The Weight of Expectations

In Chapter II of the Journey to Capo series we follow Animal powerlifter Garrett Griffin around southern Louisiana. He talks about the differences of life today versus when he was growing up and the differences of pre and post Katrina. Throughout the video he relates things in his life to powerlifting in that he always wants to exceed people’s expectations of him.

Garrett didn’t get into lifting on his own. He was pretty powerful before he started competing. But, one day someone saw him benching and said he should compete. He took the advice, entered a competition, and left $1000 richer. And throughout his life no matter what he did he was always supported by his family. There is even a very touching moment when he talks about his grandfather who passed away years ago who was always supportive of anything he did. But with the support of family, friends, and a powerful company behind him, he doesn’t want to let anyone down and wants to exceed any expectations they may have for him.

What is this whole Lent thing for? 40 days in the desert? Strengthening prayer/spiritual/faith? Growing closer to Christ? Becoming holier? Why? What’s the point? The point is that God wants nothing less from us than everything. “What? That’s crazy.” But, it’s true, God wants all of us, everything. Even Jesus told us, “So be perfect, just as your heavenly father is perfect”, (Matthew 5:48) God wants so much of us that if we present anything less he will spit us out, “So because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth”, (Revelation 3:16) Actually, the better translation is “vomit”. That’s a pretty picture. Lent is a great time to get back to being “hot”.

What is the point of this life? What are we called to? We are called to be saints, plain and simple, nothing less. Every thought, every moment, every choice, is drawing us closer or pulling us further from Christ and sainthood, “All life is an emergency”, (Peter Kreeft). One of my favorite quotes from a saint is from St. Irenaeus, “The glory of God is man fully alive.” “Léon Bloy wrote: 'Life holds only one tragedy: not to have been a saint”, (Peter Kreeft). How do we become saints? “Nothing but prayer can make saints because nothing but God can make saints, and we meet God in prayer. Prayer is the hospital for souls where we meet Doctor God.” (Peter Kreeft). And how do you pray? “The single most important piece of advice about prayer is one word: Begin!” (Peter Kreeft).

For more evidence of how much God expects of us check out: Leviticus 11:44, Leviticus 19:02, James 1:4, 1 John 3:3

And, if you’re wondering about my Peter Kreeft homage pretty much all of the quotes come from Prayer for Beginners

The Bonds that Hold

The first chapter of this video series presents the Lilliebridge father and sons and the trials and tribulations they faced. As young fathers and sons living in crime ridden neighborhoods, they had to do what needed to be done to survive and provide for the family, and their bond is what was necessary for success.

A large part of the American experience is the idea of personal autonomy and the sheer necessity of independence. These things are good and well but the American way does not always fall in line with the Catholic way. The Catholic Church at its core, at its origin, at its essence is not a business, a building, a nonprofit, an organization, no, it is a family.

The survival of a family depends on unity. The strongest bonds can withstand the test of time. Throughout the Church’s 2000 years of existence it has gone through triumphs, struggles, failures, and a whole multitude of ups and downs. Our family extends not just around the world with all of our fellow Church Militants (the church on Earth)  but also with those who have passed away to the Church Expectant (those in purgatory) and the Church Triumphant (those in heaven). And the communication, the bond has never stopped. We pray for each other here on Earth, we pray for those in purgatory awaiting the beatific vision, and we ask for those in heaven to pray for us. As a family we always have and always will be learning, growing, and we are guaranteed by scripture that “…the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it,” Matthew 16:18.

“At age 18 you’re considered an adult but that’s just a number just an age but you have to act that way, become an adult.” – Eric Lilliebridge. 

The whole purpose of the New Evangelization is to evangelize the already catechized, or supposedly catechized. There are many adults in the Church but that does not mean they are an adult in their faith (whether they are Confirmed or not).  Lent is a useful time for people to quiet themselves and enter the desert.

“I’m not going to lie about their lifts.” – Eric Lilliebridge

“This isn’t how life should be, you break the chain.” Ernie Lilliebridge

Lent is a powerful time of reflection if one takes the time and initiative. Unless we reflect on how we are living we can’t seek a remedy. I think a lot of people who consider themselves Christian think they are headed straight to heaven like the title is a get in free card. There’s a common ideology that being Christian means being a good/nice person, so that means I’m ok because I’m good/nice. But this isn’t so. No where in scripture does Jesus say to be good or be nice to get into the Kingdom of Heaven. He does say to love though. And to love means sometimes not being nice. In Eric’s quote above he expresses about how he couldn’t support his dad or brother if he were lying to them about their lifts. If their form is bad, or if they are slacking, telling them that they are doing great will not help their progress nor keep them safe under the bar. So in the same way we have to be honest with ourselves about our faith journey before we can lead others, “Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam is in your eye?”, Matthew 7:3.

Lent’s a perfect time to hunker down and “break the chain”, because Ernie is right, “this isn’t how life should be”. The Lilliebridge family was in a situation in an unhealthy environment so they picked themselves up and moved out. We should do the same for our spiritual health. If we are in a state of addiction or sin we should use Lent to help us break “break the chain”.

"Journey to Cap" Chapter I: The Bonds that Hold

To see what Father Barron has to say about love not being about being nice check this video out.To go straight to love go to 7:13.

