A Bird in Winter

We were praying a family rosary the other day, in union with the Cardinals who were gathered in prayer, in Rome, in preparation for the Conclave in which a pope is to be elected.

I live in the Midwest now, a recent transplant from the desert of the West. That day we got a heavy snow, and when you looked out our windows, it was like gazing at a village in one of those Christmas globes. It struck the eye as hauntingly lovely for someone like me who has, for most his life, measured the seasons by whether or not his skin feels it is baking when he steps out the front door.

Hey, You Annoying Christian, How Can You Believe?

I was employed at a company that did spot drawings for the yellow pages, a frustrated young man, miserably chained to a drawing board in a tiny cubicle, hunched in a cloud of cigarette smoke (second-hand, not mine--- this was before no-smoking laws reigned in buildings). I worked across the aisle from another artist named Ron. What we had in common was that neither of us contributed to the bar-like air of the art department. But we had one radical difference that I had a real problem with.

Ron was a Christian.

On his cubicle wall, Ron had tacked a bright and colorful poster of some guy majestically flying through the mountain air on skis. There was a caption that read: Those that hope in the LORD will renew their strength and soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint, a quote from Isaiah 40:31.

Man, that ticked me off.

Back to Basics: What We Thirst For

When I was a kid growing up in the Arizona desert, we used to come in from the heat of the summer and greedily yank sodas from the refrigerator. I remember the intensely sweet taste of the soda as it went down. It tasted SO good!

But as I drained that last delicious drop from the can, something strange happened. You may know exactly what I am talking about. I realized I was far thirstier than before. So I grabbed another can of cola.

No matter how much soda I drank, the thirst increased.

It wasn’t until I guzzled a glass of ice-cold water that I found relief from the thirst.

I think that’s kind of how life works. We all thirst for God. It is a driving desire "written on the human heart." It is part of the human condition, which makes sense when we remember that we were created to experience happiness in communion with the Blessed Trinity in eternity. We were made by God, for God (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 27). 

Loving the Church

When I read his final general audience in St. Peter’s Square, what struck me is how Pope Benedict’s words revealed a certain quality that would be good to see in more abundance these days, a selfless love for the Church. It seems evident that his decision to resign was motivated by his love for the Church that formed him into the exemplary Christian that he is. It made me reflect on what it means to love the Church, to lay down one's life for her.

Evangelization of the Children: Who will do it?

I wonder how many of us parents ever stop to think about the fact that our children are being evangelized all day, every day.

I am not talking about the evangelization of the Good News of God’s love and His call to holiness. I am speaking of the proclamation of an anti-gospel, one that proclaims the following lies: Your worth is based on who you hang out with, what you do on a Saturday night; your happiness depends on what clothes you wear, what kind of cell phone you own, how good looking you are, whether or not you’ve got a boyfriend or girlfriend, whether or not you’re “having sex.” It claims that a baby isn’t a human being but a “choice,” and that the elderly have nothing to offer or teach us because they are "old," that they aren’t “useful” or "valuable" to society anymore. This anti-gospel is imbedded in the culture like cancer cells in a body. It isn't the culture, but it permeates the very mind and heart of the culture. 

I’m not trying to scare you… oh, wait a minute: yes, I am. We parents need to be startled. We need to wake up. Especially those of us who call ourselves Christian but just sort of go through the motions.