Redeeming Ignorance

It has been a LONG time. There is a quiet and stillness that is required to write and my life has had very few moments like this which is why there has been a hiatus. I penned this months ago and am thankful that this Thanksgiving morning I have the opportunity to publish it.

Ignorance is part of the human condition and until we recognize this truth we can not be humble and let God lead. I remember the first time I realized this, it was when I came back to the Catholic church at 26. I realized that there are worlds of knowledge out there that I will never know. Even if I were to specialize in something, I will never know everything there is to know about that area I am focusing on, even if I lived forever!

This brings me to the frenzy most of us who are thoughtful and conscious get caught up in, namely politics. Both sides think their opinion is correct and the opposing argument ignorant, even evil. Can we both be right and wrong? We are all ignorant--not knowing how complex, changeable and mysterious a human being is and how perfect and unchangeable God is. And yet HE lives and expands in the minutia of life we can never grasp, and at the same time is in the bigger picture we can never see. He redeems and overcomes evil, and we join him limping along the way---doubting at times that good wins over evil--the battles are long and the war never seems to end. But it will.

We collectively and individually are human and have in our DNA the same disease of our EGO. This blinds us even more to our own ignorance. We assume things that are not true, and we attribute as God's will what is in fact our own will. Most of us are honest enough to own our own will. Our EGO (edging God Out) seeks the opposite of glorifying God. It seek to glorify oneself. We all have it, and we all are tempted and fall often. Its not a pretty sight, and it causes harm. No doubt we must do what we must to heal but we also must know that God is bigger than all of it and if we confess and repent, then there is no mountain we can't climb with HIS and all the heavenly beings ready to help.

As I digressed--I come full circle. We have to make choices daily, moment to moment, some are true to ourselves and some are not, some are good and some are evil and often these things are mutually exclusive. And when we choose -- we do so in ignorance and yet we must. In standing up for truth for good and for God we do so as imperfect and ignorant beings. So here in is the kernel-- have your mind open enough to listen, your heart open enough to love, your body open enough to feel, and your soul graced enough to seek truth and courageous enough to defend it.

Then we can choose in confidence knowing we did the best we could with what we knew at the moment, knowing that in the end we may be wrong and yet God will make it right. It seems laughable, but it is also beautiful. We are ALL human and despite our ignorance we can be redeemed and lifted up by our Almighty God. I leave you with Jesus own words that says it all, "Forgive them Father for they know not what they do."

Our Unique Gift to Lead and Love

We are in the last day of July which is about mid way through summer. Some of us are taking vacations, enjoying the fruits of our labor. Some like me are taking a minivaction on a Sunday at the beach. I am here at Redondo Beach near the pier reflecting on my summer adventure at Holywood.

I gave a speech about a week ago in the Leadership class. This class specifically details leading like Jesus. I couldn't help but integrate what I learned thru strength finders and my top four gifts given by the almighty himself namely Command, Input, Activator, Connectedness and Self Assurance. What came of it was the following speech slightly modified. I hope it inspires and allows all of us to dig deeper into the glorious majesty and mystery of being made in God's image.


It is always true for me that when I hear and read hours of information there is always some things that stand out more than others.. If what I learning validates my experience it sticks more.
What have I learned?

First, I found it interesting that the servant leadership paradigm is being studied and implemented in our secular world. I found it both interesting and paradoxical that it seems to be effective. Paradoxical because our culture, despite being Christian and Catholic for so long, has not dared to embrace what Jesus taught until now. I know throughout most of my life I struggled between what I heard the culture telling me, my own nature and what Christ presented.

The surrender of the culture and my nature to open to what Christ presents was a decision I made only recently, and it is a daily decision and struggle. I know that emptying myself so that God can fill me is the truest path to discovering myself and my vocation. This leads me to the two attributes I find most attractive in leaders and characteristics I wish to hone for myself.

Humility and confidence. Humility makes me teachable, curious, open and present. The reality is I have infinity to learn and a finite amount of time to learn in this life. So being open to every opportunity whether in prayer or in my moment to moment life is a goal I strive for. It is also where I find God.

Confidence or self assurance is the knowledge that I am created by God in his image and that he loves me more than all of humanity, including myself, could ever love me. Just as importantly, that my experience of working the talents that God has given me has led to the affirmation of what I am capable of doing and the knowledge of the intrinsic worth of what God has created. It is my goal to keep combating the voices inside and out that deny both realities not only for myself but those around me.

Humility and confidence can lead me to a vision. John Paul II, Mother Theresa and MLK had both attributes in my view. Humility led them to their visions by seeing, hearing and feeling what the world needed most. They graciously rose to the call. Their confidence in God and their call led them to their courage. And these attributes led to deeds and words that inspired, motivated and impacted the world in deep and significant ways. Humility and confidence led to passion, kindness, integrity, self sacrifice and a unique experience of what it means to love for them individually.

In discerning my call as a leader it always helps to humble myself before God's glorious power and have him lift me up to see the needs around me that impact me the most and call to me. Then my courage can be effectively applied to say what needs to be said and do the things that need to be done. May we all embrace our unique gift to lead and love from Our Father in Heaven.