Thursday, Second Week of Lent
When God probes our hearts, what does he find? Why are human hearts so full of sin? Why are they so hard? What prevents us from seeing the needs and afflictions of others?
In the first reading, the prophet Jeremiah has many things to say about our human condition. He says that we should not trust in human beings and that if we do, we will turn away from the Lord and become barren. He calls our hearts, crooked and beyond remedy.
In the Gospel, Jesus tells a parable that we can all relate to. We are the rich man using everything that God gives us for ourselves and looking away from those who need not just our money, but our time, our attention, and our affection. We look away because it makes us uncomfortable to see their need and pain.
The rich man is not sent to the place of torment because he did something but because he failed to do something. He failed to notice the suffering of a fellow human being. He failed to open his heart to him. Jesus wants our hearts to be changed and become like his Sacred Heart. His heart was pierced. We need to allow our hearts to be pierced by the suffering of others so that we will feed them with our very selves.
In the Eucharist, Jesus gives us himself and feeds us. He wants us to do the same for others.
Happy St. Joseph’s Day!
We will resume posting on Thursday.
Tuesday, Second Week of Lent
What does God want? Many people ask this question. It’s a question that occurs to all of us often. In big things, and small things, in what should be done in our lives. But we can make it very complicated when, in a certain sense, it is simple.
In the first reading, Isaiah delivers a message to the people of Israel. He tells them to stop doing evil and learn to do good. He even gives them some examples. They should aim for justice and help those who are defenseless.
In the Gospel, Jesus tells us that we should not do things for show and we should not make things difficult for other people. He reminds us that we are under his teaching and should learn from him. We should also remember that we are all part of one family and we are supposed to serve each other in humility.
But even this can be a lot to remember, and perhaps hard to put into practice. The psalm for today gives us an easy way to discern what God wants. The psalmist says, “He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me.” What does it mean to offer praise as a sacrifice? Our Father wants us to live our lives in such a way that we are trying to please him at every moment. If this is our goal, we can live doing the things that God wants.
Monday, Second Week of Lent
A story often told to children is the magic porridge pot. In this story, when someone says the right word, the bowl of porridge begins to fill. And if it is not stopped, it runs all over the whole town and, in fact, the whole world. Obviously, this would not be a good thing with porridge. With material things, there is a limit to how much we want of them.
But spiritual gifts are different. We certainly do not want only so much of God‘s love or mercy or forgiveness and then no more. We want as much mercy as we can have. We want to know the word that turns on the mercy and we don’t want to use the word that stops it.
In the first reading, the prophet Daniel laments that God’s people have not observed his commandments and that they have rebelled against him. But Daniel knows the word that opens up the mercy of God. This word is sorrow. Daniel wants to call down a flood of mercy on the people by telling God that although they have sinned, they desire his mercy. Mercy reaches down to what is weak. Mercy reaches out to those who mourn.
In the Gospel, we see what blocks the mercy of God. When we fail to show mercy by judging, condemning, and failing to forgive, it is like we have turned off the tap of God’s mercy. When we fail to pour out love and mercy on others, the mercy we want to receive is dried up.
So let’s remember that we have something much better than a magic porridge pot. We can never have too much of it. It is there for the asking and the more we receive, the more we are able to give.
Second Sunday of Lent
Our citizenship is in Heaven. Saint Paul doesn’t say that our citizenship will be in heaven in the future. He says that our citizenship is in heaven right now. What would change in your life if you realized that? How does a citizen of heaven live?
In today’s second reading, Paul gives us some ideas about how not to live. He says that many live as enemies of the cross of Christ and that instead of having Jesus as their Lord, their God is their stomach and they glory in things that are shameful.
What does it mean to be an enemy of the cross of Christ? The cross of Christ is a symbol of self-emptying love. It puts the good of the other and the glory of God before anything else. If we are enemies of the cross of Christ, we have ourselves in the first place. Our god is pleasure and the things that we think are important are worthless or less than worthless to God.
