Live well on the mountain (consolation) and in the valley (desolation)

Mt 17:1-9 (2nd Sunday of Lent, year A)

All advertising, whether it be on TV or the Internet, has one thing in common: it tries to portray its product in the best possible light. In our interactions with others, we usually try to advertise ourselves by making the best impression possible. Looking at the gospel of Jesus’ transfiguration, it seems that He does a pretty bad job in advertising Himself. Jesus has just appeared to some of His followers in all His glory and power. Just after His greatness and identity as the Son of God has been manifested so clearly, what does He tell His followers? Do not to tell anyone what you have seen. Jesus wants His power and divine identity to remain hidden. In fact, this is something that Jesus was doing during His entire life.

A central part of Christ’s mission was that He humbled and emptied Himself. He, though rich, became poor for our sake. Jesus was the Son of God, He could have appeared on earth however He wanted. He could have always appeared as He did on the mountain during His transfiguration: mighty, awe-inspiring and so obviously the Son of God. Looking at Jesus’ life, we must admit that there are few times when we see Him as He is on the mountain of His transfiguration. From His birth to His death, Jesus spent most of His time in the “valleys”. He was humble, poor, rejected and persecuted. He spent His time with social outcasts rather than the popular and powerful. In his lenten message for this year, Pope Francis explains that there is a very good reason for this: love.

Charity, love, is sharing with the one we love in all things. Love makes us similar, it creates equality, it breaks down walls and eliminates distances. God did this with us.

Because He loves us, Jesus wants to be close to us in our weakness and our poverty. For this reason, Jesus rarely appears in all His glory as He does on the mountain during His transfiguration. Rather, He is with us in the valleys of our daily struggles, woundedness and weariness. Jesus humbled Himself for our sake.

Similar to Jesus, we spend most of our lives in the valleys rather than on the mountaintop of the transfiguration. In other words, most of our daily experience is not marked by awe-inspiring glory but rather by a less exciting daily grind. In the TV show The Simpsons, there is a Christian character named Ned Flanders whose always appears happy. It seems like nothing ever will get him down. This is probably not a realistic depiction of a followers of Jesus. St. Ignatius of Loyola explains that during our life we spend our time in one of two states known as consolation and desolation.

1. Consolation are those times when you are on the mountain of the transfiguration. These are times when you feel joy, fervour and a sense of clarity in your life. Praying and doing good works comes easily and feels good. Fighting temptation is easy.
2. Desolation are those times when you are in the valley. At these times you can feel discouraged, anxious, restless and a certain heaviness of heart. Praying and doing good is a chore. Temptations feel very strong and hard to fight.

St. Ignatius explains that the times when we experience consolation are relatively fewer. When we follow Jesus, consolation and desolation are both important parts of our spiritual life. Neither is necessarily better than the other. They are not indications of our closeness to God, but rather of our felt experience at a given time. The important thing is that we learn the best way to act when in desolation and consolation so that we can best make use of these times to grow closer to Christ. As was the case for Christ, more often than not we live in the valleys rather than on the consoling mountaintop.

Like the transfiguration itself, times of consolation are given to us by God to strengthen us as we follow Jesus. Our life as Christians can be compared to a long journey on a bus. As anyone who has been on a long bus ride can attest, it is absolutely necessary to make stops along the way, not just to gas-up the car, but also to let the passengers have a break to stretch their legs, get food and drink and visit the washroom. Without these rest-stops, you wouldn’t be able to continue towards your destination. As followers of Jesus, we are on a journey to build up the kingdom of God and grow in unity with Him. Along this journey, times of consolation are like rest-stops. The transfiguration was such a time for the followers of Jesus. Immediately before and after the transfiguration, we find Jesus talking about the demands of discipleship and His own upcoming passion. They required a time of strengthening. Seeing Moses (the one who gave the law) and Elijah (the greatest prophet), in conversation with Jesus, they could better understand that Jesus was the fulfillment of the law and the prophets. The voice they heard from heaven convinced them that Jesus was indeed the Son of God and Messiah. The transfiguration strengthened and encouraged the followers of Christ. Times of consolation function the same way in our own life. St. Ignatius explains that during times of consolation we should do two things:

1. Give thanks for this gift from God
2. Take strength and courage for what lies ahead.

Times of consolation are like moments at an oasis in which we are refreshed during our journey to follow Jesus.

