Our Unwitting Greed

And He said to them, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions. – Luke 12:15

I’m sure that many of us could easily admit that our culture is materialistic. From the time we were children, whether we know it or not, we learned selfish tendencies, and in more than just materialistic ways. We have been taught to look after ourselves first, and while this can be important to keep ourselves healthy (mentally, emotionally, and spiritually), unfortunately we often slip into habits of greed and selfishness, sometimes without even realizing it.

The way we interact with people may be selfish. Do we wish to surround ourselves with people that will make us feel good all the time? Do we want to only be surrounded by people that fit a certain criteria? If we surround ourselves with people that must make us feel good all time and never be truly honest or challenge us to grow to be better people, then we are simply being proud. Relationships should be rooted in love, and a desire to lead each other to holiness. If we only have friends because they make us feel good, or they satisfy a need for entertainment, then it should not surprise us if eventually those relationships wither and die.

Although there is beauty in friendship, and there can certainly be good fruits from many of our relationships, the goal should not be our own satisfaction. We certainly need care and love, and it is definitely necessary at times to ask in humility for respect and love from those that claim to love us, but the end result should aim to help the other grow closer to Christ.

Do we often think about others first? When we do things for people, do feel like we need to always be thanked, praised, or paid back? If we are truly acting out of love, then we should not feel the need for all or any of those things. Love does not require a payback, a thank you, or recognition from other people. Of course we should do what we can to thank those who are loving towards us, but when we are bitter when we are not noticed for being loving, then that loving action instantly becomes twisted with our pride. When we love, maybe we should just love expecting nothing at all. We should see the love we give as a reward in itself.

Let temporal things be in the use, eternal things in the desire.” ― Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ

I am not saying it is not a worthy pursuit to be happy. What I can say, however, is that holiness ultimately trumps an earthly happiness. What should take priority above all things, even our own happiness, is being holy, and seeking to have a good relationship with Christ. There are things in life that require sacrifice. There are things in life that will hurt, and that hurt may go on for a long time. There are things in life that maybe we didn’t plan or even want, but have been given to us to help us to grow strong, and to grow in love.

If when we were children and we were taught in schools to do what made us happy rather than to always do what is right, imagine the chaos our world would be in.  If we were taught growing up to love, to do the right thing, even if it meant not getting what we wanted, and to be selfless, we would live in a world where things would be much different. If we each sought actual holiness instead of happiness, I think in turn we will also find happiness. Happiness does not always lead to holiness, but holiness will lead to a joy far greater in heaven.

During this lenten season, we are called to reflect on our relationship with Christ and prepare ourselves for Easter. The Church calls us to fast, to pray, and to give alms. We should hold ourselves accountable for sins of selfishness and greed that may be in the way of having a better relationship with God, and with the people that surround us in our homes, workplaces, and in society in general. Let us seek to live our lives that are holy above all else, that seek simplicity and truth, and that help us to be humble. The things we accumulate in this world will not come with us when we die. If we wish to accumulate something in life, it should be acts of love, and a desire to love selflessly above all else. This is what will yield good fruit, if not in this world, then in the eternal kingdom of heaven.

Love,
Catholic Ruki

http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=6959
http://www.josemariaescriva.info/article/opus-dei-founder-st-josemaria-escriva-teachings-on-almsgiving-or-how-to-to-lend-a-hand
http://orthodoxcatholicism.com/2013/02/23/deny-thyself/
http://orthodoxcatholicism.com/2013/04/20/i-am-a-hypocrite-presumption-and-the-importance-of-penitence/

Recollection of Love Calling

The first recollection I have about meeting God happened when I was about 4 or 5; my grandmother took me to choir practice, and the fellowship amongst the choir is a vivid memory that is easy to recall. I had been to Mass other times, but those moments aren’t as vivid.

I remember very few things about my childhood. Other memories I have include the three abusers who changed my life forever. I can’t even begin to describe how my stomach turns in knots when I think of children being sexually abused, yet those are the rare memories that replay in my mind.

