Dear Cassie, That is an interesting question you ask.\u00a0 And I am glad that at least one of my nieces is spiritually sensitive enough to ask it.\u00a0 The answer is simple: if you are wondering how your spiritual life is going, do what you do when you wonder how your physical life is doing \u2013 check the vital signs.\u00a0 One of the key vital signs is what you do with your free time.\u00a0 Let\u2019s say you get an unexpected change of plans and all of a sudden you have an afternoon free, or a Saturday, or a morning, or just an hour.\u00a0 What\u2019s the first thing that comes to mind about how to spend that time?\u00a0 Catch up on sleep?\u00a0 Go for a run?\u00a0 Watch a movie?\u00a0 Sunbathing? (If you had chosen to go to USC it would be an option even in October.)\u00a0 Such are normal ideas, and can be healthy.\u00a0 But among the many possibilities a visit to Christ in the Eucharist, or a little afternoon retreat to the nearby monastery, shrine, or cathedral should at least pop up as an alternative.\u00a0 If Christ is really real for you, and if your relationship with him really matters, you will covet time to hang out with him.\u00a0 If not, it won\u2019t even occur to you.\u00a0 Take a lesson from today\u2019s saint. Narcissus was already an old man when he was made bishop of Jerusalem.\u00a0 But his vibrant faith and contagious charity (along with his knack for miracles) made him a favorite among the faithful of all ages.\u00a0 He was so popular, in fact, that he incurred the disaffection of some lax clerics.\u00a0 They slandered him, and though no one believed their lies, the accusations caused enough turbulence to afford the holy prelate an opportunity to step down from his post.\u00a0 To reestablish peace, he retired into solitude far from the city \u2013 an occupation he had long desired to take on.\u00a0 For years he prayed and did penance, and only returned to society when he was over 100 years old.\u00a0 His people were so astonished and delighted that they immediately petitioned him to take up his former office, despite his age.\u00a0 He acquiesced, but took on St Alexander as his coadjutor bishop, and spent the rest of his life guiding his flock with exemplary prudence.\u00a0 He died when he was around 116. How he loved God! When ousted from his See he sentenced himself to \u201csolitary confinement\u201d so he could spend more time with the Lord he adored.\u00a0 So, my dear niece, take a gander at that spiritual vital sign, and ask yourself what you do with your free time.\u00a0 If Jesus doesn\u2019t make an appearance, he clearly has not yet won your heart. Sincerely, Uncle Eddy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dear Cassie, That is an interesting question you ask.\u00a0 And I am glad that at least one of my nieces is spiritually sensitive enough to ask it.\u00a0 The answer is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":359,"featured_media":145992,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[3719],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-142271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncle-eddy"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"","pp_force_visibility":null,"pp_subpost_visibility":null,"pp_inherited_force_visibility":null,"pp_inherited_subpost_visibility":null,"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n