Editor’s note: Today we welcome Luciano Corbo to the New Evangelizers blogging team!
I live in a small Ontario, Canada city across from the great state of Michigan, separated by the beautiful ‘Bluewater’ of the St. Clair River. I often come down to the shores of the river to fish.
More often than not, I end up feeding the fish rather than myself. Most would say I have wasted my time, but I would argue differently.
I have wasted my time if my only goal was to catch a fish and eat it. That is not my ultimate goal (though I do strive to achieve such an outcome). My goal is simply to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life, from all of the distractions that occupy my mind and simply enjoy all that the Lord our God has to offer as I meditatively pray and speak to my God, my Lord, and my Saviour.
We have become distracted with our daily lives, our concern with ourselves, our concerns with others, dealing with family and work obligations – I can go on but the list would take up several blogs!
Yet that which we seek most is that which we often ignore most – Communion with our Holy Lord.
The band U2 wrote a song ‘Running To Stand Still‘ that I believe captures the malaise that many of us find ourselves in. In an attempt to find peace, we indulge in all sorts of mind and body bending endeavours that actually take us away from what we seek.
Running and standing still are mutually exclusive. Unfortunately and regrettably, many of us figure this out too late.
How often have you heard friends and relatives talk about coming back from a vacation exhausted? Rather than gaining the sought after rest and peace, they have only gained a momentary distraction from the ordinary only to face the same ordinary on Monday morning.
So what do fishing, running, and standing still have to do with evangelization?
In order for us to evangelize, we first need to learn to stand still. If we are constantly running from ourselves, we cannot place firm roots into the fertile Spiritual soil that the Lord has so graciously provided.
We need to look at ourselves and ask ourselves some very difficult questions about what we believe and about our own relationship with God. We need to pull the log out of our eye before we comment on the speck in another’s eye (Mathew 7:5).
The avoidance of this is what I believe causes many of us to run in an effort to avoid the truth rather than to stand still and listen to it from God. What we hear may not be what we want to hear, but it is a necessary cleansing of the soul that is required if we are to go out into the world and evangelize. Let us clean ourselves before attempting to bathe others in the cleansing Spirit of the Lord our God, in whose calmness we find our peace (Mark 4:39).
When I fish, I am standing still. I am allowing myself to speak to God and allowing God to speak to me in whatever way He pleases. I cleanse myself in His glory and confess my sins in His Holy presence. I am trading a momentary distraction for an eventual eternity of peace.
I prepare myself to evangelize – to speak to my fellow man – refreshed and full of Spiritual vigor. I become a fisher of men.
Copyright © 2012, Luciano Corbo
Luciano Corbo
Luciano Corbo holds a Master of Arts - Integrated Studies from Athabasca University. His major interests are Culture, Work, Organizations and Leadership, within a context of Catholic Social Teaching Principles. He writes from Canada.
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Sylvie John – Thank you for posting to your facebook! Please check out the other posts of other writers as well. There are some unique postings that will move you spiritually…Luciano.