My life has always been a hectic fight from conception, but I wouldn’t know any details until I turned 21. My father was a military man and my mother, his high school sweetheart was 16 years old when they met and 18 when they married. At 22, my mother had my brother, then hit a rough patch in her life. In the middle of that chaos I was conceived. I was born into a family that cherished their first niece, first granddaughter, first little girl. Well, that’s what I thought. I thought I was cherished by all. I had no idea people were campaigning for my death while I was within my mother’s womb or that my grandmother thought I was going to be a bastard, nor that my father might not be my biological father. My mother hid these things away from me in hopes of protecting me; I’m not so sure that it was me she was trying to protect by these secrets. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was that she chose to keep me even with the odds stacked against her. (I don’t care what anyone says about her, she did the right thing.) So, of course, I grew up at my grandparents’ while my dad was away.

When my dad came home, my sister was born and life was rainbows and white picket fences! Yay us! Okay, no. I’d love to tell you that, but I’d be lying. Life was rough. My sister didn’t arrive in the world until I was seven. When she was born I gave myself one job: to stay by her side and protect her. At that point, I was being sexually abused until I was 8 or 9 by my step-uncle. Even though I had no idea that what I was experiencing was sexual abuse, I knew something was wrong, and so I knew that I was not going to let it happen to my sister.

We were a broken family with real issues and a lack of God. When you allow something to happen that hurts you without stopping it, it creates a cycle. I grew up on a rollercoaster. My brother was my best friend; he would have done anything to protect me. But, when we fought, he would knock the air out of me and when I’d run for help he would lock me in the room and make me promise not to tell. I thought they were innocent sibling fights, I wouldn’t learn until I was in my 20s that my aunt would watch my brother get beat by her first husband and then locked in the closet and had to promise not to tell his mommy. I was only receiving the pain and neglect and hurt he felt. I think back now and see what a blessing it was for him to take out all that anger on me so he could get it out of his system as a kid.

So that was my childhood. It consisted of being sexually abused by two of family members, receiving punches from my brother, and my parents’ underlying issue of their past adultery. (The third abuser was a one-time incident by a “close family friend.” In case you are keeping count.)

We moved when I was in the 5th grade, and things changed. Middle school came and went. I fell in love with my first crush, but was still dealing with self-esteem issues. High school hit and so did all of the awkward teenage years. Due to my rough history, I became a loner. I knew everyone, but I didn’t talk to anyone. My mother was already into church and going to a lot of youth rallies and prayer gatherings. I only attended to shut my parents nagging up and to watch all of the “hypocrites.” I saw everyone’s private lives outside of the gatherings, so I was so convinced that I did not want to be a part of that. I knew I wanted God to be a part of my life, but I knew that if I couldn’t invest my whole heart, I would be just like them, and I did not want that.

High school for me was full of very few friends, suicidal issues, self mutilation, and depression. I met my best friend “CL” who was an absolute a gift from God. We went to different schools but we began to hangout a lot and he was my distraction from the issues at home and school. I was continuing to hit rough patches with my mother and when I felt like I couldn’t handle it anymore I would call him and he would take me to adoration, for a bite to eat, and then drive me home. He never asked many questions, but he did once tell me that he hated seeing me cry and he didn’t mind waiting for me to finish. I was grateful. I knew God loved me, but I wasn’t drenched in desire to follow Him. I didn’t know how. I was, however, learning about Jesus in the Eucharist, a precious gift that got me through high school. “CL” finally went off to the service and we kept in touch through letters. God didn’t leave me alone, however. In my Junior year I met Juan. He was a reflection of what a real man was. We became good friends and hung out often. Whenever he wanted to hangout, he would ask my mother permission ,and after we hung out he would thank her for the opportunity. I wish I had let that sink in, because I realize now how much he loved me.

In my Senior year, I forgot all about what real love was. I was out of school during the second semester and hanging out with a girl from the class that had just graduated. Somehow, she convinced me that premarital sex was a good thing and that I would love it if I tried it. Now to put it in context, up until that point I was scared of any relationship involving a boy. I knew how harmful men were during my childhood and I hated almost all of them because of that. I allowed myself, however, to be fooled and fell into the lie that premarital sex was good.

