“Not A Dress Rehearsal” (02/16/2025)

When I was at Mundelein Seminary, one of my areas of responsibility was director of field education and the CPE programs. As I prepared men to take on duties in various institutions, I explained to them that while their primary purpose was to gain experience, what they were embarking upon was “not a dress rehearsal.” You will be ministering in various ways to the living Body of Christ. What you do and who you are matters. Show up every day. Show up for every shift.”

Over the years, I was impressed by all the men were able to learn from lived experiences with experts and those trained in ministry as well as from patients, parishioners, and other students. They learned quickly that I was right; their experiences were not “dress rehearsals.” It was real life and one needs to be ready for life. One needs to be fully engaged for life in Christ. And one needs to remain open for the lessons held within each moment and opportunity and encounter.

We pilgrims of faith, following in the footsteps of Christ, seeking to live as we are called to live by our loving Redeemer and LORD must realize the same truth. We must live our lives with purpose. We must be aware of those around us. We must try with all our might to be ready to bring Christ to others who are seeking and to bring others to Christ through our witness and loving kindness. To do this, we must be present, we must be aware, we must be ready. We must learn from our experiences as well as our prayers, this is true. But we must also show up. We become better "Carriers" of Christ with practice.

As I work with Confirmation candidates today, I try to encourage them to live their lives in Christ now, to begin now, not to consider this part of their lives as “dress rehearsals.” I try to encourage them to “show up,” to use their gifts, to use their time, to share their faith, to practice their faith. If we believe that life in Christ is the ultimate life, why would we ever postpone it? Why would we ever say, “I’ll think about that later”?

The LORD is the same then, now, and forever. This is true. We live our lives in Christ in hope of a forever with Him. But let us never forget to show up, for this short time we call our lives, this present moment, this is when we encounter Christ and allow Christ to transform us.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.