Called for restoration

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to act with the Spirit as agents for the restoration of relationships following the example of our “Our All-powerful Physician.”

Restorer of the breech

The reading from the Book of Isaiah declares we shall be called the repairer of the breach as we attend to authentic Sabbath observance that leads to blessing.

 * [58:13–14] Sabbath observance becomes a cornerstone of postexilic piety; cf. 56:2, 4, 6.1

Psalm 86 is an individual lament and supplication for help against enemies.

 * [Psalm 86] An individual lament. The psalmist, “poor and oppressed” (Ps 86:1), “devoted” (Ps 86:2), “your servant” (Ps 86:2, 4, 16), “rescued from the depths of Sheol” (Ps 86:13), attacked by the ruthless (Ps 86:14), desires only God’s protection (Ps 86:1–7, 11–17).2

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus calls Levi the Tax Collector.

 * [5:28] Leaving everything behind: see note on Lk 5:11.3

Eileen Burke-Sullivan comments that the three “tools” of the life of partnership with Jesus are prayer, fasting and alms giving. Prayer occurs when we are in the right relationship with God, fasting rightly marks a healthy relationship with our own bodies and a just participation in the created order. Alms giving rightly understood stands as a marker for authentic relationship with all other humans. “Alms giving” is the appropriate sharing of material goods so that all have enough of the limited resources of creation to thrive in their human life.

 Today’s Gospel from Luke reminds us that God’s work is rescuing each one of us from our death choices and opening us up to life choices again.  When we judge those who frighten us, or refuse to embrace God’s mercy for them or for ourselves, we step off the path of life – and follow the desolation of the Dark Spirit or the enemy of human flourishing.   Jesus’ work, and ours since Baptism, is to open the doors of life within our own hearts to those who haven’t found the path to life. As we have been invited to be forgiven, so must we invite others to forgiveness and the joy of God’s Mercy.4

Don Schwager quotes “Our All-powerful Physician,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 AD.

 "Our wound is serious, but the Physician is all-powerful. Does it seem to you so small a mercy that, while you were living in evil and sinning, he did not take away your life, but brought you to belief and forgave your sins? What I suffer is serious, but I trust the Almighty. I would despair of my mortal wound if I had not found so great a Physician." (excerpt from Sermon 352, 3)5

The Word Among Us Meditation on Isaiah 58:9-14 observes that often we need to look at why we say the things we say. And that’s where Jesus comes in—to help us look inside our hearts to see the root causes of our hurtful speech. Because that’s where a lot of it comes from. Ask any counselor, and they will tell you that people who have been hurt often hurt other people. Or they will tell you that our hurtful words often come from our own self-centered desires and our frustration that people aren’t treating us the way we think we deserve.

 We often think that Lent is a time when we do things for God. But it’s also a time when God wants to do things for us. As you continue your Lenten journey, ask him to help you put away unkind remarks and reactions. If you slip up, think about what may have caused you to act in that way. Then ask Jesus to heal you—and trust that he can.
“Jesus, heal my heart so that I speak only words of love, encouragement, and mercy.”6

Friar Jude Winkler connects our generosity to others to our openness to accept generosity from God. The Pharisees were concerned that sin was a contagion. Friar Jude reminds us that people are transformed by Love and not by guilt or fear.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces a recent Living School student, Dr. Jerome Lubbe, a functional neurologist and co-founder of Thrive NeuroTheology. He has developed a science-based method to understand the Enneagram which he explores in his book Whole-Identity: A Brain-Based Enneagram Model for (W)holistic Human Thriving. We are not a personality type or number on the Enneagram. We are a whole person who has a whole identity—we are all nine numbers. . . . Tools like the Enneagram are meant for expanding awareness of the whole. . . .

 When you shift the Enneagram Framework from being a number to having efficiencies in all nine numbers, the Enneagram language shifts with it. It becomes about nature and values instead of type and reductive behaviors. For example, number Seven, traditionally associated with the title of “Enthusiast,” is instead represented by the innate human capacity for “Enthusiasm” as well as the value of “Experiences.” 
“I am an enthusiast” becomes “I value experiences” which allows more room for nuance, invites growth and begs the question, “. . . and what else do I value?”. . . There is no human who is defined by a single number. [1]7

The prayer, fasting, and almsgiving of Lent help orient our concern to the needs of others as the Spirit leads us to ways of contemplation of our wholeness and connectedness.

