I'm Laughing at your Testimony

To provide witness is central to the notion of evangelization. After all, people can refute or reject facts, but it is another thing entirely to reject the deep personal experience of another human being. You can tell me that my interpretation of a text is flawed or that my sources are wrong or incomplete, but when I tell you that my belief is based in a concrete experience, the debate takes on a different and more transcendental character. It is for this personal and central reason that to give your testimony or your witness must be taken seriously. Even Pope Paul VI, in Evangelii Nuntiandi (1975), states that "modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are first witnesses."

Thus, the personal witness of faith is to held in highly sacred esteem. However, if you have ever listened to a witness talk, or given one, you have seen that when a person lays out a picture of who they once were and the life they lived in comparison to who they are currently, it becomes very clear that every witness is comedy in the grandest sense of the word.

Now, before you grab your pitchforks and label me as one who disregards the seriousness of a witness, let us first look at what a witness is. To give one's testimony or witness is a legal proceeding. Essentially, in the case for Christ, one gives their witness before God and man of their experience, testifying to the truth, and nothing but the truth, so help them God. It is precisely because the testimony, whether religious or secular, is so highly regarded that dishonesty, or perjury, is so dramatically punished. To perjure oneself is to take what is true and knowingly misrepresent it at the moment when that truth is most essential. This is what Jesus means when he says "he who blasphemes against the Spirit will never be forgiven" (Mark 3:29). To perjure ones religious testimony is to blaspheme the Spirit and its works. It is to speak lies about God and his actions when it matters most.

So how can something so serious be considered a comedy? When one describes the lengths to which God has gone to bring them out of sin, it cannot possibly be comedic. But of course it is! In fact, it is the grandest comedy available to us. Of course, by comedy I do not just mean humor, though the humor us included and essential. When we speak of comedy, we mean the grand form which encompasses the entirety of a story and reveals to us deeper truth.

We understand comedy in two way which can both be used to describe a personal witness statement. The first, and arguably the most widely recognized is finding humor in that which is absurd. It is precisely in the absurdity presented to us, insofar as it clashes with what we consider rational or normal, that we find humor. Apply this to a witness. When one describes a life prior to conversion, especially when that former life is steeped in sin, we find absurdity. It is considered shocking and even illogical because the person who is painting this picture of him/herself is so far removed from the image being presented. These images clash and it is in this clash where we find comedy. To put the two figures next to one another is a humorous tableau. As one looks back on who they were without Christ, there absolutely should be a part of them that laughs to him/herself about the idea of who they were, and this humor and joy can only be found so far as they are removed from their former life.

The second element of comedy is what i refer to as the theatrical definition. Dicitonary.com defines comedy as:

 A play, movie, ect., of light and humorous character with a happy and cheerful ending; a dramatic work in which the central motif is the triumph over adverse circumstance, resulting in a successful or happy conclusion.

Now, how can one who has an experience of the saving power of God, and witness to the same, read that definition and not see how plainly it describes a personal testimony? To tell of the victories of God in one's life is to describe the triumph over adversity by definition. To talk of life in Christ or, to take an eternal step forward, heaven, is to not just experience a successful or happy result, it is to result in all that is success and all that is happiness. When seen theatrically, eternal life is the ultimate triumph over the ultimate adversity of sin, pointing us to the fact that each story in which these element play out is the ultimate comedy.

A personal witness is not some drab thing. If it is, you're doing it wrong! To give a witness to the power of Jesus working in your life is to speak of joy and happiness in its very essence! Yes, elements of your story are going to be serious, but what comedy exists that doesn't have a single serious moment? What we give testimony to is the power and love of a God who is love, who brought us out of sin and death through love to live an eternity of love in him! We can see through this lens that our walk of faith is meant to be a comedy, and not only that, but a romantic comedy!

So, when you tell your story, tell it with a smile on your face. Laugh at yourself! Laugh at who you were! Give testimony to the joy that you have, not just the story you like to tell. We cannot teach unless we are first witnesses, and we cannot be those witnesses without expressing the joy which has been given us.

St Joseph, pray for us
God, Father in Heaven, bless us

The Search for Truth: A Self-Titled Post

I don't think it matters whether you are religious or not. The scene in John's gospel where Pilate interrogates our Lord is a chilling passage. Pilate, the Roman governor of what was considered to be a troublesome province has a beaten and bruised carpenter brought before him. This apparent rabbi is accused of blasphemy and, on the eve of the Sabbath, the Jewish leadership is calling for his execution. Not being one to easily fold to hysteria, Pilate calls this Jesus in for questioning. After a roundabout line of interrogation, Jesus finally says to Pilate, "You say I am a king- for this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.", to which Pilate responds, "What is truth?" (John 18:28-38)

Pilate asks, "What is truth?"

