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Interview with Bear Wosnick on Surfing, the Spiritual Life, and His New Book!

By Lisa Mladinich

My Friends, You haven’t lived ’til you’ve listened to Bear Wosnick describe what it is to surf a big wave and experience powerful connections with your spiritual life!

We’re also talking about romance, holy masculinity, and his new book, “Deep Adventure: The Way of Heroic Virtue”!

Just click the book cover to join our super-fun conversation!

BEAR WOZNICK is the Host of the Motorcycle-Based Reality TV show, “Long Ride Home with Bear Woznick,” which is distributed worldwide on EWTN and Armed Forces Network to more than two hundred million homes and Amazon Prime. He is also the Host of EWTN’s “The Bear Woznick Adventure” Radio Show heard by millions each week on over 500 radio stations in nearly all 50 states, as well as Sirius FM, and Video version on most podcast apps. Bear also Hosts the fifteen-minute Ocean Sunrise Catechism, seen weekdays on Facebook live. He is the author of the books, “Deep in the Wave – A Surfing Guide to the Soul” (an Amazon best seller) and “Deep Adventure – The Way of Heroic Virtue.” He leads pilgrimages to Europe, Greece, and Israel, and speaks globally, with an emphasis on Men’s Conferences. He’s a Benedictine Oblate at the Mary Spouse of the Holy Spirit Monastery on North Shore of O’ahu. Bear is Married to Cindy Woznick, lives in Waikiki, and has four adult children. He’s a CPA with a Masters Degree in Tax, and he’s pursuing a Masters of Theology from Franciscan University at Steubenville. Bear Wosnick is also a World Champion surfer.

Find Bear Wosnick and his books and other resources at https://www.bearschoolofmanliness.com

Check out his “Store” for books and more. Here’s the direct link! https://my-site-100622-104377.square.site

Read all posts by Lisa Mladinich Filed Under: Book Reviews, Catholic Spirituality, Featured, General, Interview, Lisa's Updates, Marriage, Podcast, Resources, Video Tagged With: Bear Wosnick, Catholic, Deep Adventure The Way of Heroic Virtue, masculinity, romance, Sophia Press, Spirituality, surfing, virtues

Understanding the Spirituality of Waiting

By Jeannie Ewing

I’m willing to bet that everyone reading this hates to wait. We live in a society that lauds “bigger, better, faster,” and we by and large get what we want, when we want it. Thanks to the technological revolution, information is available 24/7. So waiting, whether we overtly or subconsciously admit it, is something of an impediment to staying active and busy.

Yet we can’t ignore the fact that waiting – especially when we don’t choose it – must have a divine purpose for our lives. If God is deliberate and doesn’t waste anything, then he must be speaking to us when we feel stuck, in the middle, or just plain lost. It’s important for us, then, to examine the “why” behind the “what:” how do seasons of waiting strengthen, prune, and purify us?

Look to Scripture.

In the Bible, we have both Old and New Testament examples of long periods of waiting. The most common and popular example would be the Israelites wandering the desert after their exodus from Egypt. Can you imagine spending 40 years of your life without a home, in a desert no less – without vegetation and with much desolation?

What kept the Israelites going those long years? Why didn’t they just turn away and quit the journey? Well, remember that most of them ended up grumbling from time to time – about their divine food (manna), worshiping the molten calf while Moses was conversing with God atop the mountain. But they kept moving forward. Why?

They were given a promise. God guaranteed that he had a place set aside for them, a land “flowing with milk and honey.” This was the Promised Land.

Then you have the example of the Visitation in the New Testament. Mary waited with her cousin, Elizabeth, after she received the news that she would give birth to the Messiah, the Son of God! Both she and Elizabeth prepared, waited, and celebrated together during several months of gestation. Why? Because they were given a promise – the ultimate promise!

Jesus also prayed in the desert for 40 days, during which time he was tempted by Satan. Isn’t that what happens to us, too? When God invites us to wait for his perfect timing, we often succumb to the doubts and discouragement brought on by thoughts from the enemy.

Why do we wait? Because God has promised that he makes good come from all things according to his purpose.

