Cramming for the "Final Exam"
In recent weeks, I have been conversing with young adults who are wrapping up their semester studies. Despite the various institutions they attend and the various majors they have chosen, one common theme has shone itself through these conversations. In the weeks leading up to final projects and exams, these students are quite tense and full of stress as they realize that they may not have learned all the necessary material in order to pass the test(s) and course(s). They begin to wonder if they have procrastinated a bit longer than they should have, which elicits extra anxiety. One young man even said to me, "I've learned how to re-learn an entire semester's material in a single afternoon so that I can pass the exam." As I listen to these young people talk, I recall my own studies. I freely admit that I did plenty of procrastinating and last-minute cramming during my college career. Therefore, I know that procrastination and last-minute cramming is not the best way to go about learning and preparing for the future.
As true as this statement is about education and career goals, it is infinitely more true about religious and spiritual things. Again, I recall my own experience: before my most recent and deepest conversion toward Christ, I told myself and others that religion was something I wanted "some day, after I'm finished having fun, and when it's convenient." In my religious and spiritual life, I was a lot like a college sophomore who hoped to get to finals week and perform just well enough on the final exam to pass the class, with the little bit of information I picked up during the semester. Indeed, I was a college sophomore who hoped I could live as a practical agnostic and get into Heaven on the merits of my parents taking me to church during childhood, and by having "been saved" when I was a pre-teen. The reality is that I would have failed the ultimate final exam, the judgment of my life by Christ, even if I managed to pass the college final exams.
Yes, brothers and sisters, all of us will pass away and we all will arrive at "the moment of truth" in which it is "no longer possible to repress or conceal anything." God will see us exactly as we are (see YouCat 157). In seeing us exactly how we are, He will know how much we love Him and how radically we have pursued a relationship with Him above all else. Whether or not we pass this ultimate final exam depends solely on our "union with the incarnate love that is Christ" and nothing else (see YouCat 342). We will not be asked our GPA, the state of the world economy, or the latest election results. We will only be asked if we have preferred intimacy with God to lesser things.
In this proclamation, there is good news and there is bad news. The good news is that intimate union with Christ is the only path to everlasting happiness, and it is a wide path available to anyone who seeks and asks (see Luke 11:9). A person needs to do nothing other than ask for the Lord to change his heart and life. The bad news is that no amount of effort takes the place of the disposition of a person's heart. No amount of Masses attended, dollars donated, and charities served earns a place at the eternal banquet. This is where religion and spirituality differ from school work: a student cannot simply ask for a passing grade whereas a disciple of Christ needs only ask for grace. In actuality, he can only ask for grace since it is a free and undeserved help (see CCC 1996).
What about moving forward toward the end that one seeks? For the student, what is the path toward graduation and a career? For a human being, what is the path toward never-ending blessedness? Interestingly enough, they are similar. After passing the difficult class because of too much procrastination, the student must choose to walk the more disciplined path of good sleeping and study habits, class participation, and so forth. After the infusion of grace by the Almighty, and always sustained by grace, the disciple of the Lord must also choose to walk by a disciplined path of holy habits and charity toward others. Once again, I attest to the different trajectory of both my studies and my spiritual life after such conversions occurred. Ask anyone who knew me before and after.
Despite the best intentions of the student with new-found zeal, and despite the presence of divine favors, humans still falter. Students won't always receive perfect marks and believers will sin. About the latter dilemma, another piece of good news is that Reconciliation is available. Instead of dropping out of the proverbial race toward Heaven because of imperfection, the faithful can "accept our frailty but keep going, not giving up but moving forward and becoming converted ever anew through the sacrament of Reconciliation for a new start..." (Pope Benedict, 2007). Moreover, there is an effervescent joy that issues forth from those who have received this new life and "take seriously their decision to follow Jesus" (see YouCat 235). We can exclaim with St. Paul, "I have finished the race" (2 Tim. 4:7), even if we have had to start again many, many times.
When we recognize that growing in the spiritual life is much like the arduous goal of earning an education, we begin to look for the best ways to grow, learning more and faster. Perhaps you know of a person who has earned degrees in economics and theology and law. Perhaps you know someone who earned only one degree but continues to dive deeply into the sources of that discipline These people we call perpetual learners. There are also individuals who are perpetually trying to grow closer to the God who satisfies their deepest desires. They attend Mass more than just on Sundays; they engage in spiritual reading throughout their week; they pray with their families; they cut out television shows and radio stations that prevent them from drawing near to God. Regardless of one's state in life, every person is "called upon to engage in an ongoing process of conversion" so that the Gospel can be advanced into every place and time (see YouCat 328). This must happen in the same way that the great champions of education assert that everyone must have access to an education.
One last connection is appropriate. At some point, every learner realizes that the best way to learn a particular point, or a lesson, or a subject is to teach it. So, a person will become a better student of history or biology or art if she has to explain those realities to others. This is precisely the same in the pursuit of holiness. The best way to become holy is to realize that each of us is entrusted with helping others become holy. We are tutors and trainers on the path to God for every person we encounter in our lives: spouses, sons and daughters, co-workers, and college fraternity brothers. Everyone else needs help preparing for their final exams, too. In the process of assisting them, you'll help yourself and you won't be disappointed in the results.
