Road Trip Reflections: Battles are Won From Within

22 Monday Feb 2021

Tags

Examination of Conscience, Lenten resolutions, Spiritual Warfare, St. Michael the Archangel, Temptation, Virtue

Yesterday at the end of Mass we recited the prayer to St. Michael the Archangel before the final blessing. As we prayed, “St. Michael, defend us in battle, be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil….”, I wondered how many of the faithful say this prayer with rote indifference, unaware that, in our world today, we truly are in a battle between good and evil. The prayer implies that we are in the battle. We are fighting for our souls and the souls of everyone we love. We are the troops on the ground and when we call upon St. Michael it’s like we’re calling for close air support to assist us. It doesn’t mean we sit back and let him do all the work.

At home after Mass, I packed my bags, loaded a U-Haul trailer and set out on a road trip to San Antonio, Texas. The first leg was to my parent’s house in southeast Missouri for a quick visit. On the way I saw a billboard with a photograph of a Marine running through a jungle with the caption, “Battles are won from within”, alluding to the interior fortitude required to be a Marine. Reflecting on the morning’s Mass, I thought we could all benefit from some stronger moral interior fortitude to help resist the temptations of the world today.

Shortly after seeing this billboard I turned on my stereo and Jerry Jeff Walker’s The Rain Song from his It’s About Time album began to play. It contains the lyric, “The hardest thing a man can do is look inside and see the truth about himself.” Still thinking about the spiritual warfare we are waging, it made sense that the place to start if we want to win this war is to look inside and see the truth about ourselves.

The hardest thing for a man to do is look inside and see the truth about himself.

A Marine discovers his or her weaknesses by repeatedly facing difficult challenges and, through sheer willpower, forcing themselves to overcome the obstacles that are inhibiting their confidence. Similarly, we need to accept our challenges and suffer through our daily trials as training to resist the temptations that lead us to sin. And, Lent is a perfect time to make this effort!

I include myself in that “we need to”. With several hours of windshield time ahead of me I considered where to begin. Unsure, I simply said out loud, “God, help me see the truth about myself, to uncover my faults and bad habits.” I heard in reply, “Why not start with your roles in life and the responsibilities that go with them? Are you being responsible and if not, why not?”

As though the Lord was sitting in the passenger seat I conversed out loud with Him. I examined my roles as Self, Husband, Father, Son, Brother, Friend, and Disciple. I recognized both my good efforts and those with which I fall short and still had room for improvement.

I was prompted to ask, “Why do I do the things I do?”, which forced me to look for root causes. “That’s just the way I am” was not an acceptable answer. After making a pit-stop, I drew up a list of resolutions and made a note to break them down into concrete baby steps.

Getting back on the road it seemed like I was still missing something. So, I turned to my “passenger” again and asked what other interior obstacles needed examining. It was like the Lord knew I would need to keep my mind occupied on this long trip so He gave me a list:

“Consider your vices and how you can replace them with virtue. How can you be more humble? Maybe replace gluttony with a little temperance? What about focusing on charity to others instead of being so selfish? You know, don’t you, that strengthening one virtue improves the others?

“Take a look at any disordered attachments in your life. What do you treasure that doesn’t bring you closer to Me? Ask yourself why you want it.

“Examine the relationships in your life. How can you improve them? Hint: Remember the two great commandments – how can you love more dearly?

“Is your life balanced? If it feels lop-sided, find out why? What brings stress and anxiety into your life? Is it something that you can change? If so, change it. If not, join your cross to mine and I’ll help you carry it.

And finally, “When you get around to it, come back and ask Me to help you with these. I’ll be glad to. I’ll be here.”

I pulled into my parent’s driveway and remembered reconciliation from Saturday during which I confessed I’d not done well at making a daily examination of conscience and needed to do better. He took me for my word!

I know some sincere resolutions during Lent will help me through the desert of Satan’s temptations. Could it help you, too? Talk to God about it and don’t refuse to accept His help. You can win the battle from within. God bless you!

“Merciful Father, thank You for sending Your Holy Spirit into my life and strengthening my soul so that I may do my part at resisting temptations to sin. Lord, I know that You and my guardian angel are there if I just place my trust in You and call on You for Your assistance. Thank you for being my co-pilot yesterday. Amen.”

Be Like Peter

22 Monday Feb 2021

Posted by Jerry Robinson in Daily 100

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Tags

1 Pt 5:1-4, Mt 16:13-19, Peter, The Rock

In today’s first reading (1 Pt 5:1-4) Peter exhorts the early Church leaders to be examples for their flocks, and Jesus will recognize their efforts. A few years early, Peter confessed that Jesus was the Messiah (Mt 16:13-19) and set the example for the other disciples. Jesus recognized him and established him as the rock upon which He would build His Church.

