(l) – Two Unrelated Thoughts

Number 1

God is not a positivist. If it looks like God is not doing anything, then you are probably doing too much. Take your hands off the wheel. If it feels like God isn’t talking to you, you are probably talking too much. God doesn’t have to prove himself to you with words or deeds. Stop trying to help Him–He will let you know what He needs.

(Be prepared just in case “what he needs” to be measured in cubits).

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Number 2

The life of Faith can be compared to a journey, a walk, a marathon. Have you ever considered that faith is like a Space program?

• Lots of false starts when you are figuring things out and you fall back down
• Early milestones are short and then all of a sudden there is a huge gulf.
  • Great, an engine that doesn’t explode. Great, we made it to low earth orbit. Great, we launched a satellite. Great, we launched a dog. Great, we launched a person. Great, we launched the person around the earth once. Great, we can launch two people in separate rockets and have them meet up safely. Next stop: The moon.
• Once you figure things out and embark on the long trek, you will be sustained not by messing with the controls but by keeping carefully on track.
• The dangers at this stage are that if you deviate from the course, you will either be entirely destroyed or gradually change your destination. All the effort is in staying the course.
• The evil one’s objective in the early stage is to discourage you from trying. The evil one’s objective in this late stage is to get you to doubt that you are on the right track at all.

In other words: if the devil is in the details then maybe don’t look so close. You can see the moon just fine, keep that in view and you know you’re headed in the right direction.

AMDG

CCLXXXI – Matthew 24

Please go read Matthew 24 before reading this article. I’ve mentioned it twice and it’s really stuck in my brain.

It is a very visual passage. I do not have a theology degree, and surely some of this chapter is a discussion of what Christ is immediately about to experience, but there is surely some description of the End here.

And immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be darkened and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven shall be moved: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all tribes of the earth mourn: and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with much power and majesty. And he shall send his angels with a trumpet, and a great voice: and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the farthest parts of the heavens to the utmost bounds of them. And from the fig tree learn a parable: When the branch thereof is now tender, and the leaves come forth, you know that summer is nigh. So you also, when you shall see all these things, know ye that it is nigh, even at the doors.

Matthew 24:29-33

This makes me think that Christ will be seen approaching from the Heavens, and the stars will fall from the sky–I imagine a great swirling cloud in space and time shrouding the stars as the angels announce the coming of the Creator to take his seat here on Earth. So there will be a period of time between seeing these signs and his actual arrival–keep lots of oil handy for your lamps!

The part that really rocked my world is this:

But of that day and hour no one knoweth, not the angels of heaven, but the Father alone. And as in the days of Noe, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, even till that day in which Noe entered into the ark, And they knew not till the flood came, and took them all away; so also shall the coming of the Son of man be.

Matthew 24:36-39

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the Flood. Part of the reason for this is the seeming violence of it: What if there were innocent babies? What if there were righteous people in some far flung reach of the world? The only way I could square it is in this way: The innocents would go to heaven regardless, the rest must have deserved it. It must truly have been a wicked generation.

Looking around it is easy to imagine that same situation. The really shocking thing to me was this bit: The wicked generation was eating, drinking, and getting married even up until the rain started. A flooding rain is not exactly a subtle thing–yet Christ’s return will be like this. The stars falling from the sky, or rolling up like a scroll–is that subtle? Yet for a wicked generation, perhaps it will be too subtle. Christ himself fulfilled all the prophesies and still some didn’t believe. Christ rose from the dead and some still didn’t believe.

But let’s not let the thought of the Last Day bring us down. It is important to end on a hopeful note! Christ gave us the sacraments so that we can work out our salvation all the time. We are never far from it. All this talk of the End is just a reminder that we should take care of our souls with urgency, with frequent recourse to Reconciliation and Eucharist. And if anything, Christ coming is a joyful event–the trials and tribulations of this world, all the nonsense, all the incoherence, everything that ever vexed us about the world and any suffering that was ever incomprehensible to us–it will pass away, and be glorified and resurrected.

And God willing, we will get to be there to see it all, and glorify God in his glorified and resurrected creation, his Kingdom.

