The Utmost Importance of Families

This coming September the Catholic Church will host The World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia.  Discussions will center around the rich meaning and importance of marriage and families, and include a visit by Pope Francis.  Timing couldn’t be better.  Our world is suffering greatly because of the changes in our culture that demeans marriage and fails to understand the importance of families in sustaining civil society.  Damage caused by the crumbling of our appreciation for marriage is not limited to children and the family.  The effects of single-parent families and/or single-gender parenting are well-known, not only by religious supporters of traditional marriage, but by sociologists and demographers alike.  Demographer Nicholas Eberstadt has documented the tragic consequences to children who grow up without both biological parents in terms of poverty, education, crime, depression, and happiness.  This is not merely a political opinion, but well-documented social science.

The Church’s position on marriage and family are much more than a “policy” or political position, they are expressions of basic truths revealed in nature and held to be our most sacred religious beliefs, as revealed by God in scripture and in the life of Jesus.  In His infinite love for us, God created us male and female, complementary in every way.  The permanence of marriage is meant to be a reflection of God’s covenant with humanity.  It is also the basis for the continuation of civilization where children are born and raised in love with the benefit of learning important life-lessons from both parents. 

One of the most valuable lessons parents can impart to their children is the importance of chastity, which is not a dreary string of prohibitions, but as George Weigel puts it, “a matter of loving with integrity; loving rather than ‘using;’ loving another for himself or herself.  The sexual temptations to which the Church says “no” are the implications of a higher, nobler, more compelling “yes” to the integrity of love; love as the gift of oneself to another; “yes” to the family as the fruit of love, and “yes” to the family as the school where children are taught the true meaning of love.”  Catholic sexual ethics, as so well presented by St. John Paul II, is joyful, deeply fulfilling, and far more meaningful than the self-absorbed sexual ethics of our modern culture.  Moreover, the Christian family is the best gift we can offer the world mired in a culture of death and unwitting self-destruction.

Stable marriages and families are the most powerful anti-poverty program in the world, and quite literally, the future of civilization.  Parents are the most important teachers children will ever encounter, not only by word, but example.  Ironically, those who advocate absolute freedom to avoid, dissolve, and dissemble marriage, and avoid children by any and all means, are the same people who want to set up government as if it were everyone’s parent, dictating everything from the seat of power.  When Mussolini coined the term “totalitarianism” he described it as a society in which every Italian was treated like family.  His intent was paternalism and a nanny state in which father government made decisions for everyone, and those who rebelled were punished severely.

While this may sound extreme, our American culture is now dominated by a president and government who are dictating that we all comply with the new mores, or risk falling “on the wrong side of history.”  In Catholic teaching and tradition, the Seven Sacraments are solemn events, each the sign of a greater Truth as revealed by God.  Compare these to the principles of our current government and culture: 

1.      In Baptism, every newborn child is joyfully welcomed into the world and blessed in the name of the Trinity.  In America, children are too often considered an untenable burden to be avoided or killed in the womb, and our government encourages and assists in this effort by using taxpayer funds to promote and pay for abortions, not only in the USA but around the world. 

2.      In Reconciliation, Catholics acknowledge their sinfulness and seek forgiveness and healing along with the grace to avoid future sin.  In modern culture, guilt is considered a superstition because the most important value is absolute freedom.  Our president recently defined sin as “failure to live by one’s own values,” implying that there is no absolute moral code, only individual ideals. 

3.      Confirmation is the Sacrament in which we receive the Holy Spirit to strengthen us on our journey to maturity.  The gifts of the Holy Spirit are countercultural in the sense that they help us grow in the love of God and service of others while modern culture promotes absolute freedom, and celebrates the individual, not the family, as the basic unit of society.

4.      In the Eucharist, we receive the Real Presence of the Body and Blood of Christ.  In our culture, Islam is treated as a religion of peace, but Christianity is regarded as a cult of hatred.  Religious freedom is under attack by our government who now insists that religious beliefs be confined to the house of worship, never to be lived out in public or in the workplace.  People who refuse to compromise their religious beliefs are subject to heavy fines and imprisonment.

5.      Marriage is a sacred, permanent covenant in which one man and one woman join together to form a family in the life-giving image of the community of the Trinity.  Our government not only treats marriage as less substantial than a simple contract, it has redefined it to be the union of any two people in love, regardless of gender, with no regard for the rights or welfare of children.

