Wednesday, the Second Week of Lent

“And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, ‘So, could you not watch with me one hour?”  (Matt 26: 40)

   Peter, James and John were asked by Jesus to watch with Him while He prayed in Gethsemane.  He found them sleeping when he returned, not once but three times.  They just couldn’t seem to keep their eyes open as the saying goes.

   How many times have I failed to watch with my Lord for even an hour?  I’m ashamed to say that those times are far more frequent that I would wish.  Distractions are everywhere today.  How many times have you been fully engaged in the lesson being shared from the pulpit when a phone rang a few pews away.  Immediately two things happen.  First, the owner of the phone panics and tries to shut it off.  This effort sometimes creates more confusion than the ringing of the phone.  Second, your whole train of thought is gone.  No longer are you even aware of what the Pastor was saying.  Your mind is most likely castigating the person who was so inconsiderate as to not turn off or silence their phone.  Perhaps you were slinging a few barbs their way under your breath.  Regardless, the lesson being taught has been lost.  Hopefully, you will always remember to turn off or silence your own phone to avoid being the one causing the distraction rather that the one being distracted.

   How many times have you made a commitment to do more for the church or to help out in one of the ministries always asking for help?  How many times have you actually followed through?  Again, we all seem to have big plans that never come to fruition.

   Just as I’m sure that Peter, James and John fully intended to remain awake with Jesus during His suffering in the garden, our intentions are good and honorable as well.  It’s the follow-through that gets lost.

   An hour can seem like an eternity or it can slip by before we know it.  One thing I’ve found is that an hour spent with our Lord in prayer and reflection is the best hour of the day.  It may be a hard habit to establish but it’s also one that you will not want to break.  That hour can vastly improve your day, your outlook, and your faith.

   Especially during this period of self-reflection and contemplation, let’s strive to do what the disciples did not; stay and watch with Jesus.  “…the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is week.” (Matt 26: 41)

Tuesday, the Second Week of Lent

   “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. (Isaiah 1: 18)

   These words from the Lord to His people came after a long list of sins they had committed.  Worshiping false gods and sacrificing their own children to those false gods was among them.  The Lord compared them to Sodom and Gomorrah in their wickedness.  Yet he offered them forgiveness if they would turn from their sins and seek Him.

   An honest look at our society today shows us that we are also bordering on the status of Sodom and Gomorrah.  We sacrifice our children to the god of free sex through abortion; we sacrifice our marriage to the god of selfishness through divorce; we sacrifice our lives to the gods of money, fame and fortune.  All for things that will disappear in an instant at the coming of Jesus in His glory.

   And still God offers us the same opportunity.  Our sins, though scarlet from the blood of abortion can be washed away.  Our sins, though red like crimson from the death on the streets of our cities and in our schools can be made white as wool.

   As we contemplate the sacrifice our Lord made for our salvation during Lent, let us also contemplate the many ways we have strayed from God’s word in our lives and in our society.  If we are willing and obey we can eat the good of the land.  But God also warned His people that, should they refuse and rebel, they would be devoured by the sword.  The choice is ours.

 

   Let’s pray together and offer our willingness and obedience to the Lord.

Monday, the Second Week of Lent

   In our mind we sometimes get confused about our place in the world.  On the one hand we may have an inflated view of our importance.  On the other hand we could think that we are of no importance at all.  Of course, neither of these conclusions are accurate.  We may not be important in worldly values, but we are of enough importance that our God loves us and sent His Son to save us.

   I’ve known those whose sense of their own self-importance was so great that the only one they loved was themselves.  They believe the only reason anyone could love them is because of their worldly importance.  They could never love anyone whom they did not consider to be as important as them.  God’s love is not understandable to them, they just can’t fathom unconditional love.

   In the same way, we sell ourselves short if we think we are unlovable.  Unless we can accept that God truly loves us regardless of our own sense of self-importance, we can’t really accept true love from anyone.  It is also not possible to truly love someone else if we believe ourselves unworthy.  Deep inside we will always question how they can love us and what the other has done to deserve our love.

   We need to reach the point of knowing that our understanding of importance is far different God’s.  Our worldly understanding of what matters is of no consequence to Him.  Our wealth or position isn’t what he cares about.  He cares for us just a good parent cares for a child regardless of our worldly status.  Love is not relative to earthly matters, it is of the heart and soul.

   Until we realize this we will never be able to truly relate to God and His love for us.  When we come to realize that our values are not those of God we begin to can love Him and others more freely and honestly.

 

   The reality is that we truly are unworthy of God’s love.  Yet He does love us.  That tells us something about ourselves; or at least it should.  God loves us in spite of our worthiness.  This is the same love that we owe to others in our lives.  Until we can accept and give this kind of love we will never truly know love.  We will go through life never having the glorious experience of fully knowing His love for us.

   Lent is the perfect time to focus on God’s love for us.  Put down your smart-phone, turn off the television and sit in the quiet with our Lord for a while.  He loves your company.

Second Sunday of Lent

   Lent is a period to reflect upon our Lord and the sacrifice He made for us.  But is it also a time for self-reflection.  We need to look to our inner selves and take stock of what we find there.  Do we find what we want to be there or those things that we’d rather weren’t there?  For most of us I believe we see a mix of both.  We see those things that are driving us forward in our faith while at the same time we can’t help but see those that hold us back.

   We should focus on the good since that is what will bring us closer to the Lord.  But we must also face those that hold us back on our faith journey.  They keep us from reaching our goal and put up roadblocks on our path to heaven.  If we think of ourselves as a bowl we should understand that only so many things will fit in that bowl.  Once we fill it, we must remove something if we wish to add something more.  Satan like nothing better than filling our bowl with useless worldly concerns.  God will not share us with Satan; we must serve one or the other.  We must throw out the bad to make more room for God.

   St. Paul said, “I do not understand my own actions.  For I don’t do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. (Romans 7: 15).  I take great comfort in this scripture.  If St. Paul had difficulty doing the good that he wanted and instead did the evil that he hated then perhaps this is something that all experience.  That is not to imply that we shouldn’t be concerned when we do those things we know are wrong, only that we aren’t the only one who has those struggles.

 

   As we continue to grow our faith and especially as we focus on our Lord and all He has done for us during this Lent, let’s also do some housecleaning for ourselves.  Let’s clean out our inner self and refill it with those things that will bring us closer to God.

Saturday, the first Week of Lent

   “Come, let us worship Christ the Lord, who for our sake endured temptation and suffering.”  Those who practice the Liturgy of the Hours may recognize this as the first Antiphon of the Invitatory for today.  Indeed, let us worship Christ who suffered for us.

   Of all the ways we can worship Jesus, Lent is the time to worship Him by our own offering of sacrifice and suffering.  How many of us really seek to sacrifice anything that might cause us to suffer?  Do we take the easy way out; the wide road rather than the narrow gate that leads to salvation?

   Jesus sacrificed His life for us.  He suffered greatly in order to open the door to Heaven that we might walk through.  Shouldn’t we try in some way to show that we also are willing to suffer for our sins and wrong-doings.  After all it was our sins that He died for.  Even though the physical death of Jesus was over two-thousand years ago, the sins He died for include those we have committed and those we will commit.

   Omnipresence is the term used to describe the fact that God is present yesterday, today and tomorrow.  It is a difficult concept for us to understand.  We are bound by time, God is not.  He sees every second of every hour of every day throughout eternity as one.  He knew the sins we would commit from the time we were formed in our mother’s womb.  Jesus came to forgive those sins just as much as the sins of those who lived during His time on earth.

   As we make our sacrifice for Lent and seek atonement for our sins, we must remember that God knows of all or our sins past, current, and future.  Let us ask Him to help us acknowledge the sacrifice of our Lord for those sins, confess them in our sorrow and strive to avoid sin in the future.

“But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” (2 Peter 3: 8).

Friday, the first Week of Lent

   At Mass today I once again became aware of the distractions that routinely frustrate my attention at Mass.  Of all times, this is when I truly want to pay attention and get the most from the experience.  Unfortunately, it seems this is also when I am most attacked by Satan in his efforts to draw my attention away from Mass and on to any number of trivial, unnecessary thoughts.  Though I try to block his distractions and am somewhat successful some of the time, I still find my mind wandering once again.