It can be difficult to live the way of the cross. But in the gospel, we see that if we fix our minds on the goal and the glory that is to come, we also will have the strength to accomplish the will of God as Jesus did. The transfiguration was meant to be a sign of hope to the apostles before the scandal of the cross. If we keep the transfiguration in mind during Lent it will help us to realize that Jesus will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified body and we too will take our place with him in Heaven.
So what are you going to change to start living like a citizen of heaven?
Saturday, First Week of Lent
Our Father in Heaven wants us to obey his commandments. In the Gospels, we often see people wondering, which commandment is the greatest. The rich young man wants to know what he can do besides following the Commandments.
It’s a good question to ask ourselves, “What does God want me to do and how can I do even more?”
In the first reading, Moses tells the people that they are making an agreement with the Lord. He will be their God and they will be his people. They are entering into a covenant, a family relationship. In this relationship, they both have responsibilities. Moses tells them that they should fulfill these responsibilities with all their heart and soul. They should not do them grudgingly but willingly and cheerfully.
But as we all know, in a family, there has to be more than just responsibilities. If everyone just does what they have to do and no more, that family is not really living as a family. If they are not able to go above and beyond what is required, something is lacking.
In the Gospel, Jesus shows us how to go beyond what is required, beyond what even seems sensible. The law said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But Jesus tells us to love our enemies and to pray for them and do good to them. And sometimes these enemies are our neighbors or our family members. That’s when we need to go above and beyond just our responsibilities. We need to love them and care for them, even when they don’t seem to deserve it, even when they aren’t keeping up their part of the agreement.
How can we possibly have the strength to do this? On our own, of course, we can’t. But we are children of our Heavenly Father, and he provides for us and gives us the strength to be perfect as he is perfect.
Friday, First Week of Lent
Lent isn’t a time to be gloomy. On the contrary, it’s a time to rejoice. The first reading says that God rejoices when someone turns away from evil. Lent is a special time to remind us of the importance of turning away from evil and being converted to the Lord. And as we repent and convert, we bring joy to God. And that should bring joy to us.
Another reason to be glad during Lent, is the mercy of God. We see in the first reading how much God desires to forgive us. He does not desire that we remain in sin and that we die. No matter what we have done, he is ready and, in fact, eager to forgive us and welcome us back into life.
But he wants us to truly be his children. He wants us to act like he does. We cannot be angry at others or refuse to be reconciled with them and expect that God will overlook this. He wants to draw all of us back into unity. If we are not willing to let this happen, we will be the ones who are left outside.
There is something very interesting and often unnoticed in the Gospel. Jesus says, “Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” Jesus isn’t asking us if we have anyone to forgive. Of course, forgiving others is important. But in this passage, he is asking us to remember if we have harmed anyone else. If we have, we need to do all that we can to repair the relationship and bring about reconciliation. Yet this is also a cause for rejoicing. A broken relationship is a cause for sadness. But when that relationship has been restored, it becomes a cause of joy.
Lent is all about reconciliation and therefore all about joy. Let us bring more joy into the world by our conversion and by our reconciliation.
Thursday, First Week of Lent
What is prayer? In the first reading, Queen Esther is suffering great anxiety and anguish. But she remembers the mercy of God. She knows who God is. She realizes that he is listening to her prayer. So therefore, she comes before him with great confidence and humility and opens her heart to him.
Prayer is a relationship. In any relationship, it is important to know who I am and who the other person is. What are our roles? How do we relate to each other? Do we trust each other? In our relationship with God, we need to be able to come to him as children. We need to have confidence that he hears us and that he wants to help us. Our confidence and humility are very pleasing to him. They turn his heart towards us.
In the Gospel, Jesus tells us more about prayer. He also recommends that we be confident and have great perseverance. In any relationship, perseverance and faithfulness are very important. Many times we can misunderstand a person. We can feel like they have betrayed us or haven’t done the things we thought they should do. Yet, if we persevere and stay in the relationship, we often learn that it is not the way we had thought. This is especially true with our relationship with God. If we don’t get what we want right away, we can be tempted to think that God does not love us or does not want to help us. Jesus assures us that this is not the case. If weak human parents still try to give their children what is good, how can we fail to believe that our Heavenly Father will give us good gifts?
