Looking for the Words for the Word

I was watching some of the reruns of "Glee" last night (okay, yeah - it's my guilty pleasure - back off!), and realized something that is pertinent to my "work" here. Each week, Mr. Schuster assigns the Gleeks a song that has a particular relation to a theme. For example, he wanted them to sing a song with "hello" featured in it; or, one that showed off their inner theatricality. When the kids pick and sing their songs, it's more than just the performance; they are actually using the song's words to speak what they feel. That's the power of song - or any art, for that matter - it gives voice to those things that we might not even be able to vocalize ourselves. Just look at how many of your friends' statuses on Facebook come from some popular song.

This is what I try to do here on JG2DW. I use the language of pop culture to give a voice to our faith that our culture - and young people in particular - can understand. These examples were never written (usually) to illustrate some religious theme, but they themselves have been formed by the attitudes, values and cultural conditions that make us who we are as people of the twenty-first century. Jesus did the same thing. He used examples of what people understood in order to reveal to them what the Kingdom of God was like. His parables are expert discourses on popular culture and the religious environment of His times.

So, for those of us open to God's Word and Work in our lives, all of these songs, movies, TV shows and other artistic expressions can be vehicles for the Message. So, excuse me now - Sue Sylvester demands that I watch another episode.

All the World's a Stage

Encore was running one of my favorite films, "Shakespeare in Love." The film portrays the "show behind the show" of the composition of the Bard's Romeo and Juliet (foppishly entitled "Romeo and the Pirate's Daughter" by the struggling young Will). The story of the development of this famous tragedy of star-crossed lovers is one that comes to encompass many of the actors in London's 17th century theater set.

What stuck me this time watching it was how each person who had a role in the developing play painted it as if their role was the most important. For example, when asked what the play was about, the burly man playing the Nurse responds, "Well, there's this ... nurse ..." No matter how small or insignificant the role, each sees their part as integral and essential to the play.

It's interesting to me, since that is exactly how so many of us go through life. All is drama; all is intense; all is life and death. This can easily be seen as self-centeredness, but we really have no other way of encountering the world - we are all ego-centric. But, the Christian's task is to realize that even if we see our role as essential to the grand scheme (and it is), that role is part of a drama that is not ultimately ours. It is God's grand drama. In the midst of this great Drama, or dramas unfold. When asked about the Play we are in, we can say that we are players, but it should start with, "Well...there's this God..."

All the world's a stage.

How Do We Respond to Such a Gift?

When I consider all the worlds He has made,

all the life that teems here

on our tiny planet:

the fish and the birds,

the turtles and the frogs,

the rabbits and the goats,

the cats and the elephants;

the vastness of the sky,

the depth and violence of the seas,

the immense span of space,

the tininess of the pearl

inside the oyster.

When I think of all that God has made,

in all its simple and complex wonder -

the tangle of my veins,

the knots of my hair,

the sturdiness of my bones,

the efficiency of my breath;

the span of my arms,

the space of my lap,

the hospitality of my womb;

the delicacy of my eyes,

the curves of my ears,

and the mystery

of my heart.

When I consider all that God has made -

all these:

the frogs, the fish, the cats, the penguins;

the skies, the sands, the stars, the pearls;

the veins, the eyes, the noses, the hearts.

Now, I sit with the wonder of what He will do -

in me -

little, insignificant me -

I do not feel infinitely small or weak;

I feel infinitely loved.

And my soul proclaims...

Objectifying God

St. John Vianney wrote:

How unlike [the saints] we are! How often we come to church with no idea of what to do or what to ask for. And yet, whenever we go to any human being, we know well enough why we go. And still worse, there are same who seem to speak to the good God like this: "I will only say a couple of things to you, and then I will be rid of you." I often think that when we come to adore the Lord, we would receive everything we ask for, if we would ask with living faith and a pure heart.

Reading these words on the Cure d'Ars' feast day made me think, again, of "Despicable Me." Gru noticed how three little girls were able to get into his enemy's home while selling cookies, so he decided to adopt them in order to use them for his diabolical scheme. He was objectifying them, acting selfishly, in the same way that we can (perhaps unwittingly) objectify God in prayer like St. John Vianney says. However, something happens to Gru when he lets these little girls - so eager to love and be loved - into his life. He begins to care; he becomes a "dad."

