S1 E33: The Sacred Work of Being

Transcript

Carol Vassar:

From SS. Isidore and Maria Parish in Glastonbury, Connecticut, I'm Carol Vassar, and this is Living in Faith, Hope, and Love. Each week, our Pastor, Father Mark Suslenko, delves into Scripture, shares insights from the saints, prophets, and theologians, and discusses practical ways to cultivate faith, strengthen hope, and embody love in the world around us. Through his reflections and spiritual encouragement, this podcast aims to inspire you to live your Catholic faith with joy and purpose. Welcome. 

From the time we’re small, we learn to define ourselves by what we do: our achievements, our societal roles, our job descriptions. But what if our worth isn’t found in “doing” at all, but, instead, in being; in who we are at our core as beloved children of God?

In this week’s reflection, Father Mark invites us to look beyond our tasks and titles to discover the deeper truth of our identity: one rooted not in performance, but in relationship: with ourselves, and with the God who created us. Here’s Father Mark. 

“The Sacred Work of Being,” by Father Mark S. Suslenko, Pastor, SS. Isidore and Maria Parish, Glastonbury, Connecticut

Father Mark Suslenko:

From a very early age, we are taught to know ourselves primarily from what we do and how effective we are. All of this begins when we first embark upon the task of education. Children in school are taught certain lessons, and then evaluated on whether they've those lessons or not. They then either succeed or they fail and they learn that they are either being effective or not being effective.

So that what I do then in the world, my actions is really the sum total of who I am, and we tend to focus exclusively on our tasks and the things that we do. Even in our workplaces, all of us have had jobs and careers, and you're presented first and foremost with a job description that details your responsibilities for the task you are undertaking. And while there's comfort in a job description, because it gives you the boundaries in which you are asked to work, it also is somewhat limited because the only thing that is truly important are those tasks, not necessarily the person who is doing them. And then when you receive a performance review, you either succeed at fulfilling the obligations of the job description or you don't, and find yourself looking for other work.

These formal job descriptions aren't the only ones we carry with us. How we interact in our families and our work and even our social situations are all determined by informal job descriptions that we bring to them. There are parameters in which we operate as a spouse, as a parent, as a friend, in my larger social group, in my work. There are expectations that are placed upon me, and whether I fulfill those expectations or not determines the level of my success. That then determines not only how I feel about myself, but who I am as a person.

Now, interestingly enough, we do the same thing with God. Whether we're conscious of it, each one of us presents God with a job description: certain expectations that we have of him, acting and relating to us. And if I asked everyone here today to sit down and take a moment to write a job description for God, all of us would have some notions about who and what God should be doing.

We then evaluate God based on that job description we present to him. And our evaluation of God is then going to determine whether our relationship is vibrant, whether it's lukewarm, whether it is at all, or whether I become complacent. How I see God and need God to interact in our world then determines how close I become to him.

The problem with looking at ourselves and God only from the perspective of what we do or how effective we are, limits us to such a huge degree, because we miss the essential part of who we are that has absolutely nothing to do with doing. Rather, it has to do with being. My value as a human being is not determined by what I do or how effective I am. My value as a human being goes much deeper than that and is in the core of who I am in what we term our soul. It is in the very essence of the fact that I am as a human being and hence a child of God.

You know, it's not about the task that we do. You know, two different people can do the same thing and they're each going to do it differently. You know, I can describe one individual as being generous and another person as being generous, but how each one embodies generosity is going to be unique unto them. And this difference that we bring to life, this special character, I often like to refer to it as our unique thumbprint, is something that we possess ourselves alone. No one else can step into our shoes and embody us the way we are. Each one of us is a unique creation, a marvel, and when you stop and think about all of the unique creations that have ever inhabited the earth from the beginning of time through now and well into the future to come, it is truly amazing that there is only one of everybody. And that essence of being is the giftedness of who I am. And if I know myself only by what I do, then I can easily back myself into feeling that I'm quite replaceable. But if I know myself by who I am, I now am irreplaceable. Being precedes doing.

St. Francis of Assisi is a story that is told about him, that one of the brothers one day was observing him in prayer, and as he was praying, he overheard the saint say these words: "Who are you, Lord our God? And who am I?" Who are you, Lord our God, and who am I?

You see, having faith doesn't mean we come to God having it all figured out. The leap of faith is taking the step to live out and seek out the relationship I have with God. It is ever unfolding, always developing and always changing. There are always new opportunities for discovery, not only of who I am, but of who God is. This relationship that I have with God and the one that I have with myself is at the core of who I am as a person. Because how I think about myself is going to make a huge difference in terms of what I then do with myself in the world: how I value life, how I see the bigger picture of things, my priorities and values that I embrace.

Who are you, Lord, our God, and who am I? Two very pivotal questions that are at the heart of who we are as a person and especially as a person of faith.

You see, at the end of the day, if we embark on the journey of discovering who God is, we're going to also discover who we are. If we see ourselves as more than what we do, and we embark on the true journey of self discovery, we can also find God. And when there's a meeting of that relationship, even if it's sometimes veiled in doubt, that relationship will then bind the two of us together. So then what I do in the world is as God does. And there's an alignment of spirit, so to speak, and we're both on the same page.

So really it matters little if someone comes back to the dead and gives us the details of eternal life. We still have to go into our rooms, close the door, and figure out this relationship that I have with my creator, and at the same time, who I am, as well. We can never get away from those two questions regardless of whether we think we can or not. They're questions that have merit and meaning in this life, and certainly will bear great fruit in the life to come.

Carol Vassar:

Father Mark Suslenko is the pastor of SS. Isidore and Maria Parish in Glastonbury, Connecticut. If you like what you've heard today, please subscribe to Living in Faith, Hope, and Love on your favorite podcast app, and take a moment to leave a review.

SS. Isidore and Maria is an active parish community, so whether you’re a long-time parishioner or are just getting to know us through this podcast, we welcome you to join us at Masses or any of our other community events and services. Visit our parish website - isidoreandmaria.org - for a full schedule of Masses, services and other happenings. That's isidoreandmaria.org. We're also active on Facebook and Instagram.

On behalf of Father Mark, I'm Carol Vassar, and we thank you for listening to this episode of Living in Faith, Hope, and Love.