Musings of a Catholic Convert

Some of you asked if I would post my talking points from today's Catechist Training Day at Incarnation.  I'm putting them up here, just keep in mind that the written points vary a little from the talk you heard.  

The Year of St. Paul and Incarnation Catechists

The Holy Father, Pope Benedict, has declared June 2008 to June 2009 to be the year of St. Paul, coinciding with the 2000^th anniversary of St. Paul’s birth.   This year is a celebrating of St. Paul and his contributions to the Church; but, more than that, this is also a special time of Evangelization.  That is why I am here speaking to you this morning.

What comes to mind when you think of the word Evangelization?            

It is not surprising that most of us do not first consider ourselves, but that is exactly what you should be thinking.  The Church’s primary vocation is Evangelization, the spreading of the Gospel or “good news” of Jesus Christ.  In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus gives instruction to the Apostles to go and make disciples, but it is not only the Apostles/Bishops, who have this responsibility.  No, it is the responsibility of EVERYONE in the body of Christ to share the Gospel.  Since I don't know EVERYONE in the body of Christ, I'm encouraging EVERYONE in this room to evangelize.

How many of you have heard of the term “the new evangelization”?

When we speak of evangelism, we are not speaking of anything new.  There is nothing new about the Gospel.  It never changes.  Yet, at the same time, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is always relevant, always purposeful, always effective.  Sometimes the means of sharing the gospel sometimes change.  The principles of evangelism, however, NEVER change.

Where does evangelization begin?  With you.  We have a moral obligation to know Christ and to know the Faith he has given us.  It will not start with the people who never come to Mass, with the people who drop their kids off at PRE and never step foot in the Church otherwise.  Father can't do it all.  The Bishop can't do it all.  We HAVE TO share in this work.  The popes have stressed this, and the lives of the saints show us that it is possible for us to carry out the Great Commission alongside our shepherds.  But how do we do it?

Part of evangelization is how we live our lives.  We have to have the gospel in us.  We must be in communion with God and with each other.  Our faith cannot be something we put on the shelf when we get home from Mass.  It must be the WHO WE ARE.  That is what it means to have Christ in us.  He IS OUR LIFE.  Not in a symbolic way, not as a metaphor, but ontologically truly dwelling within us and living through us.  The primary way we renew the resurrection life of Jesus within us is through the EUCHARIST.  Friends, if every Catholic on the parish roll understood this, truly understood it, we would not have a problem with mass attendance in the summer.  If people understood what it was they were receiving each Mass, we wouldn’t see people in a hurry to leave Church.  We wouldn’t see disrespectful actions during Mass.  But listen, that kind of change and understanding will only come about when WE AS LAY LEADERS, AND YES CATECHISTS ARE LAY LEADERS, ARE CONSISTANTLY LIVING THE FAITH AND KNOWING, NO LOVING, WHAT WE HAVE.  They’re going to have to get it from us.  They will NEVER come up with this on their own.

Let me share something with you from my own life.  Most of you know my background, and you know that I was a Southern Baptist pastor for several years before I became Catholic.  Most people make the assumption that I resigned from my pastorate in order to join the Catholic Church.  In fact, to this very day, the people at my last congregation have been led to believe this is the case.  But it’s not true, and I even stood before them and explained why I was leaving.  You wanna know why I resigned?  It’s because I was not living the faith I was proclaiming as a teacher and leader of that congregation.  

You see, I could not stand in that position as a teacher, if I was not also living what I taught.  You cannot give someone something you don’t have.  Wait!  Before you decide to call the DRE and resign your post, let me tell you something I’ve learned.  YOU have something to give, and maybe you don’t realize it.  As a PRE teacher you have received the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, Reconciliation, and the Eucharist.  You may have also received the Annointing of the Sick or the Sacrament of Matrimony.   Right off the bat, you have an experience with God that these children and teens might not yet have (depending on their circumstances of course).  What can you do with these great gifts?  How can you impart some share of this life within you?  Look at St. Paul.

Look at his statement in 2 Corinthians 4:1-18.  Here, we see not only the essence of what it means to be an evangelist, but also what it means to be part of the body of Christ.  When Paul was called by God and was baptized, he ceased being Saul of Tarsus and became Paul.  Old friends became enemies.  Saul, for all practical purposes, was dead.  The new man, Paul, gave himself over and over again to suffering, ridicule, and affliction for the sake of the Gospel.  He rejected sin in order to live a life worthy of He who dwells within him.  Total self-donation.  That is the key.  That is the reality we see in the Trinity, that total self giving love.  We, being made children of God are called into that self same reality. 

