~by Susi Pittman

What did you decide that your Lenten journey would BE or NOT BE this year?

The Lenten season began back on March 9^th, and as Catholics we were all asked to give up sin for Lent as we received the ashes on Ash Wednesday. We are asked to make the Lenten journey one of turning our lives over more completely to Jesus…to leave behind our old ways and to put on more the life of Christ.

Yesterday, I took check of what I have seen and experienced in others and in myself so far. There are two pathways at the fork in the Lenten road, one leads to “the world” and the other leads to “Jesus.”

THE FIRST FORK: THE WORLD

The world is fraught with many disturbances and the endless noise from all arenas of media can leave you running for your bed and the safety of being in a fetal position. I am amazed at the self-centeredness of our society as a whole. It was to my credit, as I am more proned to be forgetting these days, that I remembered a quote from not so long ago:

“My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute.” ~Ayn Rand

These words put into context what I see in the world about me…humanism, objectivism, “do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law.”

It has been during my Lenten walk, that this behavior has become more noticeable to me. Perhaps it is because I am taking the time to look and listen, or perhaps I am being made more spiritually aware.

Yet, with so many negative onslaughts and angry voices, it’s as if God also opened up to me, the truth of the Lenten journey…..”resurrection.”

THE SECOND FORK: JESUS

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you; not as the world gives do I give to you.” ~John 14:27

I personally, have experienced a closer walk with Jesus as I moved through more painful personal moments that needed to be resolved. I rejoiced in Jesus’ healing power when my Dalmatian, Buddy was healed from being paralyzed and saved from being euthanized. I have reverenced my journey to becoming an Associate of the Sisters of St. Joseph, St. Augustine. I have watched admirably as my daughter, Seana forms and builds the three little cathedrals that God has given her; Aidan, 3, Greg, 2 and Kaleigh, 1. I have worked harder than ever before to share responsible stewardship of all creation through the mission of this website.

All of these things have been “resurrecting” moments for me.

Hope amidst turmoil.

Joy in sickness.

Peace in spiritual learning.

Humility in a daughter’s love.

Perseverance in spiritual work.

CONCLUSION

What my Lenten journey has NOT BEEN: Consumed in the material world that takes away from the sanctuary of creation.

What my Lenten journey has BEEN: A humble journey through a spiritual desert (one that Father Ron has spoken on so eloquently) and a resurrection in mind, body and soul to a new love of serving Jesus to that which I am capable.

May the peace that only Jesus can give, BE the fuel to fill your soul with eternal hope, resurrecting you to ardent love for the Eternal Love.

Susi Pittman is founder of CatholicStewardsofCreation.com and Owner-President of Twin Oaks Publishing; she is author of Animals in Heaven? Catholics Want to Know!; an advocate for the Florida Catholic Conference; a member of the St. Joseph’s Catholic Council of Women in Jacksonville, Florida; an Associate of the Sisters of St. Joseph, St. Augustine;a member of the Florida Publishers Association, Independent Book Publishers Association, the National Association of Professional Women, the ASPCA, the Humane Society of the United States and the National Audubon society.