Live by Way of Obscure Faith

St. John of the Cross coined the term “obscure faith.” Essentially it means faith that is not clear, but it is certain. When we wait, we might be tempted to just pass the time doing one of many enticing options – internet gaming, shopping, idle time on social media scrolling and scrolling, running errands, etc. But we have to remember that waiting isn’t wasting. God wants us to use the time he’s given us fruitfully.

If we understand that this undefined time of desolation in the desert of waiting means something deeper, something we can’t fully grasp just yet, we are encouraged to keep believing that God has a plan in the midst of uncertainty and the unknown.

One such encouragement is that desolation leads to a period of consolation, and vice versa. We tend to go through cycles in our spiritual journeys from one to the other and back again. God gives us consolations, or spiritual sweetness, to uplift and strengthen us for the inevitable forthcoming period of desolation – when we can’t see anything and don’t know what’s going on.

Spend your “down” time resting in God.

(The next post will be about resting and the spirituality of waiting.)

This article is an abridged version of Chapter 1 from my book, Waiting with Purpose: Persevering When God Says “Not Yet.”

Text (c) Jeannie Ewing 2018, all rights reserved. Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

Read all posts by Jeannie Ewing Filed Under: Catholic Spirituality, Culture, Family Life, Featured Tagged With: prayer, Spirituality, waiting

The 6 Spiritual Principles of Moving Through Grief

By Jeannie Ewing

Grief is one of those tricky, delicate, often nebulous life phenomena that is tough to pinpoint and define. We all suffer differently, and we all experience grief in a very personal, unique way. Even so, I’ve found that there are some universal strategies – what I call “spiritual principles” – that can really aid all of us when we are seeking healing after devastating loss.

In my book, From Grief to Grace: The Journey from Tragedy to Triumph, I delve more deeply into these principles, how they work together, and what they might look like for you as you move through your grief journey. But there’s no panacea as to how you will experience each of these principles. They are intended to be guideposts, not certainties, in your spiritual journey toward healing.

The 6 spiritual principles of moving through grief are:

  • Humility of Heart:
    • This is the foundation of all other principles, because it requires us to move from self-pity (“woe is me” attitude) toward focus on God.
    • Opportunities to grow in humility tend to come in the form of humiliations; when grieving, these can include unexpected weeping to a compassionate stranger or permitting a neighbor to clean our house.
    • Requires vulnerability – allowing God to tear down our emotional barricades, being transparent to others
  • Abandonment to Divine Providence:
    • Builds upon the first principle (humility), because our hearts need to be receptive by way of humility. Pride closes and hardens our hearts.
    • This receptivity allows us to move to a place in which we long to please God, even in the midst of mystery.
    • Abandonment, or surrender, is acquired through acts that try one’s patience and foster perseverance.
    • A person who is ready to enter into this principle has a heart and mind that is open, ready, and willing to hand over our wants and needs into God’s hands without needless worry or concern.
  • Holy Indifference:
    • Based on the Ignatian concept that if the soul “is attached or inclined to a thing inordinately, that [person] should move himself, putting forth all his strength, to come to the contrary of what he is wrongly drawn to.”
    • It is NOT apathy or indifference. It does not mean we no longer care about our circumstances, only that we surrender (second principle) our needs, cares, and concerns without expecting a specific outcome to our prayer.
    • It is the third principle, because one must have begun the journey into humility and abandonment before the ability to be content with a “yes” or “no” or “not yet” answer from God to our prayers.
    • Related to holy detachment
  • The Dark Night of the Soul (e.g., Holy Darkness):
    • Focused on fidelity to God in the face of self-emptiness.
    • Acquired through time, temptations, trials, and tribulations.
    • Feeling as if God has forsaken or abandoned you; feeling spiritually dry or alone.
    • If you’re in a state of grace (e.g., no mortal sin staining your soul, and you are staying close to the sacraments of Eucharist and Confession), then the emptiness and loneliness you feel may be this holy darkness.
    • NOT the same as the darkness caused by sin or consequences of sin (including spiritual attack).
  • Confidence in God’s Timing:
    • “Thank God ahead of time for whatever He sees is best for [you]…Courage is half the battle – confidence in God is the soul of prayer – foster the latter and you have both.” (Bl. Solanus Casey)
    • In your period of mourning, when you are feeling empty, exhausted, possibly abandoned by God and others – cultivate gratitude. Think of your past and all the ways God has delivered or blessed you. Then, thank Him for what He is doing in your life that you cannot see and entrust your entire present and future into His hands (2nd principle – surrender).
    • When we thank God for our pain and sorrow, as well as our joys and celebrations, we make everything a holy gift that He, in turn, molds into a facet of healing, strength, and peace for us.
  • The Wound of the Heart:
    • This is a mystical concept based on St. Therese of Lisieux’s spirituality: “I offer myself as a victim of holocaust to your merciful love.”
    • When we pray without expectation of a certain outcome (holy indifference, 3rd principle), and when we thank God for all He is doing and will be doing in our lives (confidence/gratitude, 5th principle), then we will accept that our pain may not be taken away from us. Instead, it may be transformed into love.
    • “Martyrdom of the heart” or “white martyrdom” that some saints experienced – a piercing of the heart and soul that causes a “wound of love.” In other words, our grief and suffering may become the best gift of love we can unite with the wounds of Jesus.
    • This principle teaches us how to suffer well.

