Soul of Christ
It has been a long couple weeks since Christmas break. It seems like everything is just spiraling out of control. Usually when this happens in my life, I spiral right with it. It is so easy to get caught up in the chaos and add fuel to the raging fire. For me it seems like my mouth always starts running before I have time to think it through. Father Adam gave a reminder this week that turning the other cheek is often times the best thing to do.
These last few years I have been trying to be more aware of my mouth and the fact that not everyone has to hear my opinion on everything. I am lucky that I am surrounded by people of faith who guide me and set great examples for me to follow. I feel especially protective when people I love are being hurt or under attack. This week I realized a couple things. We are all under attack. We are living in crazy, inexplicable times. We are living in our very own real life dystopian novel. Extremes everywhere we look.
So how do we deal with these extreme experiences or situations? Some people lash out. Some hold it inside. Some might take it out on their spouse/significant other or kids. Some might binge watch tv or eat an entire row of cookies. Some of us do these things when we feel stressed and overwhelmed. However, we, the people of faith, the people of this parish, the women and men reading this right now, have a weapon that is unstoppable. On our very worst days, when we make a horrible mistake, when we get devastating news from our doctor, when we watch our children suffer, or watch our loved ones take their last breath, we have the strongest force in our hearts and minds. We have Christ. He is always with us. We are truly never alone.
These past few weeks I realized that not everyone has a faith that they can depend on. Those of us who do rely on our faith to carry us through our daily lives are so blessed, and we feel the pain of sin and regret when we make mistakes, but we also feel the overwhelming joy when we are reminded of our blessings and of God's graces. Today at the end of our school mass, one of our 8th grade boys read the communion meditation before the final blessing was given. It took my breath away. I have heard it before, but I never felt it like I did today. I believe it was the Anima Christi prayer. This is a prayer often said after communion. I have never learned this prayer, but I love it. Be grateful for God's work in our lives, even in the trying times. Can you imagine going through life without Christ by our side?
