Ordinary Time

In the spring of my senior year of high school, I remember having a conversation with my dad about a sense of waiting I was experiencing before college began. The previous fall had been action packed and successful for a variety of reasons - the tennis team had a great season (I was the captain), I had won a few writing awards, finished a senior project that involved resurrecting the school newspaper, sent off college applications and then in early spring got accepted to my first choice school. So, things had been exciting. And then they got very un-exciting as all of that died down and the year coasted to an end and I waited for what came next.

I must have complained about this, and my dad simply explained that things are not always going to be exciting. As a matter of fact, most of life will not be all accolades and new beginnings. Much of life is just simply being in the here and now of routine existence, and that I should probably get used to it.

I thought of this last Sunday looking in the missal and the readings for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time. "Ordinary Time." We are 14 weeks out from Easter, from the joy and excitement of that new beginning, and the reflective time of Lent which preceded it. That season is exciting (even Lent) because you are asked to be more attuned to your inner life and relationship with God, and everything occurring within the church community supports this. Then of course, the celebration of the risen Christ - well, it's the biggest thing there is.

A little piece of me had that same feeling of, "This is it? How many weeks until the next special season?" How do I keep up that joy and excitement for my spiritual life that comes so much easier during times like Easter or Advent, when it seems like the whole world is watching and celebrating?

But ordinary time is so important - just as important as the holy seasons. In ordinary time, I think we see ourselves most clearly in terms of where we truly are in our faith life. If we are, indeed, all called to be saints, then the habits we have during ordinary time show how close we are to getting there. In ordinary time you try to remain faithful in your church attendance without a holiday giving you a reason to go; you still strive to voluntarily give back your time, money and energy, even though it's not the Christmas season; you stick to your prayer routine even though it's not a part of a Lenten promise to do something sacrificial. In other words, during ordinary time we are given the opportunity to truly live out the faith in a very real, consistent way, without the accolades and excitement that come with the holy seasons.

As Frank Duff wrote in Can We Be Saints, a saint is "One who, with the object of pleasing God, does his ordinary duties extraordinarily well. Such a life may be lived out without a single wonder in it, arouse little notice, be soon forgotten, and yet be the life of one of God's dearest friends. "

In other words, ordinary time is a chance to accomplish extraordinary things. We want to look to those special times of year with joy and excitement while remembering that most of our time here on earth will be set on the ordinary, while always striving to be a good person and brightening our little corner of the world. We can do this with love in our hearts and a face turned to God, no matter the time of year.

The Heavenly Powers, Mary's Legion of Angels

The following is adapted from the allocutio I will give tonight based on readings from the Legion of Mary handbook, Legio Mariae. (The allocutio is a spiritual talk given by the spiritual director or, when he is not there, the president, during the Legion of Mary meeting.)

Ch. 24, The Patrons of the Legion

Part 6: The Heavenly Powers, Mary’s Legion of Angels

Key points and phrases:

·         “Mary our mother, ceaselessly accompanied by angels.”

·         The angels are her "most glorious troops"

·         The angels are a heavenly counterpart to the Legion campaign

·         The interest of our angels in our work is most intense, and most unfailing

·         The guardian angels of those we visit and assist also play a role

·         Mary has the power to command angels to protect us

We continue the angel theme this week. We have heard about St. Michael, St. Gabriel and now, the Legion of Angels which serve as Mary’s “most glorious troops” and aid her and us in our work.

I have been very intrigued for a long time about the concept of “spiritual warfare.” It sounds a bit dramatic, doesn’t it? But it gives us a sense of the larger, cosmic meaning behind not just the work we do in the Legion, but the work we do as Christians trying to live our lives in accordance with God’s will and our Catholic beliefs. Spiritual warfare does not always have to mean St. Michael picking up his sword and vanquishing a demon – it also includes the conversation you may have with a co-worker about why you believe abortion is wrong. It includes the times you pray for strength against loneliness or the ability to remember the things you’re grateful for. It may seem that the era we live in now, with basic Christian beliefs, and especially those we take for granted, under very real attack, that the world must be engaged in the most serious spiritual warfare imaginable.  Even physical attacks on Christians are commonplace now in many parts of the world. It feels like perhaps this is the worst that it has ever been. But hasn’t this always been the case? Haven’t there always been battles to fight for the faith?

Spiritual warfare began the moment Jesus left the earthly plane. It is the nature of our lives as Christians, because of the wonderfully radical things we believe, to challenge and be challenged. We are not made for this world. I believe everyone in this room understands that we cannot look to the physical world for satisfaction and joy, because it is not to be found here. Happiness and moments of joy break though, and I hope they do quite often for everyone – but ultimately, the closer we get to God, the closer we get to real love and joy, and only then.