Pilate's final question is one that rings with me personally, and in my opinion, it stands as one the great questions of our age. Now, if you have been active in Catholic circles for more than five minutes, you have most likely been told about the relativistic culture of western society and the need for the acknowledgement of objective truths in order define our morality, our spirituality, and our very place in the world. This is true and I could write all about it, but men much smarter than I have taken up the task and it would be presumptuous of me to try and say something that has most likely been pondered and written about my many a scholar.

What I want to write about instead is something under the surface of the debate as to whether or not objective truth exists. I want to discuss why we even care. Why does it matter whether something is true or not? Why, if something is true, do you even have to share it? Finally, if there is truth in this world, how do we find it?

But first, a little background. I am a senior sociology student a George Mason University. I have spent the majority of my undergraduate career studying the various ways in which people socialize, and how those social worlds shape us and our relationships with one another and with society. I can confidently say after 4+ years in college that sociology is a largely liberal science that, in my opinion, tries all too often to fit the world into preconceived theories and worldviews developed by people who are far too interested in their own opinions to really care as to whether or not their theories truly fit. Now, I say this for two reasons. On the one hand, I've just wanted to say that about sociology forever. On the other hand, despite the flaws of its practitioners, I still have faith in sociology as a science, not because of what it has done or achieved, but because of what it seeks. As with any other science, whether it be natural or social, sociology asks the same question that Pilate asked of Jesus: "What is truth?"

You see, human beings are not simply passive creatures. We search for things. We search for love, happiness, companionship, community, fulfillment, and all other manner of seemingly abstract things. But, at the heart of every person and every question lies the desire to know oneself and to know the world one lives in. This is what we commonly call the search for the truth. We want to know fully, and we do not accept answers that we consider to be lies or half-truths. Somehow, we all know that there is a right way to live, and an answer to the question of who we are and how we relate to this world (hey look! I just disproved relativism!). So we reach out. We try to find the answers. We develop systems that lead us to truth and help us to know the answers to our deep and fundamental questions.

This is where all of our various scientific and religious endeavors enter the picture. And yes, I do truly mean both. As the late John Paul II said in his encyclical letter Fides et Ratio, "Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth". And he's right! Think about it. We have all met  people who are on either side of the spectrum. In one corner, we have the person who relies only on faith while rejecting social and scientific proofs to the detriment of his own knowledge, and in the other corner we have the staunch atheistic whack-job who relies only on quantifiable data with no belief that there could possibly be anything more that what it laid before him. Both are angry and defensive, and the irony is that the more one drifts to one end or the the other, the more he thinks that he is rational while everyone else is crazy.

So where does this dualistic notion of investigation leave us? It leaves us stranded between two camps, feeling as if we need to choose between faith or science to answer our deep and burning questions. Well here's a lifeline my dear friend. You don't need to choose!

Gregor Mendel: Father of Genetics

The Church has always said that as long as we are seeking truth, we are seeking God. In fact, that's why the Catholic Church has been the largest patron of education in all of human history, and why many of the most famous and influential scientists have been faithful Catholics. That's right, as Gregor Mendel (a monk) was developing the basic laws of genetics, he was searching the face of God. As were Roger Bacon (a friar) when he developed the scientific method, and Nicolas Claude Fabri de Peiresc (an abbot) when he discovered the Orion Nebula. They used their reason to make great leaps in science which only deepened their faith when they sought truth in prayer and in the sacraments. These were balanced men who rose to a greater knowledge of truth through the investigation of both empirical science and religious devotion. How else can one delve into things unseen and undiscovered without faith that there is something greater than what is known?

Now, many atheists will say that the Church is against science. To that I blow an enormous and audible raspberry. I challenge them to look up the lives of the men I mentioned above as well as this list for more information. The most famous objection, of course, is the fact that Galileo was forced to recant his findings by the Church. They will also mention that the Church never officially apologized to Galileo until 1992. To that I say, our bad for the mix up, now get over it. We had bigger and more important things to worry about than Galileo's feelings.

The point is, don't be discouraged by factions of atheists and religious alike who would tell you that you must choose between religion and science, between faith and reason. In order to truly find ourselves and answer the deep questions of our hearts we need both. We need to understand how the world works. It has the potential to increase our faith in a Creator who put so much detail in the universe to be discovered and investigated. However, we have to have an understanding that we are not the be all end all. There is a God who has put within us a desire to know truth; to know him. We can have faith in a God that reveals his own beauty and intricacy in understandable and quantifiable ways while still expanding beyond them into infinity. Hopefully with our faith and reason developed and unfolded, we can answer Pilates inquiry and point to what is really true and what is really good.

Joseph, model of manhood, pray for us
God, Father in Heaven, bless us

Encouragement from Exhaustion

This past week, I was given the opportunity to participate with my fellow CCM student leaders in student welcome week at George Mason. Affectionately (and often exasperatedly) referred to as the "First 168", this week is the most jam packed of any week that we have during the school year in terms of outreach, promotion, and building new friendships with new students.

