# Overcoming the temptation of indifference
*2022-03-05*

> On the first Sunday of Lent, Bill Young reflects on Pope Francis's teachings on indifference and the importance of concrete acts of charity.

## Resisting Spiritual Indifference

Today is the first Sunday of Lent, and our focus is on overcoming the temptation of indifference. Reading from Hebrews 3:12, we are reminded to take care of one another so that none of us may have an evil, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.

Paraphrasing Pope Francis from 'Lent: A Time of Grace,' we are often tempted by indifference when we are flooded with news reports and troubling images of human suffering. It is easy to feel a complete inability to help. To avoid this spiritual distress and powerlessness, we can do three things: first, pray in communion with the Church on earth and in heaven; second, perform acts of charity through the Church's many organizations; and third, recognize that the suffering of others is a call to our own conversion. If we are humble and accept our limitations, we can trust in the infinite possibilities that God holds out to us.

## Putting Charity into Practice

Charity is always Catholic charity. I want to mention a group I have been involved with for over six years called the Arial Anchor Cancer Foundation. They help families in emergency situations dealing with cancer by paying their bills. For example, we recently helped a single mother with a nine-year-old son whose cancer had returned. Because she had to be with her son for treatments, she couldn't work and fell behind on her electricity. We were able to pay her bills for both the past and the present. You can find more information at www.cancelbills.org.

## Finding Happiness Through Resistance

I have also started reading a book provided by my parish, St. Maximilian Kolbe in Pembroke Pines, Florida, called 'Resisting Happiness' by Matthew Kelly. It has an unusual name, but it speaks to how we encounter resistance in our lives and how we can find happiness through it. 

I experienced this just last night at my part-time job at the box office. I arrived a half hour late, and when I got to my window, I found that someone had moved everything—my maps, my pen, and even the cash from my drawer. I felt a lot of resistance and frustration. To make matters worse, my manager caught me in a white lie about what time I arrived. It was a reminder that none of us are perfect and we all have areas where we need to grow.

## Devotions and the Saints

In honor of the Holy Family, we prayed the Chaplet of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, asking for humility, patience, and the grace to be obedient to God's will. We also remembered the Saint of the Day, St. John Joseph of the Cross. He was a very humble priest in the 18th century who was never too proud to do the smallest tasks, such as washing dishes. His humility eventually led him to leadership roles, and he remained dedicated to charity and the less fortunate.

## The Sorrowful Mysteries

We concluded our time by praying the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary, meditating on the Agony in the Garden, the Scourging at the Pillar, the Crowning with Thorns, the Carrying of the Cross, and the Crucifixion. We also offered prayers for the beatification of Frank Duff, the founder of the Legion of Mary, and Venerable Adele Questel.

*Lent is a favorable time to show our belonging to the human family through small, concrete signs of concern for others.*