6.      Holy Orders is the sacrament of taking religious vows to wed oneself to the Church in a life of service to humanity and to God.  Our culture demeans religious vocations, questions the wisdom of celibacy, and seeks to dictate terms to religious organizations, forcing them to violate their most sacred beliefs about birth control, abortion, and marriage.

7.      The Sacrament of the Sick brings peace, forgiveness and spiritual healing to those in danger of death.  Our nation now defines the value of life according to “quality of life” and contribution to society, making assisted suicide not only available, but creating a culture in which those who are a burden to others may feel obligated to make a final exit.

Holy Week is a good time to reflect on the meaning of our faith and the tenets of our belief, especially those pertaining to marriage and family.  Jesus suffered greatly for our salvation.  What must we suffer to save our country from the onslaught against our Christian beliefs?

What is the true mark of human accomplishment?

What is the true mark of human accomplishment? For some it is technological progress.  Humanity is served well by the many advances in science and technology.   Medicine and medical science have done much to improve health and longevity.  Technology has improved the quality of our lives immeasurably, making everything from housekeeping to manufacturing more efficient.  Biological science is unlocking the mysteries of our DNA and is on the cusp of eradicating even the most stubborn and debilitating diseases.  Astrophysicists are discovering the wonders of the universe that are too immense and strangely beautiful to comprehend.

With all these amazing advances, there comes a risk that technology becomes an end in itself.  There is a point at which we must ask if the use of these new capabilities crosses over the line of morality.  When medical science is used to take a life, rather than preserve it, are we becoming more or less human?  Four States now condone the use of physician-assisted suicide.  Is this an accomplishment or a diminishment in the dignity and value of human life?  When human embryos are created solely for medical research, or to harvest stem cells, are we raising up humanity, or treating these nascent human lives as commodities?  

Last week the world celebrated International Day of Happiness, established by the United Nations three years ago.  Apparently the idea is “to promote a more inclusive, equitable, and balanced approach to economic growth that promotes sustainable development, poverty eradication, happiness and well-being of all people.”  The problem with this Utopian idea is that it smacks of socialism in which the elite, super-smart planners determine what everyone should believe, and how government will care for the masses.  And of course, the nitty-gritty details of how this is to be accomplished is where the rubber meets the road.  For example, can we make progress in reducing poverty by making abortion a basic civil right?  Do we improve equality by insisting that everyone recognize gay marriage, even though it violates the rights of children to be raised by both of their biological parents?  By forcing private citizens to violate their religious convictions are we promoting happiness, or increasing the polarization of beliefs? 

Is happiness advanced by attacking religion and forcing religious institutions to sacrifice their moral code on the altar of absolute human freedom?   This may sound a bit extreme, but in recent weeks the City Council of Washington D.C. voted unanimously to revoke a decades old ordinance that protects religious institutions from being forced to violate their beliefs.  This change must now be ratified by the U.S. Congress before going into effect.  Hopefully the Republican majority in the House will prevent this travesty before priests, ministers, and churches are forced to perform gay marriages, and Catholic Hospitals forced to perform abortions.   In San Francisco, Archbishop Cordileone has asked every Catholic school teacher to sign an agreement that they will teach and publicly live what the Catholic Church teaches.  However, the City Council and teachers’ union have filed lawsuits in an attempt to prevent the diocese from making this a requirement of employment.  The whole point of Catholic education is to impart Catholic beliefs. 

In his address on this subject last month, Archbishop Cordileone explained in detail what Catholic schools do, and why it is important to the students and to society at large.  His address was a primer in the importance to teaching virtue.  In it he argues that the true index of human accomplishment is growth in virtue.  Teaching virtues is hard work and it requires instructors to adhere to the settled teachings of the Catholic Church, and to model them in their lives.  This cannot be accomplished if teachers speak against the credos of the Church, or if they act publically in ways at odds with Church principles.   However, the increasingly intolerant Tolerance Police find the Archbishop’s stance intolerable.  Imagine demanding that a Democratic congressman must hire staffers who vehemently disagree with the Congressman’s party platform and agenda!