We must have a spirit of self-donation, giving our time, our talent, and yes material resources in order to build up others for the sake of the Gospel.  It goes against everything we see on TV and read in the paper.  Put others first.  Show the love of God working IN US.  Share what God is doing IN US.  Give HIM to other people.  We can do that in our service, in our teaching, in our parenting, in our marriages, in the workplace, in the pew, at WalMart, and on vacation.  But it MUST MUST MUST be a conscious effort.  You’ll never do it automatically.  You can’t coast.  Remember my story.  But as intentional disciples, we can share the portion we have been given with other people.

What will happen when we do that?  We’ll stick out like sore thumbs for one thing, but boy will we make a difference.  If we can share that hope that is in us in a spirit of humility and love, look out!  Even a few words of personal testimony speaks volumes.  And we point people to Jesus.  It’s like a blind beggar who has found a source of life-giving bread, who then goes to the other blind to help them.  It is not about OWNING the truth, but it is about knowing the truth, sharing the truth, living the truth.  If we can do that in our lives, this group of men and women can at the end of our lives echo the words of St. Paul when he spoke to a young Bishop named Timothy near the end of his earthly life, 2 Timothy 4:7-8.  The road ahead is hard, but I’m learning day by day how worthwhile this struggle can be, and I’m learning how liberating it is to let go of the things that I thought I needed to be happy and finding true happiness in Jesus.

God grant us the courage to give him ALL of US and to give ourselves away for the sake of the Gospel, especially in this year of St. Paul.  

I wish I knew more about Archbishop Sheen's personal life.  No doubt, there are numerous biographical books I can get my hands on.  For now, however, I am absorbed in the man's sermons and books.  He has been such a tremendous help to me in my own continuing conversion and relationship with Christ.  And I ask for the continuous intercession of Archbishop Fulton Sheen, as I know from my reading that he was a tremendous prayer warrior as a pilgrim on this earth.  His prayer strength has certainly not diminished now that he is before the very throne of the One who saves us. He can only have become even more effective in his prayers to God.

Why this man?  Why not some other already canonized saint?  Listen, I've got loads of saints as examples, mentors, and teachers.  They show me it is possible to live for Christ amid difficulty and selfishness.  Archbishop Fulton Sheen stands out, however.  From the first time I saw him on television, it has been as though he was talking directly to me, as if he could read my very soul.  I found myself listening to his sermons more and more.  Now, I'm reading books, and it is here that I am beginning to see major transformation.

And it's not that Archbishop Sheen is telling me something I haven't heard before.  In fact, I've taught the very things I'm reading.  How is it that now, in 2008, these words are piercing my heart?  Perhaps now my heart is ready to receive.  The timing of God is impeccable, though I am grossly late in my spiritual time table.  Far too many years have been spent "coasting" and exchanging intellectual stimulation for spiritual growth.  The heart was never meant to be separated from the intellect.  Faith and reason must work hand in hand.

As I read though my latest Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen book, The Way to Happiness, I am struck dumb by the wisdom of God.  Why is it that such simple principles can be so difficult to put into practice?  The reality of sin and a humanity weakened by its own concupiscence.  Many are ready to die a martyr's death, but very few are willing to live a life of quiet, attentionless, self-sacrifice.  Yet that is what we are called to do.  I would prefer to be recognized in my struggles, or sacrifices.  I would prefer to be noticed.  I would prefer to have my ego boosted.  This is not right.  The real conversion takes place when nobody knows, sees, or cares about your sacrifice.  Only God sees.  No human reward.  No human empathy.  No attention.  Just sacrifice, given out of a pure love, because love does what it does not for show but for love's sake.  

May we all swallow the bitter pill of our pride and give ourselves totally to God by loving our neighbor.  And may God transform our hard hearts to be like His own. 

Maybe I’m using the term incorrectly, but have you ever read that someone resigned himself to some belief or action?  Let me look this up.

v.   re·signed, re·sign·ing, re·signs

v.   tr.

1. To submit (oneself) passively; accept as inevitable: I resigned myself to a long wait in line.
2. To give up (a position, for example), especially by formal notification.
3. To relinquish (a privilege, right, or claim).

I’ve come to several of these self submittal acceptances this week.  Actually, I’ve been working on accepting them for some time, but have been stubborn about being final about them.  I’m a long way from total surrender, playing the role of stubborn mule extremely well, but I am sure of what I must do.  It, like everything else, is an act of faith and trust in God, and an abandonment of self-will.  My desires, aspirations, dreams, goals, plans, and any other synonyms must be laid at the foot of the cross and abandoned there.  It is not for me to demand of God that things work out a particular way, or that people behave a certain way toward me, or even that I get another breath.  All is in God’s hands.  Mine is to cooperate with His grace, using the charisms, abilities, experiences, and talents He has given me as His steward.

