08/5/13

Finding God at the Airport

I have had the inauspicious pleasure of having flown on five flights in the last week for my day job. It’s not really in my nature to travel much aside from my work duties, so I didn’t have much experience flying until much later in my life. After the initial novelty of air travel had worn off, I found that I started looking for things to fill the invariable delays caused by rescheduled flights, long tarmac delays, and cheaper one-stop connecting flights.

Podcasts

This all began after a friend of mine suggested that I check out the Catholic Answers podcast to deepen my faith. It worked, and the format lends itself quite handily to air travel. You can listen to a few questions, taking breaks for the flight attendant’s safety briefing (yes, some of us do listen to those), take-off, landing, or whatever else happens that prevents your ability to use portable electronics.

Over time I added a few additional podcasts to the fold, foremost among them Jimmy Akin’s podcast. There are dozens if not hundreds of other excellent options for Catholic podcasts, if there are any others that you enjoy feel free to leave them in the combox and share with the class.

Books

The last few trips, I have packed in a faith-based short book or two. I prefer shorter books because they’re easier to fit in the carry-on luggage, such as C.S. Lewis’ theology books or anything under a couple hundred pages. On my latest trip, I brought William T. Ditewig’s “101 Questions & Answers on Deacons” and finished almost the entire book during the two hour flight.

I prefer traditional (dead tree) books because they can be read during the non-electronics segments of the flight and can present you a great evangelization opportunity if someone asks about the book you’re reading. It’s a little harder for this to happen with an e-reader like the Amazon Kindle because people can’t see the book cover. Not to say that Amazon Kindle won’t work for self-education purposes… in fact one of the greatest epiphanies I have had while reading on a flight was when reading Patrick Coffin’s volume “Sex au Naturel” on my Kindle… but that’s a story for another time.

My wife has suggested reflection books like the Magnificat for this type of reading as well.

Prayer

Flight offers some great time for quiet reflection. During one of my flights last week, I decided to do a rosary. While praying, I noticed that there was an old lady a few rows up from me that was sniffling a lot. This made me wonder if she was sick or had just lost a loved one… and then I started thinking about what kind of stories that everyone else on the flight had. I ended up saying most of my rosary for the people that were on the flight with me and for those that were missing them back at home, along with my own intentions.

Add to that the flight crew, the safety personnel, the flight attendants… the nervous old man that clearly doesn’t like flying at all… and you can see how your time during take-off can present an interesting opportunity for a different kind of prayer.

For me, I find that quiet time away from my own loved ones makes me reflect on why I miss being around them. This often leads me to pray for them for my own safe return at the end of my trip.

A Makeshift Retreat?

I wish I could say that I sat down with the firm intent to build myself a spiritual development program that I could use to fill this spare time. The truth is that these ideas grew organically over time and I have only recently realized that it was adding together to be like a miniature retreat. It sure beats reading the SkyMall catalog or doing a crossword puzzle!

07/27/13

On Becoming a Grand Knight

You might have noticed a bit more duration between posts than usual lately. On July 1, I became Grand Knight of the Saint Mark Knights of Columbus Council #13131. Getting used to my new role means that evenings and weekends have been spent getting acquainted with the new role, scheduling upcoming events, and preparing for the upcoming year.

Don’t you guys meet once a month and play cards and drink beer?

While we do meet once a month as a Council, we don’t play cards or drink beer as part of the meeting. This is a very common assumption, but the local Knights of Columbus spearhead many events for charity, Church, and community. The Knights of Columbus was founded in 1882 by the Venerable Father Michael J. McGivney, who started the organization as a way to care for widows and orphans of the surrounding mining and factory community. The idea was to provide for widows and orphans in the case that the primary breadwinner of the family died, which is where the roots began of today’s modern insurance organization that exists within the Knights of Columbus.

This is also why the principles of the Order are charity, unity, fraternity, and patriotism… they all stem from living life as a practicing Catholic man. You can read more about the timeline of the founding and other key milestones at the Knights of Columbus legacy page.

The reason I point to this history is to illustrate that the Knights are founded on action (none of which are playing cards and drinking beer, to my knowledge). I got to sit down with our priest this week to look at our event plan for the year, and we have over 15 events on the calendar already. They range from serving the community (raising food, clothes, and money for the less fortunate), bolstering our own spiritual development by assisting in Church activities, protecting the sanctity of life by raising money for pro-life concerns, and raising money for people with intellectual disabilities. Just to name a few.

