Tyrants and saints
What Lady Gaga, C.S. Lewis, and Pope Leo XIV teach us about God
In 2012, I attended a Lady Gaga concert while visiting friends in Sydney. I thought it could be fun to dress up like her, so I wore my hair in a big bow (inspired by her recent looks).
The concert was an absolute ball. But there was one point in particular that stood out to me: Lady Gaga looked out at the crowd and said, “For my past few tours, it’s been so cool to see so many of you dressed up as me. But what I love about this tour is that so many of you showed up as yourselves.”
Her goal wasn’t for everyone to become a half-rate Lady Gaga. Her dream was that, by being completely herself, she could inspire others to do the same. And standing in that audience, big bow on my head, her words sunk in (clearly, since I remember them almost 15 years later).
It reminds me of one of my favorite C.S. Lewis quotes:
How monotonously alike all the great tyrants and conquerors have been: how gloriously different the saints.
Perhaps unintentionally, Lady Gaga touched upon a deep truth about God: His desire is not for us to fit into someone else’s mold, but to become fully who He created us to be — with all our goodness and brokenness, our highs and lows, our failings and gifts. He wants us to look to Him, to recognize that we are made in His image and likeness. What we love draws us closer to Him and makes us more like Him.
I experienced this struggle as I grew deeper in my faith while in college. I simultaneously felt too Catholic for my sorority and too “sorority” for the Catholic community. I felt pressure to carry a Nalgene covered in Catholic stickers, wear Tevas, and sport T-shirts with saints’ faces to fit the mold of a “good Catholic.” But that just wasn’t me. The past ten years have seen me slowly embrace the truth that God created me to be me — that the things I love, my style, my sense of humor, my personality, my interests, what makes me mad, what makes me happy — it’s all intentional.
God needs me to be me, just like He needs you to be you.
But the world struggles with that nuance — it prefers clean, crisp boxes.
We saw this play out again last week with the election of the new pope. The first question everyone wanted to answer: Is he liberal or conservative? The world immediately tried to shove Pope Leo into a box, moments after his election. But the beauty of Pope Leo XIV, just like the beauty of you and me, is that he is unrepeatable, irreplaceable, created on purpose to be alive right here, right now, for a very specific mission.
If you look at Pope Leo’s life, and his adventures from America to Peru to Italy, you see a man who has radically said yes to God, to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, over and over again. That’s the kind of man I’m grateful to see leading our Church.
Each of us has a mission, too. Maybe not to be pope (but hey, there are about ten guys who read this and we didn’t think we’d see an American in there, so never say never!). And each of us has been given gifts, callings, desires, and a personality by God to fulfill our mission in a way no one else can.
It can be tempting to forget that our path, our mission, is given to us by the very God who made us. My time in Sydney has taught me that in a profound way. The people I’ve met and the challenges I’ve faced have been uniquely tailored for me, for my heart, to bring me closer to God. I’m grateful for every one of the little crosses I’ve faced because they’ve forced me to rely on Him instead of my own strength. His gifts, big and small, overwhelm me daily because I know He is with me, just as He is with you. He sees every thought you and I have — every desire, fear, pain, and longing.
Thank you for walking with me on this journey of faith. I’m so far from perfect, but it’s an incredible joy to share these reflections with you each week and to hear from you how God is moving in your life. Your replies and comments encourage and fortify me, and I pray that these newsletters, in some small way, help you see His movements in your own life.
In Christ,
Jane
What I’m loving lately
Good Shepherd Week
I love love love the Good Shepherd, so I’m stoked on this week’s readings (see John 10). Wanted to share my favorite icon with you again — I cannot begin to count how many hours I have spent meditating on this image. You are the little lamb on Jesus’ shoulders!! See how much He loves you.
Transitions podcast
The Abiding Together gals are so good and often hit right on things I need when I need them. I thought this was a beautiful reflection on how to move through periods of transition, carrying gratitude for the places we’re leaving and bringing joy into the next place. The spring is a time of great transitions, so hopefully this episode will bless you too!
The frequency illusion
When Erica showed up in Australia, she told me she heard “all the men have mullets and wear jorts.” I had not noticed this… until she said it. I think I’ve seen 10+ mullets a day, after not noticing a single one for seven weeks. It reminds me of how you start seeing a certain car a bunch once you think about investing in it… could be a good activity when we WANT to notice something more?
Failure is so hot right now
On Saturday, Erica and I went with my Godfather to the horse races (his horse was running, fun!) During the event, they hosted a “Fashions on the Field” competition, basically, a pageant where men and women went up on a stage and competed for a prize if they had the best outfit. Erica and I were cajoled into entering (thank you, Uncle Mike). When we made our way down to the field, it was EVIDENT that we were about to be crushed by the competition (see: a woman with a full sun hat with protruding rays coming out of her head). Part of me wanted to bail (I do not like to lose). BUT I’ve been thinking a lot about failure recently, and especially about doing things for fun and not to win. So we went onstage, strutted our stuff… and got cut immediately. It was fantastic!! Another blow to my ego, which has taken a good beating these past two months :) It brought me back to a quote from James Clear’s newsletter this week:
"The secret to winning is learning how to lose. That is, learning to bounce back from failure and disappointment, undeterred, and continuing to steadily march toward your potential. Your response to failure determines your capacity for success."
I am not a very good loser, but what a great opportunity to work on it!!!
Prayer intentions
For a friend who just experienced a miscarriage
For a friend on a difficult anniversary
For our new pope
For speedy healing (I have a very un-fun cold at the moment)
For a special intention
Good quality connection with these three!