   I do not believe this experience is something that only affects me.  In fact, I’m confident that many, if not most of us have times when we allow worldly thoughts and concerns to pull us away from the sacred experience before us.

   In this case, and in so many others, we need to ask ourselves, “Do I know where I am?”  Not our physical location, but where are we spiritually.  Have we placed our lives firmly and completely in the hands of God or are we still trying to do it ourselves?  If we are relying upon ourselves we will fail.  We simply don’t have the strength to reject Satan and his temptations.  He has deployed an army of demons to test us at all times with the intent of taking us from God.  So we must engage our own army.

   While the evil one has his demons, we have God’s angels.  We are promised that God will send His angels to watch over us.  “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.” (Psalm 34: 7).  We speak of guardian angels but how often do we recognize that God’s angels are in fact guarding us and doing battle for us against Satan and his demons.  We have recourse to God for protection when needed and He will never refuse.

   During this Lent let’s take the time to look to the angels for help in our battle against the devil.  Much has been written about them and it will serve us well to learn more about them.  With their help and the help of God, we can overcome our distractions and push Satan from our lives.

Thursday, the first Week of Lent

   Should Lent be a personal journey; one that others know little or nothing about?  It seems that some think so.  They don’t share Lent with their friends, family or especially co-workers.  Perhaps they feel that to share their sacrifice and thoughts of Lent would be bragging and prideful.  Jesus warned us of blowing our trumpets before others as we give alms.  It’s understandable that some would think it better to keep Lent to themselves for these reasons.

  However, while we should never make a spectacle of our sacrifice we also shouldn’t hide it from others.  For instance, how are you to react to a co-worker who has noticed that you’ve stopped eating sweets or no longer drinking coffee.  A simple statement such as, “I’ve given it up as part of Lent.” will suffice.  There is no need to make a big deal of it.  If asked about it further it may be an opportunity to share your faith in a meaningful way. Jesus also told us that a lantern is set upon a table to give light, not hidden under a basket.

   Certainly to make an announcement of what your Lenten sacrifice is to others could be considered inappropriate and prideful.  But acknowledging it when asked is simply being honest.  Some may look at you as if you’ve grown horns, but others may appreciate that you’ve shared that information.  Maybe they’ve been unsure about Lent and your example might help them to participate more fully.

   We must keep in mind that Satan walks among us at all times.  He will take any opportunity to pull us away from our sacrifice.  He will be very pleased with himself if he can influence your willingness to discuss your Lenten journey when appropriate.

   Let’s never brag or make a show of our Lenten sacrifice.  But let’s never hesitate to acknowledge it and discuss it when appropriate.  To do less is to fail to acknowledge our Lord.

Wednesday, the first Week of Lent

   As we continue our Lenten observance there is a danger that it may become less of a priority for us.  We humans have little tolerance for something that goes on for forty days.  Especially something that isn’t exciting or fun.  Lent is neither exciting or fun; nor should it be.  Contemplation of the mistreatment and death of our Lord is serious business, not an entertainment project.

   It seems that there are very few depictions that adequately capture His sacrifice as it truly was.  Most movies don’t portray the agony of His suffering and death with any real accuracy.  Maybe they don’t want to “offend” the audience, but the audience truly needs to be offended by what He went through to give us life in heaven.  It’s hard to relate to the scourging when it’s shown very sanitized if at all.  Most scenes of the crucifixion do not show the true condition of our Lord when He was crucified.  The Romans had perfected the process of scourging and crucifixion to extract the most pain and agony while tempering it just enough to make it last as long a possible.

   The Passion of the Christ is the only movie I know of that shows anything close to the horror He endured.  I have yet to watch the scourging scene without tears.  The carrying of the cross, the times He fell, Veronica wiping His face are all very emotional, speaking to the magnitude of the beating He had endured.  His pain becomes almost tangible to us.  The crucifixion scene is, again, very difficult to watch.  The pain and agony Jesus endured for us is excruciating and horrific. We must always remember that He chose to suffer these atrocities for our benefit.

   Lent is not supposed to be a time of joy, but a time of sorrow and repentance for our sins; the sins that Jesus paid the price for.  Until we can accept our own responsibility for His torture and death we have failed to truly know Jesus.

