Faith Power

This morning I was thinking about how much "faith power" it takes to live in the world today. Have you heard the metaphor about cooking a frog ? You know...you put the frog in a pot of cool water and slowly turn up the heat. It is so slow that the frog doesn't realize he is slowly being cooked because his body adapts to the water temperature. The next thing he knows...he's cooked and dead.

I think that is a relevant metaphor for our society - not just in America, but throughout most of the world as well. The last few decades have had us living in an enviornment that is slowly turning up the temperature. I'm not talking about global warming. I'm talking about how evil has turned up the temperature in the world. Many of us are being desensitized to the works of evil and are slowly being cooked, losing our souls in the process, and many are not even aware of it.

We have many ways of dealing with this. Some deny that it is happening. Some rationalize it. Some minimize it. Some tell themselves it isn't affecting them. some point it out in others but are not aware of it in themselves. Some are aware of it in their own lives but are not concerned about stopping its infiltration into other people's lives.

I've been accutely aware of this lately and it has been on my mind. Sometimes I feel assaulted by our hyper-technological world and consumeristic society. It is an "in your face" type of culture where sin is either non-existant or sinful behavior is praised. Perhaps you feel the same.

I have found that unless I use self-control and set boundaries I fall victim to it.

So, in my thinking this morning, I have come to realize that I have to pray even more so that I have the grace and strength to resist the assaults that are coming against me. I have to continue to reject those empty things in our culture that take up my time for no good reason. I have to have more silence so I can reflect on my life and where I am going and what I am doing with it for Jesus. I guess what I'm saying is that prayer is becoming more of a necessity for me than ever before. It is more important than my daily vitamins. It is what keeps me connected to Jesus and it keeps me grounded and focused. Well, that and Jesus Himself in Holy Communion.

Gone are the times when run of the mill prayer will get me through the day. I believe that all of us who call ourselves devout Catholics must beef up our prayer times and the quality of our prayer. We have to be more diligent in rejecting the assaults of evil, however they are masked, and we must pray for discernment. It seems to me that to be a christian today is far from being the norm. Living as a christian today almost means that one has to be radical about it.

We need to use all the "faith power" we can muster to deal with our world today and to do that we need to stay connected to the Source - the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

These are my thoughts for today.