January 2, 2024

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Regnum Christi Spirituality Center Ask a Priest

“Ask a Priest: Is It OK to Read Self-Help Books?”

Q: Should a Catholic read self-help books, such as The Magic of Thinking Big? I ask because I have read that books related to the power of thoughts or mindset should be avoided because they are incompatible with our faith. Could you clarify things for me? – Virginia

Answered by Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC

A: The Church doesn’t issue specific rulings on “self-help” books. The category itself is extremely broad and covers a wide range of works.

Some books, such as those of Pat Lencioni (on how to negotiate successfully and do well in business), have helped a lot of people and are based on solid research and clear principles of action.

Others, like the book you mention, are more about “positive thinking.” They tend to stand on shakier scientific ground, sometimes bordering on superstition or offering little more than motivational slogans fleshed out a bit.

Others are more serious works based on psychological and sociological research. In general, self-help books can only be judged on a case-by-case basis.

It’s worth noting that a lot of “positive thinking books” tend to focus on worldly things.

A case in point is The Magic of Thinking Big. The blurb on the cover of a 1987 edition says, “Acquire the Secrets of Success … Achieve Everything you Always Wanted: Personal Property, Financial Security, Power and Influence […].”

Notice the emphasis on material wealth—the very thing Jesus warned us about. “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God” (Luke 18:25).

Real improvement in our lives, real wealth, depends on our closeness to God. This means having a solid prayer life and sacramental life, and relying on divine providence for what we need.

Our own efforts are important too; God gives us intelligence and expects us to use it.

If we can mine a few good suggestions from self-help books, that’s OK.

But we want to keep the bigger picture in mind: Self-help is no substitute for divine help.

 

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Regnum Christi Spirituality Center Uncle Eddy

St Basil the Great and St Gregory Nazianzen

Dear Boss,

I hope you’re using your vacation well.  That’s what it’s for, you know, to be used well: to recharge your batteries, to rest from your intellectual labors, to enjoy the company of your family and friends and give them the happiness of having you near… It’s not meant to be frittered away in petty and worthless pursuits of self-indulgence and displays of laziness.  But that’s not why I’m writing.

I’m writing because I have received a reliable report that you have fallen in tow behind a dubious professor.  Need I remind you, my impressionable young nephew, that you will become like those you emulate? If this fellow is as brilliant as they say, you may increase in brilliance by tagging along behind him, but if he is also as morally nefarious, don’t think your close association will be without nasty consequences.  I would encourage you to reevaluate your role-models before heading back to school, keeping St Ignatius’ sound advice in mind: “Place before your eyes as models for imitation, not the weak and cowardly, but the fervent and courageous.” And for such models, today’s saints serve admirably.

Basil and Gregory were both from Asia Minor (modern day Turkey), both from devout Christian families (multiple saints are found among their parents and siblings), and both were members of the cultured aristocratic class.  They first met when they were studying together in Athens – it was common practice for young aristocrats to make the rounds of all the great centers of learning in the Mediterranean before settling down to their own careers, so Basil and Gregory studied rhetoric, philosophy, and literature with the greatest minds of their age.  While at Athens they became fast friends and built that friendship primarily on a common dedication to the cause of Christ. In fact, when Basil returned home, he was on the verge of beginning a promising political career, and then he balked. He simply couldn’t do it – he knew that God was calling him to something higher (the exhortations of his sister, St Macrina, helped him discover this call).  Soon he retired to the beautiful wild land of Pontus and began to pursue a monastic way of life. He went on a tour of the monasteries in Egypt and Palestine and incorporated their traditions into his own monastic rule, which even today remains the norm for Eastern monasticism. He only enjoyed the quiet life for a few years, however; the Arianist crisis (Arianism was a heresy that denied the divinity of Christ) was shaking the Church and the Byzantine Empire to its foundations, and Basil was called on to defend the true faith in the great city of Caesarea, where he soon became bishop.  

Meanwhile, Gregory was recruited by his father (bishop of Nazianzus) to help administer his diocese, which he did reluctantly (he would have preferred to remain in solitude, where he could study and pray).  He too was swept into the furious theological and political strife stirred up by Arianism, and eventually was brought as bishop to the Imperial city of Constantinople, where he courageously defended the true faith in the face of daunting obstacles, even violent attacks.  Basil and Gregory fought their battles from the pulpit with their brilliant and heartfelt homiletics, from their desks with their eloquent treatises and letters, and from their souls with a deep life of prayer that filled them with prudence and apostolic zeal, such that even the intricate Byzantine diplomacy required of them never obscured their spiritual objectives.  

