The fire-and-brimstone sermon has gone from being a common
fixture of Christian life for our great-grandparents to a
much rarer occurrence today. Perhaps that's why
Pope Francis' pre-Christmas address to the Vatican Curia
hit such a chord with so many people, churchgoers or not; no
soft touch or "attaboys" for those guys. It was a cold shower
and in his own words, an "examination of conscience."
We all could use a cold shower. Maybe that's why the pope
entitled his talk, "To the Roman Curia and the Body of
Christ." Most guys I know will choose brimstone over fluff
any day of year. So, I invite everyone - especially my fellow
dads - to find a seat in that Vatican hall. Let's join our
curia-bureaucrat-brothers in Christ and do a New Year's
inventory on our identity, prayer life, time, stuff and
relationships.
It's going to hurt. So before you read this, invite the Holy
Spirit to open your mind. And take heart - while the curia
heard
15 "diseases," I have room here for only seven.
And now, over to the Holy Father (Note: the 3,400-word
original is abbreviated here with "dad" in place of
"curia/priests" and alternate titles and order):
Identity
1. Thinking we are "immortal," "immune" or downright
"indispensable," neglecting the need for regular check-ups.
The dad who is not self-critical, who does not keep up with
things, who does not seek to be more fit, is sick. A simple
visit to the cemetery might help us see the names of many
people who thought they were immortal, immune and
indispensable.
2. A lugubrious face. Those glum and dour persons who think
that to be serious we have to put on a face of melancholy and
severity and treat others - especially those we consider our
inferiors - with rigor, brusqueness and arrogance. In fact, a
show of severity and sterile pessimism are frequently
symptoms of fear and insecurity. A dad must make an effort to
be courteous, serene, enthusiastic and joyful; a person who
transmits joy everywhere he goes.
Prayer
3. "Spiritual Alzheimer's disease": It consists of losing the
memory of our personal "salvation history," our past history
with the Lord and our "first love" (Rev 2:4). It involves a
progressive decline in the spiritual faculties which, in the
long or short run, greatly handicaps a person by making him
incapable of doing anything on his own, living in a state of
absolute dependence on his often imaginary perceptions.
4. Mental and spiritual "petrification": It is found in those
who have a heart of stone; the "stiff-necked" (Acts 7:51-60);
in those who in the course of time lose their interior
serenity, alertness and daring, and hide under a pile of
papers, turning into paper-pushers and not men of God (cf.
Heb 3:12). It is dangerous to lose the human sensitivity that
enables us to weep with those who weep and to rejoice with
those who rejoice.
Time
5. Excessive busyness: It is found in those who immerse
themselves in work and inevitably neglect "the better part":
sitting at the feet of Jesus (cf. Lk 10:38-42).
A
time of rest, for those who have completed their work, is
necessary, obligatory and should be taken seriously; by
spending time with one's family and respecting holidays as
moments of spiritual and physical recharging.
Stuff
6. Hoarding: When a dad tries to fill an existential void in
his heart by accumulating material goods, not out of need but
only in order to feel secure. The fact is that we are not
able to bring material goods with us, since "the winding
sheet does not have pockets," and all our earthly treasures -
even if they are gifts - will never be able to fill that
void; instead, they will only make it deeper and more
demanding.
Relationships
7. Rivalry and vainglory: When appearances, the color of our
clothes and our titles of honor become the primary object in
life, we forget the words of St. Paul: "Do nothing from
selfishness or conceit, but in humility count others better
than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own
interests, but also to the interests of others" (Phil 2:3-4).
Brothers, these diseases and these temptations are naturally
a danger for each Christian.
Therefore, so as not to
fall
let us ask the Virgin Mary, Mother of God and
Mother of the church, to heal the wounds of sin, which each
of us bears in his heart
to the glory of her Son and
for our salvation and that of the entire world.
Johnson, a husband and father of five, is Arlington Bishop
Paul S. Loverde's special assistant for evangelization and
media. He can be reached on Twitter @Soren_t.