This is indeed a process. Though many make the claim with their lips (myself included), the practical reality is that, like any other relationship, this sort of change takes time and effort.  But unlike any other relationship, this change has eternal ramifications and greater fulfilment and reward than anything else we could wish to be part of.  So I journey on.  And I know that I am not alone, though many times I do feel that way.  No, I know that Christ is with me.  The triune God in His fullness is with me.  I have only to remember this reality and live in it, denying the lies of the Devil and the world that I am on my own.  Christ told St. Paul, “my grace is sufficient for you.” and I know that truth applies to my life as well.

Jesus, I trust in you! 

No, not really.  Although, I would not be opposed to making a movie about myself.  That would probably be a lot of fun to do.  I think I would make a cameo as Officer #4 or something like that.  Yeah, and who would play me?  Mr. T?  Christopher Walken?  A puppet from Industrial Light and Magic?  Endless possibilities, my friend. 

As much fun as it is to think about sinking millions of dollars into a film project, I actually am working on something productive.  I'm finally finishing my book.  What I do once it's done, I have no idea. I guess I'll start sending manuscripts to various publishers.  This is actually the first of several manuscripts I have going.  I just cannot do all of them at once.  The same goes with the CDs.  Pray that I don't run out of steam and that the ideas don't get lost (or stolen).

If anybody does want to make a movie, I'm up for it. 

I hear nightmare stories from friends about struggling parishes.  In some dioceses it seems to be difficult to find a thriving and active community.  A caller asked me about that when I appeared on The Journey Home with Marcus Grodi.  Why aren't Catholics more energized about their faith?  I'm fortunate enough to have a strong group of Über Catholics by my side and in my diocese.  Still, I come to Mass every week and face people who look like they don't want to be there.  They would be more enthusiastic at a ball game.  They would rather be entertained.  They would rather sip coffee and discuss current events.  Anything but humble themselves and worship God in spirit and truth.  Can I see their hearts?  Nope, but I sure as shootin' can see their gestures.  They sigh and grumble when there is an announcement.  They take their purse with them to communion because their plan is to exit before Mass ends.  They fidget in their seats.  They play with their cell phones (silently).  They read the bulletin.  They sleep.  Do I need to point out more evidence?  Is it any wonder, then, why their children don't want to be there?  Is there any wonder why these kids will likely leave the Church when they are out of the house?  They have NO CLUE about what they possess as Catholics?  

Listen, Cradle Catholic, what you take for granted is that your Creator, JESUS CHRIST, is humbling himself to be with you in a way He does NOWHERE ELSE.  He wants to give to you the same resurrection life that raised him from the dead on the 3rd day.  He wants to have intimate union with you at the deepest levels.  And you would rather be somewhere else?  Are you insane?  Ask a Catholic convert if they would leave the Eucharist.  Ask if there is anything out there more exciting than to commune with God.  Ask if they would rather be some place with different music and a coffee bar instead of Mass.  You know what their answer is.  You know that in many cases they have fled these places in order to receive the Eucharist.  You know they have realized that the only true fulfillment in life is communion with God.  The Catholic convert is not perfect, but he or she does know where to go for help.  Christ in the Sacraments make all the difference in the world.  

I know several men and women who left careers, lost friends, lost family, sometimes more, just to be part of the Catholic Faith.  I think of the men who served as ministers in Protestant congregations who left not just a job, but a true ministry as leaders, their entire education and professional training, in order to become Catholic and serve God as laypersons.  Why make that sort of sacrifice unless there was something to make it all worthwhile?   

Being friends with men and women (both Catholic converts and cradle Catholics) who truly love their faith, as evidenced by their 24/7 365 life, is a great blessing.  Serving and worshipping with them in a growing and thriving parish is super.  Stepping back and looking at what God is doing among His faithful followers is nothing short of amazing.  It is truly a work of God's grace the renewal spreading throughout the Church.  If you are in a remote parish that seems to be going nowhere, remember this:  even in the coldest parish, Christ is still present in the Eucharist.  He still wants to communion with you.  He is there for you.  You are not alone.  The same sacramental grace Christ pours out in the "exciting" parishes, He has made available for all.  And when we commune with God, we commune with each other.

