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Theme for Lent
Commonly we think of our walk towards Christ as one from Darkness to Light.
Which is true and accurate
But as we continue to grow in our relationship with God there is another journey that takes place from Light to Darkness
Journey described by St. Gregory of Nyssa
From Light to Dark
Stage 1: Struggles against the passions
Week 1: Where is your treasure
Week 2: Temptations
Stage 2: Knowledge of God through the mirror of the soul
Week 3: Prodigal son
Week 4: Samaritan Woman
Stage 3: Knowledge of God in darkness
Week 5: Paralyzed man
Week 6: Man born blind
Point of commitment
Every meaningful journey is marked by a beginning point.
The beginning point is where there is a change in mindset and focus.
decisions are made regarding
habits
commitments
rest
work
These decision are fueled by a desired outcome, one that can be envisions in your mind and felt in your heart.
Its also fueled by realizing your current state of discontentment or dissatisfaction with your life
ex.
Losing weight, getting healthy
ex.
pursuing a certain career path
ex.
choosing to end your studies/training to get on with life
ex.
new business endeavor or financial investment
ex.
habits of judgment, pride, anger that we wish to change
The decision point is important as it begins to harness your will power and commitment.
your resiliency will keep you on tract during the journey as there will inevitably be set-backs and challenges
Scripture captures this idea succinctly in today’s Gospel
The treasure, is whatever you envision or desire and the heart is the driving force to achieve it.
A fruitful and meaningful Lenten journey, must begin with a decision.
Many are open to making this decision but don’t how or where to begin.
The problem is that we too often don’t have a firm grasp on what we are actually aiming for.
We know that the tools to employ are but are still not sure what we are aiming at.
fasting
prayer
repentance
liturgy
scripture
Restoring God’s Image
Our goal in Lent, and spiritual battle through out life, is to restore the image of God in us.
His image has been concealed under the layers of sin, guilt, and shame we have caked on ourselves.
Lent provides us the opportunity to take an individual step in removing the layers, while being supported communally.
What is inside of you is Good because it was formed after His image.
St. Gregory of Nyssa
For the pattern of the image could not have been preserved if in its imitation it had in any respect contradicted its archetype.
Through our inheritance of the image of God we received the right to self-determination.
St. Gregory of Nyssa
“…and this likeness to the ruler of all things also extended to man’s power of self-determination: man could choose whatever pleased him and was not enslaved to any external necessity.
But man was led astray by deception...”
The deception comes in taking our sights off of God and onto something or someone else.
St. Matthew is alerting us to the significant role our ‘eye’ has in the overall condition of our body.
The function of the eye is to perceive light...
light bounces off objects and then goes to our brains through our eyes and then we process.
If we close our eyes, do the eyes stop working?
NO they just perceive darkness.
We cannot function the way we were created to function w/o light
Our willful turning to sin and our passions (anger, jealousy, greed) is essentially closing our eyes to the light.
Light represents Christ and all his virtues which are the opposite of our passions.
Lent and all the various practices that we can, if we so choose, to employ serve as the means by which we open our eyes again to the light.
Our spiritual exercises during lent help us remove our sinful tendencies and get better control of our passions which interfere in the restoration of the image of God.
Think of two magnets.
They are naturally drawn to each other because of their natural properties.
When sin is allowed to dwell in the middle it impedes the natural forces that want to bring them together.
When sin and passions are removed and controlled, the two magnets join together because of their natural affinity towards each other.
We bear His image and likeness because He has gifted it to us, not because of anything we have done.
When the two magnets are joined they look and function like one.
Likewise, we look and act more like Christ....
Our Lenten Journey is to restore the image of God in us.
We take steps towards that goal by employing the various spiritual practices available that help us remove the sin and passions from our lives allowing the hidden light of being created in His image to shine brightly.
As we progress through Lent its important to both
Implement spiritual practices AND
Identify a sinful behavior or habit to focus on stopping
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