A check in

For those who are following along and for those who are writing it has been 10 days since Ash Wednesday. We are a quarter of our way through the journey. While this is interesting it hardly is a fair comparison to the very real journeys we are seeking to remember. The Israelites did not have the luxury of saying, "Hey guys only thirty more years in the desert. Then we'll be perfected. Ye haw!" Nor do we have any information that Jesus went through his earthly life with a calendar and a marker counting the days. The emphasis on the days betrays the purpose which is we set off into the wilderness to be made more complete. We set off into the wilderness to be perfected.

There has been a change in me. It struck the fourth or fifth morning when I work up saying the Creed. Made me wonder, was it I who say the prayers or the spirit saying them in me. Who really is doing the work here? I mean, 99% of the time I'm like the flea on the back of an elephant who has just come over a bridge. As the analogy goes the flea gets all excited and proclaims, "Boy did WE shake that Bridge!" I'm like the flea. I take a lot more credit in my spiritual life than I deserve.

The shift is this continual reminder of the first command. "You shall love the Lord your God" "Our Father" "I believe in God Almighty, creator of heaven and earth" "I am the Lord your God". What has made is more of an awakening is my unique perspective. Due to how this has been created everytime a post posts, an email is sent to my in box. So through out the day these messages just come. Each one a reflection and a reminder that my journey here is not alone.

Another change has been that it has been the opportunity to get to know my classmates in a new light. I was hoping that more of the parishioners of St. Benedict's would get involved and they still might but that is not up to me. Even so there are about five to seven of us who have taken this practice up. I am always amazed at the honesty and insight. Not that didn't know about their depth before. But it is one thing to know something. It is quite another to experience it. I am honored by their company.

For me it is working. I'm still a flea but, I enjoy shaking bridges.