Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent
"I believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth…" How often have we recited this during Mass and for how many years? Even reciting something as consequential as this can become rote. Sadly, many of us say these words and go on…unmoved by the significance of what we have just proclaimed. The point is I am saying that 'I believe'!
Saturday of the Third Week of Lent
Today’s first reading begins with these words - “Come, let us return to the LORD, it is he who has rent, but he will heal us; he has struck us, but he will bind our wounds. He will revive us after two days; on the third day he will raise us up, to live in his presence. Let us know, let us strive to know the LORD; as certain as the dawn is his coming, and his judgment shines forth like the light of day! He will come to us like the rain, like spring rain that waters the earth.” - Hos 6: 1 - 3
Friday of the Third Week of Lent
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul,
with all your mind,
and with all your strength.” (Mark 12:30)
Solemnity of Saint Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The story from Matthew that we read today seems like exactly the story that we need. What a model. Joseph thinks he knows what’s ahead. He is engaged to Mary and their wedding is approaching. I can imagine that he is feeling very good about all that. He has much to look forward to. Living with his wife, starting a family, watching that family mature. He might even have thought for a moment about years down the road when he and Mary would enjoy their grandchildren.
Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent
Today’s readings have a common theme – God’s words and commandments for God’s people. God’s love undergirds all of God’s instructions and counsel. God desires the very best for each one of us, God’s beloved daughters and sons. Because God desires that we thrive and enjoy abundant life, God reaches out to us in love and teaches us how to live. I can’t help but draw some parallels between today’s texts and the current global health crisis. As we respond personally and collectively to the current situation, let us consider how today’s readings help to guide us.
Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent
What does it take for us to be moved by compassion? In today’s Gospel, the Master is moved with compassion when the servant bows down and begs for mercy. The servant also promises to pay the master in full. When the servant refuses to show the same compassion, the Master intervenes. The story almost feels easy to place ourselves.
Monday of the Third Week of Lent
Children of Men came out when I was in college. If you are unfamiliar with it, it is a movie based on a book and is set in the near future after a near-apocalyptic tragedy. Human beings stopped being able to conceive children. The movie is set nearly two decades after the strange event and this gritty, violent, and intense movie shows the imaginings of how much harsher the world would be if we were not tempered by our love for children. This may spoil part of the movie for you, but this theme is driven home when an entire warzone comes to a halt as soldiers hear the cries of a newborn child being carried through the violence. The darkness and grittiness of Children of Men came to mind as I read today's first reading.
Saturday of the Second Week of Lent
All of today’s scripture focuses on the great mercy of God. This is the Good News! We find great joy and hope in the belief that God will always be ready to forgive and welcome us back. The challenge for us is that we sometimes believe that God’s mercy should be limited to those we believe deserve His forgiveness. Jesus reminds us that God’s mercy is beyond measure and is available to all who ask and believe.
Friday of the Second Week of Lent
Jealousy can destroy. Jealousy within families is old, at least as old as the book of Genesis. We know the familiar story of Cain and Abel and how jealousy led Cain to kill his own brother. Maybe you know a personal story of jealousy destroying family bonds and connections. Today we read another familiar Old Testament story of sibling jealousy, the story of Joseph and his brothers. I invite you to reflect with me on this timeless story.
Thursday of the Second Week of Lent
As we continue our spiritual journey in the second week of Lent, we can reflect on the words found in today’s gospel of Luke. Jesus’ parable is the account of a very rich man who lived a life of extreme luxury. Laid outside the gate of this rich man’s house, however, was a poor man named Lazarus. Lazarus simply hoped “to eat what fell from the rich man’s table.” The rich man was consumed by earthly pleasures and focused solely on himself so much so that he became blind to the needs of all around him. He showed Lazarus no love or compassion. Eventually, they both died. Lazarus was welcomed into the kingdom of God, and the rich man was doomed to suffer for eternity. Appealing to Abraham in heaven, the rich man requested that Lazarus be sent to cool his tongue with a drop of water to lessen his “agony in this fire.” The rich man also asked Abraham to send Lazarus back to earth to warn his brothers to repent so that they would never join him in hell. Both requests were denied. Abraham told the rich man that if his brothers did not believe in Scripture, neither would they believe Lazarus, even if he came straight from heaven.
Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent
Countless times in prayer, I have asked the Lord for something. Normally, I do it without really thinking about what I am asking for. I ask for things that I want, for things that would follow the plans that I have made. I ask for things like the mother in today’s Gospel. I ask for earthly things. Whereas what I should be doing is asking for the grace, courage, and strength to allow my desires to fall at the wayside so that I may aide in the unfolding of the Kingdom of God here on earth.
Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent
Prince of Gomorra! What a name! Why is Isaiah calling his readers this? There must be some bad people that the sacred author is addressing, right? But rather than punishment or vengeance, God is calling for repentance. ‘Set things right. Make justice your aim.’
Monday of the Second Week in Lent
The Word made flesh. This is who we believe Jesus is. He, though intangible, entered into tangible reality. The mind that thought up toes could now stub his own! In doing so, Jesus exhibits an extraordinary ability to teach in tangible ways. He can break things down for us and give truly practical analogies. He teaches us both with his words and the way he uses them.
Saturday of the First Week of Lent
Let’s face it, Catholics are odd. We bless nearly anything with holy water. We often retain the bodily remains of our human heroes- the hand of Saint Teresa of Avila or the head of Saint Catherine of Siena to name a few. Even the sign by which we identify ourselves is unmistakably odd- the image of a man subjected to an ancient Roman form of execution. That’s pretty odd! Our oddness only seems to intensify during the current season of Lent. We put ashes on our forehead, we willingly participate in acts of self-denial, and we eat fish- lots and lots of fish. Now, obviously my examples are a bit tongue-in-cheek, as there are good reasons and tremendous beauty behind these practices. But my point remains the same: Catholics are odd.
Friday of the First Week of Lent
I have some clear memories of fighting with my brother when we were kids. We found all kinds of things to fight and argue about--sports, toys, games, chores, food, TV. I would be angry with him just because he won in a game of one-on-one basketball in the driveway. I even remember getting mad because he was looking at me in the morning while we were sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast before school (oh how ridiculous that sounds 20+ years later). My own boys have already replicated some great examples, as well, at the ages of 5 and 3. In fact, just last week, my 5-old-year was upset during supper because his brother was looking at him. There is also some intentional antagonizing that happens with it--the 3-year-old began giggling a bit of an evil laugh as his brother was whining for him to “stoooooppp!”.
Thursday of the First Week in Lent
I will start this reflection with a confession. I have, more than once, asked God for a win for the Flyers men’s basketball team. I know. That’s pretty bad on a number of levels.
Wednesday of the First Week in Lent
Lent. As I encounter people, I generally hear three different approaches to it. The most common is “UGH, it’s Lent!” Another is “Lent? What’s that?” Less common is “I’m excited for Lent and all that God has for me!” Where do you find yourself as we enter into the second week of Lent 2020? I appreciate the folks who are honest about how they struggle to get through these 40 days of fasting and sacrifice. For many, it’s a slugfest, a difficult marathon, a daily grind. Perhaps moving into that third category of excitement simply involves a shift of our focus; a change of perspective from viewing the discipline of denial as an end in and of itself to recognizing it as a gateway to transformation in the power of God’s love. Lenten disciplines are a great exchange – an exchange of something of lesser value for something of infinitely greater value. As we are willing to exchange the needs of the body for the needs of our soul, we open ourselves to transformation. That’s what God desires. God desires more of you; God desires more of me. I don’t think God is interested in whether or not we can successfully run the marathon of physical denial. God is interested in us. The Lenten journey can become a pilgrimage of joy and excitement in the midst of denial and repentance as we shift our focus to earnestly desire and seek God’s transforming work within us. Every year in Lent, God presents us with an invitation to transformation. What is your RSVP this year?
Tuesday of the First Week of Lent
Something happened to me recently that brought out feelings I had not been in touch with for a while. What strikes me about moments like these is how a trauma from the past can be resurrected seemingly from nowhere. The thoughts and feelings that had been swaddled neatly, put into a drawer and forgotten, are fully active in random access memory. Fortunately, a reminder from a wisdom figure in my life helped me put away the anger and file it away.
Monday of the First Week of Lent
How do you expect your day to go? Do you already know who you will spend your day with? Have you already checked off in your mind which encounters you look forward to and which you will try to avoid? It's human to think this way. Neatly anticipating interactions gives us a certain amount of security. But what if we were surprised? What if we put on the mind of Christ—truly—and went on about our day with no preconceptions. What if we saw Jesus in every single person we meet today?
Saturday after Ash Wednesday
Most people go to a physician when they are not well, however, there are times when people are encouraged to go for “healthy” check-ups. In the midst of these well visits, the various illnesses (that might be present) are addressed, but the physician also attempts to give guidance for healthy habits and lifestyle to improve long term health. Jesus tells us in today’s gospel that He comes to bring healing to sinners- those that are not well. Today’s first reading shares with us the ways of God that help us become healthier in our relationship with God and others. We need the mercy of God for our sins, and we also need to live lives grounded on the truths of God’s ways. God’s mercy and truth are what lead us closer to God where we find true life and health.