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SIMPLE40 - Day 3 - Honesty

Simplicity is


honesty with oneself,


honesty with others,


and honesty with God.


~Fr. Frederick W. Faber

What a powerful and surprisingly challenging definition.


Any one of these forms of honesty would already be a victory. Think about how complicated life becomes, internally and externally, when honesty begins to slip. When you are not truthful with yourself, when you hide from others, or when you avoid God in prayer, things do not stay neutral. They get tangled.


Dishonesty, even in subtle ways, often shows up in the body and soul as stress, anxiety, restlessness, or heaviness. Simplicity, then, is not just about removing clutter from your schedule or your home… it is about living in the light.


Being honest requires courage. It requires self-awareness. And during Lent, it requires the humility to let God show you what is real.


As you begin this SIMPLE40 journey, take an interior look at the decisions you have made in the last couple of weeks:

Are these choices and their outcomes congruent with who you are as God’s beloved daughter?


If not, this is not a moment for shame or discouragement, it is an invitation. Bring it to confession. Bring it to prayer. Ask for the grace to return to honesty with yourself, with others, and with God.


Learning to live honestly simplifies everything. It aligns your life with the person God created you to be. And that alignment brings peace, freedom, and beauty.


Simplicity is:

*virtuous

*a chosen way of life

*knowing who you are

*knowing whose you are

*beautiful

*necessary for growth

*lived interiorly and exteriorly

*using your gifts to build the Kingdom of God


Simplicity is not:

*minimalism

*involuntary poverty

*living in the country

*homesteading

*going on vacation

*plain or lacking beauty

*against "screen time"

*against social media

*doing nothing

*EASY

spiritual

Your spiritual challenge for the upcoming weekend is to go to confession, if you have not already been this week. The homily at Ash Wednesday Mass was all about confession and the simplicity of the sacrament. People like to confuse and complicate it by making their own rules. So, the priest gave us all a little handout on Confession and went over it, emphasizing the roles of the priest and penitent. Did you know that the penitent can compose and use his/her own Act of Contrition? Here is the handout we received....



Confession is one of the clearest practices of simplicity because it is complete honesty before God.

No pretending.

No performing.

No hiding.


God wants you to experience His mercy and freedom.


And don’t forget 40 minutes of prayer today. Perhaps you can “bookend” your day with prayer, morning and evening, as we continue fasting from noise and returning to what is essential.

self - interior simplicity

In keeping with Fr. Faber’s definition,“Simplicity is honesty with oneself, honesty with others, and honesty with God”, this weekend we turn our attention to our speech.


Not just the words you say out loud…but the words you speak silently to yourself.

If simplicity is honesty, then your speech matters deeply.

Pay attention this weekend:

  • Are your words truthful?

  • Are they necessary?

  • Are they kind?

  • Do they reflect who you are as God’s beloved daughter?


Notice the tone you use with others. Notice the tone you use with yourself.

Sometimes the harshest, most complicated noise in your life is not external, it is the running commentary inside your own mind. Self-criticism, comparison, exaggeration, defensiveness, sarcasm...these forms of speech create interior clutter and fracture simplicity.


Honesty with yourself is rooted in love and brings clarity. When you fast from careless or reactive speech, you begin to hear yourself more clearly. You begin to notice where you are tempted to:

  • over-explain

  • defend

  • embellish

  • complain

  • withdraw

  • or speak negatively about yourself


Ask the Lord to show you where your words, spoken or internal, are not aligned with truth. If needed, bring this to confession. There is tremendous grace in surrendering your speech to Him.


Simplicity in speech creates peace in the soul. And when your words become more honest, gentle, and intentional, your life becomes less tangled and far more beautiful.

service - exterior simplicity

Make an intentional effort this weekend to offer full presence in conversation by making gentle eye contact with the people you speak with.


This small act promotes worthiness, connectedness, trust, compassion, and shows the other person: I am here with you.


Did you know that eye contact activates the limbic mirror system? The emotions carried in your expression can actually be felt in the other person.


When your eyes are full of joy, they feel joy. When your eyes are heavy, they feel tenderness.

Can you think of a time you experienced this recently?



You can still download and print the SIMPLE40 100 Ways to Serve below.


"Lent should suggest to us these basic questions:

Am I advancing in my faithfulness to Christ,

in my desire for holiness,

in a generous apostolate in my daily life,

in my ordinary work among my colleagues?

...What better way to begin than Lent?

Let's renew our faith, hope and love."

~St. Josemaria Escriva

Today's Recipe

Balsamic Salmon Burger Tacos

Make about 12 little tacos - super simple and tasty!


4 salmon patties (we like the ones from Costco)

4-6 T. balsamic vinegar

12 corn tortillas

*a little avocado or olive oil for frying the tortillas (optional)

*taco toppings of your choice (tomato, lettuce, salsa, etc)

1/2 cup plain greek yogurt

1/2 of a cucumber, diced small

1 t. minced garlic

1 T. minced red onion

Salt and pepper to taste


*Place frozen salmon patties in a large pan and begin heating over med-high heat. Pour 1-2 Tablespoons of balsamic vinegar over each patty, flipping several times to coat it on both sides well.


*Cook for 10 min flipping every couple of minutes to prevent burning. Patties are done when pressed by a spatula and no pink juices flow out.


*Chunk the patties up into bite size pieces.


*While salmon is cooking, make the yogurt cucumber sauce by mixing the yogurt, cucumber, garlic and onion together. Add salt and pepper to taste if desired.


*Heat the avocado oil in a small pan and fry the tortillas quickly to warm and soften them a bit. You are now ready to assemble and enjoy these tasty little tacos. Perfect for Lenten Fridays!


Enjoy!



 
 
 

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