Somewhere on the Journey

Ten days till Christmas and I work the next 9 of them, till midnight.  Somehow, unbeknown to me, I have become part of the "retailism" that has replaced Christmas.  Unfortunately, because I have the joy of staying home with my son during the day, and money has an illusive quality about it, I work during the evenings.  I also have realized that I dislike secular Christmas music, because this is all I hear at work-no Angels We have Heard on High, or Little town of Bethlehem, or We Three Kings.  Not even Little Drummer Boy!  Instead I get Frosty, chestnuts roasting, and dreams of a white Christmas.  Last night I was even told via song that Christmas couldn't come unless it snowed...and while I was picking up an item tossed into the wrong bin by a customer to busy shopping to realize that some other person was going to have to march that item across the store at 11:15 pm, I had this epiphany... Today John the Baptist sent some of his disciples to Jesus to ask...

Today in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus says to us, "Amen, I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the Kingdom of God before you."  (Matthew 21:31b)  I often had the thought sitting in the pews when I heard this verse, "I doubt that."  At the time, being a young, educated, practicing Catholic I frequented the Sacraments often and was very confident in my salvation.  Mostly in the fact that I was following the rules and of course Jesus was going to let me into heaven if it was my time.  It's funny how finding out that you can't save yourself by following the rules can change your perspective.  I now am a young, educated practicing Catholic who still frequents the Sacraments, but who has fallen flat on her face.  Finding yourself entrenched in sin, even if only temporarily makes you realize that you need Jesus that you desperately need a Savior and that you aren't capable, much to your own chagrin, of following the rules all the time....