Grey skies and leafless trees still cover the Wisconsin Landscape. The buds on the trees are getting plumper, as are most men and women from Milwaukee who have been consuming the venison and frozen hot dish pulled from the inner recess of the basement freezer. The best and worst are being uncovered at this difficult time, ranging from acts of heroic virtue to grey roots at the scalp. In all this, we must keep our eye, as St. Paul writes, on the prize. Necessity, as St. Thomas writes, helps cultivate virtue. We can make the choice to find life, hope, charity, and love, where others may find desperation and fear. Everyday we are faced with an opportunity to express either anger from frustration or charity that comes from Christian example. We can recall the readings for the Feast of St. Ignatius: I set before you life or death, choose life so that you may live. Even in the face of mortality, we choose the life of Christ and the hope and strength this gives us. The lines given to us in today’s scripture and often quoted by Pope John Paul II, “Do not be Afraid” have perhaps greater significance now than they did at Christmas.
May I suggest for today’s spiritual activity a rosary offered for the intentions of all nurses who are working throughout the world in caring for the sick. Another activity is to clean out two boxes from the basement, closet or attic. Yes, I’m talking to you!