Heroes

 

There is not a single person who aspires to mediocrity. 

Not one. 

Every person aspires to greatness. 

Think back to when you were younger. I'm talking about 5 or 6 years old. What did you want to be when you grew up? 

A firefighter. A teacher. A pro-football player. An astronaut. A movie star. The list goes on. For my little sister, the current career of choice is a policewoman. 

When we were little kids, regardless of how we wanted to do it, we all wanted to be the same thing. 

We all wanted to be great. We wanted to be the best. We wanted to be the ones who overcame adversity and became what we were meant to be, the ones who did something worthwhile.

We wanted to be heroes. 

There is a desire inside all of us to be more than we are. To be part of something bigger. To go against the tide and be extraordinary. 

And that only applies to our careers, right? To the things of the world. No way that could have anything to do with our faith...right? 

Wrong.


Dictionary.com defines a hero as "a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities".

Most of the time this brings to mind knights in shining armor in a land far away, battling fire-breathing dragons. Nice, but not immediately applicable in our lives. Because of this we tend to write off the whole idea of heroism and say there's little room for it in the modern world.

But it's not true. The world needs heroes as much as it ever will. The Church needs heroes as much as it ever has.


Heroism is absolutely applicable to our faith; in fact, it's essential. What is more noble than Christ's cause? What is more courageous than to go against the societal norm for His sake? What takes more bravery than to lay down your life for another?

As Christians, this is exactly what God asks of us.


Jesus isn't really Mr. Popular right now. Look around. Everywhere we look, virtue is ridiculed, goodness is mocked, and truth is silenced. It's an "every man for himself" world.

Everywhere we look, we see the fruit of this terrible seed. We see hunger, we see hurt, we see hopelessness.

But what if it wasn't "every man for himself"? What if it was every man for Him?

What if a radical group of people decided not to be afraid anymore? What if they decided that what the world had to offer them was just not good enough and that everyone deserves something more than the lies it tries to force on us? What if they died to their pride to be truly alive in humility? What if they chose to let their own desires waste away and strove to meet the needs of others? What if they committed the equivalent of social suicide by committing themselves to a life in Christ? What if they laid their lives down in that way?

The results would be unbelievable.

Hunger would be met, hurt would be healed, and hope would be restored.  

If we took the time to be the hands, feet, and voice of Christ in a world that so badly needs Him, we would start to see Heaven on Earth. Not because of us, but because of Him in us.


There's a quote that I love. Mark Hart, a popular speaker and prolific author, once said something along the lines of, "'Thy kingdom come' means my kingdom go." It couldn't be more true.


If we want the world to change, we have to change the world. Just a heads up, the world is not going to like it, and that means it's not going to like us. We will be hated, and shunned, and ridiculed. And that's okay. Heroism thrives in the face of adversity. And if we need anymore convincing:

Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:10

I'm convinced.


It's up to us. It's going to be difficult. It's going to be hard, and it's going to be uncomfortable. But as Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI said, "You were not made for comfort; you were made for greatness."

You were made to be a hero.

Peace be with you.
Caitlin

Band-aids

"I'm okay. I'm getting better."

I can't even count how many times I've said this over the past year and a half, but I could probably count on one hand the number of times it's been true.

I have had scrupulosity for the last two years. When a person is scrupulous, they see sin where there is no sin. Everyday is a battle against yourself, fighting invisible monsters and waging impossible wars. It completely takes over your life.

My scrupulosity is heavily based in another issue I have: OCD. I've had Obsessive Compulsive Disorder since I was six, but in ninth grade the scrupulosity started. In order to get rid of it, I have to deal with the OCD.


This means therapy. Which is long and hard and scary. It's a painful process, and I'm not excited about it.

I'm so not excited about it that I'd almost rather continue coping with everything just the way it is. I'd rather keep on keeping on with my head down and my heart closed and continue hurting, just so I don't have to face it.

It's like putting a band-aid on your scraped knee while you're bleeding to death from a wound in your side.


I think we all do this in some way or another. It's a cultural epidemic. We ignore the responsibilities that keep piling up in favor of mindless occupations which do nothing to enrich our lives. We drink cups upon cups of coffee instead of going to sleep a little earlier. We bury our faces in our phones rather than speak to the person directly across from us because it might just be uncomfortable.

