(Some) Stress Is Good
Too much ease leaves us stuck.
Like Catholics (and others!) worldwide, I've been deeply interested in the election of our new Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV.
While the Chicago memes are great, and his first homily was beautiful, I was also struck by how strongly he focused on Pope Francis's Evangelii Gaudium in his address to the College of Cardinals.
The path this exhortation lays out is, to use my favorite phrase from it, "wonderfully complicated."
When Pope Leo XIV talked about the need for "courageous and trusting dialogue with the contemporary world," he wasn't describing an easy path. In the same way, answering the call to care for "the least and the rejected" often means dealing with tough human situations. The "missionary conversion of the entire Christian community" that our new Holy Father stresses won't always feel comfortable.
Taking on these calls stretches our hearts and shakes up our routines. Yet it's in these acts of trying hard that we find a deep sense of purpose.
A violin makes its most beautiful music not when its strings are loose, but when they're tightened just right. In the same way, our souls often shine brightest not when we're taking it easy, but when we're fully engaged in challenging yet rewarding work.
I appreciate how good you are at getting to the heart of an idea quickly! I think much of the gospel could be boiled down to two commands that require the tension you are talking about: reality over ideology (or any "ology") and never lay claim to the moral high ground. Intellectual and moral humility.
Ah so true! And btw I love how the text is so well complemented by the audio version!
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A violin makes its most beautiful music not when its strings are loose, but when they're tightened just right. In the same way, our souls often shine brightest not when we're taking it easy, but when we're fully engaged in challenging yet rewarding work.”