One Year Anniversary of Live Holiness

Posted on August 31, 2010 by Fr. Michael Najim| 9 Comments

Okay, so Father is in a blogging slump.  I’m not sure why.  I’m tempted to make all kinds of excuses: the busyness of the new academic year, my new assignment as high school chaplain while maintaining my other responsibilities, etc.  But the truth is, I’ve just been in a writing slump.  So, I apologize for my infrequent postings.

I can’t pass up the opportunity, however, to celebrate the first anniversary of Live Holiness (September 1).  I want to thank all of you, my faithful readers, for your prayers, feedback, and encouragement.  It’s such a joy to connect with so many good people, Catholic and non-Catholic alike.  You’ve enriched my life, and for that I’m grateful.  I do plan to continue blogging, but I ask for your patience as I get out of my slump and adjust to my new schedule.

Here in southeastern New England we are tracking Hurricane Earl.  I’m a weather geek, and actually get very excited at the prospect of a major storm roaring up the coast.  Although it looks like we’ll be spared the worst of Earl’s brunt, his approach reminds me of the first post I wrote for Live Holiness.  And so on the first anniversary of this blog, I share that first post with you here.

God bless you!  And know that I pray for each of you.

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An Extraordinary Life

Posted on August 19, 2010 by Fr. Michael Najim| 6 Comments

On Sunday, August 15, my beloved godmother and great-aunt went home to the Lord.  She was a truly amazing woman, and I wanted to share with you my homily from her funeral Mass. I hope this glimpse into her life inspires you to live closer to the Lord.

Thirty-one years ago, Rose Turano was given six months to live.  But for us who knew and loved her, we know that the doctor’s prognosis meant very little to her.  It didn’t matter what the doctors said.  Her faith in God was strong; her purpose was clear (she had a family to love); and her resolve was unshakable.

We know the outcome: by putting her faith in God, and by living a life of loving service, she won the battle.  I think it’s safe to say that today we are not mourning the death of a woman who lost the battle to cancer; rather, we’re here to remember and pray for a great woman who rose above a terminal illness to live an extraordinary life.

I want to put this funeral Mass in its proper context before I speak more about my Aunt Rose’s life.  First and foremost, what we focus on today is our Lord Jesus Christ.  Ninety-two years ago when Rose was baptized, she received God’s divine life in her soul and became a child of God.  Today, our firm hope is that she is now sharing fully in the Lord’s life and is with Him for eternity.

Aunt Rose loved God, and she believed that Christ died and rose to bring us the fullness of life.  When Christ rose from the dead, He conquered death so that all who are united to Him in baptism and believe in Him have the hope of sharing eternal life with Him.  This leads to the first point about Rose’s life that I want to focus on: Continue reading →

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Posted in Death and Final Judgment

Chuck E. Cheese and the Spiritual Life

Posted on August 10, 2010 by Fr. Michael Najim| 5 Comments

It was Uncle Mike to the rescue.  Last Monday, my sister Maureen had an appointment in Cranston, which is very close to where I live in Providence.  She asked if I could watch the girls for a couple of hours during that time.  Of course, I was happy to do so.  I’m blessed to have three beautiful nieces (Stephanie, 9, Nicole, 8, and Olivia, 6…going on 16), and a handsome nephew (Kevin, 11), and I love spending time with all of them.  This day, I would have the joy and challenge of babysitting for Nicole and Olivia.

What should I do? Admittedly, I didn’t have much of a plan.  When I arrived I said, “So, how about we go to the kids section at Borders.”  They agreed, not with a whole lot of enthusiasm.  Once we arrived, we headed to the children’s section and I could tell that we’d be there for about six minutes–six-and-a-half minutes if I was lucky.  I thought to myself, “Oh boy, how am I going to drag this out without them getting bored.”  Then I had an epiphany: Toys R Us is close by! I had them choose one book each and we headed to the checkout line. Continue reading →

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Posted in Purity and Simplicity

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Stop Striving!

Posted on August 4, 2010 by Fr. Michael Najim| 10 Comments

I’ve come to see a pattern in many people who are trying to live a holy life: they strive for moral perfection, realize it is unachievable, give into discouragement, and then begin to strive again… Repeat cycle…  Truth be told, I’ve seen this pattern in my own life as well.

