Boasting in Your Weakness

In 2 Corinthians 12:9, Paul writes, "He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.' I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell in me."

It's one of the most commonly used phrases in the Christian circle: "I will boast in my weakness". But what exactly does this mean? What does it mean to "boast in your weakness"? This is one area of my faith I've never fully been able to wrap my head around. For a while, I just thought it meant that we shouldn't be ashamed of the ways in which we feel inadequate. Notice I said feel, not are. However, this semester at OSU, God has slowly been revealing to me a little bit of what boasting in my weakness really means. I don't have a degree in Theology or Catechetics so you'll have to bear with me a little bit on this one.

For those of you who don't know, I'm part of a Catholic group on campus called Saint Paul's Outreach. Their motto is "Catholic faith alive on campus". They're huge on the new evangelization and reaching out to anyone and everyone, but especially those who haven't yet encountered Christ in their lives. I'm a bit of a timid personality at first which makes evangelization difficult. I'm often consumed with negative opinions about myself and how my different quirks will be interpreted by others. It's by far one of my greatest weaknesses and often leaves me afraid of introducing myself to new people. As you might expect, you can't lead others to Christ when you don't even introduce yourself to them.

A few weekends ago, SPO held their annual Fan Into Flame retreat. I attended for the first time. Without going too much in to detail about the weekend, I want to share one experience I had and how I've grown from that and learned to boast in my weakness when it comes to evangelizing. On the second night, we had a prayer meeting that closed with small group prayer. While my group was praying over me, I fully surrendered all of the walls I had built up that kept me from trusting in God's Will and just prayed that He would help me to become a better disciple. At one point, one of the SPO leaders said he thought God wanted me to receive the gift of tongues and asked if I'd be open to it. At any other time, I would have thought, "I guess so but I don't really believe that can happen. Not to me anyway." It turns out I was right. But it was about more than whether or not I would receive that gift. The true grace that night came when I give Him my "yes" with absolutely no reserves and full confidence that through God's power, it was actually possible.

That night is when I finally started to wrap my mind around what it means to boast in my weakness. I had all this doubt about my ability to allow the Holy Spirit to work through me. I focused on all the weaknesses I had which kept me thinking I was less than extraordinary. I doubted God's power to provide for me in the ways in which I fell short. But that night, I boasted in my weakness. I turned to Christ and I said, "God, there is no way I'm capable of doing this myself, but I believe that if I surrender completely to Your Will, there isn't anything I can't do."

This is just one example of what it means to truly boast in your weakness. It's not saying that you are proud of your shortcomings. It's not a way of becoming content with mediocrity. Rather, it's admitting that we aren't perfect and we don't have it all together, but combined with God's Will, His name will be glorified through our actions and through our words. When Paul writes that "I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses", he isn't saying he's happy to have inadequacies; rather, he's rejoicing in the fact that because of those inadequacies, he has the opportunity to bring glory to God.

The fact that we are all flawed human beings is not by coincidence. If you and I were perfect, we'd be God and we wouldn't be glorifying His name. God made us knowing full well that we would never be able to reach His level of perfection, not because he wants us to suffer and wallow in self-pity, but in order to give us the opportunity to unite with his most Sacred Heart and give ours lives back to him. Again, as Paul said, "[God's] grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness." We can only reach the level of holiness Christ is calling us to by taking the lives He has given us and giving it right back to Him. We must surrender our entire beings to Him who created us. If we focus on trying to accomplish everything ourselves, we're destined to fall flat on our face time and time again. God's grace is sufficient for you! Once we acknowledge that we do have weaknesses and submit our lives to God, His power will work through us, His sons and daughters, in order conform us perfectly with His Will for each of us.

As I close, I just encourage you to pinpoint the areas of your life that you know you have weaknesses. Maybe you struggle interpreting God's word. Maybe you get uncomfortable when asked to pray out loud with a small group. Maybe you don't have the greatest voice and feel self-conscious singing during Mass or praise and worship. Whatever those weaknesses are, I urge you not to let those weaknesses make you feel inferior. God loves you exactly the way you are. After all, He created you. I promise, if you take those struggles and lay them at the foot of the cross, God will respond in power and majesty. Let us follow in the footsteps of our Blessed Mother when she was called by God: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." (Luke 1:38)

As always, my readers are continually in my prayers.