The good news is, we are fully equipped to engage in spiritual warfare on all levels, including in the presence of our angels and Mary’s legion of angels. We are never abandoned and we are never alone and the presence of our angels is just one aspect of that. This is an eternal battle, and all we are asked is to play our part now, where and how we can. Eventually this world will pass away, and we will make account for how we spent our time. So do not get caught up in anguish and sadness over current events – it is all in God’s hands. This brings our attention back to the always-present need to trust God in all things – to show faith in His Son and the divine plan he has for us and our world. Let us turn these instances of uncertainty or fear into opportunities to lean on Jesus in a very real way.

Let’s close with a few lines from scripture:

Matthew 5:10: “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

2 Corinthians 4:8: “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair.”

John 15:18-21: “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me.”

Burnish Your Virtues

A couple weeks ago our young adult group held an ask-the-Priest wine and dinner night with Father Berghout. While most of the discussion revolved around relationships and marriage (of course, especially considering Father is an annulment lawyer and given the general audience age), we also had a very interesting conversation about the seven deadly sins.

This came up because we had all recently heard another prominent priest's perspective on, "What is the greatest temptation for sin facing young adults in the current culture?" That particular priest stated it was sloth, the "noonday devil," also known as acedia. Apparently this is something that has been on people's minds for a long time (like centuries), and it refers not just to laziness but to a sort of zoning out and disengagement from real life. Conversely, acedia manifests itself as "busyness" that has no greater meaning and does not allow one to pursue meaning in one's life. That's the most simplistic way to put it.

Anyway, Fr. Berghout had a different answer. He believes that temptations are different for men and women, with lust/gluttony being first for men and envy/pride being  first for women. Men tend to be sensate, pursuing physical satisfaction of various sorts, and women are cerebral, always looking and thinking about what others have. Again, a very basic interpretation of much larger issues, but one which has been on my mind as a result.

I don't think it's good to sit around and think about sin all the time. There's no purpose; while it's a blessing to be aware of your weaknesses if you are able to grow from them, I believe ultimately God wants us to be happy, and sometimes you just have to move on. But then the question arises: what do I do when faced with this thing which is a source of sin - of falling short, of missing the mark - this thing that, again and again, prevents me from becoming the best version of myself? 

Today a friend asked me a question. His dilemma was that a "friend" (put in quotations by him) was coming into town and wanted to hang. He was hesitant because he felt she mostly had "friendships" in order to get something out of them. Further, he knew he would begin to experience jealousy in conversation with her because of her superior pay grade, which inevitably always comes up. His question: is it the grown-up thing to do to see her and confront those feelings head on, effectively working on them, or is it okay to decline, avoiding the situation so as not to indulge that lesser side of his personality?

My advice was two-fold. The first thought is that it really is practical to avoid the situations that allow us to fall into sin. So, those who know they have a tendency toward gluttony should avoid the buffet. I have certainly avoided spending time with people who, for whatever reason, inspire uncharitable thoughts in my mind. What's the point? Prayer and practice make us stronger, yes, but no need to get right in the fire.

Secondly, we are adults and not only are we allowed to spend our time how we want and with whom we want, but most importantly, you don't owe anybody anything. Life is far too short to spend it with people who do not see the light inside you, respect it, magnify it, and love you for who you are. I can happily say that the people in my life, and who I spend time with, are there because I want them there. And they are amazing, awe-inspiring people who make me feel loved - just as it should be.

My last bit of advice to him was to examine why he felt the need to spend time with her. Was it out of guilt or a sense of obligation? Or because he genuinely wanted to spend time with her? This is a good practice in general - are the activities you're choosing ones that speak to your values and the vision you have for your life? More importantly - do you know what your values are?

So yes, looking at our weaknesses and the tendencies toward particular sins we carry around with ourselves can be useful, but don't get bogged down. A nightly examination of conscience should cover it. Instead, look at your strengths and the virtues you do have. Remember that God endowed you with the ability to be kind, patient, charitable, humble and so on. He has given every one of us these abilities. And best of all, you have the opportunity every day to burnish these virtues, in addition to using the many talents and charisms inside you. It is an exciting thought, that despite our fallen and broken nature, there is always the possibility for closeness with God through the true expression of who we are. Whatever doubts you have, or whatever you feel is lacking because of a disposition to a certain sin, remember that we were never meant to do this alone - God's grace will fill in those empty spaces.