By Beth
DeCristofaro
Wash yourselves clean!
Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes; cease doing evil; learn to do good. Make justice your aim: redress the wronged, hear
the orphan’s plea, defend the widow. Come now, let us set things right, says
the LORD: Though your sins be like scarlet,
they may become white as snow; (Isaiah 1:16-18)
they may become white as snow; (Isaiah 1:16-18)
You have but one
teacher, and you are all brothers. Call
no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven. Do not be called ‘Master’; you have but one
master, the Christ. The greatest among
you must be your servant. Whoever exalts
himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” (Matthew 23:8-12)
Piety
Show me, I beseech
you, O God, your saving power. Fill me
that I might be steadfast and seek only You.
(From Psalm 50)
Study
Snow again and I
have mixed feelings. Shoveling is just
not my favorite activity. Also it is
inconvenient to adjust plans. My mom who
lives alone now has 5+ inches to isolate her.
However the beauty and hush of snow is so calming. Snowfall does give one a sense of purity. While I do not believe that the world is
itself unclean but when dirty streets and murky skies are covered, over our
eyes delight in pristine spotlessness.
The stillness of snow falling and mounding opens the ears to really
listen to what might not be heard in the rush of every day.
Isaiah goes on to
say that one must “be willing and obey”
in order to become clean before the Lord.
Jesus warns that external whiteness can disguise hypocrisy and
filth. Shoveling snow is difficult
physically and shoveling false snow off of one’s own face, actions and out of
one’s heart and motivations is equaling demanding. Our one Master, the Christ, can hold that
shovel with us as we cannot do so alone.
Action
As part of my
Lenten journey I can consider what lies hidden by the practices I have adopted
as Catholic, Christian woman. What in my
journey to Jesus and with Jesus is actually distraction or a false road to
Him? Pray to be honest, joyful and
hopeful in redirecting this journey with humility and faith.
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