Dying To Self

Dying to self is a concept that I hadn’t really known of before I joined the Catholic Church. Many homilies during Lent touch on ‘dying to self’, but in my parish, I heard it quite often. It seemed to be the mantra of our parish priest - as well it should be to all Christians! We are born to a world of sin, and are pre-destined to be sinful creatures. It’s in our DNA – we can’t help it! We crave attention and awards. We want applause and accolades. We want to be the star of the show! “Look at me, mom! Watch what I can do!” We say this as children and the desire to be praised continues through our lives.

But…it’s not all about us. Not at all! We are called to be humble. God is the one who should be praised above all others! We cannot save ourselves - only by the grace and love of God are we granted eternal life. Without God, we are nothing. Dust in the wind.

Jesus gave us explicit instructions on what to do if we want eternal life. He said, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 16:24-25)

When I was a child, I thought that this was asking a bit much. I took it literally. (So you’re saying that I have to DIE for Jesus?? Yikes!) Later, I understood what Jesus meant. We have to die to self in order to live in Him. St. Paul had a good grasp on this. In his letter to the Romans he writes, “Even so, consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus… sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law, but under grace” (Romans 6:11, 14).

When you die to self, you are saying no to sin and yes to Christ. Serving self is a waste of time. It won’t get you anywhere in the long run. When we choose to die to self, we move the focus from ourselves to Our Lord. It is the only way that we can truly LIVE.

I like to consider the saints when I think of examples of dying to self. Many of the saints that we know and love were real characters. Many of them had lived less than holy lives before converting their lives to Christ. Once they gave up the notion of serving self and began serving God, their lives were completely transformed!

Our lives can be transformed too, but it isn’t easy by any means. Earthly rewards are extremely tempting! But really, when is the last time you heard of a Ferrari giving it’s owner eternal life? The things of this earth are only “things”. They don’t last. They are temporary. They don’t give life. Only God gives life – and not just physical life, but eternal life!

Still, it’s tough. The temptation is always there. As St. Paul said, “I die daily” (1 Corinthians 15:31). It’s a constant, daily battle, but it’s a battle worth fighting! After all, nothing can top the reward that waits for you when the battle is over!

"I cannot cling to shadows again, so here on this altar tonight, I lay every dream I've ever dreamt to burn in the fire He lights." ~ "Cry The Name" by Rich Mullins (Brother's Keeper, 1995)

No Jesus = No Life

Yesterday, my daughter told me about one of her friends who is an atheist. She has been friends with this fellow for a few years now, and his beliefs – or rather, lack there of – had never really been an issue between the two of them.

Apparently, her friend’s girlfriend broke up with him last week and stated that one of the main reasons for the break-up was because he didn’t believe in God. It turns out, he not only doesn’t believe in God, but he believes that anyone who does believe in God is weak.

Now, my daughter will put up with a lot. She respects other people’s opinions and views – even if they differ from her own – but, his stating that anyone who believes in God is weak really set her off.

When I listened to her story and how their argument went, I can completely understand her frustration. Like me, she cannot understand how anyone can not believe in God. For someone to live without God – well, it really is synonymous with being in hell, because that is the definition of hell! Like Pope John Paul II said (almost exactly 10 years ago), “The images of hell that Sacred Scripture presents to us must be correctly interpreted. They show the complete frustration and emptiness of life without God. Rather than a place, Hell indicates the state of those who freely and definitively separate themselves from God, the source of all life and joy”.

So, basically, if you don’t believe in God and you remove yourself from Him – you’re in hell. Blammo.

Honestly, I feel sorry for my daughter’s friend. I pray that his eyes will be opened and his heart will welcome God to reside within him. How can anyone truly be happy and joyful when God is not in their lives?

He says that there is no proof that God exists. My daughter told him that it isn’t about proof, it’s about faith. If you have faith, you will have proof! Frankly, in my opinion, it seems that the proof is right in front of him, because according to my daughter, her friend is not happy or joyful. He suffers from depression. He tends to abuse alcohol. He lives a life that feels empty. Is it any wonder? He is missing the key element to life! His soul is empty! If only he would see how full his life could be if he just opened his eyes and accepted God!

How can they live without Jesus? How can they live without God's love? How can they feel so at home down here, when there's so much more up above? Throwing away the things that matter, they hold onto things that don't. The world has gone crazy, but soon maybe, a lot more are going to know. ~ "How Can They Live Without Jesus?" by Keith Green (No Compromise, 1978)

Live the Life...and don't be a hypocrite!

Without a doubt, one of the most popular saints of the Catholic Church is St. Francis. Heck, I even know some Protestants who have small statues of this famous friar in their gardens. He’s best known for his love of nature, often pictured in a manner you might see in a Disney film - surrounded by a variety of birds and other cute little forest creatures.

I count myself among the multitude of folks who are drawn to this saint. Sure, I like animals & nature too, but the thing about St. Francis (or as I like to call him, St. Frank) that really “hooked” me, was what I see as his Mission Statement: “Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.” This quote sums up perfectly how I believe that we should all live as Christians.

I have friends who range from non-believers to folks who are extremely active within their churches, study the bible, etc. Those who are non-believers and those who may believe, but do not believe in organized religion, often tell me that their reasons for their avoidance of church is that they view Christians as “kooks”. They’ve had bad experiences with being “preached at” and admonished for not going to church. They’ve observed that some of the people “preaching” at them tend to not be as holy as they demand others to be. How can they take it seriously, really, if the folks that are telling them that they’re going to go to hell if they don’t start going to church and believing in God are the same ones who they see on the TV news for embezzling from their jobs, being arrested in sex stings, or preaching one minute and then turning around and making negative comments while walking past someone who is homeless. They are saying one thing and doing another. How can anyone take them seriously?

I can’t blame them, really. I get really nervous when I see a guy wearing a shiny suit, his hair coiffed perfectly and plastered with a can and a half of hairspray, with overly-tanned skin and unnaturally white teeth walking back and forth across a stage telling me how awesome God is and can I get an Amen?

Yikes.

I mean…yeah, man, God is awesome, but did he really tell you to wear that $5000 suit? I’m betting that $5000 could feed a lot of orphans.

St. Frank had it right. You have to LIVE the Gospel, not just preach it. If you don’t, you’re a hypocrite, plain and simple. I know, it sounds harsh, but facts are facts, and that’s the definition of hypocrite! Why should anyone listen or believe what a hypocrite has to say?

It’s not easy to live the Gospel. God never said it would be. As a matter of fact, Jesus flat out said that it wasn’t going to be easy. But the flip-side of it all is that by living the Gospel, as difficult as it can be, you are rewarded with eternal life. Eternal. Never-ending. As in…forever and always! And in that eternal life, guess what? You won’t have the difficulties anymore.

Sweet.

So how do we live the Gospel? Well, St. Frank created a prayer that may help.

Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
Amen.

By keeping this prayer close to your heart, you will be asking God to help you to live the way he so desires you to live. We can’t do it on our own, but we can do anything with the Lord’s help!

So that brings me back to St. Frank’s mission statement. If we are truly living the Gospel, the need for words is at a minimum. By living your life the way God desires, you will project Him to others. You’ll be surprised when people start asking you what it is about you that shines so brightly. Then you can smile and use a few words. And those words will be anything but empty.

For the world to know the truth, there can be no greater proof
Than to live the life, live the life
There's no love as quite as pure. There's no pain we can't endure
If we live the life, live the life
Be a light for all to see, for every act of love will set you free – “Live the Life” by Michael W. Smith (Live the Life, 1998)