The Throne

 The Paulist vocation is quite clear about who I am not.  I am not God.  As a priest, when I preside at mass I sit on what is called the "Presidential Chair."  A bit highfalutin maybe, but it means that I lead the assembly in prayer.  I preside.  OK.  But the chair is not a throne.  I am not God.  I must keep this clearly in my mind and my heart when I am preaching during the mass.  That is why I tend to share something of myself, my life, my own foibles, when I am preaching about the readings.  I don't pronounce from on high what the people are supposed to do.  Rather I tell them how I challenge myself in my own imperfections to live up to the gospel of the day.  Then they can look at their own lives, knowing that they are loved not judged.  Stay off the throne.  God occupies it.