Praying for you as you pray for me.

Love Your Sisters: An Open Call To Men

Men are visual creatures. We enjoy aesthetically pleasing electronics. We enjoy watching grown men tackle each other on television. We enjoy anything that we can visually see.

Unfortunately, when it comes to our actions toward women, we’re also visual creatures. It’s no wonder the combination of an immodestly dressed model and a man’s visual senses are a lethal combination and a huge money maker for businesses.

I’ve personally wrestled with whether men are fully accountable for the ways they objectify women or whether it’s a mutual effort. While I do feel we as men shouldn’t harbor all the blame, I do think we should take ownership of having full responsibility for our own actions.

Blessed John Paul II once said, “Christ has assigned as a duty to every man the dignity of every woman; and simultaneously, he also assigns to every woman the dignity of every man.” I’m sure this is a quote many of you have heard on numerous occasions. However, I think it’s a particularly important one to mention when discussing our relationships with the women in our lives. Men, our part of the bargain is laid out very simply; we are responsible for protecting and guarding the dignity of  ALL women.

What does this look like? It’s more than just not objectifying them. It’s not stealing glances at the pretty girl jogging. It’s also proving that chivalry isn’t dead by opening doors – even for women we don’t know. It’s honoring them by speaking highly of them even when they aren’t in the vicinity. It’s praying for them on a daily basis. It’s reminding them of their value and worth. It’s being intentional about your actions. It’s telling them they’re beautiful over and over and over again because, frankly, it’s true.

Let’s look back at JPII’s quote. It sounds like this responsibility is a two-way street, right? That’s because it is. However, let’s compare it with the ways a husband loves his wife, a father loves his children, and Christ loves each of us. When Christ died for us, He didn’t just expect us to return that love; hence, we have free will which allows us to decide between returning that love or not. Certainly, this doesn’t mean we’re off the hook and we can just choose to ignore the sacrifice He gave us either. Christ loves each and every one of us with an agape (unconditional) love. That means He’s going to love us regardless of whether we choose to return that love or not. Similarly, a Godly husband loves his wife whether she deserves his love or not. The same goes for a father and his children. This also applies to how we defend the dignity of women.

I used to complain that our struggle with objectifying women stemmed mostly from the way many women today dress and speak and the ads that are thrown in our face every day. But that does not give us the right to overlook our responsibilities as men. Just because a woman makes a conscious decision to dress provocatively (and not all of the women you encounter will even tempt you by dressing this way) does not give us the right to infringe on her dignity. On the contrary, it is our responsibility to hold ourselves doubly accountable for our actions. You know the old adage: “Two wrongs don’t make a right." We can only control our half of the relationship with a woman. Regardless of the response we get in return, we are called to show all women that agape love through our actions and conversations.  No matter if you’re talking to your best friend, girlfriend, wife, or mother, make sure you’re holding up your end of the bargain by respecting and honoring her dignity. We need more men in this world who courageously stand up for their sisters in Christ, whether it’s the easy thing to do or not.

Men, by challenging each other to live lives of heroic virtue and inviting Christ into our relationships with everyone, especially women, we can crush the enemy’s lies and build up a new generation founded in Christ’s love.

I’m praying for you as you pray for me. 

Discipleship: The Middle Man

When I first created this blog a few months ago, I had no idea what I was doing. I’ve never even attempted to take the ways God speaks to me in prayer and formulate actual sentences. If you’re anything like me, your personal prayer is probably far from the most beautiful and eloquent conversations you’ve ever had. That’s the beauty of God and His willingness to have a personal relationship with each of us. He doesn’t expect every prayer you offer up to be presented perfectly. He wants honesty. He wants you in your most raw and tangible form.

