I am an avid people watcher. Call me "guilty" because it's true. There is something so entertaining about sitting in a coffee shop, airport, (I won't mention church) or standing at the gas station and watching to see what people do. And, of course, it's fun to try and determine what kind of person they are. Every "grouping" I come up with usually has the radicals (or extremos as my Mom calls them), the so-so's, and the I-don't-care people.
Being a selfish creature I usually go 'round and 'round analyzing people until I end up right back at myself. Uh-oh. Yeah, that is what happened recently. It's so easy to get wrapped up in other people's lives and forget where YOU are! So the Holy Spirit has sent some "gentle" reminders to me.
First, I happened upon Pope Benedict's homily from Sept. 25th the other day. He certainly does not mince his words. Here is what he has to say about Mt. 21:29 (the two sons who responded to the Father's bidding):
The message of the parable is clear: it is not words that matter, but deeds, deeds of conversion and faith. As we heard, Jesus directs this message to the chief priests and elders of the people of Israel, that is, to the religious experts of his people. At first they say "yes" to God's will, but their piety becomes routine and God no longer matters to them.
Re-read that last line. Even for those of us who make prayer a part of daily routine can forget about God. But wait the real hard-hitting part comes next. In the Gospel Jesus tells his disciples that harlots will enter the kingdom before the chief priests and the elders.
Translated into the language of the present day, this statement might sound something like this: agnostics, who are constantly exercised by the question of God, those who long for a pure heart but suffer on account of their sin, are closer to the Kingdom of God than believers whose life of faith is "routine" and who regard the Church merely as an institution, without letting it touch their hearts, or letting the faith touch their hearts.
If that isn't a wake up call I don't know what is (maybe the second reminder is a close tie). Just being Catholic isn't enough. Just being a daily communicant isn't enough. Just saying the rosary daily isn't enough. Every day we need to wake up and consciously choose to live that day like Christ would, like Mary would, like the Saints would. We must choose to love one another and live radically.
The second reminder came today. This morning I was driving down Sudley Rd. past the abortion clinic and there was one older lady pacing up and down the sidewalk with a rosary in her hand. She was all alone. Then... I watched this:
If this guy was Catholic it would be spot-on perfect. Incredible things are happening in our country and each of us should be doing our part to bring about the Culture of Life. Am I being radical enough or am I allowing evil to triumph because I of laziness?
Tomorrow that older lady will not be alone.
For Pope Benedict's complete homily go to ewtn.com.
3 comments:
Great insights, Sarah. We do need to make the choice every day to live in the presence of God, and try to live a good life out of love for God, not just out of routine. Nice to hear it said out loud (or written out loud).
Excellent post, Sarah! It is so easy to fall into an apathetic state of mind without realizing it! As someone who has fallen into the habit of laziness before, it often takes a wakeup call like this to make me examine whether I serve or let myself be served. Thanks for the insights!
Late night inspiration. I hope you all checkout the 180 video. It's amazing!
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