Virtuous Obedience

As a seminarian, obedience is something that I am encouraged in and taught about with frequency. This is not by accident- even the smallest actions of a parish priest, no matter how trivial, can affect his relationship with his people, with his bishop, or even God! It really takes someone docile and able to listen to others in authority over him to make him effective and trustworthy in ministry. It is difficult to follow someone in authority, when it seems that they are not able to "walk the walk" themselves. Thus, it is an important part of seminary training for us to learn how to be more obedient, whether that be in getting up on time to do a Holy Hour in the morning, or even simply reading the material expected of us in class. However, obedience is certainly not reserved for a seminarian in formation- it is for all people to regularly put into practice.

Really, obedience strikes at the root of pride- which, unfortunately, seems to be prominently displayed in a disordered way as a part of our human experience. We, as independent beings, want to do things our way. Chalk it up to original sin. Blame society. Maybe we wasn't feeling well that day. Truth be told though, we all are a bit guilty of disobedience- most likely on a daily basis! Every little trip and tumble that we take into sin- we have, in some way, disobeyed the directions that our Lord has given us, whether they be the Ten Commandments that we (hopefully) knew since we were in second grade, or whether they are some of the Divine Laws given to us by the Church. Maybe we didn't commit grand theft, end the sacred life of the innocent, or sleep instead of attending Mass on Sunday- but we did commit that bit of gossip. We did tell that little-bitty lie. We are still holding onto that grudge. We're still too proud to admit we were wrong.

All of these little things- are they really so small? Can we really look into the eyes of Christ, the one who humbled Himself to become a man, and say "It's not a big deal"? Really, we ought to think it is a big deal! Every time we sin, we turn ourselves just a little more away from God through disobedience. We say, to some extend "Nope. I'm going to disobey that rule today." We ultimately try to place ourselves above God- the one who knows us to a greater degree than we can know ourselves- because we were created by Him! Shouldn't we owe even greater allegiance to He who has Created us, than that which we owe our parents?

The answer- yes we should! We owe our Lord everything! Yet, He freely gives us His love, and we are designed to give it back- ultimately, through our free obedience to Him. It certainly is not easy today, but it wasn't ever meant to be! Does one feel more accomplished by walking to the mailbox in the morning, or running a marathon? Obviously, the marathon is the greater accomplishment! A marathon takes commitment, training, and conditioning! A walk to the mailbox can be done by a a three-year-old. Obedience, then, can be equated to the marathon- we are running the race for our Lord- and not merely walking to the end of the drive! We are showing that we love our Lord as much as we can! This means following His commands as far as I am able!

Maybe we can heed all of our opportunities for obedience! We can run the race, and compete well, knowing that we have followed God's plan for our lives, and not our own! Seminarians are not the only one in this "race"- we all are! Let's encourage each other through our own obedience to our Lord, and those in authority in our lives!