Author: Brent

Study Hints That Mass Attendance Can Prolong Your Life

I hope this comes as no surprise to those who take their daily Rosary meds, but do you know there’s a correlation between practicing faith and happiness? Inversely, those who do not practice their religion formally have a higher mortality rate than those who do. This is why it’s so important to make your faith a priority in your life.

I have a quick disclaimer before jumping into this article. I frequently talk about Mass attendance. But I’m using it as shorthand for actively practicing your faith. Since the Mass is the pinnacle of the Catholic faith, I call it out specifically. But Mass is one component of the Catholic Church that is combined with prayer, devotion, and sacraments.

Increasing Despair

MarketWatch summarized a paper (sorry, I can’t find a link to the actual source) authored by researchers from multiple universities. They observed that groups that showed a decline in religious adherence experienced increased mortality rates while the general trend steadily declined. This hit non-practicing, middle-aged, white Americans without a college degree the hardest.

States that experienced larger declines in religious participation in the last 15 years of the 20th century saw larger increases in deaths of despair.

The Consequences of Missing Mass

I bring up this study because we live in an era where people dismiss the benefits of formal religious practices. This widespread attack on formalized religion has real consequences. Consider the millions of people who lived in misery and despair because they bought into the cultural lie that organized religion is a lot of superstition and bigotry. Think about the people trying to find meaning in their lives but don’t consider stepping into a church. After all, religion’s only goal is to limit your freedom and fun right?

I’m not saying that everyone who attends Mass on Sunday and prays daily has a long, easy life. There are still bills to pay, people to feed, bosses to please, and health concerns. But God wants to help us through all these challenges whether they are self-imposed through sin or just part of living in this world. But we have to humbly come before God and ask for his help. He will answer and guide us through his son, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, our Mother Mary, and the saints and angels in Heaven. But he doesn’t force himself in our lives. God gives us the freedom to not ask for his help and he’ll respect our choice. But we have to admit that our choices have consequences.

I constantly tell my boys that they wouldn’t pass up a free cookie or treat. They wouldn’t pass up easy extra credit on a school assignment. They wouldn’t pass up extra screen time. So they shouldn’t pass up asking God for help in their struggles, both big and small. No one can provide better help than an all-powerful and all-loving God. But that’s exactly what people are doing when stop attending Mass, praying regularly and essentially cutting out God from their lives.

Why do People Miss Mass?

Maybe it’s pride that keeps people away from practicing their faith. They don’t want to admit that they need help in their lives. Perhaps they can’t admit that our social and political “leaders” (yes, I’m using scare quotes) cannot solve all their problems. Maybe they feel their friends will ostracize them if they dare step into a church or admit the Christian dogma has value. And let’s not forget the role Satan plays in convincing people that practicing their faith isn’t important. The pandemic was a banner time for him.

People need to fill that void with something. For some, it may be mindless entertainment — YouTube and TikTok videos or binge-watching Netflix. For others, they turn to vices like alcohol, drugs, and various manifestations of the seven deadly sins. Others may fill that void with more wholesome activities — exercise, reading, education, community involvement, time with friends, and hobbies. But an adult softball league will never be an adequate replacement for the Eucharist.

Helping Lost Souls

The data shows what many of us know intuitively — we are lost when we don’t actively practice our faith. Meditate and pray for those who are lost when you pray the Fifth Joyful Mystery. Remember how Mary and Joseph searched in sorrow because they lost Jesus? Now think of all of those souls in this world who are miserable because Jesus is missing in their lives.

Now consider that the Holy Spirit may be asking you to help guide some of these lost souls back to their faith. This is a daunting prospect for many of us. It’s easy to pray for increased parish participation. But it’s much more difficult and scary to actively bring people back to Mass. That may be what God is asking of you. You may be the answer to someone’s prayer. In bringing people back to the Chruch, you may not only save a life but help save a soul.

