March 04, 2022

Mt 9:14-15

Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?” And Jesus said to them, “The wedding guests cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.

New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved. 

Cherishing the Effort

While serving as an acolyte I often look out at the congregation and focus on where people are sitting. At my best I am joyful to see people, and at my worst I am wondering why they are not sitting closer to the front. I imagine this is a similar tension to what the disciples of John were experiencing when addressing fasting. At their best they were diligently fasting and living faithfully, and at their worst they were overly concerned with why others were not fasting as much as they were.  

This Lent, how can you focus your energy on cherishing those making efforts, any efforts, to deepen their spiritual lives?  

What or who are you spending too much time worrying about or judging? 

I will do my part by savoring presence and evaluating my own, not critiquing placement.  

—Brendan O’Kane is the Director of Ignatian Mission and Identity at Loyola Blakefield in Towson, MD.

Prayer 

Loving God,
We know You have a room prepared for us
We know You are with us always
We know You love and care for all Your children
We know all this, Lord, but sometimes we forget and focus on the wrong things
Help us Lord, in the spirit of St. Casmir, to be enthusiastic in our devotion, and pure in our intentions, with our eyes always on You 

Amen 

—Brendan O’Kane