Courage for the Journey

Friday, Nov. 28, 2014

Pope Francis is bad for my peace of mind.

So is my job, for that matter.

Since I began working here, and I have been confronted with daily examples of people actively living their faith while I report from the sidelines. I wonder how they manage to serve as catechists, volunteer at food banks, advocate for change so that Utah, the United States and the world better reflect the ideals of Catholic social justice, while I barely make it through each day with a mumbled prayer before falling asleep. We all have the same number of hours in the day, the same constraints of family obligations and social activities and budget, the same outside world that tends to frown on any public display of religion, and yet they do so much more than I.

Then there’s that guy in white who speaks almost every day from Rome, calling people like me “lukewarm” in spirit, saying we are merely “putting on appearances,” asking if we’re spiritually dead.

Ouch. 

The thing about Pope Francis, though, is that he admits to having his own faults; recently, he said, “We do not always have the courage to believe in the Word of God, to receive this Word, which heals us interiorly.”

I could definitely use the healing, so I’m summoning the courage to undertake Pope Francis’ appeal that, during Advent, I think seriously about conversion, and obey the Word of God so that I can move forward in the Christian life.

Providentially, I recently received a copy of Lisa M. Hendey’s new book, The Grace of Yes: Eight Virtues for Generous Living. I mention it because it proved a perfect starting point for my quest.

I admit that initially I didn’t have high hopes for the book; I find most “how-to” spiritual guides full of pablum. Also, Hendey starts off by describing her life, which is vastly different from my own. 

So, what could this wife of a doctor, mother of two sons, cancer survivor, founder of CatholicMom.com, best-selling author and international speaker have to teach me about finding faith? Quite a lot, as it turns out. Hendey uses Scriptural quotes and examples from modern culture and her own life to illustrate the virtues referenced in the title: belief, generativity, creativity, integrity, humility, vulnerability, the grace of no, and rebirth.

Equally helpful, each of the book’s eight chapters has a “To Ponder” list, which includes thought-provoking questions like “What logical and emotional constraints keep you from fully trusting God?” 

The chapter that had the most impact on me was “The Grace of Humility,” in which Hendey describes her visit to Rwanda on a trip for journalists, sponsored by Catholic Relief Services. The group stopped at, among other places, a national genocide memorial where more than 45,000 Tutsis were slain during the 1994 atrocities. Hendey writes that she still has violent nightmares “where the sights and smells of Murambi return to me. …” but “I don’t want to forget what I saw that day or how it made me feel. … I pray for the courage to not only remember their suffering, but also to be a tiny part of ensuring that their legacy mandates change.”

There’s that word again. Courage. Pope Francis says we need it to believe in the Word; Hendey prays for it to do her part in putting that Word into action. I am asking for it, too, as I journey more deeply into this faith that calls for both belief and action.

“The Grace of Yes” by Lisa M. Hendey, © 2014, Ave Maria Press, is available locally at Immaculate Heart Religious Gifts and Books, 726 East, 12200 South, Draper; and at Magdalene Religious Goods and Coffee Grotto, 2030 South 900 East, Salt Lake City.