What to do with the Time God Gives Us

Lord of the Rings

Continuing my movie insights, the next movie I want to look at is The Lord of the Rings. Now, finding the religious significance of this series is a bit of a cheat. J.R.R Tolkein was a devout Catholic and LOTR is chalked full of religious symbolism and philosophy. Hopefully, I can find some fresh ground to tie to Rosary prayer.

The scene I am going to focus on in this article comes in The Fellowship of the Ring. The fellowship is deep in Moria and they have already encountered multiple challenges. Frodo, the ring bearer, laments that he wishes the ring never came to him and that none of these challenges ever happened. Gandolf, the wise wizard, answers that we don’t get to choose our circumstances; we only have to decide what to do with the time given.

The Grass is Not Greener on the Other Side

We often act like Frodo and lament our circumstances and wish they were different. Maybe our family life is difficult with our spouse, kids, parents, or siblings. Maybe we have health or financial issues. Perhaps our work situation is unpleasant, non-existent, or stressful. We can all look at parts of our lives and wish they were different.

This “grass is greener on the other side” mentality is a bit misleading. Often, we wish for a time or a world that has never really existed. Has there ever been a “good time” on earth? Most of human history has been a struggle to survive and find meaning. People suffered before Jesus came into the world, during his earthly ministry, and afterward. Jesus didn’t eliminate pain and suffering, wars, famines, and difficulty. He did not usher in good times.

Jesus gave us a way of deciding what to do in the narrow band of human history we happen to live through. He taught us how to love God and love each other. He showed us God’s Will and His grace. The Catholic Church has led humanity throughout history on what to do with the time given to us. It hasn’t changed whether you were a surf in medieval Europe, a pilgrim settling in North America, an English baker experiencing a German bombing in WWII, or an Uber driver today.

The Rosary

Think of the Third Luminous Mystery — The Proclamation of the Kingdom of Heaven and Jesus’ Call to Conversion. This mystery puts forth the question, whose kingdom will you live for in the time given to you? Will it be the Kingdom of Heaven or the kingdom of this world? Jesus proclaimed God’s kingdom and taught us how to live for it in his ministry and now through the Church. But it’s up to us to answer that call and choose to convert our earthly ways to God’s heavenly ones.

Consistency of Catholic Teaching

You have to love the consistency in the teaching of the Church. As I said earlier, core Catholic teachings have remained the same for thousands of years. That is very encouraging knowing that they have been tested in just about any situation we may find ourselves in whether that be times of war, peace, abundance, or famine. We’re not left to try to figure things out on our own. That should bring us comfort that we walk a well-trodden path when we decide to live for God’s kingdom.

When you pray, ask yourself what you’re going to do with the time given to you. If you don’t know, ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance to help show you the path. We have plenty of resources to help us live meaningfully — the Bible, the Catechism, countless books, apps, and podcasts, etc. We have the wisdom of the greatest Catholic thinkers who ever lived. They will show us the way in the time God provides us.

The Dangers of Making Assumptions

The Right Stuff

For those who don’t know, I’m a big fan of movies and television. I worked in visual effects and feature animation for close to 20 years. It’s almost a family business as I have ancestors that worked both in front of and behind the camera throughout the 20th century. I’m going to look at certain scenes in movies and see what they can teach us about practicing our faith.

I’m taking a look at The Right Stuff. It’s a classic about the Mercury space program which put the first Americans in space and tested the science, math, and engineering needed for the Apollo program. You may recognize names like John Glenn and Alan Shepard and you certainly can’t forget those dazzling reflective space suits.

In one scene in the movie, the astronauts’ wives meet each other for the first time.  They talk up a storm with a lot of small talk.  Everyone that is, except John Glenn’s wife, Annie.  After the meeting, one of the wives commented to her husband about how unfriendly and snobby Annie is. Some thought that Annie just sat there silently as if she was better than everyone else and the pleasantries were beneath her.

What the wives didn’t know was that Annie had a speech impediment and stuttered.  She was very self-conscious in social situations, so she remained silent.  She was shy, not snobby.

