Brent

Yes, The Rosary is The Weapon

Christian Confusion

There was an opinion piece by Daniel Panneton in The Atlantic trying to associate the Rosary with Christian extremism. I’m not linking to the article because I would rather not give it a higher search engine ranking. But many Catholic publications have mentioned it. I think it’s important to learn what many people visualize when they think of practicing Catholics. We need to be aware so we can defend ourselves and also pray for those who hate the Church.

Atlantic Article Blasts the Holy Rosary as ‘An Extremist Symbol’

As far as Catholic hit pieces go, this one was poorly written. It reads like Mr. Panneton did an internet search for “guns” and “rosary” and wrote down what he saw in 5 minutes of reading. He saw words like “weapon”, “breach”, and “legionaries” and took them literally. I bet he thought he stumbled upon a goldmine of information about the dirty secrets of Catholicism and couldn’t wait to share them with his readers. Unfortunately for him, the Rosary’s military roots are not only well known but celebrated.

Celebrating Victory

The Feast of the Rosary is October 7 which is the anniversary of the Battle of Lepanto. Catch that? We honor the Rosary on the day of a military victory. Not only that, but many saints and our Holy Mother referred to the Rosary in military terms.

“The holy Rosary is a powerful weapon. Use it with confidence and you’ll be amazed at the results.” – Saint Josemaria Escriva
“The Rosary is the Weapon.” – Saint Padre Pio
“The Rosary will be a very powerful armor against hell” – Mother Mary in one of her promises to those who pray the Rosary.

Hiding in Plain Sight

To think that we aren’t fighting a war against Satan shows just how well of an adversary Satan is. It’s been said that the Devil’s greatest weapon is making people believe he doesn’t exist. Those who pray the Rosary know that Satan exists and there are evil forces at work in our world. They are utilizing everything they can muster to protect themselves and others. And while people don’t like to think about wars, violence, and evil, they aren’t things we can just wish away.

I carry my Swiss Guard rosary, a concealed carry rosary license, read Into the Breach produced by The Knights of Columbus, and try to faithfully live according to the Church’s teachings. I don’t think that makes me an extremist, but our society and culture have become so twisted and confused that anything the least bit normal will appear fringe.

Going back to last Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus said, “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!… Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.” It sounds like Jesus was ramping up his disciples for battle. However, the way Jesus wants us to fight this battle isn’t with physical weaponry. He wants us to use a much more effective weapon — prayer and faith in Him. The Church, from its very start, knew it was going to have to fight for people’s souls. That’s not extremism, that’s just Christianity.

The Rosary Is Not Jewelry

That being said, I will give this Atlantic piece some credit. Mr. Panneton talks about people glamorizing the Rosary by literally associating it with weapons by taking pictures of rosaries wrapped around guns. And while there is probably an extremely small group of people who do this, I think we all know someone in a much larger group who have rosaries hanging on their car’s rear-view window who never pray it. What these groups have in common is that they are placing too much value on the physical rosary and not enough on Rosary prayer.

The rosary isn’t a magic talisman that we wear or carry to ward off evil. Nor is it a chant that when said just right protects us from evil. The power of the rosary isn’t in the beads or words, but in what it enables. It helps us form a powerful bond with God who protects us from evil. Mary gave us the Rosary so we may better know her son, Jesus, and come to love him and his Church. If you have a rosary somewhere, make sure you’re actually praying it. Don’t miss this great opportunity to form a relationship with God and relegate the Rosary to a decoration.

Praying for your Persecutors

I’m going to leave you with some thoughts on the Second Sorrowful Mystery — Jesus’ Scourging at the Pillar. I always pray this mystery for those who hate the Catholic faith and try to lead others into hating us too. I also pray for the misguided and confused, like our lost brother, Daniel Panneton. I think of the soldiers who brutally whipped Jesus to the point of almost killing him. They were just following orders or didn’t really understand who they were torturing. When I read articles like the one in The Atlantic, I become mad but also sad because I see someone who needs Jesus. Mr. Panneton and his base need our prayers for the Holy Spirit’s intercession and their conversion.