AMDG

(j) – I Rebuke Thee

St. Benedict has a helpful “exorcism” prayer–not like the movies, but rather one which helps to cast aside the evil one during times of temptation, despair, or other spiritual battles. I have used it often and figured that it might be useful to the rest of you, in case you are unaware:

Get behind me, satan!

What you have offered is evil,

drink the poison yourself!

AMDG

CCXLVI – On Ecumenism

All good things come from God, and God loves all His creation, despite our brokenness, because He calls us to Him and wills our good. God willing our good means that He wills our highest good. Because all good things come from God, when God wills our good He wills that we return to Him.

This creates a conundrum when we talk about ecumenism. Ecumenism in popular parlance is the policy of benign neighborliness to other faiths. Christ in in all Christian sects–it cannot be denied; the love of Christ even from a protestant still makes me his brother. God is in all the world’s religions–it cannot be denied; we are called beyond ourselves to the transcendent, and there are fewer and fewer who acknowledge this.

That Christ can be found in some way in protestantism, or God in some way in other religions, does not excuse the fact that they do not worship God, as God properly so understood. The doctrine that there is no salvation outside the Church is still true.

And yet, further wrinkles to consider still: A spiritual reading I came across recently described how St. Michael the Archangel is patron of Gods chosen people, which B.C. meant the Hebrews and A.D. means Christians. This does not mean that St. Michael has abandoned modern day Jews, rather that he has a special care of them as they need his help more now. Likewise, in Muslim tradition it was the Angel Gabriel who gave their faith to Mohammed; for this reverence St. Gabriel surely watches over Islam and takes especial care for them. If loving care and watchfulness is good enough for the Angels, surely it is good enough for us, too.

And yet! Salvation is the most urgent work of our lives, and we must work out our salvation with fear and trembling. Even as Catholics we cannot rest easy, presuming for ourselves confidence in salvation. We must fret more and more, that we might be good examples for our brothers and sisters in the human condition; we must fret on their behalf the way St. Michael and St. Gabriel fret for the Jews and Muslims.

Let the question be, “how may a Catholic in good conscience relate to these other faiths?” The answer, then, is that we must surrender to God the hard work of salvation of these souls. For our part, we must do the hard work of governing our own lives, and the lives of those entrusted to our care. We must be good examples and custodians of those neighbors immediately around us. If we put ourselves at God’s disposal, He will work through us in the lives of those who most need to find Holy Mother Church. In the meantime, we must not violate the law of loving our neighbors, yet we must be uncompromising in our obedience to our doctrines and in our devotion to our Lord.

The arc of salvation history is long, even if life is short. God’s plan is bigger than all of us, so let’s just make sure we do our part well.

CCXI – There Came A Great Calm

Now the word of the Lord came to Jonas the son of Amathi, saying: Arise, and go to Ninive the great city, and preach in it: for the wickedness thereof is come up before me.
 And Jonas rose up to flee into Tharsis from the face of the Lord, and he went down to Joppe, and found a ship going to Tharsis: and he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them to Tharsis from the face of the Lord. Jonah 1:1-3

And Jesus seeing great multitudes about him, gave orders to pass over the water. And a certain scribe came and said to him: Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou shalt go. And Jesus saith to him: The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air nests: but the son of man hath not where to lay his head. And another of his disciples said to him: Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. But Jesus said to him: Follow me, and let the dead bury their dead. Matthew 8:18-22

But the Lord sent a great wind into the sea: and a great tempest was raised in the sea, and the ship was in danger to be broken. And the mariners were afraid, and the men cried to their god: and they cast forth the wares that were in the ship, into the sea, to lighten it of them: and Jonas went down into the inner part of the ship, and fell into a deep sleep. Jonah 1:4-5

And when he entered into the boat, his disciples followed him: And behold a great tempest arose in the sea, so that the boat was covered with waves, but he was asleep. Matthew 8:23-24

And the shipmaster came to him, and said to him: Why art thou fast asleep? rise up, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think of us, that we may not perish. And they said every one to his fellow: Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know why this evil is upon us. And they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonas. And they said to him: Tell us for what cause this evil is upon us, what is thy business? of what country art thou? and whither goest thou? or of what people art thou? And he said to them: I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord the God of heaven, who made both the sea and the dry land. Jonah 1:6-9

