Association Of Catholic Bloggers

An article I wrote for Catholic Lane The fundamental difference between self- centered piety and true, vibrant life in  Christ is when we give up trying to save  ourselves and surrender to Jesus. Every society, every culture has a tradition of a scapegoat, someone to blame and punish for the sin of that particular society. It follows then that in the beginning of the spiritual life we are when confronted with our own sinfulness and those around us, we are conditioned to act like the scapegoat.  When I take on the identity of a scapegoat, even if I  live a devout, disciplined, ascetic lifestyle with a daily round of mass, rosaries, Eucharistic Adoration and frequent confession, I still fall into a trap. It is a trap that all of us fall into as we try to become devoted disciples of Jesus. It is a piety that in the end focuses on ourselves, our actions, our devotions and effort. I am at the front and centre, not God. To make a shift from an egocentric lifestyle to a God

There is a world of difference between a man who is aware of himself, sitting on a hill and looking at a  beautiful sunrise and a man so enthralled with that very same sunrise that he forgets himself and becomes  absorbed  in  the scene. In the first instance the man is egocentric; he is at the centre 0f his world, not God. When I see beauty everywhere, I experience joy and a sense of connection because my eyes are not on myself. The truth is that I am simply part of the whole. Everything does not depend on me. I am free to relax and enjoy the beauty of nature and the Spirit of God which permeates all when I am in the right place in the scheme of things. I am living in a fantasy when I see myself as the center of the universe, viewing everything as it circles around me. As believers we sing and recite prayers that proclaim that God is the centre of all but our psychological make-up screams the exact opposite. I view people, events, history and yes even God through my eyes, ju