The First One to Change is Ourselves

There is great angst about the course of our country and the world, and the Church.  We hear of cardinals proposing changes to Church teaching to accommodate the world’s wants.  Change the Church so we can change people is the logic.  Christians are being rejected by the world, yet the response is to become what the world would want them to be.  Who is converting who?  Many are accepting this logic, in part, because they desire to change others, without fully knowing who they themselves are.  They want to spread a faith they don’t fully understand ---- but it “feels” good.  They are like warriors leaping into a battle with no armor or weapons of defense.

I attended a talk by Fr. Mark Livingston the other day.  The topic was Mary, the Mother of Jesus.  (I had mentioned here how much I was moved by an earlier talk of his on the Eucharist.)  Fr. Mark began his talk with the story of his conversion and his reaction at being overwhelmed by the Spirit: “It’s all true!” he exclaimed (exactly what I said when it happened to me).  More recently, Fr. Mark said, when asking God what He would have him do, he heard: Teach.  So, he began what will be monthly talks on the teachings of Christ reflected in the Catholic Church.  This sounds so simple, yet it rings of a very positive step to me.  There are so many “Sunday Christians,” people loosely educated in the faith.  These are not people who can go out and spread the faith; they don’t understand it themselves.  And their children, who also don’t understand it, are rapidly falling away.  The world is more attractive to them; they don’t see the beauty of Christ, His purpose, and what He taught was their purpose.  Many Christian churches have some “back to basics” programs, a good thing.  The Catholic Church has the Alpha program.  But there is a need for the next step, not just a general knowledge of Christ and His teaching, but the beginnings of a relationship with Him.  Fr. Mark freely talks about relationship as he explains what and why the Church teaches, and he talks about our purpose in life, why we were so uniquely created, here, now.  I think Fr. Mark’s talks fill a yawning gap for many “Sunday Christians,” who have a yearning for a better life, a more meaningful life, but don’t know where to begin.  I’m sure Fr. Mark’s call to teach is a call from God, and he seems to be answering it very well.

We need a deeper formation program for Catholics, to instill in them a knowledge and a love of God.  We cannot begin to change any others in this world until we change ourselves.  And now I’ll just write here some quotes from other readings God has put before my eyes this week, emphasizing the importance of this thought (and in case I didn’t get His first call --- He knows me so well. : - )  )

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The Formation of Apostles
--- Divine Intimacy, #330

“If a soul dedicates itself to prayer and sacrifice, it will help others.” (But) “one who is just setting out in the spiritual life is not capable of attending to his own sanctification and the sanctification of others simultaneously; he should first have time to concentrate all his powers on his own spiritual formation.  A beginner will not be capable of exercising a very fruitful apostolate.  Jesus Himself spent thirty years in prayer and retirement, … to show us that before we plunge into the work of the exterior apostolate, we much have reached a certain spiritual maturity.  He treated the Apostles in a similar way: the three years they spent with Jesus were years of true formation for them.  Thus, true Catholic tradition demands that, before apostles go out into the field of battle, they must prepare themselves by the practice of an intense interior life, which will make them qualified, fruitful instruments for the good of souls.  Enthusiasm and good will are not enough.  A vigorous interior life, maturity of thought and judgment, and a - -spirit of sacrifice and union with God are also necessary.”

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From a letter to Proba by St. Augustine, bishop:

“Power shines forth more perfectly in weakness.  These words are written to prevent us from having too great an opinion of ourselves if our prayer is granted, when we are impatient in asking for something that it would be better not to receive; and to prevent us from being dejected and distrustful of God’s mercy toward us if our prayer is not granted, when we ask for something that would bring us greater affliction, or completely ruin us through the corrupting influence of prosperity.  In these cases, we do not know what it is right to ask for in prayer.

Therefore, if something happens that we did not pray for, we must have no doubt at all that what God wants is more expedient than what we wanted ourselves.  Our great Mediator gave us an example of this.  After he had said: Father, if it is possible, let this cup be taken away from me, he immediately added, Yet not what I will, but what you will, Father, so transforming the human will that was his through his taking a human nature.  As a consequence, and rightly so, through the obedience of one man the many are made righteous.

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All of these events and readings are talking about humility.  So much is wrong with the world and its leaders.  We want to change things for the better.  Or, we want to drop out.  We want to change things to what WE think is better --- but most of us have never fully learned what the standard for “better” is.  Fr. Mark teaching his parish; Jesus teaching his apostles; Augustine teaching a friend:  Power shines forth more perfectly in weakness.  Stop trying to change the world; start by changing ourselves.  We can only sow seeds; God will do the hard work.  We need greater humility, trust, and a desire to grow closer to Him, to know Him, to pray not expecting OUR answers. 

Before trying to change the world, we need to change ourselves.