On Hitting Speed Bumps During Lent
As we persist, with the help of God's grace, in our Lenten journey, it's only natural to hit a few speed bumps on the way. Trying to incorporate our commitment to increased prayer, almsgiving and fasting into our work each day can present special challenges. Some simple examples: Pressing deadlines pile up. The boss is on us to meet them on time, just as his boss is on him. We'd like to come up for air and take some time to recollect ourselves, to grab a spare moment to consider Our Lord's Passion. But our pressing work continually distracts us. With the pressure on, we find ourselves a bit short-tempered. That co-worker on whom we have to rely to finish a particularly important project seems slow in responding to our request for a progress update. That charitable demeanor (part of out commitment to almsgiving) with which we began Lent now seems far beyond our capabilities. It's all we can do to contain our annoyance, if not anger, at this recalcitran...