Dear God, even though I didn’t sit down to type a prayer to you like this yesterday, it feels like I spent a lot of time with you. Whether it was attending mass, attending a Requiem concert, praying silently, or listening to this homily by Fr. Mike Schmitz, I felt like I got to talk with you and contemplate you a lot yesterday.

I have to say though, this sermon by Fr. Mike was quite something. I’m glad my wife pointed it out to me. I shared it with a lot of people. I hope some of them took the time to listen to it. I think you gave him something special to share in it. The structure of it was:

• A man looking around another man’s office and asking him, “Where are your heroes?” He meant that he saw pictures of his family and other things on the walls, but he didn’t see people that would represent those this man wants to be like. Something to model and remind him continuously who he should be. It made me think of my office. On my bookcase, I have pictures of my wife, children, and parents. What’s on the walls? I have a lot of crosses, and all of them have a story behind them. Then I have an old map that I found 33 years ago that I love. I have a piece of art my uncle made 50 years ago that is a collage of pictures of my family of origin. Then the picture that I think would fit into this man’s question is “Influence.” It’s the Fellowship of Christian Athletes picture of a little boy standing with a football while he looks at other older boys sitting around a circle talking. It’s a reminder to me that our lives and actions influence others, and we need to be careful because someone might be looking up to us at some point and we will be influencing them one way or another.

• Then Fr. Mike started talking about the difference between DC and Marvel superheroes. DC superheroes seem to be less flawed than Marvel heroes. Marvel heroes tend to face more personal challenges, have more personal defects in their personalities, and more unsure of themselves.
• We don’t have to be perfect to be an example to someone or be a saint. He started telling stories of saints and other Christian role models who were deeply flawed. One struggled with an opium addition. One was had sexual addictions. But you still used them. We don’t have to be perfect to run this race.
• Then he closed with a story about an actual race, and a man who received great support from a crowd to spur him to the finish line. He tied that one up at the end with the idea that we have this cloud of witnesses (Hebrews 12:1) who where flawed themselves, but they are now cheering us on while we strive to finish this race you’ve given us each to run. They weren’t perfect. I’m not perfect. But they are running with me.

I thought a lot about my paternal grandparents yesterday. Even now as I sit in my personal study, I am looking at a plate my grandmother, who was a porcelain artist, painted for me when I was about five or so. It’s hanging on a wall. I’d love to be able to spend some time talking to them. Getting advice from them. Getting their insights from theo other side of this division between my current world and theirs. She’s been gone 34 years now. My grandfather’s been gone 27 years. I’d love to have dinner with them.

Father, thank you for taking the pressure off of me to be perfect. Outside of Jesus, no one in the Bible was perfect. Moses wasn’t (he didn’t even get to go into the Promised Land because of his temper). Jacob wasn’t. Abraham. David. Elijah. Peter. Paul. John the Baptist and John the Apostle. I just need to run the race you’ve laid out for me. Help me to run it well. And if you choose to use me as an example for others, let it be as much for my mistakes and what not to do as it is for my successes.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen