Friends In High Places

I feel for stars--actors, singers, musicians--famous people who have made it in the world and in their careers. It's hard to sustain being at the top (assuming you ever get off the B list and "make it"), and especially these days, the rate at which they are being chewed up and spit out by Hollywood once they outlive their usefulness to the industry is so swift. None of them...and I mean none of them...truly seem happy.

When I was in my twenties I had started a novel about a prophetic evangelist who devoted his life to saving Hollywood, one star at a time. He prayed constantly for their conversion in his Skid Row one-room studio apartment. He made friends in high places among those in the industry, providing spiritual counsel one on one to those who expressed even the slightest interest in the spiritual life. But his efforts never real bore any fruit; the allure of fame and riches was too strong for those in the industry, and he never made any converts or disciples. The scripture rang true: "It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God" (Mt 19:24). They've already received their reward in this life. The path from Somebody to nobody is pretty direct.

You have to understand--the power of the Gospel flips everything upside down. The Beatitudes Jesus delivers in Matthew 5 is probably the best illustration:

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherent the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the poor in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." (Mt 5:1-12)

In God's economy, what holds you in esteem, in security, in pleasure in this life is dross. St. Paul says, "Whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. I consider them rubbish..." (Phil 3:7, 8). The same applies to those the world considers fools, for "God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong." (1 Cor 1:27) If they're close to God, you're going to want them on your side.

On a recent trip, I had sent out a request for fervent prayers to a few thousand people through a friend of a friend. I felt I had an entourage of faithful people praying for me. It was powerful. "The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful" (James 5:16)

In the spiritual life, the Catholic Faith has many tools for sanctification at its disposal. One is the friendship of those who have gone before us, that is, the Communion of Saints. That is, the communion of us pilgrims here on earth (the Church Militant), those saved who are being purified in Purgatory (the Church Suffering), and those who have been perfected, the blessed in Heaven (the Church Triumphant). We are all one family, baptized in Christ, and we help each other. Those of us pilgrims on earth can pray for those suffering and being purified in Purgatory; the saints in Heaven can intercede for us here on earth for our spiritual and corporal needs. St. Dominic said to his brothers as he lay dying, "Do not weep, for I shall be more useful to you after my death and I shall help you then more effectively than during my life."

Whereas the stars of this life fade from glory and are forgotten, the saints in heaven who suffered and wept in obscurity live now in infamy and for all eternity, their names written in the book of Life to be remembered until the end of time. We have an entourage in Heaven to whom we can turn for spiritual muscle in this life, and how often their willingness to help us is ignored, passed over, or even discouraged! These are the "spiritual insiders" who lived life on earth just as we did, who didn't do anything we aren't capable of by the grace of our baptism. They were willing to suffer and endure whatever came their way if only to taste Heaven when they died.

The grind towards sanctity is a worthy "career" aspiration, even if we produce nothing in this life that would be esteemed by men. It produces joy in its own way, even in the midst of suffering, a joy that is not fleeting and no one can touch or steal. Anything that is a threat to it, whether it be worldly fame, riches, or praise, should be viewed with suspect if it would cost one Heaven, as nothing but rubbish.

The saints witness to the faith by their living example, but they are not memorialized in Heaven as in a museum. They live beyond time and space, present and timeless to us today as friends and intercessors. They can and do work miracles....whether it was in 30AD or 2017. Coming from all walks of life, all ages, all parts of the world, all kinds of personalities and temperaments, there is a saint for everyone.

Make friends with the holy ones, both those here on earth and with the Father in Heaven. You'll appreciate the backup when you find yourself in it deep.