During our time in Illinois, the Father General of the MSJ gave an amazing talk on the importance of duty. He pointed out that when we offer to pray for someone and they thank us, most people tend to say something like “it’s my pleasure!” or “I wanted to!” He followed this up by pointing out that most people avoid saying “it’s my duty.” Why? Ultimately, it comes down to a desire to make prayer or service for another, personal. We don’t want to make it seem like a chore. We want it to be self-originating.
However noble this motivation might be, Fr. Bob pointed out that in order for prayer to be prayer, it must NOT be self-originating. For what God is our prayer, if it comes from within us rather than the Spirit of God? See, as Christians, we are slaves of Christ. We inherently belong to someone other than ourselves, and because of this, those works which have been prepared for us to do ARE a duty. When we pray, we are fulfilling a duty—precisely because the origin of prayer is God, not us. We pray because we are called by God to pray, not because we came up with the idea on our own.
However, in order to understand “duty” we must also understand “joy.” In the Anglican liturgy we proclaim that “it is our right, our duty, and our joy, always and everywhere to give thanks to [God]” (BCP 2019, 132). It is our duty because we belong to God, but it is also our joy, because we having been infused with the love of God. Therefore, duty and joy become two sides of the same coin. We do as we ought, because we love as we ought.
So as you go into today: pray, recognizing that it truly is a duty and joy—and that those things go hand in hand, pointing towards their source in the Almighty Father, Creator of heaven and earth.
This is the first video reflection for the Great Fast.
Welcome to the Mere Catholicity Locals Community! Here, you will find like-minded Christians with a desire to live ecumenically and pursue Christ in all things.
The Mere Catholicity movement runs only through listener support. The work that I (Jonah) do requires time and money. Without the financial support of my Locals community, I would not be able to continue making content. Simple as that. It is only thanks to this group that I can continue providing you with content that (hopefully) both edifies and challenges!
The good news for you is that joining the community itself is completely FREE! Once you sign up, you will be able to see most posts, live streams, and even content posted by other users. However, you will only be able to observe. You will not be able to comment, post, or see any exclusive content. This might be a good way to see if you want to support later down the line. So please join! Even if you cannot afford to give at this time!
Now, for those who do wish to give ...
Friends - as I consider the various platforms that I operate, I find Substack to the most conducive to the model of online ministry that I am aiming for. Though I still plan to post here, as many of you still support me through this platform, Substack is where I will be focusing the majority of my time. If some of you wish to move your subscription from here to Substack, you are welcome to do that. Those who continue to support here, I will continue to post here — mostly the stuff that is behind the paywall on Substack so that you are getting the exclusive content regardless of where you are subscribed.
Hope you all are doing well. Lord bless you.
- Rev. Jonah
I've been gone again for a time preparing for my ordination. I was ordained a Deacon in the Holy Catholic Church on March 8th, 2025.
It was a joy beyond words. I am now back in full swing with ministry, media, and work.
I hope you all have been doing well. More to come soon.
Good morning everyone. I wanted to quickly update you on the Mere Catholicity Podcast. I’ve been posting videos on my channel, but it has been quite sometime since my channel has had a podcast episode release.
With my new job as a classical teacher, scheduling interviews has been a challenge. However, my plan is to use my summer breaks as time to double down on planning and recording new podcasts. The idea will be to record a ton of interviews that will then slowly release throughout the school year, expiring around the time the following summer arrives. This will ultimately result in a consistent once a month interview.
All that to say, the podcast will resume here in May or June of 2025 with some excellent interviews lined up!
Blessings on your Sunday!
