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Lent is Here

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday and marks the beginning of the penitential season of Lent.  As I think about the days ahead, I’m grateful for the chance to be introspective, to see and pray through the parts of my life which need work.  It’s time, probably overdue.   Maybe it’s the same for you.

This morning, I was thinking about the last lines of Psalm 139, one of my favorites.  It reminds me that God knows me so well.  No matter how far I deviate from the path He has set out for me, God is always there to help me get back on track.  As we prepare for the days to come, I hope these words echo in your heart as they do in mine.

Probe me, God, know my heart; try me, know my concerns.  See if my way is crooked, then lead me in the ancient paths. (Psalm 139:23-24)

 

 

 

 

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An End and a Beginning

Yesterday evening, I sent my doctoral treatise to my director at Catholic University of America.  It took almost five years to get to that point of hitting the send button, but in a flash, it was on it’s way, to begin the final stage of reaching my goal of achieving a doctorate.  All that’s left to do now is my defense.  While still a big deal, it will be nothing like getting up in the morning each day at 3 am to begin working for four hours on this document, coming in at 191 pages.

These past five years have been filled with twists and turns, doubt and conviction, stress and peace.  I was with my men’s group yesterday afternoon and I was telling them that I really don’t have  something in my past to compare this with.  So, that email marked, in my mind, the end of something, and it’s receipt by my director on the other end, a new beginning.

If St. Ignatius were sitting here with me right now, he’d tell me that, in the end, this isn’t about  me, or what I’ve been able to do.  No, he would say it’s about being able to do more for God.  I like that, because it keeps me humble, and I need to keep that wisdom on the forefront of my mind going forward.  When you get down to it, so much in life, despite our best efforts otherwise, isn’t really about us.  Whenever we think we can strike out on our own, and that it’s all about what we can do by ourselves, we miss something very important.  God’s abiding presence in our lives.  St. Ignatius called it “finding God in all things.”  No matter what twists and turns might be in our lives, He’s there if we seek Him with all our heart.  That’s our job.  God will take care of the rest.