So what does the Grand Knight do, anyway?

Primarily, I get to lead the Council in our projects, run meetings, appoint a few offices, ensure a growing and excited membership, represent the Council in our charitable pursuits, and a host of other small activities. The best way I can relate it to something that a lot of people know is that it’s like Student Council President. One of the most important jobs is to set direction for the Council for the year and guide our work toward those goals.

The Knights are blessed, as a whole, to be strong and faithful practicing Catholic men. I want my Council to be better at the end of the year than it was at the beginning, so I am encouraging us to truly put our faith into action. I am looking to sterling examples like Pope John Paul II and Pope Francis as exemplars of virtue that we can emulate. I don’t want people to think that all we do is meet once a month and cut checks, I want them to see the good work that the Knights do and how faith comes alive in us. My priest put it very profoundly: “The Knights are men of faith. Do you know how truly rare and wonderful that is?”

I recently came across one of the best motivators in the world: soon to be saint John Paul II speaking about the good work of the Knights (borrowed from this page on the Knights of Columbus website):

This is what the Knights are about! I am so proud and honored to have the privilege of leading our Council this year, words can’t really express it.

If you are a practicing Catholic man, consider this your gold-engraved invitation to join the Knights. I encourage you to contact your local Knights of Columbus Council to learn more, or you can feel free to email me and I will do everything in my power to help you. You can also read much more about the Knights at kofc.org or the Knights of Columbus Wikipedia page.

07/17/13

Do a good deed this Friday!

This is my Aunt Gail. On Friday, she would have been 57 years old. She passed away seven years ago after a heroic but brief fight with brain cancer. She lived her life in kind service of others, quick to help anyone that needed it. She loved animals, she loved kids, she loved her family… and we all loved her back. She truly lived the Golden Rule in her life and was an shining example of good Christian ideals.

Last year, my Mom organized an effort to collect good deeds in Gail’s memory. The plan was to shoot for 56 different good deeds, and the response was overwhelming… good deeds of all shapes and sizes came in from all over the United States and even one from France! Many of the people that participated didn’t even know my aunt, but loved the idea of remembering her with charitable good deeds.

Some examples: buying dinner for a random family at a restaurant, mowing lawns for disabled neighbors, taking a donation of pet food to the local animal shelter… it didn’t have to be much, but it all added up to to a wonderful way to remember a fantastic woman.

To participate, all you have to do is perform a good deed on Friday. It doesn’t matter for who, it doesn’t have to be a lot of money, but try to make it from the heart. If you do decide to participate, please send me an email and let me know what you did (if you want, you can stay anonymous… just let us know that you’d like that). I’ll pass this information on to my Mom, who has been collecting a count of the good deeds in hopes that we can make 57 good deeds. I’m also asking that you pray for anyone who participates and for the repose of my Aunt Gail’s soul.

07/5/13

It’s official – Pope John Paul II and Pope John XXIII to be canonized!

I sat down at the computer this morning and was pleased to see this breaking news – today, Pope Francis has approved the final decree to canonize the two pontiffs and declare them saints. The usual process of declaring someone a saint is an interesting one, it involves both recognizing their heroic and holy virtues during their life and then identifying and vetting at two miracles attributed to the saint. Some refer to the identification of miracles as ‘divine approval’ of the canonization, and proof that the person is in Heaven with God and can intercede on our behalf.

Pope John Paul II was the only pope I knew during most of my life, and watching him suffer through his long illness with grace and humility was inspiring. Critics point to problems during his pontificate, but I have heard it said that when you are canonizing a pope you are looking at their personal holiness and not necessarily the results of their pontificate. One needs to read only a little about Pope John Paul II’s life to know that he was a man of great personal holiness and provides a phenomenal example to strive for in this regard.

I honestly don’t know much about the life of Pope John XXIII, but I do know that he convoked the Second Vatican Council and lived a dedicated and simple life even after being elected pope.

This is all very good news, hopefully by the end of the year the canonization ceremony will take place! Santo Subito!

06/26/13

BREAKING NEWS: DOMA overturned, Christ still Lord and Savior

Once again, the Federal government has succeeded in making my Facebook an intolerable place today. In case you’re living under a rock, you probably heard that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was partially overturned and the Supreme Court chose not to rule on Proposition 8. I have intentionally linked CNN so you can be sure to see some top-shelf grandstanding.

I have read much of the commentary on both sides and the reactions. The usual suspects have scuttled out from the fringe to gloat in the usual ways, often engaging in hyperbole to over-reach the point in hopes that they can “rub our nose in it.” But none of that is what I want to write about today. I don’t really have the desire to nit-pick the Supreme Court’s ruling, looking for small glimmers of goodness amid the bad news. It’s bad news, we can deal with it. Here’s how:

Remember that True Love has already won.

One of the prevailing soundbytes that I have seen so far is the notion that love won today. This is a lie, the fact is that a misapplication (or privation) of love won a legal victory today. Properly oriented love is unitive between the spouses and oriented toward the creation of new life, modeling God’s Love for all of us. For a bit more discussion of how traditional marriage and homosexual “marriage” are different, check out my previous article Five Facts: Homosexuality And Marriage.

True love won around 2,000 years ago in the form of Christ crucified and the reality of that love will never need a law to protect it. Today I remember that Christ died for all of us regardless of our human faults, race, color, sexual orientation, or station in life. He calls us to live according to His teachings fully, to embrace His salvific love, and to pick up our Cross and follow Him. If we cherry pick teachings in such a way to fit our comfortable lifestyle or to support our sin, we are hardly living up to the standard our Lord set for us.

We’re going to enter a stage in this country where we must look to the wisdom of our Lord from Mark 12:17:

And Jesus answering, said to them: Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. And they marvelled at him.

If we continue to place our faith in the government to present for us sound moral teachings, we’re going to be constantly disappointed. These laws will come and go, but we should not allow them to point us away from what is actually True. This ruling by the Supreme Court is bound to have repercussions. Pat Archbold wrote a rather chilling article that paints a grim picture of how this could affect the Catholic Church. I pray that it doesn’t come to this, however I won’t be surprised if it does.

For my part, I am trying to not fall to despair on this topic. I pray that the Lord brings some good about with this defeat and that this act galvanizes the faithful, encouraging us to become stronger in practice, protect our faith, and protect the institution of marriage even more. It is important for us to remember the wisdom from the Sermon on the Mount:

You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Remember to pray for our government, pray for the Supreme Court justices, and pray for those that delight in and embrace their sinful behavior. Love all of them, so that they come to understand what real love looks like. Last but not least, pray for the lay faithful, just politicians, blessed priests, and all others that keep up the fight. We have assurance that the gates of Hell will not prevail against our Church, but that does not mean that the road ahead will be easy.

06/21/13

The Fortnight for Freedom Begins

Today begins the Fortnight for Freedom, an initiative of prayer that has been convoked by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. The reason it has been called is to pray and act to address the threats to religious liberty. In the Archdiocese of Denver, our bishop has provided a calendar of events to follow and a Facebook event to support the cause.

Providing visible witness

The first activity suggested is a day of fasting, in the style of Good Friday and Ash Wednesday. I was planning my day such that I could have dinner with my family, so I was presented with a nice opportunity for evangelization when I was asked to lunch by a coworker. I told him that it was a fasting day in support of protecting our religious freedom, and explained a bit about the Fortnight for Freedom.

He scoffed at this, asking “what is going on that religious freedom is in trouble?” So many things… marriage redefinition, constant legal attacks against the sanctity of human life, high-level politicians that are Catholic in name only… but I decided to name the Health and Human Services Mandate. I explained that the enforcement of this mandate was threatening the livelihood of Christian-based businesses, charities, and adoption agencies that wish to operate according to their beliefs. I explained that this is not only a Catholic problem, that all religious institutions will likely be impacted in some way. He leaned back in his chair and trailed off without a retort, so maybe I gave him something to think about.

What you can do

First off, pray. If your diocese or parish doesn’t have activities planned for the Fortnight for Freedom, ask someone about it. I’m sure the Archdiocese of Denver won’t mind if you follow their calendar of events that I linked above. Second, act. Write your congressmen and senators. Talk to your local politicians. Pray in public in order to make your faith more visible. Be an advocate for living your Catholic faith in the public square even in small ways, like I did in talking to my coworker today. You never know what small act will change a mind.

