By Fr. Mike Schmitz, Ascension Presents, June 26, 2019
How do we keep God at a distance? There are at least two ways that we go about it. Either we lay low and stay out of trouble, or we excel at whatever task we’ve currently been assigned to. Both strategies intend to keep God out of our lives so we can keep doing what we’re doing, because we’re comfortable doing it. If you’re in one of those camps, get ready because God can call you to something different any minute now.
You may not have even noticed yourself slipping into one of these subtle thought processes that attempt to keep God at a distance. That’s why it’s important to give our lives to God at least daily. Try doing it first thing in the morning before anything else. That’s how Fr. Mike does it, and it seems to have worked out quite well for him.
“Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”
Pope John Paul II at old Yankee Stadium, New York City, October 4, 1979... This work is from the U.S. News & World Report collection at the Library of Congress. According to the library, there are no known copyright restrictions on the use of this work. This photograph is a work for hire created between 1952 and 1986 by staff photographers at U.S. News & World Report: