Feast of Saint Genevieve

Good morning. It is that time again when everyone becomes engaged in zeroing in on their imperfections, focusing on their erring ways towards becoming that better self. The commercials presently bombard us with messages of how to correct our lives toward being that better person. Now, I certainly believe that we need to be aware of our sinful ways; in fact much of what is wrong with our world is that we have lost a sense of sin and our responsibility for our sins. Anymore we tend to lay the blame on circumstances outside ourselves or we give the responsibility to some mental health label.  This morning’s Gospel from the Book of Matthew (Mt 4:12-17, 23-25) clearly reminds us that Jesus said “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.” No argument with that; no, I haven’t sold-out on the concept of sin, I just think there is more than one way to skin a cat. I have come to appreciate that common sense and practicality go a long way toward making things better. My thirty years of providing counseling has taught me that our energies tend to be better spent on looking toward what is working versus what is not working.  It has been my observation that focusing upon the problems in people’s lives tends to lead toward getting bogged down in the problem versus finding the solutions. In fact, in working with couples I have discovered that if they can focus on the positive side of the problems and look to the future they will likely find themselves getting much more positive results then they will in focusing upon what isn’t working. I’m reminded of a person who told me on the days he attended Mass the problem for which he came to see me did not occur, to which I suggested he attend Mass more often. You can guess that the problem soon became less a part of his life once he began attending Mass more frequently. This likewise works with couples, if they can stay focused upon those things that work, or if just one partner alters things in a positive way, things change between them, and their marriage improves. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t seize the opportunity as we typically do this time of year to reflect upon improving our lives, just let our resolutions be more a reflection of what works versus what doesn’t.  Make a great day!

Today we recall the good life and works of Saint Genevieve.