New Evangelizers Post: What I Learned From the Year of Faith

I have a new article up at NewEvangelizers.com

WHAT I LEARNED FROM THE YEAR OF FAITH

The Year of Faith officially ended with coming of Advent this year.  It was brought to us by Pope Benedict XVI and was a communal reflection for the whole Catholic Church.  It was an opportunity for spiritual renewal, particularly in the area of faith.

I was particularly excited to enter into this year.  As a high school religion teacher I made mention of it often in preparation.  In a world where faith is more and more marginalized, I believed that this would a wonderful opportunity to have Catholics and other Christians come together and stand in the face of unbelief for Jesus Christ.

So how was my year of faith?

Immediately, my wife and I were hit with a financial hardship, the likes of which we have never encountered.  We had experienced lean years before, but this was something different.  There was many a night that I went to bed with a knot in my stomach.

Perhaps I am old-fashioned, but the burden of provider is something that weighs on me as a husband.  Teaching at a Catholic school will never earn me enough money to give my wife the security and peace of mind she deserves.  And when we had to deal with storm damage to our roof, I struggled with how to literally keep a roof over our heads.  I took on some extra tutoring jobs for money.

Within the first month of the new year, I came home from school and found myself increasingly wracked with pain.  I drove myself to the ER and made it just in time.   I had never been in pain to the point of vomiting.  That is, I had never been until that night.  It is difficult for me to describe the intensity without being too graphic.  When my wife made it to the ER, she found me by following the sounds of my wails.  That either indicates how tremendous the pain was or how much of a wimp I am.  (Or maybe a little of both.)

Anyway, I had to be taken that night to emergency surgery.  It was the first time I ever went under the knife and it was scary.  The surgery went fine, but the recovery was slow.


You can read the whole article here