In an even more dangerous way, we do this with our souls. We drown out the whispers of our conscience with the noise of the world. We rationalize our sins so we don't have to abandon them. We avoid prayer like the plague and then wonder why we're miserable.

We treat the symptom, not the cause. We're putting band-aids on our hearts, and it's killing us.


Jesus doesn't do band-aids. He does healing. The Bible is full of stories of how He stopped the hurting and slayed the demons. Everywhere He went, He healed, and He healed completely.

He didn't tell the blind men, "You'll kind of, sort of think you can see." He didn't tell the lepers, "You'll be clean for a while, but the sores will  come back when you let your guard down.". He didn't tell the lame, "You don't get to walk, but you can hop on one foot if you tug on your left ear."

He told them their sins we're forgiven and they were made whole.

Jesus doesn't do delusions. He doesn't do temporary fixes, and He doesn't do conditions. He does real, total, generous renewal.

Go read John 11:1-44. What more proof do we need that Jesus can tackle all our bumps and bruises? He raised a dead man! Surely He can bring us back to life as well.


So, we have two options when it comes to how to deal with our wounds. We can either keep putting on the band-aids and hoping they'll go numb, or we can give them to Jesus and let them go away.

A band-aid is a short-term solution. Believing that somehow it's going to take care of something that truly needs stitches is believing in a lie. It's a rip off that eventually will need to be ripped off. And that will probably hurt more than healing ever would.

Jesus won't heal you halfway. He'll make you new. That doesn't necessarily mean you won't have to do anything, but it does mean you'll never have to do it alone.


Therapy is long and hard and scary. It's a painful process and that's okay. It's what Jesus wants to use to heal me, and ready or not, it's time to let Him. The band-aid's coming off.


What about you? Where are you covering up your problems instead of confronting them? What are you hiding from your Healer because your embarrassed or scared or think you can handle it? You wouldn't try and set a broken bone yourself. Don't try to mend your broken heart.


Peace be with you.
Caitlin

Choosing Love

I don't always want to be holy.


I don't think anybody does ALL the time. Everyone has days, minutes, moments where they'd rather not do the right thing. It's hard, it's painful, and it's just not always fun.


I struggle a lot with feelings. I allow them to dictate my thoughts and moods in a ridiculous way. I allow them to tell me who I am, even when they're lying.

There are days when I simply don't feel like being holy. I feel like walking away and doing what I want. I feel like it's all for nothing, that it's not worth it and I'm wasting my time. There are days when I feel like God's not there, and if He is He doesn't care. Sometimes I feel like He's not fair and it's His fault and I don't want anything to do with Him.

And sometimes that's okay.


It's okay to feel like that. It's okay to struggle with your faith and to wonder why you even bother.

It's okay to feel like walking away; it's not okay to do it.


One time, in the middle of one of these moments in my life, one of my youth leaders said this to me:

"Faith is not about feelings; it's about fidelity."
 

It's so true. Just because I don't feel like being a good person every waking moment doesn't mean I'm a bad person. At the end of the day, it all boils down to a single resolution...

I decide to be holy.

 

It's a decision, not a feeling. It comes down to choice, not chance. It's up to me and no one else and I choose good.
 

I choose life and love and joy and gentleness and courage and constancy and I choose Him. I choose Jesus.

 

There will be days we don't feel like being holy, and there will be a time when we have to decide if that's enough. Is a fickle, fleeting feeling enough to draw me away from Love Itself?

 

And it's not a one time thing. It's something we ought to ask ourselves in the midst of every trial and temptation. I think if we phrased it to ourselves like that we'd sin a lot less frequently. Is a moment of pleasure worth an eternity of joy? Is this enough to exchange for the Lord of the Universe?

 

Hint: The answer is NO.

 

We all have a choice to make. We can choose apathy, and we can choose skepticism. We can choose the easy way out. But we can also choose Love. I know what I want. What about you?

 

Peace be with you.

Caitlin



Focus

It was the second day of school and I was already behind. I think it ought to go without saying that I am not optimistic for the remainder of my senior year.

I knew it would be like this. I knew that eventually the excitement of a new schedule and the interest in new classes would fade away and the real work would begin.

I just didn't know it would be like this. I didn't know I'd last less than 48 hours before I had to catch up on my assignments.

Though you know, judging by the sporadic nature of my posts, that I'm hardly good at time management!


I really thought this year would be different. I really thought this year, I'm going to stick with it and organize myself so that I'm not drowning in loose leaf, and this year I'm going to be on top of things.

