14 May 2013
Feast of Saint Matthias, Apostle
The spring air fills with the collision of falling blossoms mixed with the heady scent of lilac and peony. It’s time to clean the closets. Before houses boasted of various air filters and dust zapping electric fields, Aunt Kathryn would open the windows, take the cushions to the porch, and beat the carpets within an inch of their lives. Living well into her 90s she was living proof that a good spring cleaning kept the house in shape and provided all the aerobic exercise anyone ever needed.
Seasonal spring cleaning may be that time to toss a few things out of our life that are, at best, collecting dust, or, at worst, causing us to make some bad decisions. Like Aunt Kathryn, who followed St. Ignatius’s advice in the particular examination of conscience, she took one part of the house and got it into order and then proceeded to the next, one small problem at time until the job got done. Ignatius wisely advised that we not be tempted by the enormity of the task (like tackling the whole attic) but instead address one thing at a time, making small, sure steps towards success.