Live Greater TRYOUT: Offense wanted…

Dec 10, 2007

No whos or whys
No one cries like a mother cries
For peace on Earth
-U2 Peace On Earth

Before we get into the reflection for the week, I find it only appropriate to remember and pray for the victims, their families, and all those affected by the Omaha mall shootings this past week. It is these horrific events that remind us of our hurting culture and the urgency we must have in recognizing and choosing a better way.

The above quote is from the U2 song called Peace on Earth. As I reflected on that quote, I couldn’t help but think of Mary as we celebrated the feast of the Immaculate Conception last weekend.  Mary the Mother of God, conceived without sin, weeps for us, her dear children as violence paralyzes the world in which we live. In the midst of tragedy and violence we rise with great confidence in our Mother who overcame death and violence at the foot of the cross. May her strength and hope fill our lives and world.

Eternal rest grant unto them oh Lord…And let perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls and the souls of all the faithfully departed through the mercy of God rest in peace. AMEN.

Now for our topic this week…

Around my house growing up, everything was always about sports. Someone was always at a team practice or outside practicing on their own. Football, basketball, soccer, baseball, you name it, we were playing it. The culture of sports influenced everything that we did, so much that to this day I sometimes still think about my life in sports terminology.

One of my favorite sports quotes that I have adopted as a personal philosophy is: “The best defense is a good offense.” Sounds pretty good right? Stay with me…

Knowing our identity and embracing our purpose are important first steps in attempting to choose Christ in our lives, and find Him as the alternative to the culture.  It is now important to understand what life style is necessary as a young person choosing to live for Christ.

As I have said before, Team MTV has got us right where they want us because we play a reactionary role in the game for our culture. They act - we react. In other words, they are on offense and we are on defense. And my friends, playing defense is a fun thing, but not when it is the only thing we play. Because everyone knows, if you only play defense and don’t score…YOU DON”T WIN.

Huddle Up. It’s time to play offense. An offensive strategy comes with a philosophy and different plays to achieve that goal. The philosophy we have already been through: Holding true to our identity as sons and daughters of God who loves us, and our purpose of revealing God to the world. The offensive plays to help us accomplish this philosophy are simply and accessible.

In this offense, I propose three plays: The first one is PRAYER. How often do we find ourselves praying when something goes wrong or when we need something? If we are offensive minded in prayer we use prayer as a means to stay true to our identity and fulfill or purpose.  We use an encounter with Jesus to receive all we need to face the culture and make the choices necessary to live for Him.

The second play, along with prayer is the SACRAMENTS. The sacraments, especially Confession and the Eucharist give us another opportunity to receive grace we need to be successful in our daily lives. How often do we make excuses to not go to confession or mass? Grace can change our hearts and give us strength and courage to move forward in our spiritual lives.

Lastly, the secret weapon of our offense is MARY. If anyone knows what we need and how to overcome struggles of this world, it’s Her. What would you say if I said she is longing for you to come to her as your mother?  Her prayers can do wonders in our lives only if we run to her and let her lead us!

There are many other tools in the Church that could help us live that life that God want us to live. But for this moment in time, let’s just focus on these three plays. Let’s strive to pray a little more during this season of Advent, embrace the sacraments to encounter Christ, and ask Mary to reveal to us her child lying in the manger.

From here on out, OFFENSE is the name of the game. I always liked it better anyway…

Play hard,

God Bless You,

In Him, & His Mother,

Rusty

Question of the Week: How are you going to be more offensive minded this week? (*Remember, it is time for us to take the initiative and start choosing a life style that will lead us to live as God wants…) 

Next Week: The 90/10 Rule…

Rusty is a Seminarian at St. Gregory the Great Seminary in Seward, Nebraska and is the co-founder of Live Greater Ministries. The Ministry's aim is to invite the youth of the Church into a dialogue about the present culture and how Jesus invites us to a relationship with him, finding true happiness and greater purpose.  More information can be found on their website at www.livegreater.net.