“Never Just Get Along”

Many have heard of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati. He was a “holy fireball” who died in 1925 at only 24 years of age. He once said: “To live without faith, without a heritage to defend, without battling constantly for truth, is not to live but to ‘get along’; we must never just ‘get along.”

I guess if you have an unlimited amount of time, perhaps you can “get along for awhile; hey there’s always another day… I’ll get going tomorrow”.  It appears that Blessed Giorgio realized that time is fleeting. If we settle in and just focus on getting along, then we are going to be very disappointed one day. 

I remember the famous line from Marlon Brando, in the movie, “On The Waterfront”…. “Terry: You don’t understand. I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am, let’s face it.”  

We can all be Contenders, if we resist the temptation to just “get along”. But how do we keep living for Christ when we get tired and weary. How do we protect our self from just getting along, just getting by, settling in ? Well I think we first need to realize that we can all fall into this trap. We can all become satisfied with where we are…”hey I’m doing okay, I’ve made some progress…I’m not the worst person in the church…. I went to confession last year…..hey, I’m not Hitler ….. bla,bla,bla.” 

If we are looking to press on in running the race and not looking to just get along, here’s a few suggestions to consider:

• Add these intercessions to your daily prayers (ref. Oct. 14^th Magnificat):
  • Lord, Grant us fresh hope at the beginning of this day, and Relieve us of the burden of old worries and stored grievances:Protect us from recurring fears:
  • Heal us  who labor under the pain of depression, scrupulosity, and anxiety:
• Recall these powerful scriptures:
  • Ps. 95:1-9: Today, listen to the voice of the Lord, Do not grow stubborn, as your fathers did in the wilderness
  • James 1:22-25: Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves. 

Lord, help us to live fully for today. Help us to realize what’s at stake…. eternal life. Help us Lord to live for you , so we don’t end up wasting our life on things that are passing away. As the famous General George Patton once said,  “if we don’t live for something, we’ll end up dying for nothing”. 

Let’s join together in once again proclaiming, “As for me and my house , we will serve the Lord.” Proclaiming this powerful truth once again, will be very good news.