Adapted from my book, From Grief to Grace: The Journey from Tragedy to Triumph.

Text (c) Jeannie Ewing 2018, all rights reserved. Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

Read all posts by Jeannie Ewing Filed Under: Catholic Spirituality, Featured, Grief Resources, Therapeutic Tagged With: grief, grief resources, Healing, prayer, Spirituality

Lenten Lessons Learned

By Mary Lou Rosien

(C) 2016 Vlad Rosien All Rights Reserved

(C) 2016
Vlad Rosien
All Rights Reserved

Vlad Rosien All Rights Reserved

Vlad Rosien
All Rights Reserved

What a long, strange Lent it’s been. It started so dry and ended with quite a bit of suffering and growing. The Lord taught me a lot through my small sacrifices and works of mercy.

1/ Just because you give up chocolate doesn’t mean you’ll lose weight. The trick for me this Lent, was in not replacing the thing I gave up with something else. A true sacrifice should be a little uncomfortable. If you skip meat on Fridays, then go out for lobster, the sacrifice has actually become a treat.

2/ When you spend time in quiet prayer and reflection new insights are revealed. I’m often busy (my hubby would say too busy for my own good). Frequently on the move, caring for others and working several jobs doesn’t give me much time for reflection. This Lent, I made a conscious effort to spend more time in adoration. It may sound a little pretentious, but I found myself in those moments. I recognized that God works in my life in little ways I hadn’t noticed before. For example, I don’t write beautiful novels or long works of literary knowledge and…that’s okay. I write concise, short books and articles for busy people to read on the run. I’m not particularly prolific, however, I am practical and spiritual and God can use that too. It took me a long time to be okay with being the writer I am, not the one I thought I should be.

3/ Giving up some social media taught me that I like people more when I don’t know who they are voting for, what vacations they have been on and what wonderful successes they are currently enjoying. I don’t think I was even aware how much social media was coloring how I viewed others or how judgmental/envious I become while scrolling! Once I recognized this shortcoming in myself, I also realized that to, “Avoid the near occasion of sin,” I must decrease my use of social media permanently. I now check, post, scroll and comment much less frequently than I used to and life is better for it.

I am so grateful for the seasons of the Church Liturgical Year. Each one gives us a different focus and a chance to reflect and learn new things. God bless.

(C) 2016

Read all posts by Mary Lou Rosien Filed Under: General Tagged With: Catholic, growth, Lent, sacrifice, Spirituality

12 Nuggets from Rediscover Jesus

By Deanna Bartalini

1RJ-SC-2TI finished reading Rediscover Jesus by Matthew Kelly and I enjoyed it very much!

I gleaned a few things I’d like to tell you about and I will in a minute.  First though, the book is a nice, easy read but it asks tough questions and offers ways to learn more about Jesus and grow into a, dare I say, better Christian.  Each chapter ends with action items:  Point to Ponder, Verse to Live, Question to Consider, and Prayer.  If you thought, learned and prayed those four items each day for forty days (which is the number of chapters in the book) I think you would be a different person, hopefully better, at the end of that time.  I suppose I could have done that, but I am a book glutton so I can’t just read one chapter a day.  Ideally, I’ll go back to those chapters which challenged me the most and read those again.

Onto my list of nuggets from the book!

  1.  “Jesus is the ultimate new beginning.”
  2. “He (Jesus) wants to perform miracles in you and through you.”
  3. “Who do you say that Jesus is?”
  4. “When is the last time you were awestruck by Jesus?”
  5. “Who does Jesus say that you are?”
    • “Jesus says you are a child of God.”
    • “Jesus says you are infinitely valuable.”
    • “Jesus says you are free.”
  6. “If we could just learn to recognize people’s needs and pain, there are so many prayers that God want to use us to answer.  Too many go unanswered because ordinary people like you and me don’t allow the Holy Spirit to guide us.”
  7. “God is not in the business of tweaking.  He is in the business of transformation.”
  8. “We don’t see ourselves as we really are, and God’s ways are not man’s.”
  9. “Few things will have more impact on your life than what you allow to occupy your mind…ponder the ways of God and you will find yourself living them.”
  10. “If you want to be a better Christian, start by denying yourself.”
  11. “What do I want?  What does God want?”
  12. God is more interested in your future than he is in your past – but he is most interested in your now!”

Chapters 24, The Gap and 28, Spontaneous Prayer , were probably my favorite.  The Gap was full of practical tips which Kelly explains fully in successive chapters.  Spontaneous Prayer made me think about and ponder Gospel verses in a new way.

If you’d like a copy of the book, go to Dynamic Catholic.  They’d make great stocking stuffers

 

Read all posts by Deanna Bartalini Filed Under: Book Reviews Tagged With: book review, resources, Spirituality

Love Never Fails

By Maureen Smith

It is true that saints and devotions chose us. For someone who hates pink, Valentines Day, and all things frilly and girly, the Sacred Heart is an unlikely devotion for me to be called to embrace. That is how I know it is the work of God. He often reveals His Love through this devotion, most of the time when I am convincing myself that all things are lost.

This particular story reminds me of the line from Saint Paul that “Love never fails,” and I would agree except I would add to this … “even when it seems like it already has.”

About six years ago when I was studying abroad in Rome I made plans to meet my sister in Capri with her friends, who were visiting on Spring Break. I got up early and went to my favorite Church, the “Gesu,” (where there was a sweet little Sacred Heart Chapel) for early morning Mass before going to the train. I got there with plenty of time and was excited to see my sister after being tied down to school work because of midterms.

172px-SacredHeartBatoni

There were only a few minutes until the departure but there was still no track number. After inquiring about this I was told that this train was canceled. (Only in Italy!) Devastated, I walked around the train station and wandered into a nearby Church to wait for the next one which would shorten my excursion significantly.

Surprisingly, I felt much peace after praying for a few minutes and wondered which Church this was. I went to find a bulletin and found out it was a minor basilica…of the Sacred Heart. I felt much better, jumped on the next train, and got to where I was supposed to take a ferry to get to the island.Geronstere06

When I got to the ferry I realized that I had just missed the one I was trying to make. Frustrated even more I walked around and found a little Chapel almost hidden in the rocks of the rocky coast. I felt better again after prayer and looked up to see large banners hanging from the ceiling, images of the Sacred and Immaculate Hearts of Mary.

I was being cared for, I wasn’t alone!

Soon after I hopped on the ferry, (which happened to be an express!) I eventually got to Capri and met up with my sister, and as we were taking the ferry back to Rome I realized that it was Friday, and not just any Friday, but First Friday.

Just when I feel everything falling to pieces around me, when I feel like my life itself is a failure, this is the moment when the Love of God touches us. It doesn’t prevent us from missing trains or getting lost but it gives us the assurance that we belong to the Heart of Jesus.

The devotion of the Sacred Heart of Jesus isn’t always (or isn’t usually) a romantic “feeling” but it is the great privilege of being Sons and Daughters of God, or “co-heirs with Christ.” May the Lord reveal to you His great love this day.

 240px-Eduard_Hildebrandt_Capri

Read all posts by Maureen Smith Filed Under: General, Liturgical, Prayer Tagged With: Catholicism, First Friday, Sacred Heart, Spirituality

Spirituality for 2012 – part 2

By Christopher Smith, OP

Talk about famous last words…I concluded my last post on Amazing Catechists – “Spirituality for 2012” – with the statement, “I will be publishing a follow-up to this article in a few days.”  Ummmm….that was over a month ago.  Yikes!  Obviously, I need to invest in a new watch or a new planner.  Or maybe I should learn how to use the ones I have!

I suppose I could have moved on and written about something else; I haven’t seen any indications that the masses are sitting on the edge of their seat waiting for the conclusion to my ideas about spirituality in 2012.  However, the ideas that I started kicking around in my head over a month ago are still floating around up there (which I’m interpreting as a good sign) and so I really felt like I needed to get out what I’ve been thinking.

I would certainly encourage you to familiarize yourself with my first posting prior to jumping ahead into this one.  The overarching theme for that first post can be expressed in the following statement from the former Master General of the Dominican Order, Fr. Timothy Radcliffe, OP, who once said the Christian life is one that is “moral, reflective, prayerful, and imaginative.”

The big news story in the United States, as far as the Catholic Church goes, is the recent decision by the Obama administration to demand that sterilization, abortifacients and contraception be included in virtually all health plans, including ones provided by employers who have a moral objection to such procedures and prescriptions (e.g. Catholic Church).  In addition to the news cycle, there is a constant stream of commentary on what the Church should do in response to it.  Admittedly, I have contributed to that stream on my own blog.

But as I keep tabs on that developing story line in the news, I come back to this post on spirituality and on looking forward in 2012 and I see a connection that I didn’t see 5 1/2 weeks ago when I wrote the first installment.  So instead of being distracted maybe it was the Holy Spirit that lead me to wait so long to write part two.  🙂

In the ongoing remarks on the USCCB and HHS, I’ve seen a lot of commentators offer potential responses the Church should take.  The two most common are: 1) the Church should just retreat in to itself and 2) the Church should just get with the times.  I would like to label these two ideas as the “Catholic Ghetto” and “assimilation,” respectively.  Additionally, I would add that both of them are dead-ends.

The idea or label, “Catholic Ghetto,” does not belong to me.  I think a good definition of it is provided here:

It is common for certain sociologist and theologians to refer to the Catholic situation of the 1940’s and 50’s as a time when the Church in America lived in a Catholic ghetto.  What this is getting at is that the Catholic population in the U.S. lived as a minority population that held together strongly by means of clearly defining itself over and against the rest of American culture.

As parishes in the United States became less nationalistic and more inclusive of a variety of ethnicities, the Catholic Ghetto largely broke apart.  For the most part, the break up of Catholic Ghettos is a good thing because in addition to the ones listed above, another of its characteristics was that Catholics “did not see themselves as called to influence the culture around them,” a view that is contrary to both scripture and the Church’s teaching.

You can still see some signs of the Catholic Ghetto mentality.  For example Tom Monaghan, the founder of Domino’s Pizza, has tried to create a “Catholic” town in Ave Maria, Florida.  In this town, with Monaghan’s Catholic College in the center, Catholic families will live together, their children will grow up with other Catholics, marry other Catholics, and live in Ave Maria.  Monaghan’s vision is founded on the premise that Christianity, along with many academic disciplines, was kept alive in the Dark Ages in monasteries; they were small pockets of truth in an otherwise corrupt world.  At first brush this idea seems solid but as I’ll point out later, it is not without significant flaws.

The other dead-end is “assimilation,” where Catholicism just becomes like everything else and Catholics look like everyone else.  Through assimilation, Jesus can henceforth be referred to as a “good man” and Christianity can be seen by society as “good thing” but neither should be spoken too loudly.  In this way, Catholics and the faith they profess becomes invisible.  In 1994, Jonathan Sacks wrote a book called, “Will we have Jewish Grandchildren?”  In it, he reflects on how to keep the faith of Jewish antiquity alive and flourishing in future generations.  This idea is something we also need to reflect on within the Catholic community.

