OCTOBER 2019

RELIGION
Look beyond the distractions
Distraction comes
quite easy to me.
It lingers in all
shapes and at all times.
Even when in quiet
prayer, it finds me. Sometimes
it hides under the
guise of a ticking clock on
the wall. While I should
be focusing on my prayer,
all I hear is “tick, tick,
tick.” Distraction can
even manifest itself in social
settings. While in the
middle of a meal with friends, I feel
my gaze shift off them and onto the
TV playing highlights from a game.
Even if it was a team I had zero interest
in (say one with a Wolverine
mascot), I’ll still pay attention
to the replays instead of
my friends. In these instances,
I lose out on a fruitful conversations
and the chance to
delve deeper into friendships.
I can’t help but feel that
many of us are battling with
this vice. This constant need
to satisfy our senses and keep
our minds occupied. It seems
like this is a recurring theme
in this era of distraction.
Pause. Take a moment to
reflect on your own life and
the relationships you’ve built.
Challenge yourself to observe
your habits and monitor how
much time you spend on
meaningful relationships. How quick
do you reach for your phone when
you see a notification? How easy is it
for your eyes to shift from a friend to
a TV screen? How often do you push
all electronics aside to truly focus on
the person in front of you?
As a priest, my deep desire is to
help guide people into a sincere relationship
with God. Yet, we are all
easily distracted. Sometimes these
diversions can be as simple as a text
or fantasy football. Other times, it
is laden with hurt and betrayal, like
that of a public scandal involving the
Church or its members.
Over the past fifteen years, I, too
have been scandalized and hurt by
news stories of the individuals in the
Church. Specifically, I’m speaking of
those who have victimized the vulnerable
or their superiors who have
poorly handled their situations. I
have had to process the betrayal and
FR. PIERRE
KONJA
SPECIAL TO THE
CHALDEAN NEWS
mourn the loss of my innocent
assumption — that everyone
who serves the Church is perfect
and striving for holiness.
Then, the Lord reminded
me: “I will build my church,
and the gates of Hell will not
prevail against it” (Matthew
16:18).
God was calling me not
to get distracted even in the
midst of a storm of scandal and
hurt. He reminded me of my
calling, which is to be a disciple
of Jesus and His Holy Church.
I found myself reflecting and praying
with the Apostles, Judas and Peter:
“While he was still speaking, Judas,
one of the twelve, arrived; with him
was a large crowd with swords and
clubs, from the chief priests and the
elders of the people. Now the betrayer
had given them a sign, saying,
‘The one I will kiss is the man; arrest
him’” (Matthew 26: 47-48).
It’s easy to look at Judas as “the
enemy” of Jesus. However, the Gospels
are clear that Jesus called Judas
to be an Apostle, just like he called
the other eleven. Judas walked with
Jesus for many years but temptation
lured him into scandal and betrayal.
Not only did he betray Jesus, he did
it through a symbol of friendship and
love: a kiss.
There were many others who
were close to Jesus and abandoned
or denied him. Peter, my namesake
and patron saint, was called by Jesus
to be the rock on which the Church
was to be built. He was chosen as the
leader of the Apostles and the first
Pope. However, he too denied Jesus,
not once in a time of weakness, or
twice because he was scared, but on
three occasions. Peter had multiple
opportunities to align himself with
Jesus and acknowledge that he was
a disciple. Instead, he took all three
opportunities to deny his Lord.
It is important to note that Peter
was remorseful of his denials and the
scandals of sin among the leaders of
the Church. “The Lord turned and
looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered
the word of the Lord, how he
had said to him, ‘Before the cock
crows today, you will deny me three
times.’ And he went out and wept
bitterly” (Luke 22:61-62).
Today, dwelling with us are a myriad
of distractions and scandals. We
are living in a time when it has become
far too easy to throw our hands
up and say “this is too much” or “why
should I follow the Church?”
Why you ask? Because, Jesus. Because
He is the resurrection. He is
the focal point of the Church. We
cannot allow these hurtful distractions
to be the center of our faith.
Deception will rear its ugly head in
times of trouble. It is in difficult circumstances
like those we face today,
when negativity echoes louder than
positivity. We tend to overlook the
overwhelming amount of good occurring.
This type of goodness is not
loud, it does not boast but it is there.
There are hundreds upon thousands
of men and women in the Church
who live every day to help others attain
peace and happiness. They accomplish
this by spreading the love
of God. These are the Church’s humble
and holy servants, the ones that
are often overlooked. Looking at past
centuries we can see examples of this
goodness through the holy saints.
Many of our saints gave their lives
defending their fellow man, and the
truth of Jesus and his holy Church.
Within our own Chaldean culture,
tracing back no more than fifteen
years ago, you’ll find martyrs of faith.
Those who continued to defend the
Church and serve their people even
to their last breath.
Thus my prayer for all of you is
this: be aware, be more conscious,
and make meaningful decisions. You
can either let yourself get lost in distraction,
gossip and negativity, or you
can choose not to indulge it. Think
of those distractions and scandals that
affected your faith. Can you
recall moments when you felt
a similar form of discord in
your spiritual life? Maybe it
was invoked when you were
reading about Judas and Peter’s
denials of Jesus. Or when
you reviewed the imperfect
history of past actions carried
out by individuals in the
Church. Maybe you are troubled
by the negative news articles
regarding recent scandals
in the Church. Or possibly
you were personally hurt or offended
by certain individuals
in the Church.
In any of these cases, I
urge you to acknowledge your
feelings. Contemplate your hurt and
sadness, don’t run away from it or
turn it into gossip. Pause. Give time
to reflect. Most importantly, allow
God to heal your faith with his precious
blood and “let us rid ourselves
of every burden and sin that clings to
us and persevere in running the race
that lies before us while keeping our
eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and
perfecter of faith. For the sake of the
joy that lay before him he endured
the cross, despising its shame, and
has taken his seat at the right of the
throne of God. Consider how he endured
such opposition from sinners,
in order that you may not grow weary
and lose heart.” (Hebrews 12:1-3)
Fr. Pierre Konja was ordained a priest
in 2011 and is the associate of Holy
Cross Chaldean Catholic Church in
Farmington Hills, MI.
Konja.Pierre@gmail.com
20 CHALDEAN NEWS OCTOBER 2019