Bang goes that theory.


I wonder why it's always like this for me. I mean really, it's not like I try to get behind. I'm doing my best! So maybe I sleep in a little later in the morning, and yeah, maybe I should get myself put together before noon every once and a while. It's not like it's affecting my work! Just because I take Netflix breaks doesn't mean I have less time for reading, and...

Wait...oh, I see.


Focus. That all too elusive concept. It's nearly impossible for me to focus on any one thing, and I couldn't multitask if you offered me a million dollars.

That's why I'm a terrible driver. :)

But it's also why I'm a distracted student. I have a hard time paying attention to the task at hand. My mind is always going a million miles an hour, but never about schoolwork. It's difficult to keep from chasing rabbits and stick to the path.


On Sunday, the homily (sermon) was about just that: focus. It reminded me of how important it is to focus on God, and let everything else flow from that.

If I'm focused on God and what He wants from me, then I am automatically more inclined to be focused on the important things in life. I will be able to prioritize and can be fully aware of what I'm doing. That doesn't rule out Netflix; it just means that when I do watch Netflix I'm not doing so to the neglect of more important things. This focus not only improves the quality of my work but also the quality of my leisure, so Netflix becomes all the more awesome.

I was so excited about this idea of focus. I was sure I could do this.


Enter Monday, the first day of school.

Not. Focused.

Now, I have two options. Either I can descend into the depths of self-pity because I mean really, I couldn't focus for two days...or, I could look and see what the Bible says about focus.

I've tried the pity thing before, so let's try the Bible.

Let your eyes look straight ahead and your gaze be focused forward.

Proverbs 4:25

 

Be eager to present yourself as acceptable to God, a workman who causes no disgrace, imparting the word of truth without deviation.

2 Timothy 2:15

 

Entrust your works to the Lord, and your plans shall succeed.

Proverbs 16:3

 

 

 

And I'm sure that's just the beginning.

God has an incredible plan for our lives. In order for us to live them, we have to focus on His voice, focus on the task at hand, and focus on the final destination. For many of us, that unfortunately means focusing on our homework.


Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go start my school day. Not that I was putting it off by writing a blog post or anything like that. :)





Peace be with you.
Caitlin

Sparrow

When I was younger, we had a bird feeder in our backyard. I remember looking out the window, hoping beyond hope that maybe today there would be a bluebird or a red-winged blackbird. Unfortunately, it was usually just grackles and mourning doves.

I did develop a fondness for the white-throated sparrow though. It might not be a bluebird, but it has one of the most beautiful songs, and I loved when the tiny thing would show up for a quick bite to eat at our seeded buffet. It was more than welcome to displace the boohooing pigeons and the grouchy grackles. 

The bird feeder is gone now, and I don't see sparrows much anymore, but they left a lasting impression upon me. Apparently God's has a soft spot for them too, because he mentions them a good bit in the Bible. I just came across this passage.


Are not five sparrows sold for two small coins? Yet not one of them has escaped the notice of God. Even the hairs of your head have all been counted. Do not be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows. Luke 12:6-7


I love this so much. It's one of those passages that settles my heart and fills me with contentment and peace. There's so much good in two short little verses.

First things first, let's talk about the birds. Sparrows are teeny tiny, and apparently they weren't very valuable. 5 for 2, that's quite the deal. Even still, Jesus says that God hasn't forgotten a single one; He sees them all, and he cares for them. Regardless of how small or insignificant they seem to us, God must think they're pretty cool to pay so much attention to them.

So then what about the things in your life that seem small or insignificant? What about the test you need to pass or the ankle you twisted? God cares about those too. Don't hesitate to bring the little things to God in prayer. Don't hold onto them because you think God doesn't want to be bothered.


Seriously, God "bothered" to count the hairs on your head! Think about that. On average, we have 100,000 strands of hair. God counted each and every one, He knows the exact number.

But that's not the most incredible thing. Jesus says that even the hairs on your head have been counted. EVEN! Think about what that means. If God took the time to go through the imaginably tedious task of numbering the thousands of hairs on your head, if he made the effort to know about that, what other things do you think he knows? Obviously God knows everything, but the point that Jesus is making is that He wants to know. He cares about you, about all of you. He knows and cares about every broken bone, every missing tooth, and every. last. detested. pimple. He knows about every broken heart, every single tear, and every shattered dream. Every fear, every joy, He knows and cares about your deepest struggles and your greatest desires. Nothing is too small to escape God's notice or too big to resist His love.


