“And they saw no one but Jesus Christ alone.” - Transfiguration

Isn’t this the point of Lent

that we might have our eyes cleared so that we might see no one but Jesus?!! What does God want? Not that what God wants is necessarily the opposite or different than what you want. Surely all of your desires are to be fulfilled in Jesus Christ, but did you ever ask the question, Jesus what do you want? Or do we do Just what we want? Do you ever ask him or do we just do something like they say “it’s better to ask for forgiveness than for permission!”

Bear your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God! 2 Tm 1:8b

Taylor Swift

I was going to Mass… yesterday… and so I was listening to some Taylor Swift, not that I do that on the reg, I was just listening to her song, “Anti-Hero” and thought, wow its so catchy and wait, did she just say something really profound? She said, “Its me, Hi, I’m the problem it’s me.” What does this song sound like not produced? I found her concert in London.  I played it.  It was some teenie bopper recording and she was shouting, along with every other girl in the crowd singing those lines, “I’m the problem its me!”

And I can’t believe that Taylor, God bless her, get’s more people to admit that they are messed up/disordered/out of order in one way or another than the Lord Himself and His Church! Nope, I can’t accept it.  And sure, maybe they’re just singing with no intention of changing, but I’ll be darned if she gets more people to actually repent than we do! than me… or else I really am the problem…

Missionaries of Charity

I heard the story last week or so, and it struck me, the missionaries of charity, the nuns who belong to the order of Mother Teresa, are allowed to carry and own one Bic pen. So, they treasure this possession. It’s just a pen, I have like 100. But because it’s their only one, they even have to ask permission for a new one if they lose it, they treasure it, because they need a pen! They go through this Discipline because they are actually living out poverty and through their poverty, they come to know Jesus and identify with him and live in intimacy with him.  This is the goal of all of our Lents, and all of our lives.

So I found a Bic pen in my office, and I started using it, “I, too, will be poor, and I will only use this one pen, I have nice pens, not for me anymore! I’m a changed man, I too, will be poor.” I used it for a whole day and then I threw my clothes into the laundry and then I pulled my pen out of the laundry, luckily it had not broken all over my clothes. But it did have water inside of it. My pen died. I drowned it. I realized that I took on this discipline, because I wanted to act like them, I’m not really poor, but it was meant as a little reminder. Unfortunately, I think often we just like to be reminded about Christ, but we’re scared of the intimacy of being a disciple. “I enjoy the story, and hearing about how Christ is poor, the little baby in the manger and the cave, the Lord who has no place to lay His head, but I myself, that’s not for me.”

I bet after all these years of imitating Christ, so severely, I bet those nuns can say “I see no one, but Jesus. I help the poor and I see no one, but Jesus.” I hope that we can fast and pray and give alms for Lent, not just because it gives us something to do spiritually, like cosplay, an outfit that we can put on for a little while, just slumming it up a bit, and then return to our normal way of life.

My fear is that we’ve been to the mountaintop that we have met Christ and that we never allowed it to permeate into our lives, like my pen. We had a really good idea and we started to walk the walk, but it got hard, and we just sort of let that precious memory fade away. This is a moment today to go back into prayer and ask the Lord, have I been on the mountain top with you?, when have I seen you?, and Lord, please give me eyes for you alone.

Conformatio Christi

The whole point of Lent is to conform our lives to Christ, that we know Christ, and that we live from that moment. 

In Dirty Dancing, on the log scene, Patrick Swayze says, “Don’t look down, look here.” That’s how we live, eyes on Christ, following His command.  Go here, feed the poor, take care of the young, pray now, love your enemy, honor me, turn your cheek, eyes on me, don’t look away, Focus on me, and do what I say.” 

We must pray even through the boredom, we must fast and feel the hunger a few times this week, we must give alms to the poor with something that is generous, that we feel.

Up the mountain in vain?

2 Peter 1:16 For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” 18 We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.

What would be the point of Christ taking these friends up the mountain only to have them say years later… “Oh yea, that was cool, I forgot about that!”