The joy and gladness promised in the ancient prophecies centers around relief from the greatest burden: death. Life and living are the constant focus of revelation. Due to our physical and animal nature, we come to equate life with the basic physical manifestations of it. We see life as our ability to move, eating and drinking, sex, work, intensity, growth, affections, etc. While our human life includes and requires these obvious signs, they are only the surface. Beneath the surface are our thoughts, affections, memories, emotions, plans, hopes and dreams. We try to protect our ability to manifest life physically because the life that lies beneath the surface seems to be at risk otherwise.
Friday of the Third Week of Lent
The highest virtue of mind is wisdom, and the highest moral virtue is prudence – which is itself a practical wisdom according to the ancient Greeks. Wisdom is joining mind and heart with the proper order. Wisdom understands that although the highest truth provides clarity and brings peace, simply knowing is insufficient. Loving – in, through, and with truth – is what brings meaning and purpose to any order I have discovered in life.
The order I discover always hinges on a real good. In other words, the good I judge to be most important – consciously or unconsciously – is the one that concretely influences all my thoughts, words, and actions. If the most important good for me is food, my life energy will be consumed by figuring out my next meal – and when I’m full I temporarily lose my sense of purpose. If the most important good for me is sex, my life energy will be directed at gratifying those urges – and when they are fulfilled I experience a moment of emptiness and confusion. If the most important good for me is being in control, I will seek to dominate any situation or relationship I find myself in – and when I can’t dominate I avoid or attempt to destroy.
Thursday of the Third Week of Lent
We have five senses, five windows that allow the world around us to flood our souls like sunlight if we remember to open the curtains. Our sense of hearing is the only one directly aligned to our life of faith. Listening is a human act of hearing – it requires attention and intellect. “If today you hear His voice, harden not your heart.” Our faith helps us recognize the voice of God speaking to us through the Word of the Holy Scriptures. Once we recognize the Voice, however, our hearts have to remain malleable or “soft.” A heart that listens is one that recognizes the supreme authority, love and power of the one speaking.