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From the Heart"Why is it that a friend of mine who is NOT Catholic has been able to keep her Lenten resolutions and I keep failing? She made a really difficult resolution and has been able to stick to it while I pray and pray and still mess up!" It was a very valid question asked by a friend of mine. She is troubled over the fact that as a very devout Catholic she keeps breaking her Lenten resolution. On the other hand, her non-religious friend, who made a resolution because she thought it would be a worthwhile thing to do, has been able to stick with it. Obviously I'm not a psychic, so I can't look into my friend's mind, but I do have a few thoughts on the subject. In my opinion, it is the difference between knowing something with your mind and truly understanding it with your heart. Intellectual knowledge is often necessary, but the will to do something does not come from knowledge. It comes from a true desire that is anchored in our hearts. It's like the Ethics professor who can explain the various theories of right and wrong, yet is an immoral person himself. Studying a subject is different than living it. In fact, I've known many wonderful people who are living very moral lives but couldn't tell you the first thing about the study of ethics. I also know very immoral people who could (and do) teach ethics at the college level! How does this apply to my friend? Well, perhaps she knows what makes a good Lenten resolution but hasn't quite fully embraced it with her heart. Knowing that she ought to do something is a whole lot different than having the desire and drive to make the sacrifices needed to get it done. So... does that make my friend a bad person? I don't think so. Does it mean she's weak? Not really. Good people don't always do what's best, and strong people can fall short too. What it means is that my friend is human and, for whatever reason, she hasn't really taken her Lenten resolution to heart. Like so many things in life, we can learn a lot by looking at the core -- the foundation. Resolution derives from the word "resolve". So it just stands to reason that you'll have a much better chance of success if you've truly taken your resolution to heart. Intellect is fine, but true resolve comes from the heart. Peace,
And visit ParishWebmaster.com for hundreds of Catholic articles! 
Copyright 2006 by Brandon Jubar |
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