All throughout Lent we hear about how we are supposed to give things up and sacrifice and pray. I tell you I've prayed more in the last three weeks, been to Mass more in the last three weeks, wept more, cried more, struggled more, and down right didn't like what I discovered through all those moments.
Don't get me wrong, the Mass part, that's been amazing...thank you Holy Spirit for the gift of wonder and awe which you gave to me the day I made my confirmation :)...I don't know if it's been because of the spiritual and emotional battles I've been fighting with personally, but that has been the greatest gift I've gotten so far this Lenten season. The other thing that I've found that's often left me in wonder and also a little awe this Lent are the wonderful homilies I've heard from the different priests who were celebrating the Masses I attended. Granted, most were at my parish but a few weren't and the ones that weren't left me with lessons as much as the ones that were. I think the homily that has really hit home a lot with me this Lent was one given by my pastor Fr. Joe. Fr. Joe is about five months younger then me so for anyone under the age of 34 we probably seem ancient to you...and for those of you older then that, we may seem as if we are just young pups still wet behind the ears :)
Anyway, getting back to this homily thing. It was just 11 days ago when Fr. Joe was supposed to undergo a kidney transplant. Unfortunately as has been the case for him over the last year he hit a road block and the transplant surgery was put on hold (As an aside, if you could please lift Fr. Joe and his donor Jim up in prayer I would be grateful and I know they would be too). So at the Mass that was supposed to be a celebration of a "successful" transplant it turned into a celebration of life, and the gift that Fr. Joe and his donor Jim, who happens to be a fellow parishioner with me, were able to partake in.
As Fr. Joe shared his story through priesthood and his health journey, which us parishioners have been walking along with him this last year, he shared 4 lessons, that I have been carrying with me over the last 11 days since I heard them. The first lesson is patience. What a lesson that is. See I am one of the least patient people you will ever meet. I get very impatient over many things, having to wait in long lines at the store, having to wait on people who are running behind when we have a specific time to meet (I am almost always early), I get impatient waiting for people to return a text message, and most of all I get impatient in prayer. So as Fr. Joe was sharing his stories of patience I found myself humming in my head a song that I learned in a school music program back in elementary school...."have patience, have patience, don't be in such a hurry, when you get impatient you only start to worry, remember, remember, that God is patient too, and think of all the times when others have to wait for you!" Corny I know but it's stuck with me all these years and I find myself over and over again humming that song quietly to myself when I start to get impatient with someone else, and found myself singing it in my head as I listened to the rest of his longer than normal homily. The night was all about him so it was okay :)
The second lesson that Fr. Joe shared in his homily that night was prayer. Well, duh! There's a no brainer. But he stopped me in my tracks figuratively when he said that. I realized I wasn't giving my prayer life the time and attention it deserved. Sure I was praying my rote prayers but it was lacking the richness that it's had in the past. Thankfully, between this homily and a invisible WHACK! over the head from God, it's gotten back on track, and I've spent many fruitful hours before the Lord in Adoration and prayer.
The third lesson Fr. Joe talked about was perseverance. Now if anyone would have wanted to give up by now it would be Fr. Joe, but surprisingly he hasn't. He shared that yes there had been times he wanted to just give up and asked the question why me? but that little spark of something that we all have called determination kicked in and he's successfully over come every obstacle so far that's come his way. He says it's due to the wonderful care of his family who helped get him healthy through his hospital stays, the words of encouragement from friends, parishioners and others and most importantly through prayer and lots of it! How often do we find ourselves wanting to just give up and throw in the towel? Don't get me wrong it's not always that cut and dry, sometimes you really do just need to give up and let go in certain circumstances especially when things are not life giving anymore and aren't really bearing fruit.
The last lesson Fr. Joe told us was attentiveness. Again here came that WHACK!, my head was starting to throb at that point...LOL...but he went on to say and point out how all of his struggles and his health journey this last year have helped him become more attentive. Not just as a pastor, but as a friend, a son and a child of God. He said he now notices the little things that often get over looked, the people we don't always appreciate, the looks on people's faces if they are happy or sad, and lots of other things we often overlook. Know anyone in your life that you are overlooking and not being attentive to? Anything in your life that you are overlooking, and not being attentive to?
This Lent so far, seeing as how we are only two weeks in and still have about four weeks to go has also taught me a lot about life, and a lot about what it means to truly sacrifice. Now some haven't been huge sacrifices, in fact some have been very small...but one thing I've learned is that it really isn't a sacrifice if it isn't done out of love.
If you've ever made a TEC retreat you understand what I am talking about, and for those of you who haven't well let me try to explain. The greatest sacrifice any of us as both Catholics and Christians have ever been given was done out of love on a cross by a man. A man who gave His life, so that we might have life. Talk about love, and sacrifice.
Speaking of love here is a great saying that we have in the TEC community that I belong to here in Northeast Ohio. This was on a plaque that was attached to a statue at a church the community visited in LeRoy, NY back in January while we were on our way to Syracuse, the bottom part is what we say often at our retreats...
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When we talk about love it often loses it's true meaning. Love is one of the most over used words in the English language. I am sure whoever came up with that word never intended for it to be used in the way it has in society today. Some examples would be, I love my phone, I love my car, I love my dog, I love this, I love that....love, love, love. It doesn't mean anything anymore.
I've always been a big believer in the often heard phrase..."actions speak louder than words," do your actions everyday show the love that's in your heart as a Catholic or as a Christian to your fellow neighbor? Do you show your love for others by holding a door for someone, or smiling at them? Do you show love by dropping what you are doing and going to help a friend in need? Do you show love by praying for someone you may not even know? Do you give your love away? or do you keep it locked up because by loving someone we are bound to be hurt?
Yes with love also comes hurt and pain. But isn't it worth it? Isn't it worth the small and even the large sacrifices we make for our friends, for our families, for those who might be strangers? When is the last time you called a friend just because, or asked them to spend time with you? When was the last time you watched a child sleeping peacefully, and got rid of all other distractions and just watched?
It's those little moments we are called to love. For that's what love is. It's moments when we drop everything for a friend, or go out of our way to do something for someone else, it's picking up the telephone (novel concept I know with the ease and convenience of texting) and have a conversation with them. It's those moments when you are out with people who are "important" to you that you put down your cell phone, your iPad, your laptop, your digital device and reconnect and show them how much you love them. Yes, it's even in those moments that are hard and we want to smack someone upside the head or shake some sense into them, or when we are madder then hornets who have just been woken up, with someone we are called to love them. Jesus didn't stop loving the woman at the well just because she was a Samaritan and He was a Jew. (Prelude to this the Third Sunday of Lent's Gospel) Just because she was a sinner, and was doing things that were not good He never stopped loving her. What did He do? He sacrificed for her....He sat talking with her when he knew He could be killed by just being in her presence (Jews and Samaritans at that time in history were not supposed to be anywhere near each other in public, and most wells in the towns and villages that Jesus ministered in were right smack dab in the center of them where everyone could see them and access them, it could have caused scandal and severe punishment such as death if they were seen together). Just as He sacrificed for all of us as he hung on a wooden cross. So the next time you are wrapped up in your own little world, rushing here and there, busy with other things and distractions, busy with what you want, what you need, what you desire, take a moment to STOP and think about how Jesus dropped everything He could have done or wanted to do and gave His life to you and for you so that you could have the life you have today.
May your Lenten journey be a blessed one.
Peace,
Carol
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