Conquering Weaknesses


Conquering Weaknesses by Fred Schaeffer, SFO God could remove all difficulties but He really loves conquerors. He loves people with guts (intestinal fortitude, as some call this) who are willing to go the extra mile for Him. People who aren't afraid of a little challenge and thus find out about His love and join theirs to it, to Him! Human beings suffer from many weaknesses. Lazy people suffer because they have no motivation. They are usually procrastinators, people who leave everything until tomorrow or the next day. In living out one's faith that comes into play also - people who procrastinate very often do not pray. They put it off. Someone who is a bad listener is unfocused. This can be a real burden and it can be downright rude to neglect the other person while he or she is looking for a sympathetic ear. Not listening is a weakness of character. People who cannot keep their financial house in order suffer a weakness, too. I know, none of us are perfect, least of all myself, but if you have financial or other domestic worries, we had better worry about it lest we end up paying with a check when our account is really empty. That can be very embaressing. Constantly criticising other people isn't so good either. When we criticise others we often try to cover over a weakness - we are very insecure about something which is embaressing. I went to school with a whole bunch of people, and one of those felt he had to make a comment about everything I did or didn't do. His jabbering on near drove me crazy and I had to tell him to stop. Fortunately, the end of the term took us into different ways. His picky attitude was a weakness but then my quick temper is a weakness also. Complacency is another weakness, it is being self-satisfied to the point of not caring about others or possible dangers associated with this self-satisfaction. We need to be jarred out of our complacency. Our Lord does this so well, when in the quiet hours of the night we hear his voice. We think about an unchaste situation, or about some gossip that came our way, and we relish in these thoughts knowing that they can be harmful to others in our lives. And, they can be harmful to the State of Grace we wish to be in all of the time. It can be a weakness to condemn other people for lifestyles that may not be the same as ours. People who are gay or lesbian are often condemned out of hand, without regard to the underlying cause and trauma that they go through in their often painful lives. I do not like "mass-judgement" in any case, as it is very unfair to many and not very Christian. Many people who suffer with homosexuality find themselves in this lifestyle because of some weakness they experienced in their younger years. Sometimes such weaknesses are not their lack of strength as much as the bad example of an adult in a supervisory or teaching capacity. I was abused when I was a little kid, not by my family but by Catholic Brothers who ran a big boarding school which was not co-ed. It has brought much pain in my life, pain I have offered up for Our Lord. I am not angry at the Church for their pastoral attitude against same-sex relationships. In October 2002, I made private Vows of Obedience and Chastity and I intend to keep these vows until the end of time. So my life is lived in strict celibacy. I am at peace and rarely bothered by temptations anymore. Praise God. But all people are tempted and it would be a weakness to give in to them. Our Lord is looking for a few good men and women, who aren't lazy, nor complacent, and who are willing to go the extra mile to obey Him. I know that if I can be that person, I'll be a very happy man. I try to share my joy with all I speak to and as often as possible. May God bless you and keep you. Return to Franciscan Reflection index

Conquering Weaknesses

by Fred Schaeffer, SFO

God could remove all difficulties but He really loves conquerors. He loves people with guts (intestinal fortitude, as some call this) who are willing to go the extra mile for Him. People who aren't afraid of a little challenge and thus find out about His love and join theirs to it, to Him!

Human beings suffer from many weaknesses. Lazy people suffer because they have no motivation. They are usually procrastinators, people who leave everything until tomorrow or the next day. In living out one's faith that comes into play also - people who procrastinate very often do not pray. They put it off.

Someone who is a bad listener is unfocused. This can be a real burden and it can be downright rude to neglect the other person while he or she is looking for a sympathetic ear. Not listening is a weakness of character.

People who cannot keep their financial house in order suffer a weakness, too. I know, none of us are perfect, least of all myself, but if you have financial or other domestic worries, we had better worry about it lest we end up paying with a check when our account is really empty. That can be very embaressing.

Constantly criticising other people isn't so good either. When we criticise others we often try to cover over a weakness - we are very insecure about something which is embaressing. I went to school with a whole bunch of people, and one of those felt he had to make a comment about everything I did or didn't do. His jabbering on near drove me crazy and I had to tell him to stop. Fortunately, the end of the term took us into different ways. His picky attitude was a weakness but then my quick temper is a weakness also.

Complacency is another weakness, it is being self-satisfied to the point of not caring about others or possible dangers associated with this self-satisfaction. We need to be jarred out of our complacency. Our Lord does this so well, when in the quiet hours of the night we hear his voice. We think about an unchaste situation, or about some gossip that came our way, and we relish in these thoughts knowing that they can be harmful to others in our lives. And, they can be harmful to the State of Grace we wish to be in all of the time.

It can be a weakness to condemn other people for lifestyles that may not be the same as ours. People who are gay or lesbian are often condemned out of hand, without regard to the underlying cause and trauma that they go through in their often painful lives. I do not like "mass-judgement" in any case, as it is very unfair to many and not very Christian. Many people who suffer with homosexuality find themselves in this lifestyle because of some weakness they experienced in their younger years.

Sometimes such weaknesses are not their lack of strength as much as the bad example of an adult in a supervisory or teaching capacity. I was abused when I was a little kid, not by my family but by Catholic Brothers who ran a big boarding school which was not co-ed. It has brought much pain in my life, pain I have offered up for Our Lord.

I am not angry at the Church for their pastoral attitude against same-sex relationships. In October 2002, I made private Vows of Obedience and Chastity and I intend to keep these vows until the end of time. So my life is lived in strict celibacy. I am at peace and rarely bothered by temptations anymore. Praise God. But all people are tempted and it would be a weakness to give in to them. Our Lord is looking for a few good men and women, who aren't lazy, nor complacent, and who are willing to go the extra mile to obey Him. I know that if I can be that person, I'll be a very happy man. I try to share my joy with all I speak to and as often as possible.

May God bless you and keep you.

Return to Franciscan Reflection index