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We've got more excellent things to discuss from "The Diary of a Country Priest." Years ago, I was acquainted with a woman who had stopped going to Mass. She was mad at God for taking her mother too soon. She loved her mother very much and I can understand this kind of anger. The pain of losing someone "too soon" can make us feel gipped. What I wanted to caution this woman about was the fact that she was in serious danger of not being able to see her mother in eternity. I didn't know her well enough to have that conversation and I had just overheard her saying that she had essentially turned her back on God. In the book, the priest goes to visit the mom of Mlle Chantal, the bratty girl I spoke of last week. She is a neglectful mother who has been mourning her son for 11 years. He died when he was 18 months old and since that time she has ignored her daughter and only caved in on herself. As the priest is talking to her, she makes it known that she really wants nothing to do with God, but she's sure that her love for her son will help her get to Heaven. She wants very little to do with God because of her anger and hatred towards Him, but she still expects Heaven. The priest warns her that she is in danger of Hell and in Hell, she won't even be able to love her son. He says, "Hell is not to love any more. As long as we remain in this life we can still deceive ourselves, think that we love by our own will, that we love independently of God. But, we're like madmen stretching our hands to clasp the moon reflected in water." There is always pain in this life: Loved ones gone before we are ready, tragedies happen. I once cut myself off from the Source of Love because of my anger. If we truly love someone, Catholic Pilgrims, we don't display our love by hurting ourselves and potentially severing a chance to love them in Heaven. They wouldn't want Hell for us; they would want us to do everything we can to hang on and stay close to the One that is Love. Live the faith boldly and travel well this Thursday.
Continue ReadingWhen sports fans go to watch a game, they want to participate. They want to yell, cheer, soak in the atmosphere, and take it all in with their senses. If you really love the game, you want to be immersed in what is going on. If I saw a person in the stands just sitting there the entire time staring off into space or scrolling on their phone, I would think this person was brought there against their will, because why come if you aren't going to participate? When you go to a concert, you want to participate. You want to sing along to your favorite songs, watch the artist in real life, and be joined together with thousands of other fans. If I saw a person in the crowd just sitting there the entire time either half asleep or looking utterly bored, I would wonder why in the world they were there if they weren't going to participate? Why do anything you claim to love if you aren't going to participate? What is the point? To just be a warm body in the seat? To just get a picture to share to make others think your life is cool? If you go to Mass with no intention of actual participating, what is the point? There are no brownie points for warming the seat. Before someone says it, I'm not speaking about parents with young children who struggle to fully engage because little ones beg their attention. I'm talking about intent. If you come to Mass ill-prepared in body, mind, and soul to participate, you do yourself no favors and God is not honored by your mere presence void of any desire to worship. The Mass is always glorious, holy, and splendid simply because God has come to our altars. We have to act in such a way that shows this is a reality because it is. We need to say the prayers. We need to use our bodies to genuflect, cross ourselves, bow, kneel (if possible), and sing. I know you may not be a good singer, but when you shut your trap and refuse, others see it and then refuse, as well, and before we know it there are only five people singing. Participation is our job at the Mass; it's not just to be a crowd of bored faces for the priest to talk to. We participate, Catholic Pilgrims, just as we would at any other thing we claimed to love.
Continue ReadingI've been slowing making my way through "The Diary of a Country Priest." If you remember, I encouraged you all to watch it a few weeks ago. I was having trouble understanding the book and I thought watching the movie would help me understand the characters better. Anyway, it is a rich, rich book and I have found that I need to read a little and then just sit with it for a while before moving on. The girl you see in this picture is Mademoiselle Chantal and she is a prideful, hate-filled brat. To be fair to her, her mother has been emotionally absent nearly her whole life and her father is having an affair with her governess. She hates everybody and she battles with the priest as if she is battling God. She hates her mother for being incapable of being a good mother because she is so wrapped up in the pain of losing a young son long ago. She hates her father for his betrayal and sin. She hates her governess. She even declares to the priest that she wants to kill them all. As the priest (we never know his name) and Mlle Chantal continue with this spiritual battle, the priest says to her, "You hate this woman and feel yourself so far removed from her, when your hate and her sin are as two branches of the same tree." Sometimes, people hurt us deeply. Mlle Chantal has every right to hate the sins that her parents and governess are engaged in--we should always hate evil actions. However, she has allowed her hatred of their sins to move into hatred of the people and that has wrapped a vice around her heart. Once that happens, her hatred and their sins mingle causing them to be linked together as a "communion of sinners," potentially "companions for all eternity." That eternity being in Hell. Once, long ago, I was deeply wounded and I allowed the sins others to take root as hatred of them in my soul. I felt justified in feeling that way. Yet, it was not helping me one bit, in fact, it made me a prideful, hate-filled brat in many ways. We cannot let another's sin lead us into sin, Catholic Pilgrims. We must fight to keep our souls free from darkness or we are no different than the ones that hurt us. Live the faith boldly and travel well.
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