The Scourging at the Pillar, by Belmiro de Almeida

And in a case of unintended consequences, the sale of “military” rosaries increased since The Atlantic ran that op-ed. I guess not every Catholic has an ammo box full of rosaries like Mr. Panneton assumed and we could always use more.

Thou Shalt Love

Can We Change the World?

We too often believe that our Catholic faith changing the world is something that cannot happen today. We look at the apostles baptizing people by the thousands after Jesus’ Ascension and think that such a large conversion isn’t possible anymore. Or we look at the early Christian martyrs, like those portrayed in Quo Vadis, who helped convert the Roman Empire, and think that those days are over.

We do have more recent examples of the Catholic faith conquering evil, repressive regimes. My family just finished watching Thou Shalt Love on EWTN (for free) which is the story of Cardinal Stephen Wsyzynski of Poland. During the Cold War, the Soviet Union conducted an assault on the Catholic Church in Poland trying to break it. The idea was that breaking the Church would break the people and usher in Communism throughout the country. Cardinal Wsyzynski, and later Pope John Paul II, lead the country in a non-violent show of faith that the soviets couldn’t break despite the arrests, the beatings, and the propaganda.

Watching Thou Shalt Love reminded me of the David vs. Goliath matchup which was the Polish people vs. the Soviet Union. The USSR had all the political, educational, and military power in Poland. And yet, they were defeated by processions, Masses, and prayers. People showed up by the thousands to honor Mary and her son, Jesus Christ. And, it was the hand of God who protected the people so that those who came to celebrate their faith didn’t end up arrested, shot, or sent to labor camps on a wide scale. It shows that when people put their faith in God as the Polish people did, we can bring down hallow political movements regardless of their worldly power.

Communism’s True Colors

It’s also important for people to see what is truly behind the face of socialism. It disguises itself behind ideas of equity, fairness, and reasonableness. It almost sounds Christian — let’s all share what we have in one big pool. But one of its core tenants is the destruction of organized religion. This is because Communism cannot compete with ideas that do not confess the state as the ultimate authority. Communism tries to establish the government as the makers of truth or morality and hence needs to destroy peoples’ faith in a higher truth not established by political apparatchiks, but by God.

The Rosary and Christian Witness

The history of Poland reminds me of the Third Luminous Mystery of the Rosary. The fruit of this mystery is Christian witness and conversion. The Polish people showed us the power of publicly witnessing our faith. It had the power to not only protect their country but ultimately help bring down the USSR (watch Nine Days that Changed the World to see the connections). Like the apostles and early Christian church, they showed the power of God if you just put your faith in Him.

We have a similar challenge today as Poland had during the latter half of the 20th century. In fact, our challenge is much more insidious. When your country is taken over by an outside force, many people find the motivation to fight back. But what if the threat comes from within? I’m going to say that’s what’s happening today. We still have attacks on the Catholic Church, particularly over issues like abortion, family, marriage, and gender ideology. But we don’t have priests being arrested and churches closed.

Soft Attacks Hit Hard

Today’s political powers learned that you shouldn’t display a show of force because that will mobilize the opposition. Instead of churches being closed, we had a global pandemic and live-streamed Masses leading to tepid attendance. Instead of arresting priests, we now just don’t have many men choosing that vocation. There are countless avenues of entertainment to keep people distracted. And acts of violence against Christians are covered up or treated as a rare, outlying situation. These soft attacks are doing more harm to the Catholic Church because people don’t even realize they are under attack.

These soft attacks make Rosary prayer all the more important. We need to pray that we remain strong Christian witnesses to our faith. I think part of that witness and conversion is making people realize that we are a Church under attack. Because when people feel comfortable, we aren’t strong Christian witnesses. It’s when there is hardship that we tend to fight back. And while I don’t wish misery on anyone, it’s an effective means of trusting in God and calling on Him to help us both societally and personally.

Where Are You Going?

As Christians, particularly Catholics, we tend to fall for the recency bias; thinking that current circumstances are greater than similar situations in the past. This is only natural since these events directly affect us while events in the past affected someone else. Naturally, we’ll place greater emphasis on the events we live through. But that doesn’t mean we can’t learn from the past.

