Holy Spirit, help me set my mind on divine, not human, things…

 
Mark 8:27-33

 
Peter lived in an age without smart phones or computers and only hand-printed documents stored in the library of the synagogue, or a place of learning. Yet even Peter was so influenced by the customs and influences of his cultural milieu that, even after having just had the spiritual insight to  proclaim Jesus the Messiah, he was unable to hear Jesus’ own divine Truth, spoken in love, that He would  suffer, be rejected by the elders, and killed. And we are even more challenged to set our minds on God’s perspective today.  Every hour of every day, all kinds of ‘things’ come into our lives. With social media dinging us constantly on our smart phones, browser algorithms sending endless chains of interesting bites of news, and excellent audio, visual, and print media filling our eyes and ears almost everywhere, almost all the time,  it seems that our minds are always overloaded and often overwhelmed.  Add to all of this constant current of visual and auditory stimuli, the information gleaned from conversations with friends, families and acquaintances, and there is no wonder why mental illness is on the rise in our culture. Now more than ever, as followers of Jesus,  through prayer and fasting, we need to be aware of what we receive into our lives, and then carefully guard and discipline the setting of our minds beyond the temporary and fickle things of this world, to focus on things divine – love, beauty, joy, peace, truth, faithfulness, thanksgiving and etcetera.  As lent approaches, will I set my mind on things human or divine? Holy Spirit, help me set my mind on divine, not human, things…
 
It is the Lord who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the Pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy.  (Psalm 103:2-4)
 
The world offers you comfort, but you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness!
Pope Benedict XVI
 
Soli ad gloriam Dei
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