by Randy Hain

I would like you to join me in a different kind of commitment for next year.  This is the kind of commitment that will cost us something for sure, but the reward is great.  In the coming year let’s make every effort to acknowledge Christ before others and defend (as well as follow!) in a loving way the teachings of His Church.  Let us no longer be silent and passive.  The instinctive response to this challenge may be “it’s not that easy.”  Actually, it is that easy if we choose to think and act differently and place His will before our own.

Somewhere along our faith journeys, we all may struggle to place God first in our lives.  We allow fear, lukewarmness, greed, pride and a host of other negative influences to affect how we think and act regarding our Faith and our relationship with Jesus.  The opinions of others often mean more to us than our relationship with Him.  It is ironic that for the sake of political correctness and a desire to not offend anyone with overtly Christian acts or statements, we wind up offending our Lord Jesus Christ!   We have been given crystal clear direction from Jesus and also the consequences if we fail to follow His instructions.  Read carefully the words of our Lord in Matthew 10:32-33, “Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father.”

In America today, we are faced with a battle that doesn’t involve tanks or airplanes.  It is more insidious and subtle.  It involves the twisting of words and intended meaning coupled with hidden agendas (the pro-choice movement, Freedom of Choice Act/FOCA and substituting Happy Holidays for Merry Christmas are a few examples that come to mind).  This battle is about political correctness, culture clashes and moral courage.  Families are under attack, our children are at risk, the rights of the unborn are ignored and atheists are one of the fastest growing groups in the country.  We are often so concerned about offending people with our Christian views that we some times lose sight of the need to stand up for what is right, share our Christ inspired joy and run the necessary risk of being criticized if we take unpopular stands.

The recent presidential election is a good example.  When speaking to others outside of your immediate circle of like-minded friends or fellow parishioners, did you feel marginalized or uncomfortable for defending Pro-Life views, traditional marriage or in letting others know your faith was influencing your voting decision?  Sadly, many of us (myself included) did often feel uncomfortable in these situations and remained quiet when we should have been vocal and unambiguous about our Christ inspired views.  What was the problem?  Perhaps we didn’t want to offend or appear judgmental.  Maybe we were afraid of being criticized or ostracized.  In these critical moments, I suggest to you that we may have lacked the courage to take a stand and valued the opinions of others over finding favor with Christ.  Our silence in the face of anti-Christian views may often be perceived as agreement.  Think about that.

Test Yourself

If you are one of the few who always acknowledge Christ in public and defend the teachings of the Church, I salute you and thank you for your example.  For the rest of us who need to make significant, heart-felt changes immediately, I have a simple test for you.  Please answer these questions honestly and candidly:

◊  Do I make the Sign of the Cross and say a blessing over all my meals, regardless of my companions?
◊  Over the last few weeks, did I wish people Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays/Seasons Greetings?
◊  Can people clearly see Christ at work in me?
◊  Do I look for Christ in others?
◊  Am I willing to be unpopular for taking stands in defense of Christ’s teachings?
◊  Do I share the beauty and truth of my Catholic faith with others?
◊  Am I a good steward of my time, talent and treasure?
◊  Do I help the less fortunate with love and compassion?
◊  Do I set a good example for others in how I practice my Catholic faith?
◊  Do I truly place God first in all things or is He merely contending for a piece of my time each day?

I don’t know how you answered these questions, but it was convicting for me to go through this list and remind myself of where I fall short every day.  The results of this test and the discernment that will inevitably follow are between you and Christ in prayer.

Resolution and Commitment for the New Year

   Yes, people can change!   With God’s help, personal commitment and courage we can alter the course of our life journey and make a difference in our own lives and the lives of others.  Here are the commitments I am focused on for the new year (and beyond) and I would prayerfully ask you to consider making a list for yourselves:

Start With Me

I humbly suggest to you that the best way to acknowledge Christ is to start with our own soul’s conversion.  We have to begin with our own surrender and faith journey before we can ever positively influence others.  Too often, we speak and act from our heads and not our hearts.  Sincere and daily surrender to Christ’s will is a necessary first step for others to see Him in us.  Consider the words of Pope Paul VI’s 1971 Letter, Octogesima adveniens:  “It is not enough to cite general principles, make resolutions, condemn grave injustices or make denunciations with a certain prophetic daring.  None of this will carry any weight unless accompanied in each person by a more lively realization of his own responsibility and by effective action.  It is too easy to make other people responsible for today’s injustices, if, at the same time, we don’t realize that we too are responsible and that a personal conversion is therefore the first necessity.”

Find My Voice

I can’t always let others carry on the good fight against the Culture of Death, gay marriage or helping the neglected/hungry/homeless in our community.  I want to start right now with a few words about the pro-choice movement.  I am for different choices like adoption, raising the child or maybe old fashioned celibacy before marriage-not killing over 40 million innocent children since Roe v. Wade became legal.  I must hand it to the masters of doublespeak in the pc movement as they have completely diverted the debate away from murdering innocent children to “protecting a woman’s right to choose.” Choose is an interesting word because the choice often being made here is the death of a child.  Tell me, who is standing up for the unborn if not those of us who say that all life is sacred?  There are two human beings that need support and love-the unborn child and the pregnant mother.  We have an obligation, not only to the defenseless unborn, but in showing compassion to the mother in helping her understand the various options other than abortion.  One more thing-you can’t have it both ways and say you are pro-choice and against abortion.  Let’s get off the fence and either defend the unborn or accept the moral consequences of defending the charade that is the pro-choice movement.

