Chapter 6 St. Francis of Assisi

In this the sixth chapter of Kelly’s Rediscovering Catholicism there are several headings that organize the segment entitled “What is the Authentic Life?”

Fostering the Inner Life

Modern Despair

Our essential purpose

What is Holiness?

The-best-version-of-yourself

Vatican II

The Depression

There is so much to me explore interiorly with this particular chapter. I am struck by a handful of ideas that I would like to ask the greater audience about, if anyone would be so kind as to attempt an answer for me.

1. If I try to live an “authentic” life, (see pg. 57) why is it so gosh darn hard for me to stop asking myself “What’s in this for me?” I can sometimes catch myself doing, this which is disturbing but even more distressful are the times when I with the retro-spectroscope realize that I have acted as though I was in the “what’s in it for me “ mindset when acting for the “good” of those around me. Bummer….

Why don’t I knee-jerk response just go for the “What’s God’s will for me?” attitude?

Kelly thinks it’s all about “control” issues. I don’t know. It drives me crazy. My heart and mind understand that He has designed my life perfectly to integrate needs, desires, and talents He has instilled in me. And yet…

2. So what does it mean when Kelly says, “Every honest work can be transformed into prayer.” (Refer pg 59). I like the idea that no action need ever be wasted but come on, folding clothes is a far cry from saying a rosary or is it? Mr. Kelly says that when work is tied to a prayer, it can actually be made into a prayer; work, then, becomes a privilege and no longer a drudgery and can even become a joy.

3. When Kelly touched on the issue of depression and despair that seem to be so prevalent in our culture, he introduces the notion of separation. Can people become separated from themselves i.e. separated for the knowledge of their essential purpose? Is it true that if a person becomes so distracted, so busy, so tired, that they can no longer recognize their purpose for being alive. Can whole generations of people really be so distracted from their essential purpose that they no longer even consider that they might have a reason for being here on this earth? This is a little hard to believe, but when I examine the last 24 hours in my life, maybe it’s not so hard to believe.

Is Satan that crafty that he has us so sidetracked that he wins without us even knowing he was on the playing field?.

4. Are the majority of Catholics not cognizant of the goal of Christian life or have we cast this goal aside believing that Christian life is not “conducive to modern living”? (pg. 62)

5. If Holiness is the goal of Christian life and our essential purpose, is it possible to become holy in today’s world in the year 2010? Would life be boring and tedious if we became holy? Can wealthy people be holy? Is it for an elite group of priest-like people or nuns or the like. If I were holy, would people look at me and say, “Oh, he could have been and done so much more. He had so much potential!” Kelly has interesting ideas to offer about the concept of holiness including that the most joyful people in the world throughout history have been holy people.

On page 68 Kelly makes this statement, The “discipline striving for virtue is the authentic life.” Does that mean I have to make myself practice virtue like I made myself practice the piano when I was a kid? If so, where is the Joy in that? I admit that sometimes after practicing a lot and I was finally pretty good a piece that I did enjoy playing the piano but , man, the practice stuff was brutal.

6. Finally, check out the statement Kelly makes on pg. 71. It s big one! It’s the one about activities pursued in the name of Christianity versus a “universal call to holiness”. Read that and tell me what you think That’s it for tonight.. My spouse is demanding I come to bed I’ll write more later. I hope this is coherent enough to not be confusing.

Love, St. Francis of Assisi

Chapter 5 Theodore

The author points out that some faith communities are in extreme difficulties while others are coming to life again by honestly recognizing the causes of their difficulties and taking very positive steps that inspires new life in their church. This requires an honest look at a specific faith community's actual situation. While this seems self-evident, it is easier said than done.

The basic underpinning of this chapter is to realize that we become what we celebrate. it is critical to recognize that the human will seeks what it perceives to be "a good". For example, if we fill our minds with the bad things that are seen on some TV shows, it is not unreasonable to expect that we will begin to modify our understanding of what is good and what is bad. Bad becomes more acceptable or perhaps even very good if we only feed our minds with bad things. Where are our children in this situation?

Our church is in real trouble and it is deteriorating in membership and in preaching the truth. I believe, as a general statement, that we have been moving away from the Church Christ established to something "more comfortable". That simply means we are in an age that is watering down the real truth that we should be celebrating. Truth has become relative and our wills frequently seek, not God, but worldly pleasures, wealth and power.

