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

...And We're back!

I seem to do this a lot. I post regularly for the duration of a series of action-packed posts, and then I forget that this little community exists. It's not that I have nothing to say. It's certainly not that I have no thoughts or haven't got anything of substance to share. I simply forget. For that I apologize and hope that we can keep strolling along.

First of all, Happy Thanksgiving (last night)! I hope you all had a wonderful night and are slowly recovering from your wine and turkey stupors.

 I wanted to comment on an odd phenomenon that I noticed as I sat on my couch this past Wednesday, allowing myself to forget about the responsibilities of life and class for awhile. I was sitting there, beginning the 24 hour Turkey-Fast, and I turned on the television. I was supremely enjoying this particular episode of The Big Bang Theory, when a series of commercials came on about Black Friday.

One in particular caught my eye: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxCBmZFROBw

Now that we've both watched it, lets set aside the annoying in-your-face-ness of the whole add in order to penetrate to the deeper problems. First and foremost, apparently our material culture has just done away completely with the facade of giving and selflessness that the hliday season brings. What this commercial expresses to me is the idea that giving is simply an obligation that can be offset (thank goodness!)  by the opportunity to buy for oneself. Check out the line at the 13 second mark on the video. The song says, "Check out the price of this new flat-screen. I'll buy it for Phil, but it's also for me". Giving is being represented as a practice of self-serving. What this spot is telling us is that the holiday season is not simply a time to give. That's just something you HAVE to do. What you REALLY want is to buy for yourself. You just need the opportunity. Thank goodness for Black Friday!

The second problem with this spot is a little more difficult to spot, but troubling nonetheless. If you look at the time that the sale starts, you will see that the sale starts at 9pm Thursday, and Target is not the only one. Walmart started their sale at 8pm, and a bunch of stores, including Old Navy and Best Buy, started their sals at midnight. And what's the problem, you may ask. The sales start after dinner, so what's the harm of extending Black Friday into Thanksgiving night. Well, let's think for a second. If people really only get the best deals if they line up for hours, and if these lines really start forming 12 or more hours in advance, then the question must be asked: What about Thanksgiving?

For a moment, let's set aside the fact that celebration of the Christmas Season is still more than a month away. Let's even put aside the fact that Advent, the period of waiting for the Nativity at Christmas doesn't begin until December 2nd. Let's look past every other issue to the fact that our own level of cultural materialism is at such a height that Black Friday, the Olympics of Capitalism, has begun to encroach upon the one day a year that we set aside in order to give thanks for what we have. The opportunity that we all take to spend with our families and thank God for the blessings in our lives is being pushed aside so that we can all go out and BUY! The irony is daunting. If you need a second to take a breath, please, join me...

...Good, now that we're back, I feel the need to clarify. I am not condemning  those who buy for themselves, nor am I casting judgement on those who put on or attend sales on Thanksgiving night. I am simply pointing out a frightening cultural phenomenon that needs highlighting.

In fact, I have a solution to propose. As late as this post comes, I suggest saving the Black Friday shopping for after midnight. Don't leave your house until it's actually Friday morning! If you want to stay up all night, that's your business, but I urge you, forego the door-busters and spend time with your families. It doesn't matter whether you are a married man, a teenager, or simply and adult child. The fact is, we need our families, and opportunities to spend time together as a family unit are becoming more and more rare. Cherish the time.

I also suggest only buying a handful of things for yourself. I do not condemn you in any way for wanting to get things for yourself, the deals are crazy! But i beg you, take the opportunity to actually buy gifts for your loved ones. The deals and goods are being served to you on a silver platter. Use them to help you grow in generosity. Trust me. It's a good thing.

My prayer is that we can all begin to extricate ourselves from this culture of materialism. We need to understand that none of these things are evil on their face, but that they have the potential to overcome the positive times in our lives if we let them. Most of all, let's all remember that we are supposed to be self-giving in love, and that Christ is our model and our goal. may God bless us this holiday season

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

One Step Over the Edge...

Trust is a tricky thing. It can be gained or lost in a moment. Those who don't deserve it are often times are best at getting it, and we seldom give it fully to those we should be able to rely on most. Sometimes we're naive, and just hand our trust over to anyone with a nice shirt, and an impressive vocabulary. Sometimes we're stubborn and set up impossible standards that are inevitably left underwhelmed and unfulfilled. Sometimes we're just blind, and make the ones we should trust most jump through hoop after hoop because we can't see all they've done for us.

Honestly, I think we're just a scared people. We're scared to be open and vulnerable while at the same time we're afraid not to have anyone to rely on. We're afraid to be alone but afraid to be hurt or to be mocked. The problem is that this creates an odd dichotomy in which we either open ourselves up partially to anyone that we find, but run and hide whenever someone really wants to get to know the real, unbridled, mess YOU.

People like our friends... Or our family... Or God

But why? Haven't they given us reason after reason to trust? Haven't our friends and family been there when things were their worst? Hasn't God given us everything we have? Hasn't He blessed us and loved us? Hasn't he saved us? He's brought me this far? Why can't I trust that He really has a plan for me? Why can't I trust that He loves me?

I think we get so wrapped up in our egos at times. We have this false humility in our world that makes us think that our problems are so bad, and that nobody could possibly be as hurt as me, let alone understand me. Who is this invisible man in the sky anyway, and what does he have to do with me?

