Pope Francis is Not From the French Revolution

The terms “left” and “right” when it comes to political ideologies originated during the French Revolution (Thanks Michael Gormley of Lay Evangelist and Catching Foxes for the history lesson).  The members of the National Assembly would divide the room with those supporting the King on the right and those supporting the revolution on the left. Pope Francis is on neither side.

With the Pope’s visit to the Unites States, Conservatives and Liberals are losing their minds! The Pope is a liberal! The Pope is a Conservative! I am closer and closer to totally giving up talk radio.

I’ve really come to see that Conservative talking heads and Liberal talking heads are really the same exact thing, just on opposite sides of the aisle. They both say they are searching for the truth but as long as it’s their truth. And, for some of them, the Pope is not speaking their truth.That makes him the enemy.

I think the big fiasco going on in my mind is the debate over whether the Pope has come to the U.S. to make political statements. On a radio show I was listening to the person on the scene at the White House was asking people what they thought the Pope’s intentions were with all his statements about religion, the family, marriage, abortion, immigration,the death penalty, the environment, etc. She said that she was shocked because everyone she spoke to thought he was making spiritual comments as his position as spiritual guide.She, as do many talking heads, think he is coming with a political agenda.But, these topics are all matters of faith. They are how we interact with each other as well as the rest of creation.

Frankly, I’m shocked how so many people, even people who claim to be people of faith, can separate one aspect of our society from their faith and not others. Well, I guess I shouldn’t be shocked, we’re always trying to make our faith, Jesus, our Church the faith, Jesus, and Church that WE want and not live in reality of what they are.

Our faith should dictate everything in our lives. That includes anything that may be considered political. My favorite topic that the Conservatives lose their minds over is the environment. I don’t think you have to agree with the Pope on ideas on HOW to protect the environment, but I would think that most people believe we should protect it. I mean, God only commands us to do so: "The LORD God then took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for it" - Genesis 2:15. On the same radio show I mentioned above, the host mentioned that the environment isn’t even in the top 50 of things she’s worried about. What? You complain about the deficit and Obama Care and how we are leaving a huge debt for our children, but what about actually leaving them a planet? How about leaving some trees for them to produce oxygen? How about cleaning up our manufacturing practices to keep that air clean? While we’re at it, how about some clean water too? We won’t have anything if we don’t have a place to live and thrive. Take a look at countries that don’t have environmental regulations. A lot of them are third world countries. The conditions they live in are horrid.

But, this is America I guess. We are so pampered that we can find anything to complain about, including the Pope speaking Spanish, his first language, instead of English.

What the media doesn’t realize is that Pope Francis is doing exactly what he and the Church are commissioned on this Earth to do. Let’s see what the Church said in the Vatican II document Gaudium et Spes – Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World:

2. Now that the Second Vatican Council has deeply studied the mystery of the Church, it resolutely addresses not only the sons of the Church and all who call upon the name of Christ, but the whole of humanity as well, and it longs to set forth the way it understands the presence and function of the Church in the world of today.    Therefore, the world which the Council has in mind is the whole human family seen in the context of everything which envelopes it;

4. At all times the Church carries the responsibility of reading the signs of the time and of interpreting them in the light of the Gospel, if it is to carry out its task. 

11. The people of God believes that it is led by the Spirit of the Lord who fills the whole world. Moved by that faith it tries to discern in the events, the needs, and the longings which it shares with other men of our time, what may be genuine signs of the presence or of the purpose of God. For faith throws a new light on all things and makes known the full ideal which God has set for man, thus guiding the mind towards solutions that are fully human.

“We have to be careful not to pick one item in isolation," he said. “The Holy Father comes as a pastor and as a prophet, and as a prophet he comes with a certain moral voice." - Louisville Archbishop Joseph Kurtz 

Spiritual Bodybuilding

Frank Zane

I’m a bodybuilding fan. I appreciate the hard work that goes into one’s diet and training. I like the idea of the body being a canvas and training to make it a piece of art. If you look back through history at classical pieces of art whether paintings or physiques sculpted out of stone, the artists chose rather magnificent physiques to portray.

