The Wolf Within

Advent moves along as we light the third candle on the Advent wreath. The color pink or rose signifies the words from St. Paul, "Rejoice. I say it again, rejoice!" When skies are gray and snow or drizzle is falling, it's comforting to be reminded to rejoice, be cheerful. Christ is coming liturgically on Christmas Day. How do I prepare for Christ's arrival? Yesterday's preacher gave an example of how to prepare by narrating a story with native American roots. A young boy asks his grandfather, "How am I supposed to be a good person?" The grandfather replied: "Each of us have two wolves within us. One is the wolf of kindness, compassion, love and mercy. The other wolf is that of anger, jealousy, rage, laziness, and cruelty. What kind of a person you will be depends on which wolf you will feed." Just as a wounded dog or wolf can lick his sores and seem to brood on what hurts, so can we humans curl up in self pity and feed the sneaky angry wolf.
I was reminded of this when I spoke to one of my sisters on the phone yesterday. At 4:55 PM I could hear her cocker spaniel barking and her cat meowing loudly. Her pets never forget that 5:00 PM is their supper time. My sister had to close our conversation to quiet her four legged companions.
When its time to have our meals, why not ask, "Which wolf am I feeding?"