Naming the Days of Lent

My family and I were wondering why only certain days of Lent have names such as Ash Wednesday or Holy Thursday. We had heard that in the Eastern Churches, Lent begins with a day called Clean Monday. That made us decide to come up with names for every day of Lent (usually based on the Gospel for the day). Having a name for each day gives it a special focus.

Division Thursday

“Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” Jesus wants everything to be in unity. Today we can decide to work with him bringing unity and peace or against him by bringing division and enmity.

Teaching Wednesday

Today our Teacher Jesus teaches us that we should be teachers, too. But it’s very important to know what to teach. We must listen to our Teacher and then teach by our words and our lives.

77 Tuesday

To many of us, numbers are just numbers. We know what we mean when we say seven or 77. But in the Bible, numbers also have meanings. Seven signifies perfection. So if we look at the conversation between Jesus and Peter about forgiveness and translate the numbers that they use, it’s as if Peter said, “How many times do I have to forgive? Perfectly?” And Jesus replied,” Perfectly perfectly perfectly perfectly perfectly perfectly perfectly perfectly perfectly perfectly perfectly!” There is no stinginess in the forgiveness of God and there should be no stinginess in the forgiveness we have for others.

Naaman Monday

Naaman had an idea about what God should do for him and how he should do it. Because of his ideas, he almost did not receive the miraculous healing that God wanted to give him. The villagers also had their ideas about what a prophet of God should be like. Therefore they would not accept Jesus and even tried to kill him. Which of your ideas keep you from receiving what God wants to give you?

Well Sunday

(Because the Gospel of the Woman at the Well could always be chosen on this Sunday, we will remember today as Well Sunday.)

A well is like a human being because there is a mysterious hidden life-giving water in each of us. In some, it is buried very deep but in all of us, it is there waiting until Jesus draws it forth by saying, “Give me a drink.” When we give him a drink by showing him who we are, he gives us a drink in return and fills us so full that we can share this drink with the world.

Prodigal Saturday

Today we can look at two prodigal characters and one who was not. Prodigal can mean either extremely wasteful or extremely generous. The younger son was extremely wasteful and his father was extremely generous. But the older son was neither. Therefore he could not pardon the excessive sin of his brother or understand the excessive mercy of his Father. “He who is forgiven much loves much.” Jesus does not desire us to sin but if we turn to him he will forgive us. What he really doesn’t want is for us to be lukewarm (Revelation 3:16) because then we will neither understand nor desire his forgiveness.

Vineyard Friday

We live in the vineyard of God. He has given us everything that we need in order to produce an abundant harvest of grapes. But the grapes aren’t just for our own use. God is looking for the good fruits of our lives because we are his servants and the servants of everyone in the world.

Noticing Thursday

What was the sin of the rich man? He didn’t hit Lazarus or say mean words to him. He didn’t call the police and ask them to remove Lazarus from his doorstep. He simply did not even notice him. He probably saw him but he did not give him his attention or his love. Today is a good day to truly notice other people in your life. https://5sparrows.com/the-sin-of-not-noticing/

Zebedee Wednesday

Zebedee Wednesday calls on us to make a choice. James and John had been called by Jesus to leave everything and follow him. On that day, they left their possessions, their livelihood, and even their father Zebedee. But today, we will see that they haven’t left their own will, their own desires, their own striving for success. For the Christian, every day needs to be a Zebedee day—a day for listening to what Jesus is calling you to abandon for love of him.

Humble Tuesday

We all have many reasons to be humble. We’re human beings. We’re created. We are, in addition, sinners. Any good things that we have are from God and often we fail to use them well or to be grateful for them. Humility means admitting all this and then being admitted into the embrace of the Holy Trinity, our Father, Teacher, and Master.

Measure Monday

What is your measure? Do you use a 1/8 teaspoon or do you use a ten-ton truck? Jesus is generous and he wants to give you eternity. But if your heart and your hands are too small, you won’t be able to receive it.

Transfiguration Sunday

What is the purpose of Lent? Is it to give up pleasures, pray more and give a bit of money to the poor only to return to being the same person you were once Easter arrives? It would be sad if that’s what Lent was. This season of Lent is an amazing call to let yourself be entirely changed, transfigured, transformed… into Jesus.

Perfect Saturday

How is God perfect? He is perfect in love. He is perfect love. In order to be perfect as he is perfect, we have to love to the greatest extent that we can. We can’t just love those who love us and are good to us. We must love and desire the salvation of everyone, even those who wish us harm.

Altar Friday

When we come before God and bring our gifts to the altar, we have to alter our behavior toward our neighbors. Jesus does not want us to come to the altar alone, separated from the others whom he also loves. He wants us to bring ourselves and, through us, the whole world.

Ask Thursday

If you knew someone with incredible wealth and this rich person told you to ask for whatever you needed what would you do? Today Jesus tells us to ask, to ask insistently and persistently for what we need. “Give me a clean heart.” “Help me to love.” “Stay with me.” “Increase my faith.”

Sign Wednesday

Why do we need signs? In our everyday life, signs assure us that we are going the right way. They tell us what to do or not to do. But once you have a perfectly good sign, why would you want another one? If you asked for another one, you would be saying, “This sign isn’t good enough or trustworthy.” Jesus has given us one sign that points us to Heaven: his sacrificial love on the Cross.

Our Father Tuesday

We pray the Our Father often but do we think about its purpose? Why did Jesus give us this prayer? So that we could use it to babble as the pagans do? The Our Father is a key to open our Father’s heart and to reveal our hearts. https://5sparrows.com/our-father-pattern-of-prayer/

Sheep Monday

Why do the sheep enter Eternal Life? They share the same vision with Jesus. When they see something broken, someone hurting, they want to restore, renew, and bring healing. And because Jesus came to live our sorrows with us, when they touch the sorrowing, they touch Jesus.

Angel Sunday

“The angels ministered to him.” Just as Jesus had angels to serve him during his earthly life so do we. Whenever you are tempted to give up, remember the angels urging you to listen to the words of Jesus, “Repent and believe in the Gospel.” In other words, turn towards Jesus and live as he did.

Banquet Saturday

This seems like the perfect day to have after Fast Friday. Today Matthew is converted and he and all his friends celebrate by having a banquet with Jesus. When a banquet is mentioned in the Gospels, it is a symbol of Heaven. Even though our goal of Easter might seem far away on this first Saturday of Lent, this Gospel helps us to set our minds on the goal of conversion which is Eternal Life.

Fast Friday

Fast Friday isn’t fast as in quick. In fact, it is actually a long day or anyway a day of longing. When we fast, we realize that we don’t have something that we need for our life. Physically speaking what we don’t have is food. But this physical longing represents a spiritual hunger since we are waiting liturgically for the coming of Easter and ultimately for the final coming of Jesus. Then we will never be separated from him and all our longings will be satisfied.

Profit Thursday

“What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself?”

St. Louis de Monfort said that if you think of your life as if it were a business, you would want to make a profit on everything you do. This way you can increase the life of God in your soul and increase the amount of goodness in the world by even the smallest good deed or prayer. We can’t save our lives but instead, we should spend our lives for Jesus and he will be our reward forever and ever.

Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday is an easy one because it already has a name. Why do we start our Lenten journey with ashes? The ashes are the remains of something that was once living, the Palms of Palm Sunday. So they represent our fragile humanity and also the deadness of souls given over to sin.

But they are not only a reminder of death and sin. Our Savior does not want us to fall into gloom and depression. The “dead” ashes are made into the Sign of the Cross which is the sign of love and victory. Jesus can bring all things to life.