wounds of a “Create-Yourself” Culture: Part III- Outreach

By Maureen Smith

Once we are ready to reach out to those suffering from addiction, abuse, or any other pain, and we have discerned that the Lord is calling this ministry, it is good to take inventory.

Each community has a different demographic with different resources available, so it is always helpful to do a bit of research. For example, if you notice a need to help adolescent girls struggling with body image – take a look at what is already offered. Are there workshops, educational resources, therapists, dieticians, or other organizations and providers that can help? Are there professionals and volunteers that can join your initiative if you are starting something yourself?

Another tip, especially for adolescents and teens, is finding positive influences to counter the negative messages they are constantly receiving. I have heard of modesty fashion shows, group exercise classes followed by body image talks, cooking classes, fun runs, and other group activities aimed at building self-esteem and promoting self-care, in addition to providing the spiritual component which is the most essential piece. The key is to find a strategy to replace what is destructive e.g. media, magazines, clothes, and replace those negative influences with believable, relevant, and genuinely positive influences that will speak to the age group and culture.

Most importantly, your role as a catechist, youth minister, parent, etc. is to love them where they are wounded- to be Christ to them. Just as Christ has come to us and revealed His love for us, we are now called to share this Good News. The challenge, as I am sure all of you know, is to “re-propose” these truths of the Gospel in ways they can hear it, amidst the ear buds, “beats,” and bluetooths.

It may seem counter-intuitive, but this culture- more than anything else- needs to hear that they are loved, that they are loved with the “flaws” they may see in themselves, and even despite the flaws other people see in them. Underneath the make-up, clothing (or lack-thereof), dyed hair, piercings, tattoos, and bad attitudes is a wounded and lonely heart. Underneath the quiet, seemingly perfect kids who “have it all together” is a heart trembling from uncertainty and potential failure. Every person in this world craves love, and as “missionary disciples,” to quote a Pope Francis-ism, we are called to offer that love we have first received.

Being who you are, comfortable with how God made you, and living with a spirit of joy and gratitude is the best gift you can give. The Lord fills a heart prepared to receive Him, transforms it, and makes it a Tabernacle to whom those who need the Lord can find a home. I pray that the light of Christ which dwells in your hearts becomes a source of grace for all of those you encounter.