This very clear dichotomy between the beliefs of Church and State represent the front lines of the fight over religious freedom.  The stark contrast between the two views is emblematic of ‘the way of flesh’ and ‘the way of the Spirit.’  Here’s what St. John Paul II wrote in his beautiful encyclical, Veritatis Splendor (The Splendor of Truth):

“Those who ‘live by the flesh’ experience God’s law as a burden, and indeed as a denial or at least a restriction of their own freedom.  On the other hand, those who are impelled by love and “walk by the Spirit” (Gal 5:16), and those who desire to serve others, find in God’s law the fundamental and necessary way to practice love as something freely chosen and freely lived out.  Indeed they feel an interior urge… to live our moral life out in a way worthy of our sublime vocation as sons in the Son.”  (The Splendor of Truth – August 1993)

Subsequently, Pope Benedict XVI warned about ‘the dictatorship of relativism,’ a phrase he coined to warn about the increasingly strident demands of secular society.  Pope Benedict’s prediction has come to fruition as our own government now demands that religious convictions be set aside in the name of the god of absolute freedom.  Ironically the very people violating our religious freedom (the State) is demanding that we adhere to their doctrine of secular humanism.  Our government thinks it knows the best road to happiness, and it insists that we all comply or be punished.  But look where this pseudo-freedom has taken us.  If it leads to happiness, why is there so much human trafficking? Why are 20% or more of all adults taking anti-depressants?  Why has the poverty rate remained the same for the past 50 years, despite 50 million abortions, and trillions of dollars spent on anti-poverty programs?  Why has the national debt soared and the workforce participation rated plummeted? 

Perhaps the reason for so many failures is that our government has a mistaken notion about human achievement and happiness.  The answer lies in Sunday’s gospel, in the words of Jesus:  “Whoever loves his life will lose it.”  Human happiness does not lie in absolute freedom and release from moral law.  God’s law is a guide to leading a virtuous life.  It is the path to authentic freedom and the fullness of life.  It enhances our dignity and helps us become the healthy, happy, fully human persons that God intended us to be, not by loving ourselves, but by loving God and one another.  This is the true measure of human achievement.

The Meeting of Astrophysics and Theology

Scientists are determined to understand the origin of the universe, and the most world-renowned astrophysicists of the past century have labored long and hard to piece together what happened in the very first instants of the Big Bang.  Here’s the latest description of what happened as pieced together from years of work by a team of scientists led by Alan Guth:

“The universe is roughly 13.8 billion years old and it began from a patch of material packed with repulsive gravity.  The patch was tiny – on 100-billionth the size of a single proton.  But the repulsive gravity was alike a magic wand, doubling the patch in size every tenth of a trillionth of a second.  And it waved its doubling power over the patch about 100 times in a row, until it got to the size of a marble.  And that happened within a hundredth of a billionth of a trillionth of a second.  The ingredients of what would become our entire observable universe were packed inside that tiny marble.” (Boston Globe Magazine – May 12, 2014)

This is mind boggling to be sure, but it also presents science with a serious problem because it establishes a boundary beyond witch their methods cannot reach.  This boundary is the point where science meets theology.  Science can describe what happened is detail, but has no clue as to how or why it happened.    Namely, “Where did that patch of primordial material and repulsive gravity come from?”  It defies all logic to presume that this amazing thing came from nothing.  Twenty years ago, NASA scientist Robert Jastrow predicted that, “When scientists have scaled the mountain of ignorance… and pull themselves over the final peak, they will be greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries.”   And what have those Christian theologians been pondering all along?  That what science calls the Big Bang was Love exploding out of the life of the Trinity.

One of the things science and theology agree on is that before the big bang, there was no time.  St. Augustine postulated this in the 3^rd century, and it took until the 20^th century for science to confirm this fact.  It seems that time is necessary for an expanding universe, and from the work of Einstein, we know that time and space are two parts of the same thing he called spacetime.  Einstein also discovered that matter and energy are interchangeable (E=mc²), which led to the harnessing of nuclear energy.  Christians have always believed that God exists outside of time, and we also believe that He meant for us to live forever with him.  In other words, God never intended for us to die.  Over and over again the bible tells us that death is the result of sin, turning away from God. 