The Danger of Assumptions

This scene from The Right Stuff reminds me of how we so often make assumptions about others. Our assumptions aren’t always true.  Someone who is short-tempered may be so because he didn’t get any sleep the night before because he needed to deal with a family emergency.  Maybe someone drops out of an event at the last minute for personal reasons, not because they didn’t like who was attending or how it was planned.  Perhaps someone didn’t talk to you after Mass, not because he’s mad at you, but because he has to be somewhere else soon. People have many reasons for acting as they do and they may not be for reasons you assume.

Contemplate on the First Joyful Mystery of the Rosary. Mary became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. That stretches all believability. I’m sure Mary and Joseph caused quite a scandal in their village and everyone probably had their version of the story which probably didn’t include a virgin pregnancy. Even Joseph had a hard time believing in the truth and was ready to divorce Mary before an angel intervened.

Imagine an alternate reality where Joseph divorced Mary or she was stoned to death for being pregnant outside of marriage. It would have been a reality where Jesus, as we know him, did not come into the world. You see, this is what happens when we assume too much about people — we spin off into this alternate reality based on our false narrative. How many times do you dwell on something someone said or did without knowing the facts? We may destroy a desirable outcome by filling in what we don’t know or understand with a false narrative.

Let God Fill in the Blanks

At the same time, we can’t always assume the best. Some people are naturally ill-tempered, mean, flakey, or dishonest. People do bad things. We are all sinners after all. And this is where prayer comes in. We have to ask God for help to help separate reality from our own fiction. It’s okay if we don’t understand people and their motives and circumstances. God will steer us in the right direction if we come to him in prayer and humbly ask for his help when we don’t know how to deal with certain individuals.

God may not answer us as dramatically as he did with Saint Joseph in the form of an angel in a dream. But he does talk to us and may nudge us into the right action. It may be something subtle like you asking someone if everything is okay instead of being angry with him. It may require you to take a step back and cut someone a little slack. When we don’t know something, it’s best to ask God to help fill in the blanks.

The Gift of a Prayerful You

Are you still looking for Christmas gifts? I have a simple idea. Give the gift of a prayerful you. A household fueled by prayer is a joyful one. It’s something anyone can give, from the very young to the very old.

I’m not talking about giving someone a card saying, “My gift to you is that I’m praying for you.” I think that would rub many people the wrong way. They will think that you are cheap, forgot to get them a gift, or that you’re using a gift as an opportunity to comment on your spirituality. I’m thinking of a different direction when talking about the gift of prayer.

I suggest that you consciously commit to prayer in the final days of Advent, Christmas, and beyond. Let’s face it, Christmas may be joyful but it’s hardly peaceful or relaxing. There are all sorts of chaos — family, shopping, dinners, and parties. For those traveling, it’s dealing with accommodations you may not be used to such as crashing on your in-laws’ coach because that’s the only place to sleep. Maybe you’re alone because you have to work or your family lives far away. Routine, daily prayer can help you experience joy during the busy Christmas season.

Try not to flip out this Christmas

Imagine a Christmas when everyone is fueled by prayer. I see it as one where people don’t flip out because they didn’t give or receive the correct presents. It’s enjoying a conversation with Grandma Josephine despite the fact she burnt the apple pie (again). It’s about talking to your sibling about your shared interest in movies instead of arguing about politics. It’s a time when people just roll with inconveniences instead of turning into monsters. That is what a prayerful Christmas can look like.

Picture Mary in the Second Joyful Mystery of the Rosary. The fruit of this mystery is loving your neighbor. Despite being pregnant, Mary traveled far to be with her cousin Elizabeth. It was probably rough and uncomfortable for Mary. And yet, the Bible speaks of the joy both felt when they encountered each other. Maybe there was some complaining over the long journey, but it was overshadowed by joy. Imitate Mary and Elizabeth by focusing on the joy of Christmas instead of the hardships.

