My life has been one with many ups-and-downs. It's not all that different from many others out there. Some have had better experiences than me...others, much worse. The thing that we ALL have in common, however, regardless of our differences, is God. He loves EACH ONE OF US individually...He recognizes us individually...He loves us individually. To Him, it does not matter how we have sinned nor how often, nor that we are incapable of being perfect. No, what matters is the effort we put into this world and the lives we live here and now. God is calling.
I have found that He calls on me quite often. And, the more I do for my own spiritual life, the more I am able to discern His voice from others. It's truly amazing. Spending time on your spiritual life is KEY...it enables us to build upon a strong foundation so that we cannot so easily be knocked down by adversity. Our relationship with God is something that MUST be nurtured and NEVER taken for granted. Otherwise, we shall stumble and fall because we will be unable to see the sticks, branches, rocks, etc. in our path. Satan has many distractions ready and waiting, it's up to us to avoid them and keep things in moderation if we are to know the difference between a call from God and just white noise!
Recently, I've become much more active in my blogging, Pro Life activism, parish life and volunteering. I'm taking advantage of my jobless status and trying to fulfill things that I could not while working full time. It took me a while to get here, however. Why? Because I was listening to the "white noise" of Satan rather than taking the call from God, directly.
It's so easy to become distracted. We all have commitments and seemingly, they are harmless. A football game, soccer practice, gymnastics, dinner with friends, girls night out, bunco, poker night, vacations, work, bake sales, TV shows, watching the news, talk radio, etc., etc. It's quite easy to stay busy and distracted in today's society. But...what about God? When do we make time for Him in our daily lives? Is He an after thought? Is He to be paid attention to when the rest of our day is done and we're exhausted in His presence? Wow...really? Seriously? Can you picture yourself standing in front of Christ and saying to Him,
"I'm sorry I didn't talk with you more or listen more, but I had soccer practice, lunches to make, house cleaning to finish and American Idol to watch - I was too tired to pray the Rosary or say any prayer most nights. But, I tried to be relatively good - doesn't that count?"
Wow...really? Can you picture yourself standing in His presence saying all of that? Can you imagine feeling OK with it? Thinking you had done plenty and God should understand? Can you picture Christ hanging on the Cross and thinking, well, thanks for that, but hey, I got really busy???
We need to guard ourselves well against such things. Satan rarely comes at us head-on. No, he is king of deception. His way is subtlety. He wants to gain your confidence slowly and over time. He is patient. No. He'll make you think that you are doing enough, it's OK and God will understand. He makes it easy to justify the "busyness" of our lives so that we fool ourselves into thinking that attending Mass once a week and on Holy Days is enough. That we tithe, so we do enough. Sometimes, we volunteer for a bake sale and such - yep, that's good enough.
No. It's not.
Our Catholic faith calls upon us to do MUCH MORE THAN THAT! We are called to help our fellow brothers and sisters. We are called to set aside our own selfishness and help those in need. We are called to spend quality time with HIM...not at the end of the day when we are weary and not really paying attention. NO. We are called to spend as much time in His presence as possible. Oh...but how do we do that???
Pray. Pray in the morning. Attend a daily Mass or even, all daily Masses. Pray the rosary. Pray a novena. Pray at EVERY meal, no matter how small or regardless of who may or may not be watching. Give your time, talent and treasure...not just one or the other. Take some time to drive with the radio OFF. Turn off the TV. Spend quality time with the family fully engaged in conversation in some way each day. Join a Bible Study group instead of having a girls night out. Volunteer some of your time at one of the various programs offered by Catholic Charities as well as others out there. See Christ in others and choose to pray and love instead of reaching for anger, judgment or gossip. Give dignity to all those you encounter...that can be as simple as looking them in the eye and smiling. It's not all that difficult. Maybe smiling at someone who seems rude...perhaps, it could be that no one ever smiles at them and you are the ONE PERSON who reminds them they DO matter as a result of your kind gesture.
Now, I'm not saying you should never enjoy yourselves or participate in other things. No. God doesn't ask that of us. I enjoy many things in my life, too - of course I do! But, you and I both know that you COULD do more...you COULD make more time. After all, don't we make time for all the things we deem important. So, isn't God important??? We can ALL do more. How will our children grow up to realize the importance of Christ's sacrifice for us if we do not, in our own lives, with our own actions, show that importance to them by our example???
St. Francis of Assisi made a powerful statement once,
"Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary, use words."
I think that really captures our duty as Christians. Don't you agree? If we are only giving our faith lip service, then can we truly be surprised when generations to come do the same or worse, lose their faith completely as they deem it to be of no real importance?
Remember...God is calling. It's about time that we all picked up the phone!
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