Men's Rosary

Oh, the mantra of “times have changed,” “things are different now,” “we have to be open-minded”!  This may be true in many areas of life; life in the world.  But there are some limits in the life of faith.  Many things change in daily life.  Now, a new cell phone or computer is practically obsolete in a years’ time!  Laws change, tax rules change, the political theatre changes, our relationships change, our interests and hobbies change, along with many other things.  But has our faith changed?  I personally think not.  It is founded on Christ and his preaching two thousand years ago.  Nothing has changed about it.  He has not revised or edited it.  “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”  (Hebrews 13:8)

It is too easy to get caught up in the rantings of the world and start to believe them as truth.  And what is truth?  St. Thomas Aaquinas defined it as “veritas est adaequatio rei et intellectus” (truth is the adequation of the thing and the intellect).  So, what is our thing, the world or God?  This adequation can also be looked at as conformity.  So, what are we going to conform to, the world or God?  Our faith makes this clear.  “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”  (Romans 12:2)  

We do need to be aware of the world around us and the state of the human condition in order to serve others and lead them to Christ.  We have to be charitable and sensitive to the degree that we do not cut others off from God.  But this does not mean to compromise the truth which is God as encountered in the Church.  We are called to humble correction of ourselves and others.  Even in the face of resentment we must hold firm to what Christ teaches.  It is God we are called to please, not man.  This is how we are servants of Christ.  “For I am now seeking the approval of man, or of God?  Or am I trying to please man?  If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.”  (Galatians 1:10)

We are called to love others.  Actually, to love others as ourselves.  And Christ has said this is how the world will know who his disciples are.  We can only love in the capacity that we are loved.  It is imperative to love the right things, those that will love us.  The world will never love us; it will only take from us, and in the end make us bitter and unloving.  We must love God who is perfect love and who loves us above all things.  If we conform to the world and love things of the world it will be impossible to love God and in turn love others.  “Do not love the world or the things in the world.  If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”  (1 John 2:15)

When faced with the pressure of everyday life and the court of public opinion, we can feel beaten down.  We can find it easier to be quiet and let things play out.  The problem is, sometimes things do not play out so well.  We see the degradation of society, the absence of Christ in our world, lack of reverence in liturgy, indifference, and even disbelief in Christ present in the Most Blessed Sacrament.  We have a purpose, and we must rise to it.  “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”  (Ephesians 2:10) 

Let us hold fast to our Faith and what Christ taught and founded his Church upon.  Encounter Christ in the Scriptures and live today as if he were here in front of us teaching us as he did the first disciples.  Read the teachings of the Saints who understood how to serve God well and had courageous faith in spite of all the world threw at them.  And most importantly, pray.  Take time to be with God.  Take time to discern his will and conform our wills with his.  Through prayer all our fears and anxieties will pass, and it will be clear that we are in the world but not of the world.  “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  (Philippians 4:6-7) 

“The first end I propose in our daily work is to do the will of God;  secondly, do it in the manner he wills it;  and thirdly, do it because it is his will.”  (St. Elizabeth Ann Seton)