Hebdomada 31 per annum

Friend,

Happy November when we as a Church celebrate our heroes: the saints. As always, saints are a constant source of guidance and support. In particular, they help me with a current dilemma. That is, an online blog is odd. A big temptation with social media is to disassociate. Many people often create artificial personas. What we see online bares no resemblance to real life. We see glamorous videos and pictures. So, we assume this person's life is perfect. This is a similar problem with saints. What is a saint? The simplest answer may be this: a saint is a friend of God. All too often we remember these great men and women in history. They seem too holy to comprehend. The reality is that all life presupposes struggle. Saints are sinners who know they are sinners. God calls us all to holiness in our messy, ordinary lives. Thus, my exercise here is that "if there is anything worthy of praise think about these things" (Phil 4:8). In the NET sphere of influence, we have a word for this. We call them "Glory Stories."

The Seattle Cathedral is a special place for me. It was my site of pilgrimage in the Year of Mercy. I would catch the bus almost daily to walk through the Holy Doors. After you walk in, there greets you a message. On the floor of the vestibule, the tiles read "Domus Dei, Porta Coeli." This was the house of God and the gate of heaven (Gen 28:17). What always struck me was what came next. From the vestibule, you walk into the main sanctuary. There stood the baptismal font. It was a juxtaposition to the vestibule that read

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people,[a] that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

1 Pet 2:9

Such is a glory story. These letters are how I declare those "wonderful deeds." I make no pretense that my life is glamorous or perfect. In fact, my life is banal in itself. It pales to the wonderful deeds of what God does in and through my life. This is where we begin.

And what marvels He has done in my life, indeed. It's a curious project to find God in all places. It was easier, in a sense, last year. That was when I was in an active ministry. An extraordinary ministry called for extraordinary grace. In this, God provided. He continues to provide. Now, He gives ordinary grace for my ordinary life. Here, one of my biggest temptations is impatience. My plan is to enter into formation at St. Martin's Abbey. It is a Benedictine monastery in the Pacific Northwest. I must wait for paperwork that will allow me to enter. That may take until next summer. So, I decided to regroup to my parents's home. In this way, there lies a constant invitation. My pettiness is itself a sign of this impatience. It is pride. Thus, it becomes a choice. Do I rely on that ordinary grace, or not? For me, to love is to choose to think about "anything worthy of praise."

That grace is the consolation in my work. My goal to gift catechisms is still underway. The immediate plan is to produce a one episode podcast. The idea is to explain the catechism at 5 difficulty levels. It began with this video series. This past week, I completed three more calls. In hope, my last conversation partner will have an expertise in the '94 catechism. After that, I can produce the audio file. Then, we'll publish it online to promote the catechism project. As God wills it, I'll be able to gift these catechisms by Christmas.

Yet, why the catechism? That's a fair enough question. Most people I speak with about the catechism agree. For many, the catechism is 'little more than a dictionary.' 'It's a reference book.' 'It bares little use to the average believer.' 'Much less does it warrant the attention of missionaries.' My position is a vehement rebuttal. The catechism is an incredible document. It is a beautiful tool for prayer and evangelization. The rest of this blog will show how much the catechism helps me to give a reason for hope.

The best way for me to show this is by analogy. First, think of a song sung by a singer. This song exists at the whim of the singer. As soon as the singer stops, so does the song. Now, recall that image of Aslan in the Chronicles of Narnia. This lion (God figure) stands at the start of the world. What did He do but sing the world into creation? This is the way to frame the catechism opens with its first line.

God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life. (CCC 1)

Even in this simple analogy, we see theological gusto. First, this image highlights our contingency. By analogy, we are God's song. We are not our own makers. This stands in stark opposition to my contemporary culture. Modernity paints freedom like a blank check. 'I choose the way to live my life.' SNOOZEVILLE. Christianity offers the chance to join in the divine song. It's one that lives in eternity. I did not will myself into existence. Much less can I discern it's ultimate purpose. God reveals His plan to creation. In it, we discover an incredible opportunity. It's the chance to join the divine act of creation.

To finish, this image underscores God's mercy. Unlike popular perception, God is not an absentee heavenly clock maker. He did not create the universe and leave. In fact, God is not one thing among many other things. Rather, to use Aquinas, God is ipsum esse: the sheer act of "to be" itself. Whereas we are creatures, God is otherly other. Proper to this, God chose to create the universe. In the same sense, He continues to will us into existence. It's like how a singer chooses to sustain his song.

Thus we arrive at a problem. Consider this: St. Paul asserts that "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" (Rom 3:23). Then, when we sin, we turn away from God; Incurvatus in se. Through sin, we loose our relationship with God. This is the same God who sustains our existence. It seems completely reasonable that God should end the song. Sin merits the termination of our existence. Yet, here we are; "my sin... ever before me" (Ps 51). This is where the liturgy shines as instructive. The Old testament scripture for Sunday's mass recounts

But you have mercy on all, because you can do all things; and you overlook people's sins that they may repent... And how could a thing remain, unless you willed it; or be preserved, had it not been called forth by you? But you spare all things, because they are yours, O LORD and lover of souls, for your imperishable spirit is in all things!

Wis 11:23, 25-26; 12:1

God reveals that mercy is our best explanation. The eucharist itself is the source and summit of this song. In the mass, we sing Christ's song of praise. Through communion, we receive the gifts to participate in His divine life. In effect, the saint sings God's creative melody. This musical analogy extends to the catechism. Particularly, it sheds light on its organization and structure. But that is the subject of another letter.

In divine hope,

jesse pascua