Unemployment is a great excuse for not caring about others

This morning I received the monthly e-mail from the US Conference of Catholic Bishops about Catholic education. It includes links to excellent study guides for understanding the Pope's latest encyclical, Charity in Truth (Caritas In Veritate). They reminded me that I've been thinking too much about getting more money for my family and me and not enough about giving more to people whose needs are so much greater than ours.

My time and consciousness are filled these days with concerns about marketing our writing buisness and fitting our family budget to our reduced income. I'm still depressed and resentful from getting laid off in February. That doesn't leave much room for thoughts of others.

Of course, it's important that we make a decent living and save for retirement and college. But it's also important that my son see our faith and values at work in our response to our current financial troubles. If faith isn't central to our lives in difficult times, then just how faithful are we?

One of those lessons that I have to keep re-learning is that worry and fear over my situation in life drives out faith, hope and love. Now that's happening to us as a family. We devote our collective attention and talk to what needs to be done to improve our own lives. We haven't spent time talking about those in need and what we can do for them.

I pray for the faith to put our situation in God's hands so I'm freed to turn my attention to charity. That's the response I believe our son should see. I pray we're able to show it to him.

What would I say in a speech if I couldn't research it first?

Last night, I had a dream. A large corporation, I don't know which one, invited me to their headquarters in New York to make a speech to their executive team. When I arrived, they took away my laptop (!) and told me my speech was scheduled for tomorrow morning. I could spend the night in their offices if I wanted to.

I had to deliver an important message, but I couldn't gather a lot of information beforehand. If you know me, you know how anxious that would make me. What would I say? What do I know on my own that could possibly matter to other people, let alone the management of a large company?

In the dream, the answer came to me: Have faith. Believe that God, however you imagine him, is benevolent and loving and created you, individually, for a purpose because he believes in you. He doesn't look at you rationally. He sees you through the eyes of a loving father, which means he doesn't let your mere behavior affect how he feels about you or what he thinks of you. You are worthy.

Therefore, invest accordingly. Invest your time, money and reputation courageously, as though there will be a better future, even if you cannot see today how each day of that future will unfold. You know you will end up someplace good, but you don't yet know what scenery you'll see on the way there.

Then one of our dogs woke me to let her out of her crate. I'm pretty confident of the truth of this dream because I remember it much more vividly than I do most dreams. More important, I'm confident of its truth because it's essentially what I've said in every witness talk I've given at a Cursillo or Christ Renews His Parish retreat. I think I just needed to remind myself at a time when I'm struggling to be confident in myself and optimistic about the future.