An Awakening

There have been some bad moments in our Church lately — and we need to recognize that — but almost imperceptibly in the background, there also seems to be an awakening going on in the hearts of Catholics around the world.

The truth is, there has been a weight that has been dragging us down, making us tired and lethargic — I know that I have felt it, and maybe you have, too.

It was like we couldn’t quite name the darkness or our lethargy, but as members of the same Body, we were feeling the sickness that hadn’t yet been diagnosed.

There was a rot that had set in, and we felt it.

The good news is that some of that rot has been cut back in recent months — and we need to pray that the pruning continues — but I just have to say that I find myself optimistic as I sit here and write this post.

Guys, something is going on. Can you feel it?

Can you feel God calling you, like he did to the little girl who died, “Talitha, koum!”, “Girl, I say to you, arise!”

Have you heard Him whispering that to your heart?  Because I know I have in prayer — and darn it, I think it’s time to rise up!

More than that, I think that we need to rise up together.  The battle before us can not be won by fighting alone.  We need each other.

Which is sort of surprising, considering how incredibly flawed we all are — but nonetheless the  crushing blow of the woman and her seed has been part of God’s plan for us from the beginning.  (Gen 3:15)

This weekend, I went to a large gathering in our diocese.  It was a beautiful day and it reminded me that as the Body of Christ, we are quite literally supposed to “crushing it”, people.

You could feel the power of the meeting of almost 14,000 Catholics in our diocese.  It was something special.

The day began with a Eucharistic procession.

Despite our best efforts, my family was running a wee bit late.  Which is so very typical for our family.

In our defense, getting six kids up on a Saturday before dawn is hard.  Convincing our kids that the 4 mile procession and a full day of talks and Mass was going to be more awesome than spending their Saturday watching college football — even harder.

But we made it, and they all loved it — so I call that a big win!

Honestly, arriving late provided an amazing face to face with Jesus as we ran to catch up.

We kneeled before Him as He passed, and then we jumped right into that procession and continued with thousands of other Catholics walking behind Him.

It was beautiful.

Joining in a Eucharistic procession is a bit like walking behind the greatest General in the greatest army and getting to know the soldiers who have been fighting alongside of that General in a long and glorious battle.

Because this life is a battle — and this battle — it can get difficult.

And those people, marching next to you — they’re thick in the battle, too — and this procession was one way to speak words of encouragement to each other and to laugh and to be renewed in our commitment to never, ever give up the fight.

Which is why we knew it would be worth all the effort to brave an incredibly long day with littles and spend time with the people of our diocese in prayer, in laughter, and in solidarity with each other.

The Procession was followed by a time of adoration,  prayer for the healing of victims of sexual abuse, and in reparation for the sins of clerics who have abused, and the bishops who have covered it up.

We needed to witness that, and we need more moments like these in the Church, but it can not stop there.

We need to keep praying for our bishops to be courageous as they work to right the wrongs that have been done in our Church.

We need to ask God to reveal to us our part in righting the wrongs.

The speakers of the day emphasized the themes of Christian joy, hope for those who have fallen away, and our role in the righting the wrongs around us.

Jennifer Fulwiler gave some great advice for reaching out to those who have fallen away from the faith.

One of the most unexpected highlights of the gathering was the talk from Deacon Oney.

At first, I was sure he was a Southern Baptist Preacher — and I mean that in the best possible way — but then he started speaking about Mary and the Saints and I was like, “My, my, what have we here? He’s one of us!”

He had 14,000 people saying “Amen” and “Glory to God” and “My past doesn’t determine my destiny” and a dozen other things that had us all convinced we all need more of the Holy Spirit if we are to overcome evil in this world.

The absolute greatest moment of his talk is crazy for an introvert like myself to admit, but it is like nothing I experienced before.

Deacon Oney had us all do what he called the “Glory Shout”.

It comes from Psalm 89:16, “Blessed the people who know the war cry, who walk in the radiance of your face, Lord”.

He reminded us of the story of Jericho where the chosen people walked around the city and gave the war cry — and the walls came tumbling down.

Then he told all of us to stand up and raise our hands to God and for 10 seconds to shout from the depths of our souls, our praises to God.

I know it sounds weird, right?  And it was.  It was very, very weird.

But it was also very powerful.

There we were, standing up with our hands raised to God (okay, mine was more like halfway raised — not exactly my typical prayer posture) and the band started to play some music, and on the count of three we all started to shout.

It was hard to describe, but it’s sort of like the sound of a sleeping giant, awakening from it’s slumber.

I swear if there were any demons in any proximity to this event, they shuddered with fear and ran the heck away.

They knew what it meant.  It meant that we, the people of God, where discovering a power within us — the power of the Holy Spirit, given to us in Baptism and sealed within us in Confirmation.

There we stood, a full-throated roar springing from the mouths of 14,000 Catholics.  It was an awakening of sorts.

I had the sneaking suspicion all of us in unity were sending a message something along the lines of,  “Hell no, Satan. No more. Not on our watch.  Not in Christ’s Church.  We’ve got your number, Satan, and your number is up.”

It was as if God was reminding us that He had given us power and authority — and we need to stop doubting that power from on High.

People, there is a warrior within all of us — just waiting to get out — but we so often allow fear and resistance and desire for comfort to stuff that warrior down.

God has given us strength beyond our imagining.  He has given us His Holy Spirit.  Why are we ignoring the Spirit that lives within us?

I think it’s time to say no more stuffing down the warrior and giving in to fear and lethargy.

No more wimpy responses to injustice and the evils of our times.

It is time to wake up and become that hero who we were always meant to be — in other words, it’s time to allow the Holy Spirit to form us into a Saint.

The world needs you and I to become a Saint — not those weak, anemic Saints portrayed in some of those Holy Cards or Saint stories we may have encountered — the real deal kind of Saints.

The Saints are anything but weak and anemic — they are bold, daring and full of heroic love.  They are by every definition of the word “heroic”.

A Saint is a hero.  A hero for our time.

A Saint addresses the evils of their time and overcomes them with love and determination.

Oh, and they are joyful — like really, really full of joy, even in the midst of the greatest suffering.

Who doesn’t want to be a saint?  I know that I do.  How about you?

I think my biggest takeaway from this entire day was that we need to get to know the Holy Spirit and to get serious about becoming a Saint.

As Fulton Sheen says, let’s not judge the Church by those who barely live by its spirit.  Rather, let’s look to the examples of those who live their lives closest to the Heart of Jesus.

Let’s live lives like the Saints of old — but in our own entirely unique way.

God made you to be a Saint like no other.  Not an easy task, but let us begin anyway.

It’s time to rise up.

 

 

Sharing over at Kelly’s