The Tightrope: Reflections for Busy Catholics

Freedom is tied in the very identity of God and who we as his children made in his image and likeness. Understanding the real meaning of freedom revealed to us by Christ, will help us respond to the evils of our world and build a more just and virtuous society. As Catholics, our liberty must ultimately point to the participation in the Divine life.

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“Real liberty is the ability to make a gift of oneself.”

Solidarity is the idea that we are one, we are together. It is rooted in empathy for the person or groups who may not have advantages we have. GoFundMe Campaigns are an example of people living out solidarity. It is a way to live out our faith and helps us know we are not alone.

Subsidiarity is the idea we are most effective when we start closest to home and heart. From there we can transform our state and our nation. Colin believes that real subsidiarity starts in the heart with virtue. Subsidiarity is to integrate virtue in our own hearts and to live it out in the spaces closest to us.

These two, solidarity and subsidiarity, are the way we will fight against injustice, hate, and have an abundant life.

Engaging on social media with charity and clarity in 2020 is not easy. Inspired by St.Thomas Aquinas, I offer a few principles to help us respond to issues and conflict on social media in a productive and charitable manner. If we remember the humanity of those we disagree with behind the screen, we will learn to truly love our enemies as Christ calls us to do.

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“ It's not just about winning arguments, it’s about winning hearts and building relationships.”

In our pursuit of holiness, we tend to overlook the little things in life. It’s the small moments in life that can either push us upwards towards heaven or pull us down towards evil.

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Colin talks about a time he had an encounter with Christ while listening to beautiful music that brought him to tears.

As he was irresistibly drawn in, he realized that art, music, culture, and beauty can be opportunities for evangelization.

Colin calls this invitation to have an encounter with Christ through beauty an “assault of beauty”. It’s not an assault that takes away from our free will, but one that draws us in.

This week, find a way to extend this invitation to someone else. Listen to some beautiful music with your family or ask a friend to go visit a beautiful church.

In this final episode of the Tightrope, I leave with you with a powerful scripture verse from Romans about the Fatherhood of God. When we root ourselves in our truest identity as children of God and cry out to the Father with confidence that he hears us and loves us, everything changes.

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We are not orphans, we are beloved children of a Father in heaven who is worthy of our trust.

When we unite our suffering to Christ and offer it all up to the Father the way Christ does, everything changes. Our joys, work, hearts, and sufferings can all be offered alongside Christ and given back to the Father. When we learn to offer it all up, we grow in holiness and experience healing.

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Give every part of your life back to the Father the way Christ does, it changes everything.

Although the pandemic has shifted many of our plans and disrupted our normal routines, we can still choose to rejoice because we know the Lord is close to us in our suffering. Today, I encourage you to choose joy in the midst of the obstacles we face this year.

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In the midst of our trials and sufferings, we rejoice because we trust that the Lord draws near to us in our darkest moments.

Sainthood is possible no matter the circumstances. Today, I am joined by a very special guest to discuss schools reopening and the gift of the diverse group of saints we have in the Catholic tradition to help us in our walk with Christ.

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We are all capable of becoming saints, no matter where we have been, what we look like, or what we are facing.