We forget what we have been given, and we're left stranded in a sea of unfulfilled expectations because we refuse to acknowledge the fact that we are blessed either because we're not humble enough to accept that love, or we're scared of what accepting that love will mean. Often, it's not that we don't believe or trust in the plan. It's that we're afraid of the plan, so we push it to the back of our mind because we're afraid to let go of what we think is best for us.

But sometimes, I think it's just that we're afraid to make the leap. We don't think we'll be caught because we've never had to jump before, or we've been dropped in the past. A scar stands in our way.

But are we content with that? Are we content ignoring our blessings and/or being afraid to move? Are we content being lonely or opening ourselves up to anyone who seems trustworthy? I say no! Look back on your life, and tell me where God has been at work? How have you gotten to where you are today? Can you really say that He hasn't brought you? What stands in the way of you trusting him how you should? Once we identify it, it has to be addressed. There is almost nothing as ridiculous as the idea of not trusting the one who has given us everything; the one who has nothing to prove to us. The one who saves.

Meditate on how we do and don't trust God, and really address the shortcomings. I promise that if you do, you will absolutely go deeper and his absolute faith will abolish all fear.

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

Time Keeps on Slipping, Slipping, Slipping....

Every since I was little, I've been hearing about how I need to plan for the future. "You need to have goals", or "you need to do things while you're still young". I eventually learned to tune the voices out and keep on keeping on. I mean, I have goals. I know what I want to do with my life. And what does everyone mean "while you're young". I've got time.

More recently I've been working a lot more. I've been going to school and dealing with multiple jobs and programs and responsibilities. Seldom do I sit at home to eat, and even when I do it feels rushed. God is working in my life and given me so much, but I'm exhausted. Everything I do is focused toward the next place I need to be or the next step I want to take, and I seldom live in the moment I inhabit.

So I've made a decision. Jesus says in John 10:10, "I came that thy might have life and live it more abundantly". I want to live these words as best I can. So what have I done? I've racked my brain and made myself a bucket list, and here are some selections:

• Scuba dive in the great barrier reef
• Go to the Holy Land
• Serve as a missionary in rural Africa
• See a whale up close
• Record a CD
• Write a novel
• Become a youth minister
• Graduate from George Mason University
• Become fluent in American Sign Language 
• Etc, Etc, Etc.....

I think all Catholics should have a bucket list. It represents an intention to do more with our lives than just survive the daily grind. A bucket list is a promise to yourself that you will have something extraordinary to look back on when you're old.

Make sure that everything you list is something that you have some sort of control over. For example, I left out anything about my vocation. That's something that I submit to God. But I can write. I can travel. I can study. Also, be specific. Don't just travel. Travel to a location. Don't just learn a language. Lean a specific language. Once you've written the list commit to it! Set a goal for each item that says by what age you'll complete each thing. Stick to you're convictions and I promise that you will have life experience that truly exemplify what it means to seize the day and live life to the fullest

May the Lord, or 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

Overbooked and Overwhelmed

One of the things that I've noticed as I get further and further along in my college career is that the same questions and complaints keep coming up for me, and those around me. "Why did God only put SEVEN days in a week?", and, "I wish there were more than 24 hours in a day", and most of all for me, "I wish I just had some downtime".

The fact is that we're loaded up. We're taking on jobs and school work, most of which is full time. Some of us are in leadership positions in student or church organizations. Others of us have girlfriends and groups of friends that demand our time and attention. Some of us live at home or with other people, which in turn demands attention to the responsibilities of the home and being a good roommate. Our attention is drawn in a thousand different directions, and some things are bound to get lost.

Now, as men we are workers. It's a good thing that we have things that fill our time. Joseph was a worker. St. Francis of Assisi literally rebuilt churches. Pope John Paul the Great, soon to be Blessed John Paul the Great, worked tirelessly for the church, especially for the youth. Jesus himself was a carpenter, and our Father worked to build and maintain creation. As men we are drawn to complete our tasks and to take on work. This desire is a good and holy thing. It means that we're acting in the way were designed.

The problem is found when we fill our time with things that don't benefit us, or fill our time to the point where we neglect other, more important things. Things such as prayer, relationship and rest. The irony is that these things that we neglect are the very things that we need most, and should be prioritizing above all else. These things are made to refresh us and keep us strong and holy. We live in a world that requires us to move at blinding speeds and work constantly just to keep up with the person sitting next to us in class or in the office. We are seldom really present because we're thinking about what we need to do next. This extreme drive is dangerous, in that it has the glaring risk of taking us out of the moment and damaging that which we should hold most dear. That is, our relationship with God and other people.

What we need to do is prioritize. Take the time, yes from something else, and lay out your schedule for a normal week. Make sure that the things that you are doing are helping your growth as a man. If an activity is overly stressful or impeding your growth, cut it out. I want to challenge you to give yourself an hour a day where you can rest. Also, make time for 20 minutes of daily prayer in which to tell the Father what's going on in your life, and to ask for help. Finally, and seemingly most difficult, I want you to give yourself one day and/or one night a week off. Use this time to relax, spend time with friends, or just decompress. However, for your own sake, don't schedule what you do during this time. It kind of defeats the purpose, don't you think?

My prayer for everyone is that we can work in ways that are holy and healthy. I know that I'm just as guilty of falling into the hustle and bustle as anyone else, but I want to change that. We need a balance of  of work, and living life. A radio personality I listen to once said something that I think is poignant. "There are 24 hours in a day. 8 to work, 8 to sleep, and 8 to live". I think if we can find a way to discipline ourselves into that pattern, this world will change for the better.

May the Lord our God bless us

St. Joseph, model of manliness, pray for us