References

1	(n.d.). Isaiah, chapter 58 - United States Conference. Retrieved February 29, 2020, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/isaiah/58
2	(n.d.). Psalm 86 - United States Conference. Retrieved February 29, 2020, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/psalms/86
3	(n.d.). Luke, chapter 5 - United States Conference. Retrieved February 29, 2020, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/luke/5
4	(n.d.). Daily Reflections - OnlineMinistries .... Retrieved February 29, 2020, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
5	(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved February 29, 2020, from https://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/
6	(n.d.). Saturday after Ash Wednesday - Mass Readings and Catholic .... Retrieved February 29, 2020, from https://wau.org/meditations/2020/02/29
7	(n.d.). Daily Meditations Archives — Center for Action and .... Retrieved February 29, 2020, from https://cac.org/category/daily-meditations/

A Fast for Mourning

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today touch on the emotion of mourning that may be experienced as we consider our neglect of life giving relationships with our neighbours.

The fast of mourning

The reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah identifies false and true worship and fasting that leads to blessing.

 * [58:6–12] Fasting is not genuine without reforming one’s way of life. A true social morality will ensure prosperity.1

The first part of Psalm 51 asks deliverance from sin, not just a past act but its emotional, physical, and social consequences. The second part seeks something more profound than wiping the slate clean: nearness to God, and living by the spirit of God.

 * [Psalm 51] A lament, the most famous of the seven Penitential Psalms, prays for the removal of the personal and social disorders that sin has brought. The poem has two parts of approximately equal length: Ps 51:3–10 and Ps 51:11–19, and a conclusion in Ps 51:20–21. The two parts interlock by repetition of “blot out” in the first verse of each section (Ps 51:3, 11), of “wash (away)” just after the first verse of each section (Ps 51:4) and just before the last verse (Ps 51:9) of the first section, and of “heart,” “God,” and “spirit” in Ps 51:12, 19. The first part (Ps 51:3–10) asks deliverance from sin, not just a past act but its emotional, physical, and social consequences. The second part (Ps 51:11–19) seeks something more profound than wiping the slate clean: nearness to God, living by the spirit of God (Ps 51:12–13), like the relation between God and people described in Jer 31:33–34. Nearness to God brings joy and the authority to teach sinners (Ps 51:15–16). Such proclamation is better than offering sacrifice (Ps 51:17–19). The last two verses express the hope that God’s good will toward those who are cleansed and contrite will prompt him to look favorably on the acts of worship offered in the Jerusalem Temple (Ps 51:19 [20–21])2.

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus addresses a question about fasting from the disciples of John the Baptist.

 * [9:15] Fasting is a sign of mourning and would be as inappropriate at this time of joy, when Jesus is proclaiming the kingdom, as it would be at a marriage feast. Yet the saying looks forward to the time when Jesus will no longer be with the disciples visibly, the time of Matthew’s church. Then they will fast: see Didache 8:1.3

Larry Gillick, S.J. asks: “Did the disciples of John get the picture, get the answer?” Something new, different is in and with Jesus about just what the human response to God is and will be. Holiness has to do with a relationship with its responses rather than with a legal practice with its demands and expectations. It is received rather than achieved.

 After listening to or reading the First Reading for today’s Eucharistic liturgy and today’s Gospel, fasting seems to be more than giving something up for the sake of getting something back. We can fast from such things as eating, drinking, watching, doing and or many other human activities and these are actually quite good. What about our fasting from eating from the delightful cookies of self-negativity and spiritual inferiority. How about fasting from drinking the fermented spirits of regret, past failures and disappointments. How about not watching the actions of self or others in a spirit of competition and compara-sinning. How about fasting from our not doing the works of caring for the lonely or lost, curing the broken and hurting, being present and receptive to the inconvenient and the awkward.4

Don Schwager quotes “True fasting,” by Saint Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 AD.

 "All the endeavors for fasting are concerned not about the rejection of various foods as unclean, but about the subjugation of inordinate desire and the maintenance of neighborly love. Charity especially is guarded - food is subservient to charity, speech to charity, customs to charity, and facial expressions to charity. Everything works together for charity alone." (excerpt from Letter 243, 11)5

The Word Among Us Meditation on Isaiah 58:1-9 comments that when they left the Temple, they would just go back to following their selfish ways. In today’s first reading, Isaiah responds to this misguided approach. He tells the people about the kind of fasting that God wishes. He doesn’t condemn fasting, of course; he just doesn’t want us to detach it from its true meaning: reverence for God expressed in love of neighbor.

