Being Real---A Lenten Challenge

Well, those of us in the Eastern Church have already started Lent. We started on Sunday March 6. In the East we have a forty day Lenten period which is then followed by Holy Week. The West however maintains a forty day Lenten period which begins tomorrow on Ash Wednesday, but they do not count weekends as Lenten periods. The most important thing though is that we are all on a spiritual journey during the next few weeks and will celebrate the Lord's Resurrection together on Sunday April 24. Let God keep track of time!

One of the things in life which I detest is false spirituality. Once in a while I receive an email from a seeker or someone who wants to join the Church and they sign their name with "the unworthy servant so and so" or "I kiss your right hand father......" or "bless me a sinner." I mean come on already, give it up! St. Paul reminds us in his letters that we are all the chief of sinners, that no one is worthy but Christ alone, and that we are all in need of his saving grace and mercy, period. So why the continual stress on "I kiss your right hand" spirit-speak as I say? Its all fake, that's why.

Real spirituality is not talked about but lived. Real spirituality is love in action. Real spirituality is doing things that you really don't want to do at a particular moment but out of love for your husband/wife/child/neighbor/boss, you do it anyway. Real spirituality is putting someone else in life first rather than yourself. Real spirituality is not pretentious or fake. Real spirituality is quiet and unassuming and hidden. Real spirituality does not put on catchy spiritual phrases but is revealed in common plain language.

I wish everyone a good Lenten season and hope that you all become more and more real; more and more the person that God made you to be, not some cheap version that you put on just to please others.