Sunday’s gospel includes that oft quoted verse, “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish, but might have eternal life.” (John 3:16)  In a Lenten meditation for Sunday, Fr. Robert Barron describes Jesus as a “cosmic warrior” doing battle with the forces that keep us from being fully alive, namely, violence, hatred, egotism and ultimately death itself.  Jesus did this in three short years of his public life, healing the sick, raising the dead, calling out false religion, and most of all, revealing the true nature of God Himself, God who is the very essence of Love.  When St. John says, “God is Love,”  he is not merely describing an attribute of God, but rather defining the essence of true love which has its origin in God.  God who IS love, created us from the very beginning for eternal life, not because He wanted or needed company, but because the Trinitarian nature of God is the unity of three persons, so united in love that they are One Being, One God.  The love, or call it “energy” of God became the primordial matter and energy that would become our physical universe, hurtling through spacetime, spawning galaxies, suns, moons, planets and all life as we know it.  Every atom that comprises our body has existed from the very first instant of the Big Bang, and somehow, some way, it has been formed into our miraculous bodies, now infused with the Love of God, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, intended not merely for a short temporary life, but for an eternity of Love with our Creator. 

The miracle of our existence is even more astounding when we realize that we have the power of rational thinking, even to the point of being able to comprehend God’s existence and His love.  Sadly, mankind has misused this gift by turning away from God, and in doing so, cut ourselves off from the source of all life, sowing the seeds of death and destruction through envy, lust, greed, and violence.  Nevertheless, we are inexorably attracted back to God because it is Love we desire first and foremost, and only perfect love can fulfill our hearts’ deepest desire.  When we come to realize our spiritual heritage, and attempt to imitate God by loving as He loves us, we are at our very best.  God’s love is self-sacrificing and forgiving, and leads to unity that is so complete, two become one.  At some deep level of our subconscious we must know this, because it has even crept into our language.  For example, the word atonement which we commonly understand as repairing a relationship, is at its root “at-one-ment” (two become one).  And when we say, “Love is not love until you give it away,” we are saying that love is “for-giving.” 

Over the course of the first three weeks of Lent, the focus of scripture has been on our sinfulness and the importance of listening to the Word of God.  He gave us the Ten Commandments, not to put restrictions on our freedom, but to teach us how to love God (the first three commandments) and love one another (the last seven).  If only we can learn how to love and put our trust in the Love of God, we might have a better chance of avoiding sin.  The rest of Lent will focus on the fact that we are incapable of saving ourselves, we need Jesus to overcome sin and death, and if not for Him, we would all be lost.

What's Really Behind the Environmental Movement?

Every day it seems there is news of some sort about the environment, whether it be pollution, extreme weather, sustainability, or environmental disasters caused by oil spills, gas line ruptures, or derailed oil tankers.  Under the rubric of ‘global climate change,’ fears of all sorts are portrayed daily and blamed on corporate greed, over-population, and/or under-regulation.  Several years ago I was incensed at an article appearing in the local neighborhood paper.  The gist of the article was that anyone who brings a child into the world is committing an environmental crime because of the huge carbon footprint of humans over the course of their lifetime.   I wrote a letter to the editor rebutting the article, but it was never published.

Have you noticed that a big part of the progressive agenda is aimed at preserving the planet, even at the expense of suppressing human life or destroying our economy?  Many environmentalists are genuinely more concerned about animal rights and endangered species than about human rights.  I suspect that your average animal rights protestor is a big advocate of abortion in which unborn children’s right to life is denied.  The liberal agenda is contradictory in that the most basic human rights and human ecology are ignored in favor of saving the planet, insects, and animals they will probably never see.  How many environmentalists are willing to speak up on behalf of the right of children to be born, and to be raised by BOTH of their biological parents?   These same ecology-minded souls seem to have no problem with lowering the standard of living of average Americans when they drive up the cost of gas, electricity, food and housing, by foisting ever more ridiculous EPA requirements on the energy and agricultural industries.  For example, our government has vastly expanded the amount of federal land declared ‘preservation areas’ at the expense of farmers and ranchers whose grazing and farming leases have been cancelled.  Is it any wonder beef prices are at an all-time high and rising, and electricity prices are going through the roof?  Increasing taxes and expanding regulations on the oil and gas industries drives energy prices higher, and if the environmental lobby had their way, we would sign the Kyoto Agreement and begin to levy massive carbon taxes on industry, while sending those dollars overseas where third world countries would sell us their carbon credits, doing little to reduce actual carbon emissions, but making US products even less competitive in global markets.