As an aside, about twenty years ago I attended a very large prayer meeting and retreat with other folks at Steubenville University - a marvelous Catholic educational institution. One individual, moved by the Holy Spirit, offered a prayer in some unknown language . Another individual, moved by the Holy Spirit, interpreted the prayer and stated the Catholic Church would become very large but that the real, true, Catholic Church would become very small. That, I believe, is where we are today. Our real Catholic Church has become very small.

To recover from the current malaise in our Church, we need to become holy as individuals and then our Church will again become holy and exciting as God intended. The author eloquently states: "holiness is simply the application of the values and principles of the Gospel to the circumstances of our everyday lives-one moment at a time". If we are looking for excitement in our lives, we need to try turning our needs over to God and watch Him "do His thing". Now that's excitement to celebrate. Mr. Kelly rightly states: "...it is time for us to reassess the place and priority our faith has in our lives". Our future depends on it.

The author reminds us that our churches are emptying. We lack contact with our youth. Divorce is destroying our families and vocations are scarce. From my personal experience, what we are teaching our children is "pabulum". How can we expect our children to be strong Catholics, excited about God, if we don't give them the complete story so to speak? We have serious problems and one would have to be somewhat blind not to recognize that we have them.

Mr. Kelly makes a very good point about making a strong effort to go out and bring the Church to the people. While I agree with that mission of Christ, it is my view that we must first pray for the Holy Spirit to help us "educate" the people we do have with the absolute truth and then send them out with that truth. This begins with our priests and religious educators who must fearlessly teach and live Christ's message without compromise.

Mr. Kelly concludes that personal holiness is the solution to the Church's obvious problems and I certainly agree with him. We become what we celebrate - what we think - what we believe and how we live. There is nothing as attractive as a person who is truthful or authentic. We must be all we can be.

Theodore

AUGUST 12, 2010 6:01 PM

Chapter 5 What are we celebrating?

Celebrate? What do we really mean by that? What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear that word?

The word has its roots in the terms solemnize and honor. And yet, what do we think of, usually? We tend to think of a special day or an event and a resulting party to go with it. I know that prior to my conversion to Catholicism my first thought was to think of the last of the definitions in the dictionary; 7. to have or participate in a party, drinking spree, or uninhibited good time.

Now my first word association with Celebrate is Mass. This is one of those subtle changes that Martha was speaking of in her comment on Chapter 4. I am not sure when this change actually took place, but take place it did.

Again in this Chapter Kelly challenges us regarding the visibility of our Faith to those around us. On page 44 he speaks of a teenager’s room. This is an easy place to throw stones in this context for sure, but step out of that room and go out in the front yard of your home. Do you see anything out there, other than the obligatory statue of St. Francis, celebrating your Faith? (and St. Francis almost does not count since even non-Christians put one out there in the garden for some reason!) Can someone simply walk in to your yard and conclude that a Catholic, or even a Christian lives in your home? Try stepping in to the front hall and the living room and ask yourself the same question. Move through the rest of your home, even in to the, dare I say it, bedroom!

Dictionary definition 2 of celebration: to make known publicly; proclaim. In part we do this by the art and the furnishings that surround us in our homes. This is a way of demonstrating and proclaiming what is most important to us. There will be family pictures for all to see for sure! How about a Crucifix? Or a statue of our Blessed Mother? Or an image of the Holy Father? Is there something highly visible that proclaims the good news of the Gospel without a word ever being spoken?

As he moves on to the concept of personal Holiness and our application of the Gospel at every moment of our lives I am “convicted”, as our Protestant brothers are prone to say, of my daily inadequacy in this regard. I am reminded of a wonderful little book to recommend by Brother Lawrence entitled “Practicing the Presence of God”. It addresses how to do just that, live moment to moment aware of God’s constant presence. To paraphrase C.S. Lewis, with every decision we are choosing to move closer to or farther from God. Easier said than done, but something to strive for! A direction in which to move! On page 50 “Life should never be wasted”….then comes the clincher for we often think of this to mean “an entire life, start to finish” but no; he adds “Not one moment because life is precious”. How many moments of our precious lives do we waste?

So let us celebrate our Faith openly, working however imperfectly but to the best of our ability to be visibly Catholic, showing an example so that others might see it and wonder why we are the way we are and conclude that it would be good to join in. At that point the truth of the matter will come out and folks will realize that it is The Church, through the Mass and the other sacraments, who is feeding us and guiding us on the incredibly wonderful and exciting journey to Holiness. In this way we can show them the relevance of Jesus (see page 46) in our time and place.

