Pizza, Turtles, and Why God Needs Ninjas

A few weeks ago, my wonderful husband and I decided to have a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles night. The new live action movie of TMNT had just come out on Redbox, and we hadn’t seen it yet (we knew that the movie would not be worth the money to see it in theaters, but it would be a fun, cheap, doable date night). Many weeks ago, to prepare me for the movie, Jacob started showing me the 1980s TV show of TMNT, since I had never seen it. So, with excitement and a sense of fun, we gathered in the kitchen to make pizza. Because, of course, any celebration involving TMNT must include pizza. And a little bit of crazy pizza, too. With pizza in hand, we watched the movie. It was entertaining, with some cool action and CGI effects. And it was about mutant-turtle ninjas, so how could it not have a level of coolness? Since this recent date night, I have decided it is high time to write about ninjas. Specifically, why God needs ninjas. It’s a topic near and dear to my heart, and while in high school, I was blessed to write about it for our school newspaper. A couple years ago, for a class assignment, I wrote another article about this and submitted it to an online magazine. While I didn’t get published, one of the staff members mailed me a handwritten note with a stick figure picture of a ninja : ) 

We made a partial "crazy pizza,"
which had pepperoni, hot dog,
french fries, and two kinds of
cheeses. It was weird.

Ninjas.

I love ninjas, and I think it’s interesting how ninjas are prevalent in culture, and how we are fascinated with anything ninja (take a look at this intriguing story!). The legacy of those twelfth-century Japanese spies have lived on, over the years, in the clothes, games, and media of our society (albeit, Americanized "ninja" themed items aren't all that accurate). How many times have you seen someone wearing a t-shirt that says something about ninjas? How many times have you played the game “Ninja” in a group setting? How many times have you seen kids dress up as ninjas? And how about all of those ninja movies and video games? When someone says the word “ninjas,” what comes to your mind? Here are a few things that come to my mind:

BATMAN. Batman Begins is great. And ninja-y. 

Cool action sequences, which may include people flying through the air. Shiny shuriken, black clothes, tabi boots, and nunchuks.  Mutant turtles. Batman. Sneaky people running across rooftops in the dead of night. That awesome group game that I learned to play years ago. Christians. Yes, Christians. Because I firmly believe that God needs us to be ninjas.

The best ninjas are not often seen. They do their work so quickly and stealthily that they get away without being spotted, and all that remains are the effects of their actions. God doesn't want us to be conniving, malicious ninjas, but to take that idea of stealthiness and invisibility to a different way. In the TMNT movie, April O’Neil, the reporter, is believed to be crazy because she claims that creatures were out battling the Foot Clan. Her coworkers all want to know if she has physical descriptions or evidence of these creatures. She does not, except the emblem that the turtles leave at the sight of their work. The turtles are ninjas; they are supposed to do their work unseen by the eyes of the public. The turtles aren’t in the ninja business for their personal glory, but for the sake of helping others.

Isn’t this what God calls us to do? Let’s take a look at the Scriptures:

“[But] take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father. When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.” (Matt 6:1-4)

 “When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.”

(Matt 6:16-18)

“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do.”

(Colossians 3:12-13)

“Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you.” (James 4:10)

These are just a few examples out of the Bible, but there are so many more places where God’s Word speaks the message of humility. And just look at the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Humility everywhere, in every action. Being hidden in God, letting Him shine through. Accepting any recognition and praise with graciousness, and directing all praise and glory to God. Humility is the way of the Christian ninja. We shouldn’t want to be the main focus ourselves, but rather let the effects of what we’ve done—how we’ve loved others—remain. Striving for humility is a struggle, but a worthy one. St. John of the Cross once said, “To be taken with love for a soul, God does not look on its greatness, but the greatness of its humility.” Humility is awesome, and being humble makes us more like Christian ninjas. So it’s a win-win situation.

There’s a cool prayer out there. The Litany of Humility. It’s epic. For at least the past few years, my husband and I have prayed it nearly every day together, and it’s been really, well, humbling.. My household prays it together once a week, and as a roomful of 20+ women is declaring, “From the desire of being loved, deliver me, Jesus,” I always think of us as an army. The litany is our battle cry. Humility is a superb way to battle the devil. Like ninjas, we are praying that we will joyfully accept being unnoticed. We are praying that we will be completely malleable in God’s hands. We are praying that we will desire to be cast aside, only leaving the loving actions that we’ve done remain. The Litany of Humility is like a Catholic Ninja Code, which we can pray with and seek to apply in our daily lives (and trust me, when you pray for humility, God likes to put plenty of situations in your life to grow in that virtue).

O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, Hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed,
Deliver me, Jesus.

From the desire of being loved...
From the desire of being extolled ...
From the desire of being honored ...
From the desire of being praised ...
From the desire of being preferred to others...
From the desire of being consulted ...
From the desire of being approved ...
From the fear of being humiliated ...
From the fear of being despised...
From the fear of suffering rebukes ...
From the fear of being calumniated ...
From the fear of being forgotten ...
From the fear of being ridiculed ...
From the fear of being wronged ...
From the fear of being suspected ...

That others may be loved more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be esteemed more than I ...
That, in the opinion of the world,
others may increase and I may decrease ...
That others may be chosen and I set aside ...
That others may be praised and I unnoticed ...
That others may be preferred to me in everything...
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should…

"True humility consists in being content with all that God is pleased to ordain for us, believing ourselves unworthy to be called His servants." ~St. Teresa of Jesus