Act With More Love

My family, friends, colleagues and everyone else deserves my selfless, charitable love.  I like to think that I am always willing to help others, but I can do more.  Per my earlier questions in the “test” above, I have to let people see Christ’s love at work in me and I must learn to always see Christ in them.  Luke 13:34-35, “I give you a new commandment: love one another.  As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”  By the way, I must also be willing to act in a loving way towards those whose views I oppose.  I must speak up, but in a respectful and compassionate way even if I am not being given the same courtesy.

Pray More/Listen More

I always know how much better I feel after I pray.  Praying the Rosary in the morning on the way to work, the Jesuit Daily Examen during the day, Eucharistic Adoration weekly, prayer time with my children-these are my prayer efforts, but they are not enough.  I want to listen more in the future and not ramble on about what I need.  I want to let Him speak to me and I need to be still and ready to listen.  As I learned a few years ago, prayer is every time you turn your thoughts to God and away from yourself and often the best form of prayer is simply offering sincere gratitude to Him for the blessings in your life.

What I am advocating is not easy, but it is necessary.  Christianity is under attack and we need to fight back with a loving attitude and a clear voice.  There will be challenging times ahead, but is it not worth it?  Don’t we want to hear our Lord say “well done, good and faithful servant?”  Consider Christ’s words in Matthew 5:11-12, “Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you (falsely) because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

I have shared and committed to these four important, life-altering commitments for the New Year.  How about you?  What will your list look like? As added encouragement, I recently read this relevant passage from In Conversation With God by Francis Fernandez, “The best way of promoting justice and peace in the world is the commitment to live like true children of God.  If we Christians really decide to practice the demands of the Gospel in our personal lives, in our families, at work and in our social life, we will change society, making it more just and more human.”  I am also reminded of an old quote: “If being a Christian were a crime, would there be enough evidence to convict us?”  I sincerely pray that there will be enough evidence.

I would like to conclude with a passage St. Augustine wrote in his Commentaries on the Psalms, 39:1, “In former times, Christians were incited to renounce Christ; now they are taught to deny Christ.  Then they were forced, now they are taught; then violence was used, now it is deception; then one heard the shouts of the Enemy; now, when he prowls around, gentle and insinuating, it is difficult to recognize him.  Everyone knows how he tried to force Christians to deny Christ: he tried to attract them to himself so that they would renounce him; but they confessed Christ and were crowned by him.  Now they are taught to deny Christ by trickery, because he doesn’t want them to realize that he is drawing them away from Christ.” Augustine is talking about our times and yet he wrote this over 1600 years ago.  By the way, I just thought of a 5th commitment. I will make a 100% on that test some day.

Thank you and God bless.

  by Randy Hain

I lit a candle today and prayed during Eucharistic Adoration in our parish chapel for a man I know who was hospitalized yesterday for the second time in two weeks.  He is suffering from emphysema and an infection after recent surgery.  The candle burned brightly, more brightly than the others, for the hour I was in the chapel.  The light reminded me of his exemplary life filled with good examples and testimony.  Let me tell you a little about him.

He had a challenging childhood.  His father left when he was a little boy and he, his 2 brothers and twin sister were raised by his alcoholic mother and grandmother.  He made his way through a childhood with no real fatherly influence and very little money to keep the household going.  The man was good at sports and played high school football and focused on girls and going to the beach.

He joined the Army at age 18 and the military formed the basis for the man he became.  He learned self-discipline, gained a work ethic and became a leader.  After six years he left to join the real world and found a job—very different from the rash teenager he had been and now a mature and focused individual. He met and fell in love with a woman a few years later and settled down to start a family.

The happy couple had a boy and both he and his wife pursued their careers and raising their child.  He tried college, but after two years decided it was not for him and focused on working as hard as he could to support his family. The man turned out to be the opposite of his own childhood experience.  Although certainly no saint, he always made time after work to play catch with his son and to teach him the   lessons of life.  He valued nothing more than talking to his son about the value of getting a good education, working hard and doing your best.  This hard working father grew up in a generation that didn’t easily show affection and he was rarely heard to say “I love you”, but his actions showed the depth of his feeling more than words ever could.

A daughter was born after they moved to Georgia in the mid-70’s and the family was complete.  The years went by and the man started attending church at the urging of his wife.  He found a true calling as a Sunday School teacher and faithful member of the church.  The man and woman continued to raise their children and built a good moral foundation in the home and set great examples with their work ethic and devotion to family.  The man was well known as a good friend, hard worker, devout church-goer, selfless giver, good father and husband.

He saw first his son, than years later the younger sibling off to school.  He had always placed a premium on education and it made him very proud to see his children live out his dream.  Disappointments and triumphs followed in the next several years as the man watched his children stumble, fall and get back up again in their pursuit of life, love and happiness.  He just kept on working and giving testimony with his life and his children could easily see a great example to follow, even if they didn’t always appreciate him.

The later years saw the son raise a family of his own and the daughter get married, have a son and get divorced.  Out of his sense of duty and compassion, he took his daughter and grandson into his home with his wife and they helped to raise their grandson.  He still taught the timeless lessons of a good work ethic, strong values and education.  His happiest moments always seemed to be  teaching moments with his daughter’s son and the sons of his firstborn.  The man turned 70 this year and his life of hard work, stress and a lifelong addiction to smoking have caught up with him.  I wonder if he recognizes how many lives he has touched by the example of his incredible work ethic, making good ethical and moral choices, being married to the same woman for 43 years and always, always offering to give of himself to others-never asking for anything in return.  I hope he knows how he has touched my life by his lifelong example and I look forward to telling him in person as soon as possible.

The man is known by several names: husband, brother, friend, Papa and Steve.  I have always just called him…Dad.

Please pray for my father’s speedy recovery…and let your family know you love them this Advent season as we approach Christmas.