It’s this idea of striving, though, that seems to be the problem.  Dictionary.com defines the verb “to strive” as “to exert oneself vigorously; try hard.”  Striving is not bad in itself, but there’s a negative side to it.  For example, recently I’ve been striving to run more miles. However, there’s an interesting thing that happens in running: when I relax and let go, I find that my running is more enjoyable, that I get in the flow; but, when I strive to run well, I find that I get tired more quickly and even feel more pain.  Another example is the golf swing.  Grip a club tightly and swing really hard, and that little white ball isn’t going very far; however, loosen your grip and swing effortlessly, and that ball mysteriously flies farther than you thought you could hit it. Continue reading →

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Posted in Surrender

Lessons Learned from My First 10-Miler

Posted on July 25, 2010 by Fr. Michael Najim| 9 Comments

I ran my first 10-mile race on Friday and it was a phenomenally exhilarating experience.  There were almost three thousand people who raced, and the atmosphere was both festive and electric.  Many runners were there with family and friends; I actually went by myself, but was so impressed by the kindness of the runners.  I easily entered into conversation with several of them.  I guess when you’re with a group of people who have the same thing in common, it’s easy to relate to one another.  What inspired me the most were all the people who were cheering us on and encouraging us on the route.  At times, it was pouring rain, but the people were still out there encouraging us.  I was truly moved by their support.

So here are a few spiritual lessons I learned from my first 10-miler. Continue reading →

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Posted in Perseverance

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The Gift of Leisure

Posted on July 4, 2010 by Fr. Michael Najim| 8 Comments

I just enjoyed a wonderful 4th of July at my parent’s house with family and friends.  It was a typical Najim cookout: lots of people, lots of food, and lots of fun.  For all intents and purposes, this afternoon was the beginning of my summer reprieve.  I usually take some time in July to enjoy some rest and relaxation with friends.  Priests are never on vacation from priesthood; but, like most people, we do enjoy time away to recharge.

When the apostles returned from being sent out on mission by the Lord, Jesus said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while” (Mark 6:31).  Jesus knew that the apostles were weary from ministry, so He invited them to rest. There is a place for leisure in the Christian life.  Leisure is meant to rejuvenate us so that we can embrace the joys and challenges of life with renewed vigor.

I hope you get some time to rest this summer.  Maybe you’re not going away, but, if you’re able, treat yourself and your family to some extra days off.  In the United States, we tend to feel that we need to work all the time.  Don’t give into this pressure!  Take Jesus’ advice and “rest a while.”

I most likely will not be posting for the next couple of weeks.  I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you for reading Live Holiness.  I feel so blessed to have connected with so many amazing people–Catholic and non-Catholic, from literally all over the world.  I’m grateful for your feedback, your prayers, and your encouragement.  Please know that I do pray for each of you.

God bless you, and continue to enjoy the summer!

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Posted in Uncategorized

Are You a Pelagian?

Posted on June 28, 2010 by Fr. Michael Najim| 9 Comments

“For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10)

I have a confession to make: for years I’ve been a secret Pelagian.

If you haven’t studied Church history or don’t know much about the early Christian heresies, Pelagius was a 5th century monk who denied the doctrine of original sin and the need for God’s grace to live a holy life.  Basically, he believed that we can get to Heaven without God’s help.  This is known as Pelgianism.

They say the first step to recovery is admitting that you have a problem.  Well, I admit that even though I often talk a good game about surrender, there’s still a deep part of me that isn’t surrendered.  There’s that part of me that wants to fix myself.  There’s that part of me that’s too proud to admit that I need God’s help to live a virtuous life.  I want to control my life.

Yet, when I take a reflective step back, I must admit that this desire to fix myself and to control my life has led to great frustration and even sadness at times.  Why else would I peruse the self-help section every time I’m in Barnes and Noble, or why else would I spend time reading personal development blogs if I didn’t want to fix myself?

Now, I admit that I have benefitted from many “self-help” books and personal development blogs; however, the subtlety behind this pursuit of self-help is that I’m in control, that I can fix myself.

But the truth is I can’t fix myself; and you can’t fix yourself either.  Yes, we are good; but we are broken.  None of us is perfect; each of us experiences the effects of original sin.  I’m not saying that we should abdicate responsibility for our lives; what I’m saying is that there’s a reason why we call Jesus “Savior.”

How often people say to me, “Father, every time I go to confession I sound like a broken record.  I feel like I confess the same sins over and over.”  Well, join the human race.  I’m a broken record too.

When we try to fix ourselves we render the word “Savior” meaningless.  Jesus Christ is our Savior.  He came to save us from the sins that we struggle with every day.  He came to save us from ourselves.

I’m coming to see more clearly that each time I attempt to fix myself or to control my life, I empty the cross of its power (see 1 Corinthians 1:17).  When I realize I can’t fix myself, that there are some things that are just too big for me to overcome on my own power, that’s when I realize the power of the cross and God’s grace.