As the week wraps up, and I look back at the exhausting first seven days, it's really easy to think about how tired I really am. It's easy to think of all the awkward moments, unanswered phone calls, scathing looks, and people that outright ignore you. We all went through periods of fear, fatigue, frustration, anger, and all of us have all let out the big exasperated sigh after being rejected by someone we thought we made a connection with. All of this has brought us to a single conclusion:

GOD IS GOOD

Despite every failure and every awkward moment, God showed through. Despite every bad joke and weird look, God showed through. His glory permeated every single moment of the week and absolutely allowed us to do work that we would never have been able to on our own. God's spirit overcame us and overshadowed us. Amazing work was done, and continues to be done

We had 1200 people at our freshman luau, our 10pm Sunday Mass and Thursday Night Supper were packed with people, and we have literally hundreds of freshman looking into joining Bible Studies and RCIA. We would never have been able to do that without Him. Honestly, I witnessed the Holy Spirit taking over every single person, allowing them to speak in tongues and reach each person in a unique way. We were the loaves, multiplied to feed the crowds. We were the fishers of men, casting our nets into the deep

We still have a lot of work to do, but there is an encouragement found in this past week that will keep us going throughout the coming months and the coming year. God has amazing plans for each person on the Student Ministry Team, and for every person we met. I look forward to seeing what God does over the course of the semester. Praise be to God, our Light and our Guide.

May the Lord, our God, bless us
St Joseph, model of manhood, pray for us

The Fellowship of the Unashamed

This past month, I had the opportunity to work as a summer missionary for Lifeteen up in Boston, MA. It was an amazing opportunity to minister to the youth of that area as well as dive deeper into my own faith. I learned that to life a Christian life is to live a life that is missionary. It means treating every moment, every conversation, every step, every day as if it were a mission in an of itself. And what is the objective of the mission?

To Convert Hearts

This means living, acting, and loving in every moment as Christ did. It means clinging to the Cross and to the Eucharist with steadfast hope and faith. It means building your heart on the foundation of rock that is Christ and the Church instead of the ever shifting sands that a life of world has to offer.

Honestly it means living in what an African priest and Martyr called "The Fellowship of the Unashamed". In the middle of the night a few years ago, he was taken and never seen again. When people came to his home, they found that he had written the following poem on his wall:

"I'm a part of the fellowship of the unashamed. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I'm a disciple of His and I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still.

My past is redeemed. My present makes sense. My future is secure. I'm done and finished with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap living, and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to be right, or first, or tops, or recognized, or praised, or rewarded. I live by faith, lean on His presence, walk by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by Holy Spirit power.

My face is set. My gait is fast. My goal is heaven. My road may be narrow, my way rough, my companions few, but my guide is reliable and my mission is clear.

I will not be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded or delayed.  I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice or hesitate in the presence of the adversary. I will not negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I won't give up, shut up, or let up until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, and preached up for the cause of Christ.

I am a disciple of Jesus. I must give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until He comes. And when He does come for His own, He'll have no problems recognizing me. My colors will be clear!"

 We live as a part of the Fellowship of the Unashamed. We have a mission that is clear and we will not back down. We march under the banner of Christ, and we will be victorious. I pray that we can take these words to heart so that we can truly be missionary.

May the Lord our God bless us
St. Joseph, model of manliness, pray for us

Another Carpe Diem Rant....

Hey all!! It's been awhile. I could call myself a failure. I could call myself a non-communicative twit. But, after a lot of thought it really just comes down to the fact that I'm absent minded and forgot to post. Regardless of the reason, I'm sorry, and I'm very very glad to be back.

I had a thought. The great writer C.S Lewis said in his book The Screwtape Letters "The present is the point at which time touches eternity". He makes the point that all of our fear and anxiety point toward a future, while our anger and resentment point toward the past. All of these things keep our focus away from the only thing that is truly real, the present moment. Those who can truly live in their present moment experience live most authentically; They are, in a most amazing sense, able to find God in every detail.

God has no future and no past. He is purely and truly in the now at all times and in all places. Now, what effect does that have on us? As children of God, made in his image and likeness, we are are not meant to dwell on the future or the past. We are meant to seize life in every moment, living out our days not as if they are our last, but as if they are our only.

But what does that look like? How does one grab life by the collar and live it to the full. Well, the answer is simpler than it initially seems. We follow the example of the saints. Mother Theresa, John Paul II, Padre Pio. The list goes on and on. These are men and women who lived every moment with a purpose and a zeal that seems extraordinary, but the only amazing thing is that we are all keeping ourselves from doing the same.

