Weekly Encouragement September 6th

Dear Friends,

I'm a huge movie fan, and I've written a lot about my favorite movies here and there over the years.

One of my very favorites is Chariots of Fire, the 1981 drama about the British track & field team at the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris. Chief among the participants are the real-life figures of Eric Liddell, a committed Protestant Christian who died as a missionary in China; and Harold Abrams, a Jewish man whose obsession with worldly success is finally softened by the love of a woman who believes in him.

The contrast between Liddell and Abrams is an important one. Abrams is extremely talented and determined not to waste his opportunities. He becomes obsessed with achievement, describing an upcoming race as "10 seconds to justify my existence." In the end, we rejoice when Abrams wins a gold medal; but we rejoice even more when we see him grow up a bit and learn that life is much richer than fame and glory.

Liddell is the unusual one. He puts God first, and although his strict brand of Sabbath observation is not quite the way we live as Catholics, we can all respect the fact that Liddell refuses to run on Sundays, even though it means forfeiting victory on the world's largest athletics stage. When he does perform, however, he declares, "When I run, I can feel His pleasure." The pure joy in Liddell's face as he runs brings tears to our eyes.

Anyway, if you're looking to be inspired, I highly recommend you treat yourself to a viewing of Chariots of Fire. And keep reading for my take on this week's fruit of the Spirt, "faithfulness" - particularly relevant to the themes of the film and to our own lives.

In Christ,

Andrew Petiprin

Director of Community Life

Christ the King Catholic Church

Did you know that the English words "faith" and "faithfulness" are the same word in Greek (pistis)? In English the words carry slightly different meanings: Faith is generally thought of as a state of mind - what we think or believe about God. Faithfulness denotes a way of acting, or not acting - for example, being faithful to a wife or a husband means having an intimate relationship only with that person and avoiding such relationships with all others. But when Jesus and St. Paul talk about "faith" in the New Testament, they also imply "faithfulness." That is, our life as Christians is both about what we think and about what we do.

Let's stick with the marriage metaphor for a moment (bear with me single friends!). You might hear a woman say, "He never tells me that he loves me, but he shows me," and this is far, far better than a situation where she says, "He tells me he loves me, but he hurts me." That is, actions are actually better than words. But the best case scenario is when actions, words, and thoughts are all aligned: When people say they love each other because they actually feel that way, and they show each other love with acts of kindness and sacrifice.

This same union of words, thoughts, and actions are what the spiritual fruit called faithfulness is all about. Love God in your heart and serve God with your actions. And in my experience, if you find the heart part a little weak sometimes, double-down on the actions and you'll start to feel right again. That is, be faithful even when you don't feel like it, and you'll probably find your faith again!

Prayer:

Father, you never fail to be faithful to me. Give me the gift of faithfulness to you, that I may love and serve you in my heart, with my lips, and in my life. Through Christ our Lord, Amen.