Times of desolation are moments for growth. Returning to our bus analogy, though it is nice to be at rest-stops, if we are always at one, we would never reach our destination. Likewise, times when we are not in consolation are moments to grow as a follower of Jesus.  The important thing is knowing how to live these challenging times well so that they can be times for growth and not moments which crush our spirit. In order to do this, St. Ignatius gives some guidance. I find it helpful to remember his advice for how to live well during times of spiritual desolation with the acronym ERGO, which in greek means work. This is a fitting acronym as living well during times of desolation does requires work!

Encourage: We need to encourage ourselves to be patient by remembering that this difficult time will pass. Recall times when you were in consolation before and recall that, just as there is a calm after a storm, consolation will return. 

Regularize: Do not change decisions taken in time of consolation. Remain firm in prayer and works of charity. 

Generosity: During times of desolation we will not want to pray and do good works. In order to face this challenge, St. Ignatius gives some counter-intuitive advice: go against what we are feeling (agir contra, in latin). Feeling tired and want to stop praying? Pray five minutes more. Frustrated with a particular individual? Go out of your way to be kind to them.  

Openness: It is very important during desolation to be open with a friend about what you are experiencing. Receiving encouragement can make all the difference.

If we follow these helpful tips, we can make sure that times of desolation become moments for growth.

When someone first explained to me the fact that as Christians we go through these cycles of consolation and desolation, I was very encouraged. Before, I felt guilty that I would even experience desolation. Now I see that it is a normal part of our Christian life. When we see Jesus’ transfiguration in the context of His entire life, we see that it is normal to spent more of our times in the valleys than on the mountaintop. The important thing is that we learn to live well during both these times. This is particularly true for the more difficult times of desolation. Try to remember the acronym ERGO: encourage, regularize, generosity, and openness. Never forget that all moments in our life - if we are in a valley or on the mountaintop - are opportunities to grow closer to Jesus.

Gollum, Aragorn and true freedom

On March 14, 2013, St. Joseph the Worker Parish hosted Freedom, a Reconciliation event for youth and young adults in the Archdiocese of Vancouver. The event was incredible, thanks in large part to the many young volunteers. The following the talk is from the end of the night, after hundreds of youth and young adults had the opportunity to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

In one of his short stories (Capital of the World), Ernest Hemingway describes an incredible parable. In Madrid there was a young man named Paco. In Spanish “Paco” is short for “Francisco” and is a very common name. For various reasons, Paco had become estranged from his father, run away from his home and was living on the streets. His life was on a downward spiral towards destruction. This was the last thing that Pacho’s father wanted. He desperately wanted to find his son but knew that he could never do this just by wandering the streets of Madrid, and so he made one last desperate attempt to locate his son.  He paid good money to publish a large advertisement in Madrid’s largest newspaper “El Liberal”.  The ad, which took up nearly a page, read as follows:

"Paco, meet me at the Hotel Montana at noon on Tuesday. All is forgiven! Love, Papa."

That Tuesday at noon the father made his way to the Hotel Montana. When he reached the hotel he discovered something incredible. A huge crowd had gathered, it filled the lobby and spilled into the street. Over 800 young men named Paco were waiting for their fathers and the forgiveness and reconciliation they never thought was possible.

We have come here this evening like so many Pacos. This Church has been our Hotel Montana. We have come and received the reconciliation and forgiveness that we never thought was possible. We have been reconciled with our Father. We have also been reconciled with each other. Being in such a large group has been incredibly encouraging because realized that we are not alone in our desire to be forgiven. Together we have received Freedom from Jesus. We have been set free.

Where do we go from here? When we leave here this evening, how do we continue to live this experience of freedom? St. Paul gives us some important advice:

It was for freedom that Christ has set us free (Gal 5:1)

We have received freedom tonight so that we can go and live in freedom. A critical question is: what is freedom?

For many people freedom means the ability to choose anything. I am only free if I can go in any direction, if I can choose to do anything that I want. When we think this way about freedom, any laws or rules - whether they come from parents, government or the Church - seem oppressive and negative because the constrain our freedom. True freedom, some people say, is just the freedom to choose whatever you desire.

This, however, is not the true freedom. This is not the freedom for which Christ has set us free. When we look at our lives we find that it is not true being able to choose to do anything we please makes us free. On the contrary, our experience teaches us an important lesson. When we choose bad things and actions, it does not make us free but rather slaves. On the other hand, it is only when we choose good things and good actions that we become truly free. To help illustrate this, I want to compare as an example two different characters from the Lord of the Rings series: Gollum and Aragorn.