06/12/13

A pamphlet asks: “Is The Bible Final Authority?”

This is part of a continuing series where I investigate the claims made by a pamphlet that was left for me asserting that Catholicism is not Christian. You can read the pamphlet in it’s entirety here: (page 1 and page 2). Today we’ll be discussing the section on page 2 entitled “Is The Bible Final Authority”.

Stumbling right out of the blocks

This section begins with a flawed assertion: “Catholics say no; men in their Church are.” This is simply not true. The Catechism of the Catholic Church clearly explains the appropriate orientation of the members of Christ’s faithful in Chapter 3, Article 9. A few relevant sections have been excerpted here:

871 “The Christian faithful are those who, inasmuch as they have been incorporated in Christ through Baptism, have been constituted as the people of God; for this reason, since they have become sharers in Christ’s priestly, prophetic, and royal office in their own manner, they are called to exercise the mission which God has entrusted to the Church to fulfill in the world, in accord with the condition proper to each one.”

872 “In virtue of their rebirth in Christ there exists among all the Christian faithful a true equality with regard to dignity and the activity whereby all cooperate in the building up of the Body of Christ in accord with each one’s own condition and function.”

873 The very differences which the Lord has willed to put between the members of his body serve its unity and mission. For “in the Church there is diversity of ministry but unity of mission. To the apostles and their successors Christ has entrusted the office of teaching, sanctifying and governing in his name and by his power. But the laity are made to share in the priestly, prophetical, and kingly office of Christ; they have therefore, in the Church and in the world, their own assignment in the mission of the whole People of God.” Finally, “from both groups [hierarchy and laity] there exist Christian faithful who are consecrated to God in their own special manner and serve the salvific mission of the Church through the profession of the evangelical counsels.” …

874 Christ is himself the source of ministry in the Church. He instituted the Church. He gave her authority and mission, orientation and goal[.]

The wording and phrasing here paints the full picture, culminating in section 874’s statement: “Christ is himself the source of ministry in the Church.” We are incorporated in Christ through Baptism and become sharers in his office and ministry. These are not words of an organization that puts itself before Christ, clearly we are sharer’s in Christ’s office and ministry because he made it so. It is in his name and by his power that the Church performs its important work.

Augustine, Sola Scriptura, and a Bible verse

The pamphlet continues with a quotation from Saint Augustine, intended to illustrate that Augustine deferred to the authority of the Catholic Church regarding the validity of the Gospel account. Why shouldn’t he? The Catholic Church is the organization responsible for discerning the work of the Holy Spirit and compiling the canon of Scripture in the first place. Said simply, the Church (under the power of the Holy Spirit) is where the Bible came from!

The paragraph continues to explain a bit about sola scriptura, which holds that the Bible is the final authority and quotes a verse from Acts regarding eagerly searching the Scriptures. Study of the Scriptures is a laudable practice (something that average Catholics fall short at, frankly). I’m certainly not going to spend any ink arguing with the sentiment in Acts.

What I will argue with is the notion that the Bible is the final authority. The Lord commands in the Great Commission:

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” — Matthew 28:16-20 (NIV)

Notice that the Lord didn’t say “go forth and write a book” or “go forth and transmit only the written aspects of my teachings”. Instead, He commanded “everything I have commanded you.” This begs the question how this activity was transmitted before the early 3rd century? The answer: it was transmitted verbally by the apostles and the members of the early Church. They transmitted the Old Testament in the same way as it was before, incorporating written accounts of the epistles and Gospel accounts if they were available (accounts of the epistles already existing in written form can be found in the works of Justin Martyr in the early 2nd century).

Beyond this, the Gospel account has juicy little moments of intentional omission. One of my favorite examples of this is John 20:30:

Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book.

Were these details unimportant? Doubtful. Instead, I like to believe that these details were omitted from the written account because they were witnessed in person and could be transmitted directly. Don’t misunderstand: the Bible is the divinely inspired Word of God and is worthy of our ardent and prayerful study – like I said before, your average Catholic needs to do a better job at this! In asserting that it is the final authority you ignore the full value of the directly transmitted Truth of Christ’s ministry.