Being the heir of such intellectual, political, and spiritual excellence, why would you want to lower your standards by emulating small-fry (and poisonous small-fry at that)?  Think about it, and may Saints Basil and Gregory intercede on your behalf, so you can start thinking straight again.

Your concerned uncle, Eddy

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January 2, 2024 – Aspiring to Humility

 

 

 

 

 

Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors of the Church

 

John 1:19-28

 

This is the testimony of John. When the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to him to ask him, “Who are you?” He admitted and did not deny it, but admitted, “I am not the Christ.” So they asked him, “What are you then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.” So they said to him, “Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us? What do you have to say for yourself?” He said: “I am the voice of one crying out in the desert, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.” Some Pharisees were also sent. They asked him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet?” John answered them, “I baptize with water; but there is one among you whom you do not recognize, the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.” This happened in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

 

Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus, I believe that you are the Son of God who came into this world to save us because you love us. Your Incarnation fills me with hope. The only response I can give is to love you with all my heart, soul, strength, and mind.

 

Petition: Jesus, help me to learn from St. John the Baptist how to bring others to you.

 

  1. Making Jesus Known: The next few days have readings on John the Baptist. These lead up to this Sunday’s feast of the Epiphany, which celebrates the manifestation of Jesus to the world. Tradition has linked several similar events to Epiphany. Although the first one is the coming of the Magi to Bethlehem, Christ’s Baptism in the Jordan is also a key moment of revelation—of epiphany—of Jesus’ mission and divinity. Thus, although the Baptism of the Lord has its own feast day a week after Epiphany, the two events have a common result: They make known the truth of Jesus. A first question we need to ask ourselves is: What am I, a believer in Christ, doing to make the truth of Jesus known to others?

 

  1. The Power of Humility: In this reading, John the Baptist demonstrates the attitude fundamental to making Christ known: humility. John the Baptist had the chance to be considered the Messiah, the Christ. True, eventually the deception would have become known, but for a while he could have had all of Israel at his feet. All too often today, people give in to temptation and compromise their principles to get glory and power for a day—think of businessmen who inflate their company’s profits, or scientists who fake their results. Their inevitable downfall is tragic. St. John the Baptist knows that the only way he can serve God and fulfill his mission in life is to direct all glory to God and none to himself, never presuming to be more than he is. We, too, can live as true Christians and make Jesus present to others only if we put aside our own pride and vanity.

 

  1. Living Love: What really makes John the Baptist’s message effective is that he doesn’t just preach his message; he is his message. He preaches penance, but first he lives it, going out into the desert and living an ascetic life. He baptizes with water, but first he gets into the water. If we want to make Jesus known to others, we first have to know him ourselves. We cannot preach the essence of the Gospel, the message of love, if we don’t live love in our daily lives. We can’t criticize, judge others, and always “look out for number one” (where “one” is ourselves) and still hope to be an effective apostle of Christ. However, if with the help of God’s grace, we do our best to put love into action, then words will hardly be necessary. Our example alone will change people’s lives.

 

Conversation with Christ: Lord, when I look at myself and my life, I see that too often I have been selfish, focused on what I enjoy and on what I want. Help me to love you above all things. Help me want to make you known by living love, even at the cost of my own pride and comfort.

 

Resolution: I will make an extra effort today to show through my actions what it means to love Christ and one another.

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Alex Kucera

Atlanta

Alex Kucera has lived in Atlanta, GA, for the last 46 years. He is one of 9 children, married to his wife Karmen, and has 3 girls, one grandson, and a granddaughter on the way. Alex joined Regnum Christi in 2007. Out of the gate, he joined the Helping Hands Medical Missions apostolate and is still participating today with the Ghana Friendship Mission.

In 2009, Alex was asked to be the Atlanta RC Renewal Coordinator for the Atlanta Locality to help the RC members with the RC renewal process. Alex became a Group Leader in 2012 for four of the Atlanta Men’s Section Teams and continues today. Running in parallel, in 2013, Alex became a Team Leader and shepherded a large team of good men.

Alex was honored to be the Atlanta Mission Coordinator between 2010 to 2022 (12 years), coordinating 5-8 Holy Week Mission teams across Georgia. He also created and coordinated missions at a parish in Athens, GA, for 9 years. Alex continues to coordinate Holy Week Missions, Advent Missions, and Monthly missions at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Cumming, GA.

From 2016 to 2022, Alex also served as the Men’s Section Assistant in Atlanta. He loved working with the Men’s Section Director, the Legionaries, Consecrated, and Women’s Section leadership teams.

Alex is exceptionally grateful to the Legionaries, Consecrated, and many RC members who he’s journeyed shoulder to shoulder, growing his relationship with Christ and others along the way. He knows that there is only one way, that’s Christ’s Way, with others!