» Archives for June 2010

Are You a Pelagian?

Written by on June 28, 2010 - 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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Inspiration

Written by on June 23, 2010 - 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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Lessons from a Flight Delay

Written by on June 15, 2010 - 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: Read more »

Peaks and Valleys

Written by on June 8, 2010 - 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. Read more »

A Prayerful Dialogue

Written by on June 3, 2010 - 6 Comments

“God is love” (1 John 4:8) A troubled Soul: Lord, sometimes I have a hard time believing that you love me unconditionally. Jesus: Why? Soul: Because I have so many imperfections.  I feel weighed down by weaknesses.  I commit the same sins over and over. Jesus: Your saying “I” a lot. Sounds like you’re focused [...]

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