Each week of this New Year of Grace 2022, we’re going to engage in a short prayer exercise—the “memento mori”—taking a moment each Sunday to contemplate the truth “I will die” and what that means about how I will live this week in light of what the Sunday readings from Scripture teach.
In this way, the weekly “memento mori” will remind us how to live each day of the upcoming week no longer as “sleepy Catholics” who wittingly push God to the peripheries of each day, making decisions we will regret by taking for granted the tomorrow which many never come. Instead, the weekly “memento mori” will strengthen our desire to live each day as “WOKE” Catholics. These folks strive to bring God into the center of each day, as Jesus did, not allowing anything to distract them from doing what they know they must do today and putting it off until tomorrow.
In sum: “WOKE Catholics” live each day in the “end time.” Their goal is to have no moral regrets at the end of each day and especially when the end time arrives, as it surely will!
Our “memento mori” for this Second Sunday of Advent challenges us to recall the prophecy of Baruch, who said in today’s first reading:
Take off your robe of mourning and misery;put on the splendor of glory from God forever:wrapped in the cloak of justice from God,bear on your head the miterthat displays the glory of the eternal name.
In plain English, here’s what Baruch was announcing as God’s word:
Cast off everything you bemoan about lifewhich has lulled you into being a “sleepy Catholic.”Instead, clean yourself and dress upso people will see you displayingthe glory of God’s name.
As we know, God’s name is “Emmanuel.” What many of us may no know is that in Hebrew “Emmanuel” means “The essence of is with us.” The word denotes God’s “essential nature” or “spirit” is with us and present to us as we walk through each day, guiding us along the way.
Knowing that God’s essence is present in the center of their daily lives, WOKE Catholics strive to reveal “Emmanuel” to all those they will encounter so they will experience “God essence is with us.”
Insofar as Baruch is concerned, this all has to do with how, as Catholics, we will present ourselves to the world each day.
Sleepy Catholics are meticulous about how they present themselves to the world because their goal is to conform with the world and be accepted by people who spend their days living in, of, and for the world. Even before getting dressed each morning, they’ve carefully pre-prepared themselves by making sure their hair, their clothing, and yes, every aspect of their body will make the best possible self-presentation, given what they have to work with which, they know isn't perfect. So, they have to make it look as perfect as they can, given their budget.
Having completed these pre-preparations, sleepy Catholics wake up, get out of bed, complete their morning ablutions, and get all dressed up for the day’s revelation of one’s “self-presentation.” Then, before walking out into the world and just to make sure everything’s as perfect as it can be, sleepy Catholics check themselves on the way of the house as they parade past a series of mirrors and examine themselves meticulously. And, if they conclude they appear radiant, they’re set to go and take on the day.
Sleepy Catholics live each day in a dream world not the end time—they’re on the red-carpet runway leading into the theater hosting Hollywood’s annual Academy Awards. They eagerly anticipate the throngs who will be oooh’ing and awww’ing as they make their appearance on the runway, whether that’s at work, school, or wherever their journey will take them that day. They hope the paparazzi will snap away on their digital cameras and they’ll see glossy photos of themselves on the covers of tomorrow’s or next week’s tabloids. And, nothing would make sleepy Catholics happier than to hear people make positive comments about their appearance, like “You look simply wonderful!”
Sleepy Catholics present a perfect appearance—a radiant, dazzling sight to behold. Their mouths are filled with laughter and their tongues with rejoicing. After all, they’re living the dream! However, while the dream seems to be reality, their lived reality is a dream because sleepy Catholics haven’t invited Emmauel into the center of the day and aren’t the person God has created them to become for others to experience the reality that God’s essence is with them.
For their part, WOKE Catholics are also meticulous about how they present themselves to the world. But their goal is to live in and of this world but for the end time by displaying the name of the Lord—Emmanuel—because God has created and sent them into this world for others to experience, as Baruch prophesied, “God’s essence is with us.”
The first thing WOKE Catholics do each morning is to practice a “memento mori” by recalling the fact “I will die.” Reflecting upon that infallible fact of life, WOKE Catholics contemplate what they will need to do today so they don’t put it off until tomorrow: To conduct themselves in such a way the people they will encounter today will know “God’s essence is with us” and, instead of feeling like captives existing in an alien land who need the affirmation and adulation of others, will be filled with the joy of God’s kingdom by bringing God into the center of their lives. This is how WOKE Catholics take seriously St. John the Baptist’s call to “prepare the way of the Lord…[so] all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”
As the Psalmist reminded us today, WOKE Catholics bring this gift to the world because they know “the great things the Lord has done for us” simply by blessing them with another day to live in the end time. Filled with joy, they laugh so hard they cry genuine tears and their tongues rejoice with praise for the amazing wonders of creation. Even their jobs aren’t a loathsome burden. Filled with joy, they don’t fear venturing out into the world. Irrespective of their age, younger WOKE Catholics may not be featured on the covers over 4-color glossy tabloids or magazines and older WOKE Catholics may be older and somewhat withered by age and health issues. They’re not “simply wonderful” as they’d be judged by the standards of those who live in and of and for this world—but “beautiful” to behold in the eyes of those who experience “God’s essence is with us” written all over their faces.
Why?
As the prophet Baruch noted, each day they put off their old clothing and are meticulous about putting on the miter of God’s name—Emmanuel—so they will advance through each day secure in the glory of God with God leading them.
In contrast, sleepy Catholics aren’t filled with joy because they’ve pushed God to the periphery of their days. Completely unaware that God has done great things for them, sleepy Catholics willingly substitute the transient happiness this world affords them for the joy that would be theirs if they brought God into the center of their lives. Focusing upon what’s external, they don’t experience joy but advance through each day feeling insecure because they’re fearful of not being accepted by the world. In short, they’ve sacrificed what’s eternal for what’s temporal.
Upon encountering sleepy Catholics, the hearts of WOKE Catholics are moved with pity, just as the sinners Jesus encountered moved his heart with pity, because they see through the “simply wonderful” but false veneers, loving in others what God loves in them. Similar to St. Paul who prayed for the Corinthians, WOKE Catholics pray for sleepy Catholics:
And this is my prayer:that your love may increase ever more and more in knowledge and every kind of perception,to discern what is of value,so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ.
That represents our challenge from Scripture this Second Sunday of Advent: To “prepare the way of the Lord…[so] all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”
That means calling to mind each morning this week’s memento mori: Clean yourself and dress up so people will see you displaying the glory of God’s essence.
Then, call to mind and reflect for a moment upon one person—just one person—who you’re worried about and has moved your heart with pity because that person has pushed God to the periphery of one’s days. Having identified this person, determine what you’re going to do today by living in the end time—not putting it off until tomorrow—to offer that person an experience of Emmanuel—God’s essence is with us. It doesn’t have to be anything dramatic or extraordinary, just a simple miracle like compassion, understanding, and love.
This is how genuinely “WOKE” Catholics begin each day and strive to live each day. They don’t neglect or obsess about death. But, realizing the truth of their mortality, “WOKE” Catholics are vigilant to live in the end time “preparing the way of the Lord…[so] all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” Their goal is to be eternal—united with God in Heaven—not immortal—buried, left behind as dust in the Earth, and forgotten.
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