Strange citations and conclusions

Immediately following this, the author of the pamphlet makes an assertion that the Roman Catholic Church murdered many Christians for having a Bible. This seems strange, since they compiled the canon in the first place. Can you imagine how that conversation went? “Here, have this book that we compiled under the power of the Holy Spirit. Got it? Great. Now DIE.” With no citation or historical reference here, I have to chalk this up to nonsense and leave this one undefended.

The argument is then made that the “The two religions are diametrically opposed. Either God’s Word is the final authority, or man is; you can’t have two masters.” We don’t have two religions at war here, we’re all Christians (no matter how much the author of the pamphlet disagrees.) I can agree with the latter sentiment… God’s Word is the final authority, and you don’t have any men trying to deny that in the Catholic Church as far as I can see.

The difference: Catholics accept the full transmission of God’s Word, not only the written part. The Holy Spirit will indeed teach us everything.

I am currently reading a book that takes an in-depth look at 100 Biblical Arguments Against Sola Scriptura by Dave Armstrong. It explores what sola scriptura is (as defined by premiere Protestant apologists) and explores 100 arguments against the practice from Scripture itself. It has been a compelling read so far, check it out!

06/3/13

The 33 Day Rosary Challenge: COMPLETE!

At the beginning of May, I joined the Real Men Pray The Rosary 33 Day Challenge. The rules were simple: pray the rosary once a day for 33 days in remembrance of Christ’s human ministry. Here’s what I learned along the way.

I DO have the time

One of the greatest lessons of this challenge was the discovery that I do, in fact, have enough time for prayer in my average day. I believe this month is probably the first in my entire life where I’ve made a sufficient effort to include structured prayer in every day. I found it possible to pray the rosary in the gaps of my daily grind, or during times when I would otherwise do something more idle.

Some of my favorite times to add prayer might seem unusual. I discovered that my Sunday driving route to visit the homebound of our parish was plenty of time to pray the rosary. Instead of listening to the radio, I turned if off and prayed instead. This was made especially profound for me because Christ was literally with me on that trip each week. I tend to do my Apostles Creed, then pray aloud for the intentions of my rosary… on these Sundays, it took the form of talking with a friend who was in the car with me for a minute or two before I went into the reflective prayers of the rosary itself.

Beyond that, my favorite time to pray was putting my two-year-old daughter to bed. I would whisper the prayers softly in order to keep proper track of my progress and she was usually asleep midway through the third decade. A few times she would pat my hand with the rhythm of the prayer… it doesn’t get more special than that.

On days when my work schedule would permit it, I discovered that a lap around the hiking trail that surrounds my office building was just enough time to get a rosary in. If I started as I walked out of the office door, I would finish the final prayer as I walked up the ramp that led back to the parking lot of our building. It really worked out perfectly and gave me a special deposit of grace that often would help me during a challenging workday.

On the remaining days when life got in the way or the schedule was too hectic, I found considerable peace in waiting for the rest of the family to go to bed and I would pray my rosary in the quiet house before retiring myself. Sometimes, this was force of will… I was tired too. However, despite my fatigue, it was always worth it to end my day with prayer… I found I slept better. It’s the next best thing short of ending your day in Adoration like I did at the Knights of Columbus convention.

I learned the prayers, and kept my word too!

Another (expected) side effect of the challenge was that I actually learned the prayers that I often struggled to remember. The ‘Hail Holy Queen’ and closing prayer of the rosary would often trip me up, but now I can do them from memory. I also struggled with the Apostles Creed (as ashamed as I am to admit this) and now it comes much more smoothly. I still sometimes conflate the Apostles Creed and the Nicene Creed, but it’s better than it was by a long shot.

Because of the daily habit, I also found that I was actually praying for others. I made it a point to remember in prayer those that needed it… my sick friends, those with ailing family members, those with particular issues to work through, and even my own family. I often fell into the habit of telling someone I would pray for them, and during this month I did much better at making good on that promise.

I also found that after the second week, I was able to recall and meditate on the mysteries of the rosary itself. I would have trouble remembering which were the Glorious Mysteries and which were the Joyful ones… what day to pray which mysteries on, and so on. It is nice to not struggle so much with that anymore. In addition, I also feel more able to both pray the rhythm of the rosary verbally (one Our Father and ten Hail Mary’s per mystery) while mentally actually meditating on the mystery itself.

