Friskies

The headline caught my eye: Cat Sells Its Soul for Friskies.  All sorts of questions immediately came to mind.  Is this market expansion by Satan or is he hard up for business?  What would the deal look like?  Do cats even have souls?  Silly musings for a snowy Sunday morning, of course.  But a more sober thought then came to mind.  What would I sell my soul for?  It's a question always worth confronting, especially during Lent.  Recall how we began Lent, reading the story of Satan's three attempts to seduce Jesus.  The lectionary includes this incident to not only show us Jesus' strength, but to inspire us to contemplate our weaknesses and consider how we might resist the devil's blandishments.  Before we laugh at or take pity on the cat, we would do well to admit that it's far easier than we'd care to admit for us to be bought off, compromised, or suborned.  The temptation that fells us need not be global domination or endless riches.  It can as intimate and mundane as a small, personal indulgence.  So take pity on the cat -- but God has shown mercy to us, knowing we can fail, wanting to help us get up and get going again.

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