Class of '92 the day before Deacon ordination. I believe everyone recognizes the Saint in the center...Blessed Pope John Paul II.
I wish to begin today’s entry with a salute to my classmates (1992) from the North American College. Twenty one years ago today, we entered St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome for our deacon ordinations. There, laying prostrate on the floor in the chapel of the Chair of St. Peter we gave our lives to the Lord for the service of His Church and people. What a blessed walk of life and faith these twenty one years have been! Please, God, may many more young men follow us as such ‘gentle, but ardent servants of the altar.’
Last night found me at Holy Trinity parish in Cheyenne for yet another Confirmation ceremony. Twentynine young people were sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit. They were reminded that we are not our own. We belong to Christ! They were also encouraged to be bold in faith, passionate in their love for Christ, and generous in their service to the Church and God’s people.
Now, to the quirky title of this blog. As some of this readership knows, there was a time when country music was about all I listened to. Sunday, during my last leg of driving back home, I turned once again to a country channel. Merle was singing one of his old hits. I’ve always felt that the many songs of love in country music (as in our own lives) are a mere reflection of God”s love for us.
As I listened to this particular song of Merle’s, I found another basic of Christian life being spelled out symbolically. These are the lyrics:
Here I am again, mixing misery and gin, sitting with all my friends and talking to myself. I look like I’m having a good time, but any fool can tell, that this honky-tonk heaven, really makes me feel like hell.
How often do we follow the ways of the world only to experience the emptiness it offers. Sure, there is a temporary ‘high’ that for the moment drowns our sorrows or takes our minds off what ails us, but when reality dawns once again, we are left empty, and sometimes worse off. We may on the outside appear to be ‘having fun,’ but on the inside, if we are honest with ourselves, we are adrift, in desperate need of an anchor.
Christ has taught us that He is the Anchor. He tells us that the things of this world are fleeting. Obviously, the world is a part of God’s creation, and thus good. We are to live in proper harmony with the world and the people of this world, but not seek to possess them, nor live for these things alone. We belong to Christ. He has grafted us to Himself.
Through the Holy Spirit, Christ has poured His Divine Life into our hearts and souls. This indwelling of Christ is what makes us holy; makes us sons and daughters of God. It is this Divine Presence, this ‘Sonship of God’ within us that is our ticket to heaven. Thus, let us be grateful for this tremendous gift. Let us fully employ our freedom to embrace Christ and always cooperate with His desire to fully nourish His life within us, doing nothing to offend the Holy Spirit.
This is the life of holiness to which all are called.
0