Bruce Concert

Last night I attended the Bruce Springsteen concert at the Prudential Center in Newark.  As always, Bruce put on a great show and while I have been labeled a "medium" fan, as opposed to a fanatic, I do enjoy his music and his shows greatly.  It is the third time I have seen him and it is always fun.

In his latest album, "Wrecking Ball," there is a real sense of the spiritual in some of his songs; some sound like they have a clear gospel-music influence.  While the sound might be a little different from the past, the theme of God, redemption, grace and forgiveness are fairly common themes for Bruce.  Last night he performed one of his classics, "It's Hard to be a Saint in the City" and it got me thinking of how on target that song and its title are: "it IS hard to be a saint in the city".  How true that is!  As Catholics and Christians, we understand it: sainthood is difficult, but we keep striving for it.  And that is where the other themes that Springsteen often mention come into the picture: it is with God and His grace and our prayerfulness and our willingness to keep fighting for goodness.

Yes, it is hard to be a saint, but we keep trying and trying and, hopefully will achieve it with God's grace.  And thanks for reminding us again, Bruce!