In Dante's Purgatorio, the theme of waiting is on prominent display. Dante and Virgil encounter a number of souls who slouch at the foot of the mountain of Purgatory, destined to make the climb to heaven but compelled for the time being to wait. How long? As long as God determines.
This, I submit, is very hard for most of us. I suppose we human beings have always been in a hurry, but modern people especially seem to want what they want, when they want it. We are driven, determined, goal-oriented, fast-moving. I, for one, can't stand waiting.
But is it possible that we are made to wait because the track we are on is not the one God wants for us? G. K. Chesterton said that if you are on the wrong road, the very worst thing you can do is to move quickly. And there is the old joke about the pilot who comes on the intercom and says, "I have good news and bad news, folks: The bad news is that we're totally lost; the good news is that we're making excellent time!"
Maybe we're forced to wait because God wants us to seriously reconsider the course we've charted, to stop hurtling down a dangerous road.
In this second half of Lent, ask yourself: are you on the right course? Do you need to adjust your direction?
"Maybe we're forced to wait because God wants us to seriously reconsider the course we've charted, to stop hurtling down a dangerous road."
- Father Robert Barron
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