Sacrificial living - Sacrificial giving

Sacrifice, such a daunting word; or well it seems that way to me most of the time. In my past experience, it usually connotes something difficult, an uphill task, something daunting. If you want to raise the hairs at the back of my head up, just tell me to do something and when I say no, accuse me of not making sacrifices. Just hearing that word alone is enough to set me up.

Among the Christian community, different factions have different opinions about sacrifice. Some factions subscribe to the sentiments in this song 'Me I no go suffer, I no go beg for bread. God of miracles na my papa o...'. Others believe that the way of Christ is the way of the cross because Jesus himself said "If anyone wants to come with me, he must forget self, carry his cross and follow me" (Matt 16:24). Luke 9:23 and Mark 8:34 are variations but with the same message. To put it simply, to live a life of sacrifice.

But is a life of sacrifice really that daunting? In Matthew Kelly's book 'The four signs of a dynamic catholic' he writes that dynamic Catholics are very generous. They are the most generous with their time, their talent, their resources. And come to think of it, don't you always wonder how come it's always the same set of people that are active members of church societies, that participate actively during church programs, that volunteer when there is a need for such. Always the same set of people and all the while doing this with joy. Then you begin to wonder, are these people superhuman? Do they necessarily have more than others - more time, more resources? Or is the underlying reason because they have understood that the life of a Christian is a life of sacrifice? St Josemaria Escriva writes in his book Christ is passing by "How we disfigure Christianity if we try to turn it into something nice and comfortable! But neither is it true to think that this deep, serious way of life, which is totally bound up with all difficulties of human existence, is something full of anguish, oppression and fear". A life of sacrifice is indeed a life of joy.

So how do we go about living a life of sacrifice? The easiest and most common manifestation is in sacrificial giving. In giving of ourselves, our time, our resources - human and material. In scripture, one common example we have of sacrificial living is the widow's mite (Mark 12:41-44). Outside of scripture, we see many people living their lives in the spirit of sacrificial giving. And trust me it's not in big things, it's actually in little things.

For example in some parishes I've been to, some of the members commit to cleaning the church voluntarily on Saturday morning after mass. Most times, it's the same set of people. Never mind that they are usually just a handful and the church is so big and there is a lot to do, they are very committed. But I was very touched by what I saw at St Kizito Catholic Church, Oluyole Ibadan. During church cleaning one Saturday, a good number of people turned up and everyone was involved. The young and the older and even the 'big people' in the parish. Even the parish priest joined in the cleaning. Most Saturdays people clean their houses and am almost certain that most of the people involved would have to go home and do the same. But that did not deter or stop them. That's the spirit, the spirit of sacrificial giving, the spirit of joy.

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Every family needs a prayer giant

"Every family needs a prayerful giant".

I recently found this out while reading Matthew Kelly's book 'The four signs of a dynamic catholic'. He wrote this of his experience "Over the years I have encountered many great families in my travels. When I started looking into what made these families so steadfast and full of life, I discovered that all these great families have a giant of prayer".

Another key message from the same book was that prayer is one of the four signs of a dynamic catholic. And it's just not spur of the moment, flash of inspiration, when I feel like or the mood hits me type of prayer. These are the people that have a prayer routine that they diligently follow everyday, come rain or sunshine. They have identified specific times in the day for prayer or attending various spiritual exercises or programs and they are faithful to it regardless of what happens.

Without a doubt, my mum is my family's prayer giant. She is also a dynamic catholic, exhibiting all of the signs mentioned above. She attends mass daily, prays twenty decades of the rosary daily without fail, attends exposition and adoration four times a week as well as attends other spiritual programs. Her routine is very important to her. Never mind that sometimes she's so tired and ends up sleeping in church during the mass or during one of the other activities. In fact my sister argues that she should rather stay at home to sleep when she knows she hasn't gotten enough rest rather than embarrass everyone by sleeping in church. But that wouldn't do for my mum; she must be in church and if that means sleeping before our Lord, then so be it.

I think it's very important to have a prayer routine or/and spiritual exercises we partake in that we are faithful to. I also think it is important that we give God the best of our time, our substance. So the time set aside should not be for instance at the end of the day when one is already tired and fatigued; for instance when I attend Sunday mass in the evening instead of the morning, I feel a huge difference. The energy levels are always higher in the morning. So also we need to identify that time of the day when we are at our best and sharpest and plan that time for our dialogue with God.

It is important to show up, it is also important to show up and 'be there'.

Note: I wrote this article while waiting for my flight to Lagos from London. The flight's departure was delayed by about 30mins. In fact on the screens at Heathrow Terminal 5, the authorities write boldly that unfailingly your gate will be communicated to you at least 90mins before departure. For this flight, the gate was not communicated to us until 45mins before departure. Even on my outbound journey, we departed later than planned. I wonder, is it the 'Nigerian factor' that makes such an efficient system like BA and everything British so inefficient?!!

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