Thank you and God bless.

by Pat Lencioni

For some reason, I haven’t directly addressed this topic in any of my writings over the years. It’s not because I’m afraid to or that I find it uninteresting. I think it has more to do with having such mixed feelings.

On the one hand, I think the amount of money paid to so many high profile chief executives is bizarrely and tragically excessive. But my take on that excess is different than most. See, I honestly believe that the ridiculous salaries and compensation some CEOs receive is a function of pride more than greed.

I may be naïve, but I just cannot fathom how someone who already has five homes and enough money socked away to put seventy five kids through college can really want more. What is it that they need the money for? Anyone with that much of it must have already come to the realization that it can’t make them happy. That’s why I honestly believe that the pursuit of higher salaries, bigger bonuses, more lucrative stock options and fluffier golden parachutes is more about keeping up with the Jones’ than it is about money. CEOs know what their peers earn, and they want to compare favorably for the sake of their egos more than their bank accounts.

Regardless of the reason, the excessive payouts to executives—especially to the ones who fail—is just plain wrong.

On the other hand, I’m not in favor of addressing the problem through regulation and government involvement. Most fiscal matters the government involves itself in get worse, not better, and letting bureaucrats and politicians tamper with a free-market economy feels like a very bad idea to me.

And for those executives who lead their organizations to financial success, a healthy reward for their work can be justified. Running a company is a demanding and lonely job, and success should be rewarded. However, failure should not be, and far too much of the compensation awarded to chief executives is guaranteed and not tied to performance.

So what is our recourse?

Because of my belief that pride is at the heart of this problem, I think the solution must focus on reintroducing a healthy sense of shame—that’s right—shame, to the marketplace. CEOs should be made publically accountable for the amount of money they make, and the men and women who serve on the boards that approve their compensation packages should share in that accountability. What would that look like?

First, the CEOs of publicly traded companies should have their compensation packages made public. Yes, I realize that those packages are already available to anyone who takes a few minutes on the internet to look for it. But I’m thinking of something easier and more naked.

Perhaps, CEOs should have to explain their pay to their employees twice a year, justifying the money they make in light of their contribution to company success. And I’m not thinking of a formal board meeting where an employee would have to risk his or her hide to make a statement, but rather an on-line town hall with video coverage in which employees can anonymously and respectfully demand an explanation.

And maybe those same CEOs should be pressured to include their salary and compensation package at the bottom of their e-mail messages. For instance:

Fred Johnson
CEO, XYZ Corporation
Phone: 212-555-1212 e-mail: fred@xyz.com
Compensation: $2.5 million salary, 12 million stock options, $1 million guaranteed bonus

And wouldn’t it be interesting if whenever a CEO receives a ridiculous bonus after a dismal year, or a golden parachute as a reward for running a company into the ground, he or she should be forced to sit in the lobby of the company’s building for two weeks and endure the reaction of employees?

Finally, more industry analysts and television commentators should ask CEOs questions about their compensation. Because just knowing that they might have to publicly explain why they make so much money would give executives a reason to pause and reconsider if they would rather be known among their peers as getting the most lucrative deal or held in high esteem by employees, customers and shareholders for being responsible and humble.

But whatever we do—and I mean this—let’s do it with love and charity. If we simply demonize CEOs and create an ‘Us vs. Them’ atmosphere, we only contribute to the animosity and division that probably enabled this situation to come about in the first place. Even when we correct and hold pe ople accountable for changing their ways, we must do it out of love.

And that’s a pretty good note on which to wish all of our readers and friends and family a Merry and Blessed Christmas and Holiday Season!

by Tom Loarie

As a foot soldier on the front lines for California’s “Yes on 8″ campaign, I experienced the “culture wars” from the trenches. I want to share with you what I saw and experienced first-hand because I believe it affects all of us, wherever we live, whatever work we do. As you may remember, California’s Proposition 8 (Yes on 8 ) put the definition of marriage between a man and a woman into the state’s constitution.

For me, fighting for traditional marriage provided a moment of clarity regarding the battle underway for the soul of our country and ‘spiritual’ leadership. If I had any doubt before, I have none now. Fundamental truths relating to marriage, the nuclear family, children, human rights and religious liberties are under attack today… and are successfully being marginalized. Society is being edged away from the light and out into nothingness.

Moreover, an adherence to the current trends in “political correctness” has weakened our moral will to distinguish between right and wrong and has influenced us to “blend-in” and “go-along” with secular beliefs, some of which may be contrary to the truths and principles of our Faith. Some in leadership positions tell us to keep our views on morality private and to trust these same leaders with the soul of our country. Yet many of these leaders have already swallowed the first line of attack - “Nothing dangerous is happening here.”

The simplicity of truth

Marriage between a man and woman is the kind of fundamental truth that ought not to cause reasonable conflict; it is so simple and fundamental a truth that it cuts across religious and natural lines.  There are some loud opponents, however, who want it to be otherwise, who want to relegate the definition of marriage to the realm of “political correctness” and “private morality,”  as though it is some arbitrary decision not defined by nature, or the Magisterium, or even thousands of years of history!

As Archbishop George H. Niedererauer put it in his article “Moving Together,” which appeared in the Catholic San Francisco: “Marriage IS the ideal relationship between a man and a woman, in which, through their unique sexual complementarity, the spouses offer themselves to God as co-creators of new human persons, a father and a loving mother giving them life and enabling them to thrive in the family setting.”

As a lay Catholic and a leader, I was stunned each time I encountered a lack of leadership or clarity on this simple issue among those in Catholic leadership.  It made me realize a critical obligation that you and I have as lay Catholics to know, understand and stand up for the principles and teachings of our faith – in politics, in the workplace and even, sometimes, in our parishes!

