Lent is a time for self examination. I think people don't like to examine themselves, because they don't like what they see. I would be one of those people. We're all really good at figuring out what is wrong with other people, but not quite as good at picking out our character defects. Looking at yourself can be fairly painful, no matter what stage of spiritual development you are at.
Twice already this Lent I've been unhappy with myself. I know this feeling, a friend of mine once told me that sometimes it is okay to wallow in being uncomfortable in your own skin. The rational part of my brain is understanding and knows that I am on a journey of self-improvement. It's another part of my brain however that leads to feeling bad about myself. Like every other Christian (person), I would like to live a perfect life, but it's just not going to happen.
In the past, when confronted with my character defects I would get myself into the fight or flight mode and want to argue with someone about it, or try to run and hide from God. Neither of which is particularly effective. Now I try to forgive myself, take a good look at how I got to making my bad decisions, and try to change myself and my habits to reflect who I want to be. No panic, no finger pointing, I just try to repent, turn away from my sinful self.
Frank, me, Marilou, Teri, Vesper, Patrick, and Jen.
Just pretend I've written a witty little comment here.
Location and Architecture:
Saint John the Evangelist, 307 East Meigs Street, Valley. The interesting, non-traditional ceiling tour continued this week. Saint John's is a smaller church with a square structure. The dais is higher than most, especially considering the size of the church, but it all works out to help make it the center of attention. The choir was absolutely splendid. What really struck us all was the stained glass, fairly modern in it's design, but also really an attention getter, brightly colored and excellently rendered.
Gospel
"...'This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.'" Matthew 17:5
God makes His declaration. Jesus is my Beloved Son. Jesus is fully human, He is a brother to us, but He is also different, He is fully divine too. Many people want to know how this works before they will believe it. Some of these same people will drive a car without understanding how it works, but we are human and illogical and inconsistent.
How Jesus can be both human and divine is a mystery. It's a mystery that we cannot fully comprehend. Human logic is insufficient to explain it, yet here it is, a foundation of our faith. Believing in something that you cannot prove requires an act of faith, and in this case, trust in God and His church.
When God declares Jesus is His Son, He calls us to listen closely to the words of His Son, and to live our lives accordingly. Fortunately we have the Bible for reference, we have His church to guide us, and the example of the saints to show us how to live. Listen to Jesus my friends. He is all around you, in the Holy Bible, in the Mass, and in the face of everyone we meet.
Prayers
Please pray for:
The people of Japan.
The people of the countries in Southwest Asia and Africa in this time of revolution.
Tom who is deployed to Afghanistan, and his wife and two daughters.
Amy and Shannon for protection on their missions.
Kevin as he prepares for his final year of seminary and the priesthood.
Marcus as he has been accepted into seminary and will be discerning the priesthood.
My friend M., who is pregnant, please pray for her and her baby.
Next:
March 27th @ 09:00 Saint Anthony, 5402 South 32nd Street, Omaha.
Peace, Eric
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