Reflections from the Heart – March 17, 2023

Fifth Sunday of Lent
by Fr. Ivan Olmo

“Sir, we would like to see Jesus.”  At the deepest core of our human existence, exists a desire, a silent intention whether good or bad.  The desire exists and breathes in the very deepest recesses of our humanity, waiting to be awakened, to surface, to be birthed into action or inaction.  Desires, fanned into a flame, ignited by a passion within us, become words or phrases, positive or negative that can give light and inspire some or discourage others and give way to darkness.  Desires want to take action quickly.  They cannot wait, they are impatient that way.  Not really thinking or discerning God’s good will but rather by selfish impulse, our desires can lead us to react quickly without thought or hesitation.  We tend to react rather than taking a moment to think, pray and respond appropriately to the person or situation.  At times, we react so quickly, we fail to have a good understanding of how our decisions can affect possible outcomes or even consider the repercussions our choices can cause, we do not give it a second thought. Our choices can bring hurt to some, destruction to others, difficulty to family and can even offend ourselves. Reactions can cause us to watch or stand by idle, to do nothing or go all the way without concern, remorse, or rationality.  Desires are formed first in our conscience.  It all begins with a thought.  Desires can begin with an inspiration by the Holy Spirit or instigated by an evil spirit.  Our Lord influences our thoughts by his good holy intention for us.  Contrarily, the enemy tempts our thoughts and incites us to delve into our past memories. He causes us to desire to seek ways to remember hurtful thoughts and recollect our failures.  The enemy entraps us in thought finding more ways for us to desire criticism and ways of judging others harshly, friends and foes alike, those we love and those we love to hate. The enemy twists our thoughts into disordered feelings that further develop into sinful desires, then into sinful acts, harsh words, and more terrible thoughts.  The enemy hides in the shadows of our thoughts and darkens our mind.  He waits for an opportunity to confuse us and trip us up so he can push us away from good intentions and watch us fall from grace.  He keeps us pinned to the ground without any desire to help us or make us desire to stand back up again.  God inspires happy thoughts and holy desires.  He lifts us up again.