Luke

Chapter 4

What does it mean to be a Catholic?

As a relatively brand new Catholic discovering Catholicism for the first time, I admit that I have a difficult time articulating what exactly that means when posed the question, "Why did you become a Catholic?"

Mr. Kelly has a valid point, that Catholics all around the world are suffering from an "identity crisis", that we really don't know who we are, what we stand for, or what makes us special. Why should Catholicism stand out more than any other religion or denomination? Because Catholicism is NOT another religion or another denomination, Catholicism IS Christianity, our very life source, the heartbeat of our soul, and our purpose for living. So why are we not bursting at the seams to share such an amazing gift with the whole world?

I think at least part of this identity crisis hails back to Chapter 2 with "Minimalism". What is the LEAST I can do and get by? We've bought into the culture of our day that we just "don't have the time" to volunteer in the nursery, to teach a Sunday School class, to sing in the choir, to organize community service projects so that we can reach beyond the walls of our parishes and take the light of Christ that we receive in the Eucharist every Sunday into a world that is desperately unhappy and in desperate need of the hope only our Savior can give. The statistics are even more damning, that only 10% of the people in a church do 90% of the work, and that number is probably very generous! We refuse to give of ourselves even to each other, and then we wonder why the world does not want to be a part of who we are. And last but not least, the one no one likes to talk about... What is the LEAST amount I can give to the church and still stay in God's good graces? If we truly loved one another as Christ loves us, would we not be falling all over ourselves to serve each other and to give of our time, our resources, and our talents? If Christ put His ALL on the Cross, why are we so reluctant to put our ALL into His Bride, the Church? Every Catholic must ask the question, "What I have done today to show the love of Christ to the world around me?" Not "what I did back when...", not "what I'm going to do...", but "what have I done TODAY?"

One problem we face is that Catholics have been vilified in modern culture with false stereotypes and outright lies about what we believe, and for some reason, we hang our heads and shift our gaze rather than stand up and speak out because we are not comfortable with who we are, and many times we don't even know what we believe. Our identity does not lie in our jobs, our hobbies, or things here on earth. Our identity lies in our relationship with Christ. We are His Bride, we are His Body, and to know who we are means becoming more like Him, the-best-version-of-ourselves. Of course, the best way to know how to be like Him is to study His life, to know His Word, and to PRAY without ceasing (I Thessalonians 5:17).

The first Christians were ready to give their very lives for what they believed, and what we still believe today, that Jesus Christ died to save us all from sin and eternal damnation. They exemplified love for each other in their lives and their communities, they supported each other in sickness, in persecution, in good times and bad. Being a Christian was not a PART of who they were, it was EVERYTHING of who they were. In modern times, we tend to compartmentalize our lives. We have our work life, our family life, our sports life, our TV life, our internet life, our driving life (Get out of my way slow poke, I'm gonna be late for church!!), and somewhere in there, we squeeze in our spiritual life. We even view the church as a "place to go to do that thing". Christ never meant for us to use our salvation as a coat that we put on and take off at our convenience, being "Sunday Christians" and "Monday Heathens".

To establish a "vibrant identity" in the Church we cannot continue in a culture of minimalism, we must give our all, just as Christ did. We cannot stay the same, we must be, as Paul says in Romans, "transformed by the renewing of [our] minds". We must know who we are and what our purpose in life is. Like Mr. Kelly pointed out, our salvation is an adventure, it is the story of our lives. We were given a quest to preach the Gospel to every nation, and we were given a command, to love each other. How hard is that?

According to Galatians 5:22-24, the fruit of the spirit is LOVE, and out of love comes joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. Joy is love's strength, peace is love's security, long-suffering is love's patience, gentleness is love's conduct, goodness is love's character, faith is love's confidence, meekness is love's humility, and temperance is love's victory. However, backtracking just a few verses (19-21), we find the fruits of the flesh which are immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, rivalry, jealously, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissension, occasions of envy, drunkenness and the like.

Want to know who you really are? What is your fruit? And that, my friends, is a very loaded question.

