Ss Dominic, Francis of Assisi and Ignatius of Loyola are transported back in time and place to the nativity of Our Lord. St Dominic, seeing the Incarnation of the Word, is sent into ecstasy. St Francis, seeing God become a helpless child, is overcome with humility.
St Ignatius of Loyola takes St Joseph and Our Lady aside and asks "Have you given any thought to the boy's education?"
Occasionally I'm given unusual inspirations which I attribute to the Holy Spirit, since I am a usual kind of guy. The first days of Lent found me moping about, less than fastidious about the three great goals of Lent: prayer, alms-giving and abstaining periodically from certain foods.
In protest I watched a Romantic Christmas movie and hummed the jingle bells as I retired for the night. I even thought I might give up my New Year's resolution for Lent. I was more inclined to rejoice with the Christmas birth than go into the "gloom and agony" of the Passion. But the lord was not finished with me yet.
The bible readings for the first Friday in Lent put me in touch with Isaiah 58:1-9 which talks about fasting and how the Lord is not pleased with the externals if we continue oppressing others, quarrelling, fighting and using the clenched fist.
The Lord does not choose to accept the fast that is merely bowing the head like a bulrush and lying in sackcloth and ashes (I like Isaiah's imagery here). What is acceptable to God is the fast that looses the bonds of injustice, undoes the thongs of the yoke and sets the oppressed free. Good works in other words!
But the real inspiration came in the Gospel reading of the day from Matthew 9:14-15 which says the wedding guests cannot mourn while the bridegroom is among them. His disciples did not fast while Jesus was with them.
Hello! Is Jesus not with us any more? Has He abandoned us for another Lent? How can we do anything but rejoice when Jesus lives in us and among us?
Suddenly the world righted itself and the optimism that had been threatened by the advent of Lent returned. I recalled how just last week during the coldest February days on record the sun shone at its brightest. Even today, the day of this writing, I paused from my snow-blowing to admire God's presence in the cloud wisps whipped across the blue sky.
"The word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword it penetrates even to dividing soul from spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12)
Have a wonderful and inspired Lent!
