Risk All For Christ

If we do not risk anything for God, we will never do anything great for him (St Louis de Montfort).

Recently, I went to the first mass of a newly ordained priest. He offered a blessing to each person who wanted one at the end of mass. I did not know him, but I was invited, and I gladly went. I enjoyed the mass that Sunday and after mass, I spent some time in prayer. I contacted my friends in the cloister of Carmel near my city and told them all about it. They semi-laughed when they told me they were jealous but it meant a lot to them that I went. It was great to see someone committing his life to Christ in such a dark time. The church was full, and his family was there. The best I could say to him was to wish him all the best on his new journey.

Risk

St Louis de Montfort’s insights are great words to live by but of course, easier said than done. We hear so often about people who climb Mount Everest or try some extreme sport. I do not want to minimize such great feats. I certainly do not have that courage in me to do that but, I would love to risk for Christ. Risking for Christ is something so amazing and so rewarding.

I suffered such great stress at my last job, I felt defeated. It was a terrible experience. However, sometimes, when we feel that we are completely devastated, it is then that we are carried to higher ground but we must take the first step. This is a risk for many of us. We risk ourselves when we walk out the door in the morning and take many chances with different activities.

St. Padre Pio said, “If we only knew how God regards this sacrifice, we would risk our lives to be present at a single mass.” Do we do that? Sometimes, mass is something we fit into our day or weekend if we have nothing else to do. I think often about the Christians persecuted under the Romans and the price they paid for our faith to survive. We could scan the globe and visit country after country and understand sacrifices that have been made. Uganda, Japan, North Africa, Mexico, and Spain are just a few examples. Do we have that courage? I always doubt that in myself.

I wonder at every moment how a person may risk the salvation of their soul for reasons absolutely futile and weak (St. Leopold Mandic) .

Taking a Small Chance

I am not the most courageous traveler. I usually go to safe places well into my comfort zone. Once, however, I had a great request from the saints. It was something very close to my heart. I was with my friends in Italy and Switzerland and two days before my trip ended when I had to return to North America, I went to Paris and made my way to Lisieux to pray at the tomb of St. Thérèse. She lived a very simple life. She wanted to go on a mission but died young instead. She wanted to be a nun, but she was so young. She made her way to the Vatican to personally ask Pope Leo XIII. She had her prayer answered in some ways but in other ways, she did not. Yet, she was great in the eyes of Lord, and she did not travel far from her home. My prayer was answered after that small trip. I needed to go. I live in awe of the saints.

Hope for the Risk-taker

The tumultuous world we live in at times seems so chaotic. Bad news follows worse news. Pope Francis reminded us that, “In today’s fragmented world, where we risk losing our bearings, a Mother’s embrace is essential.” We can flee to our Holy Mother. That fear of risk and fear of what might or might not come is so clear in the eyes of the Lord. We need to be reminded that we are loved because God loved us first. He has come looking for us. Another great Pope, Pius XII, told us, “To live without risk is to risk not living.” I do not want to live like that yet sometimes, we reflect on our lives and think we have not done enough risking. However, I would like to flip that around. Have I done enough risking for Christ since he risked everything for me?

Conclusion

Risking is difficult. It is a challenge to step out of what we know.

If the lungs of prayer and the Word of God do not nourish the breath of spiritual life, we risk suffocating in the midst of a thousand daily cares. Prayers are the breath of the soul and of life (Pope Benedict XVI). 

We have been blessed with so many Catholic greats to look at. Each one of them risked in his or her own way. Sometimes, I need to reflect on how important this is for me. Risking is not about taking one of the flights to space although it might be fun. To risk is to move closer to Christ because only He can bring us to our true selves. Maybe that is the big risk we are afraid of?