From Spiritual Lukewarmness

I’m glad to have been able to watch The Chosen TV series for free. I used to think that you had to have a subscription when it started a few years ago so I never exerted effort to look for a way to see it. Like many things in my life, it was happenstance when I learned about the Angel Studios app and found out that the show was being crowd-funded and anyone can watch it for free. I tried to spread the word to family, because I was truly inspired by it. I needed this inspiration more than ever. The show is honest in its disclaimer about not being a replacement for scripture and there is that fictional element about the backstories of Jesus’ apostles—and you can imagine the backlash from many theological pundits. The way in which Jesus and His followers are being portrayed in the show is inspirational, relatable, and ignited my spiritual hunger. Like jumpstarting my heart’s engine. The production and acting are certainly superb. Honestly, I needed this spark to revive my relationship with The Lord. I don’t know a lot and I’m still trying to learn more about Catholicism, which is the religion I practice. There is the temptation to go the academic route and focus on history and culture during biblical times, and I have to remind myself that the goal is not to obtain knowledge and memorize passages for bragging rights. Again, the virtue of humility is very hard to attain. We can only pray to be granted this virtue and challenge ourselves daily to be humble. This post, for example…someone once said that humility is so shy that it leaves the room when you talk about it. It’s easy to be proud. It’s easy to be proud of one’s pseudo-humility. Pseudo-humility…as in telling everyone that you live “humbly” or are “simple” as a way to point out others’ excessiveness. You know what I mean? It’s pride dressed as humility. Wolf in sheep’s clothing. Anyway, the goal is to invest towards eternal life. I’m exhausted. There is something about the pandemic and other negative human events these past three years that is draining (even if you’ve had 7-8 hours of sleep nightly). And this spiritual rekindling has triggered this daily motivation and sense of purpose within me. I offer and cast my burdens to the Lord for I know I will be sustained and given rest (from a Psalm).