 In prayer today, ask the Holy Spirit to help you find one way that you can practice this concrete kind of fasting. Do you know someone who is bound, oppressed, hungry, homeless, or naked? Reach out to them and “your light shall break forth like the dawn” (Isaiah 58:8).6

Friar Jude Winkler fleshes out the disappointment of the exiles returning to Jerusalem after the Exile in Babylon as they are addressed about their practices in Trito-Isaiah. The vertical and horizontal dimensions of our faith are always present. Friar Jude cites mourning, centering on Christ, and solidarity as opportunities for fasting.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, shares his own Enneagram Type as he hopes he has done enough inner work to be able to present a balanced picture.

https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/585179fe1b631b51e1837bac/1481744793084-KJGUBSWY27SHE1NPJI9L/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kGJhuUC4fYhB0qr4zYQ1TANZw-zPPgdn4jUwVcJE1ZvWEtT5uBSRWt4vQZAgTJucoTqqXjS3CfNDSuuf31e0tVF5wAUowfLoeyHki4sxHpjkbq6xH0spp_o6E8WxvA3humQ6l2WM7tn7mqHTODzkmeM/type1.gif?format=500w

This insight in the Holy Idea of Holy Perfection; the Virtue of Serenity; and the Passion of Anger may be helpful as we grow to maturing in being type one or as the support community to help release the type ones we encounter to their True Self. In the fast we make from self serving action we may encounter the Spirit leading us to help bring freedom to others from their bondage.

References

1	(n.d.). Isaiah, chapter 58 - United States Conference. Retrieved February 28, 2020, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/isaiah/58
2	(n.d.). Psalms, chapter 51. Retrieved February 28, 2020, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/psalms/51
3	(n.d.). Matthew, chapter 9 - United States Conference. Retrieved February 28, 2020, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/matthew/9
4	(n.d.). Daily Reflections - OnlineMinistries .... Retrieved February 28, 2020, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
5	(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved February 28, 2020, from https://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/
6	(n.d.). Friday after Ash Wednesday - Mass Readings and Catholic .... Retrieved February 28, 2020, from https://wau.org/meditations/2020/02/28
7	(2020, February 28). Type One: The Need to Be Perfect — Center for Action and .... Retrieved February 28, 2020, from https://cac.org/type-one-the-need-to-be-perfect-2020-02-28/

The choice for life

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today present a dualistic choice that establishes the tension in living on a journey to full life through relationship with God.

The Way of Life

The reading from the Book of Deuteronomy presents the choice Moses puts before Israel.

 See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity1

The theme of the Two Ways in Psalm 1 expresses that the wise through their good actions will experience rootedness and life, and the wicked, rootlessness and death.

 * [Psalm 1] A preface to the whole Book of Psalms, contrasting with striking similes the destiny of the good and the wicked. The Psalm views life as activity, as choosing either the good or the bad. Each “way” brings its inevitable consequences. The wise through their good actions will experience rootedness and life, and the wicked, rootlessness and death.2

In the Gospel from Luke, Jesus teaches the Conditions of Discipleship include taking up our cross daily as He asks: “What does it profit them if they gain the whole world, but lose or forfeit themselves?”

 * [9:23] Daily: this is a Lucan addition to a saying of Jesus, removing the saying from a context that envisioned the imminent suffering and death of the disciple of Jesus (as does the saying in Mk 8:34–35) to one that focuses on the demands of daily Christian existence.3

Angela Maynard comments that nobody gets through this life without some kind of suffering. Some days there are disappointments, other days loss and the accompanying pain and suffering. Many of the saints and holy people have concluded that pain is a source of purification or a way one can become stronger. For today, let's allow ourselves some time for quiet reflection. When faced with crosses, do I fall apart, give up, or do I rise up, shoulder my crosses with courage, keeping in mind that Jesus shares the load?

 Suffering is nothing by itself. But suffering shared with the passion of Christ is a wonderful gift, the most beautiful gift, a token of love.”    -- St. Teresa of Calcutta   
“If God causes you to suffer much, it is a sign that He has great designs for you, and that He certainly intends to make you a saint. And if you wish to become a great saint, entreat Him yourself to give you much opportunity for suffering; for there is no wood better to kindle the fire of holy love than the wood of the cross, which Christ used for His own great sacrifice of boundless charity.”       -- St. Ignatius of Loyola4

Don Schwager quotes “God calls us to conversion,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 AD.

