Tuesday of the Seventh Week of
Easter
1 Samuel, Chapter 18, Verse 15
Seeing how he prospered, Saul FEARED David.
Insecure
people spend a lot of time in job justification. Think about it how much time
do you or people you know spend in justifying rather than striving to break
free of fears and be all God has envisioned them to be? Often insecure people
are trapped in a cycle of fear that retards their ability to give power and
grace to others.
The law of Empowerment[1]
Saul
was insecure. The Law of Empowerment says that only secure leaders give power to others.
But
what does it mean to be secure? Using the analogy of personal finance, let’s
look at what’s missing from the lives of insecure leaders. This will help us
better understand where security comes from and why it matters.
·
Paupers,
debtors, and hoarders lack the real or perceived financial security necessary
to give generously to others.
o
Paupers
have no source of income aside from the financial assistance they receive from
someone else. Penniless and dependent, they’re clearly unable to help others
financially.
§
Leaders without purpose are like
paupers. They have no passion, low energy,
and little drive to grow in influence. Usually, their only source of power is
the position they have been given by somebody else. In terms of personal
authority, they’re impoverished.
o
Debtors
may have nice salaries, but their expenses exceed their income. They’ve maxed
out credit cards and taken out hefty loans. Consequently, they’re stuck paying
exorbitant interest rates on the amounts they have borrowed. In an upside-down
financial situation, they’re in no position to give generously to others.
§
Leaders without authenticity are
like debtors.
Someone deeply in debt may appear wealthy, even though they’re secretly on the
verge of bankruptcy. The closer you inspect their life, the more signs of
dysfunction you see. Similarly, inauthentic leaders may seem to have all the
tools to lead with excellence. However, they are missing the crucial component
of moral authority. They do not practice the values they preach, and they
prefer to keep others at arm’s length to hide their shortcomings.
o
Hoarders
are sitting on a pile of wealth, but they think only of protecting it rather
than of sharing it with others. They have the plentiful resources but are
unwilling to part with them.
§
Leaders without humility resemble hoarders. Having put their talents to work, they
enjoy a significant amount of power. However, they’re worried about others
taking it from them or gaining more of it than they have. So, instead of using
their influence to empower others, they keep it for their own benefit.
·
As
leaders, we can only lift others up when we’re standing on a firm foundation.
Purpose, authenticity, and humility give us a secure, stable base from which to
lead.
·
Purpose is the answer to the question: why
do you want to lead? The best leaders have a purpose that is greater than they
are. Their “why” involves more than accumulating money or seeking
self-actualization. They see leadership as a calling rather than a career,
relishing the opportunity to use their unique talents to accomplish something
significant that will outlive them.
·
Authenticity means being comfortable in your
own skin. Authentic leaders have self-awareness, self-respect, self-confidence,
and emotional maturity. They prize integrity above image, and they seek to
build trust with others on the basis of their personal character.
·
Humility is often wrongly associated
depreciating and downgrading ourselves. However, true humility flows out of
gratitude and comes when we credit God for our blessings and others for our
successes. As Rick Warren teaches, a humble leader doesn’t deny his strengths;
he’s simply honest about his limitations. Humble leaders feel no need to
trumpet their status, are unthreatened by criticism, and revel in the
accomplishments of others. They put their pride aside so that others have room
to shine.
Modern man at times out of an
inability to cope with the stress of everyday life seeks relief via the vices
of sex, drugs and rock and roll. I wonder what would happen to our world if instead
of dealing with stress with the distractions of pleasure and entertainment; we
acknowledged our dependence on the grace of God; found our purpose and had true
gratitude for our blessings.
Apostolic Exhortation
Veneremur Cernui – Down in Adoration Falling
of The Most Reverend Thomas J.
Olmsted, Bishop of Phoenix,
to Priests, Deacons, Religious and the Lay Faithful of the Diocese of Phoenix
on the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist
My beloved Brothers and
Sisters in Christ,
1. I wish to speak to
you about the most important and central teaching of our faith. What I share is
“not too high for you.” It is not theology that is only meant for theologians
and priests. This concerns the most important reality of our lives – the saving
presence of our Lord. This is not a teaching that can be dumbed down or over
simplified. This is a truth that we need to be clear and certain about. Be
bold, then! Take up and read, drink in the truth, discuss and share it with
others and allow Jesus, truly present in the Eucharist, to conform you further
to Himself and fulfill the deepest longings of your heart.
2. From the time I was a
little child, I knew Jesus was present in every Catholic Church. I could not
have explained it, but I was certain He was there. The way my father genuflected
before the Tabernacle, the quiet reverence of my mother, the way our pastor
Father Daly sang the Tantum Ergo with such gusto and a thick Irish brogue, it
was these actions and God’s grace, more than words, that imbedded in my heart a
solid conviction about the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. And because
our farm family prayed together every evening, during thunderstorms or
blizzards, whether we had a bumper crop or hardly anything at all from
drought-stricken soil, no matter what, we knew that the Lord Jesus we received
at Mass was with us, every day and night, and that whatever we faced, all would
be well because of Him.
3. Of course, that faith
in the Eucharist has been tested many times over the years. As a seminarian in
Tours, France, for example, during two months of intensive French language
study, some classmates learning of my practice of daily Mass accosted me,
sneering with venom, “You really believe Jesus is present in that piece of
bread?” Shocked by their hate-filled tone, I could say nothing for what seemed
like eternity; but after probably less than a minute, I managed to stammer,
“Yes… I do.” That shocking and embarrassing moment, to my surprise, led ever so
gradually to new gratitude for the gift of the Eucharistic faith and a deeper
conviction about daily Mass and Eucharistic adoration. It also taught me to
expect my faith in our Eucharistic Savior to face scorn and contradiction. To
be continued…
Daily
Devotions/Practices
·
Make
reparations to the Holy Face-Tuesday
Devotion
·
Pray Day 6 of
the Novena for our Pope and Bishops
·
Tuesday:
Litany of St. Michael the Archangel
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Rosary.
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