After school finished, I moved away and I was on my own. I began to experiment with sex more and random relationships, yet I was still involved in the Catholic scene, trying to find something to hold on to. I went to World Youth Day in Germany in 2005 shortly after Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI was elected. My mother had signed me up, but I definitely wanted to experience seeing another country, and so I didn’t fight it. In my heart, I was longing for God to show me something, anything, to save me. Yet, nothing came. I did not receive any signs (none that I picked up on anyway).

When I got home from Germany, I moved to New Mexico. I struggled with self esteem as certain family members would call me “fat” and “ugly.” They had no trouble reminding me of that whenever we saw each other. Plagued by a lack of self worth, I turned to sex because it falsely reassured me that I was desirable and I desperately wanted that. Though I was still connected with the Church, I was convinced that God did not want me to have anything that would make me happy.

At the age of 21, I moved in with my aunt and her live-in boyfriend in Houston. I got a job at a law firm and the love of money began to eclipse God even more. My aunt wasn’t a huge church-goer. She was living together with a man and had no desire to marry, at least not right away. Though he is not perfect, he is someone that I respect and admire, especially for being so patient with my aunt. While I was there, I eventually found myself in an emotionally and mentally abusive relationship that lasted about 6 months, and when it ended, I was totally lost. The paychecks from the law firm funded my trips to South Texas to visit my brother, his wife and their newborn son. As time went by,  however, things went from bad to worse.

When I travelled from Houston to South Texas, I began hanging out with some bad friends and getting introduced to marijuana and pornography. I knew it was wrong, but again, I did not want to be another “hypocrite” in the Church. That was my thinking process. Looking back, I really wish I had kept in touch with Juan. God was trying use him to try to get my attention. Juan was always there for me, but I never gave him the love he deserved. He always made sure I knew he was a friend I could count on.

So the sins dug deeper and when my relationship ended so did everything else. I eventually ended up losing my job and was miserable. In my misery, I turned again to sex. I was angry and hurt and I began to lash out at people. When I had learned about my aunt’s abortion during her second marriage to my abuser, I threw it in her face. In doing so, I found myself living in my car for a few weeks. I would park at any business open 24-7 just in case I was killed or raped, to ensure I would have a witness to vouch for my whereabouts. It was Houston after all.

After some time, I found myself living with a mutual friend of a group of rap artists I knew. I was very much into the hip-hop scene. My parents were living in New Mexico and I didn’t want to move back there. I chose to stick it out in Houston. I continued smoking marijuana and hanging out with some pretty bad people. Sex, money, drugs and pornography were almost an everyday thing at this point. I didn’t want to just be a groupie to men of power, so I started demanding respect from pimps and dealers who I’d meet. My roommate was persistent about my being lady-like and constantly challenging my vast knowledge of worldly subjects. He coached me into being a cold-hearted female. He introduced me to a new world, a world I knew I didn’t want to die in. I was living foul but still whispering small rare prayers for God’s protection. I had money, weed, and I could get “anything I wanted.” Men became sexual objects I would use and toss away with no regard, no emotion, no attachment. I was an addict and sex was a high. I was known to the other dealers and pimps as a “Boss.” They wanted to build me up and make me even bigger in “the game.” They loved that I didn’t put up with anyone’s disrespect and disloyalty. Yet, despite the facade, I was scared for my life. I would have never openly admitted it, however. I asked God to help me, but it was not until my niece was born that I realized my life was nothing.

It was on a visit to see my niece and nephew that it hit me; if I continued my lifestyle I would either end up dead or in prison. I decided to leave. I told my roommate I wanted out and I wanted him to get out with me. While he encouraged my departure, he stayed. A month later, my usual hustle spot was robbed and a woman I knew was murdered and a few months later my roommate was sentenced to 2 years in prison. God had spared me and confirmed my choice was the right one.

