Walking the Walk, After Talking the Talk

News broke a few days ago that Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta has issued an apology following the disclosure that he spent 2.2 million on his new residenceCatholic Culture points out that when Archbishop Gregory realized that he “had caused scandal by spending over $2 million on a new residence”, he was quick to take responsibility and apologize.

They explain, “What Archbishop Gregory did instead was refreshing, even edifying. He said that he was wrong. He recognized that the criticisms he had received were “stinging and sincere.” He acknowledged that ‘I should have seen them coming.'”

This leads one to ask how he got in the predicament place to begin with; however sincere Archbishop Gregory is, this incident follows close on the heels of Pope Francis accepting the resignation of the so-called “bishop of bling”, and leaves the faithful feeling let down.

All of these news pieces bring to mind a sincere question: How have we have slid so far from the essence of living the Gospel?

I imagine that a lot of these difficulties come from our high standards of living here in America. When we are living amongst those who are well off, spending millions on a house presumably seems modest. We now live in very different times economically than even a few years ago. With the crash of the housing market, and the sluggish economy, many are just trying to make ends meet. Material wealth has left an emptiness in so many lives – an emptiness that we continue to attempt to fill with all that the world has to offer, listening to its siren song of  “If I just had more…”

In an ever continuing cycle, we beg for more stuff and more pleasure, but continue to live in a void of nothingness.

I am not picking on our brother bishops. How often are we guilty of the same failings, but at least have the luxury to be out of the public eye. What ways do we let ourselves be talked into seemingly harmless behavior until it escalates out of control? Can this behavior be excused? And here we are, in the season of Lent, where we are reminded over and over that to truly follow Christ means to give of oneself until there is nothing left:

courtesy of pixabay.com
courtesy of pixabay.com

How often it is difficult to understand the cross of Christ in our own lives! Still, we have been blessed by a Holy Father who understands the need to embrace the people where they are. By continuing to live as he has always lived in the spirit of Saint Francis of Assisi, he proves that you don’t have to be rich and powerful to touch hearts. He challenges us to let go of the material good that are keeping us from following Christ.

We are all in awe of him, but how many of us are actually just paying lip service to his call to be a genuine Christians? In his morning homily from April 1st, he observed, “Some might say “I go to Mass every Sunday, but better not get mixed up in things – I have faith for my health, I do not feel the need to give it to another…’” The pontiff noted that to stay in one’s own house living a “quiet life” and not risking anything is “the disease of sloth, the acedia of Christians.” This “standing at ease” is “not in the good sense of the word,” he explained, adding that “they do not bother to go out to proclaim the Gospel! They are anesthetized.”

Every Lent brings us another opportunity to re-examine our lives. To ask, are we really living as Christ has called me to live? Let us pray for one another, and for our church leaders to follow the call of Christ to be radical for his sake.

Rachel Zamarron

Rachel Zamarron

Rachel is a wife, Catholic, and cowgirl. Married to her sweetheart Sam, the two of them are enjoying the adventures of life hand-in-hand.

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1 thought on “Walking the Walk, After Talking the Talk”

  1. Very good. I think it would be wonderful to see many of the new religious type developments to be located in the poor under developed parts of town. I think it would be a great example and way to show the poor are our brothers and sisters.

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