News from Sophia Christi

There is only one season in the Church calendar in which we are so clear about our lives being a journey, and this is it—Lent. For 40 days we walk toward Jerusalem with Jesus, through the ups and downs of his life as he meets social outcasts, antagonistic religious figures, people who are sick, crowds of onlookers, and his own puzzled disciples. And as we walk with him, his life and his experiences highlight our own. The people he meets are like us in so many ways. Some are humble. Some are arrogant. Some are greedy. Many are ill, physically, mentally, spiritually. He engages them all and sets an example for us to follow. In Lent we take stock of our readiness. We assess what holds us back, examine the attitudes we bring to our challenges, and face the flaws of character that lead us toward self-centered behaviors. It is a particularly difficult season if we forget we are loved and that our one and only job on this journey is to become better and better at loving others as well as ourselves. Loving ourselves is its own challenge since satisfying the desire for comfort, pleasure, and a sense of our own power can seem like love. Sometimes it is and sometimes it falls into the category of self-indulgence. Sometimes it disintegrates into addictive patterns. There are fine lines here that require awareness in order to tease them apart. What is healthy for us builds up the family and the community. What is unhealthy for us is also unhealthy, even oppressive, to those around us. Love is an open path asking the ever-present question—who will this choice serve? Does this behavior, this attitude, this thought-process serve the greater good of everyone or does it serve only myself? (more…)