Regardless of your circumstances, Christmas can always be improved with daily prayer. Carve out time to pray the Rosary and let Mary help you see the joy that God places all around you.

The Artificiality of Social Media

The Decline of Social Media

With Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter, there’s been a lot of media coverage about social media in general. Many, including myself, think that we’ve reached “peak media” and will see a decline in the use of social media in the coming years. I hope this will open the door for more authentic interactions between people and also a reconnection with faith and prayer.

This may be anecdotal, but I haven’t logged into Facebook in months. I’ve tapered off posting to my Facebook Rosary Prayer channel. When I look at the traffic coming into RosaryMeds from social media, it’s a sliver and hardly worth the effort to post. Facebook is starting to feel like an old mall with space for rent, seasonal “pop-up” stores, and a few people wandering around. Granted, FB still has millions of active users, but it’s nowhere close to what it was a few years ago. It’s no surprise that Facebook has laid off many workers.

The Inevitable Death of Social Media

The same trend is starting to happen on Twitter. As much as news outlets and politicians want to make a big deal of Elon Musk changing Twitter, I think most people could really care less who’s barking on the service. For years, Twitter has enjoyed a large amount of influence where a tiny group of people could influence companies and politicians. That led to a very toxic “cancel culture” and later a tsunami of wokeness. I think it’s a good direction if Musk’s Twitter is a much smaller virtual town square if agitators and their followers leave the platform.

A Fading Fad

I bring up Facebook and Twitter because I think they are examples of a fad that is starting to decline. When social media first came onto the scene, people were excited because it offered the ability to connect with old friends and provided shared experiences across the world. But now its artificiality and social manipulation are starting to show. Social media is a lot like a microwave “TV” dinner. They were all the rage when first introduced because they freed people from spending time in the kitchen preparing meals. Microwave meals offer convenience, but they are processed and artificial. Much like how people prefer a home-cooked meal, we’re also looking again for more authentic social experiences the Facebooks of the world fail to provide.

Yum?

In addition to people once again returning to face-to-face communication and being physically present, I think we’re starting to realize that our faith isn’t something we can “phone in.” A key aspect of Christianity is that we are all part of one body united in Christ Jesus. That body doesn’t function when its members are separated and isolated from each other. Much like how Facebook and Zoom can’t replace an in-person conversation, virtual Masses cannot replace physical presence at Mass.

Why Physical Presence is Important

I’ve talked a lot about the need for people to return to Mass. Besides the importance of receiving sacraments, it is needed to have a vibrant community. You need people physically present to serve as lectors, cantors, altar servers, and Eucharistic ministers. But you also need to physically walk by food donation bins or a Christmas giving tree to see that there are those in need of your charity. You need to talk to someone after Mass to learn that a parishioner is sick and is in need of prayer. You need to be there so that someone new to the parish or new to the faith sees that there is a physical community of brothers and sisters. These examples are why we cannot have an energetic parish or a rich faith over Zoom.

Think about Jesus’ ministry and the thousands of people who followed him. People felt drawn to physically be in his presence and learn from him. God could have chosen to continue to teach us via private revelation and through prophets. God could have “uploaded” all of Jesus’ teachings to humanity. But he didn’t because he knew the value of physical presence and community. People not only found comfort in being close to Jesus but also in being close to one another.

Presence in the Rosary

Meditate on the Fourth Joyful Mystery of the Rosary and its connection to faith and community. Consider that Mary and Joseph valued their sacred traditions and made efforts to praise God as written in the Law. They physically went to the Temple to offer sacrifices and present Jesus. Similarly, God commands us to be physically, mentally, and spiritually present in our faith. Remember, we profess that we believe in “one, holy, Catholic, apostolic Church.” “Catholic” means “universal.” We’re not meant to practice our faith in isolation.