So as Jesus says, do not be afraid! God is on your side. You are worth more than many sparrows.


Peace be with you.
~ Caitlin

Sinners All

Hey, guess what? You...are a sinner.

Don't be offended, I'm not singling you out. I'm just restating what the Bible has been telling us for centuries.

"...all have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God." Romans 3:23

We're all...sinners.


While that's not something we should ever be comfortable with, it is something we need to be aware of and something we need to come to terms with.

That might sound like apathy. Under NO circumstances should it be taken that way. Sin is a terrible thing. It separates us from God and goes against everything He has ordained for us. It is never okay. "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23), and that is not something for you to EVER take lightly. I am certainly not saying that you should.

What I am saying, is that we need to accept that we're not perfect. It's important for us to admit that we mess up. In order for us to be reconciled with God and allow Him to work in us, we have to acknowledge that there's work to do.


Failure to accept and acknowledge that you are not perfect will inevitably result in one of two problems.


Problem #1- I can do no wrong.

One possible consequence of refusing to accept your sinful nature is denial of it. In this scenario, one becomes exceedingly prideful. While she knows deep down that she's flawed, she can't bring herself to come to terms with it, and so she carries on as though she is incapable of error.

This is obviously detrimental. Pride is the root of all evil, the parent of every other vice. It robs us of the ability to grow spiritually because we are unable to see where we need to grow, and so it prevents God from using us to the fullest extent.



Problem #2- I can do no right.

This is the opposite extreme. In this case, far from denying his sin, one becomes obsessed with it, focusing exclusively on what he's done wrong. He is so distraught over his sin that he doesn't trust he can be forgiven. He can't accept the fact that he (like everyone else) is a sinner, and eventually is so preoccupied with his faults that he is tempted to despair.

The problem in this situation is that it displays a pride all its own. In dwelling so much on what he's done, the sinner takes his focus away from the most important thing in all of history: what He's done. He turns his attention so far inwards and so dramatically onto his shortcomings that He won't look at the God who took it all away, and who promises to take it away all over again each time we ask Him.


The Solution

Basically, at this point, I've given a pretty depressing generalization of how messed up we all are. But never fear! There's hope!

Let's take a look at Romans 3:23, the verse in the beginning of this post, in context.


"But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, though testified to by the law and the prophets, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction; all have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God. They are justified freely by his grace through the redemption in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as an expiation, through faith, by his blood, to prove his righteousness because of the forgiveness of sins previously committed, through the forbearance of God—to prove his righteousness in the present time, that he might be righteous and justify the one who has faith in Jesus.

     What occasion is there then for boasting? It is ruled out. On what principle, that of works? No, rather on the principle of faith. For we consider that a person is justified by faith apart from works of the law. Does God belong to Jews alone? Does he not belong to Gentiles, too? Yes, also to Gentiles, for God is one and will justify the circumcised on the basis of faith and the uncircumcised through faith. Are we then annulling the law by this faith? Of course not! On the contrary, we are supporting the law." Romans 3:21-31


That's a lot. Why don't we have St. John the Apostle sum it up for us?


"If we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing." 1 John 1:9 


How amazing is that?! We're all sinners, but we can all be set free!

We can't earn this freedom. This is why the "I can do no wrong" approach is so messed up. Nothing we do, nothing we can accomplish can save us from ourselves. Only God can do that. We need Him to rescue us.

And He will! He will because He has, once and for all on the cross. He will because He's going to, as soon as we ask Him to take away our sin and our guilt. As soon as we acknowledge (or confess) that we've wronged Him, the minute we tell Him we're sorry, that's the moment He reaches out into the chaos we've created and calms the sea.

That's why "I can do no right" doesn't work either. We have to trust that He is Who He says He is and He will do what He says He'll do. Trusting Him means letting go of the guilt and the shame and placing it all in His nail-scarred hands. It means throwing all our fears and our temptations into His arms, and going forward in joy with the honest intention to "go and sin no more". (John 8:11)


So that's the answer. Pray for the grace to be able to say, "Lord, I'm a sinner. I have wronged your most precious and sacred heart. I am so sorry. Please take it all away. Make me a new creation and replace my shame with the peace of your Love. Give me the strength never to turn away from you again. Thank you for your mercy, Lord. Help me to love you. Amen."