 "God calls us to correct ourselves and invites us to do penance. He calls us through the wonderful gifts of his creation, and he calls us by granting time for life. He calls us through the reader and through the preacher. He calls us with the innermost force of our thoughts. He calls us with the scourge of punishment, and he calls us with the mercy of his consolation." (excerpt from Commentary on Psalm 102, 16)5

The Word Among Us Meditation on Deuteronomy 30:15-20 shares that following the Lord requires choosing. Each reading today says so. Moses gives his farewell address to the Israelites, and his main point is that if they want to receive God’s life, they have to choose to follow and obey him (Deuteronomy 30:15-20). Jesus predicts his passion and gives the disciples a list of things they need to choose to do: deny themselves, take up their crosses daily, and follow him (Luke 9:23). Even today’s psalm describes the blessed people who follow the Lord—they choose not to follow the counsel of the wicked; they delight in God’s law. As a result, they are like a well-watered, fruitful tree (Psalm 1:1-3).

 The same is true for us: choosing to follow God gives us life. So go ahead and spend a little more time in prayer or Scripture reading. Attend your parish’s Stations of the Cross. Give to the poor, whether you talk with the homeless man on the street corner or spend an afternoon preparing meals at a shelter. Wash your family’s dirty dishes or pick up after your loved ones with a smile.
This might sound like a spiritual to-do list. But there’s more to it than that. As you take more time to pray, you may notice a sense of joy welling up in you, even in difficulty. As you reach out to give to the needy, you may get a clearer glimpse of Jesus’ love for the poor. As you choose to serve your family even when you’re aggravated, you may discover a new sense of peace. Every decision to follow Jesus nourishes your soul like a river watering a tree (Psalm 1:3).
So rely on God’s grace and say yes to him. As you journey with Jesus through Lent, you’ll start resembling him more in your thoughts, words, and actions. That’s what his life does in you!6

Friar Jude Winkler reviews the dualistic choice of the Two Ways as he concedes our daily path often is in grey areas that are not so black and white. In the Gospel, Jesus resolves our tension of the Two Ways in the irony of taking up our cross. Friar Jude reminds us that the Way of the Cross is to abandon our self serving interests to give life for others.

The tool of the Enneagram may help our service of others as we come to appreciate how the Essential Nature of people may be recaptured living as their True Self, blessed by God. Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, shares Don Richard Riso and Russ Hudson explanation of how Nines reconnect with their Essential nature or True Self.

https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/585179fe1b631b51e1837bac/1481830640417-7XR5WHQRDY4W9Y79DUC3/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kBNIdWBe6m2h5ULxAqKQvxpZw-zPPgdn4jUwVcJE1ZvWEtT5uBSRWt4vQZAgTJucoTqqXjS3CfNDSuuf31e0tVHiyWpKxdslTO8z3os2pqwmb2loCnT3wj3K5UXSzGjTa2bSd6kfRtgWHgNMDgGnmDY/image-asset.gif?format=500w

(see Ash Wednesday blog entry for definition of the terms Holy Ideas, Virtues, and Passions). Ultimately Nines reclaim their Essential nature by confronting their Basic Fear of losing connection and by letting go of the belief that their participation in the world is unimportant—that they do not have to “show up.” They realize that the only way to truly achieve the unity and wholeness they seek is not by “checking out” into the realms of the imagination but by fully engaging themselves in the present moment.

 Another Essential quality of the Nine is what Oscar Ichazo called “Holy Love.” . . . The Essential love to which we are referring is a dynamic quality of Being that flows, transforms, and breaks down all barriers before it. It overcomes feelings of separateness and isolation within ego boundaries, issues that plague the Instinctive Triad. This is why real love is frightening—it entails the dissolution of boundaries and the death of the ego. Yet as we learn to surrender to the action of Holy Love, we reconnect with the ocean of Being and realize that at our core, we are this Love. We are this endless, dynamic, transforming Presence of loving awareness, and it has always been so. [2]7

Our surrender to the action of Love in our lives and relationships with others will push forward to full life in the tension between the Two Ways.

References

1	(n.d.). Deuteronomy, chapter 30. Retrieved February 27, 2020, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/deuteronomy/30
2	(n.d.). Psalms, chapter 1 - United States Conference. Retrieved February 27, 2020, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/psalms/1
3	(n.d.). Luke, chapter 9 - United States Conference. Retrieved February 27, 2020, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/luke/9
4	(n.d.). Daily Reflections - OnlineMinistries .... Retrieved February 27, 2020, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
5	(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved February 27, 2020, from https://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/
6	(n.d.). Thursday after Ash Wednesday - Mass Readings and Catholic .... Retrieved February 27, 2020, from https://wau.org/meditations/2020/02/27/
7	(2020, February 27). Type Nine: The Need for Peace — Center for Action and .... Retrieved February 27, 2020, from https://cac.org/type-nine-the-need-for-peace-2020-02-27/

Intimate Invite to Return

The invitation to return to a deeper relationship with God begins the Christian season of Lent today in the texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary.