I still struggled with my sexual addiction and was still smoking weed, but I moved in with my parents. My mother began dragging me back to church. I didn’t mind, however. I knew God wanted me, but He knew how stubborn I was. He never gave up. My life slowed down but my sex life was still going. As I began to be reconnected with the Church, my conscience began to wake up and I started to feel shame for my sins. I began to learn that if I died, my sins could lead me to Hell. I was scared, but I hoped that the Lord knew my struggle. I prayed all the time even though I was in a state of grave mortal sin. I was still getting into bad relationships and using men for my selfish pleasures. Yet, God was working slowly on my heart.

I started a pen-pal relationship in 2009 with a man named Jay, a man locked up for murder. I moved back to Houston, but I know how bad I needed a healthy long distance relationship so we talked about God. In December 2009, I went to a come and see and I felt God change my heart.

“He is the Ultimate Doctor but we must take the prescription.”

I believed that sex was love and I wanted love really badly, but it wasn’t fixing my problems. Jay became my best friend, I loved him. He supported my journey to God even though at times he didn’t understand it. Jay’s cousin and I grew close and she pushed me to become a better woman. She knew how much I loved her cousin and she wanted me to be the best woman for him, if God permitted that we would be together when he came home. Everything changed. I wanted to give Jay the gift of love from God, but how could I when I was overlooking that gift in my own life. The more we spoke, the more I prayed and asked God for guidance. In May 2010, I chose to become single and to pursue God deeper. In doing so, so I left Houston and moved to New Mexico, again.

Two years had gone by, and in 2012 I asked the Lord to send me on a mission while at church one Sunday. That night I saw Bryan Kemper, a famous pro-life activist, post about Fall Interns with Stand True, which is a Christ-Centred Pro-Life Ministry which he had started. I felt drawn to that and so I applied right away.

I got in! I got there and realized I had a lot of growing up to do, but it didn’t happen until I left. See I knew I wanted to serve God but I wasn’t willing to take the leap of faith to become vulnerable and share my entire story. It took these past two years for me to really pray and muster up the courage. It took pushing myself outside of my comfort zone. When I first told my testimony in full it was to someone I met during my stay at Stand True. I had realized how ugly my sin made me, I hushed it away for fear of rejection, but he was different. See, I didn’t want to admit I was a woman struggling with pornography and sex addictions while exhaustingly searching for God’s Truth. Yet when I begain to openly admit what God had brought me through all of those years, I began to experience my first sense of real relief. I got braver and told someone else, then someone else.

I was finally getting it! I was becoming accountable and confession was becoming my favorite thing to do. By becoming vulnerable, God began to break my pride and showed me how much He loved me through all of my darkest moments. I came to realize that He had pursued me my whole life. Just knowing that He loved me enough to keep pursuing me was more than any man could ever give me.

My renewed faith was tested shortly after I started my own business. I was out celebrating the new business with some friends and I received a call. Juan had died. I can’t even begin to describe how I feel about it and how it tears me up inside to look back on the impression he left on me, only to wish I had seen it sooner. Yet, now that I was growing in my relationship with the Lord, I realized then that death could became a beautiful thing. I had learned about death by the way the Saints talked about it, and Juan’s death was no different. Juan never gave up on me. Reflecting on his life on the way to his funeral,  I realized just how tired I was of living a double life. I wanted to have a single-minded devotion to the Lord.

Juan & myself, in our high school days.

My journey to God has been a life-long one. He has always shown me signs that He is there but He also did not force me to love Him. After all of His pursuing, I can say that I have never loved God so much in my entire life as I do now. He has also blessed me tremendously with loving people. I still have my issues with my family and they still have their own issues. I have learned, however, that whatever you are going through, someone will always have it worse, and before you judge a man you should consider that you know nothing about his life. Life is too short and if we intend on living it to its full potential, it has to start now. I am living proof that God loves you and wants you to be happy even if you think you don’t deserve an ounce of it.

Women Deserve Better

Earlier this year, an uproar was sparked because a few Ottawa Doctors are refusing to prescribe contraception or refer for abortions,  and sterilizations. This choice to act in accordance with their conscience for the sake of each of their patients has steadily become a cause for concern with many canadian citizens. A letter provided to their patients read:

Dear Patient,

Please be advised that because of reasons of my own medical judgment as well as professional ethical concerns and religious values, I only provide one form of birth control, Natural Family Planning. In addition, I do not refer for vasectomies, abortions nor prescribe the morning after pill or any artificial contraception. If you are interested in the latter, please be aware that you may approach your own family doctor or request to be seen by another physician.

