In a recent phone conversation one of my best friends said
to me, “Fr. Ben, you need to let that go.” I was telling Josh about the newest string of nightmares I
have had. In consecutive nights I
dreamed that I was sent back to seminary for more formation, and way behind in
my math homework. I remember
telling myself that I needed to get Josh to pound out my homework to catch
up. That’s when he said it was
time for me to move on.
As
our children and teachers prepare for another academic year, there isn’t much I
miss about gearing up for classes.
But one thing I do miss, even after many years, is getting ready for
cross country season. Especially
in these hot and humid days I find myself lacking in motivation to get out and
exercise. Having a team to run
with kept pushing me to become better and was fun at the same time.
Reminiscing about cross country was
in my mind as I read from our second reading—“Endure your
trials as discipline…all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain.” Any athlete knows that not every moment of practice or games
is fun. It takes hard work,
conditioning, strength training and studying to become a good athlete and
teammate.
Being a Christian is no different. Jesus never said it was easy, but he
did give us a team in which we could be pushed, encouraged and strengthened:
the Catholic Church. And he
instructed this team to go out to all the world and convert nations. Yesterday in the Office of Readings for
St. Bartholomew the Church prayed, “For the good deeds done by tax-collectors
and fishermen through God’s grace the kings, philosophers and countless
multitude could not imagine.” A
small group of men and women indeed spread the Good News to all the world. And they did this because they
exemplified discipline in by focusing on the most important part of life:
living in relationship with Jesus.
We are continually called to grow in discipline of
living out the faith. God wants to
be ever present in our daily and weekly schedules. In a special way, today’s readings provide an opportunity to
consider how focused we are on making Him a part of all we do and are.
Jesus calls us to preach the Gospel to the world. This may seem daunting or even vague,
but he asks us to allow him into our world. Like a good teammate we are called to make our family,
workplace and classroom better. Is
Christ present in these places?
How are you called to be more disciplined in the faith?
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