Brothers’/Sisters’/Neighbors’ Keepers

We read in the Bible about how great it is to lay down one’s life for a friend: It’s the ultimate sacrifice of love, and, basically, if done with a pure heart and no mortal sins, I feel like that’s the elevator straight into heaven.

But what happens when we are called upon to lay down just a LITTLE of our lives for our friends?

What if your friend and you like the same guy and he expresses interest in her?
What if you drove to a party and you’re having an absolute blast, but your friend gets sick and needs to leave?
What if your friend is in utter despair bordering on suicidal thoughts, you’re on the phone with him, and it seems as though you are helping somewhat, but it’s going on 3am, and you have to get up in 4 hours for work?
What if your friend’s car breaks down an hour away and you’re the only one she can get ahold of, but you had other plans you’ll have to miss completely if you go get her?

Now obviously there’s a fine line between laying down your life for a friend and just letting them walk all over you…

BUT, when your friends have a time that they really need someone that they can depend upon… Are they able to call you? Will you come through?

Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me… for meeee… for MEEEEEEE…

Wow, sorry for the hiatus there.

My good excuse (for not posting so often) is that work (at a church, so no fair yelling at me!) was crazy busy with our spring retreat, then Confirmation, then prepping to go on vacation for a week (it was loverly!).

My bad excuse (for not posting at ALL): Holy cannoli has the Devil been working at me lately!

Honestly, I think Lucifer’s afraid of the strides I’ve been making in my spirituality.

Have you ever noticed how much you get spiritually attacked RIGHT when you’re on the path to something really good? How you start out all fired up, but then all these doubts and distractions start pushing in at the edges?

Some people say that the Devil isn’t real. But he is. Not the little red horned, pitchfork-wielding, spiky-tailed incarnation that we’ve made him out to be, but rather, a fallen angel, the embodiment of pride, jealousy, and temptation who works at your mind and leads you astray — especially when you’re closest to doing the best work for God! The one who talked Eve into falling, the one who tempted Jesus using Scripture quotes and everything, the one who incited the mobs with such anger and furor on the way to Calvary.

They say in the movie The Usual Suspects, “The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he did not exist.” And though it’s just a movie quote, that’s a great observation. If we don’t believe he exists, then we never tell him to go away, and we give in to his temptations because we think it’s just following our instincts. Because if the Devil doesn’t exist, then all these bad things we do, all these primally evil things, are only part of our humanity, and that makes humans innately evil, and that means that God created evil, which disproves His existence entirely, since by definition, God is all-good…

Now, I realize that this is both bordering on the complicated and a watering down of millions of pages of theological discussion, but the point is that spiritual warfare is very real, and it’s a very dangerous thing not to believe in it, because you will ignorantly be sucked right into it.

If you want more, read C.S. Lewis’ Screwtape Letters: letters from Screwtape, an upper management demon, to Wormwood, an entry-level demon, coaching him on how to handle humans. C.S. Lewis, the greatest Catholic writer never to convert to Catholicism, really (and quite scarily) breaks down the snares of the Devil in a very creative modern day parable.

So when you feel attacked, tempted, apathetic, etc… try starting with telling the Devil (Beelzebub, Lucifer, Satan, Lord of the Flies, Baal, Sparky: whatever you wanna call him!) to GO AWAY.

See if it helps. I think it might. It works for me.

Heaven is a Place on Earth

I have a confession to make… I didn’t go to Mass this week. You see, I had to go out of town on business and didn’t get back until mid-afternoon on Sunday. I could’ve made the evening Mass but I was just so sleepy and engrossed in a movie (which ironically was Constantine, which if you know is about a guy who fights demons and is all about the devil and the battles between good and evil.)

I knew I was wrong to not go. But I ignored that little whispering inside of me that longed to be in a community… where I should… praising God. I’ve heard a number of great Catholic speakers and authors talk about the great gift that the Mass is. If we only knew what it was that Jesus offered us every week (every day!) we’d never miss it. Scott Hahn even explains how the Mass is Heaven on Earth.

I’m in my 20’s. I live on my own (well, with a roommate) and we both are practicing Catholics. But every so often I just don’t feel like going to church. It’s normal. But that doesn’t make it ok. I’m not going to into a fit of self-pity and wallowing in my own sorrow. However, I do realize the reality of what I have missed out of. I also realize that I am probably due for another Confession.

