By Joshua Dobrowolski This talk is available as a video HERE. I had a really hard time writing this talk. Every time I sat down to begin writing, I felt my mind pulled away to other tasks I had to, or wanted to complete. My mind was letting those things take priority. We all have those things that distract us, that pull us away from the majesty of sitting in the presence of God. We all have desires - a will - if you will. Some of our desires are wonderful - perhaps it’s a desire to spend more time with friends, or to do better in school. Some of our desires lead us away from God. We fight those desires, but overtime, our will becomes weaker, and we may give in. Lent provides us an amazing opportunity to become aware of those areas of our life where we have compromised. Where we have given in to desires that lead us away from God. As we come into Holy Week, we are nearing the end of this period of preparation.
This week, Holy Week, we as Catholics are called to figuratively journey with Jesus through his ultimate sacrifice manifested in the passion. But, we are also called to follow Jesus in his service. A point which Pope Francis talked about in his homily this past Palm Sunday. Pope Francis said: "on Holy Thursday, he is portrayed as the servant who washes the feet of his disciples; on Good Friday, he is presented as the suffering and victorious servant; and tomorrow we will hear the prophecy of Isaiah about him: Behold my servant, whom I uphold” God saved us by serving us. We often THINK we are the ones who serve God. NO, he is the one who freely chose to serve us, for he loved us first. It is difficult to love and not be loved in return. And it is even more difficult to serve if we do not let ourselves be served by God." Too often, we allow our will to take priority over God’s. We feel in our heart that God is calling us to take a different path, but the path he is calling us to seems challenging or uncomfortable. Sometimes doing the right thing is uncomfortable, or even downright painful. Jesus expresses this pain in the garden of gethsemane when he says to God, “if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me.” The difference between our actions and Jesus’ often diverge in how we respond to the answer of that plea. Jesus weeps at God’s answer, BUT he follows through. He gives his life over to God. Completely and utterly trusting that God’s will will not lead him astray. Not only will God’s will not lead him astray, but that it will transform the world. If Jesus can make this choice faced with the crucifixion, why do we have such difficulty making this choice when it comes to things like loving our neighbour, or serving one another as Jesus modelled for us? We all fall into these traps. “If I follow my will, it will make ME feel good.”; “I know what I want, what I need.” Do you though? Like I said earlier, I had a really difficult time sitting down and writing this talk. I woke up for the last three days in a tug-a-war between my head and my heart. My mind raced with all of the projects I needed to get done, and then there was my heart; God’s call was not demanding, instead, it was the persistent and gentle pull of love. That call was asking me to spend some time reflecting with God, and reminded me that writing this talk would actually be a part of that rest. To remember that all the “projects I needed to get done” could wait. And yet, I ignored that call. I ignored God’s will and desire to be close with me, and instead chose to make my will the priority. You know how much work I got done on my projects? None. Because what I really needed was to rest. How often do we each ignore God’s call in our lives to pursue something that we think is more important? And how has Lent changed each of our responses to that call in preparation for Easter? God’s will is our will, our joy. They do not work against each other. That’s why Jesus sacrificed his life; so that each of us could live in the love of God for eternity; that is God’s will. I think we can sometimes view God’s will for us as a repressive force in our lives - something that holds us back or restricts us from doing whatever we want. This couldn’t be further from the truth. God knows our hearts better than we do, and God knows what will make us happy if we are only willing to listen. Have you ever felt the joy of helping someone who is in need; not for any reward, just to help? Isn’t that joy more meaningful than the happiness you experience after eating a chocolate. I know when I eat chocolate, 2 seconds later I’m looking for the next piece. There is so much more permanence in the joy of service. Choosing God’s will for us is something that we do every moment of every day. It’s not a choice that you make once and it’s done; it is a life-long dedication. Holy Week reminds us of why we choose that dedication, that God serves us, and wants the best for us, and when Easter comes, it is an opportunity to rejoice in the love that God has for each and every one of us.
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PulsePulse is our Jr High group (Grades 6-9) for those who want to be journeying to learn more about God and how He fits into this crazy thing called life! From Saint of the Day to talks to activities, we work to understand more about our faith and its importance in our everyday lives as we all work to become modern day saints. Categories
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