Latest article: When You Want to Give Back to God

Hi all! My latest article is up at Catholic Stand, called “When You Want to Give Back to God.”

It was inspired by a conversation had on the Morning Air program a few weeks back. My favorite thing was being able to incorporate a bit of scripture that has importance for me; during Lent a couple years ago I took this part down from one first readings in the run-up to Lent, printed it, and sent it in cards to friends and family. That was one of the things I “added” during that Lent. Here it is, Sirach 35:1-13:

“To keep the law is to make many offerings; whoever observes the commandments sacrifices a peace offering.  By works of charity one offers fine flour, and one who gives alms presents a sacrifice of praise.

“To refrain from evil pleases the Lord, and to avoid injustice is atonement.  Do not appear before the Lord empty-handed, for all that you offer is in fulfillment of the precepts.

“The offering of the just enriches the altar: a sweet odor before the Most High.  The sacrifice of the just is accepted, never to be forgotten.

“With a generous spirit pay homage to the Lord, and do not spare your freewill gifts.  With each contribution show a cheerful countenance, and pay your tithes in a spirit of joy.

“Give to the Most High as he has given to you, generously, according to your means.  For he is a God who always repays and will give back to you sevenfold.”

It hit me in a particular way not because it outlines what God demands (none of these things are things he demands, in fact) but because of how it ends: with the promise of God’s love and abundance. “He is a God who always repays and will give back to you sevenfold.”

Amen! And Happy Memorial Day. Praying for all those who made the ultimate sacrifice so that we may enjoy our freedoms today.

The grand adventure

Greetings all!

With Pentecost last weekend, I was invited on to the Morning Air show to talk a bit about my own reversion story. You can listen here and the conversation begins at minute 11:10.

The most interesting part of this conversation for me was right around minute 19 when I explain to John that I feel like one of the lucky ones. It really is like I escaped something. More importantly, to my later point, the point where you enter or re-enter the Church is not the culmination or summit of your relationship with God. It is just the beginning. You will indeed not absorb all cosmic knowledge of God at the moment the bishop or priest makes the sign of the cross in oil on your forehead; you will not even have absorbed all knowledge of God by the end of your life. It isn’t possible.

It is a big deal to enter the Church, and a brave thing. I think God gives us a helpful kind of blindness in the beginning, or else people would not make that step. Because as you go along, you realize how much there is to learn, the vastness of God, the way it automatically positions you to be extraordinarily counter cultural. It is easy to feel child-like. This is where community helps, because we are not intended to live in the faith alone - another thing that isn’t possible.

So, I hope that conversation is helpful. I hope if you are someone on the edge of the Church looking in, you let the Holy Spirit guide you there. Be ready to have your life shaken up, but in the best way, one which signals a grand adventure is beginning.

About the call to evangelize

Earlier this month I joined John and Glen on the Morning Air show, just after Ascension, to discuss the idea of how we are all called to evangelize in the wake of the ascension. You can listen here, starting at 21:45.

It is Pentecost Sunday! That also means the end of Easter, and the return of Ordinary Time. I have become partial to it, as you may know, if you read this blog regularly. I like it because I have learned how good it is to love and appreciate the ordinary, not just the extraordinary. This means I must put away my decorative bunnies, but I will lovingly take them down against next year, and thus goes the cycle of life.

Tune in tomorrow (Monday, 5/23) morning at 7:15 eastern as I will be joining John and Glen on Morning Air to discuss my reversion story, at this, the 7 year anniversary of my coming fully into the Church. Good times, everybody. You can listen live online here.

By the way, I am working on an article for Catholic Stand about the idea of what we can/should give back to God. It’s an interesting concept, because by his death, Jesus made animal sacrifice (or any kind of “sacrifice”) unnecessary. And yet, we may feel called to thank God for his blessings, and want to give back in return. I spoke on Morning Air about this a few weeks ago, and thus the idea. My recommendations: serve others, worship him, give your time and presence, and most of all, seek to be obedient.