The battle for the “Soul of Our Country” – not just one more political issue

Marriage and the family are the basic building blocks of human society, existing before government and not created by it.  California’s Proposition 8 was simple.  It was only fourteen words long, and yet it stood in defense of marriage, this longstanding institution, understood as the life-long relationship of a man and a woman ordered to the good of spouses and to the procreation and education of children.

Opponents to Proposition 8, which included California’s Attorney General Jerry Brown, and U.S. Senators Feinstein and Boxer, stated that advocates of traditional marriage were motivated by hatred, prejudice and bigotry against homosexuals, along with a determination to discriminate against them and deny them their civil rights. Marriage, as understood and protected for thousands of years, across all   cultures, was not worthy of a defense, according to these opponents to Prop 8, so hate had to be the motive.  Advocates of traditional marriage must be culturally sensitive, the opponents claimed, and must forego a fundamental truth of nature and faith, upheld for centuries across all continents, across all religions!…“Whether you like it or not” according to San Francisco’s Mayor Gavin Newsome.

The battle for spiritual leadership - Catholic leadership and accountability

There were many heroic efforts within the Church in the fight for marriage - by bishops, pastors, the Knights of Columbus, volunteers from CatholicsForProtectMarriage.com, and local parishioners. Yet others within the Church chose to abdicate their responsibilities and ignored this leadership and teachable moment, despite full and clear directives and encouragement from the Vatican, the American Conference of Bishops and the California Conference of Bishops.

Some surprising examples of abdication included:

• There were a number of pastors throughout California who chose not to follow their Bishop’s personal request to become advocates for traditional marriage (Yes on Prop 8 ) and to provide support to parish volunteers. There was a continuum of responses from benign neglect to active resistance, including misstatements of the Church’s position.

• One pastor, for example, who has a history of complaining about Church leadership, took the position, despite his parish’s overall support of traditional marriage, that nothing should be done for fear that the few members of the parish who had homosexual family members would be offended.

• Another pastor took it upon himself to make calls to other pastors suggesting they and their parishes avoid taking a vocal and visible stand for traditional marriage.

• One pastoral council with whom I met chose not to be involved despite its bylaws stating they should be involved in matters of faith and morals. Essentially, Prop 8 was seen as a hot potato rather than as a fundamental truth. Several parish council members argued, incorrectly, that advocacy on this issue was illegal – a position they maintained even after information to the contrary was provided by the CCB and by the local Bishop.

• And despite strong national and local leadership, some Knights of Columbus chapters and members, all of whom take an oath to support Church teaching, refused to help with local efforts supporting traditional marriage because they disagreed with the Church’s stand on the issue.

The role of the laity – serving as a light in the world

A fundamental tenet of our faith is traditional marriage, one that most outsiders to our faith understand. A simple “I am Catholic” was all I had to say for others to understand my position and my advocacy. There are no excuses for a Catholic, particularly one in a leadership capacity, to take a position other than “Yes on 8.”

Vatican II was very clear on the role of the clergy to form the laity to go out into the world as lights of Christ and to be the salt of the earth. It was also very clear that the laity serves in a collaborative role with the clergy. The clergy has the obligation to teach and we have the obligation to be formed so we can fulfill our collaborative role and evangelization roles faithfully.

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt has lost its savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is good for nothing anymore but to be cast out and trodden on by men.” (Matthew 5:13)

Throughout my work on California’s “Yes on 8” (Yes to retain the traditional definition of marriage), I kept asking myself:  Where are those members of the clergy who have failed in their responsibility to teach, who have not formed the laity on tenets of our Catholic faith?  Why did they fail to teach or lead us?  Were they afraid? Were they acting on other agendas?  Or, perhaps, where they themselves ill-formed in the seminaries?  I do not know the answers to these questions.  But I do know that as lay collaborators, you and I need to ask these critical questions of our Catholic leadership in any battle so fundamental.  We need to know whether our leaders acted with benign neglect or with active resistance, and we need to hold our leaders accountable. We do have, as any businessman would express it, a “need to know.”

Ultimately, each of us will be held accountable for our role in defending fundamental truths as taught in sacred scripture and sacred tradition. The defense marriage is no exception. This institution, made a sacrament by Christ, is in need of defense and support today. It is not in need of being re-designed or re-configured. The battle for our culture – as exemplified in the battle to preserve the traditional meaning of the term marriage—is far from over.  This issue, the likewise fundamental issue of abortion, as well as our Church, and our society need for each one of us to become faithful and faith-filled servants in the battle today, not tomorrow. Be the light of Christ and the salt of the earth that you have been called to be!

Thomas M. Loarie
Danville, California
December 20, 2008

by Matthew Kelly

I was in Rome last week and I had to catch a bus, but in Italy you can’t buy a ticket on the bus. You have to buy the ticket before you get on the bus. Only I didn’t have time to buy a ticket, and I didn’t have time to wait for the next bus. So I just got on. I looked around to see if there was an inspector on the bus, there wasn’t. At each stop my heart rate increased, wondering would an inspector get on.

The bus ride lasted only ten minutes, but the anxiety completely drained me of my energy. It got me thinking about all the times and places I have traveled without a ticket in my life.

Do you ever feel like you are traveling without a ticket? The people at Enron were traveling without a ticket. The people at Arthur Andersen were traveling without a ticket. In what ways are you traveling without a ticket?

Maybe you jump on the subway without a ticket, maybe you drive at ten or fifteen miles over the speed limit, perhaps it is telling a lie, or maybe you don’t let the IRS know about a couple of dollars you earned on the side. Whatever form it takes, traveling without a ticket fills our lives with fear and anxiety. You are worried that the ticket inspector is going to catch you, you are anxious about the possibility of the police pulling you over, you are afraid of your lie being found out, you are concerned that the IRS will audit you.

