August 12, 2022

Dear Friends, 

         A new weekend, a new meme inspired thought. Ego prevents you from learning from others. Envy prevents you from focusing on yourself. Anger prevents you from seeing clearly. Ignorance prevents you from making good decisions. Fear prevents you from seizing good opportunities. Get rid of them all. I wish I was as insightful as some people when it comes to words of wisdom, is something I would say if I was envious. Instead, I have gratitude that there are people with the wisdom to come up with ideas such as this. 

         Ego, Anger, Envy, Ignorance, and Fear are things that we deal with and must work through. At times, it is easy to brush one of these things off and attribute it to a one time feeling. I don’t get angry often.  I don’t envy what others have. The list of excuses can grow while we are doing little to change or work on the things with which we struggle.

         While I feel like I do not struggle with all these things, I know there are areas I need to work on. It is easy to blame others for things, but we must try harder. I will be honest, I have a bit of a temper, it is usually in control 98% of the time.  The other 2%, I know I must work on. I try to walk away from the situation or say I am not in a great mood, and I feel if I stay here, I will say something I regret later. It is not easy to recognize the faults within ourselves, yet we must try.

         I look at the lives of the Saints, the women and men who lived ordinary lives like us. The Saints had their flaws and faults and worked through them. I love the story from the life of St. Thérèse of Lisieux:  For a long time, my place at meditation was near a sister who fidgeted continually, either with her rosary, or something else; possibly, as I am very keen of hearing, I alone heard her, but I cannot tell you how much it tried me. I should have liked to turn round, and by looking at the offender, make her stop the noise; but in my heart I knew that I ought to bear it tranquilly, both for the love of God and to avoid giving pain. So, I kept quiet, but the effort cost me so much that sometimes I was bathed in perspiration, and my meditation consisted merely in suffering with patience. After a time, I tried to endure it in peace and joy, at least deep down in my soul, and I strove to take actual pleasure in the disagreeable little noise. Instead of trying not to hear it, which was impossible, I set myself to listen, as though it had been some delightful music, and my meditation - which was not the “prayer of quiet” - was passed in offering this music to Our Lord.

         We forget the humanity of our Saints.  They were human. They had flaws and quirks as we do. Each day is an opportunity to work on what holds us back. Get rid of the things that keep you from the Lord and your happiness.

Have a blessed weekend. 

Fr. Brian 

P.S. What do you call a bee that can’t make up its mind?  A maybee