Fidelity in a Challenging World: Be the Gift
One of the most difficult tasks perhaps, is cleaning up one's room. I remember transferring to my brother's in 2014 to give way to my youngest sister who stayed with us for a while. My former room was assigned later on to my teenage niece when my sister got married and settled outside the country.
I looked at my closet and I have bags and shoes which I could use until 2025.
I have donated a huge amount of good clothes to a temple nearby but my things kept on growing... (me and the Diderot effect).
I surmised I have given away but I have also doubled what I bought.
The priest in an earlier homily challenged us to take a closer look on what we keep and challenged us to a life of interiority vs. superficiality.
It is a life that continuously chooses to 'create' space and give birth to Jesus...a life that seeks the 'needs' rather than the demands of this world... a life that gives rather than keeps.
source: National Catholic Register |
It is the time to surrender the things that we have and learn to share them with others. It is the time to examine our interior closet and let go of our pride and selfishness...
This Advent, what is God asking me to give up? "What mountains have to be leveled and what valleys should be filled in?" (Bishop Barron's Advent Reflections)
source: Gaudete et Exsultate, Pope Francis' Apostolic Exhortation on the Call to Holiness in Today's World
Supplement readings:
So much stuff! Making room for God by Bill Dodds
So much stuff! Making room for God by Bill Dodds
Yes, guilty as charged . . . Sometimes, I cling too tightly to my resources, knowing they are best given away, but I also have a responsibility to my family to be able to provide for them when the needs arise. It is like walking a tightrope at times. I will be making donations at this Christmas time, and praying God will open my eyes and heart to see the ones who are truly in need that I can help.
ReplyDeleteBlessings, my friend!