Changing our Minds

I used to be a part of a little fledgling community named "Metanoia". We met in this old storefront on Addison and Pulaski in Chicago that used to be the "Starlight Lounge". In fact, the sign was still hanging over the front door. There was something radical about meeting in a space that used to be the Starlight Lounge. But it was also a bit depressing. It had low ceilings and beer stains on the carpet and smelled of mold. You could easily imagine sad bums sitting at the bar, nursing their umpteenth drink of the night, but hanging around because they had no where else to go.

We tried to transform the shabby little space. Someone bought antique tables and chairs at a garage sale. We painted the walls and put down rugs and lit candles. We transformed the Starlight Lounge, but more importantly, we were there to transform our minds and hearts.

The word Metanoia in the Greek means "A change of mind. A radical revision and tranformation of our whole mental process.....whereby God takes center place in our consciousness, in our awareness, and in our minds."

Yesterday Father Cusick at Old St. Pats preached his whole homily on the word "Metanoia", and I was reminded how much I like that word and everything it means. He preached how John was given word in the desert that the Messiah was coming. Prepare the way. Make the way straight for the Lord to come and change minds...and hearts....and lives. What a message of hope!

I found this exmplanation on the Internet, by another priest:

"...What is "metanoia"? Unfortunately, in English there's not one word that translates it very well. We could say repentance, but that doesn't catch the meaning of "metanoia." "Metanoia" literally means "beyond the mind." So it's an idea of stretching or pushing beyond the boundaries with which we normally think and feel. Now when we push beyond the boundaries what we are doing is we are allowing God really to take an active role in our formation.

Repentance, metanoia in Greek, really refers to a complete change in perspective, a change in goal, a change in life itself, really!

It means new mindedness, new change of mind and change of heart in the Hebrew sense of heart---how you think.... what we have to learn basically is how trustworthy God is, and how in every single situation, no matter what it is, no matter how painful, God is to be trusted. God is always present. So God is always inviting us into more life, and so to be questioning our own ways and our own habits is a good thing--and letting go of rigidity.

Metanoia means...a change, a profound change, of mind and even character. In the Bible, in the New Testament, this change is called "metanoia," often translated repentance. But it's not a backward-looking glance of regret; it's a forward-looking vision of hope. "

Yes, there is hope in the possibility of having God enter into our minds -- changing our lives. As Anne Lammot says, "we can't heal our damaged minds with our damaged minds." We have to get out of our minds to allow God to heal us. God, please help me to get "beyond my mind!" i often lament. When I let my fears and worries, and obsessions to crowd my head, where is there room for God to change my mind -- for "metanoia?"

In this season, I pray that I can remove all of the barriers that I have constructed that prevent God from coming in and changing my mind, and my heart, and my life. To make the way straight for the Lord to come. Amen.