When we look at the life of Gollum we see clearly that making bad choices does not make us free. When Gollum choose to take the ring, this bad decision turned him into a slave or the ring. He became addicted and was unable to live without it. The same thing happens to us when we choose to sin or simply become over attached to something which is not bad in itself. The sin or that thing that we are attached to become our precious. Social media is an example of this. In itself it is neither good nor bad. You probably find that it can become addictive. You need to constantly check if people liked or favorited your posts or tweets. You hesitate to go places where you do not have WiFi access. It can make you less free. We can become addicted to all kinds of things. For example, we can become addicted to un-forgiveness. If we refuse to forgive somebody, we are a slave to our grudge, we are not free from the hurt that person has caused us. Through our choices we can get enslaved to many things: gossip, pornography and even laziness. In the life of Gollum and in our own life we discover that choosing to sin or choosing to get attached to certain things does not make us free but rather enslaves us.

When we see the life of Aragorn, we see just the opposite. Unlike Gollum, Aragorn does not make choices based on what is easiest or most attractive at the moment. Aragorn chooses the path of virtue. He chooses to be humble, to serve other and defend the weak. This is a difficult path, but in the end it leads Aragorn to be truly happy and free. Aragorn becomes king, not just of Middle Earth, but of his own being. He is not enslaved to any behaviour or sin. In our own life, following the path of Jesus is not easy. Following the ten commandments and the sermon on the mount is no easy task. Forgiving our enemies is extremely difficult. Growing in virtues like humility, charity and justice takes hard work. When we live this way, however, we become truly free. The saints are the freest people in the world. In the life of Aragorn and in our own life we find that when we choose the good, regardless of the cost, we find true and lasting freedom.

So, where do we go from here?  Let us follow the path of Aragorn and not Gollum. Perhaps there are areas in your life, whether it be relationship or behaviors, in which you feel enslaved. Never loose hope! Take courage from the experience that we have had here together this evening! We are in this together so let us encourage one another! If we continue to strive to make good choices with the help of Jesus, we will experience more and more the true and lasting joy and freedom of being beloved sons and daughters of our heavenly Father. Pacho, all is forgiven! Let us rejoice in this amazing gift and calling: it was for freedom that Christ has set us free.

(Jesus + us) > (Devil + temptation)

GN 2:7-9; 3:1-7; MT 4:1-11   (1st Sunday of Lent, Year A)

The Temptations of Christ, 12th century mosaic at St Mark's Basilica, Venice

One of the most interesting books I have read is the Screwtape Letters, by C.S. Lewis. Lewis was an Oxford professor and author whose best known work is the Narnia series. The Screwtape Letters is a very unique work in which Lewis writes a series of fictional letters between two demons. The letters are all written by a senior demon, Screwtape, in order to mentor his nephew Wormwood, a junior tempter. Wormwood has been given the task of ensuring the damnation of a man who is referred to simply as “The Patient”. In his letters, Screwtape tries to advise Wormwood how to succeed in his task. What impressed me about the book were the incredible insights it gives into human nature - both our strengths and weaknesses - and the reality of temptation. So much of the book described things that I had experienced, just from a very different perspective, that of our enemy.

It is important that we have a realistic and balanced view of the Devil and temptation. In particular, it we need to avoid extremes when we consider Satan and his influence in our life. On one extreme, there are those who tend to see the Satan lurking under every rock. They too easily attribute problems in the world to demonic activity. Instead of taking responsibility for their own bad choices, they can pass the buck saying “the Devil made me do it”. In this extreme position, it is often forgotten that Jesus has defeated Satan and given us the power to resist temptation. Another extreme are those who ignore the Devil altogether. Some go so far as to call Satan a myth or a superstitious idea that we have now grown out of. They deny that there is some actual, personal evil that is trying to bring about our ruin through temptation. This way of thinking is also a problem. Imagine what would happen if a nation were under attack and the people lived in a sense of denial about the situation, refusing to believe that they were at war or even had an enemy. There is an interesting point about this point of view in a part of the Screwtape Letters in which Screwtape writes to Wormwood:

Our Master’s (the Devil’s) greatest triumph was in convincing men that he doesn't exist.

Clinging to either of these extremes views of the Devil and temptation hinder our ability to follow Jesus.