Some patients also come to a walk in clinic for prescriptions of narcotics. The distribution of those drugs is controlled. Narcotics have a high potential for side effects, including addiction and they should be prescribed by a regular physician who is able to follow you. It is your responsibility to ensure that this physician will be renewing your prescription on time as I won’t do so in a context of walk in clinic.

With deepest respect,

Edmond Kyrillos, B. Eng., MD, CCFP
Ottawa Ontario

As a result of this, there has been a pull from the Conscience Research Group to have the conscience rights reviewed and possibly changed within the Physicians Code of Ethics for the Canadian Medical Association. They note on their website home page that they are “investigating the permissibility of conscientious refusals by health care professionals to provide health care services such as abortions. Our particular concern is with refusals to provide reproductive health care services.”

It is an important thing to question what is motivating a doctor in how they follow their conscience. The removal of the right to follow their conscience, however, will be detrimental. You can see more on this in the first part of this series, “Doctor Dilemma“. In the letter provided to patients, the primary reasons motivating their decisions are due to their own medical judgment and professional and ethical concerns. The “religious” reasons are last in the list. It is listed last because, although it helps to motivate decision making, it is the morals and values surrounding human life, that are further informed by their faith, that motivate their decisions.

These doctors know full well the terrible and masking effects of the pill, how abortion kills children, and how sterilizations for the reason of pregnancy prevention are detrimental to us and society at large. These doctors also know how well modern NFP (Natural Family Planning) benefits all aspects of life, including keeping marriages successful by promoting communication and respect of one another. I am a user of NFP which these good doctors advocate, and have experienced the wonderful effects of it in my own life. Modern NFP is a truly holistic concept. It helps to achieve and avoid pregnancy at a highly successful rate (a far greater rate than the Birth Control Pill), and in a manner that does not pose a threat to a newly conceived child. The method which I use for example is the Creighton Model Fertilitycare System, which can incorporate NaProTechnology. Creighton has a 99.5 % effectiveness rate with perfect use and 96.8% effectiveness rate with typical use. Even more importantly, however, is the fact that it actually helps to diagnose and treat medical issues, even before they can seriously progress.

The Creighton Method is only one of many effective NFP methods (which require total abstinence from sex during the fertile time to avoid pregnancy), but I will speak about this one in particular since I am a personal user of it. I should clarify that modern forms of NFP are not the Rhythm Method; that ancient form of NFP which was almost completely useless and had an extremely high failure rate).  It is also not FAM (Fertility Awareness Method, which rather than abstaining from sex during fertile periods, engages in it, while using “protection”). While the Rhythm Method is based on the assumption that every woman ovulates on day 14 of her cycle, other modern methods of NFP such as Creighton, help a woman to understand her personal cycle so she knows when she is ovulating, and thus how to avoid or achieve pregnancy. It is a personalized method geared to fit every woman and circumstance. This is achieved by tracking cycles. In the case of the Creighton Model, a woman “NaPro Tracks” her cycle, by documenting the observed cervical mucus or lack thereof. The benefit to using the Creighton method is that your tracked cycles are monitored by a qualified teacher, who can help interpret the chart and send the woman to a qualified NaPro trained doctor, should it be necessary. It is these doctors that assess these charts and can see from them the issue that a woman may be experiencing, and they can thereby help her.

I am one of those women. I was familiar with Creighton Model at the time of becoming pregnant with both of my children, though I was not actually using it. After experiencing my second miscarriage, and knowing that low progesterone (an important hormone needed  to achieve a successful pregnancy) was often a cause for miscarrying, I asked the OB/GYN who followed up with me after the second miscarriage about getting tested for it. She said it could not be done, that no one could check for that. Even though I knew she was wrong, I went and got a second opinion. While NaProTechnology considers every miscarriage a problem, most of our “professionals” do not consider it an issue until after a third miscarriage. What woman really has the heart to bear the loss of a child, and then another, and then another, before any typical doctor cares to help?

