Imitation of Christ

Started reading Thomas A'Kempis' Imitation of Christ while taking a trip along the West Coast to San Francisco, Portland area, and Seattle. Visited the Shrine to St. Francis while in San Fran, which I guess isn't all that big deal compared to, say, going to Assisi, but was glad to see they seem to have a good, faithful ministry there. Also talked to a hippie in Buena Vista Park near Haight-Ashbury. That was probably the highlight of the whole trip. Afterwards, I kinda wondered what Jesus might have said during that conversation, which I guess is a cheesy WWJD-ish thought to have, so I didn't waste time thinking about it for too long because -- obviously -- Jesus wasn't there in human flesh and blood.

Anyway, back to the point of this post, which is gonna be quick since I'm thinking shorter posts are better suited to my writing and reading style. Maybe a few people will actually read this thing if the posts are short :)

I keep going back to this one line in Imitation from Book I Chapter XI: "If every year we would root out one vice, we should soon become perfect men." Obviously, he's not saying we'll cease to be sinners, but our imitation of Christ will approach perfection by God's grace. I find this convicting because this past New Year's, I made an honest-to-God resolution to cut Sloth and procrastination out of my life. How am I doing? Well, I keep putting it off. This year is nearly over and I don't want to make the same resolution again next year.

See, I often think up ambitious ideas for a small business I could start or some creative evangelistic effort, but I suck at taking the smaller practical steps to get from Point A to Point B. Usually those aren't so exciting to think about. Relating it to St. Francis' life, he didn't set out to create a religious order that would remain one of the world's largest 800 years later while producing some of the Church's most beloved saints. He simply longed to love Jesus in a leper and to adore Him in the Eucharist.

Three Months

It's been exactly three months since my last post. Life's been kinda busy lately, but at the same time I haven't had a lot of ideas for blogging lately. That might be partly due to going through a bit of a spiritual doldrum... just stuck in one of those ruts, which can be especially frustrating when accompanied by repetitive sins. That's why I look back and wonder how I ever made it without Confession and the Eucharist. This past weekend, while chaperoning at the Ignite Your Torch youth conference, I thought back to the many similar conferences I attended with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship while a student at University of Louisville. Wouldn't it be odd to attend a conference now -- having been Catholic for a little over a year -- and see no religious brothers and sisters, no priests, no opportunities for sacramental grace through Confession and Holy Communion, no holy water, no Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and of course, no exorcists! Heck, I'd even miss the Latin. :)

A few months ago, I attended a Protestant candlelight prayer meeting at Centre College, and while it's always great to listen to and reflect on Scripture in a sacred space, it just wasn't the same. I have a feeling going to an InterVarsity conference now would leave me with the same feeling, like eating three bites of a steak: very good, but I'm hungry for a lot more. The funny thing is, as a Protestant I used to hear Catholics say the same kinds of things I'm saying now, and I thought they were half nuts or had too much of the Kool-Aid. Well, I guess of that "Kool-Aid" is the Blood of Christ, count me in!

Of course, like just about every conference I've attended, Ignite was yet another "Transfiguration" experience. While I've grown past the need for strong emotional experiences at these gatherings, my relationship with God is feeling much stronger. Plus, while I took a lot of notes from different talks, one bit of advice that I know will prove useful is to offer up to God the sufferings of temptation, joining them with the sufferings of Christ on the cross. I'm also more firmly resolved to resume going to daily Mass at least once a week (which I did during Lent) and spend at least an hour a week at Adoration. There are other things I'd like to do, like start running regularly and going to bed earlier every night, but I pray those disciplines will be some of the fruit bore from more frequently receiving Communion and kneeling in Adoration.