I recently read Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz. The book was first published in 1895 and helped earn Henryk a Nobel Prize in literature in 1905. It’s not every day that I read a Nobel Prize-worthy book. Quo Vadis is historical fiction that takes place in the ancient Roman empire under the reign of Nero. It takes you through the journey of a Roman soldier’s encounter with this strange new sect, Christianity, and their peculiar leaders — St. Peter and St. Paul. It concludes with Nero’s burning of Rome and execution of the Christians.

Quo Vadis: A Narrative of the Time of Nero by Henryk Sienkiewicz – Free Ebook (gutenberg.org)

I see many parallels between how the Romans viewed Christians with how modern-day society does. Both wildly misunderstand Christianity. The Romans believed all sorts of false rumors about Christians such as believing they were poisoning the water supply, killing babies in ritual sacrifices, and starting the great fire (it was actually Nero’s doing). When Nero finally martyred them by feeding them to lions, crucifying them, or burning them alive, the Roman people couldn’t believe how calm and at peace the Christians were when facing their deaths. When the Romans actually saw Christians exercising their faith, it shattered their misconceptions. The Christians’ conviction in Jesus Christ and his Gospel is what changed opinions and eventually the empire.

As the abortion debate continues today, we see many misconceptions and lies told about Catholics. The popular line is that we’re all about suppressing women’s rights, we hate anyone living non-Catholic lives, and we want to dictate what people do in the privacy of their homes. The solution to addressing these misconceptions is the same as what Henryk Sienkiewicz wrote about in Quo Vadis — showing the world our faith in Jesus Christ.

I think part of the reason why there are misconceptions about the pro-life position and Catholicism, in general, is that we’re hiding. In Quo Vadis, the Romans’ hearts and minds didn’t change when the Christians remained hidden. When Nero arrested the Christians and publicly executed them, people witnessed the power of the Christian faith. They didn’t choose when or how they would show their faith. But when the time came, they asked themselves “Quo Vadis?” or “where are you going?” They chose to go wherever God led them.

How about us? Are we going where God leads us? With the recent Supreme Court decisions (and not just the overturning of Roe vs. Wade), the world is calling us out. Like Nero, they may think they are leading us to our demise by insulting us, destroying property, and passing laws that undermine pro-life values. We’ve been asking for this for 50 years and now it’s our time to respond as Christians. We win when the world sees the beauty and happiness that comes from publicly following God.

Where do we start? How about returning to Mass? Now is the time to return if you’ve been away from the Mass for a long time or are still watching it remotely. Unlike the working world where many jobs can be done from home, you can’t live the Catholic faith entirely at home. We need the Mass. We need the sacraments. We need to make efforts to live our faith. And we need to act publicly. How can we expect to change the hearts and minds of those who stand against us if we haven’t let God change our hearts and minds first?

The Harmful Effects of Not Attending Mass

The Dam Has Cracks

I think many people are feeling the ill effects of not attending Mass or attending virtually. Some of my friends, who I used to see all the time at Sunday Mass, have stopped going regularly. And while they may not think they feel any different by not attending Mass, I see changes in their personalities and general happiness. This may be due to other circumstances, but not having the Mass as the spiritual anchor makes dealing with life’s challenges all the more difficult.

Skipping weekly Mass is like a leak in a dam holding back water. As you skip Mass, more “cracks” tend to develop because the overall integrity of the dam is compromised. None of those cracks may be huge and individually, they don’t threaten the dam’s overall stability. But when combined, all those small cracks threaten the dam’s overall integrity causing it to fall apart.

The dam in this parable is our faith. On the dry side is our soul. The water being held back is all the influences in this world. It’s a mixture of sins and emotions such as fear, anxiety, anger, joy, doubt, and calmness. Our faith acts as a barrier protecting ourselves from the torrent of sin and emotion. But as those leaks start to form, those sins and emotions start to manifest themselves more in our lives. If there are too many leaks causing the dam (our faith) to fail, those “waters” of sin and emotion will completely flood and destroy our lives.