I was not willing to take this risk, so I went and received a referral to the nearest NaPro doctor. I had my first appointment this past July. He took one look at my chart, saying “I know what this is” and prescribed Metformin due to a “short luteal phase” during the time of post ovulation. Prior to taking this medication, I was experiencing a lot of PMS symptoms. I was extremely irritable and struggled with bouts of depression. I knew my period was coming because I could feel a noticeable change in myself. It was extremely difficult to deal with. With just one cycle (so far) on this new medication, I did not feel the way I did before. I know that my journey has only just begun, but there has already been so many great changes. I would not have known I was dealing with this had it not been for NaPro Tracking and the help of my NaPro doctor.

What has sparked my interest in sharing this with you was a Facebook conversation my husband had online recently. In it, a friend spoke of her fertility issues and the need for artificial birth control to aid in its control. She felt it was necessary that doctors be forced to prescribe these “medical services”, particularly “the pill”, because women like herself “need it to get by”. While I am not denying that it may alleviate symptoms, the pill is not the answer. To help illustrate this point, I decided to reach out to some friends within groups that I am a part of who have had severe cases of Endometriosis and PCOS. These women came to know of their fertility issues by the symptoms and using NFP Tracking. These issues, once properly diagnosed, either required serious surgeries, other medical assistance, or both. Due to the highly successful rates of the surgeries done by the hands of specially skilled NaProTechnology doctors, these women have come back nearly pain free, and being able to successfully conceive and bring the child to term on their own.  I wish to share just a few amazing testimonies which they have given with their permission regarding how effective NaProTechnology really is:

“My story before NaPro includes seeing OB/GYN’s for years (20 to be exact) and being told several untruths:

“Being a woman sucks and you have to get used to that.”
“You obviously aren’t in enough pain that you’ll take the BCP – so I question how honest you’re being about your pain level.”

The most intervention I ever received before NaPro was an ultrasound where they told me everything looked “beautiful and perfect”…. only to find out later from NaPro that I had low estradiol, very low progesterone, an ovulation defect, a luteal phase defect, the endo on my uterine ligaments, lots of inflammation. I was puking about 2 weeks a month, and laboring and passing massive clots. I was not “beautiful” on the inside as they had suggested.

I had endo excision via robot assisted surgery in the end of May 2013. The endo removal almost completely removed the GI dysfunction I was having. My sharp pelvic pain went away. I no longer had stabbing pain running down my thighs either. The really acute pain around ovulation disappeared. And because of the surgery, my NaPro fellow found a uterine infection (via sHSG) and a fibroid. Additionally, my constant nausea disappeared. We found a thyroid disorder and treated it along with my sex hormones. The endo removal was like peeling back the first layer of the onion.

NaPro literally gave me back 2-3 weeks of my life every cycle. And for a long time I didn’t write about my journey because I thought others had it worse. I never knew I didn’t have to suffer like that. Or that suffering like that wasn’t normal. It was the failure of my doctors for so many years to ever make me think it was normal.”

Some other short but awesome testimonies:

“I would have one cycle a year if that. After the OWR (Ovarian Wedge Restriction surgery) I had regular cycles every month and I’ve been pregnant three times now (one miscarriage). My hormones are much more stable and my periods are not excruciating anymore”

Another woman had the same surgery and states:

“I had an OWR. It completely eliminated my insulin resistance and my cycles became really regular (I planned my wedding around them). When I wanted to conceive, I had no problem but needed progesterone support (1 miscarriage and currently 23 weeks.)”

This lady had not had a cycle on her own in years:

“I had an OWR. I hadn’t had a cycle on my own in years. 35 days exactly after my OWR, I had my first un-induced cycle. In the 4 months since my surgery, I’ve had four. Unheard of for me.”