I think of an oak tree with its roots running deep into the ground where it draws life giving nutrients and water, the things necessary for its survival.  The trunk of the tree, its base, provides the foundation for continued growth.  But ask yourself: where do we see the greatest signs of life on a tree?  Do we see it when we look at its trunk?  No.  It is when we look at its tips, where new leaves sprout each spring.  We see the greatest signs of life, growth, and vitality at its extreme ends.  But all parts, from the massive trunk to the smallest buds sprouting at the tips of the highest branch, are 100% oak tree.

The tree is a familiar metaphor for the Body of Christ, the Church.  The ground represents God where the tree trunk (i.e. the Church) is firmly planted.  It is the ground (God) that feeds the oak tree (Church) all it needs to survive.  From the trunk, branches (individual Catholics) grow, reaching out in an endless amount of directions, always springing forth with new signs of life and vitality.  This metaphor shows us God’s plan.

God has promised to provide everything we need, but we can’t get it when we are not connected to the tree trunk; we can’t just be a branch suspended in the air (cf. Jn 15:5).  Nor can we be a branch just laying on the ground, cut away from the tree.  When that happens, the tree is weakened and the direction that particular branch was growing out towards will not be reached.  The fallen away branch just lays on the ground and eventually dies.  It is possible, indeed it is necessary, for the tree branches (Catholics) to be 100% Catholic and reaching out to a world that is not the same as itself.

The unity within Catholicism of God, the Church, and its people, is an earthly example of the the most perfect unity, that of The Blessed Trinity.  The doctrine of the Trinity is what Christianity has that no other religion does and we can demonstrate it by living our lives, firmly grounded in the Church.  In fact, I would submit the doctrine of the Trinity may be the most important aspect of a spirituality for 2012 and beyond.

During the Enlightenment, man developed a deep seated resentment towards doctrine, especially Catholic doctrine.  Nicholas Lash wrote in his book, Believing Three Ways in One God:

The Enlightenment left us with what we might call a crisis of docility. Unless we have the courage to work things out for ourselves, to take as true only that which we have personally attained or, perhaps, invented, then meanings and values, descriptions and instructions, imposed by other people, feeding other people’s power, will inhibit and enslave us, bind us into fables and falsehoods from the past. Even God’s truth, perhaps especially God’s truth, is no exception to this rule. Only slaves and children should be teachable, or docile.

But the ancient doctrine of the Trinity, regardless of what those enlightened individuals might believe, may be the most exciting thing we have to offer as Catholics.  However, it will only be exciting if it is in contact with something outside of itself.  Keeping it locked up, like in a Catholic Ghetto, will strip the doctrine of all its power and vitality.

The doctrine of the Trinity is often held up as something remote and obscure.  I would submit that it only becomes remote and obscure in its presentation, not in its actuality.  The best way Catholics can communicate the truths encapsulated in the doctrine of the Trinity is to communicate their faith in the doctrine through conversation.  It is the personal aspect of taking time to talk with people that will resonate with others.

This should make perfect sense to us!  After all, what is the Trinity but the eternal, equal, living conversation between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?  Additionally, we see the Trinity made real for us in the person of Jesus, who, among many other things, is a man of conversation.  Take a look at him through the eyes of John.

  • Jesus’ conversations when calling his disciples (Jn 1:29-51)
  • The conversation with Nicodemus who came to talk to Jesus at night (Jn 3)
  • The conversation with the Samaritan Woman at the well (Jn 4:4-42)
  • The Bread of Life Discourse (Jn 6:22-71)
  • The conversation with the woman caught in adultery (Jn 8:1-11)
  • The conversation with the man born blind (Jn 9)
  • Last Supper discourses (Jn 14)
  • Jesus’ conversation with Pilate (Jn 18:28-40)
  • Jesus’ conversation with Thomas (Jn 20:24-29)

There are a couple of keys to understanding these passages and to ultimately discerning our own response to challenges in our time.  Jesus was constantly in conversation with people and not just his disciples, but he was reaching out to people that were outside his “comfort zone” or outside convention (e.g. conversation with the Samaritan woman).  We continually see Jesus in contact with “the other” and offering them the love and peace of his father.  This is what the Catholic Ghetto can not do.  It betrays the openness to the other that is so obvious in the Gospel.

