Well, here we go again. Mother Nature is like the unwelcome guest that came to stay a while. In a sense she is welcome on the west coast because she brought much needed rain to the drought stricken areas out there. She also brought some flooding and mudslides. I shouldn't complain. We just have cold and perhaps some snow dusting and maybe some freezing rain on the week-end I guess most of us here in the Ohio Valley can deal with that.
Yesterday was a long day for me. I had a root canal done in the morning, went to the eye Dr. in the afternoon and fell asleep about mid-way through the Rosary. I did wake up to finish the Rosary. It isn't the first time I have fell asleep during the Rosary. Well, I guess I just fall asleep and wake up with my fingers on the right beads. I laugh when I do that, for I have prayed the Rosary of the Sleepy and continue where I left off.
Anyway, the root canal still hurts, my face is still a bit puffy, red, and I have to go back to the eye Dr. next week. What else is new...very little.
Lent is our forty days in the desert. Our forty days will be nothing like the forty days that Christ spent in the desert, fasting and praying with only the Devil to commune with. We will have our own temptations and failures during Lent, but for most of us it should be like a walk in the park. We are blessed that we will not be put to the real test as Christ was. As I say that, I do not exclude those who are being truly being driven to their knees and losing their lives for Christ and in Christ. Pray for them as I do.
As the days winds down I think that I am off to bed very soon. My face is red and swollen and I just don't feel like writing much. Oh, Poor me. Sad, is it not? Not like it is major suffering and pain. "Get over," I tell myself.
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Lent is on the doorstep...knocking at the door. It will be here on March 5th this year which is also my brother's birthday.
The most common question I am asked or hear of is "what are you giving up for Lent?" No one says to me "what are you doing for Lent?"
While Lent is a time of penance and/or sacrifice for forty days we seem to miss the real meaning of Lent. We generally fail to try to walk in the shoes of our Lord, but see Lent as a time of obligatory self sacrifice and denial. While it is that, it is much more. It is a period of inner reflection and spiritual growth. It is a deeper communion with our Lord.
I to try to take on a deeper understanding and closeness with our Lord. I will not disclose what, where or why I make my inner pilmerage because that is between me and my Lord, not to be broadcast to anyone other than He and I.
It isn't too soon to think about Lent and give it some thoughtful consideration. "Actions speak louder than words" and there is no need to advertise. Think of Christ when He walked the face of this world. He was a walking billboard of all that was good and holy. What He said and did in His short time was a book that was not a book, but seen and heard around the world. He spoke volumes without lifting a "pen."
We should try to speak in such a manner: to quietly speak and live the Written Word in some manner that doesn't say "look at me" or see "what I am doing" for Lent. Hard to do?
Yes. We all have that thread of vanity coursing through our inner sanctums that seeks recognitions and a bit of self glory from our peers. A modicum of vanity is not bad in itself for we all should want to do better, be better and be good steward for all the graces and blessings that our Lord gives us. So get ready for it. Lent is coming your way.
Now on a personal note: This past week I have had a bad tooth infection with swelling, pain and a purple jaw. Today the dentist tried to resolve the problem and redo a root canal that was giving me fits. He couldn't find the root canal and now I have to go to a specialist in Evansville. Hopefully...you will pray for me as I don't think it will a picnic. I know that today was not a fun day and my dentist never gave up before. Yes, I will offer it up...knowing that there others that are worse off and suffering more than me.
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Sleep. Don't you wish that there were days that you could just turn over and go back to sleep? I think that most of us do. I wish that I could just roll over, pull my comforter over my head and just snore away. However, all of us in some manner or another have obligations to life. I have to get up, take medications in a timely sequence, have that most important cup of coffee, go to appointments, be at certain places at given times, and just generally live life. I would rather be sleeping....late.
I think that Jesus must have felt that way, too, and often. He was awakened while He was sleeping in a boat during a tempest of a storm. Crowds followed Him everywhere, people clamored for His time and attention. Wherever He went He was often despised by the authorities, the rabble and sometimes His own disciples. When Jesus bled sweat and blood in the garden praying...as He was about to be arrested, He was probably thinking, "O Father, let this just be a nightmare as I sleep."
Remember this, Jesus was Divine as well as human and had the same need of rest as we all do. It wasn't just a bad dream and He wasn't sleeping. These a but a few of the multiple times that Jesus may have wished that He could just roll over and go back to sleep. And like the fox of the field He had nowhere "to lay His head."