This brought up a lot of questions for me when I created this blog. Why would God place this desire on me when I rarely knew what to say in private to Him? How could I possibly translate my nonsensical conversation with Him into a way to glorify His kingdom publicly? I've spent many nights pondering this since my last blog post. During this time, I was reflecting on the URL I choose: venisancte-spiritus. It translates from Latin as “Come, Holy Spirit”. During my reflection, I learned that this name choice was no accident. God was very clearly telling me that this blog is not about how I can glorify His kingdom, but how He can use me to glorify His kingdom.

Mark Hart, the executive vice-president of Life Teen International, tweeted, “I need to quit trying to be the painter...and just rejoice that I get to be a brush.” From the first time I read this quote, I fell in love with it. How true is it? For those of us who have boldly announced Christ as our Savior and are living each day for Him, we’re also on mission for Him. Once you know Christ’s love, you want everyone to experience it. That’s great. But if you’re anything like me, you often get in your own way. Even worse, you get in God’s way. Growing up, society tells us that if we want to get anything done, we have to do it ourselves. That do-it-yourself mentality can hinder our ability to be on mission for Christ. We’re exclaiming our love for the Lord, but we fail to bring Him with us when we evangelize. Instead, we focus on our strengths versus our weaknesses and the areas we need to improve, without welcoming Him into that area.

In some respect, I like to think of myself as the middle man when it comes to discipleship. Yes, I’m the one engaging in conversations with others, but it’s God who’s really doing the work. As Mark said, I shouldn't try to be the painter. I should rejoice that I get to be a brush because I've given Him my yes.

I want to challenge all of us to do three things: First, welcome Christ into your evangelization process. Allow Him to mold you and shape you as you enter into the lives of new people who need to see His love in your actions and your words. Second, get out of God’s way. Instead of focusing on doing it all yourself, remember that you’re not the painter. With that, don’t think you can do it all and don’t put pressure on yourself to do it all. Finally, pray. Your conversations with Christ may seem like gibberish to you sometimes. That’s okay. If you’re giving Him your time, He will help you grow and He will tell you the ways you can become a better disciple.

You will all be in my prayers as you learn to grow in your discipleship. Please also keep me in yours. As followers of Christ, we’re all in this together. None of us has it all figured out which makes praying with and for each other so vitally important.

Praying for you as you pray for me.

Good Intentions

Be real. Be honest. Be you.

One of the most cliche statements I hear almost every day is a rendition of one of the above. When I was in high school, gossiping about Susie or Joe was probably the most commonplace conversation I heard on a regular basis. What was second? The person gossiping exalting themselves for being "real". I think this is one of many examples of what is so wrong with our society today. 

Everyone wants to believe they're a good person. Everyone wants to believe they're different than the guy who just cheated on his girlfriend or the girl who talks behind her friends' backs on a regular basis. As Christians, I think we get caught up in a lie telling ourselves that because we follow Christ, we are better. Sure, we recognize that we aren't perfect, but God loves us and we're working to be better people, right? I would hope so. But are we really working to be better people or are we simply telling ourselves we'll take the necessary steps and then continue to delay action? 

I'll be the first to admit, I've delayed action far too often in the past. I can't begin to tell you how many times I've been watching Netflix before bed and I'm hit with a feeling that I need to pray. What do I do? I tell myself I'll pray before I go to sleep, but it's not "necessary" right this minute. What happens? I fall asleep without a second thought about God. Of course I love Him. Of course I want to give Him my time. But in that moment, I chose myself. I chose worldly desires. I chose the flesh over the Spirit. 

My youth minister, +Brittany Taylor, at Sandusky Life Teen used to tell us, "The road to hell is paved with good intentions." Think about that for a second. How often do we have good intentions in our hearts, but when it comes time to take action, we let our selfish passions keep us in a holding pattern? We choose comfort. We chose personal satisfaction. 

The concept of good intentions is, I believe, one of our biggest downfalls as Christians. Our decision to chase after God's own heart has filled us with His spirit and desire to love and do good, but have we really committed our lives to loving others and being who God is calling us to be? I think it's time we stop filling this world with unfulfilled promises. As Christians, we should all want to be saints. If there's one thing every saint has done, it's continue to work on being holy each and every day and with each opportunity that came their way. 

