I was returning from my morning walk the other day. As I picked up the newspaper from the front sidewalk I look over towards the church and saw three young men standing in front of the mural of Our Lady of Guadalupe. In my mind, I thought, “how wonderful that these three young men are spending a few moments in prayer with our Blessed Mother.” I walked over to greet them and as I was approaching the tell tale sign of the glowing smart phone in front of their faces, the swiping movement of their fingers and the intense concentration of each of them gave it all away…Pokémon Go.
Was I a little disappointed? Yes. Nevertheless I went over and spent a brief time in prayer, in the midst of the young men, praying the Hail Mary several times. I figure if it is good enough for an Olympic gold medalist in time of trial, it is good enough for me.
This month we are focusing on the first Spiritual Work of Mercy, “Instructing the Ignorant.” Don’t be afraid or offended by the words because in the sense of the work of mercy, ignorant simply means someone who does not know. I can imagine that the three young men standing in front of Mary that morning had very little idea of the symbolism, the blessing and the love they were looking at in the mural. It may be because they were not Catholic, Christian or were ignorant of the miracle of Guadalupe. It could be because they were so focused and distracted by their pursuit of one more pokémon that they were unable to see the beauty being made present in the image of Mary and the grace of the early morning.
The work of mercy, instructing the ignorant, is a call to be witnesses to the Gospel message and teaching by word and example the faith of our Church through our love of Jesus Christ. The great Christian apologist, C.S. Lewis reminds us in his book, The Screwtape Letters, that two of the devil’s greatest tools are distraction from the pursuit of holiness and the lack of charity of Christians towards each other. We are reminded by Jesus, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (Jn 13:35) This should be the foundation of “instructing the ignorant.”
The first step in this work of mercy is to enter into the moment of humility knowing that we are all called to sit at the feet of Jesus and learn more deeply our faith in knowing Him who is our Savior. It has been my experience, and I know that I am not alone, that in “instructing” the doors of faith open wider and the joy of the Gospel is made real in the relationship developed and blessed in the conversation of faith.
Humbleness is removing the distractions of life and focusing on what is most important, the person who is with us, who needs us, who we are called to serve. It is acting like Jesus when he sees us and fills the deepest desires of our hearts with joy and blessing. In this we must be willing to stop, listen and open our hearts to his words.
“Instructing the ignorant” occur in each moment, every interaction and the daily conversations we share when we are willing to become the disciple next to another disciple searching for the truth of God’s love.
It would be my hope that the three young men, enthralled and consumed by the pursuit of virtual happiness would recognize the ultimate emptiness of their momentary obsession with the game and see in the Virgencita the true and lasting happiness in giving your life to God in and through Jesus Christ as Mary did each day of her life. It would by my hope in the small example of prayer and devotion I shared with them in the early morning may awaken in them a spark of faith that will burn brightly in their lives.
It may be a good prayer for all of us today and every day to ask: What in my life is causing me to be ignorant of God’s presence and teaching in my life? How can I remove this obstacle and grow closer in the knowledge and love of our Lord Jesus Christ?
God Bless
Fr. Mark