And they came to him, and awaked him, saying: Lord, save us, we perish. And Jesus saith to them: Why are you fearful, O ye of little faith? Then rising up he commanded the winds, and the sea, and there came a great calm. Matthew 8:25-26

And they cried to the Lord, and said: We beseech thee, O Lord, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O Lord, hast done as it pleased thee. And they took Jonas, and cast him into the sea, and the sea ceased from raging. And the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and sacrificed victims to the Lord, and made vows. Jonah 1:14-16

But the men wondered, saying: What manner of man is this, for the winds and the sea obey him? Matthew 8:27

God also said: Let the waters that are under the heaven, be gathered together into one place: and let the dry land appear. And it was so done. And God called the dry land, Earth; and the gathering together of the waters, he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:9-10

CLXIV – What is Leadership

I don’t remember if I’ve mentioned this here, but I’m halfway through an MBA program. This is one of the concerns which occasionally draws my attention away. One of my courses is about Management, as you might expect, and how it pertains to leadership. In the lecture, there was a discussion about how exactly one would define leadership. They went through a number of ideas but one that stuck out to me was this: “If you want to know if you’re a leader, look behind you.” This struck me because something about it doesn’t feel right. I don’t know exactly what and I am not sure I have a better definition to offer right now.

I feel like this backwards looking idea is missing some je ne sais quoi expected in leadership. The idea is that if people are following you, you are a leader. But at the same time, many leaders started out with no one following them, yet persistence in the face of countervailing wisdom is what won out. If those leaders felt they were not leaders, and went looking for people to follow them, they would have tread no new ground because they would have pioneered a cause which people already agreed with.

I’m tempted to say Leadership is less backwards looking than it is forward looking. A leader navigates the un-navigated and leaves a path for others to follow, be it now or a hundred years from now.

It seems to me that leaders should also know that they are in charge. A military officer doesn’t need to look behind him to know his company is marching with him. A manager doesn’t look back to see which team they are responsible for. So this quote loses the mundane aspects of leadership and grasps for the inspiring aspects of leadership.

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How does one convince people to follow? I don’t think it’s possible. I can’t go up to someone and say, “Follow me, I will lead you!” Maybe it would work for some, but it won’t work for the vast majority. No amount of argumentation can convince someone to follow if they are determined not to follow. The language of leadership is relationships, the currency is trust. Leaders build relationships with people, and over time build trust. I follow someone because I trust them. A person who has no trust is not a leader, but a liability. Followers must trust that a leader has their best interests in mind, and knows best how to navigate the un-navigated.

A person who trusts freely is called naive. A person who does not trust is called a cynic or skeptic. A leader must know how to lead both kinds of people, and everyone inbetween.

A leader who builds ingenuine relationships is a manipulator. They use the trust-capital of their relationships for some personal benefit, not for the benefit of both the leader and the led.

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A knowledge leader is called an expert. They deal in both relationships and subject matter. A person who has no relationships is not a leader; a person who doesn’t know anything on a subject is not an expert in it. An expert must have attributes of both. How does an expert convince people to listen to him? Argumentation might work. There’s a subset of people who are willing to follow knowledge wherever it leads and who will pull on a thread just to see what is attached. There’s another subset of people who will not be convinced by simply hearing new information. The former group responds to information, the latter group responds to relationships.

AMDG

CXXX – Telling You What I Want To Hear

We’re going to be OK.

As a society, as a country, as a Church, as a civilization, as a species: We’re going to be OK. Everyone is bent to their megaphones trying to shriek as loudly as they can into the void. But first, and foremost, we’re going to be OK. Hear this and believe it.

Why should you believe it? Hospitals are closing! We’re on lockdown! Masses are cancelled! Stores are empty!

That’s fine. Maybe some of those things are partially true, maybe even wholly true. What else can we observe about our station?

First, that God has chosen us for these times. It’s true! You, reading this, and the rest of you, who aren’t: God has chosen you for these times.

“Well, who are you to speak for God? Why would God do this?”