This summer, in addition to visiting the America to address Congress and the UN, Pope Francis is scheduled to release an encyclical on the subject of the environment.  No one knows what the pope is going to say in this encyclical, but there are several things I am willing to bet he will NOT say.  Pope Francis will most certainly NOT say that over population is the cause of any of our environmental problems.  This argument has been around for several hundred years and every dire prediction made about massive starvation or human-caused weather calamities has proven to have been dead wrong.  Funny that the press never follows up on those bogus predictions, isn’t it?  Second, he will NOT say that contraception, abortion, or sterilization should be part of any plan to address environmental problems.  Environmentalists and other liberals try to claim the moral high ground by appealing to our fears about the weather, pollution, and the environment, but then seem to have total disregard for the dignity of human life and religious freedom.  President Obama and other prominent liberals have attempted to co-opt the pope’s moral authority for their own, by asserting that they share his concern for the poor and the underclass, but then they go about insisting that abortion is a basic human right, when it just the opposite because it denies human life the right to exist in the first place.  ‘Marriage equality’ and ‘income equality’ are the cause celeb these days, but deny the rights of children and create a welfare trap that is nearly impossible to escape.  Why isn’t anyone standing up for children’s rights?

It would be amusing to observe how the media treats the so-called “Francis effect,” if not for the fact that they so boldly misrepresent both the pope and the Church’s teaching.  For example, 60 Minutes ran a story about the “Francis Effect” a couple months ago, asserting that the new pope is bringing up discussions on birth control, pre-marital sex, marriage, and divorce.  The reporter went on to editorialize that the Church has refused to discuss these matters for the past 35 years.  Nothing could be further from the truth!  St. John Paul II gave 153 consecutive talks about sex and marriage and it resulted in his “Theology of the Body” which has been studied, taught, widely disseminated, and is perhaps the most important and life-changing theology of the second millennium.  In fact there have been intense discussions about these topics consistently, and the Church has remained firm in its moral teaching on these topics.  Virtually every theology department in every Catholic University in the world has been discussing and teaching the Church’s moral stance sex and marriage.  What the 60 Minutes interviewer really meant by “no discussion” was that the Church’s teaching has not changed with regard to sexual morality, family planning, the nature of human heterosexual love, and the indissolubility of marriage.  Pope Francis is certainly NOT going to adopt the liberal view in these matters.  If anything, he is likely to chide us all for becoming a “throw-away culture” in which even children are discarded so as to avoid any inconvenience.

Sadly, too many self-professed Catholics take the view that the Church is wrong-headed in these matters.   Rather than take the time to study the deeply meaningful and beautiful content of the Theology of the Body, they fall in with the progressive chant for ‘women’s rights’, ‘women’s health’ and ‘freedom to choose,’ mindlessly claiming that they are the moral arbiters of these issues, and the Church is “on the wrong side of history.”  I might add that they do so without ever exploring the well-thought out actual teaching of the Church, and while ignoring the many and serious consequences of sexual immorality on society and civilization:  violent sex crimes, human trafficking, declining birth rates, and a pandemic of cancer-causing STDs just to name a few.  To add insult to injury, our government is now foisting these practices on the American public, using tax dollars to fund millions of abortions at home and abroad, and forcing every employer to do the same, regardless of their moral abhorrence to doing so.  In doing so, they have shredded our constitutional right to practice our religious beliefs freely.

The Environmental Movement is more than it seems.  In my view it is rooted in the selfish notion that we must preserve the earth for our personal use, even it if means preventing and killing babies, and destroying our economy in the process, because after all, it makes us feel good to “go green.”

Abundance Mentality and The Law of the Gift

Over the course of my career in management, I learned that many of the same principles important to a rich spiritual life, apply equally well in the secular world.  The old adage that “nice guys always finish last” is quite false.  Cultivating positive habits at work, such as being courteous, respectful of others, and listening carefully, increase the likelihood of a successful career.  Being generous with one’s time and talent also breeds success.  These ideas were captured by Dr. Stephen Covey in his wildly popular book, Seven Habits of Highly Successful People, which took the business world by storm in the 1990s.  In his book, Covey promotes the idea that personal development should include developing habits like, “Seek first to understand,” sounding more like the Prayer of Saint Francis than a book on management.   Covey’s books helped millions of people in business rethink their priorities and improve the likelihood of success by becoming better team players and less cut-throat in their approach to work.

