In today's reflection on hell, I find myself thinking about our tendency to long for things that can never fulfill us. We might think of these as addictive thought patterns, and sometimes these are part of actual addictions which bind us spiritually as well as psychologically and physically. We can become fixated on what I want, what I don't have at present or long to have again, and it can keep us from entering into the love and the abundant life that is waiting right before our eyes. We believe that the object of our obsession will make us happy, and might even bask in it when we have it for a time, but it doesn't fulfill us, it merely consumes us and keeps us from the abundant life to which we are called.
How appropriate for this reflection is the scripture reading for this session (I should probably explain that, for this step, I haven't been reading the scripture for each session until after I reflect on some potential aspect of hell), Lk 15, 11-32.
For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.' And they began to make merry. - Lk 15, 24
Indeed, this lost son had been through this pattern of obsession, and emerged on the other side determined to return to a better life than he had. But his father's mercy proved greater than his own addiction to wild living, and our God's love is greater than our own similar sins.
Tomorrow I believe I will reflect on the older brother, since I am now back on schedule and need to slow down my session frequency a little to remain in step with the calendar.
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