Consider the Second Luminous Mystery of the Rosary. Jesus performed his first public miracle at a wedding where many gathered. I like to think that where many gather, miracles happen. Of course, the biggest miracle takes place every Mass — the transformation of bread and wine into Jesus’ body and blood. But that miracle requires presence to really have a transforming effect. Miracles need witnesses. Otherwise, they are just stories. That is why people aren’t as inspired by miracles that occurred centuries ago. And that is why a live-streamed Mass or a virtual parish is a poor substitute for physical presence.

Now that we’re halfway through Advent, take a moment to ask yourself how present you are in your faith. Has Advent been mostly secular for you revolving around gifts and decorations? Now is the time to really make this season meaningful by consciously centering your day around the coming of Jesus. Be present.

The Importance of Self-Control

I recently read We Have Met the Enemy: Self-Control in an Age of Excess by Daniel Akst. He explores the cultural shifts in our views around self-control. This is a secular book so you won’t see much on Church teaching except some implicit connections that those who are religious tend to exercise more self-control. Nor is it a self-help book trying to push some 12-step program. It’s just an honest look at self-control and whether its declining value in our world is a good or bad thing. Naturally, I read it thinking about how self-control is linked to our faith and what the Rosary can teach us about this topic.

Fighting Evolution

We have to endure a world of temptation and excess our ancestors never had to. Think about how convenient life is for the modern person. Most of us have nearly instant access to an abundance of calories, entertainment, and things. We don’t have to go for long periods of time between meals. Food is either a supermarket trip, fast food run, or pantry raid away. And with smartphones and the internet, we aren’t lacking options to occupy our time or buy anything our heart desires.

Our minds and bodies aren’t designed for this modern level of excess. Think about our primitive ancestors. They would need to fast for days between hunting animals. So when they did come across food, they consumed as much as they could because they didn’t know when the opportunity to consume more calories might be. As for entertainment; forget about it. They were too busy trying to stay alive. But if they could find some downtime, they took full advantage of it since they needed the rest to conserve energy.

Humans evolved amongst scarcity. Surviving when resources are scarce is our default setting. So our minds and bodies are working as designed when we indulge in tasty food or relaxing activities. The becomes problematic because we are surrounded by food and leisure 24/7. But our bodies don’t know that and are slow to adapt to the last few decades of changes (a blink in evolutionary terms). We need to override our default mode in this world of abundance. We need to show self-control.

Catholicism and Self-Control

Our Catholic faith helps us develop this sense of self-control. Think about the 7 deadly sins — gluttony, lust, envy, wrath, greed, sloth, and pride. For the most part, the root cause of these sins is a lack of self-control. It’s a failure to control our appetites, desires, and wants. The Church acknowledges and teaches that self-control is about resisting temptation and avoiding sin. This helps us stay healthy physically, but more importantly, spiritually.

Of course, showing self-control isn’t simple in the age of excess. We live in a world that affirms just about every vice. Lust, greed, and gluttony are celebrated as people being free to embrace whatever lifestyle they desire. The world isn’t going to honor your efforts to live on the straight and narrow. In fact, it will mostly like shame you for following conventions it sees as authoritative and fascist.

Self-Control in the Rosary

We can turn to the Rosary for guidance on self-control. When we look at the 7 deadly sins, the root sin is pride. Our pride is what justifies our lack of self-control. Pride is what puts our wants and desires ahead of anyone else’s. It tells us to ignore those voices telling us to exercise self-control. The virtue that counters pride is humility. Naturally, Mary is our model for humility. Meditate on the First Joyful Mystery. Picture Mary putting aside her own desires to do God’s Will. Humility means allowing God to guide us. Self-control and humility are about looking beyond your immediate wants and acknowledging others’ needs. Those “others” are our friends and family, our brothers and sisters in Christ, Christ himself, and our future self.

Look at Simeon and Anna in the Fourth Joyful Mystery. They exemplify restraint and dedication. They spent their lives in the temple praying and waiting for the Chosen One. Think about the level of self-control and patience they must have had. Simeon didn’t give in to their immediate desires but instead focused on what was promised to him — the privilege of seeing Jesus before he died. God promises us Heaven. But like Simeon, we have to show self-control and patience by not giving in to our sinful desires. We have to invest in our future selves that will enjoy the fruits of God’s kingdom. That “investment” won’t always be easy and might take a long time to bear fruit.

