Seeing the Light of Jesus by Karl Heerdegen
/I’ve been asked to spend a few minutes openly reflecting on my Faith Journey today – on Seeing the Light of Jesus.
St. Luke 15:7 “There will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”
That’s good news for me. Because if sinning and repenting is indeed a pathway to salvation, I should look forward with hope to the end of days.
To begin, I’m grateful for two things that I had no control over at all
Being born under the blanket of freedom that exists only in America
Being baptized into the Catholic Faith when I was just weeks old, 65 years ago
And while I grasped, early on, the responsibility and privilege of participating in the American experience, I didn’t fully participate in the Catholic experience. I took my faith for granted. I didn’t deny my faith...I went to Mass on Sundays, prayed on Sundays, thought good of myself for an hour or two once a week...I simply carried the appearance of my faith.
And except for the Sunday experience, I put my faith aside for the pursuit of more important things. But those important things, without the everyday foundation of faith, I found, were not only meaningless, I ended up making decisions based on what I thought, what others who were able to influence me thought, what was best at the time. I trusted myself and others. I didn’t know God enough to trust Him.
As a result, some of the decisions I made then lead to my biggest regrets in life now. I wish I had been introduced to St. James in those days. In his epistle St James wrote “that those who truly trust God don't settle for merely appearing religious. Instead, they give up trying to control the world with their words and their anger, and they humbly receive the Word that God has planted in them, listen to it, and proceed to do what it says.”
That has become a primary guide in my Faith journey. If anyone needed humility, it was me. I still do. As joyful as it is to be married to the love of your life, and to welcome two sons into the world, I came to understand what humility is and why it’s a great thing. I came to discover that humility and patience are the same, and that putting others before me strengthens me. I find Faith in Humility, in Patience.
The second source for my Faith Journey is, of course, the Bible. Specifically, the New Testament. Knowing my attention span, getting through the 39 books of the Old Testament seemed challenging.
But I figured out that I could start anywhere in the New Testament. When you’re starving for nourishment, anywhere in the buffet line is a good place to be. And understanding the New Testament greatly enhances my experience in the Catholic Mass. Much more so than when I was simply going through my earlier Sunday experience.
The third thing that has come to bolster my faith journey is the Rosary and engagement with the Blessed Mother. To paraphrase scripture, “I am blessed with work”. Debbie, my wife of 34 years might say I’m obsessed with work, and she’s probably right. I needed a place to go for a short while each day and I found it in the Rosary. How? Scripture. In John’s Gospel, he teaches us about the wedding at Cana. Christ’s first miracle.
When I read it, I learn about a mother’s influence on her son. We all know the story: The host runs out of wine. Mary knows the solution and encourages her son to take care of the situation. Jesus responds “what does this have to do with me? My time has not yet come.” In essence, Jesus says “Not my problem - I’m not ready for this.” Mary, like any good mother, basically says “yes, it is, and yes, you are.” She doesn’t ask again, but simply turns to the waiters and tells them “do whatever he says”. And a miracle happened. The spiritual fruit of the Luminous Mysteries tells us that we can gain Jesus through Mary.
Meditating on the Sacred Mysteries of the Rosary by saying the Hail Mary with such repetition, I am able to feed my Faith on all of the spiritual fruits of the Rosary. And every time I speak with Mary, I ask for her guidance, the kind that can only come from a mother. I ask for Humility, Obedience, Perseverance, Receiving the Holy Spirit, Christian Witness, Spiritual Courage, Forgiving Others, Grace, Endurance. Especially endurance. As St. Luke taught us, it is by our endurance that we will gain our lives.
Thank you for these few minutes listening to a bit of my faith journey, and along with Lenten ribbons remaining from last Sunday, please be sure to take a votive candle home to help your eyes see the light of Jesus.