The Archbishop of Notre Dame, Paris, starts his Sunday reflection with the following story: three tourists entered this cathedral 30 years ago. They were irreverent and callous in attitude and behavior. As they passed the confessional, two of them dared the third to make a mock confession.
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He accepted and began his confession. The pastor could tell by his authenticity meter that this was not a real confession. The posture, voice and body language were false. But he let the visitor complete his confession. Then he said, 鈥淏efore I let you go you have to do a penance.鈥�
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鈥淚 want you to go up to the crucifix at the front of the church and look Jesus in the face and say: You died for us and it means nothing to me.鈥� The man left the confessional and wanted to leave, but his buddies insisted he do the penance.
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He approached the Crucifix and looked up at the figure on the cross. He said, 鈥淵ou died for us and it means鈥� You died for us and it means鈥︹�澨� But he couldn鈥檛 finish.
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鈥淭hat young man was me,鈥� the Archbishop said.
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Tom Hoopes, writer in residence at ?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, gives us a prescription for summer faith in 鈥淒o This, or Summer Will Swallow Your Faith Whole鈥�.
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A frantic e-mail from one of his students said her old surroundings and old habits and old relationships were literally swallowing her faith whole. Hoopes says summer is like a giant yellow sponge soaking up our spiritual energy.
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鈥淒on鈥檛 forget what Benedictine College taught you,鈥� Hoopes told her. 鈥淐ommunity, faith and scholarship are not just slogans on campus. They are the building blocks of your spiritual life, direct from the Rule of St. Benedict.鈥ㄢ�ㄢ�淯se them to build your identity,鈥� Hoopes told her. And he gave her this prescription:
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First, Community: Find people who build your true identity.
鈥淏ecome who you are,鈥� said St. John Paul II. 鈥ou are a person in a community: you are a son, daughter, husband, wife, father, mother, aunt or uncle. Without a community, you don鈥檛 exist, and without a faith community, your faith disappears.鈥�
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Jesus repeatedly spoke of community. Love others; serve them without expecting repayment. Listen to them without cynicism, and pray for them with no hidden agenda.
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Second is Faith: Have a specific prayer routine.
鈥淚f you stop talking to your friend, he will become a stranger to you. If you stop talking to your wife, she will leave you in heart and mind 鈥� or both, by walking away.
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鈥淭here is a God,鈥� Hoopes says, 鈥渁nd our faith in him grows through prayer the way our faith in our grandma grows the more we talk to her鈥�
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鈥淪et a daily prayer routine and cling to it鈥� But don鈥檛 let the perfect be the enemy of the good. If it鈥檚 impractical to go to a chapel, pray at your bedside; Almighty God has no trouble reaching you there. He only has trouble reaching people who blow him off.鈥�
鈥�Last is scholarship: You must feed your faith from your reason.
鈥淚f your faith doesn鈥檛 touch your intellect it is like kitsch [gaudy] art or pop music: it is sometimes sweet and sentimental but ultimately silly and insubstantial.鈥�
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Find the spiritual reading that will stimulate your brain,鈥� Hoopes says. 鈥淏ut remember: The [Spiritual] you is made of community, prayer and study. Without them, you鈥檒l disappear into video games, bad movies and chlorine fumes by the Fourth of July.鈥�
