Carry the Wisdom

Written by Jeff Hatgas on Monday of Holy Week

As Easter rapidly approaches, I look to how I might carry the wisdom of Lent beyond these 40 days. During these past few weeks, I recommitted myself to intentional conversation with God. Not surprisingly, these conversations allowed me the space to reflect on my day-to-day experience, but also enabled me to re-center myself. As a result of this practice I found myself asking for eyes to see in a new way. Having just lived through the harshest winter of my life, I’ve quickly grown into mental frame of cold and gray. I’ve missed opportunities to be grateful. I’ve allowed myself to quickly compartmentalize all that I experience—to live it and move on. My prayer pushed me to try on a different frame of mind: to soak in the encounters of my day, push past those things which get under my skin, to see the “god-ness” in those that get on my nerves, and to praise God in the complexity and beauty of creation (yes, even in the snow and slush).

Today’s reading furthers this challenge. Not only are we called to say, “yes” to opportunities to love, but also asked to do so with passion. Although our responses may not always be as monumental as Mary’s towards Jesus, I look to her example as one to emulate. I pray that I have an everyday courage to greet the truth in every day. While each of us has a unique set of gifts, we are filled with the Spirit. Our ways of embodying this Spirit in our happenings will undoubtedly play out differently, but we are all called to be light to all we encounter.

Question for Reflection:
How do I not only recognize, but also anoint the Jesus that I meet in all of creation?

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Jeff Hatgas
Jeff is currently pursuing his Masters in Theology and Ministry at the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry. He worked as a Peer Minister at St. Mary Student Parish during the 2013-2014 academic year.
Email: hatgasj@bc.edu