I’m not one to speak for God. I can say that if God didn’t want you to be in these times you wouldn’t exist. That’s more an observation of the obvious than anything deep. Why has God chosen to do this? Who knows! As the prayer pinned to the top of my site right now says, it comes on by his wrath and leave by his mercy. May we remain ignorant of the cause of the wrath, may we pray heartily for his mercy.

Second, whatever will happen will happen. Think of your worst possible scenario. Eschaton? Better go to confession, and soon! Terror? Torture? Tyranny? Lets suppose any or all of those things are coming down the pipeline for us. It will happen. And then it will be over. God sent a rainbow after the Flood. This too shall pass! How great must the coming blessings be if the penance is so severe as this! We are powerless to control it, except to pray for God’s mercy. That is our only means of influence. May we pray for it early and often.

Third, do what brings you peace. Do as much as you can to stay healthy. Take sensible precautions. And live out your day responsibly. Are you doing everything you can? Are you practicing the virtue of prudence? Then there is nothing to worry about! You will be ok.

The worst thing about this is hearing everyone shouting from the rooftops how terrible it is, or how great were doing, or how superlative some other thing is. Now is not the time. We’re going to be ok.

Take care of yourselves. Go to confession. Be at peace.

Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam

-Scoot

CXXVII – The Joy of Losing Control

After I wrote my previous entry, acknowledging an issue with control, I was faced with a dilemma. I will spare you the particulars but the consequence is that there are two ways of surrendering control. The first is by doing everything, trusting that God will take care of you. The second is by doing nothing, trusting that God will prod you to do what really needs to be done. Both of these are fallacious, so what is the middle ground, in a practical sense?

The quote I shared in that article by Stonewall Jackson, wherein he said God has fixed the day and hour of his death, so he feels as comfortable “in bed as in battle”. This is the first sort of “trust”, and it is that character trait which led him to stand like a stone wall at the First battle of Manassas. Prudence dictates a certain level of caution. Needless exposure to danger is listed specifically in my Examination of Conscience. Stonewall Jackson was a general in battle, so it can’t be said to be imprudent, and hiding behind cover can’t be said to be a failure in not trusting God. Even so: his character trait led him to take a bullet in the hand during the same battle which earned him his nickname, a wound which caused him some discomfort for the rest of his life.

In the opposite direction, we can consider doing nothing as a surrender of control. Waiting for the “prompting of the spirit” to take any action is imprudent in and of itself. Taking the example of Stonewall, he may not have feared an untimely death but he did not fear taking command in battle. He was on the field, by his own choice. I can’t avoid flying and claim to be surrendering control.

Philosophy of Control

Let’s define control, for now, as the desire to command people, things, and events which are around you. Being “in control” is ordering those things according to your will. Being “out of control” is being both unable and even subject to those things, regardless of your will. Essential to both states of control is being “in action”, or “on the field of play”.

To “surrender control” then is to be on the field of play, to have the ability to order some things according to your will, and opting not to order those things. To “avoid control” is to take oneself off the field of play. Surrendering control requires trust that the people, things, and events around you will be ordered in a way which will add the most value to you–regardless of their immediate benefits or costs.

At work, when I had what I considered to be a tyrannical boss, if I had trusted that things would be ordered according to God’s will and not my own, I would have had peace. When I fly, if I trust that God has designated the day and the hour of my death, I would be at peace. In other personal matters, if I trust that God will give me direction rather than try to force his hand, I will have peace.

Ah, but here’s the trick. “Trust that God will give me direction” is another way of saying “take myself off the field of play”. God is not like GPS, and more like a game of “hot or cold”. He won’t tell you exactly how to get from A to B, but provided you are moving in some direction, he will give you hints as to whether it’s the right direction.

Practical Use

I am notorious for waiting for signs. Sometimes I say it’s because I have too many options. Sometimes because I say it’s not enough. Sometimes because I’m waiting for something different. In all cases, I am not trusting that, if I begin to strive forward, the path ahead will be made clear. I want very much to know the GPS route of my life, so that I can prepare. It’s this same reason why I don’t like surprises, even the good kind: I like to know. There are some things I cannot know. There are some things that can only be made clear by stumbling blindly forward.

Into thy hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.

AMDG