Conor Gallagher, JD is the chief executive officer of TAN Books. He is an author and the executive director of the Benedict Leadership Institute at Belmont Abbey College. He and his wife Ashley are the parents of 15 children.
Gallagher was the keynote speaker at the reception following the Red Mass April 18 in Lincoln. The annual Red Mass is celebrated for all members of the legal profession and government officials. It is hosted by the Catholic Lawyers Guild of the Diocese of Lincoln.
The following is an edited version of Gallagher’s presentation.
Speaking in the Diocese of Bishop Conley is truly humbling. I can say with certitude that your bishop is one of the greatest shepherds in our nation and the Catholic Church.
In the last nine months or so since I was invited to speak with you, the nation and the Church have taken a drastic turn for the worse. My mind and heart can focus on very little right now other than how to spiritually survive the onslaught of the enemies at our gate. They have indeed surrounded us and I am not using hyperbole. The FBI is monitoring not only fringe Catholic groups, but mainstream Catholic parishes as well. Large swaths of bishops, such as in Germany, are abandoning infallible teachings of Holy Mother Church. I ask you to think about something: will our children or grandchildren relive the times when orthodoxy was a tiny minority in the Church, such as during the Aryan persecution?
Allow me to make a weighty prediction. We are entering into the darkest time in modern Church history. It is not, per se, due to liturgical wars, heretical teachings on homosexual unions or some particular doctrinal matter.
It is due to the fact that we are hitting the tip of the iceberg of confusion on what legitimate authority is. Liturgical wars are nothing new.
Even more foundational is obedience to Holy Mother Church. And what we are about to encounter in the next few years is total confusion about legitimate authority on particular issues.
Thomas Moore was in the thick of this very issue. He was watching the Church being splintered by Martin Luther and then his friend, King Henry. People thought that the issue of the day for Henry was marriage, but it was not. People today think the issue is the liturgy. But it is not. Thomas Moore did not die for the doctrine of marriage, but for obedience to Holy Mother Church. For me and my family, we will err on the side of obedience to my ordinary; he who Holy Mother Church places before me as shepherd. I suggest you do the same when the divisions begin, and they are beginning. If you do not understand what I’m saying, you will soon enough. I will say it simply, I fear for dozens of little schismatic groups within the Church, all bickering about papal authority and episcopal jurisdiction. It is a trap of Satan. Please, do not fall into it.
Please become part of what Cardinal Ratzinger predicted. As early as 1969, he predicted that the Church of the future would be much smaller, but that the remnant would be purified of attachments to privilege, and would constitute a stronger, more spiritual Church, a “little flock” more able to evangelize to the world. But for this to be true, you must be part of the flock. Not some irregular, quasi-schismatic flock.
My family and I must be part of (Bishop) Peter Jugis’ little flock. And you must be part of James Conley’s little flock. And by the way, we should both count our blessings.
So my first bit of advice to you today is when the splintering comes, cling to the jurisdiction of God, before the heavy arguments of man. In your case, cling to Bishop Conley, not only because he’s a great man, but because he is the apostle given to you by God.
All our perceived problems can be put into one term: suffering.
People pay lawyers to ease their suffering. We all suffer. You suffer in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening. After all, we live in the vale of tears.
But I am 100% convinced that our suffering is governed by Divine Providence.
Here’s where people struggle. Why would God want us to suffer? What’s God’s role in all of this?
Let me say it as simply as I can. It is the unanimous opinion of the fathers and the doctors of the Church that everything that occurs in your life, except your own sin, is masterfully and intentionally orchestrated by your infinitely wise and loving Father.
Your one and only one problem is whether you have completely surrendered to Divine Providence.
As Jean Pierre De Caussade says in his spiritual classic, “Abandonment to Divine Providence is the secret of the saints. It is the key to their peace, their joy, their holiness.” Truly, peace and joy await you in this life – not just heaven – in this life. It is time for all of you to fully appreciate that peace and joy are not inconsistent with your suffering.
Think of the good thief on the cross, St. Dismas, who was hanging in agony. He was promised paradise that very day. In agony he hung, but he was the happiest man in the world. Do you think he would have gotten down if he had the option? No.
Surrender is absolutely essential to your salvation.
(God) asks for your trustful surrender; your abandonment to his Divine Providence. He asks you to believe that this moment right now is perfectly designed for your salvation, no matter how painful, no matter how sorrowful, no matter how confusing and incomprehensible. He does not ask for your 90% surrender, or your 99.9% surrender. Remember, 99.9% surrender is the same thing as saying, “I refuse to give you everything.”
I think Lucifer agreed to give God 99.9%, but held back that .1%.
God asks you for 100% and not an ounce less. And giving 100% is easier than giving 50%. If you give 50%, you’re torn between two cities — the city of God and the city of man. If you give 80%, you are torn. And if you give 99.9%, you are holding on to a fraction for dear life, like a mountain climber holding on to a cliff with one tiny finger.
100% is easier. Everything else is torture.
So you might ask yourself, how do we surrender?
First, there’s a problem with your problems, namely, that they are not problems. Your problems or sufferings are blessings from God, perfectly designed for your salvation. Secondly, you must surrender 100%, with the Lord, you must give up unconditionally. For there’s nothing more foundational that he could possibly ask you for. He can’t ask for anything more than complete surrender. You have nothing left to give.
And third, in order to surrender, I invite you to join me in trying to do two things.
Number one, I want you to prayerfully consider what your last .1% is. Imagine that you have reached great heights of sanctity. That you’ve given 99.9% to our Lord. You are praying and fasting and following all the commandments like the rich young man. On the outside, it appears you’re doing everything right.
But then our Lord asks you for the very last .1%.
I ask you, what is your last .1%? It is going to be different from mine and everyone else’s. What is the very last thing that you would let go of? Is it your health, your money, your reputation, control of your children, admiration from your spouse, life itself? Go and figure out exactly what your last .1% is and then drop to your knees immediately and offer your heavenly Father your last .1%.
The second thing is this: with your last .1% in mind, write your own surrender prayer. Write it with as much gusto as David writes the Psalms. While our Lord is judge and jury, convince him you have surrendered completely. Give him the evidence and beg for mercy when you fail to live up to your promise, if you bring the same level of focus and energy and mind time to this very issue as you do to your clients’ success, of this I’m certain: you will be a saint.
I strongly believe that the notion of your one and only one problem of trustfully surrendering to Divine Providence is the only answer to the micro issues of your life and the macro issues of our world. I believe this is the secret sauce of the saints.
Watch and listen to Conor Gallagher’s entire presentation, and also Msgr. Timothy Thorburn’s homily from the Red Mass, on the Catholic Diocese of Lincoln YouTube channel.