   Take the time to sit before a crucifix and contemplate our suffering Lord.  Envision in your mind the agony He endured.  Walk with Mary, the Mother of God as she watched the torture and death of her son.  Try to grasp the full extent of the price He paid for our sins.  It isn’t easy, but we owe it to Him to so our best to recognize the sacrifice He made for us.

Tuesday, the first Week of Lent

   As we continue on this journey called Lent, we need to reflect on our efforts and how well we are doing.  It’s important that we don’t allow Satan to draw our attention away from our task on onto worldly matters.  This is a time for growing spiritually and we should strive to put less importance on the everyday minutia that distracts us from the really important things.  The enemy likes nothing more that to convince us that we don’t have time for this silliness of penance and devotion to our crucified Lord.  There are too many important matters that need our attention.

   If we look upon our Lord on the cross we will know that our efforts are not in vain.  Jesus died a terribly painful death to pay the price for our sins.  He gave up His glory for a time to do for us what we were incapable of doing for ourselves; provide us a path to salvation.  We can’t truly contemplate the gift He gave us without understanding that He did it because of His love for us.  We strive during this forty days to recognize His sacrifice and in some small ways, join our sacrifice to His.

   So, how are we doing?  It’s important to celebrate the progress you have made.  We can never achieve what we truly want to achieve but we can make progress in that direction.  This isn’t to say that we should be proud of our successes; pride in ourselves leads to sin.  We must acknowledge that without the help of God there would be no successes.  But it is very appropriate to recognize them and thank God for helping us achieve some progress in our efforts.  We must also pray for His continued support in all that we do.

  While we are looking at our successes we need to also see where we have been less than successful.  Have you slipped in your chosen sacrifice?  Most of us have or will have times when we aren’t successful in our efforts.  Perhaps you determined to give up sweets but found yourself munching on a donut from the office meeting this morning.  Maybe you forgot and had that burger for lunch last Friday even though Fridays are meatless.  Don’t beat yourself up too bad, we all have our weak moments.  Most importantly don’t let Satan convince you that you’ve already failed so why continue to try.  Know that we are all far from perfect.  We must also have the confidence that God recognizes our efforts and is pleased with them.  He loves us not only when we succeed but we fail and try harder the next time.

  So celebrate your successes and recognize the weak times.  If we do these things, we can truly have a blessed Lent and grow closer to our Lord.

Monday, the First Week of Lent

  We were created in the image of God.  Genesis, chapter 1, verse 26 tells us so.  Since God is pure spirit the image is not a physical one, but spiritual.  During Lent let’s take stock of our own spiritual image to see if we are reflecting the image of God.

  Jesus, as God and Man, gave us a physical example of what we are to be as well.  His life, death, and resurrection speak to us of how we are to live our life if we are to truly be in the image of God and Jesus.  Lent is also the time to review our physical image and actions in relation to those of Jesus.  We need to evaluate how well we are reflecting the image of love, mercy and compassion shown by our Lord. 

  Sometimes I wish there were a mirror that would reflect not our face but our spirit.  When I look in a mirror I can see the condition of my physical self and determine what I need to do to improve it.  If the mirror showed me the condition of my spirit I could see the things needed to improve spiritually; to better be the image of God.  Am I a loving person?  Do I love not only my family and friends but my enemies as well?  Am I feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting those sick or in prison?  These are the things Jesus taught that we must do if we are to follow Him.  These are the images of God.

  While I sometimes wish for such a mirror I also fear what the mirror would show me.  When we look into a mirror do we overlook the flaws that we don’t want to see?  Do we think to ourselves that we are looking pretty good when reality says we need to lose weight or do a better job of taking care of the miraculous body God has given us?  I believe most of us do that from time to time.  It’s not always easy to acknowledge our flaws.

  When we look into the depth of our heart I fear we do the same thing.  As we look for an image of God do we see our true image or the image we wish to see? To better understand where we stand in our efforts to truly be an image of God we need to see our faults, not ignore or overlook them.  Only when we admit they exist can we strive to eliminate them and improve our image.

