St. Peter (the Human)

Below is adapted from the allocutio I will deliver this evening at our weekly Legion of Mary meeting. The allocutio is a talk given by either the spiritual director or the President (me) on a topic from the handbook (Legio Mariae). This week's topic is St. Peter, a patron saint of the Legion.

·         Ch. 24, The Patrons of the Legion: Part 8: St. Peter

·         Frank Duff describes him as the “prince of the apostles” and therefore, naturally, a patron of an apostolic organization such as the Legion of Mary

·         Also, invoking Peter expresses a loyalty to Rome

Last week I went to the kickoff of this summer’s DC Theology on Tap and heard a fantastic speaker, Leah Libresco, talk about St. Peter. Her take was very interesting, and I’d like to share a few of her talking points.

For one, she started from the very familiar place of, “Peter is not perfect.” Yet, despite the fact he is not perfect, he is also the apostle who was chosen as the “rock” of the church, the one on whom Christ relied to continue his mission. This was, of course, intentional. Jesus did not choose St. John the Beloved to fill this role. He chose Peter.

Secondly, Peter seems to get a bad rap in terms of faith and fidelity. We all know the story of Peter’s denial of Jesus at the Crucifixion. Then there was the time when Jesus walked across water and called Peter to him out of the boat – at which point evidently Peter’s faith failed and he fell crashing into the water. The lesson we always hear in church during that reading is to not be like Peter. Have better faith.

But Leah said she saw this as a harsh reading. For one thing, Peter asked to come to Jesus. He was seeking God. And another, as soon as he falls, Peter cries out for help, saying, “Jesus, help me!” In other words, he tried to reach God, fell short, but still turned to Him for help.

So Peter is imperfect. So what? So are we. And out of Peter’s imperfection, God found strength for the foundation of his church. This reminds me of the readings from two Sundays ago, St. Paul’s powerful words in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10:

But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

This is, perhaps, one of the most critically important things we can understand, and really live, as Christians. It is also one of the hardest. It requires humility not natural to the human condition, and a trust in God that, for many of us, must be learned.

But if we were perfect, if we had no faults, shortcomings, or lessons to be learned, there would be no point to life. There would be no reason for God to exist, and no avenue for us to develop a relationship with him. It is a wonderfully beautiful concept, to see that God comes to us in our weaknesses, fills us with Grace, and makes us stronger. Your weaknesses are not mistakes or errors in your design. They are, in fact, the most fundamental part of your design, the piece which brings you closer to Him.

And this must be why Peter was chosen. Not only can we see in him a pattern for our own lives as a truly faithful servant of God, but as a vulnerable human, just like us, who sometimes struggled to understand. Jesus chose Peter, just as He chooses us. Have faith in the fact that Jesus sees your struggle and loves you for it, as you lean on His strength and his heart. It is exactly what he wants of us.

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.”