Your brother and sister,
Joseph & Frances

Chapter Three

Is Jesus still relevant? (better title; Shadow Chasing)

In this chapter Matthew Kelly of course answer in the affirmative. He goes on to show our basic need for happiness is found in Christ. He also shows the impact that Christ had and the rippling effect that has continued for the last two thousand years. He shows that true happiness is found only in Jesus and by following his example.

We all do search for true happiness and find it still wanting. . God said “there is no peace given unto the wicked”. Yet when we see the world searching we sometime might be incline to think they found it. Just look at all the happy people that are so successful in the world eyes. We later find out that they are having affairs, become addicts or end there own life. Jesus said “Peace I give you, not as the world gives, give I unto you”

I think a lot of what was stated in chapter three was basic Christianity 101. Happiness is found in obeying and serving. To have the attitude of Christ is to remember “That even the Son of Man came not to be ministered to but to minister and give his life a ransom for many.” This is the great paradox of which the author spoke of. In dying we live. We are called as St. Paul said “to die daily”. Mr. Kelly quotes Matt 16:24. I also like St. Luke quote from Jesus, that we must take up our cross daily and if we don’t we can not be his disciple.

So what kind of happiness can be that fulfilling? Do we actually have that type of happiness? Do we really find our completion in Christ?. Do we as St. Peter said “greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory” or are we like the Corinthians to which St. .Paul said “But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. This is the simplicity that Matthew Kelly speaks of on page 32.

On a side note: It is kind of strange how this philosophies of Individualism has crept into Christianity (of course the type of Christianty you preach is the type of convert you get). Mr. Kelly shows towards the end of the chapter its all about the individual “Adding all of these together is still nothing compare to the impact Christ can have on your life, on my life. All the worldly success of Christ and the Church are insignificant compare to the change Christ can effect in your heart…” The greatest miracle changing water into wine (and changing dirty hearts like mine).

So it’s not really all about us but we have to have that personal relationship with Christ to be able to have that joy and to share in his sufferings.

Dundermuffin's Inspiration

Please see Chapter 1 comments by dundermuffin.

Luke

Chapter 2

The second sentence of Ch.2 is as accurate a description of our ailing culture as I've found anywhere: "Our own age is one of great philosophical poverty, and as a result, we live in an age of tremendous moral and ethical confusion." We are indeed "dazed and confused," (I never saw the movie), and Kelly outlines the three "practical" philosophies on which he believes we have constructed our modern culture: Individualism, Hedonism, and Minimalism.
There are certainly many other candidates, some of which overlap with these and some we may touch on later in the book. These might include moral relativism, radical secularism, materialism, utilitarianism, and the belief that science is the only real source of truth and knowledge, and faith is somehow in opposition to science and reason.
The problems of Individualism are well outlined. I like his concept of a "false freedom," and that this is an adolescent notion. One thinks especially of the impact of Individualism on marriage and divorce, abortion, and even declining birth and marriage rates in the Western world. I do have one quibble, with his statement that "everything has been done to weaken the rights of the Church, the State and authority of any type." It seems to me that the rights and power of the State have only grown over many decades, with very harmful effects on individual (and religious) rights.
Hedonism no doubt produces a "lazy, lustful, and gluttonous" society. One of the most damaging examples is the growing addiction to Internet pornography. On a less extreme, less hedonistic level, though, are the "thousand different whims, cravings, addictions, and attachments" (Ch.3, p.28 - forgive me, Lindsay) with which we are amusing ourselves to death. The daily bombardment of these "lesser" evils and distractions in our culture is unprecedented in history, and produces a steady drift of our attention and desires away from God.
Kelly's choice of "Minimalism" surprised me a bit. Not that I think it's an inaccurate indictment. I just might have chosen one of the others above. (Having heard him speak on CD and seen his schedule, it may also reflect his impressive energy - and relative youth!). This philosophy of minimalism is all too common in the practice of our Catholic faith.
We liked the frog in the pot of water analogy. I think we can all see the slow but steady erosion of our culture and its standards of morality and behavior in the few decades of our own adult lives.
A final thought (offered while being acutely aware of the large log in my own eye): I think there are very many people in our culture who are not Christian but aren't especially caught up in these three damaging philosphies, yet are ultimately as lost and rudderless as those that are. In general, they lack a basic belief in God, that we are His children and made in His image, and that Truth and meaning in this world come through Him. Specifically, they lack knowledge of or faith in the saving grace of Jesus Christ.

- John Paul