  This Lent take the time, perhaps as the last thing before going to sleep each night, to really look into yourself.  Consider the day you have just had.  Did you reflect the image of God?  In your interactions with others did they see God in you?  Did you see God in them?  None of us likes to be reminded that we aren’t doing the best we could so this might be a difficult exercise.  If we approach it with honesty and a desire to improve perhaps we can reflect a more God-like image tomorrow.

First Sunday of Lent

“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.”  (Matt 4:1)

  On this first Sunday of Lent we consider the temptation of Jesus.  Immediately after His baptism two things occurred.  The Holy Spirit descended upon Him in the form of a dove and He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted.

  By His baptism Jesus sanctified the waters of baptism.  Even though He was sinless He was baptized as an example to show us what is needed.  Baptism washes away all sin, including original sin.  At baptism the Holy Spirit descends upon us just as He did on Jesus.  In other words we get a fresh start; a chance to begin living our life by God’s word rather than the world’s.  If only for a few seconds we are without sin.  Sadly we very quickly resume our sinful ways.  Lent is an opportunity to renew our baptism vows, to seek forgiveness for our sins and once again try to amend our lives in accordance with God’s wishes.

  Holy Scripture tells us that Jesus was tempted by the devil for forty days in the wilderness.  What of His life after the forty days of temptation in the wilderness?  As a Man I suspect Jesus was tempted on a daily basis by Satan just as we are every day of our lives.  The difference is that He would never succumb to those temptations while we all too often do.

  Jesus was true God and true Man.  We state this as a matter of faith and truth.  I sometimes think we focus on the God Jesus and not so much upon the Man Jesus.  If we are to follow Him I believe we must relate to His humanity as well as His divinity.  The humanity of Jesus is where we get our example of how to live our life.  We cannot and should not try to live as God; we are merely creatures.  But we can and must look to the humanity of Jesus as our example of how to live our mortal lives.

  As we progress on our journey through Lent, let’s look to Jesus the Man as the example we need to strive to emulate, confident in His help and blessings in our efforts.

Day Four

“I desire to give myself to You in willing abandonment, and to remain Yours forever.  Lord, in simplicity of heart, I offer myself to You this day, always to be Your obedient servant and a sacrifice of perpetual praise.”  (The Imitation of Christ” by Thomas a Kempis)

Perhaps nothing is so fitting to offer our Lord during Lent than this simple prayer.  What could we offer to Jesus more important than ourselves?  Of course if we offer this prayer we must be prepared to respond when He accepts our offer.  So many times, people ask God for guidance but refuse that guidance when given.

It seems we are all anxious for God to help us live our life until that help interferes with what we want or desire.  Lent is a time to relinquish our hearts, our wants, and desires to God.  If we, in all sincerity ask for God’s help and guidance can we doubt that he will give it?  It isn’t God who fails but us; we fail to understand and accept that this offering of self will almost always lead to change in our life.

Search your inner self; discover what within you is keeping you from giving yourself to God.  We all have obstacles to overcome if we truly want to be His obedient servant.  God stands ready to help us master our failings if we seek His help with repentance and sincerity.

Day Three

Lent is a time of sacrifice; to use our lives to recognize Jesus’ sacrifice for us.  As Catholics we are called to fast on Friday’s during Lent.  Many who are not Catholic also use this sacrifice as a means of deepening their Lenten experience.  It is a reminder of the sacrifice of our Lord.

Up until about fifty years ago all Catholics were expected to sacrifice meat on every Friday.  It now applies only during Lent.  It’s a sad commentary on the state of Catholicism when something as simple as meatless Friday is considered too much of burden.  How we will ever participate in true sacrifice if we can’t even abstain from meat one day a week?  Thankfully, the practice is making a bit of a comeback among the faithful.

What will I give up for Lent?  This is the question of Ash Wednesday and the answers vary greatly.  Some give up something simple, like chocolate or sodas.  Others give up more.  What is chosen isn’t nearly as important as the intent of the sacrifice.  If chocolate is a big part of your life, perhaps it is a good thing to sacrifice.  Whatever the chosen sacrifice, it should be something of importance to you.  One that will remind you of why you gave it up.

