Peace be with you!

I’ve been a moving target lately, so I’m still waiting for the videos to arrive.

On the upside, I’m finding this pause in the videos has given me more time to think about the last two reflections. Especially the statement, “We are holy only to the extent that we daily wait for the Holy Spirit.”

I’m not quite sure how we’re supposed to do that. I know that few people wait for anything without feeling some kind of resentment, or even anger. Like that person behind you in traffic, leaning on the horn a tenth of a second after the light turns green.

We live in a culture of instant results, instant gratification, instant coffee. In this society, Waiting Is Bad. And yet at every Mass, we are told to “wait in joyful hope” for the coming of the Lord.

So what does waiting do, and how can it be joyful?

I think the first benefit of waiting is we learn to surrender to the will of God. Our impatience, resentment and anger stem from discovering we are not in control. Once we get over this, we can recognize our dependence on God–not in a resentful way, but in a thankful way. Thankful that it’s not all up to us. So the second benefit of waiting seems to be gratitude. The joyful part comes into play when we realize Who we are waiting for. We should be looking forward to the arrival of the Holy Spirit like lovers long for each other.

And so, daily waiting for the Holy Spirit, we live our lives in surrender to God’s will, in gratitude, and joy…and we become holy.

Readings for the second Sunday of Lent.