I will be the first to admit that I struggle with accepting my sinful nature. I frequently fall into both of the problems described above, most often the second. In fact, that's what inspired this post; my own inability to deal with my imperfections. That's why I will be the first to pray that prayer. I hope you will too.


Yes, you're a sinner. No, you're not alone. Run to Jesus; He will set you free.


Peace be with you.
~ Caitlin




 

Limitless

 

Logo: Steubenville Conferences

For more information about Steubenville conferences, which are awesome, and play host to powerful speakers, great music, lots of Holy Spirit, and Jesus present in the Eucharist, visit http://www.steubenville.org/

 

A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.

John 10:10

 

 

So, I just got back from a youth conference. A really awesome, amazing conference. I cannot wait to share it with you all, but it's going to take a while to finish processing, and even longer to express.

 

 

For now I just want to give you the verse at the heart of it. The whole weekend was based off this, and the theme, "Limitless", revolved around it. It has quickly become one of my favorite verses.

 

 It is so applicable for me and where I am right now. I have a struggle which strives nearly constantly to deprive me of joy and peace and life as God wants it for me. I need to fix my eyes on Him and trust in His limitless power and His limitless plan. This verse is a beautiful reminder of that.

 

 

What are the thieves in your life? What are the things that threaten to rob you of abundant life? Is there a person who is leading you astray? Is there a situation that is beyond your control but is still weighing on your heart? Is there an attitude that's draining you, or a sin you cannot shake?

 

Whatever you're facing, whatever your thieves might be, take courage and throw them into the heart of Jesus. Cast them at His feet. He has already conquered everything we have to fear and is waiting, desperate for us to give it all to Him and longing to give us His abundant life in return.

 

What are we waiting for?


Peace be with you.
~Caitlin

 

 

 

Love Conquers All

For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control.

2 Timothy 1:7

The first time I remember having a "favorite Bible verse", it was this one. I have quite a few more favorites nowadays, but this one still holds a very special place in my heart.

Everyone experiences fear. It's a natural human emotion. Today more than ever, there are many things in the world that we could be afraid of. But we were not made to be afraid. 

We were made to love. We were made to be in relationship with Love Itself. God is Love.

Love conquers all. 


Peace be with you. 
~Caitlin 

He Must Increase

I must say it's a daunting task, much more so than I anticipated it would be. A blinking cursor and a blank page are perhaps the most forbidding pair I've chanced to come upon.

"It's just a post," I thought. "It'll be fine, easy even."

Wrong.

It's not fine. It was not okay for me to repeatedly put this off. It is now exactly 9:03 p.m. the night before this post is set to be published. And I have writer's block.

Fantastic.

Nothing I can think of is good enough. It's not funny enough, it's not witty enough, it's not deep enough...so on and so on. I am so worried about being clever and wise and having everybody think I'm so smart.

Unfortunately, I am just a little bit prideful.


It's sad, but it's also true. I don't like it, but I can't deny it. I'd like to say it's not a dominant trait of mine, and I hope I'd be right. I can say, though, that it is probably causing my writer's block.

I've been becoming increasingly aware of this self-centeredness. One place I've found it is in my faith. I have a terrible tendency to make it about me: what I do or don't do, how good or bad a person I've been. I spend a lot of time gaining knowledge about God, and not a lot of time getting to know Him. I talk a lot about God, but I rarely talk to Him. I make my faith all about me, not about Him.

I'm worried I will make The Bible Freaks all about me too.


I was thinking about all of this while brainstorming for this post. A verse came to my mind. It is one of the few verses I know by heart, and one of my favorites.

He must increase; I must decrease.

John 3:30

It's not about me. Nothing is supposed to be about me! If this project is about me, it is worthless.

My thoughts are nothing. My plans are nothing. My life is nothing if it's not lived for Christ.

And so...we at The Bible Freaks move forward with the realization and the conviction that this blog is not about us. It's about Him. It's all about Him.


My pride is not a good thing. It's a flaw. It's a failure. The most amazing thing about it though? It's fixable.

The God who conquered death itself is more than capable of conquering my pride. Not only that, He can fix everything else that's messed up about me and you. He can and will make our brokenness beautiful.

I hope He will use The Bible Freaks to do that.


Peace be with you.
~ Caitlin