Easter 5
May 3, 2026
The Early-Church Lifestyle
It was
my first semester of college, and I was completely torn. I had made the college
baseball team, and they practiced two hours a day, six days a week. At the same
time, I had joined one of the “households” on campus (a “household” at
Franciscan University is like a Catholic fraternity) and they had significant
commitments – they prayed together twice a day, and had other events like
mandatory fun nights (nothing is quite as fun as “mandatory fun”!). I couldn’t
fully embrace either the team or the household, because both competed for my
time and energy.
Many
Christians have a similar struggle. They can’t fully enjoy the life that Christ
offers them because their time and energy are split between the soccer field,
the office, the internet, the vacation home, and the Lord. But this was not the
case in the early Church – we continue reading from the Acts of the Apostles,
where the early disciples lived a daily faith that consisted of praying with
fellow believers, the “breaking of bread” (the Mass), listening to the
teachings of the Apostles, good deeds, and fellowship with one another. It
wasn’t just a part of their life – it was their life, and it was
beautiful and holy.
St. John
Vianney once said, “Religion must be about us as the air we breathe.” And Jesus
in the Gospel calls Himself “the Way and the Life” – He’s not just one part of
life, but He is life. He’s not just one way to live, but the Way.
So, our Catholic Faith must become a lifestyle.
That
doesn’t mean we don’t work or play or go to parties. I’m sure those early
Christians did all of the above – I mean, we gotta make a living – but everything
in their lives were evaluated in terms of their Faith. Much like a professional
athlete will sit down to dinner and ask, “What food will help me become the
best athlete I can be?”, so a Christian must approach his day and ask, “What
will help me become the best Christian I can be?” Christianity must become a
lifestyle – otherwise it’s not authentically following Christ.
So here
are five very practical ways to make Christianity a lifestyle.
First,
start each day with a morning offering, and begin each activity with
offering it to Jesus. Everything we do can be made holy if we offer it to God.
For example, did you know there is a patron saint of soccer players? St. Luigi
Scrosoppi was an Italian priest who taught at a boarding school for poor
children, but he was best known as the kind-hearted, virtuous soccer coach at
that school. He taught the kids that sports could develop great virtues such as
fairness, courage, perseverance, and teamwork, and he would begin every
practice and game by offering it to the Lord. All we have to do is pray, “For
You, Jesus,” before we begin a meeting, a homework assignment, a chore, or even
an enjoyable activity – and then do it in a way that pleases Him.
Second,
before making a life decision, ask the Lord and consider His will. If one were
to take a hike, we would have to get a map. Before a battle, we to consult the
general and get the plan. Before we embark on any life choices – we have to
consult our King. If we’ve got a difficult conversation coming up, we say,
“Lord, guide me – put Your words in my mouth.” If we have a choice to make
about what college to attend, we bring it to prayer: “Jesus, show me Your will,”
and then we pay attention to the signs He gives us, and the thoughts He
inspires in our minds. No more trying to figure life out on our own – we were
meant to live in desperate dependence upon our Heavenly Father!
Third, surround
your life with good Catholic media and sacramentals. I know many
parishioners have done the “Bible In A Year” podcast with Fr. Mike Schmitz, and
there are hundreds more such as “Godsplaining” or “Pints With Aquinas” which we
can incorporate into our drive-time or workout routine. And while our ears are
occupied with podcasts or Christian music, our eyes can be occupied with the
sacramentals (things such as a crucifix, Rosary, statue of Our Lady, etc) that
we fill our life with. I happened to be chatting with one of our
seventh-graders at the school where I teach, and he opened his locker to grab
something, and I saw a small crucifix hanging in his locker. Not in-your-face,
but a subtle reminder that God is with us at all times.
Fourth,
the early church valued community – they “did life together”, as our
Protestant brethren say. It used to be that the Church was the very center of
the community – Bishop Caggiano, growing up in 1950s Brooklyn, reminisces about
how the Church was also his school, sports teams, parties, dances, feast days,
processions…everything in life was provided by the Church. He and the other
families were bonded both by their Italian blood and by their Catholic Faith.
That’s not the case anymore, which is why it’s important to be intentional
about finding Catholic community. My sister in Maryland has a group of five
Catholic families who all gather via Zoom every single morning at 7:30am for
morning prayers together – and these are families with young kids (my sister’s
youngest is two years old!). Many sociologists say that the increase in
loneliness and anxiety is because our American culture has lost what they call
the “third places”. We all have our homes (the “first place”), and our work or
school (the “second place”) but throughout human history, culture and community
thrives at “third places” – the front porch, the café, the local barbershop,
and the church. As Woody Allen once quipped, “Half of life is just showing up”
– half of discipleship is just showing up to be surrounded and supported by
other Christians!
Fifth,
of course daily prayer should season our day with God’s grace. Most
Catholics pray at night and at meals, but those “scraps of time” in between are
also vital. Those five minutes in the restroom? Don’t scroll your phone – thank
God for all the things you’re grateful for. Standing in line in Big Y? Enough
time for a decade of the Rosary. Recent stats say that Americans spend 4.5
hours daily on their phones – if we can replace just a tenth of that wasted
time with prayer, how quickly our lives would change!
My
challenge for you this week is to make a small change to incorporate Christ
into your lifestyle. Offering your day to Jesus, asking the Lord for His will,
surrounding your life with Catholic media and sacramentals, intentionally
seeking community, and using our scraps of time for prayer. My friends, for the
early Christians, their walk with Christ was not just something they did on
Sunday. It was a way of life – which is why the early Church was overflowing
with saints; why the Church quickly spread to the end of the earth. Jesus is
more than a part of the journey – He is the Way. He is more than an academic
subject to study – He is the Truth. He is more than just a part of life – He IS
LIFE.