No Joy, Only Anxiety

From my personal experience, I’m starting to see spiritual “cracks” in some people. I notice a greater sense of anxiety and unhappiness in those who stopped attending Mass regularly. They tend to complain about everything in their lives. Every inconvenience is a crisis requiring someone to blame and be punished. They have replaced joy with anxiety.

We’re also seeing this general anxiety play out over the internet. Something happens locally in one part of the world, and the next thing you know, the Twitterverse is in an uproar. There are millions of people whose lives are affected by what’s on social media or the 24-hour news cycle. Without the Mass, they’re losing the ability to counter-balance the craziness of the world.

Many of us couldn’t go to Mass during the Covid lockdowns or we attended virtually. Most of us didn’t have a choice. But that was a crack in our faith that needed immediate patching. And thank God, many of us did fix that crack. As soon as the churches opened, we were right back in those pews. But there are a significant number of people that developed more spiritual “cracks” by not returning to the Church. The tragedy is that they may not see how their absence from the sacraments and the Catholic community contributes to their fears and anxieties.

We have challenges in front of us to bring people back to their spiritual home and the greater Catholic family. We have to compete with endless entertainment options, less free time from school and work, and government and media hostile to religion and our values.

Loving our Neighbor with the Rosary

What do we do now? I suggest starting with meditating on the Second Joyful Mystery, The Visitation. This mystery’s fruit is loving our neighbor. Mary went out and helped her cousin Elizabeth despite being pregnant herself. We too should help our brothers and sisters in Christ who have fallen away from the Church recently. We need to pray because we need Mary’s help in approaching this delicate topic. We can’t just get into peoples’ faces and start quoting the Catechism. Prayer will help us know what route to take. It may mean working with your parish pastor or finding the right words in a conversation. Prayer also will allow the Holy Spirit to work within people’s souls.

Time-boxed Rosary Prayer

I changed my morning routine recently so I can make progress on my next book (there’s nothing like it out there; you’re going to love it). Instead of waking up early to pray the Rosary, I work on writing. I pray the Rosary throughout the day as time allows.

The challenge with praying whenever inspiration strikes me is that I don’t always have my beads with me or they aren’t convenient to pull out of my pocket such as when I’m driving or working around the house. I sometimes try to just keep the count in my head or use my fingers. But it’s amazing how quickly I can lose count when I’m multitasking. Losing my spot counting to ten may seem silly, but it happens quite often.

My solution to my elementary school counting problem is simple — pray the Rosary based on time, not count. I look at my watch or a clock, note the time, and pray a decade for 5 minutes. It’s not a hard 5, more like around 5 minutes. I may pray a few more Hail Marys or maybe a few less. But I probably average out to 10 Hail Marys. Realistically, at 5 minutes per decade I’m probably praying more than if I counted.

The beauty of this method is that I don’t get into prayer acceleration. I don’t know about the rest of you, but when I’m counting anything, whether it be Rosary beads or exercise reps, I tend to accelerate as I get closer to the end. It’s almost instinctual to want to cross that metaphorical finish line quickly when it’s in sight. With the time-based Rosary method, I removed that urge to speed up. I pray at a constant pace; no shortcuts.

The other great aspect of the timed Rosary prayer method is that it frees me to just meditate while praying. Again, I can’t explain it, but not counting beads makes the experience feel less like checking something off my TODO list and more like quality time with God. Give it a try and see if it works for you.

The Abortion Battle Will Grow More Fierce

Anxious in Victory

As happy as I am over the recent Supreme Court decision overturning Roe vs. Wade, it fills me with anxiety. First, the news tends to focus on liberal politicians’ outrage and quasi-terrorist groups like Jane’s Revenge. The media muffles the voices of those happy over the decision. I also have this feeling that something horrible is going to happen beyond the recent vandalism like shootings or bombings. And worse, I feel like those in power will ignore or stoke the chaos suggesting that it’s righteous indignation over an unjust decision.

