~ William James
I was blessed
to attend a Jesuit university (Thank you, Mom!). During the Advent and Lenten seasons, the
university sends out beautiful daily devotionals. In anticipation of Lent, which begins
tomorrow, the Vice President for Mission and Ministry at Georgetown University,
Rev. Kevin O'Brien, S.J. wrote the following:
"As
I reflect on my own discipleship at the start of the retreat, I follow the lead
of Pope Francis in this Jubilee Year of Mercy and strive to live with greater
tenderness: to treat others and myself
more gently. What virtue or disposition
do you seek to cultivate with God’s help?
If you instead seek freedom from a disposition or habit, consider a
different kind of fast: fasting from fear, cynicism, or excessive critique, for
example. As we go about these spiritual
exercises, we are careful not to turn the retreat into a self-improvement
regime. More fundamentally, this is a
privileged time to encounter God’s abundant grace, with which all things are
possible."
Father O'Brien's message left me wondering: How can we
treat others and ourselves more gently, especially during this season of Lent?
I posed the question over dinner to my children and hope that it will serve as a focal point as we journey through Lent this year.
No comments:
Post a Comment