Safe Haven

I heard a priest say that God is more solicitous for our salvation than we are. And yet, some people will continue to believe that a holy striving is somehow contrary to the gospel. On the contrary; if you get an inspiration to pray more, or to read the Scriptures, do it. You may be one of those people who believes God is out to get you. If you fearfully say, "Look what good I did! Please don't hate me!" then you might be one of those legalists everyone is going on about. I don't know many of those, but if you are, you have my sympathy. For the rest of us, a plan that embodies "I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you" is in order. After a while, the fear of Hell is replaced by the disappointment of broken fellowship. Then we are beginning to love as He loves us.

If you're anything like me, you forget the main thing. We're weak, you see, and everybody has that One Thing. We all think that everyone would hate us if they knew. Or, fair enough, you have a whole string of reasons to hate yourself. But the One Thing is the sin that makes you think it's all pointless, and you may as well give up. Not everyone's is the same, but everyone has it. Despair is the enemy's favorite trick, because it becomes a feedback loop of failure and shame. If the enemy can make you think you are worthless, you'll stop reaching out to God and others. Faith is a great gift, because it illumines the Way, even when we have gone astray. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. It is fact; it is not conjecture, or sentiment. It has never meant that we have nothing left to reconcile. It does mean that God has taken an unyielding stance of favor toward every single one of us. As we get closer to God, the purity of His fiery love will test o...

I went ahead and bought it, and I'm glad I did. The greatest living baseball announcer just retired after 67 years, but I'm almost certain he would say that this is greater than all those games. I couldn't help but think of my father, whose favorite team was the Dodgers. If he needs my prayers, he has them. Word is that Mr. Scully never misses a Mass at Dodger Stadium. I can believe that. Sometimes the icons are real. Baseball still has heroes, but as with anything else, they may not be the ones you expect.