Fallout from Supreme Court abortion decision: When reporters parrot partisan talking points — GetReligion

Legal Misconceptions

Beyond people’s personal safety, I’m also frustrated over the misconceptions, if not outright lies, that people have over this ruling and issue. Legally, this ruling puts abortion legislation back into the hands of the state governments. This is a good thing. Many of our laws should be decided at the state and local levels instead of at the federal level. People acting crazy over this foundational principle of the United States frustrates me. It shows the lack of understanding of how the US government is designed to function.

As abortion policy returns to the states, the pro-abortion lobby will find themselves fighting on multiple fronts and with less political cover from the federal government. We may start to see greater restrictions on abortions in many states which will put pressure on the entire abortion industry. Like a cornered beast, we’re going to see the pro-abortion lobby get louder, less rational, and more extreme. I think they will counter the general lack of support for their position with outrageous claims and actions. I’m afraid of what those actions may be.

7 myths about Roe v. Wade, now that it’s been overturned | Catholic News Agency

Social Misconceptions

The other aspect of this SCOTUS decision that stresses me is the lack of understanding of why people have pro-life convictions. If you were to listen to the media and shouting heads on Twitter, you would think that the sole reason to ban abortion is to suppress women’s rights and establish a patriarchy in the USA. Why do people have such a hard time seeing that there are those who see the preciousness and value of all human life and seek to preserve it? It seems so obvious and good to me. That is why I get so unnerved when I see the vitriol directed at people who only want the best for everyone — women, men, mothers, fathers, children, the elderly, and the unborn.

This hatred will be well-publicized and encouraged by pro-abortion politicians. They will seek to label all Christians as “extremists” and, ironically, opponents to a just and civil society. I fear that Christian persecution will become more widespread and legal action against those who do harm will go unenforced. And where they’ve lost ground on abortion, we’ll see redoubled efforts in other aspects of the woke agenda to undermine Christian and other religious values.

Strength in Weakness

What frightens me is that all of this comes when the Church is in a weakened state. We’ve endured waves of scandals from the priesthood. High-ranking church officials have become indulgent in political power instead of acting as servants in Christ’s Church. And people in general are starting to believe and practice their faith less. I fear we’ve unleashed wild beasts hungry for our destruction at a point in time when we will have a harder time fighting them off.

I think about Saint Paul’s words, “when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor 12:10) We find comfort and inspiration that the Church has endured and thrived at times when opposing cultures believed they had defeated us. The Church has been in difficult positions countless times. But we have found strength to not only survive but to grow stronger. This isn’t a strength that comes from adopting the tactics of our persecutors. This is the strength that has come from putting our faith in God. It’s about knowing that God is Truth and embracing that Truth will ultimately set us free.

If you’re looking for comfort in the Rosary, meditate on the Second Joyful Mystery. Remember these lines from the Canticle of Mary:

He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.

No matter how much influence and power the pro-abortion lobby has, no matter how much glowing coverage they receive from the media, their efforts won’t bring forth fruits where it matters. Their position is shaky on logical, legal, and moral grounds. They can’t fight Truth and win. Let us pray for their conversion so that God doesn’t send them away empty, but rather unites us all as his children.

Why Abortion Activists Target Catholics

Why Catholics?

One of my goals for RosaryMeds is to draw connections between current events in the world and the mysteries of the Rosary. We do not pray the Rosary in a vacuum but in the context of world events. This is what makes the Rosary such a great and powerful prayer. The mysteries, while remaining the same, take on new meaning and value as the world and our individual situations change.

There is no event in greater need of our Rosary prayers right now than the pending Supreme Court decision in the United States of America that may transfer abortion law from the federal government to the state governments. The prospect of states being free to limit access to abortion has set off a firestorm of attacks against pro-life organizations. The largest target of these attacks is the Catholic Church. But why do pro-abortion activists direct so much rage toward the Church? This Catholic Exchange article, Why Abortion Attacks the Church and the Eucharist, sheds some light on that question.

Rosary Meditation

It’s time to get out those Rosary beads. The article alludes to the Third Sorrowful Mystery beautifully:

Abortion is a new crown of thorns for our Lord, as His innocent children are senselessly killed, the very people He came to save.

