The worthy sacrifices of vocation

Allow me again to apologize for the dearth of postings in this space in the previous weeks. Ideally, I'd love to be able to post two or three times per week here, to give those of you who might be inclined to read a better idea of how the formation process is going. I have a paper that will be due at some point next month, and the topic that I have chosen is the development of Trinitarian Doctrine. As of yet, I have not started the paper, and those of you who know me know that to be more than a bit unusual, normally I begin assignments immediately, so as not to give in to the temptation to procrastinate. Part of this is due to the fact that I didn't get approval from our instructor, Robert Feduccia, for my topic until this past Sunday. Lest anyone think I am blaming Robert for that, I certainly am not-I suspect he has some of the same issues with schedule and time that the rest of us do. He came all the way from Oregon just to teach us, and I am very grateful for that indeed. I was given a perspective on the Trinity that changed forever the way I will view the God we serve, and will certainly increase my devotion to the Most Holy Trinity.

Just this past week, I had a dear friend from my own parish tell me that despite having a deep interest in the deaconate, he didn't go through with the application process because he came to the conclusion that there is no way that between his work schedule and his family commitments that he felt that he could take on the responsibilities that are required of him. This saddened me because I know how committed this person is to the Church and to our parish-indeed in my own mind, this person does more physical work for the parish than I could ever do. However, I have also learned through the experience of formation that time is at a premium. Just because I am in formation does not mean that my secular life can just grind to a halt-this is one of the great tests of formation and one of the ironies (if you will) of the deaconate. You might have seen me write of my administrative responsibilities at the fire department before. It is appropriations time, and I am on a time crunch deadline to complete that process by the end of next week before I leave for our formation weekend (forms and budget are due in Monday morning Feb. 6th, and formation is next weekend). I would love to take about four days away from the office next week to devote to research for our paper and prayer. The Fire Chief knows I am in formation (although like most people in these parts, he isn't Catholic so what the process involves is not something he or most other folks here would be familiar with) and if I tell him "I will be away for a day or two while I work on deacon things," he normally doesn't care-he knows that I take care of things in the office. This is a time, however, when he can't spare me as much, and I need his help as well. As a result, I need to meet with him regularly during a week like this one to make sure our fiscal ducks are in a row. Nevertheless, the ability to balance Church and spiritual life and one's secular responsibilities is a critical part of the deaconate-deacons live Holy Orders in the secular world.

                                        St. Lawrence the Deacon

I had my first meeting with my Spiritual Director this weekend. I know you'll understand that I'm going to keep much of what we discuss between us, but I took note of the commonality between us when it comes to two things-a very tight schedule, and a keen interest in the sporting world. I took many things away from our first discussion at length, but I also came away feeling blessed. I may never again complain about being pressed for time, for my spiritual director is a man who, frankly, has no time but somehow manages to be a deacon who is a model for the diocese, and for the rest of us, and for me.

Pray for all of us in formation-Lord knows, we need it.

The Holy Trinity

Firstly, I want to apologize to those of you who have become regular readers of this weblog (that number is still admittedly small but growing) that I have not posted since the New Year. I have had an extremely busy week, and it had been my intent to post something this past Friday before leaving for deaconate formation, and it didn't quite work out as I had wanted-I just ran out of time. That's something that seems to be epidemic lately, and no, that isn't a complaint, it is just the way things are.

Our formation weekend was packed with material, and my mind is still somewhat on sensory overload from all that we learned. What's more, we have a seven page paper, give a few here and there, that will be due in about a month and a half in which we have to choose a topic where we can prove a theological idea from the writings of the Church Fathers as well as from the ideas of a more modern biblical scholar...oh, and next month, we will have our first exam. It has been a long time since I have had to take an exam, so I am a bit nervous about it. Nevertheless, the material we talked about this weekend was so important that I see the need to be tested on it. Robert Feduccia, currently of Oregon Catholic Press (Spirit and Song) and formerly the youth coordinator and vocation director at St. Meinrad Archabbey (to which I am pledged as an Oblate of St. Benedict) was our instructor for the weekend. The topic was the Holy Trinity-something that I learned more about this past weekend than I ever knew before, and in the name of brevity and because I am exhausted, I can't really give a typical overview in one post as I have done in the past, so I'll have to break some of the finer points into multiple posts.

We discussed the arguments of the atheists and secularists, which are quite pervasive, and as Robert pointed out, even though so many of our people in this country claim to believe in God, so few by comparison act on that belief. At least we are better off than Europe, which has surrendered itself completely over to an unabashed secularism and unbelief. However, if we do not change the tone of the culture and take our place at the forefront of the debate over the increasing secularization of our country, we will soon be headed in the same direction, as the statistics bear out that the millennial generation is inherently unchurched and seems inclined to be so.

The Blessed Trinity has been the matter of dispute within Christendom precisely because it is difficult to explain to anyone the idea that we only worship one God, but that God consists of Three Divine and Distinct Persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). Further, Christ was begotten, not made, and was born of the Father before all ages (there was never a time when He was not). Christ is of one substance with the Father (consubstantial) and the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son-the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God. These Persons are not types of God and they are not mere modes of the one God, but are Persons distinct and divine, but exist as one God, as hypostasis-real and distinct Divine Persons in an undivided Unity of God. If that sounds confusing to you, it was to Arius, which is why he came up with the idea that Christ was an intermediary to God, had no human soul, and was not equal to the Father (and therefore not Divine). Arius' ideas weren't far-fetched, which is why they were widely accepted-they were an easy way to explain a complex theological question. The difficulty is that Arius and his followers ultimately denied that Jesus Christ is God, and it was that dangerous notion-that Jesus Christ is not fully Divine and of one substance with God the Father-that led to the Church's ultimate adoption of the Nicene Creed as the profession of faith of Christians.

Is the Trinity hard to understand in our human terms? Sure it is. We literally profess to believe in one God (Deutoronomy 6:4-9), but we say that the one God consists of three separate and distinct Divine Persons who are still of one substance and who act as One in a Unity of Love which existed before all ages. Christ, as the Divine Word, is the second Divine Person of this Godhead (John 1:1-4). It isn't easy to put one's arms around this idea, so it is easier to say, as Arius did, that Christ could not possibly be Divine.

Who said the Faith of the Church was meant to be easy?