So why do we do it? Well, in most cases, probably just to get what we want or to get there quicker. But what is the cost? Fear and anxiety. A high price to pay. These twin imposters can rob us of the peace and joy of life faster and more effectively than anything else. Is it really worth it?

We don’t speak much about it anymore, but there is something wonderfully liberating about “a clear conscience.” A clear conscience is a luxury item in our modern culture, and yet, one that is accessible to us all.

My favorite prayer in the Mass is during the Communion Rite, immediately after the Our Father, when the priest prays, “Deliver us, Lord, from every evil, and grant us peace in our day. In your mercy keep us free from sin and protect us from all anxiety as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.”

My whole being responds to this plea. This prayer resonates with every desire within me that is good, true, noble, or beautiful. You see, I want to be delivered from every evil. I want to live with the peace of a clear conscience. I don’t want to be burdened by fear and plagued by worries. I want God in his mercy to free me from my sin. I want to be protected from all anxiety… and I want to wait in joyful hope.

I don’t want to travel without a ticket anymore… or ever again.

by John LaBriola
I was swimming one day and the three principles of Christ-Centered Selling were bouncing around in my head. I was at the point where I was putting some finishing touches to my book; specifically, I was adding the Scriptural support to what I had written. Establish trust, create value, serve the customer, establish trust, create value, serve the customer; over and over these three principles were running through my head. Then it hit me. Faith, hope and charity.  What is Establish trust, create value, serve the customer, but the virtues of faith, hope and charity? I had never made the connection. The more I thought about it, the more I realized it was true. Let’s take a look at these three principles in light of the three theological virtues.

Establishing trust as the basis for doing business directly corresponds to the Christian virtue of faith. In Scripture, the Hebrew and Greek words translated as faith (emunah and pistis respectively) indicate both a sense of belief and a sense of trust. Faith is the acceptance of another’s word. You have faith in those whom you believe. You believe in those whom you trust. You trust those in whom you have faith. The cycle continues and strengthens unless mistrust seeps in and weakens or destroys it. Even more than that, faith challenges you to see beyond the usual customer-salesperson struggle, to believe in  what seems unlikely or impossible, and to trust in God. Much like there can be a cycle of trust that spirals upward; there can be a cycle of mistrust that spirals downward and out of control. The Christ-Centered salesperson steps out in faith and seeks to build trust. The Christ-Centered salesperson has faith in the process and the people.

Creating value in you and your product or service directly corresponds to the Christian virtue of hope. The Christian virtue of hope implies the seeking of a future good; this means Heaven in the eternal sense and an earthly reward in the temporal sense. Hope focuses the mind and strengthens the will so that faith may shine through. Hope seeks the good of self and others and is confident in what it desires. Hope trusts in and seeks out the good in another. Hope faithfully desires to create value. In the process of creating value, a future good is sought; typically it is the mutual satisfaction of both customers and salesperson. When you create value, you can ethically maximize profits and do so with confidence, because of the trust you previously established.

Serving your customers regardless of whether or not they buy from you directly corresponds to the Christian virtue of charity, or love. Love that is based in faith and hope leads to courageous zeal. Fear, worry, or lack of confidence is cast out by °ßperfect love.°® As a Christian, you have been called to a radical understanding of what love is and what it means. Christian love is, at its core, a dying to self. It is selfless, unconditional, and generous. It always seeks the good of the other. Much like the Christian concept of charity conflicts with the secular world, so does the concept of serving your customers regardless of whether or not they buy from you conflict with typical sales strategies. And just as some people proclaim their assent to faith and hope but struggle with the virtue of charity, many people will °ßbuy into°® the first two fundamental principles of persuasion but get stuck on this last one. Yet it is this last one that animates and completes the others. As the °ßgreatest of these is love,°® so is the greatest of these °serving your customers.°

Faith, hope and love are the foundation for the Christ-Centered Selling principles of establishing trust, creating value and serving the customers. So, yes, faith, hope, love and selling can be mentioned in the same sentence. Even better, faith, hope and love can help sell in a manner that is profitable to you and to your soul.

  by Fr. Chris Heath

While the “Big Three” automakers were pressing their case for a $38 billion federal bailout, Cardinal Adam Maida of Detroit was meeting with religious leaders in the greater Detroit area to discuss and pray about the financial crisis and specifically what to say to those who will be hurt if the auto industry goes to pot.

It’s not just the auto industry that’s suffering; every sector of the economy and every area of our nation have been hit with the recession.  As a priest I am finding more people want to talk about their stress and worry, concerns for the future, and the “guilt” of not trusting more in God’s providence.  Parish, monastic, and diocesan budgets are being adjusted downward as a result of devalued investments, employees and programs are being cut.  It’s tough everywhere.

In a pastoral letter by Cardinal Maida (read it at www.aodonline.org), he connects the economy and Advent into a single view.  In light of the fact that many of you, business owners, professionals, and Catholics, are probably searching for meaning in all this, I offer some of Maida’s reflections with a little commentary of my own.

“Ultimately, the economy is not just about money; it is about people—about us…  Our spiritual well-being and our human dignity do not depend on the fluctuations of the stock market.”  True, but so much of our self-worth seems to be caught up in what we do, what kind of income we derive from it, what we produce, that if a job is lost or we are under-employed our egos take a big hit.  There’s no denying the American work ethic, but somehow our souls need to rise above the natural inclination to think less of ourselves if we make less or need to ask for help.