David

Herakles

But, what if? What if we treated our spiritual life, our prayer life, our relationship with God in the same manner, with the same vigor, with the same hard work and struggle as a bodybuilder? A professional bodybuilder will map out their off season for growth and their competition season to get as lean as possible while maintaining as much muscle as possible. They are meticulous with their diet and training. They get their bodies down to a science. They know exactly how a certain food will affect them, they know the type of training that works best for them. And as they age they will make very meticulous and calculated tweaks to adjust to the changes their body makes.

Laocoon and his Sons

What if we took our faith life this serious? What if we had a game plan for prayer? What if we had a defense system set for different temptations? What if we knew ourselves so well that we knew what to avoid so as not to get off track spiritually? What if we had the courage to say no to harmful situations just as a bodybuilder has the courage and will power to say know to cheating on their diet and not going out and partying so they can stay healthy and get needed rest? What if we took the time to study the wisdom of the Church and Holy Scripture to learn the best way to live our lives? What if when we are sick with sin we go to confession? What if we fed ourselves with the ultimate diet of the Eucharist, Christ Himself? How would this world be different with people living their faith intentionally and not making BS excuses and trying to rationalize things and make Jesus the Jesus they want?

Check out this video of Jon Delarosa (big fan of his physique). This video goes through the different therapies, the extra steps beyond diet and training to get his body to operate at peak performance. What if, we treated our souls this way, to become holier? Just check out the video and imagine he is talking about his spiritual life instead of his body. Imagine doing whatever it takes to be holy and live otherworldly with vertical wildness.

Back to Art

I used to draw. I don’t remember what got me started, but I used to draw all of the time. I enjoyed art, creating and admiring. It’s actually this appreciation that got me interested in comic books. I never followed comic books correctly as in following the storylines. I went to the comic store, found the most interesting cover based on the illustration (I did have my favorites though, X-Men, Spiderman, Superman, etc), and I’d buy that one. I also, used to collect comic books.

I used to listen to and discover a lot of music. I would look in the cd booklet, turn to the thank yous, and look up all the bands that that particular band or musician was thanking. I also used to play guitar a lot.

I realized a few years ago that I had cut a lot of art out of my life. I stopped drawing and guitar because I just stopped taking the time. I stopped collecting comic books because when I moved to Texas I just never bothered to find a store and pick it back up. I stopped buying music because I just got really cheap. None of these are good excuses.

But why  has this come up?  Why has it bothered me so much that I let these things fade out of my life?  I think I realized how much I missed them due to the reminders I receive daily of friends talking about new bands they’ve discovered and the explosion of super hero movies, to name a few.

I think I realized my loss of art is when I’d spend so much time not making art. I’d find myself just skimming the internet and social media, binging on Netflix, watching Youtube video after Youtube video. And don’t get me wrong, movies, and tv, and videos can be powerful art. I guess you could say I was taking part in the art by appreciating it, but there is something about being involved in the art, creating, that is healing, invigorating, and holy.

So I have begun taking steps to bring art back into my life. I started this blog, for one, but another step was to get back into comics. I honestly think God wanted me back there. He put quite a few people in my life who are fans and who read comics. The conversations I’d have with these people weren’t juvenile discussions of muscles and powers, but they went deep into character, plot, and intention. I’m following multiple stories and appreciating the art, the story, the creativity, and the ability for this one comic company to weave so many stories within one big event throughout multiple different titles. And honestly, it has been a great source of release for me. There have been many nights where to unwind I go to the quietest part of the house and enter Marvel’s Battleworld and see what Old Man Logan is doing, or how is Colossus going to save his sister, or how is Dr. Doom going to keep control as Battleworld’s god.

Art saves. Art teaches. Art heals. As a Catholic I can look back over the history of the Church and see the power of art. The paintings, catacombs, manuscripts, and cathedrals all had one purpose, and that purpose was to bring people closer to God. They were meant to teach the faith to an illiterate world. God is an artist. Just look around and listen. Birds singing. The roar of the waves at a beach. The view from every mountain top. Let’s take part. Let’s create. Let’s save.

Check out these two stories. One is about a mother and her tattoos. The other is a four part series by Scott Erickson. It’s a really powerful take on art and it’s power. Aside from disagreeing with his tired religion rant in the final episode, it’s a beautiful series. I highly encourage you to read and watch.

Primal Happy Place: My Tattoo Story

Why the Church Needs Art