Thursday, May 24, 2007

Freedom in the Rain


It may sound strange, but I love running in the rain. On Sunday, for example, I was out for a nice 4 mile run and at about 3 miles, the clouds opened. It came at the perfect time. I needed a little kick at that point, and the rain, far from deterring me, exhilarated me. First it started to sprinkle, then it became steady, and then it poured. The people driving by me probably thought I was crazy, as I actually spread my arms, opened my hands skyward and smiled. At that moment, I didn’t have a care in the world. I felt so happy, so joyful, so…free.

Are you free?

As I continued my run through the rain, I started to reflect on how free I felt, and then I began to reflect on what it means to be free…spiritually free. As it started to rain, I could have chosen to look for an overhang and run for cover. I could have let it ruin my pace, but in fact there was something about the rain that energized me. Then it struck me that the rain was like temptation. So often we can let temptation to sin ruin our spiritual pace. Temptation becomes the focus and we take our eyes off of Jesus. At times, when we’re tempted, we forget that the Lord allows it so that we can grow spiritually stronger. In the midst of temptation, however, the Lord invites us to pick up our spiritual pace and run to him with even more joy and exhilaration.

I experienced true freedom during my run because the rain did not stop me from pushing to the finish line; in fact, it empowered me to finish stronger; it made me joyful. I was free because I chose to run through the rain. Spiritual freedom does not mean that we are exempt from temptation, but it does mean that the temptations don’t stop us from going forward in our spiritual race. Remember: we are not alone. In fact, it’s only with God’s grace that we can overcome temptation. As St. Paul wrote, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).

Unfortunately, the modern day notion of freedom is completely detached from truth and responsibility. So many people believe that freedom is the ability to do whatever you want, whenever you want, wherever you want…as long as you’re not hurting anybody. But the tragic irony is that many of those who espouse this concept of freedom are actually enslaved by the very things they believe they’re freely choosing. How many people in our society are slaves to drugs, alcohol, money, sex, pornography…the list goes on and on. By using their freedom poorly, they have severely limited their freedom because they are no longer capable of choosing a different way.

True freedom is the ability to say “no” to temptation. True freedom is having mastery over our emotions and passions; we control them rather than them controlling us. With regard to our vocation, true freedom means that we answer with a resounding “yes” to whatever Jesus is asking of us. No fear of the future, only trust in the Lord.

Are you free? Most of us are not completely free, but as we grow in our friendship with Christ so too do we grow in authentic freedom. So, the next time you’re in the midst of temptation, remember that by saying no to yourself and yes to Christ, you are growing in true freedom. Heck, you might even use your freedom to go for a run…and hope it rains.

Thursday, May 10, 2007

The True Way to Find Yourself

Recently, I was speaking with a dear friend of mine who shared with me the troubling news that her sister’s husband had decided to leave the marriage. The reason, he told his wife, was that he needed “to find himself.” I told my friend, quite bluntly, that his excuse was baloney (I believe I may have used another word, but for the sake of you, my readers, I will stick with “baloney” so as not scandalize anyone!).

You’ve probably heard that excuse before: someone is having personal difficulties, and they believe the way to solve those difficulties is by walking away from their commitments, even if it means abandoning their spouse or children or ministry. They believe that by running away they will somehow magically discover who they really are. Often times, this choice to run away to find oneself is not about finding oneself at all; it’s about running away from responsibility or from the hard work that life sometimes entails.

The Church, on the contrary, proposes the true way to find oneself: “Man…cannot fully find himself except through a sincere gift of himself” (Gaudium et Spes, 24). These beautiful words from the Second Vatican Council shed the light of truth upon the problem of self-centered living. The only way that I can truly find myself is by giving myself away in love. We were not created to live a self-centered life; God created us so that we could give our lives away as a gift. Life is a gift that is meant to be given in love. Whatever our vocation—married love or celibate love—we are called to imitate Christ by living selflessly.

That troubled man, believing he would find himself by leaving his wife and children, is deceived. How, then, could he have found himself? By choosing to love his wife and children more, regardless of what he was feeling; by recommitting himself to being the best husband and the best father that he could possibly be. We don’t find ourselves by running away from our vocation; we find ourselves precisely by living our vocation heroically, especially when times are hard. The only way to love when we don’t feel like loving is to love! We choose it; we don’t wait for the feeling.

We live in a very selfish world. Many people are deceived, believing that if they live for themselves alone they will be happy. The truth is that selfishness breeds sorrow. Only by imitating Christ and living selflessly can we be truly happy.

In the same document from the Second Vatican Council, we read that “Christ…fully reveals man to himself and makes his supreme calling clear” (Gaudium et Spes, 22). Jesus Christ reveals who we as human beings are called to be. By contemplating the life of Christ and by imitating his virtues, then and only then will we find ourselves.

So, if you are struggling with sadness in your life, if you are finding it hard to love those closest to you or just to love in general, if you keep retreating within yourself only to find more isolation, then make a choice to live selflessly; make a choice to serve. Contemplate our Crucified Savior and make a decision to live for him, not for yourself. I assure you, in doing this you will find peace and happiness; and, most certainly, you will discover who God created you to be.

Thursday, May 03, 2007

Priests In Love

Sometime last year I was strolling through Borders, one of my favorite pastimes. As usual, I was wandering through the store and looking at all of the new releases. Eventually, I made my way over to the religion and spirituality section and I stumbled upon a book entitled Priests In Love. “Interesting,” I thought to myself; “I wonder what this is all about.”

So, I took the book off the shelf and began to peruse it, reading the back cover, looking at the contents, and skimming the pages. As soon as I read the back cover, however, I quickly realized that this was an anti-celibacy book. In the book, the author critiques celibacy while highlighting priests who have fallen away from their promise. After reading through some of the book, I came to the conclusion that the author came up with a wonderful title but with all the wrong content.

Priests In Love is a very fitting title for a book about the priesthood because priests are called to be men in love. But to use this title for a book about priests who have fallen out of love with Jesus and the Church and into love with a woman misses the point. You see, celibacy is not simply a way to live; it’s a way to love. The man who is called to be a priest should be in love with Jesus Christ; in fact, as St. Paul wrote, it is the love of Christ that should impel us to love others. Celibacy enables the priest to open his heart to the intimacy of Christ’s love. And as a priest comes to know the love that Christ has for him, he in turn is able to love the people who are entrusted to him in his ministry. One of the ways priests make the love of Christ present to others is through living chaste celibacy, just as Jesus himself lived.

Why else would a man decide to be a priest if not for love? When a man who is called to the priesthood comes to know the depths of Christ’s love for him, he finds within himself a desire to give his life completely to Jesus Christ. For any man who is discerning the priesthood, for any seminarian, and especially for any priest, it is vital to see celibacy as an invitation to love like Christ. This does not mean that a priest does not experience temptation, or that he is exempt from normal human emotions and attractions. However, if a priest does not see celibacy as a way to love, then it will be felt as a burden not a gift.

The priest, Pope John Paul II wrote, is the living and transparent image of Christ the Priest. Celibacy, then, is a way for a priest to be Christ’s living and transparent image to others. Celibacy is a gift, and when fully embraced and lived it leads to tremendous spiritual fruitfulness in the Church and also to incredible fulfillment in the life of the priest who is living it.