When I chose the Third Sorrowful Mystery as my mystery to focus on in 2022, I never thought we, the people of this world, would be adding so many figurative thorns to Jesus’ crown in such a short period of time. Every time we sin, attack, or dismiss Church teachings and God’s Truth, we weave new thorny stems into this crown. Let us pray the Third Sorrowful Mystery of the Rosary in sorrow for all the sins we commit against Christ our King.

We should also pray for the conversion of those who are attacking pro-life organizations and Catholic churches. Like the Roman soldiers who created a crown of thorns, I think many of these activists/terrorists don’t fully understand what’s going on. The soldiers and many of the Jews got caught up in mocking and then crucifying Jesus and probably didn’t give what they were actually doing much thought. I think the same goes for those who are attacking churches. They are being whipped up and acting without much thought on what exactly they’re doing.

The situation is going to get ugly in the near future for Catholics and pro-life advocates. Let us remember that things got ugly for Jesus too in his Passion. But all that ugliness eventually led to God’s glory. Let us continuously pray that the same happens to us.

Remember to Honor the Eucharist

By now, many of us have heard about the uproar over Archbishop Cordileone telling Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, that she cannot receive Holy Communion as long as she clings to her pro-abortion views. I think now is a good time to review the criteria for receiving Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. Here’s a good article on Catholic Exchange on what one must do to worthily partake in Communion.

I appreciate how seriously Archbishop Cordileone takes the Eucharist. He’s been a champion of promoting the Real Presence of the Eucharist. It’s unfortunate that so many Catholics think the Eucharist is just a symbol of an event that took place 2000 years ago. It’s no wonder that Mass attendance is down. People don’t realize the miracle that takes place when Jesus comes to us through Holy Communion.

There has been a lot of talk of politicizing and weaponizing the Eucharist. But it isn’t coming from bishops despite what uninformed media are saying. It’s coming from radical, pro-abortion groups vandalizing churches and desecrating the Eucharist over the possible overturning of Roe v. Wade. The Archbishop invites all of us to pray with him this Thursday in a Litany of Reparation for Abuses against the Most Holy Eucharist. It’s virtual over Zoom so anyone can participate.

Join the Archbishop to honor the Blessed Sacrament

Thursday is a good day to pray this litany as it’s also when we traditionally pray the Fifth Luminous Mystery — The Institution of the Eucharist. When we pray this mystery, we should remember how the Eucharist we receive today is every bit as real and miraculous as what the apostles received at the Last Supper. We are connected through time, space, the physical, and the metaphysical to Jesus Christ through Holy Communion. This is the cornerstone of our faith. Without it, Catholicism is basically a record of some good advice Jesus gave long ago. Pray that we worthily receive Jesus and for the conversion of those who harm the Church by intentionally desecrating the Eucharist or receiving it unworthily.

Embrace the Pro-Life Label

A Disturbing Ad

I live in California which is run by far-left politicians. We just had state-wide elections for governor, attorney general, senator, and many other high-level offices. Neighborhoods are littered with political signs endorsing candidates and the radio plays political ads nonstop. I just heard one that first confused and then angered me.

I don’t recall the specifics of the political ad I heard. All I remember hearing was that a certain candidate was pro-life. And then the ad ended by proclaiming that the choice is clear who you should vote for. “Oh wow, someone running for office in California is touting his pro-life position”, I thought. But like an M. Night Shyamalan movie, there was a twist. The pro-abortion candidate paid for the ad! He was trying to scare people into voting for him by labeling his opponent pro-life.

The “Pro-life” Label

In the past, pro-abortion candidates would use euphemisms to label pro-life politicians like “anti-choice” or “against women’s health.” They usually don’t say “pro-life” because it exposes pro-choice for what it actually is — anti-life. And being against life doesn’t exactly paint someone in a compassionate light and would scare away voters. At least, that would be the case in normal societies. But this is the liberal Bay Area where being anti-life appears to be a selling point for political office.

There have always been pro-abortion politicians. That doesn’t surprise me. What’s shocking is that now someone can just proclaim their opponent is pro-life and expect support from a significant portion of the voter base. Today’s politics is all about labels; no debate or logical argument is needed. The right labels have the ability to propel you, the wrong labels can destroy you. Labels are the foundation of “cancel culture” — no context or debate necessary. You just label, cancel, and repeat.

Where Labels Lead

But this line of thinking goes beyond a television show going off the air or a comedian not being able to perform. Labels can ultimately lead to the destruction of a functioning society. I think we all know the basic history of people making laws and policies based on labels, not sound arguments. Nazi Germany, the USSR, Cambodia, Rowanda, and modern-day China are all examples of the horrors that occur when the state creates policies that label and target groups of people. And while there’s been an undercurrent of that in American politics, it’s starting to pick up momentum at an exponential pace. Just look at the increased violence against Catholic churches, pro-life foundations, and even Supreme Court justices.

Having the Same Labels as God

Well, now I’m depressed. I started this article by writing about an ad on the radio and somehow I found myself thinking about how we’re seeing the next Khmer Rouge. On the bright side, Christians have been labeled and targeted for 2000 years. The Jews had been labeled even longer. And we’re still here! When you’re on the side of truth, you wear your labels with pride and conviction. If I find myself in the same group as God, should I fear? I should rejoice to be in the same group as God!

Remember what Christ said in the Beatitudes: Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice’s sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. As difficult as it might become to bear the label of “Christian”, “pro-life”, or “moral” in the modern world, I think about the Beatitudes and the true joy and happiness those labels will bring me if I wholeheartedly accept them.

Find Joy by Rediscovering “Awe” of God

Walking Alone

This article is my commentary on these interesting articles. I suggest reading these articles first and then finishing up with mine.

The central message in both of these articles is that many of us choose to walk through our lives without God. We work, eat, sleep, and find various leisure activities but it’s all in a very secular way. We fail to acknowledge God’s influence on our lives throughout our day. Not living with God results in a bleak worldview because we see nothing beyond what can be seen, heard, and explained.

Ignoring God at Our Peril

When we seek answers but then deliberately ignore God’s response, we often receive an inaccurate view of reality. We get information through the lens of politics, media, and big business; all of which have their own interests. Their interests usually don’t include providing you peace, truth, and joy. For example, we may have fears about climate change or Covid. But listening solely to the media or government mouthpieces will give you a distorted view of how you should respond. If you want peace, perspective, and truth, you need to include God in the conversation through prayer.

I’m not saying that you completely ignore all worldly sources of information. Science does a good job of explaining the nature of the physical world around us. Engineering, technology, mathematics, etc. have given us wonderful inventions and improved our standard of living. But there is so much more to our lives than what these fields can explain. We may know the science to create a Covid vaccine or engineer an iPhone. But science and secular psychology can’t show us how to live with true joy. For that, we need to have God in our worldview.

God helps us navigate our fears, anxieties, and all the other aspects of our modern lives. Science may be able to explain Covid and even treat it, but God helps us manage our fears and concerns around it. I think many people are so fearful of Covid, climate change, or the issue of the day because they don’t listen to any higher authority than their social media feeds. They don’t want to listen to God and hear His guidance for navigating our lives amidst these challenges. Take God’s voice out of any current issue and you’re left with a bleak outlook on the world governed by whoever is yelling the loudest.

Finding our Daily “Awe of God”

If you’re looking to bring God into your daily life, pray the Fourth Luminous Mystery of the Rosary — The Transfiguration. When I think of Jesus rising into the sky and turning a dazzling white, I envision the sense of awe St. Peter, James, and John must have felt. I think we need to have a sense of awe of God (traditionally known as “Fear of God”) throughout our day. We need to acknowledge God at work in the very large and the very small.

This is becoming a theme in my posts, but I’m saddened by the drop in regular Mass attendance in my parish since the Covid lockdowns. I think there is a strong correlation between the drop in Mass attendance and the increasing unhappiness many people are feeling. Secularism doesn’t give people a very good means of finding joy. Ever wonder why babies and small children are so happy? Everything in their world has a sense of awe to it. When Jesus said we should be more like children (Matthew 18:3), perhaps he is calling us to regain some of that childlike awe regarding our faith. I think attending Mass and praying will help us find that awe as we start to acknowledge God at work in our lives.