The management guru Steven Covey always tells his audience “Begin with the end in mind.” While Covey is speaking about “this worldly” ends, he is conveying the basic idea of the Catholic the concept of “memento mori”—taking a moment at the beginning of each day to contemplate the only end in life that counts—the truth “I will die” and what that means about how “I will live” today.
This week’s “memento mori” is spurred by Zephaniah’s prophecy in today’s first reading:
The LORD has removed the judgment against you…the King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst,you have no further misfortune to fear.Fear not, O Zion, be not discouraged!The LORD, your God, is in your midst, a mighty savior;he will rejoice over you with gladness,and renew you in his love,he will sing joyfully because of you….
Early into this New Year of Grace 2022 on this Gaudate Sunday (“Rejoice and be glad”), Zephaniah’s prophecy identifies for us how “WOKE” Catholics spend their days and witness to their faith each day. When considered in light of what John the Baptist taught in today’s gospel, the challenge confronting us is one learning to approach each day as a gift and the gift of the day we can give to the impoverished.
Zephaniah’s prophecy raises a question: Why do so many Catholics live in fear of God’s judgment, ascribe every misfortune to God, and believe God has already abandoned them and is waiting for the Final Judgment to deliver His just sentence?
The answer is simple: They’re “sleepy” Catholics who don’t make a memento mori even though they may explicitly follow Covey's advice by “Begin [each work] day with the end in mind.” As a result, “sleepy” Catholics spend their days discouraged and worn down by burdens of just making it through the day. Having concluded that God is absent from their lives—they experience little or no “gladness and joy”—they need someone who will bring them “tidings of great joy and gladness.”
To any objective observer, “sleepy” Catholics look like those characters in those Hallmark Christmas movies about one-half hour before those movie end with everyone living happily ever after. Selfishness has caused a promising relationship to break up with what everyone thought would have been a “true love” and the whole universe has come crashing down upon them. Furthermore, not believing there’s a Santa Claus, they go their separate ways with broken hearts, heading somewhere to enjoy a real good pity party.
Last Sunday’s gospel reminded us that God’s name is “Emmanuel,” a Hebrew word meaning “God’s essence is with us.” For Catholics who experience Emmanuel, the Psalmist reminded us: “[They] cry out with joy and gladness because, knowing God indeed has saved them, they are confident and unafraid. Their strength and courage is the LORD. Each day, they give thanks to the LORD, acclaim his name, and make known his deeds, proclaiming his name: Emmanuel—“God’s essence is with us.”
Today’s epistle followed up regarding this idea as St. Paul reminded the wealthy Christian Philemon that the primary way of living and evangelizing the Catholic faith is by rejoicing in the Lord always and, because of this joy, to live free of all anxiety. All this requires, St. Paul wrote, is “always and in everything to give thanks and make your requests to God.” Knowing personally how God has saved them as well as feeling confident and unafraid, as the Psalmist noted, these Catholics experience “the peace of God that surpasses all understanding, guarding their hearts and minds in Christ Jesus,” as St. Paul noted.
Note that St. Paul uses the word “experience”—the present tense of the verb evidencing a fact of which one is conscious—not “will experience”—the future tense of the verb, evidencing a hope that may or may not come true—because these folks experience God’s essence is with them right here and now, each and every day. Not only are the conscious of this but also intend and act each day in that experience.
That represents our challenge from Scripture for this third week of Advent: To experience God’s essence is with us...the fact not a hope.
Of course, the question is “How?”
To this end, let us strive to awake each morning from being “sleepy” Catholics by making a memento mori—to recall the only true end that counts in life, “I will die”—and commit to it. This will steel the power of will the first thing each morning to use each day this week to cry out with great joy and gladness, free of anxiety, feeling confident and unafraid, and giving thanks to God because he has anointed us to bring “tidings of great joy and gladness” to the poor—those whose spirits are impoverished to the point they’re discouraged, worn down by burdens of just making it through each day, and having concluded that God is absent from their lives, they experience little or no “joy and gladness.”
In this way, our parish community will better configure the Body of Christ—a truly WOKE faith community of Catholics, no longer a faith community of “sleepy” Catholics—who put into practice in their daily this week lives what John the Baptist taught: To share one-half of this wealth of joy and gladness with the impoverished who experience little or no joy and gladness.
Rather than expecting more from the, extorting from them what little joy and gladness they may experience, or making accusations about why they’ve ended up in the pitiable condition in which they spend their days, live the the good news—the gospel—and evangelize the impoverished by crying out with joy and gladness, all the while giving thanks to God for being able to serve God as missionaries who bring “tidings of great joy and gladness” to the poor.
Comments
Post a Comment