Call to return

The reading from the Book of Joel describes God’s response and promise to our decision to return to Him with all our heart.

 * [2:18] Jealous: the Hebrew word describes the passionate empathetic bond the Lord has with Israel. The people’s wholehearted participation in Joel’s call for fasting and prayer sparks the Lord’s longing to protect and love his people Israel. This desire moves him to withhold punishment and to send the blessing of v. 14 instead.1

The first part of Psalm 51 asks deliverance from sin, not just a past act but its emotional, physical, and social consequences. The second part seeks something more profound than wiping the slate clean: nearness to God and living by the spirit of God.

 * [Psalm 51] A lament, the most famous of the seven Penitential Psalms, prays for the removal of the personal and social disorders that sin has brought. The poem has two parts of approximately equal length: Ps 51:3–10 and Ps 51:11–19, and a conclusion in Ps 51:20–21. The two parts interlock by repetition of “blot out” in the first verse of each section (Ps 51:3, 11), of “wash (away)” just after the first verse of each section (Ps 51:4) and just before the last verse (Ps 51:9) of the first section, and of “heart,” “God,” and “spirit” in Ps 51:12, 19. The first part (Ps 51:3–10) asks deliverance from sin, not just a past act but its emotional, physical, and social consequences. The second part (Ps 51:11–19) seeks something more profound than wiping the slate clean: nearness to God, living by the spirit of God (Ps 51:12–13), like the relation between God and people described in Jer 31:33–34. Nearness to God brings joy and the authority to teach sinners (Ps 51:15–16). Such proclamation is better than offering sacrifice (Ps 51:17–19). The last two verses express the hope that God’s good will toward those who are cleansed and contrite will prompt him to look favorably on the acts of worship offered in the Jerusalem Temple (Ps 51:19 [20–21]).2

In the reading from Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians we are exhorted to appreciate that now is the acceptable time and now is the day of salvation!

 * [6:2] In an acceptable time: Paul cites the Septuagint text of Is 49:8; the Hebrew reads “in a time of favor”; it is parallel to “on the day of salvation.” Now: God is bestowing favor and salvation at this very moment, as Paul is addressing his letter to them.3

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus teaches concerning almsgiving, prayer, and fasting.

 * [6:1–18] The sermon continues with a warning against doing good in order to be seen and gives three examples, almsgiving (Mt 6:2–4), prayer (Mt 6:5–15), and fasting (Mt 6:16–18). In each, the conduct of the hypocrites (Mt 6:2) is contrasted with that demanded of the disciples. The sayings about reward found here and elsewhere (Mt 5:12, 46; 10:41–42) show that this is a genuine element of Christian moral exhortation. Possibly to underline the difference between the Christian idea of reward and that of the hypocrites, the evangelist uses two different Greek verbs to express the rewarding of the disciples and that of the hypocrites; in the latter case it is the verb apechō, a commercial term for giving a receipt for what has been paid in full (Mt 6:2, 5, 16).4

Tamora Whitney comments it is a time to return to God, to acknowledge our shortcomings and atone. “Behold, now is a very acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” Lent is a time set aside for repentance, but really, any time is the proper time to repent our sins and seek forgiveness.

 Even giving up Starbucks or candy can help us with compassion, and the compassionate thing to do would be to donate the money we would have spent on coffee or chocolate to help someone who has no food or no clean water to drink. Denying ourselves can help us feel solidarity.
Because Lent is not just about giving something up, it’s about getting something, about being better. It’s about recognizing what has kept us down and wanting to be better people. In the Gospel, Jesus does not discourage us from sacrifice, from fasting, from almsgiving, but he discourages us from making a show of it. He says our repentance needs to be from our hearts, and God can see into our hearts. The good works we do should be for the good, not to show off. Are we providing alms to help others because it’s the right thing to do, or so others can see how good and generous we are? The point is to do the right thing, not to show off our generosity.  Our sacrifices can be private, and God will know what’s in our hearts. And our rewards will be bigger than notoriety.5

Don Schwager quotes “Lent - the epitome of our whole life,” by Saint Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 AD.

