images-1A question I get asked a lot, especially because of my work with new converts, is “What are the things I should be doing to live an effective Christian life?” What these people are essentially looking for is a skeletal structure for their life, so that their faith becomes integrated into it, not an add-on.

So, here’s my 3-Step short list (Lent is a perfect time to start):

1. Daily prayer. “Love is deeds, not sweet words”. If you said you loved your spouse, or your best friend, but never spent any time with that person, it would ring hollow. Likewise, we must enter into God’s “orbit” by taking time out for the most important person in our lives. Start with 5 minutes; work up to two 15-minute sessions, once in the morning, and once in the afternoon or evening. Two 30-minute sessions is the ultimate goal, but baby steps at first.

2. Frequent the Sacraments. Sunday Mass is not heroic, it’s the bare minimum. If you truly believe that Jesus is substantially present in the Host – Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity – than why not receive him more frequently? Daily would be the ultimate goal, but again, baby steps at first. Try attending one daily Mass outside of Sunday, and see the difference it makes in your day. Confession should be monthly (at barest minimum). Every two weeks is ideal, and weekly would be the ultimate goal. Judging from the length of the Communion lines, and the brevity of the Confession queue, we’re either living in the greatest generation of saints ever seen on earth, or the most delusional folks ever.

3. Study your Faith. Be formed. Be informed. Most people have fallen for a caricature of the Catholic faith, or of Jesus himself. Why not get the info “straight from the horse’s mouth”, so to speak? Read the Catechism. Read the Bible – not from cover to cover, either! At least not at first. Start with one of the four Gospels, the biographies of Jesus’ life. You’ll meet the real Jesus there. Move on to a couple of Paul’s letters. Read the New Testament first. Then tackle the Old. Don’t try to read the OT from cover-to-cover either, or you’ll get bogged down somewhere around the diteary laws of Leviticus. Join a good Catholic Bible Study program (I teach one at St Justin Martyr Parish in Toronto – just sayin’. You’d be most welcome.).

3.5 (Bonus!) Get a Spiritual Director. If someone has a (good) spiritual director, I don’t worry about them. Friend, you need a coach. And so do I. You are not objective about yourself! Ask your parish priest for a recommendation. Opus Dei priests are superb at tailoring a Christian life plan for people who live in the middle of the world. Worth checking out.

What do you think? It’s not an exhaustive list, of course, but what would your own list look like?  

 

Today, March 19, Holy Mother Church gives her children a treat amidst our regular Lenten practices. There are a couple of solemnities that usually fall on Lenten weekdays. One is the great Feast of the Annunciation on March 25. The other is today’s Feast of Saint Joseph, patron of the universal Church.

Many Christians do not avail themselves of the intercessions and help that this great Saint longs to provide them. Saint Thomas Aquinas said that the degree of assistance from God that a saint can provide for us is in direct proportion to the holiness of that saint. The words of James come to mind: “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective” (Jas 5:16). The more righteous the pray-er, the more powerful the prayer.

Of course, by these standards, the most powerful intercessor in heaven is the great Mother of God. Saint Joseph, “Silent Knight, Holy Knight” that he is, is so often overlooked. As always, the proof is in the pudding, so why not try entrusting a difficult problem to Saint Joseph? Saint Teresa of Avila was a notable advocate of the practice: “Our Lord would have us understand that, as he was himself subject to (Saint Joseph) upon earth – for Saint Joseph, having the title of father, and being his guardian, could command him – so now in heaven (Jesus) performs all his petitions” (Life, 6).

Saint Joseph, Ora pro nobis.