On the Fast Track to Sainthood
True confession time: I do a lot of stuff I shouldn't do. And I don't mean really obvious stuff like lying, stealing, illicit sex, etc.
That's too obvious.
I'm talking about the subtle stuff that most of us don't think about very often, stuff that isn't inherently bad, but stuff that we shouldn't be doing all the same.
Let me give you an example: a few nights ago, I spent nearly two hours on the computer, playing a Tetris-style video game. Big deal, right? What's wrong with playing a video game?
On the surface of it, nothing. But for two hours? What else might I have done with that time? Prayed an extra Rosary. Played with my daughter. Helped my wife with the dishes. Cleaned up the living room a bit. Read a chapter of Scripture or some other devotional book. Spent some time in contemplative prayer. Any number of things that would have given me a much greater return on my investment of time.
When seen in that light, it makes sense to me to say that playing a video game for two hours was something I shouldn't have done.
As I said, I do a lot of those things that I "shouldn't do." I'm betting you do a lot of those things too.
Allow me to pass on a few words of advice from my spiritual director that made a lot of sense: if you want to be a saint, do 50% less of what you do all day. Do less each day? Now that's something I can live with!
But here's the catch: the difference between becoming a saint here on earth and stumbling through sinnerdom as a perpetual spiritual midget is knowing which 50% of your activities to cut out. This is the tricky part.
Again, I'll pass on the advice I received: start by cutting out activities that could be described as "brainless." Then cut out the ones that are more-or-less "useless." Finally, cut out the ones that are "silly."
What about having some fun, though? Therein lies the deception: that you can't have fun while doing activities that exercise your brain, or activities that are useful, or activities that aren't silly (in the grand scheme of things).
So do an inventory of your average day and ask yourself which of your usual activities are mere deadweight, and which of them might be better replaced with activities that will have a more, shall we say, "eternal impact."
That's too obvious.
I'm talking about the subtle stuff that most of us don't think about very often, stuff that isn't inherently bad, but stuff that we shouldn't be doing all the same.
Let me give you an example: a few nights ago, I spent nearly two hours on the computer, playing a Tetris-style video game. Big deal, right? What's wrong with playing a video game?
On the surface of it, nothing. But for two hours? What else might I have done with that time? Prayed an extra Rosary. Played with my daughter. Helped my wife with the dishes. Cleaned up the living room a bit. Read a chapter of Scripture or some other devotional book. Spent some time in contemplative prayer. Any number of things that would have given me a much greater return on my investment of time.
When seen in that light, it makes sense to me to say that playing a video game for two hours was something I shouldn't have done.
As I said, I do a lot of those things that I "shouldn't do." I'm betting you do a lot of those things too.
Allow me to pass on a few words of advice from my spiritual director that made a lot of sense: if you want to be a saint, do 50% less of what you do all day. Do less each day? Now that's something I can live with!
But here's the catch: the difference between becoming a saint here on earth and stumbling through sinnerdom as a perpetual spiritual midget is knowing which 50% of your activities to cut out. This is the tricky part.
Again, I'll pass on the advice I received: start by cutting out activities that could be described as "brainless." Then cut out the ones that are more-or-less "useless." Finally, cut out the ones that are "silly."
What about having some fun, though? Therein lies the deception: that you can't have fun while doing activities that exercise your brain, or activities that are useful, or activities that aren't silly (in the grand scheme of things).
So do an inventory of your average day and ask yourself which of your usual activities are mere deadweight, and which of them might be better replaced with activities that will have a more, shall we say, "eternal impact."
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