I had a great time on EWTN as a guest on The Journey Home with Marcus Grodi.  I've always enjoyed public speaking, and having the opportunity to work with Marcus was a treat for me.  Hanging out at EWTN was a lot of fun too.  This was the first time I had been able to speak with Fr. Mitch Pacwa also.  Let me tell you all something.  Mother Angelica has top notch people working with her in ministry with EWTN.  Amazing men and women all over that place.  

Thanks to everybody for the prayers and well wishes.  I think everything went well and I had the opportunity to talk with members of the studio audience after the program.  I had a lot of fun, and I'd be happy to do it again anytime. 

Today I make my appearance on The Journey Home on EWTN (8pm Eastern).  I've been looking forward to this appearance for a long time.  Let me tell you something.  When opportunities for ministry like this present themselves, SOMEBODY is not going to like it.  I've been under spiritual attack for at least two weeks now.  It's not like there wasn't already spiritual warfare going on, but it is palatable these last two weeks.  Around every turn there is an adversary for me to face or a challenge to overcome.  Needless to say I'm tired from all the struggles and I can't claim that all battles have been won.  I trust in God's grace to get me through, knowing also that this appearance must be pretty important for the Gospel or else I don't think I would be attacked this hard.  I'm anxious to see what God chooses to do tonight and I'm happy to be the weak earthen vessel for His purpose. 

I appreciate your prayers.  If you happen to be offering rosaries today, please consider adding me to your intentions.

Thanks.

I was thinking about the number of Catholic convert websites I've seen over the past 10 years.  Most Catholic convert sites have come and gone, leaving the roaming web visitor with a dead site that hasn't been updated in years.  Or worse, instead of a Catholic convert story, they find a 404 error page.  

Even my original blog space is no longer updated.  I migrated Musings of a Catholic Convert as soon as this Catholic Social Network went live.  I wanted to be one of the first.  I was the 3rd Catholic blog to be added (after the Admin/HomePage and our King of Catholic Media).  Now I have to hope that my readers from "the old days" of Musings of a Catholic Convert will venture over via the links I left to my new Musings of a Catholic Convert blog here at CatholicDestination.com.  

I'm looking forward to seeing more Catholic converts join this community and hearing their conversion stories.  It is always so encouraging to hear, or read, in someone's own words how God brought them into the Catholic Church.  I know what it is like to be investigating the claims of the Catholic Church or to ask "How do I join the Catholic Church?" & "How does somebody become Catholic?"  Other people want to know about Catholic apologetics or how to defend the Catholic Faith.  It's good to know that the people at CatholicDestination.com are dedicated to bringing as many resources as possible under one roof so that seekers and "cradle Catholics" alike can find information and spiritual help.  

You know, while I'm thinking about it, I want to encourage other Catholic converts to consider posting their story by creating a free Catholic blog here in our Catholic social network and blog community.  Your testimony of God's work in your life WILL make a difference in someone's life.  There's no doubt about it. 

I'm looking forward to a semi quiet day at work.  Several people are taking long weekends so things are a bit less noisy than usual.  I love days like this.  I can get so much more done when there are few interruptions. 

And while I'm thinking of quiet, let me encourage all of you to watch "The Quiet Man", starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara.  I don't care if you're Irish or a fan of The Duke.  You'll love this movie on its own merits.  I watch it at least once every month or so.

I have a lot of writing to do this weekend.  Still trying to get my first book done and I'm way behind where I want to be at this point in time.  I'm hoping for some time this weekend, but we'll see what happens.  Catholic convert book or not, the reality of being a husband and daddy takes priority over my own pursuits.  I must constantly remind myself of this.

Well, I guess you'll be watching the basketball this weekend.  Maybe I will join you at some point. I really don't have a dog in this NCAA Men's Tournament anymore so I'm not as interested as I was a few days ago.  The Lady Vols are doing just fine though.  Perhaps I will watch them play.

Have a good one, dudes.  I'm off to work.         

Karl Kohlhase is more than just one of my favorite Contemporary Christian music artists, he’s also one of my best friends. We are both Catholic converts, meeting online through the Coming Home Network. We even worked together for about 4 years before Karl moved closer to his hometown.

He created this song, Give Me a Chance, on his first album. He told me this week about the video he had made for the song so I’m sharing it with you. It’s one of my favorites. You can watch the video in the player embedded in this post or at Karl’s site. Karl’s music is his ministry and he gives it away for the glory and honor of God. Please drop by his site and download free Catholic music and learn more about his music ministry.

http://www.k4communications.com

One last thing. The file below is a Flash video. You’ll need the free Adobe Flash Player for your web browser. Secondly, since it’s flash, the video will loop. When you’re ready to close the file, click “hide player” just below the video window.