On the Threshold of the 40 Day Retreat

First of all my apologies for a long hiatus from blogging.One excuse is that I recently changed my address. Now I am part of our Boston community. I have been assigned to Boston often. Now this seems more "permanent." often people have asked me, "Is this a 'permanent' placement? Will you always be here (in whatever city I happened to have been assigned to)?" In the early days of our religious life, the Founder had told us that we should be like the sparrows perched on a branch a;ways ready to fly off to whatever assignment came up. We are still surrounded by a blanket of snow. Old snow, frozen solid. Experience and faith tell us that one day that snow will melt and the green grass will sprout. Winter's icy grip and its stubborn clinging this year are all the more reasons to want to spend a fervent Lenten season. Lent requires more effort, more spiritual energy, more of the heat of the love of God and the love we have for God. One thing that has encouraged me to spend a better Lenten season was seeing the movie the Son of God last week. It is a good movie, and powerful especially in its depiction of Jesus' Passion. The actor who portrays Jesus does well as he becomes intensely serious as he foretells his sufferings to the Apostles. The scenes of Jesus suffering in the last days of his life tell the story of God's love shown to us through Jesus. Although some may criticize the film as "lame" or "not enough" I say no motion picture is "enough" to portray the love of the infinite God. We use finite means to convey an infinite love story. People do their best, but God's grace has to do the rest: to move our hearts to imitate the love Jesus showed on that first Good Friday.

No matter what your Lenten resolve is keep at it. A fourteen year old boy whose cause awaits canonization is Marjorino Viggolungo. He was one of the very first members of the Society of St. Paul founded 100 years ago. Marjorino was convinced that he could be an Apostle by bringing God's Word to life through the printed Word. His motto was "A little (more) every day" for God. That one resolve which he stuck to won him a holy death. The Son of God movie is in theaters in the USA right now. Don't complain about Hollywood. Instead support the good that Hollywood tries to do.