Giving up something is good but consider adding something rather than giving up something for Lent.  Go to daily Mass once or more during the week; visit a nursing home or assisted living facility; volunteer at a soup kitchen.  The gift of your time and talents can mean so much more than simply choosing something to give up.  Who knows, maybe it will become a habit that carries on throughout the year rather than just during Lent.

Day Two

Lent is a period to identify with the suffering of our Lord.  A time to recognize the pain, suffering and death he bore on our behalf.  During lent we need to turn our thoughts toward self-reflection.  How are we doing as Christians?  Are there areas we need to improve?  I suspect that we all need improvement in some, maybe many, areas of our faith life.  We need to take the time to identify them and ask for God’s help to increase our faith.

In contemplating the suffering and death of our Lord we can’t help but see the cross he bore.  Indeed, this is why He came; to bear the cross that was rightfully ours in order to give us the opportunity for reconciliation with God and life eternal in His presence.  If we ignore the cross, we ignore Jesus.

Lent is also a time to accept the cross we are given.  Jesus told us very clearly that we must pick up our cross and follow Him.  We are to share in His suffering.  Accepting the difficulties of daily life are a part of that sharing.  Some suffer more, some less, but all suffer to some degree.  It’s how we deal with the suffering that is important.  If we look at our suffering as a sharing in the suffering of Christ we will find they are easier to bear.  If we offer our sufferings to Him as a gift of love, our suffering takes on a meaningful purpose.

What cross are we to bear?  What cross are we willing to bear?  Is there a cross so heavy that we will refuse to bear it?  These are the questions in my mind as a I contemplate how to deal with the pain and suffering of this life.  It troubles me to consider that I could reach a point where I would refuse to accept the cross I need to bear out of selfishness or lack of faith.

I struggle with the fact of my weakness and fear that I may fail my Lord when He asks me to suffer with Him.  I know in my heart that I want to answer His call whatever it may be, but I realize that I am a fallen sinner; will I have the strength and determination to follow Him?  I pray for His help and promise to try my best.  I am so thankful that He forgives me my failings, for I know that there will be times when I will fail Him and need His mercy.  I trust and take comfort in the fact of His love and endless mercy.

Day One – Ash Wednesday

“you are dust and to dust you shall return.” (Gen 3: 19)

God spoke these words to Adam and Eve after the fall of mankind.  He was banishing them from the Garden of Eden.  They had forfeited their relationship with God and therefore their life without death.  From this point they would live with pains and sorrows rather than the life God had intended for them.

The Jewish people used ashes and sackcloth to show their sorrow for their sins and to plead for forgiveness.  They would wear sackcloth, a harsh uncomfortable cloth and cover their head with ashes.  Today, the Catholic Church continues the use of ashes to indicate sorrow and penitence.  Ashes in the shape of a cross are placed on the forehead of the faithful.

These ashes are to remind us that we too are from dust and we shall return to dust.  The words spoked and the ashes are given reflect those spoken by God to Adam and Eve, “Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.”

This begins the forty days of lent.  A period of fasting and sorrow for our sins and shortcomings.  A time to seek atonement and renew our relationship with God.  Confession of our sins is expected during this period and an effort to amend our lives to live more in line with that of a people of God.  Even though we each are aware that we will continue to sin, we use this time to try to do better at avoiding sin.

We also look to the crucified Jesus as the cost of our sins.  During Lent we focus more on the passion and death of our Lord in recognition of the price our sins cost Him.  While we are anxious for the resurrection celebrated on Easter Sunday, it’s important to remember the price He paid and the suffering He endured on our behalf.

I’m always saddened by the number of those who come to receive their ashes yet are rarely, if ever, in Mass on a regular basis.  They are easy to recognize, they are the ones who are unsure of how the service in conducted and what is expected of them.

I’m saddened but yet hopeful that maybe this is the year and this is the Ash Wednesday that will touch their heart and bring them home to God.

Lent

The Lenten season has begun.  We are on a journey of penance, self-denial and atonement for our failings in preparation of the Easter Celebration.

Over these days of Lent I will be posting thoughts and contemplation appropriate for our journey.  My hope is that these may add something of value to your experience during this Lenten season.

Feel free to comment and/or respond with your thoughts.  Please maintain courtesy and respect in your response to all.