NOLA Series: Called to Greatness

In May, Erika and I had the pleasure of spending 5 days in New Orleans for my friend’s wedding. I knew this weekend was going to be filled to the brim with fun. Late nights, sleeping in, tons of food and plenty to drink, and it was! But, little did we know that there was going to be an abundance of spiritual growth and enlightenment. I’m going to have a two part series about our weekend. I’ll write one post, and Erika will write another.

 

 The main reason for the power of this weekend for Erika and I was the amazing group of people we spent these days with. My friend used to work for Life Teen so naturally he grew to have strong friendships with some incredibly holy, talented, and hilarious people. We got to worship, celebrate mass, talk, joke, eat, drink, dance, and share with such amazing people; former missionaries, priests, praise and worship leaders and artists. It was in these moments that God truly spoke to us in the heart of the French Quarter of New Orleans.

After the Saturday Vigil mass at St. Louis Cathedral we went to Muriel’s on Chartres Street. Many different conversations ensued as we dined over our differing meals. The turtle soup was definitely the star of the table. The Cleveland vs. Chicago playoff game was on at the bar and Fr. got up a few times to check the score. When he came back he and a couple of the other guys were talking about some players and their skills and what it takes to be good.

They went on to discuss the marvel it is to be in the presence or to be able to watch someone who has quite literally perfected their craft. It is only a small percentage of people that make it to the professional ranks of their sport, artistry, or skill. That’s when Fr. started to drop the wisdom. He started talking about how it is those that put in the work that succeed. Someone can be born with natural talent, but they can be overcome by someone with less natural talent but who puts in the time to perfect what they do have. He went on to talk about the theory of 10,000 hours.

The theory goes that to achieve excellence or to become an expert in something, you will need to have put in at least 10,000 hours of work. And this means real work, not just going through the motions of something you already do well; 10,000 hours of deliberate training. Fr. knew a kid who went to a concert and his mind was blown by the guitarist in the band. From that day on he was determined to excel as a guitarist. He had never played in his life. He put in the work. He committed to playing multiple hours a day. He eventually formed the most popular band in his state, and is now a nationally known artist. Sorry, I can’t for the life of me remember the band.

It’s here where father started moving into the depths. He talked about all these athletes have achieved greatness in their own right. Here’s where he brought it home. He then said that we are all called to greatness, spiritual greatness. God as not called, has not chosen us to be mediocre, to live humdrum lives. Jesus did not die on a cross so that we can mosey on through life. No, we are called to greatness. And this isn’t a flashy greatness. This isn’t a greatness that gets awards or popularity. It is a spiritual greatness that truly changes the worlds and sets out ripples to where they end we will never know.

Normally when we speak of spiritual greatness we think of spiritual powerhouses like Sts. Peter and Paul, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Pio, St. John Vianney, Bl. Mother Teresa, St. Maximillian Kolbe, St. John Paul II. But, it can sometimes be easy to forget those who did not lead lives of  miracles, and large achievements. I actually tried to bring some attention to those who lead, from the outside looking in, rather normal everyday lives in our summer session for our high schoolers. The theme is “The Time to Be AWESOME is Now”. The whole idea behind it is that we shouldn’t wait to grow in holiness. We aren’t guaranteed the next second of our lives. The time is now! These saints did not do great miraculous spiritual feats,  but  due to their lives of heroic virtue, we know they are now in heaven. We talked about people like St. Maria Goretti, Bl.Bartolo Longo, St. Gianna Berreta Molla, and Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati. 

St. Maria Goretti

St. Gianna Berreta Molla

Bl. Bartolo Longo

 By the world’s standards these people did not achieve greatness. But in God’s eyes we know they did not live mediocre lives. They were not lukewarm to be vomited out. They lived lives of heroic virtue, otherworldly lives, lives of vertical wildness. They were able to achieve greatness.What if we made the choice to live lives abundantly? What if we chose to apply the 10,000 hour rule to our spiritual lives? What if we chose to achieve greatness?