Have you ever felt stuck in your Lenten
practices? Attempts that didn’t lead to a change of heart and ongoing
conversion? Several years back I came across a very interesting Lenten resolution written by Keith Bierraum. One “Lent I
gave up my right to be offended and to take offense. Every day, practically
every hour, I blundered my way into realizing how much time, effort and energy
is take up with defending myself and exacting whatever retribution is most
easily available. I have given too much energy on feeling wronged or feeling
righteous toward anyone who has let me down or disagreed with me. This led to
letting go of my right to be correct and to correct others because I am right.
What a relief.”
Though exacting retribution seems way out of
the ordinary (or is it?), I believe Keith’s resolution is a worthy
consideration. My experience suggests that most/many of us know firsthand what he
is saying. Much of life’s precious time
can be swallowed up in feeling offended and nursing past hurts which leads to destruction
of one’s quality of life and absorbs too many thoughts. Awareness, humility,
discipline and above all prayer become the ingredients for shedding the need to
hold the grudge.
After pondering Keith’s experience, I am reminded
of Luke’s parable of cleaning the house to get rid of one devil only to have
seven more return to the empty house. (Luke11: 24 -25) In the decision not
to take offense at remarks deemed hurtful or mean, it is of import to decide how
to “replace” the time spent resenting, bemoaning or begrudging etc. with open
hearted prayer, and engagement in behaviors that promote well-being and growth.
The Church’s ancient plea to Lenten
discipline calls us to prayer, fasting and almsgiving. These praxis offers specific
help to the seeker. All three offer opportunities to go out of self for the
sake of deepening one’s relationship with God and God’s people. Think about what
a beautiful world this could be if we nurtured and practiced forgiveness and
loving-kindness.
Sr. Aileen Bankemper, OSB
Great read!! Really got me thinking and I am going to work on this during lent! Thank you!!
ReplyDeleteWell said and much to ponder. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteDear Sister, this is exceptionally good advice -- when we receive hurts, we naturally feel aggrieved, and naturally wish to respond, often hitting out (even unconsciously & without realizing it). This may apply for some people to a lifetime of hurts and humiliations, and may even last over several generations, perhaps a time scale of a thousand years. Can we think of examples? They are not far from us in faith or place or time. Our own faith was given us to overcome this problem, and yet how often we failed. In fact, the grudge was often used as a motor to drive survival, and strong feelings were there in the beginning. Times change and we find ourselves past the second millennium. The miracles of Jesus are in the hands of the modern hospital, and Jerusalem is in the hands of the Jewish people. Psalms are sung in freedom there, not far from the courts of Solomon. Our faith brought them back home, in that sense we were a Messiah for them, though it took 1900 years or so. Now we find that our common foe is the faithless world. On all sides people choose not to attend church, synagogue and later Mosque as well. Those strange new religions faded away – the big ones fight on -- it is a faithless world. The ones who fill in the questionnaire, tick the box which says "No religion." They are in some places as many as 30 or 40 per cent. Unthinkable in the long story of our human race. To be without faith? How dangerous! How should we respond? How can we make our different faiths work together to strengthen our survival? How can we find a common ground and remain strong there? Only by saying I love you, I love your goodness, I love your gifts, let’s say thank you together – all the faiths agree on that, don’t we? Thank you for the gift of our world, our house, our family, our kind neighbours. God bless OSB, Happy Easter soon.
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