As we continue our journey through Advent toward Christmas, I invite each of us, myself included, to really make an effort to take action. Instead of merely aspiring to "Be real", let's actually make an effort to do so. Love instead of simply desiring to do so. Pray instead of simply desiring to do so. Invite God into your life and ask him to use you as His tools to spread the gospel. Cherish the present moment as the gift from God that it is. Chances are, if He places a desire on your heart to pray, He probably has something important to tell you. Don't delay taking action. Be the spark of light in a dark room.

Allow Me to Introduce Myself

Before I begin, I'm a little out of my element. I've never been one to publish a personal blog, mostly because I've never had a need, but also because I've never had anything particularly interesting to say - at least in my opinion. With that out of the way, let's begin.

Who am I? I'm assuming most of the people who read this are people who already know me fairly well, but for those who don't, this is for you. My name is Cory Pfanner. I'm originally from Sandusky, OH, a proud graduate of Perkins High School (Go Pirates!). I'm currently a 19-year-old sophomore at The Ohio State University. I have no idea what exactly I'll be majoring in just yet, but I'm trusting the Lord will answer my prayers in due time. This past February, I was accepted into the Fisher College of Business to major in Logistics. I jumped shipped by the beginning of this semester to pursue teaching, an endeavor I've ultimately decided to walk away from. For the time being, and for the first time in my life, I don't know exactly what to do with my life and I'm content with that.

I consider myself a pretty big fan of Jesus Christ. I grew up in a Catholic family, attended Mass each Sunday (though my family technically went on Saturday afternoons), and went through CCD up until my First Communion. If I'm being honest, I hated it as a kid. Of course, kids don't know any better than to whine and complain about things they dislike. Eventually, my sister and I complained to the point where we essentially forced my parents pulled us out of CCD and we stopped attending Mass altogether. I only stepped foot in a church maybe twice between then and my junior year of high school. Do the math: I stopped attending Mass in 2001 and didn't really come back until January 19, 2011. My junior year of high school, I was drug by three friends to Sandusky Life Teen. Initially, it was kind of nice, but nothing that got me excited about Christ. Over the next year, I was lukewarm in my faith, mostly because I hadn't learned anything about being Catholic when I was younger. In reality, I was the kid who joked around and acted like a brat until I was able to go home from CCD rather than actually paying attention to anything that was going on. Over time, however, I learned so much from Life Teen and Brittany Taylor. By the time I graduated, Christ had stolen my heart for good. Suddenly, a faith I'd never knew was possible was the heart and soul of my life. Prayer, a concept I had no idea of, was suddenly a daily occurrence. My first task upon entering college at OSU was to find a group of Catholics living their faith the way I desired. It didn't take long before I was in the parking lot at Fort Zion during a hog roast for Saint Paul's Outreach [SPO]. From that first night, I knew SPO was a special group. The men and women who live in household and have committed their lives to Christ and missionary work are exactly the people I needed to find on a campus polluted with drinking and smoking. To this day, I'm very involved with SPO, including leading a college Bible study, being involved with the Formation Program, and dedicating myself to spreading Christ's love through the mission SPO brings to OSU.

If there's one more tidbit you need to know about me, it's my passion for running. However, with my first official half marathon (Santa Hustle at Cedar Point) less than a month away, I'll save that for another blog.

I have three hopes for this blog: First and foremost, I want this to serve as an update to those who are interested to know what I'm doing with my life currently. Second, I'd like to believe I can provide some inspiration or encouragement to anyone who is either desperately seeking to find Jesus Christ or who already has, but is struggling with their faith. For those who are, know of my prayers for you every day. I've been in your shoes before; things get better. Lastly, this blog is for for all of those who have yet to come into my life, to serve as a record of where I've been and how I got to where I'm going. Above all, I'm hoping my posts are something I can share with my future wife (if I'm called to be married some day.)

All that being said, please feel free to subscribe to updates or check back every once in a while. My hope is an update every month or so, but it may be more or less frequently.


Praying for you as you pray for me.

Cory

P.S. - Feel free to follow me on Twitter: @pfan_club