One of Covey’s Seven Habits is to develop an “Abundance Mentality,” in which the person sincerely believes that there are plenty of resources and successes for everyone.  This leads to celebrating the success of others, rather than always competing.  By contrast, a “scarcity mindset” is one in which the person believes that if someone else succeeds, it means you lose.  This can be destructive and result in non-productive competition, lack of cooperation, and even back-stabbing.   By adopting an abundance mentality, one celebrates the success of others rather than feeling threatened by it, and in doing so earns trust and respect.

Although Covey was among the first to bring ancient wisdom to bear on work life, these concepts have been around for millennia.  Sunday’s first reading from Genesis recounts God’s test of Abraham by asking him to sacrifice his beloved only son.  Because Abraham trusted in God’s abundance, he was willing to make even this tremendous sacrifice.  In doing so, Abraham received much more than just a son, he became the patriarch of a great nation.  Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his only son prefigures God’s sacrifice of His one and only Son Jesus, whose trust in God Our Father enabled Him to sacrifice His life, so that all of us would receive eternal life.  By making a sacrificial gift of Himself, Jesus conquered sin and death for all humanity.  This is referred to as “The Law of the Gift,” which states that the more we give, the more we receive in return.  It is also the basis of Jesus’ statement that “Whoever would save his life will lose it, and he whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.” (Luke 9:24)

Sunday’s gospel about the Transfiguration continues this theme in that Peter, James and John wanted to capture and extend the moment of the transfiguration by building tents, but this was not God’s plan, nor Jesus’ intention.  Instead, Jesus explains that He must suffer, die, and rise again on the third day.  Jesus was describing the “law of the gift,” in that the gift of His life would make possible the much greater accomplishment of our salvation and opportunity for eternal life.  The more we give, the more we receive.  It should be obvious to anyone who has invested time and energy into studying, that those sacrifices bring the rewards of success.  Learning a skill, such as playing a musical instrument requires sacrifice, but yields the freedom and joy of music once the skills have been honed.  The law of the gift means that the more you give yourself away, the more your being increases.  At first glance this may seem paradoxical, and even counter-intuitive.  By giving up some of our freedom, we become freer.  Mastering a skill makes us free to enjoy the exercise of that skill, whether it be a sport or a musical instrument.  Unless we are willing to make the initial sacrifice required, we will never enjoy the freedom to exercise our skills and participate more fully in life and all it has to offer.

In contrast, the more you cling to your being, the more your being decreases.  Being stingy with our time and talent only narrows the scope of our life and our relationships, just as being envious only leads to sadness and disappointment.  Refusing to sacrifice time and attention to study, or to learning a skill, limits us and curbs our potential.  A corollary to this mistake is to assume a victim mentality, asserting that no matter what happens, it is not your fault, but rather bad luck or lack of opportunity.  Personally, I believe the definition I once heard: “Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.”  Making sacrifices is a necessary antecedent to personal, professional, and even spiritual fulfillment.

The scarcity mentality is destructive and counter-productive.  Nowhere is this more evident than American politics.  Each party does everything it can to prevent the other from accomplishing anything whatsoever, but instead, constantly looks for ways to undercut their adversaries.  The ‘occupy Wall Street’ mindset and the recent flare up over civil rights violations are also part of this attitude, which asserts that people who have achieved success should be punished and their money taken away, in deference to the poor and the underprivileged.  This is done under the mantra of requiring everyong to pay their “fair share” of taxes, when in truth the top 10% of income earners pay already about 90% of all taxes already, while the bottom 50% pay none at all.

The scarcity mentality also fuels the liberal notion that government needs to take care of everyone, with the result that we have created a nanny state and welfare trap.  Millions have become ensnared in the cycle of poverty and are led to believe they are hapless victims of “income inequality.”  Rather than creating incentives to complete school, learn skills, and work, our welfare system discourages marriage, and grants so many welfare benefits that unskilled workers would have to find jobs paying in excess of $50,000 a year to be any better off financially.

Lent is a great time to reflect on our mindset and consciously attempt to adopt an abundance mentality.  The Law of the Gift is God’s law, as described and demonstrated by Jesus Himself.  What better example could we have to model our lives after?