Self-control may be a dirty word in today’s culture. But we have to see it for what it really is — putting aside desires that aren’t physically, mentally, or spiritually healthy for us. This is why praying the Rosary, receiving the sacraments, and going to Mass are so important. They amplify this need for self-control, patience, and humility in a world that has practically drowned them out with messages affirming any vice you can think up.

To Reach Heaven, God Gives Us a Map, Not GPS

Actively Plotting a Direction

When I was young, if my mom needed to drive us somewhere new, she needed to consult a Thomas Guide for directions. It was a ringed book of detailed street maps of a given location. She couldn’t simply plug the address into a smartphone and have it provide turn-by-turn directions. She would look up the destination in the book’s index and then plot the route herself. There was no route optimization or traffic updates back in the day of paper maps. Someone needed to have a general sense of the roads in the local area and maps would help fill in details.

Answers are much easier to come by now. You can navigate a new city, state, or country with a few taps on a smartphone. In fact, the answers to most of our daily questions are a web search away. But the flip side of this convenience is that we tend to give up more easily when the answers aren’t immediate. A video taking too long to load or the answer not on the first page of search results usually results in us moving on to something with more immediate feedback.

Pope Francis had this to say on All Souls’ Day:

“From simple disciples of the Master we become masters of complexity, who argue a lot and do little, who seek answers more in front of the computer than in front of the Crucifix, on the internet rather than in the eyes of our brothers and sisters; Christians who comment, debate, and expound theories but do not know even a poor person by name, have not visited a sick person for months, have never fed or dressed someone, have never made friends with someone in need,’” he said.

Pope Francis (Catholic News Agency)

Heaven Takes Effort

Many of us spend more time in front of a computer or phone instead of holding Rosary beads in prayer. We go onto social media looking for information and validation from our peers while ignoring God in prayer. We tend to want simple answers — something that can be explained in a two-minute video or a one-paragraph Reddit post. We usually don’t want to put forth the effort to develop our faith when our serotonin fix is a click away.

Blindly traveling through life can get you lost

Our faith works more like a paper map than a smartphone. It requires time, patience, and effort to find our direction. God can’t give us the keys to happiness, peace, and true joy in a TikTok video or tweet. Those answers are too big and complex. Furthermore, there isn’t a single, turn-by-turn route to God’s heavenly kingdom. Someone who lives in South Africa will probably take a much different path than one who lives in the Philippines. We know our destination but we need to fill in our knowledge and experience to plot our route.

Tools for the Journey

How do we read the spiritual map God provides us? How do we plan our path in life so that we arrive at our ultimate destination, Heaven? Here are a few ways.

  1. Attend Mass regularly
  2. Pray the Rosary
  3. Fast
  4. Receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation
  5. Read the Bible

None of these practices can be done in a few minutes with a simple web search. It’s a journey. It requires patience which is the fruit of the Fourth Sorrowful Mystery. Jesus fell multiple times as he carried the cross. But each time he got back up and moved forward. We have to show that same level of commitment to achieving our ultimate goal of Heaven. It will be tiring, stressful, and maybe even painful at times. It requires discipline and the ability to look past present challenges and disappointments to achieve the greater goal. Unlike following GPS directions, reaching Heaven is not something we can do passively. It requires active participation and focus.

Imitating The Saints

I know All Saints Day was several weeks ago. But they provide such a good model for consciously plotting and following a path toward Heaven. They knew their desired destination and used the tools available to them to get there. They didn’t passively or accidentally find Heaven by a stroke of good luck. Heaven shouldn’t be somewhere we stumble upon, but a goal we actively pursue.

