Reflection by Fr. Chris

I hate to talk about the Chicago Bears after the Bill’s first preseason game, but please bear with me (no pun intended). I watched the first episode of Hard Knocks this week. During the first episode, the Bear’s head coach (Matt Eberflus) sat down with college football legend (please don’t bring up 2012 National Championship vs. Notre Dame), Nick Saben. Coach Saben talked about expectations, specifically the expectations for the perceived generational talent, Caleb Williams. He said that expectations are a killer for young NFL quarterbacks. They need to grow, but the media and fans want them to be an all-pro on day one. Matt Eberflus agreed. He said that they are going to make mistakes year one, grow year two, and have everything down by year three in the system. He said the goal is growth. The same is true with our faith lives.
 
Now unlike NFL quarterbacks, we do not have the national press and fans watching our every move. Instead, we are often our greatest critic. Most of us are not rookies (i.e. it’s not our first year as members of the faith), but whether we are “cradle-Catholics” or converts to the faith, we all need to grow. We want to be perfect (as our heavenly Father is perfect), and importantly, that is the standard that Christ gave us. These are high expectations for us, but the truth us that we all make mistakes. None of us are currently perfect. We are on a journey and when you’re on a journey, there are times we stumble, and times when we veer off track. The important thing is progress. We need to grow as part of a team (i.e. the Body of Christ). NFL rookies learn from their mistakes when they break down film after practice and games. We learn from our mistakes when we make a regular examine of conscience. We cannot simply dwell on a sin and become so filled with shame that we start to avoid God. Instead we recognize the mercy of God and take steps to combat the temptation when it arises within us.
 
NFL rookies are not given a lot of time to develop. If Caleb Williams is still throwing more interceptions than touchdowns by year three, I imagine Chicago will be in the market for a new quarterback. We cannot presume that tomorrow will come and thus put off making the changes we need to today. The path we find ourselves on will take more than three years, and it’s a good thing that it does, because we are dealing with something more important than throwing a football. Our faith life is all about growth, learning and adjusting. Let our hearts be open always to the will of God in our lives because He is more than simply a coach, He is the one who created the cosmos and created us for a purpose within it.

In Christ,
Fr. Chris