Digging Out

Those of us in New England are engaged in a seemingly unending task of digging out after the abundant snows left by yesterday's blizzard. Plows ran through the night, snow blowers attacked the mounting "white stuff"several times yesterday and with finishing touches today seek to make a minimal path so that we might get on with our lives. One of the blessings derived from this process is that we have been forced to slow down. Cars move slower on the roads, cancellations have increased our leisure time, and our usual day of multiple meetings and running around has thankfully been curtailed to "just the essentials". Let's breathe in and thank God for this gift and try to use it well.
In the responsorial psalm at today's liturgy we heard "Oh that today you would hear his voice:/ "Harden not your hearts..." (Ps 95: 7-8). Today is the day when we might be able to do this more than usual: listen, and let God soften our hearts to receive his grace and inspiration, to be less centered on self, and more on him or the needs of the suffering and sorrowing. We need not look too far: the headlines are filled with grim stories of pain and tragedy. We are all called to holiness as followers of Jesus, and today is a day when we might ask ourselves if we are hearing that call, and look at how we are responding to it. Let our "digging out" reach to the depths of our souls.
Bro. Rene