We can’t let momentary setbacks destroy our motivation to practice our faith. It may be that certain propositions didn’t go our way in recent elections. It may be that we haven’t been “feeling it” at Mass lately. Maybe we haven’t been feeling well so we put aside our Rosary beads for something with more immediate gratification. But this is where we need to call on the holy Trinity, Mary, and the saints for the patience and strength to push forward. Like a good map, they provide all the details we need to know to enter Heaven. We just need to put forth the effort to plot the route.

Link Smorgasbord for October 2022

Throughout the day, I often come across articles on the internet that I want to write about. Unfortunately, I either run out of time or couldn’t make the article come together the way I like it. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t interesting and worth reading.

One of my favorite radio shows puts on a segment called “Cleaning out the Sound Fridge” where they play news clips they didn’t find time to air in their usual features. So in that vein, I’m cleaning out the link fridge for October.

I mostly came across Rosary articles this month. Most of the topics I’ve covered in various RosaryMeds articles so I just couldn’t find new angles and themes to write on. But there are also some political stories that I think are important to be aware of.

The Difference Between Freedom and License

The Lost Art of Self-Control

I recently listened to a podcast produced by The Art of Manliness website titled What Happened to the Idea of Self Control? It was an interview with Daniel Akst, author of the book Temptation: Finding Self-Control in an Age of Excess. He brought up interesting points about how we’ve forgotten the benefits of self-control as a society. Instead, we now have this notion that resisting temptations and showing self-control are somehow contrary to exercising freedom.

When I listened to this podcast, I couldn’t help but think of the Israelites in the Old Testament. Countless times, their lack of self-control led to God punishing them. As I said in previous articles, I bet the “punishment” was just the logical consequence of a society acting immorally. When self-control is no longer valued or promoted by a culture, chaos results. The 10 Commandments and other moral laws don’t exist to inhibit peoples’ freedoms. It’s quite the opposite. They remind people of the foundational moral code that allows freedom to flourish.

Freedom vs. License

Let’s review the difference between freedom and license. Freedom is having the ability to freely choose how you want to live as long as it’s compatible with the common good. License, on the other hand, is doing whatever we feel like doing. We tend to confuse these concepts. True freedom results from people considering the consequences of their actions and how it affects others. Freedom is being able to choose between multiple good or neutral options. Choosing to do harm or evil isn’t exercising freedom, it’s taking license. We can never willingly choose evil under the name of freedom, free choice, or free will.

Elections and Freedom

The United States is entering its midterm elections. We’re not electing a new president, but we are electing members of Congress and voting on various laws. Abortion is a big topic now that the Supreme Court overturned federal abortion laws. You hear many pro-abortion politicians talk about the “freedom” to choose. Some even go so far as to promote radical abortion policies while holding rosaries or displaying religious imagery. They paint pro-life advocates as wanting to take away a woman’s freedom. But abortion is gravely immoral. Promoting abortion can never be an exercise of freedom. It’s an exercise in taking license.

Teaching people the evil of abortion and pushing for an abortion-free society does not impede people’s freedoms. A free society is not one where anything goes. That mindset inevitably leads to chaos and disorder. Look at many progressive cities in the United States like San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle, and Chicago. They are enshrining license in their laws by not enforcing laws against drugs, theft, and even certain violent crimes. This is in the name of “freedom”, “equity”, and numerous other buzzwords. However, these cities have become less free because law-abiding citizens are not safe to lead the life they want. Their freedom to choose the good is restricted so that others can exercise license.

How the Rosary Teaches Freedom

When I think about following God’s laws, I meditate on the First Luminous Mystery. I recall the Holy Spirit coming down on Jesus and God saying “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased” (Luke 3:22). God is telling everyone to listen and follow Jesus. And that really is the core of practicing the Catholic faith — listening to Jesus. We affirm this in the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation. Freedom comes down to listening to God and doing His Will out of a love for Him. Even for those who aren’t baptized Catholic, God still speaks to them through the natural law He created. We are all born free because everyone has the ability to know God and follow Him. We all intuitively understand the difference between good and evil and can make free decisions honoring God’s moral laws.

