How do we search for healing in our lives? I was reminded this week of a quote by Blaise Pascal: “What else does this craving, and this helplessness, proclaim but that there was once in man a true happiness, of which all that now remains is the empty print and trace? This he tries in vain to fill with everything around him, seeking in things that are not there the help he cannot find in those that are, though none can help, since this infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object; in other words by God himself.” Sometimes referred to as the idea of a “God-shaped hole” the idea is that we have a space within us that can be perfectly filled by God, and yet we try to fill it with nearly anything else. Such attempts are doomed to failure, after all, nothing will fit quite so perfectly as God.
When I consider ideas of pain, grief, sin, repentance and redemption, it seems to me we are seeking desperately for wholeness and healing, and are sometimes willing to accept cheap imitations in our anxiety and need. Lent is the time to let go of what is not God, and to invite God in. It’s a time to reflect, to confront our lives as they are, and to take the steps to change, with God’s help. We do this “by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word.” Should you wish to discuss your Lenten process, please come in to talk with me.
Our last Bingo of the program year is coming up on Saturday, March 16. Please sign up if you plan to join us so that we can make sure to have enough food. You are welcome to bring a side or a dessert to share, but you are also very welcome to simply bring yourself.
I could really use some help on Palm Sunday for people to supervise crafts or hide eggs. If you are able to do so, please sign up in the Parish Hall. Thank you!
Prayers and Blessings,
Mother Pippa