We don’t have to be bishops, priests or theologians to be good examples to our parish communities. By living our faith with virtue we, too, can set an example and help others grow closer to Christ. As with Peter, Jesus will reward us.

Be like Peter.

“Lord Jesus, I desire to live my life as an example for others. Today I offer up my work, prayer, joy and suffering in union with Your sacrifice in the Holy Mass, and cheerfully accept the things I don’t like, did not choose and cannot change for the conversion of souls. Amen.”

(Be Like Peter was first published on the blog Reflections of a Lay Catholic)

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If You’re Going to Believe in Everything You Read, then Start with Your Bible

17 Wednesday Feb 2021

Posted by Jerry Robinson in Bible Reflections

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Bible, Leaven of Herod, Leaven of the Pharisees, Lenten resolutions, Mainstream Media, Mark 8:14-21, Turn off your television

Last week I drove by the United Methodist Church in our town of Lebanon, Ohio and saw on their marquee this thought provoking quip, “If you’re going to believe in everything you read, then start with your Bible.” I thought at the time how it has become almost impossible to believe anything one reads or hears. The mainstream media distorts the truth to fit their agenda, and social media is filled with half-truths and opinions making it difficult to know what is reality. And, I agreed that the safest place one can go to read the truth and preserve one’s intellect is the Bible.

I thought about this again when I read today’s Gospel passage, Mark 8:14-21, where Jesus tells his disciples, “Watch out, guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” I know I’ve read this passage many times before but I was always like the disciples, not understanding Jesus’ intent. Today, I think I grasped His meaning.

Watch out, guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.
Mark 8:15

Leaven, or yeast, is added to flour and water to make bread rise. Without it, you get flatbread. But, flatbread is still bread, unadulterated bread. The leaven is a change agent that adds air to the dough without adding any nutritional value, yet makes the bread look more attractive, and imparts a pleasing and desirable flavor.

The Pharisees, who were the religious component of authority in Jesus’ time, added their “leaven” of man-made laws which camouflaged God’s commandments, making them secondary. Herod, the Roman political component of authority, demanded that the Roman laws, his “leaven”, also supersede God’s laws so that he and his government would remain in power. Although the Jews were oppressed by the Romans, they also depended on them for their security.

We have a similar set up in our culture today. The modern day pharisees preach love of self over love of God (individualism), love of things before love of God (materialism), love of disordered pleasure over morality (hedonism), and that we can make up our own truth and disregard the truths of human nature given to us by God (relativism). Our society seems to have accustomed itself to depending on our government, our own Herod, for all its needs, placing our political leaders on a pedestal higher than God, which is right where they want to be. Together, the two are like the right and left hands of a marionette in a puppet show being orchestrated by Satan himself, the puppet master.

And, our mainstream media is narrating the entire production, telling us what to believe, who to believe, and how we should and should not act. It’s not just the news sources but also television shows billed as family entertainment, movies whose producers are coerced to present non-Christian content in hopes of receiving industry recognition, music that promotes every sort of immoral decadency, literature that entices us to believe that fantasy is preferential over reality, and declares pornography to be an art form.

And we wonder why our world is a mess. We have dug our hole deep and it’s caving in on us. The only way to dig ourselves out is to turn back to God and live by His commandments instead of the perverted norms of our society. We must adore God more than we do our political leaders and more than we do those who promote immorality.

How might you do this? For starters, turn off your television. Ask yourself if the information you glean from a news broadcast makes a positive difference in your life or does it simply cause anxiety, fear, and mistrust. Decide if watching that sitcom you’re addicted to is making you a better person. Do you really want to support Netflix or HBO or any of the other media sources by watching a not-so-bad movie yet knowing that their real appeal is in their “racier” offerings? Consider whether watching a televised sporting event is going to make a difference in your life, or could you be spending that couple hours building relationships with your spouse or children. The media knows we are weak. They know we will gravitate to what feels good over what is good. You can be stronger than they are.

Impossible you ask? It’s not. This month marks the thirty-fourth year my wife and I have not watched television. We have a television but it is only used to watch a handful of movies in a year. Spending time together in conversation, playing games, praying together, taking walks together and other mutual activities are much more rewarding. Our children grew up without television. Instead of parking them in front of the television as children we played with them, read books to them, helped them with homework, provided opportunities for creativity. In other words, we were present in their lives. It made a difference. I’m not pridefully patting myself on the back, just hoping to be an inspiration to you by giving an example that it can be done. Think about it.

The same goes for every other type of entertainment including books and music. Ask yourself if that which you are reading or listening to feeds your intellect with the truth of reality. Ask whether it is good or not. By good I mean that it not only brings you satisfaction but makes you a better person, whether it fulfills the purpose for which you were designed by God. We are only truly happy when both conditions are met. You can find that happiness in the Bible.