Let us remember with gratitude all of the gifts that he has given us, especially the gift of his Son.
Wednesday, First Week of Lent
What is the sign of Jonah? In the first reading today, we hear part of the story of Jonah and the Ninevites. Jonah was a very reluctant prophet who tried to run away from his mission because he did not want the Ninevites to be converted. This is a great story of God’s mercy, not only to the Ninevites but also to Jonah. Even though Jonah had run away from God, and because of his disobedience was cast into the sea and swallowed by a whale, God had mercy on him and brought him, in a certain sense, back to life after three days. And then God used him as a messenger of repentance to the great city of Nineveh. At the end of the story, God explains to Jonah that he has compassion for everything that he has made.
In the Gospel, Jesus says that no sign will be given except the sign of Jonah. Jesus is not a reluctant prophet, but he has taken all our sins upon himself. Now, like Jonah, he will be given over to death and appear to be dead for three days. His resurrection will be a sign that God’s love and mercy are available to the whole world. But if the people do not want to receive this love and mercy, this will be the judgment against them.
God’s love and mercy are available to all of us. He does not want us to be lost and he wants us to turn to him. This season of Lent is a special time for us to receive the love and mercy of God and then to rise up from our state of death and be mercy to the world. Jesus is waiting for us in the sacrament of reconciliation, and the sacrament of the Eucharist to strengthen us, to heal us, and to send us out to fulfill our mission of bringing the good news to the world.
Tuesday, First Week of Lent
The Our Father is not only a wonderful prayer that we can pray every day of our lives. It is also a pattern of prayer that we can use as a meditation and a conversation with our Father. Here is an example:
Our Father
Since you are the Father of us all please look with mercy upon your children all over the world, on your children sleeping, working, praying, suffering. Especially grant your mercy to those in __________.
Who art in Heaven
I place myself in your arms and cling to you. I want to live with you at every moment and to see things through your eyes. (Spend some time with your Father in Heaven.)
Hallowed be thy name
We have been baptized with your name. Forgive us for the times that we have acted in ways that bring dishonor to your name and help us instead to glorify your name by our lives.
Thy Kingdom come
Jesus, when will you return? We need you. Help us to have hearts ready for your coming.
Thy will be done
What is your will, Father? How do you want me to live? What displeases you? What pleases you?
On Earth as it is in Heaven
In Heaven, your will is kept easily through love. Give me a heart like Jesus.
Give us this day our daily bread
What do I truly need today? Please, Father, give me what I truly need to live as your child. Please look with compassion on all those who do not have the basic needs of life, especially __________.
And forgive us our trespasses
Father, I have sinned. I am sorry that I have _________. Please forgive me. Grant forgiveness and the desire to repent to all.
As we forgive those who trespass against us
Father, give me a merciful heart. Help me to be a channel of your forgiveness in the world. Please send abundant blessings to all those I have harmed and all those who have harmed me especially ________.
And lead us not into temptation
Do not let me fall into temptation. Do not let me put myself at the center and harden my heart. Come to the aid of all undergoing temptations.
But deliver us from evil
Do not let anything separate us from you. Protect us from all harm and gather us all together to live with you forever.
Amen.
Monday, First Week of Lent
Sometimes people try to say that the God of the Old Testament is not the God of the New Testament. In today’s readings, we see the words of Saint Paul being spelled out in both of them. Saint Paul said that the whole law is fulfilled in these words: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Love is the fulfillment of the law. Jesus has told us the same thing when quoting Deuteronomy. He said that the greatest Commandment was to love the Lord your God with your whole heart, soul, mind, and strength, and your neighbor as yourself.
So here we are at the start of Lent. Maybe you have started various practices such as attending daily Mass and perhaps you have some other things you’re trying to give up like overeating. These practices certainly can help us break bad habits or gain discipline. But if their root and fruit isn’t love, they are worthless.
