I know I am dust, but that isn't all

In my homily for Ash Wednesday, I noted that I preferred the "Repent and believe in the Gospel" formula to the more traditional "Remember you are dust and to dust you will return" one. Both, of course, are perfectly fine. My rationale for my personal preference was that I don't need to come to Church to be reminded of my mortality because I am reminded of it all the time.

Well, on Wednesday morning my father-in-law died. This was not unexpected. He had been under hospice care since right after the New Year. Thankfully, my wife and her brother (his only two children) made it to Ohio in time to see their Dad before he passed.

I do need to be reminded of my hope: Jesus Christ. He is the Gospel. He is the Good News. Above all, He is my friend and Companion, without whom my life would like both meaning and purpose. And so, I also have to be reminded of my on-going need to repent. To do whatever I must do and forsake whatever I must forsake to be more and more transformed into His image.

Speaking of life (and death) events that remind me of my mortality, I retired from my career of 30 years. Yesterday was my first day of that retirement (I don't officially retire until the end of next week, but I am on leave until then). It is gratifying. As noted ad nauseum here on my little "blogspot page," I am moving to a different full-time job(s). But yet another reminder of the transitory nature of this life.

Way back in my mid-20s I could fit everything I owned, minus some really cheap pressboard bedroom furniture, in my VW Rabbit Wolfsburg Edition. When things were stressful (I was a full-time student working part-time and serving the Reserve), my escape fantasy was loading everything up in my car and relocating to some random place to begin again. In all honesty, while I am glad I persevered and did not flee (I have been immensely lucky and blessed in all aspects of my life), I sometimes pine for the simplicity of those days.

But you can't live your life in reverse or live it worrying about what can happen in the future. Hence, the beauty of the title of de Cassuade's spiritual classic: The Sacrament of the Present Moment. Remember, a sacrament is a visible and tangible sign of Christ's presence in and for the world. He is (t)here every moment. As the Christian Brothers say at the beginning of each meeting, class, etc.- "Let us remember that we are in the holy presence of God."

At root, this is what Lent is about. Of course, this consists of eliminating those things that cloud my perception, making me unable to experience God's holy presence. It is also why the Examen is so important.

So, while on the subject of cars, I recently ran across a video of Gary Numan performing his '80s hit, "Cars," live with NIN way back in 2009. For a long time, Numan kind of hated his most popular song. Eventually, he reconciled and embraced it. This performance is simply great:

This is the last post for February.