The Primacy of Grace

Well, it's a beautifully warm morning here in the western parts of Howard County, MD. Driving out to work today with the windows down, driving west past all of the bumper to bumper eastbound, citybound traffic made me very thankful for ChristLife's remote location in the cornfields west of Ellicott City.

I've been "running" the last few days with a lot of ministry and life activities. My wife is now five months pregnant - a very exciting time! Though this 90+ degree heat in April isn't too welcome.

Every time I mention Ally's due date - at the end of August - to mothers, they all pity her/us for a mid-summer - never can get cool enough - third trimester.

Anyway, with my wife's help, this past Sunday night ChristLife and the Newman Club concluded Spring 09's Following Christ course... A very awesome course building upon the foundation of Discovering Christ, with lots of people deepening or renewing their commitment to Christ as Catholic Christians and (re)learning the bare essentials of our faith - something, unfortunately, many never hear of - discipleship; importance of daily private prayer; reading Scripture as the Word of God; listening to God guide us; the charisms of the Holy Spirit; the importance of the sacraments for a disciple; we are at war (really!)- the world, the flesh, and the devil; and evangelization. All of these talks in the context of passionate praise and worship, small groups, and fellowship. Here's most of the group that went through the course:

This course combined with lots of developments with the summer 09 young adult Discovering Christ course (lots of very exciting info coming soon - especially if you are signed up for our eupdates) - make it a very busy time for us! Not to mention, the boss, Dave is out of town in MI doing a two parish mission right now on Jesus and evangelization.

So, this morning prayer was extra good... In that, I'm tired and really in need of God. Prayer wasn't a "religious routine" but as necessary as drinking cool water on a hot day in the desert. Yeah buddy.

In these times I'm reminded of an excellent section from an Apostolic Letter by Pope John Paul II, Novo Millennio Ineunte. Read this slowly and digest, especially if you are a "Martha" from the Gospel who found herself very good at "being busy" in "serving the Lord" but neglected the "unum necessarium," the "one thing necessary," intimacy with Jesus. This section is called the primacy of grace:

38. If in the planning that awaits us we commit ourselves more confidently to a pastoral activity that gives personal and communal prayer its proper place, we shall be observing an essential principle of the Christian view of life: the primacy of grace. There is a temptation which perennially besets every spiritual journey and pastoral work: that of thinking that the results depend on our ability to act and to plan. God of course asks us really to cooperate with his grace, and therefore invites us to invest all our resources of intelligence and energy in serving the cause of the Kingdom. But it is fatal to forget that "without Christ we can do nothing" (cf. Jn 15:5).

It is prayer which roots us in this truth. It constantly reminds us of the primacy of Christ and, in union with him, the primacy of the interior life and of holiness. When this principle is not respected, is it any wonder that pastoral plans come to nothing and leave us with a disheartening sense of frustration? We then share the experience of the disciples in the Gospel story of the miraculous catch of fish: "We have toiled all night and caught nothing" (Lk 5:5). This is the moment of faith, of prayer, of conversation with God, in order to open our hearts to the tide of grace and allow the word of Christ to pass through us in all its power: Duc in altum! On that occasion, it was Peter who spoke the word of faith: "At your word I will let down the nets" (ibid.). As this millennium begins, allow the Successor of Peter to invite the whole Church to make this act of faith,which expresses itself in a renewed commitment to prayer.

A great invitation to deeper conversion, by a wonderful, saintly, courageous man who lived the primacy of grace.

How does this invitation to enter the primacy of grace stir you? Do you find yourself more often in the primacy of self and busyness?

Jesus I love you and thank you for everything!