How’s your
Lent going? I am suffering not having my
cup of coffee every morning- especially the couple mornings I spoiled myself
with Starbucks. The first few days I had
a terrible headache, but now my body is taking it better (smile). Abstaining from things that I choose during
Lent always gives me such hope that my will power can be taught to withhold-
that it can be tamed. Yet, I think Lent gets
overshadowed by the things people give up, but it’s also a time of prayer. Before Lent began I had been thinking of
Saint Joseph, I felt a great desire to pray with him. The Sunday before Lent, a parishioner was
handing out prayer leaflets after Mass and as she handed me one I realized that
it was a guide to a thirty day prayer with Saint Joseph! The message couldn’t be clearer and so my Lent
has also been a time of joining Saint Joseph in prayer and petition. Praying
with him has allowed me to get to know him better, I never realized how
difficult his life became by becoming the foster parent to Jesus. From the moment that Mary told him she was
carrying the Son of God his life changed dramatically and when things seemed
they wouldn’t get worse they did. He had
to flee his homeland and be on the run to protect his family. I can only imagine how awful he felt when he
couldn’t find shelter for his pregnant wife or an honorable place for her to
give birth. Then knowing that his son’s life
was in great danger because the Child Jesus was sought by his enemies. His
suffering was great, yet, what impresses me is that nowhere in Scripture do we
get a direct quotation from Joseph. It seems
like he bears all in silence with complete trust that God would provide. His obedience to God is also a point of
reflection. When God spoke, even though
the things God asked of him were so difficult, Joseph obeyed. I have been learning a little more about
Ignatian Spirituality which encourages us to use our imagination and place
ourselves inside the scenes of the Lord’s earthly life. It’s such a great way to dig deeper into
scripture and walk beside the lives of the men and women who followed Jesus
with such surrender.
I’ve also
been working on my Forty Days of Thank You Notes to religious persons. A few days ago I watched “Call Me Francis” a
four part miniseries on Netflix, there’s a scene in it that shows a stressed
Francis having lunch with his mother and she says, “You must have a great life
praying and reflecting all day.” I think
sometimes when we think of priests and religious we have this vision that all
they do is pray and attend Mass, but they have a really compact schedule of
service. They are some of the most
hardworking people, people who often get asked for help; but, like the healed leapers
we forget to thank them for their assistance.
This year I
didn’t host a Bible study group at home and I am really enjoying the fact that
I didn’t pick up more activities, I am trying to train my Martha spirit to be
more like Mary (smile). Going into week
three I am optimistic that I will continue to find treasures in my Lenten
Journey, hope you do too.
No comments:
Post a Comment