Letting go or gripping tightly?

"The spiritual journey is more like a giving up control than taking control."

Fr. Richard Rohr, "Wondrous Encounters--Scripture for Lent"

 

As a kid I remember Lent being all about self-control.  The self-control it took to give up candy, which was the standard. The self-control to be plucked out of my warm bed, a quick brushing of teeth and, throwing a coat over my PJ's, being flung into a cold winter morning to attend 6:30 mass.  The self-control of beating my breast, begging God not to "throw me into the pit," in the Psalms. Yes, it was all about what I did.  I did. My control. My doings.  I'm feeling more and more that Lent is all about what God does; what God can do if I am just willing and pliable and give up control.  Lent, for me, has become more about letting go than tightly gripping.  Thanks be to God!  Love, heidi

PS: I will be in class for the next few days...please pray for us as we continue our class with our dear leader, Peg, watching from heaven. 

Where do we most need rain?

"Thus says the Lord, 'Just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down, and do not return there till they have watered the earth...'"

Isaiah 55:10

In the reflection of this reading on Pray-As-You-Go, they ask a pondering-worthy question.  What part of your life is dry and needs a good, cleansing rain? Oh, that's easy! I'm still reeling from my regular trip to the woodshed, i.e. yesterday's Gospel about the sheep and the goats! (Matthew 25:31-46) Consistently, I am brought up short in that reading and find myself clearly in the Goat line.  Unless taking a box of wine glasses to St. Vincent de Paul counts as giving drink to the thirsty, I'm still coming up short this year. (Thanks, Sam, for suggesting I fill the glasses first!) It's not that I don't give to the poor; that can be remedied by writing a check.  It's how I feel toward the poor that is the problem.  I struggle with the poor because I have so much and life is so much easier for me--it always has been.  I don't identify with the poor because I haven't walked in their shoes or shared their struggles.  I have always been, by comparison, very rich.  And this troubles me.  Just as the Rich Young Man, I wonder if Jesus is asking too much of me to "sell all I have and give to the poor." I find myself going away, very sad, because I have too much.  So, that is where I need a good, cleansing rain, my Friends.  I ask for the grace to get it all figured out.  Love, heidi

The fasting God prefers...

"Isaiah says explicitly that God prefers another kind of fasting which changes our actual lifestyle and not just punishes our body (The poor body is always the available scapegoat to avoid touching our purse, our calendar, or our prejudices)."

Fr. Richard Rohr, "Wondrous Encounters: Scripture for Lent"

 

With this awesome reminder, let's spend time praying and thinking about how we can delve into our purses, rearrange our calendars and prejudices and actually DO something worthwhile this Lent.  Maybe doing something for the Body of Christ and not just punishing our own bodies? That is the fasting God prefers! Love, heidi

The Lent playlist...

Choose life...choose love!

"Choose life..."

Deuteronomy 30:19

 

As we go through our day today, we may not make life and death decisions.  Oh, surely, we choose to drive safely and responsibly, and that can make a difference between life and death (no texting=life!) Realistically, though, our choices today will be more about choosing LOVE.  We will be asked to choose between treating someone with love or treating them indifferently.  We may choose to treat someone with patience or throw up our hands in frustration.  We may have to choose to be kind to a stranger or just walk on by.  Our choices today will be about choosing love.  Let's remember these two simple words as we move through our first Thursday of Lent...Choose Love!  And let's do just that! Love, heidi

An inside job...

"Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the Lord, your God."

Joel 2:13

 

When I heard this reading (Joel 2:12-18) today, as proclaimed on Pray-As-You-Go, this one phrase jumped out at me.  It occurs to me that the real change that takes place in us throughout Lent is an inside job.  We can go through all the motions, show up at all the Lent events, do all the prescribed stuff, and if our hearts are not turning back to God and changing, all is for not.  The bottom line is that our hearts need to return to God and thus become more loving, loving others more like God loves. It also reminds me of the verse about mercy versus sacrifice.  God prefers the former, not the latter.  So, as we embark on this forty days of Lent, let's realize that it isn't what we do for Lent or don't do for Lent.  Lent is about rendering our hearts and turning back to God. Giving our hearts to God who, alone, can help us to become more loving toward others.  The real work of Lent is an inside job. Love, heidi