In an Advent article for our diocesan newspaper last December, Bishop Edward Weisenburger identified “busyness” as one of the five wounds of secularization, and a “scourge of our modern time.”
I can relate. It is a problem I constantly struggle with, taking on too much and becoming caught up in the wave of busy.
Back in my football coaching days, I would often drift away, lost in football coaching la la land during mass. To put it in perspective, if my parish had a dollar for each time I lost focus during mass thinking of coaching, we’d probably be able to rent the Crystal Cathedral for Mass on Sunday.
I allowed the busyness of my life to overtake my spiritual life and it left my faith feeling flat. It wasn’t the football or how busy the demands of the coaching life that were the problem, it was me. I was the problem. I allowed the busyness to overtake my life.
We need to pay attention to God above all the noise. He is out there, constant and true, like that really awesome rhythm line great songs are built around. Only when the listener filters through the noise and focuses on listening to that rhythm line do they realize the song’s true beauty. God’s there, and we need to pay attention.
The Bishop’s article got me thinking. Busyness and the other wounds of secularization are serious roadblocks to faith. But, are these modern times that much different than in the time of the New Testament? Sure, there are obvious differences between 0 A.D. and 2013 A.D, but I’m sure busyness existed back then also.
God is our strength and our weapon to prevent us from disappearing into this vortex of busy. The Holy Family is our shining example of how to keep the focal point of our lives centered in faith.
Can you imagine where we would be if the Holy Family had allowed the busyness of their daily lives to crowd out and mask their faith?
What if…
- Mary would have been too busy to say, “Yes”?
- Joseph was too busy to stand true to his commitment?
- Jesus was too busy with the carpenter business to give it up?
Would Jesus have decided He was too busy with his rocking, fledgling ministry to follow through with the Plan? Would He have stood up in Gethsemane and told God he had a prayer meeting at the synagogue at 8:00?
No, the Holy Family stayed true despite the immense load of “busyness” they carried on their shoulders. Jesus, Mary and Joseph are a beacon of how to handle the noise in our lives and stay focused in our faith. We need to follow their lead to fight through the busyness of our modern society and make faith work.
Be faith focused. Be present at home, at work, at church, and in every aspect of your life.
Copyright © 2013, Mike Hays
Mike Hays
Mike Hays is a husband, a father of three, a lifelong Kansan and works as a molecular microbiologist. Besides writing, he has been a high school strength and conditioning coach, a football coach and a baseball coach. His debut middle grade historical fiction novel, THE YOUNGER DAYS, is a 2012 recipient of The Catholic Writer's Guild Seal of Approval Award. You can find it at the publisher's website or on Amazon.
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