Be Disciplined

7 Aug

“Discipline is just choosing between what you want now and what you want most.”
~ Unknown

This might be an unpopular reflection today, because I am speaking to a lot of people out there  who lack discipline.  Following the theme of today’s quote, “Discipline is just choosing between what you want now and what you want most”, I can cite the perfect example:  attendance at Sunday Mass.

What do people want most?  I would hope people would answer “to get to heaven”.  How does one get there?  Well, by daily prayer, by fasting, by works of mercy, as well as by going to Mass and receiving the Sacraments.  Okay.  So, that is what most people want most.

What do most people want now, especially during the summer months?  They want to go to the beach, go sailing, go to the ballgame, go to all sort of different festivals and the like.  Many of these events entice people to go while Mass is taking place.  They are presented with a choice: choose what they want now or choose what they want most.

Sadly, Jesus is often rejected over pierogi, sailing, baseball, lallapalooza, and the like.  That is right.  I wrote “rejected”.  That is precisely what people are doing.

“Oh, no,” they would say.  “We are not rejecting Jesus.  We love Him.  We want to live with Him.  We care about what He says.  We live our lives as best we can.  We are ‘spiritual’ people.  We do not think we need to go to Mass regularly because He would understand.”

My question is, what would He understand?  Would He understand that someone choose recreation over worship?  That someone choose self-gratification over praising God?  That someone choose to fulfill their own will rather than embrace God’s will?

Choosing to skip Mass for many selfish reasons is just one example of the lack of spiritual discipline that many exhibit.  We need to learn to discipline ourselves better so that our choices may be made in the light of the love of God.

FAITH ACTION:  Make a mental or physical list of your priorities.  Double check them to make sure that they are truly important to your spiritual health.