5 Minutes

During Lent I receive little reminders from my Church each morning. They come to my Yahoo! inbox with the subject line: "Take 5 for Faith." The email contains a little reflection - something to put you on more solid ground as you go through your day. I tend to "take five" though while sitting at the five-minute traffic light at the intersection of 31st Street and I-83 that cramps my commute.

In Lents past - especially Lents spent on Notre Dame's campus - I tended to have an hour or more every day for faith. I went to daily mass, I went to confession, I prayed at the Grotto, and I actually helped carry heavy beams around campus during Living Stations of the Cross one year. But the past couple of years, between corporate America and commuting, weddings and wedding plans, running, blogging, cooking and cleaning, and a general lack of waking hours, I've only been able to offer five minutes each day. I know it's not enough. 

On Monday I found myself screeching to a halt, queuing up to sit at the lengthiest light, and reaching for my blackberry. There it was - my gateway to a faith-based moment. I opened it and it read:

Get your priorities straight
It was so over the top! What possessed Mary of Bethany to waste expensive oil to wash someone's feet and then-imagine!-allow her locks of hair to flow freely from her head covering and be used to dry a person's feet? "Scandalous" doesn't even come close to describing Mary's actions. For Jesus, however, that word didn't even come to mind. He saw the deep love and care Mary had for him, and he alone knew the fate he awaited. While not advocating disregard for people who are poor or squandering precious resources, Jesus reminds us about other important values, ones Mary so thoroughly illustrated. Don't be afraid to give in to abundant generosity, reckless hope, and head-over-heels love like Mary and like Jesus.

I stopped and thought.

I liked this one. A lot. I liked that the priority was to give, love, and hope above and beyond what we think possible. I liked that it didn't make me feel bad for missing 6:45 AM mass for the 4th Monday in a row. Instead, it reminded me that living the Gospel takes place outside of Church - it takes place on the road, in our cubicles, in our homes, and in our hearts. Perhaps the time that Peter and I dedicate to building and strengthening our relationship means that my commitment to faith each day is a little longer than I thought.

This afternoon I fly to Las Vegas for the grand finale of Lent. At first I thought this was just awful - how was I going to find solemnity and silent prayer on Friday and Saturday? How was I going to rejoice on Easter Sunday? How was I going to be holy in a city where people tend to embrace sin? But after Monday's reflection, I came to the conclusion that it is as perfect a place as any to be. Why? Because I'm there for a wedding - a celebration of selflessness, hope, faith and "head over heels" love. Basically, the same Christian values that we take away from Jesus' death and ressurection. The people I'm with will be taking time for faith in their own, human ways, and after time spent at the Shrine of the Holy Redeemer, I'll be partying with them.

Lo.