Faith, Hope, and Love: A Commentary by Fr. Barron

Journey to Easter Journey to CAPO

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry. Matthew 4:1-2

During this Lenten season, this journey to Easter, prayer, fasting, and almsgiving will allow us to grow holier and as Pope Francis @pontifex tweeted, “Lent is a good time for sacrificing. Let us deny ourselves something every day to help others”. So not only is this about us but what we do can also benefit others.

This journey to Easter also allows us to reflect on Jesus’ journey into the desert and to follow him into the desert ourselves. Before Jesus started his ministry he spent time alone in the dry, arid desert. And, throughout his time of ministry he constantly took time to get away by himself to pray and be with the Father. This is how we should take advantage of Lent, by going into the desert, going into our "inner room" and getting away from distractions, things that are hindering our prayer life, hindering our relationship with God, and just generally not allowing us to grow in holiness.

When preparing for a competition focus is so important. One must focus on the task at hand and get rid of all the distractions while soaking up all that can give support to achieving the goal. The training must be precise; the nutrition must be on par, sleep is vital. Abusing alcohol, lack of sleep, poor training ethic, and many other vices can prove detrimental to a prep.

Ash Wednesday is the starting day of our 40 day prep. We mark ourselves reminding us of who we are and where we’re headed, “Remember you are ashes and to ash you shall return”. This opening video sets up the Journey the Animal athletes will take. I hope their journey to CAPO is fruitful for your journey to Easter.

 

Take note of the beastly beard in the opening scene.

The training tools we’ll need for the journey: Prayer, Fasting, Almsgiving:The questions that makes all the difference this Lent: Why?

Ash Wednesday Gospel: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

 

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Take care not to perform righteous deeds
in order that people may see them;
otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father.
When you give alms,
do not blow a trumpet before you,
as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets
to win the praise of others.
Amen, I say to you,
they have received their reward.
But when you give alms,
do not let your left hand know what your right is doing,
so that your almsgiving may be secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
“When you pray,
do not be like the hypocrites,
who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners
so that others may see them.
Amen, I say to you,
they have received their reward.
But when you pray, go to your inner room,
close the door, and pray to your Father in secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
“When you fast,
do not look gloomy like the hypocrites.
They neglect their appearance,
so that they may appear to others to be fasting.
Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.
But when you fast,
anoint your head and wash your face,
so that you may not appear to be fasting,
except to your Father who is hidden.
And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.”

Lenten Power Series

Every Monday for all six weeks during Lent, starting this Ash Wednesday, I’ll be posting a video and writing about how it pertains to Lent. The videos are from the Animal Pak (supplement company) YouTube channel. This series is tracking some Animal powerlifting athletes on their journey to the 2013 CAPO Australian & International Invitational Powerlifting & Bench Press Championship in Tasmania, Australia. 

This series isn’t just for people who like to lift, it is for everyone. This video series isn’t necessarily just about powerlifting. Each video delves into the life of one or more lifters seeing where they’ve come from, who they are and why they are that way, and what lifting means to them and what it has done for their life. It goes through their triumphs and struggles, dreams, and plans for the future.

I plan to take each video and relate it back to our faith journey especially in relation to Lent:

Ash Wednesday: “Journey to the CAPO Opening”

March 10^th: The Bonds the Hold

March 17^th: The Weight of Expectations

March 24^th: No Limits

March 31^st: Unattainable

April 7^th: From Nothing

April 14^th: Conclusion

Here’s a recent post I wrote about Lent:Lessons from the Iron: Lenten Overload

And I’ll close with the Journey to CAPO trailer:

Need...SLEEP

I…am…TIRED! All day I've felt like the teens in Nightmare on Elm Street who were trying to stay awake so as to not to dream. The difference is, I want to sleep!

Our second daughter, Adeline Grace, was born two weeks ago tomorrow (which I’ll write about soon). Like I mentioned in a previous post, we breast feed on demand, so Erika offers herself to Adeline whenever she is hungry, day or night. Since I’ve gone back to work and she has to give, give, give all day I try to give Erika as much straight uninterrupted sleep as possible. But, last night we had a three hour photo session so that threw everything off. So, I didn’t get to bed until 4AM. And, I had a class to be at at 9AM! I was definitely a good 15 minutes late.

I had to make it through that 7 hour class. I had to stay awake, think, talk, take part in activities, oh yeah and drive there and back. All bad ideas.

I did have a pretty entertaining evening when I got home though. My sister-in-law, nephews, and niece came over. For some reason my nephews have been obsessed with trying to see my chest hair. I don’t know why. They always ask to see it and I tell them no. It's just a little weird to lift my shirt for 3 boys. And what if my natural chest jungle is not satisfying to them. I don't know if I can take that kind of rejection. But probably due to weakness due to lack of sleep I gave in.

Sean Connery

Nephew: When are you going to show me your chest hair?

Me: Why do you want to see my chest hair?

Nephew: I don’t know just show me?

Me: (Lifts shirt)

Nephew: Hmmm, ok.

I was fairly disappointed with that reaction. I was hoping for awe.

The only remaining question is, “Why am I still awake?!”...this blog post. Thanks Jennifer Fulwiler!

Now to get some shut eye like this little lady.