Jesus said in John 10:10, "I came that they might have life and have it to the full". I think that we need to cling to the one who gives life, and allow ourselves to live fully in the moment that we inhabit. I think that if we can truly do that, we can truly find the happiness that we are made to experience.

May the Lord, our God, bless us
St Joseph, model of manliness, pray for us

From Our Lips to His Ears

Prayer is a tricky thing. What do I say? Is Jesus kinda like Santa who just wants to hear what I want and gives it to me if I'm good? Oh! Maybe prayer is just a time when I tell God what bothers me. If I pray hard enough, my problems will just go away. No... that doesn't seem quite right either. Should I read something? Do I pray a rosary? And what's this silence thing anyway. What does it all mean?

If you're like me you've thought all of these things throughout your daily life, and tried most if not all of these strategies. Unfortunately, in the confusion of it all, the real meaning of what prayer is supposed to be get's lost. A dear friend of mine (the same one who gave me the dating link a couple weeks ago actually), once described prayer simply as an intimate conversation between best friends. That really hit me. I thought to myself, "do I converse with God in my prayer, or do I just talk at him for awhile and then go about the rest of my day?".

The answer to what prayer really is and isn't ended up being all of the above, yet none of the above. God really does want to hear our wants and our woes. He wants us to read the bible or pray a rosary, or even reflect on a spiritual reading. But what gets missed in the constant ebb and flow of life is that in order to reach conversation with God, we have to listen. We need to sit in silence and ask God what he has to say. It takes practice. We may hear something and we may not. We need to take time and be receptive to the still small voice that dwells in the very core of our hearts.

But we need structure! If you're like me, you can't just sit there. You have to be doing something. This isn't as hard as it seems. The Church is loving enough to give us daily readings, selections from His living Word that we are meant to hear that day. Read them, then read them again. Finally, reflect on how the readings stand out to you. The way the readings touch our hearts is the way that God is trying to reach us that day. It may seem overly simple, but God does all he can to meet us where we are. He knows exactly what we need.

Prayer is essential to be a true Christian. From our prayer comes the refreshment we need to go out and complete our daily mission. My prayer is that we can listen to what God has in store for us, and put it into action in our lives.

May the Lord, or God, bless us
St Joseph, model of manliness, pray for us

When the Saints Go Marching In...

I had a conversation with a good friend today. We started by listening to a bunch of music, and then, being the super cool people we are, we got onto the topic of what the legacy of the Church in the early 21st century was going to be. My thought process was that we have so much music and art from hundreds of years ago which just exemplifies the prominence and the beauty of the Church in those days. I just didn't think that we had that. "We're leaving nothing behind for future generations.", I said.

But then we got to thinking. The world we live in today is so tumultuous, and the world has rarely ever looked so poorly on the Church as they do today. We've have priestly scandals, a devaluation of marriage and family,and a disrespect for life among so many other things. But then the thought came up that changed everything: God only allows for such evil to exist because it has so much potential for good. It's a two way street!

A realization hit us that the world we live in today may be in turmoil, but that turmoil comes from a battle that's going on between great evil, and even greater good. Think for a moment. Every problem that faces our world is being counteracted by forces of equal or greater good. The priestly scandal was going on while even greater young priests and religious, who were on fire in their faith, were being ordained and are now taking a leadership role in the Church. Marriage may be threatened by society, but Pope John Paul II's "Theology of the Body" is taking the world by storm, helping men and women to form strong Catholic marriages and families. The culture of death is being overtaken by an even more enthusiastic youth culture that has a zeal to protect and preserve life. The list goes on and on!

We live in dark times, but we belong to a Church that is fighting back with everything she has. Not only that,  but she's winning! I foresee a litany of saints and prophets, priests and religious, theologians and evangelists coming from this generation and setting this world ablaze. We are at a turning point in our Church's history that will shake the very foundations of this earth, showing once and for all that we are the Church Militant, and we have a mission to complete. I envision a procession of life and love lead worldwide by great saints of our time; the likes of John Paul II and Mother Theresa. These and many others will carry the banner of our Lord, changing this world forever.

Before time, Lucifer was the brightest of all the angels, and fell irredeemably away from God. He had the potential for amazing good, and it was because of this potential that he was able to fall into such evil. Our world has the same potential for good, but it has fallen. The difference is that we HAVE been redeemed, and we CAN live our potential. We are now, and will continue to change this world for the better.

What will our legacy be? I think that our legacy will be that of a generation who stood up and took up the mantle of Christ Victorious. Our legacy is and will be stronger than any before us. In the 20th century, there were more martyrs than and other century before the. The blood of these brave men and women is the seed of the Church. The reward of their courage is the new springtime of which JPII spoke so enthusiastically. We are that springtime. Take courage. Live in hope.

May our Lord God bless us
St. Joseph, model of manliness pray for us.