Secondly, true conversation, the type that has the potential to be life-changing, is open, mutually respectful, and loving.  We don’t see Jesus talking down to people nor do we witness him talking about people; rather, he spoke to them.  The story of the man born blind really illustrates that point.

Third, everyone that hears the conversation is converted.  Converted to what and to what degree can not necessarily be determine and in the grand scheme of things, it is not that important that we know.  A good conversation will take you to unfamiliar ground and lead you in unexpected directions.  Through them, all will grow in grace.  We are not in charge of that grace; at best, we can only hope to be channels of it.

We never know who may be touched by our conversations.  It may be the person we are most directly involved in speaking with is the least moved, but the person who merely overheard it is changed for ever.  Jesus held many conversations in crowds, big and small, and we read in the scriptures how people would “murmur” among themselves while Jesus spoke.  They were being touched by what Jesus had to say and they weren’t even in the conversation.

Our thinking is mostly dualistic: white/black, up/down, left/right, Republican/Democrat, Catholic/Protestant, etc.  It is these oppositions that help give us our identity.  But this dualism, does not allow for openness or for love.  Instead we should allow ourselves to be swept up in a Trinitarian love that opens up possibilities for going places beyond these simplistic, either/or distinctions.  We can be immersed in the love between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  This love is not introverted; it can not be kept in a ghetto.  Indeed, it is the Holy Spirit that pushes us to be in contact with people and situations that are beyond ourselves.  It is so alive, so bursting forth with vitality that it can not be made to look like everything else (i.e. assimilated).

The doctrine of the Trinity is the most exciting thing we have to offer others.  It is what should guide our spirituality in 2012 and beyond.  It is the doctrine behind the words of the God who says: “Behold, I make all things new” (Rev 21:5)

 

I am indebted to Fr. Timothy Radcliffe, OP who has helped me see these things in a new, fresh way.

Read all posts by Christopher Smith, OP Filed Under: Evangelization, Scripture, Theology Tagged With: 2012, Spirituality

Spirituality for 2012

By Christopher Smith, OP

One of the things you hear from people during this time of year is they “need to beat the rush.” For example, “I need to get up at 4am on ‘black Friday’ so I can get to the mall and beat the rush.”

So in keeping with that idea of needing to “beat the rush,” I’ve decided, on Christmas Eve, to write about next year, 2012, in order to beat the rush and get a leg up on all the other bloggers out there.

Okay, that’s not really why I’m writing about the new year before we even have celebrated The Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord.  I know most Catholic bloggers have focused their writings on the coming of the Messiah, or the meekness of the King of Glory as he lay in the manger; their pieces are timely, powerful, and excellent for reflection and guiding prayer.  But I am looking ahead.  I really want us to be taking those familiar Christmas themes and carrying them forward beyond the Christmas liturgy and into the new year.  I want us to find the spirituality associated with Christmas and recognize that it is not just for the month of December, but for everyday.

I know, I know.  I can imagine the collective groan as people start moving their cursors to the red “X” in the upper right hand corner of the screen.  Most people believe that when Catholics start talking about “spirituality,” orthodoxy gets thrown out the window.  I get it.  I’ve seen plenty of that material too.  However, I can assure you, this is not that kind of post and if you indulge me for a few more minutes, I’ll prove it.

One of my sons, Noah, is seven years old and he has been going crazy for the past two weeks, waiting for Christmas.  In fact, one of the traditions in our home is to buy everyone a new pair of Christmas pajamas to wear to bed on Christmas eve and on Christmas morning.  This year, Noah’s expectation is running so high, that he has been wearing them for the past two days; as in, he hasn’t worn anything else!  I can already see the debate we’ll have later when it’s time to go to Mass.  But, I digress…

This expectation is an important part of Christmas, not only for children, but for adults too.  Indeed, Advent is a season dedicated to expectation.  Consider these snippets taken from the Advent Gospel readings:

  • “Watch, therefore; you do not know when the Lord of the house is coming….” (first week of Advent)
  • One mightier than I is coming after me.  I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals.  (second week of Advent)
  • I am the voice of one crying out in the desert, ‘make straight the way of the Lord,'” as Isaiah the prophet said. (third week of Advent)
  • Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus.  He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. (fourth week of Advent)

We can see the Lord’s coming is unexpected, but anticipated.  We don’t know when it will occur, but nonetheless we are exhorted to, “Watch!”  We see John’s testimony about the Lord in the next two weeks.  It not only highlights the coming of Jesus, but serves as foreshadowing of our efforts to evangelize, always pointing to the “one mightier than ourselves.”  And finally in Gabriel’s message to Mary, the Kingdom which Jesus shall rule over will have “no end.”

The expectant message of Advent is not only in anticipation of the Lord’s coming as a baby, the celebration of a historical event, but also serves celebration of a future event when the King of all the Ages comes at the end of history (cf. CCC 526, CCC 1042).  Therefore, the first (i.e. Christ’s incarnation) should influence our spirituality as we journey towards the second (i.e. Christ’s second coming).  But what should our spirituality look like as we anxiously await a world that is not here yet?

Almost exactly forty years ago, in October 1971, John Lennon released the song, “Imagine.”  In it, the former Beatle sang, “Imagine there’s no heaven; it’s easy if you try.”  Coincidentally, for the past forty years people have been living as if there is no heaven; they are not anticipating the return of the King of Heaven.  It would seem the pervasive idea of no heaven and hell, articulated in John Lennon’s famous song, resonates more with modern man than Catholicism’s call for people to lead lives of holiness and charity.

There may be good reason for that.  The rise of religious fundamentalism and fanaticism in the past half century, both  inside and outside of Christianity, has paved the way for a popular (and profitable) backlash against religion in general and Christianity in particular.  Books by Richard Dawkins (The God Delusion) and recently deceased Christopher Hitchens (God is not Great) fly off the shelves in great quantities, demonstrating the popularity of the idea that there is no heaven and no hell.

If you survey the “religion” section of your local bookstore, I believe you are likely to see, in addition to books by Dawkins and Hitchens, books written to direct people to a new kind of spirituality apart from religion, or books dressed up as orthodox (i.e. Richard McBrien) that really get many of the facts wrong.  Interestingly, there is no shortage of this type of material being distributed.  From these facts, I can only assume there is a great interest in religion/spirituality, there is a thirst for God, but there is a lot of aggression and ignorance too.  Unfortunately, people like Dawkins and McBrien seem to have the lead in telling the story – our story!

In order for Christianity to grow and truly become the life changing force it is in 2012 (and beyond), it must be something more than just “spirituality.”  The life of the Christian must be, as the former Master General of the Dominican Order, Fr. Timothy Radcliffe, OP, once said, “moral, reflective, prayerful, and imaginative.”  The Christian life, truly understood and lived, would be a synthesis of these four items.   We must use our imagination to combine ethics (i.e. morality), theology (i.e. reflection), and spirituality (i.e. prayer) into our daily lives.  If these items exist apart from one another the result is never good, even sometimes tragic.  For,

  • Ethics/morality detached from spirituality and theology reduces the Christian life to a list of do’s and don’t’s.  It is overly moralistic.
  • Theology detached from spirituality and ethics can be arid.  The Christian life was meant to produce fruit, not be a dry wasteland.
  • Spirituality detached from theology and ethics reduces the Christian faith to set of principles based on warm, fuzzy feelings.

The challenge for our spiritual lives in 2012 is to bring together all these aspects.  Advent and the season of Christmas, with all its expectation, awe and wonder should inspire to dive deeper into our faith.  As we contemplate the awesomeness of God becoming man, being born in a state of lowliness, and the worshiping Magi during this season, we should be renewed in our desire to pray more, study more, and live virtuously.

 

I will be publishing a follow-up to this article in a few days.  Right now, I have to go begin to get my seven year old out of his PJ’s and ready for Mass!  Have a blessed Christmas!

Read all posts by Christopher Smith, OP Filed Under: Culture, Scripture, Theology Tagged With: 2012, advent, Christmas, ethics, imagination, morality, Spirituality

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