because it’s hard
Recently, I saw an article entitled, Life is Hard, Jesus Doesn't Make it any Easier...
Yup. Following Jesus isn't easy. So few of us live like we believe, and even fewer risk like we believe – because it’s hard.
How many of us live our Catholic faith by skimming off the top everything that is too difficult for our secular culture's palate? We "update" our faith by trying to remove, rearrange, and reword the Truth…. We think that being a Catholic is “easier” when we can interpret our own truth to eliminate the risk of it all being too hard. Right?
Nope.
We aren’t practicing our faith when we proclaim we are Catholic but pervert the teachings of the Church to dilute the Cross.
In a (fabulous) devotional I have, written by St. John Henry Newman, he writes, "Man has confidence in man, He trusts to the credit of his neighbor, but Christians do not risk largely due to their Savior's word. And this is the one thing they have to do." He then asks the reader, "What are our ventures and risks upon the truth of His word?"
Good question. We must ask ourselves, What am I willing to risk?
How many times have we chosen not to speak the truth about gender, abortion, or the sanctity of human life because we don't want to risk someone disagreeing with us or, more to the point… we don't want to risk being excluded?
How many of us aren't willing to risk the pain of His mercy? To risk tearing into old wounds, to acknowledge our sin, and to allow Him to heal us from the inside out?
How many times have we been unwilling to risk facing evil, to risk leaving everything behind, to risk being hated by all because of His name?
How many of us aren’t willing to risk the humility of saying, “I don’t understand what and why the Church teaches this or that,” and choose, instead, to mock it?
As Catholic parents, we must teach our children to be brave, but to do this we must begin by being brave ourselves. The truth is, and we know this, that the real “hard” is living a life without Jesus…without purpose…without grace. A life without Christ is a life without meaning; it is a life without the grit of the Cross to remind you that true love always wins.
At The Pelican Project, we take great care in what we do and how we do it. We do our best to speak truth in charity, to sidestep sarcasm, to acknowledge we are broken vessels in need of His love and mercy. By His grace, we proclaim the dignity of the human person made in His image and likeness, His plan for life and love, and the Cross as the only ladder to heaven.
If you have found value in what we do, we invite you to join us and share our resources with families in your parishes and communities. Give families who are struggling with the “hard” of this life the resources and support to do it in community.
Let’s “risk” the world for His Word, together. St. Newman, pray for us!
For the next few weeks, we are sharing our Pray, Grow, & Serve kid’s devotionals based on old classics with you. Check out the book from the library, read the story with your littles, and plant seeds! This week, we are sharing the ridiculous story of Squirrel Nutkin. Your kids will tease you as you try to sing his rhymes as he torments Old Mr. Brown. After reading, have a Christ-centered discussion with your children using our PGS.
For more information about joyfully reawakening a culture of life within your domestic church, visit www.pelicanprojectministry.org.