I realize that this is contrary to the do-it-yourself mentality that is so prevalent in our culture.  But, if you haven’t noticed, our culture is pretty broken as well.

I need a Savior.  It’s so liberating to say that.  I need a Savior.  I need Jesus.  I can’t fix myself…and it’s okay.  That’s why Jesus died for me.  I just need to learn to be still, to surrender, and to let Him love me, so that I can experience the power of His cross.

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Posted in Jesus, Surrender

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Inspiration

Posted on June 23, 2010 by Fr. Michael Najim| 11 Comments
I’m inspired.
When I last wrote, I was on a plane to Omaha, Nebraska to spend the week at Creighton University with 175 seminarians and many good priests, religious, and lay people at the Institute for Priestly Formation.  Now I’m back in Rhode Island; but I’m more inspired than when I left (despite another flight delay that gave me an unplanned night in a hotel in Minneapolis and brought me home a day later than expected!).
I wish you could have seen what I saw; for I saw the brightness and beauty of the Church, and I’m full of hope.  I saw seminarians who are deeply sincere about serving the Church and leading people closer to the Lord.  I saw genuinely holy and faithful priests who are selflessly serving the Church day in and day out.  I saw committed religious joyfully living their consecration.  I saw faithful lay people deeply committed to the mission of the Church.  And I’m inspired by what I saw.
We all need inspiration, don’t we?  The Church has gone through a difficult time over the last several years.  The goodness of the priesthood, particularly, has been called into question by many.  At times, it’s not been easy to be a priest.  It’s not the 1940s anymore.  No more movies like “Going My Way” and “The Bells of St. Mary’s”.  Those days are gone.
But that’s all the more reason why we need inspiration.  I’m not naive enough to believe that the effects of the scandals are behind us.  This year has been proof that they aren’t.  But I’m inspired when I look to the good priests and seminarians that I have the privilege of knowing.  I’m hopeful that the future will be much brighter than the darkness of the past.
We all need inspiration, particularly when we’re going through difficult times.  In the midst of darkness, we tend to look more ardently for the light.  I’m reminded of the saying, “Better to light one candle than to curse the darkness.”  Last week, I saw lots of candles and the darkness didn’t seem so powerful anymore.
There are a variety of ways to be inspired.  One of the most effective ways is by spending time with people who are living authentically holy lives.  Another way is to read books, particularly the lives of saints.  Still another way is to simply spend time in quiet prayer, meditating on the life of our Lord.  Often times, I’m inspired simply by the natural beauty of creation.
We all need inspiration, because ultimately we’re all meant to inspire others.
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Where do you look for inspiration?
Do you surround yourself with people that inspire you?
Feel free to share…
P.S. I apologize about the spacing problems in this post. I tried to fix it, but was unable…I simply wanted to go to bed!

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Posted in Hope

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Lessons from a Flight Delay

Posted on June 15, 2010 by Fr. Michael Najim| 14 Comments

As I write this I’m cruising at 30,000 feet on my way to Omaha, Nebraska to spend the week at the Institute for Priestly Formation (IPF) at Creighton University.  IPF is a wonderful program designed to help seminarians enter into a deeper relationship with the Holy Trinity.  There are 175 seminarians from all over the country that will spend ten weeks studying, praying, and doing volunteer work.

My flight was scheduled to leave Providence at 12:30, but due to bad weather in Detroit it was delayed by about an hour.  The delay almost made me miss my connection, but the pilot did a good job of “making up time in the air.”  On a side note, I’ve never figured that one out: if they can make up time in the air, why don’t they just increase the flight speed all the time to shorten all flights?

The short delay prompted me to ponder some life lessons: Continue reading →

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Posted in Peace and Calm, Surrender

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Peaks and Valleys

Posted on June 8, 2010 by Fr. Michael Najim| 16 Comments

“The marvelous richness of human experience would lose something of rewarding joy if there were not limitations to overcome.  The hilltop hour would not be half  so wonderful if there were no dark valleys to traverse” (Helen Keller).

Life consists of rest and activity; it’s rhythmic.  The heart beats repetitively.  We inhale and exhale.  We work and rest.  We sleep and wake.  Day after day.  Rest and activity.  A rhythm.

Creation, too, is rhythmic: the sun rises and sets, light and darkness; the seasons change, year after year.

As I get older, I am becoming more aware of the rhythm of my life.  I live in a seminary with over twenty college-aged men, and so there tends to be constant activity during the academic year.  But now that summer has arrived there is more silence in the house.  This is part of the rhythm of my life. Continue reading →

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Posted in Consolation and Desolation

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