Religious Practice

This is what Jesus tells the man at the Bethesda pool: "Rise, take up your mat, and walk."

John 5:1-16

See, the man at the Bethesda pool thought that the healing began when someone placed him in the pool, but the real healing began when his heart reached out for the water. Often we believe that it will take some great act on our part for us to somehow be healed of the wounds of our day. We think it will take long hours of prayer, fasting, and alms giving to merit a soothing balm. On the contrary! The reality is that the healing begins the very moment that our hearts reach out to God. It begins when we have that little seed of faith in an ocean of doubt. Healing begins when we consciously enter into the spiritual practice of prayer, fasting, and alms giving as the person on the mat, vulnerable and willing to allow Jesus to liberate us through these three pillars of Lent. The practices are not an end's in themselves but the beginning of the constant renewal of our relationship with the risen Christ.

I've got my mat. You commin?

Journey with me...

Pax Tecum!