Saturday in the Third Week of Lent

Often life here on the hill can be demanding:  a meeting here, a stude group there, homework everywhere.  There is little time to decompress, except, perhaps, on the weekends.  But these seem to fly right on by!  Today is Saturday, so I sit to ponder today's readings, and I hear words of humility and mercy.  As my week draws to its end, I review it to see how I have humbled myself before God, to reflect on how merciful (or not) I have been to others.  Where have I felt resentments and anxieties over grades and friendships?

My mother is wise, reminding me: "Jared, be kind to yourself.'  It can be overbearing to attend an incredibly competitive (sometimes ruthless!) academic institution, during years of tremendous social, personal and cognitive growth, while trying to live (mostly!) on my own. The easiest thing to do is to figh tlike it's "me against the world," and in such a mindset, it is easy to grow in resentment -- when I see that my classmates are doing well, and instead of feeling happy for them and celebrating their accomplishment, I resent them because I didn't do so well.

I have learned in my four years at Holy Cross how important it is to be humble and merciful.  Yes, I can be proud of my own gifts and talents and accomplishments, but I am also called to be humble and to be thankful for the opportunities that are in front of me.