Can You Dig It?

“Every one then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house upon the rock; and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And every one who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house upon the sand; and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell; and great was the fall of it.” Matthew 7:24-27, RSVCE

We live in a society in which superficiality is the norm. In the interest of “full disclosure,” famous individuals post their private rantings and drama on every type of social media available. Then, suddenly, some traumatic change of events occurs, and it is discovered that this person wasn’t being as transparent as it may have appeared. Sadly, many of us have the same inclination. We share what we want others to know; the rest remains unsaid. We have instant information sources, drive-through service of every kind imaginable, and fast, fast food.

Yet, where does that get us? Relationships are shallow and easily dissolved. Marriages come and go with a seeming whim. Friendships are based on mutual Facebook interests. Neighborhoods, for the most part, are no longer a place of belonging, but simply where several groups of people live on the same street—all going their separate ways and living their respective lives.

This is often carried over to our church lives. We see someone we recognize at Mass. We smile and say, “Good morning.” We wave a “peace” sign at them during the Mass. Then, back to our neighborhoods and activities.

I fear too many of us are treating our relationship with God in the same manner. “Hello, God. I am here for my weekly installment of grace. So glad You’re here. Oops! There’s the closing song. See you next week!”

Anyone who knows even a little about construction knows, the taller the building, the deeper the foundation needs to be. Without a deep foundation, the building will not withstand the winds, storms, and changing seasons. The base of the Empire State building in New York City is 55 feet deep. The depth is necessary to secure the height of the building (102 stories!). This enormous building has been standing since 1930.

The other pertinent component to the solidity of the building is recurring and regular maintenance. Without this ongoing consideration, the structure would succumb to the elements and slowly disintegrate.

And so it is with our relationship with God. If we are not forever “digging deeper” to learn more about our faith, the Word of God, and the teachings of the Church, we have nothing more than a surface, social-media level of faith. And without the continued “inspection” of our souls and participation in the sacrament of reconciliation, our spiritual lives will become the victims of the onslaught of temptations, sufferings, and constant battering by the enemy of our souls, the Devil.
We need to be making maintenance efforts in these ways.

Dig deep, and stand firm.