As I write this it is Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras, the eve of Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. If you’re looking for something to “give up” for Lent, or wondering how you might grow closer to Christ in this season, consider fasting from television and replace it with reading Scripture, building relationships with God through prayer and with your family, friends and neighbors. I guarantee you will reap more rewards than by giving up chocolate.

Since television is not an issue for me, my lenten resolution is to fast from FaceBook completely. I venture there mostly to see pictures my daughters might have posted of my grandchildren. But, while looking for those, I easily become distracted by all the other addicting content that steals my time, and which may or may not be believable. I would much prefer reading the One Book that is believable because I know it is truth, letting it make me a better person, and then going out and practicing what I’ve learned.

I pray that each and every one of you grows closer to our Lord this Lenten season.

“Heavenly Father, You made us for more than we have become. Help me and all Your faithful during this Lenten season love You more and grow closer to You through prayer, as well as building loving relationships with our family, friends and neighbors. Amen.”

(If You’re Going to Believe Everything You Read, then Start with Your Bible was first published on the blog Reflections of a Lay Catholic)

An Inconvenient Pandemic

14 Sunday Feb 2021

Posted by Jerry Robinson in Bible Reflections

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

1 Cor 10:31-11:1, Corona virus, Covid-19, Healing of the Leper, Lv 13:44-46, Mk 1:40-46, Pandemic

About a month ago, on a Tuesday, I had cataract surgery on my right eye. I went in on Wednesday for a follow-up visit and all looked fine. But, by Thursday, my vision in that eye was a little cloudier than it was the day before so I made an appointment to go back in on Friday. However, also on Wednesday, I was having some chest congestion, some shortness of breath and a minor headache, so I made an appointment to get a Covid-19 rapid test at a clinic. A quick swab up the nose and bingo!, I had Covid.

Well, I had to do the right thing and let the ophthalmologist’s office know I had Covid. After some hemming and hawing, they decided I could still keep my appointment with some conditions: I had to wait outside until they were ready for me, they had to prepare a room just for me, I had to double mask with my mask taped to my face, and I couldn’t speak while I was in the office. On top of that, the doctor came in attired in full operating garb from head to toe.

It was an inconvenience for me but I didn’t take it personally. I knew the doctor couldn’t afford to catch the virus and risk giving it to other patients. But, when I got home I told my wife that I now knew how the lepers of biblical times must have felt!

This morning’s Scripture passages brought this recollection to mind. We heard in the first reading, Leviticus 13:1-2 & 44-46, how the Lord told Moses and Aaron that those with a “scaly infection” (leprosy) shall be declared unclean, be required to cry out “unclean, unclean!” whenever near another person, and shall dwell apart from other people. It always seemed cruel to me that they should be outcast from society, and I always felt sorry for them because there was no known cure which would allow their re-entry.

Today, as I meditated on that passage, I saw that there was perhaps a purpose behind God’s instructions to Moses and Aaron. An uncontrolled outbreak of the contagious disease could wipe out a significant portion of a civilization. I can see how God, in His wisdom, saw the necessity to sacrifice a few for the benefit of many.

This theme carried over into today’s second reading, 1 Corinthians 10:31-11:1, in which St. Paul says, “…do everything for the glory of God. Avoid giving offense…just as I try to please everyone in every way, not seeking my own benefit but that of the many, that they may be saved. Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.”

And then, in the Gospel, Mark 1:40-45, we read about how Jesus, moved with pity, cleansed the leper. My first thought was that Jesus, as I would expect, was more concerned about that one leper than he was for Himself and His disciples. But, then I considered that Jesus, seeing the bigger picture, obeyed the Father’s instructions to a tee, with one significant twist: He sacrificed Himself on a cross for the benefit of many, including you and me, and for the salvation of our souls.

Ever since the onset of the Corona virus pandemic, people’s opinions have been all across the spectrum on how we should live with it. Some are extremely cautious while others throw caution to the wind. There is much debate about whether masks are effective and if they are safe for the wearer or if they make matters worse. We are a mobile society which makes isolation painful, if not impossible, for some folks. Throw in the politicized aspects of the pandemic and one doesn’t know whom or what to believe.

I dislike wearing a mask as much as the next person. But, our society, our culture, our entire civilization for that matter, is mobile and cannot isolate completely. Thus, measures were implemented to protect the general population, the many, until science could catch-up. And, so, I had to ask myself if it was a sacrifice I was willing to make. I decided last year to wear my mask, including wearing it to church. Not because I wanted to, or because the Governor told us to, but because my pastor asked me to for the well-being of the many. Today, understanding that God advised the Levite priests to do much the same, brought me some consolation.

I found even more consolation in knowing that Christ sought not His own benefit but that of the many when he offered Himself as a sacrifice for all souls, including mine, that we may be saved. If He did that for me, then I can live with a little inconvenience.

