Ash Wednesday
2014
Join me in prayer
Dear Lord,
Fr. Nouwen wrote that the primary challenge for all Christians is to realize what is first and foremost in the expectations that the Father has for each of us. Nouwen believed it to be the opening of our heart and soul to the Spirit of the Christ in seeking the Kingdom of God. So what does this mean for me, for my friends, as we show the sign of our Christianity in the ashes we wear for the day?
What is or where is this Kingdom of God? Father, in Nouwen's words it is not some "get away" place. Likewise it is not the perfect world I might expend so much energy on throughout our lives.
Simply stated, Father, it is within my very self that I should find the Kingdom. It is within me. You gifted it to me when You chose to create me. But do I take the time and effort to discover the ways that it can truly be a part of who I recognize myself to be: the creature that you created with a touch of the divinity you wished to share with us.
So, Father, the challenge for me, then, is find ways to (1) remove those things or persons in my life which might be keeping me from being as open to the Holy Spirit as You, my Creator God want for me, and/or (2) to add to my life what I discover (which means actively searching for) what will draw me ever closer to You, Your Son, Jesus and the gift giving Holy Spirit.
Oremus pro invicem!
From the Hermitage,
Fr. Milt
