"My brothers, what good is it to profess faith without practicing it? Such faith has no power to save one, has it? So it is with the faith that does nothing in practice. It is thoroughly lifeless. Show me your faith without works, and I will show you the faith that underlies my works!" (James 2:14, 17,18b)
I recently had a check up with my doctor. It has been almost a year since my last visit and he looked at me and said, "What happened?" I did not question him because I knew what he meant. A year ago I told him that I planned to lose weight, get in shape and hopefully not follow my father into having diabetes. A year later the good news was that I had lost two pounds. The bad news was that it was forty-eight pounds off my goal for the year. One can talk the talk, but I certainly was not walking the walk, literally or figuratively, or following through with my intention to lose weight. It is true with other things in our lives; we can all talk the talk, but what about actually putting into practice what we need to do?
Some of us might have made Lenten resolutions to forgive someone who had hurt us in the past. We are now entering the third week of Lent, have we forgiven that person yet, or are we still talking the talk?
Some of us might have made Lenten resolutions to spend more time reading, rather than sitting and watching cable; to catch up on those Arlington Heralds that wait to be read. We are now entering the third week of Lent. Have we read more or does cable still win out?
Some of us might have made Lenten resolutions to get back to Church on a weekly basis, to go to Confession, to get more involved in the Lenten offerings of Bible Studies, or Wednesday evening Masses with visiting priests homilists. We are entering the third week of Lent, how was the experience of seeking God's forgiveness through Confession, the Mass last week, Bible Study on Sunday evening and the homily on Wednesday night?
Some of us might have made Lenten resolutions to get our lives more in balance and to focus more on family, spouse, God and not so much on stocks, investments and material gains. We are now entering the third week of Lent. How is your life now that spouse, family and friends have a more balanced commitment in your life?
It has been two weeks since my doctor's visit and I have lost an additional pound. If you take eleven months and divide that by the two pounds I had lost 2.18 ounces a month. Losing a pound in two weeks is significantly improved over my last attempt. You are right. It is not great but I am going in the right direction. I hope the next time I see my doctor he will say "What happened?" and this time not sarcastically, but truly wondering how I actually lost weight. More importantly, I hope by the end of this Lenten season you will be able to have reached your Lenten goals and be able to read the above passage from the Letter of James and say, "I do have a wonderful faith in God and those around me can see my belief in God by the way I live my life. My actions will show that my faith is more than words, and also filled with many meaningful works.
Fr. Posey