The rosary is much more of a ‘whole body’ experience than I expected it to be.

Reflections

This process helped me cultivate a virtuous habit, raise my mind better to God, find time in my day to pray, and reflect more on the life of Christ. In general, I consider it a tremendous success and am grateful for the challenge to get out of my comfort zone. This process has made me appreciate the deposit of grace that comes along with daily prayer, and it truly helped me get through some tough times this month. It also made me appreciate the dense spiritual beauty of the rosary, something I never fully understood until now.

Will I continue? In some ways, yes. There are some other daily devotions that I am interested in trying (the Liturgy of the Hours being foremost), and now that I know I can make 20-35 minutes a day for prayer I might explore some of those more closely. I will definitely pray the rosary as often as I can, since it honestly hasn’t been that difficult to find the time.

In closing, I strongly suggest that you check out Real Men Pray the Rosary and make your very own 33 Day Rosary Challenge and see what it brings to your spiritual development. I want to take a moment to thank those responsible for this program. It has really improved my daily prayer life and helped me overcome that obstacle in my spiritual development.

05/24/13

No Meat Fridays

Today is the first week where my family is returning to the practice of abstaining from meat on Fridays. When I touched on this topic a few weeks ago, I pointed out a timely article by Matt Fradd where he explains his reasons for continuing to perform this practice post-Lent. Here, I would like to take the baton from him and explain what led our family to return to this practice.

First, some background

The simple reason we are to abstain from meat on Fridays is in remembrance of the Lord’s Passion and death. This still enshrined in Canon Law (see the details here), however it points to the conference of bishops to fully determine the specific rules to follow. When we dig deeper, we find a nice summary of both the rationale of the practice and what is prescribed for American Catholics. I encourage you to read the entire section entitled “Christ Died For Our Salvation on Friday”, but I will excerpt some details here:

23. Friday should be in each week something of what Lent is in the entire year. For this reason we urge all to prepare for that weekly Easter that comes with each Sunday by freely making of every Friday a day of self-denial and mortification in prayerful remembrance of the passion of Jesus Christ.

24. Among the works of voluntary self-denial and personal penance which we especially commend to our people for the future observance of Friday, even though we hereby terminate the traditional law of abstinence binding under pain of sin, as the sole prescribed means of observing Friday, we give first place to abstinence from flesh meat.We do so in the hope that the Catholic community will ordinarily continue to abstain from meat by free choice as formerly we did in obedience to Church law. Our expectation is based on the following considerations:

We shall thus freely and out of love for Christ Crucified show our solidarity with the generations of believers to whom this practice frequently became,especially in times of persecution and of great poverty,no mean evidence of fidelity to Christ and His Church.

We shall thus also remind ourselves that as Christians, although immersed in the world and sharing its life, we must preserve a saving and necessary difference from the spirit of the world. Our deliberate,personal abstinence from meat, more especially because no longer required by law, will be an outward sign of inward spiritual values that we cherish.

So in summary: they have abolished the binding practice of abstaining from meat (i.e. you don’t have to and it’s not sinful if you do), but they clearly have the hope or intention of individual Catholics continuing the practice or replacing it with some other visible outward sign of our values.

Why We’re Doing It

Like I mentioned in my last article, this all came about because of a few inklings I had of continuing this practice. Matt Fradd’s article came along right around the same time to really drive the point home, and it started a conversation between my wife and I where I discovered that was considering the exact same thing. A lot of tumblers clicked into place and we decided that we would re-enact this practice in our house after Pentecost when the celebratory season of Easter is over.

I had the opportunity to speak to my priest about this, where he also explained that individual Catholics have been called to replace the abstinence from meat with something else if they choose not to practice it. He explained that he would go and visit the poor and the homebound each week, sacrificing his time instead.

I already volunteer a lot of my time in a variety of activities, and my priest’s comment made me consider whether I could just earmark one of those activities as my sacrificed time to satisfy the abstinence/penance requirement. After reflecting on this idea, I came to realize that I don’t do any of those things sacrificially… I actually enjoy serving our parish community in those ways so to me it wasn’t internally consistent to “count” those things. Furthermore, I enjoy the Lenten practice of doing something that causes me to take pause and reflect on why I’m doing it. I enjoy praying the rosary because it takes me through the mysteries of Christ’s life and this practice is a way to reflect on the Sorrowful Mysteries one day each week.