When you examine your conscience (which you hopefully do regularly), ask yourself if you exhibited freedom or license during the day. Did you allow God to guide you in your interactions with people? Look at some of your political views, politicians, and laws that you support. Do you support them because they are morally sound or because they are convenient? There are so many people who will see our world crumble as long as they get to stay on top. They do that by selling license disguised as freedom. Be smart, pray the Rosary, and see through the lies.

Simplify Your Life With God’s Help

The Busy Life

Ironically, I’ve been too busy to write about the beauty of simple living. I read this article about a book that explains the joys that come out of simplifying our lives. But every time I start writing a reflection on it, I get distracted by something else requiring my attention. In the course of writing this article, I’ve been asked to help my son with a computer program, and the other with a Lego build. I needed to create a lineup for my youth soccer game and get involved in countless other responsibilities.

A College Student Reflects on Simplicity

Have you ever noticed that your home often reflects your spiritual and mental state? Why is this? Is our soul’s health really manifested in the space we live in? In her new book, The Little Way of Living with Less: Learning to Let Go with the Little Flower, Laraine Bennett reflects on and answers th…

I walk a fine balance. I see the value of keeping life simple and try to adhere to that principle. I want to focus on those things that are truly important and keep me and others connected to God. That includes daily Rosary prayer, attending Mass, learning the faith, and always including God in everything I do.

At the same time, I participate in many activities because I believe in the principle of “if not me, who?” Basically, many things don’t happen if people don’t volunteer and get involved. I can’t depend on organizations and events happening if I don’t step up and play a part. AYSO needs a coach? I’m in. Does my parish need help with their live streaming? You can count on me. But being involved in parish life, family life, school life, and activities isn’t exactly a simple life.

Priorities

I read about how we need to think of life as a constant river of responsibilities. Picture a physical river. No matter how many buckets and how much time you have, you’ll never be able to collect all the water in a river. The same goes with life — there’s always something to do. And sometimes, we just need to let certain things pass by and not dwell on missing them. But how do we know what to focus on in our never-ending stream of responsibilities?

Autofocus: The Productivity System That Treats Your To-Do List Like a River

In one of the emails Oliver Burkeman, author of Time Management for Mortals, sent out to his subscribers, he talked about how we typically treat our to-do lists like buckets that we need to empty every day. The problem, Burkeman observes, is that the to-do list is a bucket that never entirely empti…

I believe simplicity is found through prioritization. Inversely, it’s the lack of prioritization that leads to complications, anxiety, and unhappiness. Complexity is found when the foundation of our day is not God, but a football game, TV show, or video game. Even essential responsibilities like work, housekeeping, family, and community become more complicated when they, not God, are the priority. As I said in my recent Rosary talk, our lives need to be anchored in God’s truth if we are to have any real, meaningful happiness. Otherwise, we’re like a leaf tossed about in the storm.

Letting God Prioritize Your Day

Let’s take my typical day. I wake up and need to get my boys ready for school. I then need to go to work where people have many expectations of me. I then have some sort of responsibility in the evening whether it be coaching, a parish meeting, or just housework. I can’t do that on my own. It’s too much. I need help.

Prayer becomes my secret ingredient. I pray the Rosary in the morning, spend some time in Church after dropping my boys off at school, and sprinkle in the Liturgy of the Hours throughout the day. In those prayers, I put my day in God’s hands to do with it as He wills. I can’t pause my life. I’m going to spend every hour of every day doing something (even if it’s doing nothing). But rather than worry about how I’m going to spend that time, I ask God for help. And that makes all the difference.

Simplicity ultimately comes from trusting God. He will help you figure out what endeavors are worth your efforts. He will tell you what events are truly worth worrying about and which ones you can let go of. But God is more than a divine day planner. All paths to true happiness lead to Him. Like an efficient driving route, God helps us strip away all those “wrong turns” in life that cause so much undue anxiety, hardship, and frustration.