“We need to meditate all the more on God’s investment in us…”  Sometimes the value of things we invest ourselves in is not measured in cash dividends, but in less measurable quantities, like the character building and virtue we help our children to develop, the skills we train our employees to grow, the sweat equity of building up a worthy endeavor, the service we render to the less fortunate, or the time we spend in prayer.  These are intangibles, but no less impactful.  And at times these investments may seem to fall flat, or not be appreciated, or just don’t materialize the way we’d hoped.  Our Heavenly Father sees earnings potential in us; He’s totally vested in our welfare and our future, and as long as we can   avoid the moral bankruptcy that leads to eternal separation from Him, God never sees us as a risky investment, a junk bond, or a lousy way to spend His grace!

“Sometimes in life we feel we have little power over the circumstances around us.  Who of us—single handedly—could change the flow of our economy or turn things around?  And yet, each of us has the power to hear God’s Word and to use our time and talents to express…our solidarity with our brother and sisters, many of whom are profoundly suffering in body or spirit.  This holy season of Advent and Christmas provides us countless opportunities for charity, something as simple as a smile, a ‘thank you’ to the grocery bagger, taking a tag from the Giving Tree, providing company or help for the homebound.”  It’s in these times when we are obviously not in control that we are reminded of the frailty of life, of our tenuous connection to this earth.  Our powerlessness is often what hurts our psyches the most; normally we are “movers and shakers,” entrepreneurs, doers, and then something beyond us takes us unawares.  One way of responding is to sit and do nothing, feel sorry for ourselves, freeze up in fear or despair.  Another way to respond is to count our blessings, and watch for opportunities to do good, to take back a little self-determination by acts of selflessness and charity, random acts of kindness, and intentional good works.

“Each person—no matter what—has the power to make a difference, the power to build up, affirm and strengthen.  Alone, we cannot do it.  But together, we can proclaim, even at this time of darkness, that Christ is our light and Christ is our hope.  We wait together for the coming of the Lord.  We trust His coming will be as certain as the dawn and the light of His love will make us into a people of hope.”  It’s easy in times of uncertainty and doubt to turn inwards, to roll up into a little ball and hide from the pain brought on by things beyond our control.  But this helps no one, including ourselves.  We were made for each other, and in times of difficulty, we stretch out our hands to God and to one another.  And in the mutuality of this reaching out, we are able to give and receive what we need to sustain life and relationships and security no matter what the market does.

—

Fr. Chris is a law enforcement chaplain, Catholics at Work OC chaplain, and a priest of the Diocese of Orange, CA.

by Matthew Kelly

It should come as no surprise to us that, in this modern environment, the relevance of Jesus is being seriously questioned. The reason is simple. The philosophy of Christ is very different from the prevailing philosophies of our modern culture. In fact, they are completely opposed to each other. And yet, the teachings of Christ and these modern philosophies both claim to be the key to the fulfillment of a yearning that is common to us all.

Our Quest for Happiness

The human heart is on a quest for happiness. Every human heart yearns for happiness like the desert yearns for rain. You have a desire for happiness; I have a desire for happiness. This desire is universal, common to every member of the human family. We simply desire to be happy, and we act from this desire.

We often do things that we think will make us happy, but which in fact end up making us miserable. Under the influence of philosophies such as Individualism, Hedonism, and Minimalism, we often seek the happiness we desire through pleasure, possessions, power, and the path of least resistance. Each of these may offer moments of happiness, but they end too soon, having lasted ever so briefly, and our quest for a lasting happiness continues. These moments of happiness are of course real, but only as real as a shadow. The shadow of a person is real, but it is nothing compared to the actual person. So many of us spend a large portion of our lives chasing shadows.

The modern search for happiness is governed by Individualism, Hedonism, Minimalism and their fruits: greed, lust, laziness, gluttony, selfishness, exploitation, and deception. And yet, as these philosophies become more and more the focus of modern lifestyles, people seem to be filled with a greater discontent and unhappiness with each passing day.

Is it possible that these philosophies cannot deliver what they promise? Is it possible that there is something lacking in these philosophies that makes it impossible for the human person to find happiness through them?

God and Happiness

I believe God wants us to be happy. I believe God gave us the yearning for happiness that constantly preoccupies our human hearts. It is as if God placed this yearning within each human heart as a spiritual navigational instrument designed to reunite us with our destiny. As a Father who takes a sincere and active interest in the lives of his children, God sent his only Son to respond to humanity’s yearning for happiness, and to offer direction in satisfying that yearning. After all, God himself is the author of our yearning for happiness.

The philosophy of Christ is the ultimate philosophy of human happiness. At the same time, the philosophy of Christ is one of self-donation. This is the great paradox of God’s teaching. In our misguided adventures, we may catch glimpses of happiness living outside of the philosophy of Christ. You may even taste happiness for a moment living a life contrary to the philosophy of Christ, but these are stolen moments. They may seem real, but they are just shadows of something infinitely greater.

The Attitude of Christ

Jesus never asked, “What’s in it for me?” He was not motivated by the Individualist creed; he was motivated by a spirit of service. Far from advocating a Hedonistic deification of pleasure, Jesus gently proclaimed a life of self-denial, saying, “Whoever wishes to follow me, let him deny himself and take up his cross” (Matthew 16:24). He certainly didn’t ask himself, “What is the least I can do and still bring salvation to humanity?” No, he asked, “What is the most I can do?” For this is the question of the lover. The attitude of Christ forms a stark contrast to the philosophies of Individualism, Hedonism, and Minimalism.

The life that Jesus invites us to live is very different than the lifestyle our modern culture invites us to live. Individualism, Hedonism, Minimalism - and their various sundry ally philosophies such as Relativism and Materialism - encourage us to do whatever we want, wherever we want, whenever we want. On the other hand, Jesus invites us to a life of discipline.