I think I just need to make a habit of really remembering why I go to Mass. What really is before me.  The beautiful gift of Christ’s Passion, Death and Resurrection… Eternity and the Present all wrapped up into one liturgy.  Maybe I’m talking gibberish to you right now.  But think about the words:

Take this, all of you, and eat it: this is my body which will be given up for you.

Take this, all of you, and drink from it: this is the cup of my blood, the blood of the new and everlasting covenant. It will be shed for you and for all so that sins may be forgiven. Do this in memory of me.

If you think about it – if the Eucharist is the continuation of the Last Supper.. of Jesus’ love for his people and an offering of Himself to his disciples…. Every week he dies and rises again in each of us.  He dies because we consume his Body and Blood in the act of Communion.  His body is crushed and broken as we chew and digest the bread and wine (that’s been unsubstantiated.)  And it gives our body nourishment and life.  We literally become His Body.  And if His Body has ascended into Heaven then we are already part of heaven here on earth.

Ok, I’m not a theologian. So I might be way off in my thoughts and observations.  What I do know is that the Mass is the culmination of our faith.  It is Jesus’ ultimate gift of Himself to us.  It’s important.

But then again the beauty of God – You can always come back. So I messed up and missed out on a beautiful, wonderful and mysterious gift this past week. But I know that I am always welcome that the Lord’s Table.

Come back to me with all your heart!
Repent and sin no more!

You’ve Got a Friend (and Hope)

When you’re down and troubled
And you need a helping hand
And nothing, whoa nothing is going right.
Close your eyes and think of me
And soon I will be there
To brighten up even your darkest nights.You just call out my name,
And you know where ever I am
I’ll come running, oh yeah baby
To see you again.
Winter, spring, summer, or fall,
All you have to do is call
And Ill be there, yeah, yeah, yeah.
You’ve got a friend.

This is one of my favorite James Taylor songs. (Carole King sings a good version of it too, if you’re interested.) This song encompasses a lot of stuff that’s been on my mind lately. The next 7 days are going to be pretty difficult for me. Not only is my schedule going to be pretty much grueling working both days and nights at two jobs but I have an appointment to get 4 cavities filled and have to euthanize my 6 year old cat due to health problems.

I’m sad and it will be hard and I’m sure I’ll probably break down and cry a couple of times or more. But I’ll be ok because I’ve got a Friend. I feel like God sings this song to us all the time. Saying to us constantly, “I’m here. Just call my name!”

Not only that but thankfully my family’s annual get-together will be at the end of this 7-Day hell. So I have that to look forward to. Some people would think 20 people (all mostly their family) crammed into 1 cabin on the side of a mountain would be hell. Not me. I’m looking forward to this much needed vacation and family time.

But I think that’s how we have to take the struggles in this life. When we’re in the midst of our own “hell” and everything seems to be crashing down to just look forward. Even if you don’t have a family vacation coming up or you don’t see an end in sight – you can look to the heavens and think about your eternity. I think it’s an interesting way of looking a Phillippians 3:12-14. Pressing toward a goal – Heaven and eternal basking in God’s great Presence – and putting behind all this suffering. We all have to suffer because of sin and sometimes to help purify ourselves but we can look forward to a time when all the suffering will stop.

Car Insurance… or Eternal-Life Insurance? You be the judge.

 Writer’s note: I edited the *rewritten* commercial today to make it even better

*CRASH* This is not the time to wish you had Accident Forgiveness.

Now is the time to sign up for Accident Forgiveness.

Starting the day you sign up, your rates won’t go up just because you had an accident, even if it’s your fault.

Don’t drive another day without Accident Forgiveness.

*Cue spokes-actor and logo* Are you in good hands?

This commercial just hit me — how many insurance commercials do we see on TV, and how many of them could be Christian messages if you just tweaked them a little?

Take this one…

The end of your life is definitely NOT the time to wish you had Christ’s Forgiveness in your life.

Now is the time to get Christ’s Forgiveness!

Starting the day you are baptized, you CAN GET INTO HEAVEN — even if you’ve sinned.

Don’t go another day without Jesus!

*cue spokes-Prophet and crucifix* Are you in good hands?

Well… are you?