 "Christians must always live in this way, without any wish to come down from their cross - otherwise they will sink beneath the world's mire. But if we have to do so all our lives, we must make an even greater effort during the days of Lent. It is not a simple matter of living through forty days. Lent is the epitome of our whole life." (excerpt from Sermon 205, 1)6

The Word Among Us Meditation on Joel 2:12-18 notes that Lent begins each year with this reading from the prophet Joel. It’s clear that the Church chose this passage so that we too would return to God with our whole heart during Lent.

 Just as sin is a turning away from God, this passage shows us that repentance is a turning toward him. And that is cause for hope. Why?
Because the One we are turning to is the God who takes pity on us, just as he did on the Israelites.
Because the One we are turning to created us in love and wants nothing more than for us to walk by his side.
Because the One we are turning to is the all-merciful God who sent his Son into the world to redeem us so that we could have a relationship with him and abide with him forever.
Because the One we are turning to knows everything about us—the good as well as the bad—and still calls us to follow him and become his disciples.7

Friar Jude Winkler reminds us to call on the mercy of God with humility not presumption. Paul declares today is the acceptable time, the day of salvation. Friar Jude connects prayer, almsgiving, and fasting to rabbinic advice after the destruction of the Temple.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, cites Christopher L. Heuertz, The Sacred Enneagram: Finding Your Unique Path to Spiritual Growth (Zondervan: 2017), 133. Where Chris defines these terms: Holy Ideas: Virtues: Passions: as follows (see pages 246-248):

 Holy Ideas: The unique state of mental well-being, specific to each of the nine types, in which the mind is centered and connected with the True Self.
Virtues: Like the nine fruits of the Spirit [see Galatians 5:22-23] the Virtues are . . . gifts of a centered heart that is present, nonreactive, and at rest in the True Self.
Passions: The inverse of the Virtues are the Passions . . . [which] emerge as the heart indulges the Basic Fear that it will never return to its essence and therefore seeks out coping mechanisms that ultimately compound each type’s state of emotional imbalance.8

The insight offered by Enneagram analysis of type eight is offered by Christopher L. Heuertz. He summarizes that when Eights give up their own willfulness, they discover the Divine Will. Instead of trying to have power through the assertion of their egos, they align themselves with Divine Power… Eights also remember the omnipotence and strength that comes from being a part of the Divine reality. The Divine will is not the same as willfulness. As Eights understand this, they end their war with the world and discover that the solidity, power, and independence that they have been seeking are already here. [3] Fr Richard adds that because of their passion for justice and truth, healthy Eights often take the side of the weak and defenseless. For the sake of justice, Eights are willing to fight the powers that be with every available weapon, and our world is a better place for it. Kenneth Berding of Biola University contributes an article “The Not-So-Sacred Enneagram” as a Book Review of "The Sacred Enneagram" by Christopher L. Heuertz expressing concerns from an evangelical Christian understanding.

 We were born virtuous, so we are told in this book, but then developed a tragic flaw, often through disappointments or hurts from our parents or caretakers. Our tragic flaw is the place where we park our destructive addictions. The aim of the Enneagram, though, is to guide us into a rediscovery of our true self. Christian readers, however, should take note that this is not what the Bible teaches about original sin. We are not born virtuous. We inherit the sin of Adam (Romans 5:12-21) and are hopelessly in need of a Savior from the day we are born.9

The call to return to God in Lent is from where we are on our journey today. The assistance we seek in this decision may begin by asking the Spirit to open a door for us that is intimate to our body, mind, and heart.

References

1	(n.d.). Joel, chapter 2 - United States Conference. Retrieved February 26, 2020, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/joel/2
2	(n.d.). Psalms, chapter 51 - United States Conference. Retrieved February 26, 2020, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/psalms/51
3	(n.d.). 2 Corinthians, chapter 6 - United States Conference. Retrieved February 26, 2020, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/2corinthians/6
4	(n.d.). Matthew, chapter 6 - United States Conference. Retrieved February 26, 2020, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/matthew/6
5	(n.d.). Daily Reflections - OnlineMinistries .... Retrieved February 26, 2020, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
6	(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved February 26, 2020, from https://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/
7	(n.d.). Ash Wednesday - Mass Readings and Catholic Daily .... Retrieved February 26, 2020, from https://wau.org/meditations/2020/02/26/
8	(2020, February 26). Type Eight: The Need to Be Against — Center for Action and .... Retrieved February 26, 2020, from https://cac.org/type-eight-the-need-to-be-against-2020-02-26/
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