Fruits and Stuff

          “Vegetables? Yea I like’em, but fruits?! Bleh!” #Thingsjesusneversaid. Jesus liked fruits. To him they were the perfect metaphor for the good stuff. St. Paul says, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness and self-control.” When talking about knowing the difference between a false prophet and true prophet, Christ was all like, “Bro you’ll know them by the fruits that they produce.” He said (paraphrasing) that grapes are not picked from thorn bushes and good fruit does not grow on bad trees, but hold on to that thought for a sec.

The purpose of Lent is to ready ourselves to renew our baptismal promises. We walk around the “desert” for forty days, denying ourselves pleasures, praying to God, and giving our time and our talents to others for their benefit, because Christ-likeness is the goal we all race towards. Prayer and fasting are great, but I think almsgiving is overlooked in college. Traditionally it's giving money or time to the poor--even more traditionally farmed produce--although as college student most of us are about a farm short of free wheat. But, almsgiving is more than giving out cashcrops. We  can give away time and lend our talents. The important factor in almsgiving is the word “giving,” and in that word lies the nature of our existence.

Created in the image of the God, we were made to give. The infinite exchange of love between the Father and the Son, both of whom give themselves and receive each other completely in love, begets the Holy Spirit. Marriage images this in that a husband and wife mirror that exchange of love in the giving of themselves and beget a child. We all are called to give and not just in marriage. Remember the story about talents? A man given five talents from his master, returned double what he was given, and rather than the master replying, “Bro sit down, chill with me,” the master gives him another talent to do double. Why? Because our joy consists in giving as the faithful man had done.

 As far as talents go, if you can do it, then it is a talent. Listening is an action that not everyone can perform, but for those who can, they can use it to comfort the distressed. And as for fruits? Well, what good would fruits be if only trees ate them? They wouldn’t be. In Mark, Jesus heals a blind man in two stages. After he moisturizes the mans eyes with his spit, he asked “What do you see?” and the blind man replied, “I see men like trees walking.” We are like trees. Some will resemble Christ who is the tree of life bearing all good fruit and some will be as barren as the cursed fig tree. But the point is that our fruit is not for us but for everyone else, and people enjoy our fruit through the time and talents that we give. The question is do people feel joy when you help them? Or gentleness when you offer advice? Or justice when you defend them? Or faithfulness when they are counting on you? If the blind man saw you, what fruit would he see? Would he desire it?

--Dominic Price

About the Author

Katie DiFato is in her third year as a FOCUS missionary at Georgia Southern. Originally from New York, and having lived in Maryland for 15 years (graduated from the University of Maryland – go Terps!), she loves the south!!!

About the Author

My name is Dominic Price and I’m a senior communications major and I hope my career leads me into Theology. I enjoy soccer and basketball. The only important thing to know is that I lead bible studies on Tuesday (contact me at dp01446@georgiasouthern.edu if you want to come) and when I’m bored I read the Bad Catholic Blog.

     

Doing the Cool Thing

            It seems that often our highest concerns in life are those that deal with the state of our reputations. Questions like, “what do people think of me” or “how cool do I look,” are among those we frequently ask, showing the preoccupations of our hearts. It is often easy to catch yourself doing things that you know aren’t necessarily good, but popular, so we do them hoping to catch the eyes of those around us. “Other people hear me curse or hear me tell inappropriate jokes, and it lets people know that I am cool.” “Doing these things lets people know I am a real person.”  It is easy to believe that it is doing these things that shows the world we are normal. Today’s readings, however, show us that maybe there is more to life than a popularity contest. In the book of Jonah we find the King of Nineveh, the most popular guy in all the land, sitting in a pile of ashes and covered in sackcloth. Most people would think of this as the opposite of normal, but he doesn’t care. He knows that this is pleasing to God and will bring happiness to Him who matters most. The criticism of others is not the king’s concern.

            If we flash forward a good many years in history we find Jesus, and though He is “a greater sign than the prophet Jonah”, people still do not respond to His call (LK 11:29). People don’t want to turn away from the bad they do and give up being “normal.” Jesus made a habit of doing things that broke the mold, be it sitting with the people no one liked, or speaking out against the wrong being committed. Instead, however, of seeing the evil of their ways, the people ignore Jesus and carry on doing what ever they want.

             Let us remember during this Lent, that Jesus is also gazing into our own eyes and our own hearts asking us to follow Him. Are we going to be like the generation who rejected Him, or are we going to rise up? Are we going to give up doing that which is less important and instead follow the God who desires us?  Jesus isn’t calling us to a life of slavery and loneliness but an intimate friendship with God who is happiness Himself (Jn 15:15). The King of Nineveh didn’t hesitate to wonder what was the cool thing to do, but instead did what God desired. It took three days to walk through his kingdom—Georgia Southern takes ten minutes. He had more people watching his every move than we do, and yet he loved God more than his reputation.  And now all Christians look to him as an example of faithfulness and humility. We might not be called to put on sackcloth and sit in ashes, but we might be called to do what appears as lame to others, but is awesome to Christ!

-Patrick Tunnell

About the Author

Patrick Tunnell is a seminarian for the Diocese of Savannah and former student of Georgia Southern. He currently studies at the Pontifical North American College in Rome Italy. 

Babbling Pagans

Today in the gospel Jesus’ disciples inquire about how to pray. Jesus could have answered in many different ways and He gives us this prayer. We should probably pay attention to what He has to tell us! The Our Father is a prayer we pray so often, every Sunday at Mass, in our rosaries, and daily prayer times. Yet, how often do we just “babble like the pagans” which Jesus warns against and not really know what we are truly praying? I know I do it often. This Lent is perhaps an invitation for us to take a closer look at this familiar prayer. 

“This is how you are to pray:

Our Father who art in heaven,

     Immediately we are reminded of our Divine Sonship, we are sons and daughters of a most High King which makes us royalty!! We address Our Father who is in heaven- this reminds us that if Our Father is in Heaven, then that is our home too! It invites us to look where we are headed -- we are pilgrims, this isn’t it!

hallowed be thy name, 

        Do you even know what hallowed means!? I sure didn’t. It means to “honor as holy.” From the beginning we are are called to recognize and praise He who is all power, knowledge, mercy, beauty, goodness, and love.

thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, 

      Notice here it’s about building His Kingdom and doing His will. The task of the Christian is to unite our life so closely that we can say with St. Paul, “it’s no longer I, but Christ that lives within me.”

on earth as it is in heaven.

        We’re called to bring the reign of Jesus Christ as Lord here and now!

Give us this day our daily bread; 

       Here Jesus does not say, “our daily steak and lobster,” but daily bread. Bread is what we need, not all about what we want. It is about being content with what we have and trusting that He will provide all that we need.

and forgive us our trespasses,as we forgive those who trespass against us; 

        We are called to extend the same mercy that Christ Himself bestows upon us when people hurt, ignore, lie, and chastise us.

and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. 

         Left to our own devices we would be unable to withstand the temptations and evil of the world, the flesh, and the Devil so we beg the Lord to "lead us not" and "deliver us from."

Amen!

-Caitlin Mulcahy

About the Author

Caitlin is a native of Denver, CO, a graduate of Creighton University in Omaha, NE, and a 4th year FOCUS Missionary. She served her first two years with FOCUS at the University of Nebraska Lincoln and is in her second year at Georgia Southern University. Her favorite things about the South are Banana Puddin' and cotton! She is engaged to Jacob Pride and is currently enjoying planning their wedding for this coming May!