Having appeared to Mary Magdalene after his Resurrection, Jesus summoned the disciples to Galilee. When the eleven were gathered together on the mountain, Jesus said, “Go therefore and make disciples of every nation” (Matthew 28:19). Jesus did not say, “Go and make followers of every nation.”

It is easy to be a follower, but to be a disciple requires discipline. Christ invites us to a life of discipline not for his sake, but for our sake; not to help him, but to help us; not to make him happy, but to allow us to share in his happiness.

The Role of Discipline

Jesus said, “I have come that you may have life and have it to the fullest” (John 10:10). The path that leads to “fullness of life” is discipline. There are four major aspects of the human person - physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual. When we eat well, exercise often, and sleep regularly, we feel more fully alive physically. When we love, when we give priority to the significant relationships of our lives, when we give of ourselves to help others in their journey, we feel more fully alive emotionally. When we study, we feel more fully alive intellectually. When we come before God in prayer, openly and honestly, we experience life more fully spiritually. All of these life-giving endeavors require discipline. When are we most fully alive? When we embrace a life of discipline. The human person thrives on discipline.

Are you thriving? Or are you just surviving?

Discipline awakens us from our philosophical stupor and refines every aspect of the human person. Discipline doesn’t enslave or stifle the human person; rather, it sets us free to soar to unimagined heights. Discipline sharpens the human senses, allowing us to savor the subtler tastes of life’s experiences. Whether those experiences are physical, emotional, intellectual, or spiritual, discipline elevates them to their ultimate reality. Discipline heightens every human experience and increases every human ability. The life and teachings of Jesus Christ invite us to embrace this life-giving discipline.

Many people consider Jesus irrelevant today because he proposes a life of discipline. Is discipline then to be considered the core of Jesus’ philosophy? No. Christ proposes a life of discipline not for its own sake, and certainly not to stifle or control us; rather, he proposes discipline as the key to freedom.

In the midst of the complexities of this modern era, we find ourselves enslaved and imprisoned by a thousand different whims, cravings, addictions, and attachments. We have subscribed to the adolescent notion that freedom is the ability to do whatever you want, wherever you want, whenever you want, without interference from any authority. Could the insanity of our modern philosophy be any more apparent? Freedom is not the ability to do whatever you want. Freedom is the strength of character to do what is good, true, noble, and right. Freedom without discipline is impossible.

Is freedom then to be considered the core of Jesus’ philosophy? No. What then, is the core of his philosophy? Well, as it turns out, the people of his own time were curious for an answer to this very question.

One day, while Jesus was teaching a large group of people in the synagogue, a man asked Our Lord a question from his position in the multitude. He was a learned man, one of those doctors of the law who were no longer able to understand the teaching revealed to Moses because it had become so twisted and entangled in the ways of men. He questioned Our Lord, saying, “Teacher, which is the greatest of the Commandments?”

Jesus opened his divine lips slowly, with the calm assurance of somebody who knows what he is talking about and replied, “You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, your whole mind, and your whole soul. This is the first and the greatest of the Commandments. And the second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. Upon these two rest the whole law and all the prophets” (Matthew 22:34-40).

Love is the core of Jesus’ philosophy. But, in order to love you must be free. For to love is to give your self freely and without reservation.

Yet, to give your self - to another person, to an endeavor, or to God - you must first possess your self. This possession of self is freedom. It is a prerequisite for love, and is attained only through discipline.

Jesus in History

Before Christmas last year, I saw a Jewish scholar interviewed on television. The topic of discussion was the influence Jesus has exerted on human history. In summary, the scholar concluded, “The impact this man has had on human history is undeniable. Because of this man we call Jesus, the world will never again be the same. Because of Jesus, men and women will never think the same. Regardless of whether or not we believe he was the Son of God, because of this man who walked the earth two thousand years ago, men and women will never live the same, will never be the same.”

Sometimes, in this turbulent cultural environment, which can be particularly anti-Christian, we can lose sight of the impact Christ has had on history. Caught up in the day-to-day challenges of our busy lives, it is sometimes easy to forget the unfathomable influence this one man has had.

There are a great many people today who think that Jesus is irrelevant in the modern context. I suspect these people are suffering from a modern madness caused by an ignorance of self and history. As we get to know ourselves, our deepest needs, and the history of humanity, the relevance of Jesus Christ to modern man becomes startlingly clear.

Is Jesus still relevant?

Gather all the books that have been written about the life and teachings of Jesus. Add to them all the artwork Christian life has inspired. Now consider all the music inspired by Christ. Not to be forgotten is the fact that the Church nurtured and nourished the development of the arts for centuries. Christianity was the moral foundation upon which America and many other nations built themselves. Now consider the fact that prior to Christ walking the earth, there was never any such thing as a hospital. Where were the sick when Jesus walked the earth? They were on the side of the road, left there to rot and die by relatives who feared for their own health. How is it that we have also collectively forgotten that until the Church introduced education for the masses, there was never any such thing as an education for the common man? Education was only for the elite until the Church recognized and proclaimed the dignity of every human person and introduced education for the masses.

All of these represent aspects of the measurable impact Christ has had on human history. And yet, these are all just dim reflections of the person who was and is Jesus Christ. Adding all of these together is still nothing compared to the impact Christ can have on your life, on my life. All the worldly success of Christ and the Church are insignificant compared to the change Christ can effect in your heart, in my heart.

The life of Jesus Christ is indelibly engraved upon history, neither the erosion of time nor the devastating and compounding effects of evil have been able to erase his influence. Some people thought he was crazy, others considered him a misfit, a troublemaker, a rebel. He was condemned as a criminal, and yet, his life and teachings echo and reverberate throughout history. He saw things differently, and he had no respect for the status quo. You can praise him, disagree with him, quote him, disbelieve him, glorify him, or vilify him. About the only thing you cannot do is ignore him, and that is a lesson that every age learns in its own way.

