"Radical" Availability

Today, alone, I've had three separate conversations regarding taking time off.  I was even laughed at by someone when I even said, "No" to something and cited it to, "Guarding my time off."  It's so difficult for those of us in the vineyard of the Lord to take time for ourselves, because we see the value of each soul.  We know that souls have an eternal value, and as evangelists, whether with tweens, teens, college students, parents, or parishioners, we understand the urgent nature of the Gospel message.  We know that we need to reach as many souls as fast as possible.  This is truly a life-or-death business we are in, and it's an eternal business.  We are well trained; we are passionate; we work with great love.

Here's the thing - working as if you are the one saving souls is dangerous for everyone involved.

On a human level, when you begin to work all the time, you find it impossible to separate work from personal.  In ministry it's not necessarily a terrible a thing to have work and personal together all rolled into one thing.  However, look at it from this perspective:

One day I was talking with a woman whom I love and now call one of my best friends.  This woman was exhausted and running hard still after souls, which is completely admirable.  I asked her, "When was the last time you took time just for you?"  She couldn't remember and through her tears told me how tired she was.  What broke my heart even more was the litany of things she said immediately following, "I just know that I need to talk to so-and-so.  I need to call so-and-so.  I need to get with such-and-such team to help them with their practice so I can get a repoir with them.  And all these woman written down here in my prayer journal need to be invested in, too!"  It was that moment that I realized she thought it all depended on her and no one else.  I asked her if she thought that, and she responded she did.  It turns out she forgot that Jesus is doing the work, not her at all.

Taking time is often less about our own physical needs, and more about our own spiritual needs.  If you are working all the time, who is really doing the work?  Even Mother Teresa would take an extra holy hour on her busiest days running an entire religious community and hospital for the ill in Calcutta.  It's a reminder of the One in charge - the Lord.  The Holy Spirit is opening the hearts and softening the soil for the seeds He will plant with the words He gives you.  Really, you just show up when He plans.  He plans for you to show up six days a week, and I'll explain that in a minute.  This is a serious pride issue!  If you are taking yourself that seriously, you need to recall you still need a Savior.  It's by grace, alone, you are who you are (see the second reading from today's lectionary).

It's not good for those you serve to misunderstand what it means to be radically available.  Granted, if someone's mother died, you'd want to be available for that.  If someone was up late writing a paper, you don't need to be available for that.  Having healthy boundaries is a necessity in ministry.  Why is it necessary for you to have these boundaries?  The minute these people rely only on you is the minute you've failed them as an evangelist.  Yes, you can recover from this, but hear my point first.  If someone is attached to you, they most often will not attach to Jesus - the person you are doing the work for.  Having healthy boundaries is a balancing act.  Don't become so detached that you know nothing of them or vice versa (make sure you are doing a healthy amount of sharing in your ministerial relationships), but don't allow a dependency there.  You know what that looks like....

Now, I want to talk about this in the context of the Church.  If you ignore everything I say, don't ignore the mandates of Holy Mother Church.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church says this:

2172 God's action is the model for human action. If God "rested and was refreshed" on the seventh day, man too ought to "rest" and should let others, especially the poor, "be refreshed." The sabbath brings everyday work to a halt and provides a respite. It is a day of protest against the servitude of work and the worship of money.

You, my friends, have been called out.  Here's the important thing to remember.  God is perfect; God can do all.  God rested.  Get over yourselves and take a freaking nap (or a day to go play with your kids).

I am also throwing this out there.  Single people - if you think you don't have time to discern your Vocation right now, you are doing something wrong.  If you experience the call to marriage, make time for him or her NOW, and they will fit into your life in the fullness of time (to steal a line from scripture).

Now, those of you that know me well are laughing hysterically at this blog.  When I was even hired for this job I have now, one of my references warned me, "Manda you're fantastic, but your one downfall is you work too hard."  I write this as a reformed over-worker.  I had a great person talk with me regarding this - my former chaplain when I worked for FOCUS as a Team Director.  Fr. Lowry challenged my a lot in my time off.  There were two times, explicitly, I remember him sending me home to take time off. Now I take time off.  I stay home Tuesday mornings because I'm in late Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.  I take Fridays and Saturdays, generally (sometimes there are relational ministry games and plays to go to, so I take extra time elsewhere).  I see friends when I'm home. I call my family.  I write my grandfather a letter.  I pray.  I visit with my spiritual director.  I have a glass of wine and watch Downton Abbey.  I play my guitar.  I sit in a coffee shop and read.  I drive to the gluten-free bakery.  I go to the farmer's market.  What's so wrong with those things?  Nothing.  It's a beautiful thing.

I Got Called Out!