Satan does indeed exist and is trying to destroy us by telling us lies about our true identity. We may wonder, if Jesus has defeated the Devil, why does the Devil continue to battle? An analogy might help. Imagine a smoker who is addicted to cigarettes. Everyday when he goes to open a package of cigarettes, what do he read on the package? Smoking kills. The smoker knows this habit is killing him but he does it anyway because he are dependent on the nicotine. He needs it. Satan is addicted and dependent on hate. He knows he is defeated but he cannot but hate us and try to destroy us. He does this by lying to us about who we are as human being. The reality that we find in the book of Genesis is that we have been created in the image of God. We are all beloved sons and daughter of God, infinitely loved and precious to Him. We have been given a wonderful role in God’s wonderful creation: to build a world that reflects His values of love and justice. For these reasons, as human beings we need to have God at the center of our lives, it is just who we are. Satan attacks this identity. Just as in the case of Adam and Eve, he tries to make us push God outside of our lives and not without success. How many families today are so busy with work, school, and extracurricular activities that they do not have enough time to be together, let alone with God? In our busyness we forget about trying to build a world more reflective of God’s values. The Devil tries to make us forget that we are loved and precious to God. How many young people today, thinking that they don’t measure up to society’s standards for beauty and goodness, feel that they are worthless and unlovable? Satan is trying to destroy us by telling us lies about who what it means to be a human being.

In His temptation, Jesus shows us our true identity. Pope Emeritus Benedict explains that Jesus’ temptations are so significant because they

address the question as to what truly matters in human life. At the heart of all temptations, as we see here, is the act of pushing God aside because we perceive him as secondary, if not actually superfluous and annoying, in comparison with all the apparently far more urgent matters that fill our lives. (Jesus of Nazareth, vol. 1, p. 28)

In His responses to Satan, Jesus always affirms that as human beings, we can have no existence outside God – He must be at the center. The same temptations that Jesus experienced were undergone by Adam and Eve and the people of Israel, all of whom failed. Adam and Eve chose to eat the fruit, thereby pushing God outside their lives. The people of Israel, after being freed from slavery in Egypt, turned their back on God by not trusting that He would provide for their materials needs and instead worshiped idols. Jesus, during His temptation in the desert, conquers the temptations of the Devil to push God out of the center of our lives, thereby affirming what it truly means to be human.

       

Lent is a time to take strength in our fight against Satan. In different ways, the Devil wants to tempt us to push God outside our life. With Jesus at our side and with His strength we can fight this lie. I would like to offer four practical tips for fighting temptation.

1. Remember we have an enemy. Maybe this sounds simplistic, but recall what C.S. Lewis wrote: the Devil’s greatest triumph was convincing men he doesn't exist.
2. Know your weak spots and guard against them. St. Ignatius of Loyola reminds us that like any enemy the Devil attacks us in our weak spots. What is your weak spot? Pride? Vanity? Lust?
3. Show a bold face to the Devil. St. Ignatius explains that in tempting the Devil is like a barking dog, if you are firm and determined from the beginning, the dog will back off. When temptations come, we should resist them strongly the moment they arise. For example, if you feel resentment towards someone, try to forgive them right away. Do not let relive the hurt and allow it to build up.
4. Stay out of the Devil’s territory. St. Augustine says that the Devil is like a chained dog. This dog is powerful, but is confined by the length of the chain. If you enter the dog’s area it can hurt you, if you stay outside, you are safe.  The Devil’s territory is serious sin, un-forgiveness, occult practices (like consulting horoscopes and fortune tellers) and spiritism (trying to contact the dead). If we don’t want to get hurt, we need to stay clear of this territory.

These are just a few tools that can help us this lent to take strength for our fight against Satan with the help of Jesus.

When I first heard about the Screwtape Letters, I was hesitant to read the book. I thought that a book about imaginary letters between demons trying to figure out the best way to tempt someone would be sad and depressing. When I read the book, it had a very different impression on me. I found it encouraging because it helped me make sense of what I experienced in my own life. The reality is that we do have an enemy who tempts us and tries to make us push God outside our life thus ignoring our true identity as sons and daughters of God. The Good News is that Jesus has defeated the Devil and with Jesus by our side we too can resist temptation. As we begin this lenten season, strengthen ourselves by: 1) remembering we do in fact have an enemy, 2) knowing and guarding against our weak spots, 3) Showing a bold face to the Devil when temptation comes, 4) staying out of the Devil’s territory. With Jesus by our side we will surely be victorious in the battle against temptation.