So, we see that there are many parallels between cramming for finals in our school work (or perhaps cramming to meet a major deadline in a career) and preparing for the judgment that each of us will face after death. Let us take lessons from the Divine Teacher and from the star pupils who have "studied" before us (those are the saints): procrastinating until the final moments is no way to find hope for eternal life. Instead, let us learn to rely on Christ's grace, then let us work as diligently for the good as we are able in this life. Along the way, let us remember to have mercy on ourselves because God is merciful to us. Let us take up the best sources for growth, such as daily prayer, Scripture reading, and paying attention to homilies at Mass. And, let us remember that God has planned for us to help Him spread the message of good news to others. Let us allow ourselves to be formed into champions for the faith who can celebrate a never-ending victory!
As true as this statement is about education and career goals, it is infinitely more true about religious and spiritual things. Again, I recall my own experience: before my most recent and deepest conversion toward Christ, I told myself and others that religion was something I wanted "some day, after I'm finished having fun, and when it's convenient." In my religious and spiritual life, I was a lot like a college sophomore who hoped to get to finals week and perform just well enough on the final exam to pass the class, with the little bit of information I picked up during the semester. Indeed, I was a college sophomore who hoped I could live as a practical agnostic and get into Heaven on the merits of my parents taking me to church during childhood, and by having "been saved" when I was a pre-teen. The reality is that I would have failed the ultimate final exam, the judgment of my life by Christ, even if I managed to pass the college final exams.
Yes, brothers and sisters, all of us will pass away and we all will arrive at "the moment of truth" in which it is "no longer possible to repress or conceal anything." God will see us exactly as we are (see YouCat 157). In seeing us exactly how we are, He will know how much we love Him and how radically we have pursued a relationship with Him above all else. Whether or not we pass this ultimate final exam depends solely on our "union with the incarnate love that is Christ" and nothing else (see YouCat 342). We will not be asked our GPA, the state of the world economy, or the latest election results. We will only be asked if we have preferred intimacy with God to lesser things.
In this proclamation, there is good news and there is bad news. The good news is that intimate union with Christ is the only path to everlasting happiness, and it is a wide path available to anyone who seeks and asks (see Luke 11:9). A person needs to do nothing other than ask for the Lord to change his heart and life. The bad news is that no amount of effort takes the place of the disposition of a person's heart. No amount of Masses attended, dollars donated, and charities served earns a place at the eternal banquet. This is where religion and spirituality differ from school work: a student cannot simply ask for a passing grade whereas a disciple of Christ needs only ask for grace. In actuality, he can only ask for grace since it is a free and undeserved help (see CCC 1996).
What about moving forward toward the end that one seeks? For the student, what is the path toward graduation and a career? For a human being, what is the path toward never-ending blessedness? Interestingly enough, they are similar. After passing the difficult class because of too much procrastination, the student must choose to walk the more disciplined path of good sleeping and study habits, class participation, and so forth. After the infusion of grace by the Almighty, and always sustained by grace, the disciple of the Lord must also choose to walk by a disciplined path of holy habits and charity toward others. Once again, I attest to the different trajectory of both my studies and my spiritual life after such conversions occurred. Ask anyone who knew me before and after.
Despite the best intentions of the student with new-found zeal, and despite the presence of divine favors, humans still falter. Students won't always receive perfect marks and believers will sin. About the latter dilemma, another piece of good news is that Reconciliation is available. Instead of dropping out of the proverbial race toward Heaven because of imperfection, the faithful can "accept our frailty but keep going, not giving up but moving forward and becoming converted ever anew through the sacrament of Reconciliation for a new start..." (Pope Benedict, 2007). Moreover, there is an effervescent joy that issues forth from those who have received this new life and "take seriously their decision to follow Jesus" (see YouCat 235). We can exclaim with St. Paul, "I have finished the race" (2 Tim. 4:7), even if we have had to start again many, many times.
When we recognize that growing in the spiritual life is much like the arduous goal of earning an education, we begin to look for the best ways to grow, learning more and faster. Perhaps you know of a person who has earned degrees in economics and theology and law. Perhaps you know someone who earned only one degree but continues to dive deeply into the sources of that discipline These people we call perpetual learners. There are also individuals who are perpetually trying to grow closer to the God who satisfies their deepest desires. They attend Mass more than just on Sundays; they engage in spiritual reading throughout their week; they pray with their families; they cut out television shows and radio stations that prevent them from drawing near to God. Regardless of one's state in life, every person is "called upon to engage in an ongoing process of conversion" so that the Gospel can be advanced into every place and time (see YouCat 328). This must happen in the same way that the great champions of education assert that everyone must have access to an education.
One last connection is appropriate. At some point, every learner realizes that the best way to learn a particular point, or a lesson, or a subject is to teach it. So, a person will become a better student of history or biology or art if she has to explain those realities to others. This is precisely the same in the pursuit of holiness. The best way to become holy is to realize that each of us is entrusted with helping others become holy. We are tutors and trainers on the path to God for every person we encounter in our lives: spouses, sons and daughters, co-workers, and college fraternity brothers. Everyone else needs help preparing for their final exams, too. In the process of assisting them, you'll help yourself and you won't be disappointed in the results.
So, we see that there are many parallels between cramming for finals in our school work (or perhaps cramming to meet a major deadline in a career) and preparing for the judgment that each of us will face after death. Let us take lessons from the Divine Teacher and from the star pupils who have "studied" before us (those are the saints): procrastinating until the final moments is no way to find hope for eternal life. Instead, let us learn to rely on Christ's grace, then let us work as diligently for the good as we are able in this life. Along the way, let us remember to have mercy on ourselves because God is merciful to us. Let us take up the best sources for growth, such as daily prayer, Scripture reading, and paying attention to homilies at Mass. And, let us remember that God has planned for us to help Him spread the message of good news to others. Let us allow ourselves to be formed into champions for the faith who can celebrate a never-ending victory!