Lastly, I like the sentiments expressed by Section 24.b above. Abstaining from meat is an outward sign of my internal spiritual values. Every Lent I get to respond to the questions about why we abstain from meat, why can you still eat fish, and so on… this continues that visible practice in such a way that it gets noticed by people. It gives me a chance to evangelize with my actions and it has regularly started a discussion about my Catholic faith. Sacrificing a cheeseburger is a small price to pay if it eventually leads someone closer to Christ.

I’m going to heat up my cheese quesadilla now!

05/17/13

Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. (Matthew 5:4)

Malcolm (left) and I after our Knighting Ceremony

Last week, I received word that a friend of mine had entered hospice care. He had been sick for quite some time and had began frequent dialysis for his failing kidneys, but his heart had grown too weak to continue the treatment. Unfortunately, that meant that the end was nearing for him.

His name was Malcolm and I knew him through my involvement in the Knights of Columbus, in fact he and I received our Fourth Degree on the same day. Last year he had volunteered to be our Council Warden and our Assembly Purser, so we frequently worked together in our respective duties as officers. As he grew sicker, I stopped seeing him at Mass and he had to be absent from the Knights meetings. One night I called him up to see how he was, and he responded that he said “honestly, I’m doing good but I’m starving for air.”

That was the only time I ever heard him come close to complaining during his illness.

As the end grew closer, several of my fellow Knights had gone to see him. I was having a very hectic week, but I had a persistent concern that Malcolm and his wife were having to suffer alone. I don’t know why I felt this way, so I decided to visit him last Thursday night. As I was driving down to the hospice facility, strange thoughts kept wandering through my head. Malcolm was my friend, yes… but we always corresponded about Knights activities, Mass, or his health… none of those topics seemed appropriate given the situation. What do you say to someone that is nearing the end of their time on Earth? How do you comfort his wife when you have no idea the ordeal she must be going through?

My head was swimming by the time I arrived. Malcolm’s wife met me at the front of the hospice facility and took me back to his room. I was impressed at how tough she seemed. She explained to me that he had a bad turn the previous night and they had him on persistent medication now. He was sleeping, but I was welcome to come and spend some time with him and his family. I was relieved to see that my concern about her being alone was unfounded, the room was full of his family. She quickly explained to them that I was a friend of Malcolm’s from the Knights of Columbus.

I stayed for a half hour, Malcolm was asleep the entire time. His family asked that we all pray together, so we did. His wife encouraged me to talk to him, so I took my rosary out and said a mental prayer for the grace of a happy death for him. I told him that he was an exemplary officer and that I would miss him. I thanked him for being there for me in the Knights and for being my friend. I asked him to say hello to the Lord when he saw him. One of his family members was next to me and remarked that his breathing changed when I talked, but I didn’t perceive a difference. I stood with them as they said another prayer before making my exit.

Malcolm passed away at 5:20 am the following morning.

His wife requested an honor guard for his funeral Mass, so I had the privilege of standing guard for him. In addition, my responsibilities as Faithful Navigator required me to read a Decree of Condolence to his family during the Mass. I had attempted to practice, but the raw emotion of having to read a heartfelt decree while standing in front of a mourning family proved to stiff of a task. I made it halfway through before making the crucial mistake of thinking about all of Malcolm’s family, his peaceful tolerance of a long illness, and his contributions to the Knights. I knew I was in trouble when my voice cracked at the start of the third paragraph, and let’s just say the rest of the decree was extremely challenging to get through.

I’m not ashamed of showing those emotions. Malcolm was my friend. I have it easy compared to his family and close friends, but I think it helped his family to see how much Malcolm meant to us too. Our priest said that it always means so much to have the Knights of Columbus present at funerals, especially when we are close to the person that passed away. I understand a little better now how powerful that can be.

Everyone can take some solace in the face that Malcolm is now enjoying his eternal reward, and that is an encouraging thought. He will be missed.

Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. –Matthew 5:4

This Catholic Man

Author Archives: Josh