Third Sunday of Lent

Lent is flying by ... It seems like we just had Ash Wednesday. So what do I have to say? I told you I would be writing spiritual things in these sunday posts, so here's a little bit of what I've been thinking about during lent, along with a few links I've accumulated:

What's hit me the most recently is the reality of what it is to believe in God. It's a bold claim that changes everything. This story about the USSR ordering the assasination attempt on Pope JPII (the Grrreat!) is a good example of what I'm talking about. JPII was a threat ... the pope, the leader of the Catholic Church was a threat to the atheistic, communist power in the world. Amazing.
Being a Christian isn't necessarily only about acting differently (though that's clearly part of it), it's primarily about knowing what is really going on in the world. As Christians, we are shown past the lies and superficialities of life to the real struggle and, ultimately, the real glory and happiness.
Think about adoring the Eucharist. I can sit there and daydream, or even talk to God a little bit, but the real power of adoration is realizing that, there in front of you, is God. He is present in an incredible, powerful but humbling way. He comes to us and gives us the revelation that He is present. That is amazing. We can sit before God and talk to Him.
We have to live in accordance with the knowledge that we are given: God is real and He loves us; there are forces actively working to separate us from Him; Creation is good in itself because God created it ... it's a never-ending revelation. If we believe in God, the world becomes a different place: more beautiful, but also more sorrowful.

When we watched The Gospel of John last night, one scene that really struck me was the one where Jesus gives sight to a blind man by rubbing mud on his eyes (John 9). The story stands out because of the weirdness of what Jesus does. He doesn't just pray over the man, he does something messily physical. Just like God Himself became really and physically incarnated as Jesus. God isn't just some spiritual idea that we have to grasp. He is a real physical person who lived in the world and He wants to really come into our lives, especially through the Eucharist.