I count my blessings as I have a place to lay my head and there are so many throughout the world who do not. I complain too much because there are people that are truly sleep deprived. I think of my Mother who was so often worn out at the end of the day and in need of sleep, and how much a little extra rest would have meant of her. The list could go on and on. I know that I am not sleep deprived, ( I do sleep with oxygen and a CPap machine), but just want to snuggle down in my bed and cheat the clock. Still, I want to snore away...just a few minutes more. Lazy me.
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I am trying to diet. I have been fairly consistent in my efforts to loses some excess poundage. It isn't easy and after a few days of staying true to the diet, the craving set in. I wish I had some chocolate and a lot of starches. I am a person who likes good, flavorful food. Maybe not a lot of it, but enough to satisfy the sweet tooth that I have and some "comfort food." I am not obese...but I am not thin either. And my main reason for wishing and working to lose weight is for a healthier me. I already can detect the difference, but the scales need a new battery.
You might compare dieting with religion or growing in the spirit. It takes some forethought, planning, discipline and a continuous follow-up. It is analogous to "feeding the fire" on a cold winter's night. You must be vigilant and not let the fire go out, but stoke the embers to keep it burning. There is nothing worse than cold ashes on a winter morning. It is pretty much the same with religion or a personal spirituality. Often we let the fire go out.
I know lots of people who claim to be Christians and to be religious...I bet that you do, too. Yet, they may not practice their religion, have little spirituality within, or even acknowledge that there is a God or a higher power than themselves. They count on themselves rather than God. Who do you count on?
I count on God, my Creator, pray daily and pray the Rosary each and every day. That may sound like I am bragging, but I also wonder as I attend to my spiritual garden...if I am just giving "lip service" and pray that I am not. I know that I am "nobody," but pray that I am God's somebody. Like dieting...I will have to wait to see the results and every once in a while I will need to change the battery in the scales of time.
I make reference to a "spiritual garden" because I...we... need to constantly weed, nurture, and remove the debris' from our daily lives. A little spiritual "growth hormone" wouldn't hurt either.
It took about an hour to remove the ice and snow from the van so that I will be able to get to Mass in the morning. I really am not fond of this long, cold winter, but it is what we have been given so why complain. At the same time I keep in mind that while Jesus walked on water...I can not walk on ice....and tread very carefully.
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p.s.
I still want chocolate!
We are predators...like it or not...we are predators. Think about it for just a minute. We are not omnivores. Omnivores have eyes located to the general side of their heads so that they can see what is coming and what is around them. Cows and most of the creations of the "The Animal Kingdom" have this trait; their eyes are situated more to the sides of their heads. We, of the human race, have the eyes of a predator. Our eyes are forward and straight ahead so that we can see prey we want to capture, run it down, kill and devour it. This can be done in so many ways, if not literally.
God did not create us to be general predators, but we are. He made Adam and Eve and placed them in the Garden where they had all that they needed. He also gave them free will to make good or bad decisions. And they and we did ; did we ever! Along came the ssssss to encourage and disrupt the plan of God, who created us to love and adore Him. So, God tossed us out, evicted us from the Garden of Eden, for not paying the rent, thus we became "homeless people" to wander the face of the earth. To make a bad situation worse...Cain killed his brother Abel. Brotherly love of a predator with eyes up front and a jealous heart.
With free will we became the predators that we are. We have a tendency to prey and dominate the weaker or more docile of God's people. While this may not apply to all nations and people, even God's "Chosen People" have shown the weakness of being predators. Life goes on and so do wars.
You don't need a reservation for Hell: Check in anytime. Your will need to call ahead and reserve your suite in Paradise. The rooms are of premium value. Everyone wants one, but not everyone wants to y the price up front. Do you have a Gold Master Card? Or do you have a Bank of Purgatory plastic? Perhaps you carry the Hell card with high interest from the Fallen Angel Bank?
Well, chose to be a predator, if you wish. The world is full of such, that roam the world causing pain and mayhem. You will never be lonely when you check out and into your hot accommodations and don't expect air conditioning. Joining you is not my plains, but who knows. The only thing that I can say is that I try not to be part of the herd that is falling over the cliff. I hope everyone is making an effort to avoid being a predator of the human kind.
Most wars, personal conflicts and dedicated human sufferings are cause by predators that want what someone else has; land, minerals, food or a need to control or dominate. Think about it. Where are you eyes located?
Well...so it goes. END
