Never Quit
one
For all you parents who don’t know what to do with kids away from God and might be discouraged. Listen to this. I had the privilege of having lunch with a fantastic young professional guy who told me this story. He had been in a long relationship, head over heals in love and was devastated with the revelation that she was unfaithful. He spiraled out of control. He lost faith in himself, in other people and in God and his one and only thought was how to remove the pain. He tried everything, but the pain was too strong, and he thought there was no way out. That there was only pain on the horizon of his future.
His dad could see his son was in trouble. So he signed him up to receive the Rosary podcast by text. And every morning at 4:29 am it would ping. The young man said he would look at his dog and say “That’s God calling but I’m not answering.” Yet his dad persisted, he wouldn’t give up. He’d call and say, “You gotta listen to this episode, it made me think of you all day.”
This went on for more than a year until he could take it no more. That was the night he took a gun and pulled the trigger…but the safety was on. Then he heard the “ping”… it was 4:29 am, the Rosary text…and a voice in his head told him to reach for the phone. He listened, he prayed, he bawled his eyes out and he felt free…he knew he was really free, and that he had a future. So he promised himself, Mary and everyone else in heaven they would get his best effort. Why are we apostles of friendship, good conversation and the Rosary? That’s why!
two
If you prayed the Rosary with us last Friday from the Irish Pub then you know I was with Craig Hoyt in Charlotte NC. I asked how he could fill a pub with men to pray the Rosary and he said: “Two of my favorite thinkers, GK Chesterton and JRR Tolkien met frequently with a small group of friends to discuss what was going on in the world, debate various subjects, share ideas, and simply enjoy being with friends with a pint or a brandy in hand. (I am certain that both groups shared at least the occasional prayer together – Chesterton and Tolkien were immensely fond of Our Lady.) Sometimes they’d meet in homes or parks, but, more often than not, they’d gather in the corner of the neighborhood pub. As providence would have it, there is a pub in my neighborhood. Why not ask some guys out at least once a month for some friendship, good conversation, the Rosary and a pint? I started asking guys right away, “Hey, come on out to the pub this Thursday for a beer – a free beer!” I invite just about every guy I ran into in person, and then go through the contact list on my phone and either call or text them and ask them to come out. Each first Thursday of the month, anywhere from 8 to 20 men get together in our little back room. Then together, we pray the Rosary Podcast and talk about what’s going on in our lives – We really talk, we laugh, sometimes we even yell and cry. It’s taken me years to realize how important it is for us men to lead our families and communities in prayer and growing in faith. It is a powerful thing when a man kneels in reverent humility to honor our One true God and asks Saint Joseph and Our Lady to help guide his decisions.”
three
Too often we are afraid to share the Rosary with others but Craig shared with me a image that captures the attitude we all ought to have. He said, “Sometimes it can feel awkward and uncomfortable to ask others to join you in prayer – But the truth is, it’s not about me. I have an image that helps me to reach out: I see a man walking with his head down looking at his smartphone in his hands, unable to pay any attention to anything else that’s going on around him. He is just a few steps away from walking off the edge into a giant hole dug for a new building or out into traffic. He will surely fall to his death unless I simply grab the back of his shirt, stop him and get him to see what he was about to walk into. It’s that simple.” If we could see the spiritual danger people were in, we would be less timid from inviting.
four
Craig said to me: “I need friends. Not just guys that I work with, ride mountain bikes with, or see at church or in the neighborhood… I need to have people in my life that I can call on at 4am when my son is missing. I need to have friends that tell me when I’m wrong and doing something stupid and friends that will stand beside me when I’m right and doing something stupid. I need friends that I can count on no matter what…And then he offered this for a good examination… “Am I the kind of friend that I want to have? Can people count on me to tell them the hard truths and count on me when they really need help? Do I freely share myself and more importantly, do I have qualities within me that would make the lives of others better? Am I trustworthy? Do I have a strong faith and prayer life – am I really living the life that God wants me to live? What are the things that I need to work on to become a better friend?”
five
A wave moves us more than a drop of water.
Children, family and friends who see you as a person lives the faith is very good. But one person is a drop of water. For them to see 1000’s of people who believe gives them more of a sense of reality than an individual. Again a wave moves us more than a drop.
Why come to the event on May 23rd? Two Reasons:
1. No person is impervious to discouragement that comes from the news and social media that tells us Christianity is dying and we need to get off that train. If we try to live our faith individually or only in small groups we get feeling very isolated and alone. We all need to be encouraged by witnessing 1000s of people who believe come together and so that we can say to ourselves, “Thank God, I am not crazy and I am not alone for believing in Jesus.” We all need to be strengthened by the witness of many.
2. Since this is true – we have the responsibility to be one of the many drops that gather to make the wave. Other people need your presence and witness. If everyone says to themselves “I good – I don’t need that.” That is selfish – they are not thinking of the good that is done to strengthen the faith of others by gathering together.
We need to gather as a large public crowd to strengthen our own faith and to strengthen the faith of others.