In the first reading, the Lord is quite clear. He is calling us to holiness. In fact, he is calling us to his holiness. The Lord treats us with mercy and compassion. He is forgiving, tender, and understanding. He wants us to imitate him by treating each person in our life in the same way. The end of the reading sums it all up in one statement: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
In the Gospel, Jesus affirmed this. If we want to enter heaven, we have to be like God. Only those who are holy can enter eternal life. But this doesn’t have to scare us. We’re not talking about a type of perfection that would be impossible for us to reach. God doesn’t ask us to do things we are not capable of doing. And he is here to help us. All he asks is that we treat each person we meet with the same love he so freely gives us. May this Lent be a time to rediscover the beauty and simplicity of the Gospel.
First Sunday of Lent
What are your temptations? During the 40 days of Lent, we have a chance to find out in what ways we are weak. In today’s Gospel, Jesus confronts three temptations: to satisfy his hunger, to worship something other than God, and to put God to the test. None of these temptations, however, move Jesus from his purpose. And for each temptation, he answers with Scripture.
The first temptation was to satisfy his hunger. Jesus was truly hungry after fasting for 40 days. But even so, he was determined to rely on the Providence of his Father. This first temptation for us can be any time we decide to illicitly satisfy our desires. As human beings, we need proper nourishment and other things which keep us alive. Yet we have to make sure that our desires are truly promoting our eternal welfare. During Lent, we have the opportunity to find out by saying no, even to our legitimate desires, if we have the strength to resist this temptation.
The second temptation was to put something else or someone else in the place of God. A good way to find out if we are doing this is to see where we place all of our hope and spend all of our time. During Lent, we can decide to replace these activities with prayer. How hard is it for you to give up your favorite amusements or your favorite news site? How hard would it be for you to give up your opinion? The someone else that you put in the place of God could even be you.
The final temptation is to put God to the test. We put God to the test when we think that perhaps he is not good and does not have our best interest at heart. We want him to prove his love. Another way of putting God to the test is presumption. This is when we think that we can do anything we want and still be friends with God. We think that somehow we will be able to serve both God and money. To thwart this temptation, it might be a good idea to find ways to prove our love to God. We might also find ways to show that we trust him by being more generous in sharing the things that we have been given.
Usually, during these 40 days, if our plans were truly challenging, we will find that sometimes we falter and fail. This can be great for our humility and also for showing us where our dangers lie. Just as Jesus relied on the word of God and trusted in his Father so we should rely on the word of God, both in Scripture and in the person of Jesus. When we find ourselves weak, we know where to go to receive strength.
Saturday after Ash Wednesday
I wonder if before Jesus called him, Levi had ever read the passage from Isaiah that is today’s first reading? As a tax collector and someone interested in money, would this reading have meant anything to him?
We are all somewhat trapped in the attitude of Levi. Our world proclaims to us that it is far better to be rich, to have plenty of savings in the bank, to have many investments. In fact, to have much treasure stored up here on earth. We are taught to spend our time getting the best education that we can in order to have the best job which means the one that makes the most money.
Are these values of any importance to God? Isaiah tells us that what God wishes is for us to remove oppression, speak truthfully and kindly, give food to the hungry, and help the afflicted. He also tells us not to follow our own ways or to seek our own interests. Could any of us realistically say that we don’t follow our own ways or seek our own interests?
How can we break free from this way of thinking and acting? Jesus has the answer for us. He says, “Follow me. Don’t follow your own ways of thinking, instead follow the way that I think.” And how does Jesus think? He recognizes that we are sinners, but this does not cause him to look away from us. Instead, he gives his life to heal our wounds. Let us ask our Eucharistic Lord to heal us and to help us to think like he does so that we will also spend our lives for the salvation of all.
Friday after Ash Wednesday
It’s important that we get our ideas right about fasting. Since fasting is a major discipline of Lent, we want to make sure that we’re doing it in a way that bears fruit. If our fasting is all about us and how wonderful we are for fasting or, on the other hand, how horrible fasting is for us, then we have missed the point.
Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving go together. They are all aimed at the same goal which is love. In the first reading, Isaiah tells the people what type of fast pleases God. If it is simply a matter of not eating, then it is worthless. And, if while we are fasting, we sin against others, then it is worse than worthless. The fasting we do should open us up to God and the needs of our neighbor. It should show us our weakness and our common humanity. Then, recognizing our fragility, we should be moved to help the oppressed, feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, and clothe the naked. We also should make sure that we are attentive and aware of those around us in our own homes and communities.
In the Gospel, Jesus talks about another reason for fasting. In the Heavenly Kingdom, we will not fast because we will be forever united to the Holy Trinity. But here on earth, fasting helps us to realize that, as of yet, we do not fully possess the Beatific Vision. During Lent, we relive the time when Jesus was taken away from His followers. We also fast as a preparation both to receive Jesus in Holy Communion and for him to receive us into everlasting life.
Thursday after Ash Wednesday
Is there some sort of contradiction between the first reading of today and the Gospel? Moses tells the people to choose life and that if they do, they will have a long life on the land. But Jesus tells his followers, “Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake, will save it.”
Is Jesus telling us that we should not desire life? Or that we should choose death? In the first reading, Moses is telling the people that loving the Lord and obeying his commandments brings life but disobeying his commandments and hating him brings death.
Jesus is really saying the same thing. To follow the way of Christ, we must not live for ourselves. But this will take discipline and courage. We need to know how to say no to ourselves. We need to know how not to make ourselves the center of everything. We should not be overly concerned about ourselves. In a different place, Jesus tells us not to worry about our lives. If we let ourselves be consumed by our worries and desires, we won’t be able to follow Jesus.
When we let our lives be “lost” in him, however, it is then that we will really find ourselves. We will truly begin to live. Once we have joined ourselves to him, and are looking at him rather than ourselves, we can begin to live his life, which is everlasting life.
Ash Wednesday
Another Ash Wednesday. How many have there been? Perhaps we can get discouraged and think, Does anything really change?
But this year, let’s try to see it with new eyes as a fresh start, a new invitation to reconciliation.
In the first reading of today’s Mass, when the people decide to gather together and repent, the Lord pities them. That’s real for us too and it’s happening now. We’ve taken the first step and already the Lord runs to meet us with his compassion.
Saint Paul reminds us in the second reading that God is waiting now to hear us and to help us. He wants us to be reconciled to him. Publicly acknowledging our sins Is our second step.
And in the Gospel, Jesus gives us the only other steps we need: charity, prayer, and fasting.
Charity covers a multitude of sins. Why does it? It is God‘s mercy that surrounds us and heals us when we’re weak and sinful. When we imitate him and reach out a loving hand to someone in need, our Father in his generosity does the same for us.
Prayer brings us face-to-face and heart-to-heart with our loving Father. When we come into his presence, we learn the secrets of his heart, and we tell him the secrets of ours. He can then help us to bring our hearts closer to his.
Fasting is often a dreaded word. But Jesus tells us not to be gloomy. By fasting from the good things of this world, we are strengthening ourselves to value the heavenly things. When we are advancing on our way to Heaven, how can we be sad?
Now, as we begin this Lent, how can we make it different? What if we didn’t think so much about giving things up for 40 days? What if instead, we saw it as an opportunity to increase God‘s life in us in a real and lasting way? For example:
What charitable and merciful act can you begin that will continue for the rest of your life? Perhaps you could try to gain the habit of attention or encouragement.
How can you deepen the intimacy of your prayer time? What ways can you practice in order to notice the presence of God?
Finally, what things do you need to give up forever or at least drastically lessen in your life?
Let’s make this not just a start of 40 days but the start of a new life. Jesus is here to help us because he is Mercy; he lived prayer and he gave up everything for the love of each one of us. Let us ask him to give us what we need to love as he does.