So today's reading (11/15) is about the persistent widow.
I love her.
She pretty much personifies my prayer life. I think what struck me most about this reading was the little preface: "Then Jesus told them a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up."
Always pray and don't give up.
I love that, in this verse, Jesus doesn't just say, "Hey, pray a lot. Don't give up." He shows the disciples real-life application through example.
Someone recently asked me: "What's the goal of your blog?" Because I felt so ill-prepared to answer, I immediately responded with:
We both chuckled, having been on CYE staff.
But, seriously. I've been thinking that I need a mission statement for this blog for some time now.
I guess the reason for this blog is basically a 3-fold outlet for my personal encounter(s) with Jesus Christ:
- How I live(d) the Faith.
- How I learn(ed) the Faith.
- How I teach the Faith.
I think the last reason is the most important. I love teaching by example and encounter. I love seeing the light bulbs go on. I love to see others getting it. Most importantly, I love to see others have an intense and meaningful personal encounter with Jesus Christ.
So, my dear reader, if you're reading my posts, expect to have an intense encounter with Truth Himself.
Yup. That's it. Any way that I spin it, it's going to happen. My writing springs from an intense encounter with Truth, and when I write about it and post it, you'll have an encounter as you read.
Truth. Truth. Truth.
I think that a "sub" mission of this goal is to encounter Truth in a raw, realistic, and radical way. (Oh, how I love words. And consonance. And alliteration.) Writing this blog (which is really just on online publication of select journal entries that I've scribbled) allows me some freedoms that would be considered unprofessional in a classroom and awkward in personal dialogue. It also allows me to teach Non-Catholics the Truth about the teachings of the Catholic Church (instead of repeating what society tells them). Here, my thoughts are uninterrupted, un-contested, and, I think, easier to understand because you get to read them in the privacy of your own home, and if you get defensive, there's no grudge match between the two of us. ;)
I'll be the first to welcome dialogue and the exchange of ideas, but I really feel that we as a society have lost the fine art and subtle science of having a good argument, a good debate, and, even for some, a good discussion without getting all riled up and irrational.
Here, Truth can wallop you upside the head, and then you're left to your devices to either learn from it or go get an ice pack and pout.
Pretty neat, huh?
I love to write. I had to write all of my college papers by hand, or, I felt, they wouldn't be as effective. Writing is an extremely emotional process for me; there's nothing more enticing than following my pen and watching the ink dry a few seconds after each word is scratched on to the page. If I really care about someone, I hand-write letters to them.
Ahem.
I have this gift of holy boldness: a warrior-like zeal for souls that pushes me always to run, screaming, into Battle. And it won't go away. And I have a hard time keeping it in (Psalm 39:3 and Jeremiah 20:9). I've had an intense encounter with Jesus Christ. I know Him. I know Him.
And, gentle reader, I want you to know Him, too.
Do you? You may have learned about him in Catholic School or "CCD" your whole life, but do you know Him personally? You might have gone to daily mass to find Him in the Eucharist every day for 5 years (and I really shouldn't listen to Ulysses whilst I type this, I might start bawling), but do you know Him? How is that relationship sustained outside of Mass? How do you keep your personal relationship with Jesus Christ alive? How do you learn about and know Him so you can grow in relationship?
I just bought copies of Be a Man! by Fr. Larry Richards for two awesome men in my life. In it, he talks about this very same thing. Knowing about Christ is not the same as knowing Him. Knowing and teaching the Truth is not the same as falling in love with It.
And how do we continually seek this encounter? How can wee keep falling in love?
Persistent prayer.
Boom. Full circle.
I love how it doesn't show us what the widow exactly wants (besides "justice against her adversary"), but showcases how she keeps going back. And back and back and back and again and again and again.
Just think about it this way: who's our ultimate adversary? Satan. He's always trying to trip us up, hold us back, lie to us, belittle us, demean us, distract us, et cetera, et cetera, ad infinitum.
Don't you want victory over and justice for that adversary? The good news (pun intended) is that the vicotry has already been won in Jesus Christ. Justice, however, is a bit further off. Satan's such a coward, and half of us don't even know it. At the mere mention of the Holy Trinity, Blessed Mother, or even your guardian angel, he screams and scatters. And that's pretty funny: a fallen Seraphim (highest choir) terrified by the good, the true, and the beautiful in an angel (lowest choir). Heh.
Anyways. Tangent. Focus, here, Lowery. My mission:
To share the Truth of the Catholic Faith so that anyone who reads may come to personally know Jesus Christ through my own encounter, example, and experience.
Wow, that's great, Jen. But you still haven't answered the original question: what's your goal?
Get to heaven. Go: make disciples of all nations.
KABOOM.
So? Moral of the Story? Be persistent. Keep praying. Keep encountering. Jesus isn't going anywhere (Hebrews 13:8), but you HAVE to keep running after Him.
And, as Joe Zambon so resplendently sings:
The Truth will remain when the feeling's gone.
Always pray, and don't give up.
Out.
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