I've had several conversations in the past few weeks about people who don't believe in voting.  There are a couple of things that don't sit well with me:
1. Voting for someone I know isn't 100% pro-life (abortion, contraception, death penalty, unjust wars)
2. The fact that our country is really a Bi-partisan System
3. Is it really my MORAL OBLIGATION to vote?  And who said?  "Do I HAVE to?" (Yes, insert Manda-whiney-voice here)

I googled it.  That's right; I straight googled what I'm supposed to do.  That's the tricky thing with the internet; you never know what you're gonna get.

I came across this site:
http://www.ewtn.com/vote/voting_faq.htm
 Praise GOD for EWTN.  Grateful for good nuns in Alabama....

The part of this site that really stuck out to me is the use of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

2239 It is the duty of citizens to contribute along with the civil authorities to the good of society in a spirit of truth, justice, solidarity, and freedom. The love and service of one's country follow from the duty of gratitude and belong to the order of charity. Submission to legitimate authorities and service of the common good require citizens to fulfill their roles in the life of the political community.

"Service of the common good require citizens to fulfill their roles in the life of the political community."  Um, wow.  What is my role in this ambiguous idea of the political community?  I'm definitely not called to run for an office and be a politician myself - I kind of have a full-time job (youth ministers of the world - please laugh at the use of 'full-time' there.).  I'm definitely not called to give money to the political campaigns of others; insert bad joke about youth minister's salary here.  It logically follows that my duty now becomes voting.

It hurts my heart to think so many people don't think voting will do any good.  Many of these people are smart enough to know this - grace builds upon nature.  If you want to be a holy person, practice the virtues.  If you want to be a holy person, act like a holy person.  If you want to see a change in this world, live that change.  If you want to change the minds of politicians, voice your concerns!  How big is your God?  If your God is big enough to die and three days later rise from the grave for your sins, then your God is big enough to take your little vote somewhere.  This is the beauty of our God; He will never take our free will.  You have the choice to work with grace or against it.  It's the same here!  Let's work with grace and begin the process of changing our country.  It takes one person at a time.  One mind at a time.  One tiny little law at a time.

You want to see real change?  Be that real change.  Vote.

Spiritual Poverty

"My brothers and sisters, show no partiality

as you adhere to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ.

For if a man with gold rings and fine clothes

comes into your assembly,

and a poor person in shabby clothes also comes in,

and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes

and say, "Sit here, please, "

while you say to the poor one, "Stand there, " or "Sit at my feet, "

have you not made distinctions among yourselves

and become judges with evil designs?

Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters.

Did not God choose those who are poor in the world

to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom

that he promised to those who love him?"

James 2:1-5 

So, I can't take credit for going after this verse tonight, as we studied it with the teens during our weekly prayer group.  However, when "the stars align" I simply must blog.

First, a warning that the language of the current show I've been enamored with (curse of an addictive personality) will likely show itself in this post.  I've been watching Downton Abbey at the recommendation of my parish's Parochial Vicar.  Excellent choice!

Ok, now that's settled, I've been having some wonderful conversations with a dear friend of mine these past few months, specifically regarding evangelization and the direction of our lives.  The beautiful thing is that we talk often about evangelization and what it looks like as a lifestyle.  Those of you who know me well know that this is a great passion of my life.  Here's how the two stories combine:

When Bl. Mother Teresa was called by Christ to found the religious community the Missionaries of Charity, she saw the physical poverty of Calcutta.  She felt the call of Christ as He reminded her of His Thirst.  "I thirst," He said on the Cross as a reminder of His love - His thirst for us.  This same woman saw the United States as a place of great Spiritual Destitution.  In the United States, we have access to just about anything we desire; movies, music, internet, BLOGGING, Twitter, Facebook, education, food that we like, clothing, etc.  The poverty in America is not of a physical nature, but of a spiritual one.  (Please note that I'm not denying the very dire situations of several people in our country.  I'm simply making commentary on the social state of many of those we encounter daily.)

When we read the passage above, of course we are called to care for the poor.  I will never deny that justice is still a deep-seeded desire of my heart and a great virtue of the Father.  However, if we take this verse and apply it to the great need of our own nation - spiritual poverty - how much more are we called to love in ministry?  Isn't it so easy sometimes to sit back and allow ourselves to give those a front row seat?  I see this sometimes in myself; it's easy sometimes to work with those in front of you rather than to continue to push to find the new souls the Lord has entrusted to your care.  You alone are to find them (with grace), and so you alone must seek them (with grace).  

Tonight I'm reminded that my desire to seek that lost hasn't waned a bit.  I desire to work with and deepen those who are striving for virtue and holiness, but so much of my heart continues to desire to seek those who are not wanting this.  I will continue to make new contacts and search for those who allow the seeds of the Gospel to take root in their lives.  Pray for my continued conversion.