You can’t ignore Jesus because he changed things. He is the single greatest agent of change in human history. He made the lame walk, taught the simple, set captives free, gave sight to the blind, fed the hungry, healed the sick, comforted the afflicted, afflicted the comfortable, and in all of these, captured the imaginations of every generation. His teachings are not complex or exclusive, but simple and applicable to everyone, everywhere, in every time in history, regardless of age, color, or state in life. Beyond life’s complexities, there is simplicity. Beneath life’s confusion, there is understanding. It is the Gospel, the Good News. Within it, through it, we find salvation. And I believe that part of that salvation is happiness - not the foolish, empty happiness that this modern age associates with getting what you want. It is a happiness deeper and higher than any happiness we could imagine or design for ourselves.

Christ came to reconcile us with the Father, and in doing so, offered the satisfaction of this craving for happiness that preoccupies our human hearts. Love is our origin and our destiny. Our yearning for happiness is a yearning for love. Created to love and be loved, we seek out the fulfillment of our purpose. “God is love” (1 John 4:8), and our yearning for happiness is ultimately a yearning for God. The Catechism of the Catholic Church wastes no time in addressing this truth. The opening point of Chapter One, Section One, reads, “The desire for God is written in the human heart, because man is created by God and for God; and God never ceases to draw man to himself. Only in God will man find the truth and happiness he never stops yearning for.”

Our desire for happiness is not going to go away. It is part of the human condition. Our quest for happiness is a quest for God. This is the genius of God. Our yearning for happiness is the ultimate and eternal homing device, designed to draw us gently toward our eternal home. Our yearning for happiness is a yearning for union with our Creator. As Augustine pointed out so simply and eloquently, “Our hearts are restless until they rest in you, Lord.” Wherever men and women yearn for happiness, Christ will be relevant. He alone is the fulfillment and satisfaction of this yearning, and so for every person in every place and time he remains, “the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (John 14:6).

-The above excerpt is chapter three of Matthew’s book, Rediscovering Catholicism.

  by Fr. Chris Heath

On November 30, 2008, the Church began the season of Advent, and a new Church year.  Our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI, in his first Advent homily, spoke of the need to celebrate Advent as “the spiritual season of hope par excellence.”  But in the Pope’s way of seeing things, it’s not just that we’re waiting for some future event—the Second Coming of Christ, the end of the world, the end of our life.  In fact, as we celebrate Advent we are already sharing in the grace of the future, “actualizing the mystery,” so as “to walk in it towards its full realization, at the end of time…already drawing sanctifying virtue from it.”

This may sound a little strange: a kind of “science-fictiony” Catholic time travel?  What is the Pope getting at?  Taking advantage of future events in the present?  If we understand that from God’s perspective all of human history—and in fact the life-span of the entire cosmos—happens all at once to God in an ever-present “now,” then sharing in the grace of what is “future” to us is really just part of the present to God!  With confidence we state that we believe that Jesus Christ “will come to judge the living and the dead”: this is a certainty even if we don’t know when or how it will happen.  But in fact it is “now” to God, so why can we not “walk in it toward its full realization”?  And why can we not, by our personal preparation, help bring that Kingdom to bear on this world?

How can we make our Advent purposeful, intentional, stretching forward into that future promise?  By looking at what is yet not ready for the coming of Christ, what is not prepared for Christ’s return and judgment, the full blazing light of His measurement.  In the quiet moments of our day, we all recognize the parts of us that are imperfect, still in need of some attention, some work or effort; we see things that need to be fixed, changed, healed, or detached from.  We know there is work to be done in our souls, our lives and relationships, our families, and even in our work—things that need time and care on our part.  Things we’ve been putting off, even just projects that are nagging at us.

It’s time for an Advent project!  We Catholics are good about “doing something” for Lent, but Advent is a penitential season as well, and one much better suited to preparation work, the effort to put something in order for the Day of the Lord.  Even in Lent that’s what we’re really doing: working on some area of our life to improve it even a little, and not just to get ready for Easter, but to get ready for OUR Easter, our future life and resurrection!

Advent is the beginning of the Church year, and what is the typical new year activity?  New year resolutions!  So, let’s get to resolving.  Let’s take a good look at the state of ourselves and vow to work on something not only because of its worldly, earthly impact, but because it will help us be better ready to meet the Lord when He comes again in glory.

This Advent project, this new year resolution, doesn’t have to be as big and all-encompassing as this may sound.  Even just a little progress on the path is helpful.  Even baby steps in the direction of Christ and His Kingdom is good.  In fact, we tend to make the mistake of trying to do too much as a new year resolution (“I’m going to make a million dollars,” “I’m going to pray two hours a day,” “I’m going to lose a hundred pounds”).

I’m suggesting our Advent project/resolution needs to be small and manageable, something concrete and measurable, something that we can accomplish or at least put our best effort into during Advent.  If it’s an issue that will take more than a couple of weeks to fix or a new habit that has to set with many weeks of effort, then Advent at least sets us moving in the right direction.  Or think of it as prep for Lent!  Whatever you need to work on now, you’ll probably still be dealing with in late February (Ash Wednesday is Feb. 25)!

In any event, don’t let this powerful season of preparation and hope pass you by!  Don’t let the future coming of Christ, leaking, as it were, back into our time, be wasted grace!  There’s so much to work on, and the amount of our prep time is known only to God.  As we pray “Come Lord Jesus,” “Ma-ra-na-tha,” we have much to be busy about in preparation for that great Day!
—————

Fr. Chris Heath is a chaplain for law enforcement, for Catholics at Work OC, and a priest in the Diocese of Orange, CA.

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