When we pray, are we truly entering into a conversation of love, or are we simply using God, yet again, to get some result that we want? When we are done, are we still filled with love for the Lord, or do we "go back to life," living as if He does not exist? This is the danger of objectifying God - a practical atheism that allows us to live however we wish until some drastic need comes up and we have to call in the Big Guy.

If, however, we open ourselves up to that transformative power of God's love in our lives, we can receive more than we ever hoped for. It first takes a conversion of our hearts, so that we might come to God with that "living faith and pure heart" that we need to see beyond our own desires into the very love of God.

What About God?

One of my favorite movies is "What About Bob?" It stars Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfuss. Murray plays Bob, a psychological-hypochondriac who cannot live without advice from his shrink, played by Dreyfuss. The story really takes off when Dreyfuss goes on vacation with his family to their house on Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire. Bob, left to fend for himself in New York with nothing but his pills and the doctor's latest book, finally finds him and goes all the way to the scenic resort town to find comfort. In the course of the film, Dreyfuss' character ends up becoming the "crazy" one, and Bob finds healing in the relationships with the doctor's family.

We all need time away - that is what recreation and vacation is all about. As a priest, it is just as important as it is for anyone else. However, we cannot just shed our priestly identity. No, this is not an advocacy for wearing the collar on the beach or vestments while kayaking. Rather, it is a reminder that even when not in the parish, campus, military base, chancery, classroom, or wherever else we find ourselves ministering, we are still priests - ministers of the mysteries of God and His Church. Therefore, even as I head off on vacation, I need the reminder that I go with God, as His minister - imperfect as I am.

Bob encountered a professional who did not want to be bothered (and, to be fair, the doctor did deserve his free time). However, the way the doctor responded to his wounded patient was less than helpful. When we are "in the world," we need to remember to ask the important question that should drive who we are and what we do: What about God?

Tag!

So, the summertime spawns games such as these: Deacon Greg has tagged me to list five of my favorite devotions. So, dutifully, I list these, in no particular order:

Prayer before the Blessed Sacrament

Sacred Heart of Jesus

Morning Offering

The Rosary

Divine Mercy

Thanks, Greg! Now, it's my turn to tag, so, get ready, Fr. Larry Adamczyk, Catholic Nerd Writer, Thom, and Scott! Happy summer, all!

Communion = Involving Others

If you've not seen the new movie, "Despicable Me," yet, then you're in for a treat when you do. It tells the tale of an "evil" genius, Gru, who is competing with other evil geniuses for attention and infamy. The whole movie is fun. In the course of his machinations, Gru adopts three little girls in order to use them to get into the lair of his nemesis, Vector. It is a totally self-interested adoption, but the girls begin to change the villain's heart.

Gru's plan to steal the moon runs into a snag when the man he is asking funding from denies him (out of his own self-interest). Apparently defeated, Gru begins to sulk, until he is offered the collected funds of the girls, and then of all of his many minions (who themselves are adorable). As the support mounts for the project, Gru's device for reaching and stealing the moon is not exactly what he had planned, but it works nevertheless.

As I watched Gru's "family" gather support for him with their collection of their shared resources, I couldn't help but think about how ministry in the Church can be a lot like that. As a leader in the Church, I often have my grand ideas of how a perfect event, or program, or liturgy will be. If I wanted to, I probably could create such a thing too. However, that is not what the Church is about - one person doing his thing. Rather, it is the shared gifts, talents and resources of all the people that makes the Church beautiful and, yes, successful. Things may not look the way I want them to, but they are looking how Jesus wants them. It is in all of us, giving of our resources and gifts, that the true beauty of the communion that is the Church resides.

There cannot be "lone rangers" in the Church - neither in the ordained priesthood nor in the priesthood of the faithful. That would truly be "despicable." The sharing of our gifts and of our faith is what communion - what the Church - is all about.

What a Fool Thinks

With all my goods

I have grown richer.

My storehouses

are huge now,

and I and my family

have more than enough.

Come and see -

look at all my stuff!

Celebrate with me -

eat, drink and be merry!

But despite all my goods -

all my stuff -

all that I have

and how comfortable I am,

He tells me I am a fool!

That none of this stuff means anything.

There are true riches,

He implies,

that cannot sit in my storehouses.

My excess,

somehow,

can do more for me

when I give it away.

Those who need,

those who lack,

are the ones who gather to see me.

They look on my excess,

which I simply hold,

and they see the fool

He is talking about.

So, come, my friends.

Come, you who need,

you who lack.

My barns are full,

but He has filled my heart.

Eat, drink and be merry!

This is not my invitation;

it is His.