Greg's challenge made me question what we as students, employees, volunteers, family members, friends, and whatever other positions we hold can do to help those who are in need. With schedules filled to the brim with assignments, meetings, work, and other responsibilities, we can't help but feel as though anything extra is an interruption or an inconvenience. For example, in our day-to-day lives, our busy schedules have caused many of us to adopt the habit of asking "how are you?" and not pausing long enough to truly listen to the reply. Or, when asked that same question, simply saying "I'm fine" because we are afraid to be an interruption to someone else.
Greg says that he feels shame for mislabeling Carmen as an interruption, but I feel shame for a different reason. I feel shame because I have mislabeled myself. Often, I think of myself as a student or worker before I see myself as a Catholic, and that seems to be the root of my mixed-up perceptions regarding interruptions. Therefore, in order to make my daily interactions fuller and more sincere, I hope to remember the power and help that a few moments of my time can provide. How can changing our perceptions of interruptions and inconveniences help us and others to live more gratifying lives on a larger scale as we consider the moral issues facing our world today?
Please share any story or aspect from this section of the book that stood out to you, comment on the Greg's tactics to bring communities together, answer a question, or pose your own. Thank you!
Please share any story or aspect from this section of the book that stood out to you, comment on the Greg's tactics to bring communities together, answer a question, or pose your own. Thank you!
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ReplyDeleteHey Rakel, thanks for kicking us off with a great post! The question you pose about changing our perceptions of interruptions is a really difficult one. We have so many other responsibilities that it seems like there can't possibly be time for anything else. What I took away from the Carmen story is that God provides time for interruptions if we allow for them. Greg doesn't tell the end of the story, so we'll never know how late he was to the baptism, but his omission means it doesn't matter comparatively. He knows that talking to Carmen and baptizing a child are both his responsibilities as a priest, and so he is able to make time for both.
ReplyDeleteI think interruptions are little reminders that whenever we think we've got our lives figured out, we've forgotten that God has plans too. Of course, this is always hard to remember in the moment, but it's nice to know that others have taken God's will in stride. I'm thinking of Mary and Joseph, who were still unmarried when God decided it was time for Mary to be pregnant, or the disciples who were in the middle of fishing when Jesus decided it was time for them to follow him. Looking to their example helps us see that God comes to us at unexpected times and we need to be open to God whenever he chooses to come.
You suggest that one reason you have difficulty being open to God's interruptions is because you've "mislabeled" yourself as a student or a worker before a Catholic- and I agree that maybe the problem is a mislabeling. I think these roles/identities aren't so independent- that being Catholic permeates all other parts of our lives such that we're not just students, we're Catholic-students. Greg writes how his congregation had difficulty opening their church to gang members, but when they recharacterized the sanctuary's odor into a sign of love, they were more accepting of God's call. Nothing really changed, except their perception, and perhaps this is what Greg suggests we do to be open to God. If compassion is incorporating others into ourselves, then maybe we need to redefine our roles so that we include others in our responsibilities.
This reminds me of a story I heard from Fr. Nic that I really liked. He said that he once had to fly somewhere but the weather was just awful and his flight ended up being cancelled so he had to get on another flight, but this new flight had most of its seats sold so the only seat left was a fairly undesirable one in the last row. He went with it despite the inconvenience because he felt like God was doing this for a reason, and indeed, Fr. Nic ended up being seated next to a young man who had been secretly wanting to talk to a priest for a long time. Ask Fr. Nic to tell you this story if you're interested because he can tell it better, but basically I love how he wasn't stressed out about having to get a new flight or annoyed with his undesirable seat but just took the interruption in stride and really got to the heart of why God put this interruption in his life. I'm really inspired by all these types of stories because I have a tendency to get really stressed out when things don't go according to plan, or at least how I think the plan should be, so it's nice to be reminded that God's plan for me and what I perceive to be my plan don't always line up.
ReplyDeleteOn a different note, this quote from the first chapter really got to me:
" 'Behold the One beholding you and smiling.' It is precisely because we have such an overactive disapproval gland ourselves that we tend to create God in our own image. It is truly hard for us to see the truth that disapproval does not seem to be part of God's DNA. God is just too busy loving us to have any time left for disappointment."
It's probably that I too am one of the people who is struggling to see that disapproval isn't part of what God does. But still it seems to me that if as Catholics we believe that both faith and good words are necessary for salvation then doesn't it seem like God would be disapproving of sin? Forgiving, yes, but approving, no. Maybe Fr. Greg and I have different ideas as to what "disapproving" means. What do you all think?
Thanks for sharing Fr. Nic's cool story. I think it's important for me to remember that God is acting in our lives, perhaps not in ways that we can understand, but nevertheless he's there. I remember somewhere in the first three chapters Boyle mentioned that Jesus said "I was in prison". Here's the whole passage (Mat. 25:36): "I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me." I really liked that passage. Jesus isn't saying, help people in prisons, he's saying, I was in prison, and you helped me, and that was good. I pray that I might see Jesus in the faces of people I meet everyday, as Boyle does in an exemplary fashion.
ReplyDeleteI especially liked when someone from the projects threw a firework into the building, and then claimed to one of the other workers in the office that he did not do it ("I DIDN'T DID IT!"), and Boyle controlled his anger and said that he believed that the guy didn't do it. That took extraordinary will power, and I thought it was the best passage from the chapters we've read so far. Not sure if it goes with what I was saying above, but I had to mention it.
Thanks for the post, Rakel, and for sharing your thoughts, Kim, Louisa, and Kyle. I enjoyed the first few chapters, which contained some really eye-opening and humbling anecdotes, which both set the tone for the book, and were a good introduction to what sort of work Fr. Boyle does with Homeboy Industries.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that really stood out to me was Fr. Boyle's ability to maintain faith, and persevere even in the face of challenges and setbacks. When Homeboy Industries' bakery is burned to the ground (pg. 10-12), the community does not give up, but rather recollects and rebuilds. In context of the story, it seems like a natural and appropriate response, but when I look at my own life, I wonder if I do the same? Often, it is tempting to abandon failure, and to set new goals or pursue a different path rather than continue down a difficult road.
As others have suggested, we often feel rushed and pressured during the semester, and it can be easy to forget — or worse yet, purposely avoid — opportunities to reach out to those in need because we perceive ourselves as too busy, or incapable of offering what the person may truly need. When Fr. Boyle is running late for Mass, he does not fail to remind Speedy that "I care whether you live or die" (56). In many ways, that was probably exactly what Speedy needed to hear. I too can try and take advantage of opportunities to help others, even in small ways.
To offer a thought on the question Louisa poses, with which I too often wrestle, I think Fr. Boyle could be reiterating what we have heard and seen from Pope Francis...namely, we are called to be ministers of mercy, leaving the disapproval and final judgement to God. I do think it is fair to say that God disapproves of sin, but as Louisa noted, loves us in spite of our sinfulness. In the context of the sacrament of reconciliation, we know that God loves us and is willing to forgive, but we must be open to receiving that love and forgiveness.
Thanks again for sharing -- I am enjoying the book and reading what others think about it!