Commitment in Christ

“Commitment is doing what you said you would do, after the feeling you said it in, has passed.” St. Camillus de Lelis

I had come across this strange quote after spending a lot of time mulling over whether I would be able to attend an important wedding overseas. It was a painful decision to make in that period. My friends were willing to pay for my ticket in their attempt to encourage me to be present. I was more than flattered. I felt part of something bigger. I spoke about it with my friends, but I needed to stay behind to take care of family. I had asked for advice from people who love me most. They helped so much. 

“I am certain of this: that if my conscience was burdened with all the sins, it’s possible to commit, I would still go and throw myself into our Lord’s arms, my heart all broken up with contrition. I know what tenderness He has for any prodigal son who comes back to Him.” St. Therese of the Child Jesus

Recently was the feast of St. Matthias. I have always been fascinated by this feast day. We know so little about him, but we know that the Apostles needed to replace Judas. They needed a twelfth. The lot fell on Matthias. This is the commitment the Apostles made after Jesus had returned to heaven. This is another example of how important it is to stay faithful to what we have met. Sometimes I feel a bit dry at mass. I could simply follow my emotions and say it is not worth it, but it is these moments that we double down and stay faithful to what we have met. 

“Friendship, as has been said, consists in a full commitment of the will to another person with a view to that person’s good.” St. John Paul II

How often are we not making a commitment to what we have met? Each of us, in Christ, has met someone who will be an example to us and someone we can follow. I learned this following the experience of the movement, Communion and Liberation. Don Luigi Giussani reminded us often that we need to work on friendships, relationships and continue to follow Someone greater. We can look at so many saints as examples. I thought about the English monks of the Carthusian Order put to death by King Henry VIII because of their continued allegiance to the pope and the authority of the Holy See. These martyrs, eighteen in all, were beatified in 1886. This is commitment. We can only persevere in Christ.

“Prudence does not mean failing to accept responsibilities and postponing decisions; it means being committed to making joint decisions after pondering responsibly the road to be taken. Pope Benedict XVI