The surgical techniques done for these women by Dr. Hilgers (one of the creators of NaProTechnology, the Creighton Method, and the aforementioned surgical techniques) and his few trained surgeons, are unlike any other. Due to the advanced methods which he pioneered to prevent scarring and adhesions, which result in a lower recurrence rate for endometriosis, these surgeries have allowed for better outcomes for both health and fertility. Who wouldn’t want that? These women will tell you firsthand that Dr. Hilgers and his team are simply the best.

These doctor’s, such as Dr. Edmond Kyrillos, who are refusing these so-called “medical treatments” such as contraception (whether for medical issues or avoidance of pregnancy), abortion, or sterilizations, are in actual fact, looking out for their best interests because they know that these antiquated forms of birth control are doing these women an injustice. Women deserve better, and women deserve real solutions to help them in their reproductive health. Just as we have the right to refuse receiving a treatment that a doctor recommends, life saving or not, they also should continue to have a right to refuse to prescribe, when they know the treatment is not in the best interest of the patient. We need to let doctors be doctors. Health care is not Burger King, and you can’t always have it your way. The customer is not always right in this case. We also need to hold our doctor’s to a higher standard of practicing medicine. St. John Paul II said “Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought.” Taking away the conscience rights of our doctor’s will only serve to harm us and them. Though a patient may not always agree with the opinion of their doctor, they need to have the freedom to care for us to the best of their ability.

 

We Become What We Consume

“You are what you eat”. Almost all of us have heard this said before, but what if there was something more to that statement. It is obvious that bad foods may lead to a significantly long list of health problems. What we take into our bodies affects us. The negative impacts our poor diets may not impact us immediately, but given time, it will slowly break us down. With eating, it is about drawing the line. It is about knowing limits and making healthy choices, and certainly having a little bit of junk food won’t harm you. The well-being of our souls, however, cannot be treated as lightly.

We know that what we eat can and will affect our bodies both positively or negatively. What about what we feed our souls?  Western Culture has become known as a “consumer culture”. We consume all day long. One of the main ways we consume is through media. We consume media on a daily basis , whether that be through the internet, movies, TV, music, books and magazines, etc. You are consuming right now. The question is, are we consuming what is actually good for us? Due to concupiscence, we are all tempted to sin. Those of us who have receive Baptism, however, have been given a particular grace to overcome concupiscence, but it requires some work on our part. 

In the past, I have mentioned the metaphor that within ourselves there are two wolves. One is concupiscence and the other is  virtue. The wolf that survives in the end is the one that we feed. So many things influence who we are, both in large and subtle ways. Sometimes it takes time to see how the things we take in have really formed us. Music, television, reading material, and the people we associate ourselves with will ultimately form us. As Christians, we need to daily put ourselves in check and examine our conscience to see if what we are consuming is hurting us. As we consume, we need question, “Does the Lord desire this for me?” We need, through prayer, the Sacraments, and spiritual direction, to analyze ourselves and so be able to find those things in our lives which are hurting us and to cut them out of our lives. 

“And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell.”
Mark 9:47

It is worth the time to step back and truly analyze what we consume. We know that what we consume inevitably finds its way out. If what we are taking in leads us away from God, then it must be cast out. This may mean throwing out things that have filled our minds with images of impurity. It may mean throwing out the CDs loaded with music that fill us with anger, sorrow, or bitterness. It may mean letting go of relationships that have pulled us away from being the people God is calling us to be. It also means, however, that we choose to consume good things instead. Do not simply root something out without finding something good to replace it with. The world, the flesh, and the devil only need the door to be open a crack to begin to tear us away from Christ and from the life we are meant to lead. We must be vigilant. We all fall into sin in steps. If we make little allowances here and there, it slowly escalates. The life of virtue, however, cannot be done by your own power alone. Let Christ through prayer be your strength when battling temptation. Turn to Christ and Our Lady when you have to abandon those things or people which you have chosen to love, but who have led you away from grace. They will strengthen you. 

In the end, we become what we consume but the choice is ours to choose our spiritual diets. Though we may have to starve ourselves of that which hurt us in this life, it will all be worth it for the Banquet that awaits us at the end of it. 

Love,
Catholic Ruki