Practice Makes Perfect?

Our youngest son took piano lessons a few years ago. He liked attending the lessons but he was not so fond of practicing. At the annual recital where he was required to perform, it showed. He hesitantly and painstakingly worked his way through his set piece of music while his father and I winced sympathetically at each missed note. Our relief when he was finished was palpable. The student who followed him was effortless in her performance. As she moved through her music error-free and with great ease and proficiency, I started thinking about the importance of ‘practicing’ and what it implies: the willingness to persevere, to make mistakes and yet keep on trying.

I wonder if that’s what was meant by the old phrase, ‘practicing Catholics.’ We haven’t got it right yet, but we keep trying. Practicing means that even though we might play the wrong chord, flub our lines, miss the dance step, miscue our entrances, or sing the wrong note, we don’t give up.We stay connected to our community; we ask for and offer reconciliation to one another; we pray together and strive to live gospel values, being attentive to justice, mercy and compassion. We haven’t got it perfect yet but we keep trying and we persevere.

Perseverance is one of the Oblate vows. I value it more than ever now as I see Oblates and Associates practicing their faith with one another and in the world. The goal is proficiency and ease in our Christian witness, and while we might never be perfect, at least we keep trying.

“A man was walking by a field and seeing the monks from the monastery tilling the soil, he stopped and asked one of them, “What do you monks do all day?” The reply: “We fall down, we get up; we fall down, we get up, we fall down, we get up.”

Sandy Prather, HOMI

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 4th, 2010 at 1:53 pm and is filed under Uncategorized.
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