“All loving and merciful God, I pray for the souls of those who have succumbed to this virus and for those who have suffered and survived, and I pray for a speedy end to the pandemic. Until then, I pray that, in our inconvenience, we may imitate Jesus and make just a small sacrifice for the benefit of the many. Amen.”

(An Inconvenient Pandemic was first published on the blog Reflections of a Lay Catholic)

Groundhog Day

04 Thursday Feb 2021

Posted by Jerry Robinson in Virtue

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Groundhog Day, Holiness, Malachi 3:1-4, Meditation, Prayer, Refinement, Vices, Virtue

It’s been two days since the world’s most renowned groundhog, Punxsutawny Phil, popped out of his burrow and saw his shadow, predicting six more weeks of winter. (For my international readers who are unfamiliar with Groundhog Day, go here to learn more). Personally, I can’t make it through the second day of February each year without thinking about the 1993 movie, Groundhog Day, one of my all-time favorites, starring Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell.

In it, actor/comedian Murray, plays the part of Phil Connors, an abrasive and self-centered television weatherman who is sent on assignment along with his producer and cameraman to cover the annual Groundhog Day celebration in Punxsutawny, Pennsylvania. During the festivities, Phil records his news report on the celebrated groundhog’s prediction with all the contempt for the “rat” (and the people of the town) that fits his egotistical personality.

In a kind of karma, Phil and team are forced to spend the night in the small town because of a severe winter storm which he failed to predict. The following morning, Phil awakes in his hotel room bed and discovers it is February 2nd all over again, a deja vu which only he experiences. Then, every morning afterwards, for what seems like a lifetime, he wakes at 6:00 a.m. to the same song on the radio only to find it is still February 2nd.

As the film progresses, Phil’s life progresses from denial to rebellion to despair and then finally to acceptance of his situation. With acceptance, he learns to replace his pride with humility, his lust with love, and greed with generosity. He learns the importance of beauty in life and placing others before himself. In a sense, he is being refined each and every day that he is stuck in the seemingly endless time loop which only he experiences. In the end, when he finally experiences the true meaning of selfless love, he wakes up one morning and it is February 3rd.

On Tuesday as I was reading the daily Scripture during my daily meditation I thought of this movie again. For the last four years I have hi-lighted in yellow pencil the passages I have read each day, and underlined in red those phrases which the Holy Spirit put on my heart that day. And, next to each, in pencil, I have written the date I meditated on that passage. I’ve now been doing this long enough to see that I’ve read that same passage on or about the same date in a previous year.

Many Catholics don’t know that the Church repeats the daily readings on a two-year cycle for weekdays, and a three-year cycle for Sundays. I knew this and always thought it was simply an effective way to read almost the entire Bible over a three year period. But, on Tuesday, I saw it differently.

In the first reading from Scripture that day, I read in Malachi 3:1-4, “For He will be like a refiner’s fire…” so that their offerings, “will please the Lord.” It struck me that the only way we can grow in holiness is to continually be refined; that our purpose on earth is to be refined to the point where our final offering will, indeed, please the Lord and we will be united with Him in heaven.

As Catholics, we don’t wake up to the same song every morning like Phil did, but our two or three year cycle does give us the opportunity to grow in holiness and virtue every day.

For one who does not spend time in daily meditation listening to the Word of God and asking what His will is for them every day, it can be a difficult journey. Without prayer and trusting in God to help, you can easily do like Phil, that is deny, rebel and despair when life doesn’t seem to get any better. But when you spend time daily in conversation with Jesus and you’re docile to the Holy Spirit, and you accept and take responsibility for your faults and weaknesses, it becomes much easier to resolve to grow in virtue knowing you can trust in Him for help. One day He may show you where your pride is strong and how to replace it with humility. The next day the Word of God may lead you to growing in love and charity and away from lust or selfishness. Still another day you may decide that you need to be more generous, or less envious, less angry, more grateful, or stronger in your faith. Some days it will seem like you’re stuck in your own Groundhog Day (movie) time loop because you didn’t get it the first time…or the second. But, with each conviction, you can resolve to become better in a particular aspect of your life every single day until your vices have been refined into sustainable virtues that “will please the Lord”.

My goal in life is to become a saint. I want you to become one, too. I would much prefer our refinement take place day by day here during our time on earth than when we have no control of it in Purgatory. Ask the Lord to show you each day how you can grow in holiness, and pray for the grace to resolve to take action daily. Even if they’re just baby steps, they’re still steps forward towards your goal. A lifetime of baby steps will get us there.

“Heavenly Father, thank You for this day and every day that I have to grow closer to You. I pray for the grace to make the most of them by living my life as You would have me live it, with humility, prudence, fortitude, justice, temperance, faith, hope and love. Amen.”

(Groundhog Day was first published on the blog Reflections of a Lay Catholic)