Thursday of the Second Week of Lent
In today's readings, Jesus offers an interesting parable. We hear the story of two men - one, a rich man living a luxurious life of grandeur and ease and one a poor man who sat outside the rich man's door, desperate for some scrap of food to eat. And then we hear of their afterlife. The poor man is taken by angels to the bosom of Abraham, while the rich man is tormented in the netherworld.
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
In the text before us today, Jesus appears to be taking the scribes and Pharisees to task for their hypocrisy and self-promotion. They teach one thing and do another. They love to occupy the privileged place in any social or public gathering. They make a show of their status with their phylacteries and fringes wherever they go.
Monday of the Second Week in Lent
Scripture Readings
In these last days of winter it is so difficult not to feel ‘weather worn’ from so many months of harsh weather. Most of us are ready for spring; we may even find ourselves looking outside for a tiny hint of green emerging from the soil. As rational human beings, we really like seeing the hard evidence. Today’s readings remind how Spring carries with it promises of abundance much like the Word of God carries the promise of great abundance. But, unlike the Spring season which we cannot will to appear, God’s promises of great abundance are offered to us at every moment.
Second Sunday of Lent
There are at least two instances where people have asked me to pray for the unknown. In both cases it was test results awaited for cancer. Nothing unnerves us more than the unknown… the unknown when someone loses their job… the unknown when divorce hits… the unknown when someone loses their spouse… the unknown when someone is awaiting for a transplant… the unknown when someone is deployed… the unknown when someone we know battles addiction… the unknown when someone is diagnosed with terminal illness.
Saturday of the First Week of Lent
Ever heard of Marcion? There is an ancient heresy that is named after him. Having a heresy named after you must be up there with starting idioms like, doubting Thomas, lazy Susan, Debbie downer, peeping, well you get the point.
Friday of the First Week of Lent
The imagery of Lent is often desert imagery. It reminds me of where I grew up in Colorado Colorado, and it reminds me of a particular time when I was in the desert with my youth group (because in Colorado you do that kind of thing), and we were trying out rock climbing, or actually, rock rappelling. Rappelling is all about stepping backward off a pile of rock into thin air to get down off a mountainside. It looked fun when my friends did , but when the actual time came for my turn, I froze. I absolutely did not want to step backward off a mountain.
Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter, Apostle
Do you know Jesus Christ well enough to declare to Him: “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God”? This declaration should be taken more seriously than any other we ever proclaim in our lives. And this is what exactly what Saint Peter declares in today’s Gospel. As the Church, on this day, celebrates the feast of the Chair of Saint Peter, it is good that we reflect on this fundamental truth, especially during this season of Lent.
Wednesday of the First Week in Lent
After returning home from a mission trip (where I volunteered to work with children who had been removed from their homes as a result of the situations there), I was seriously angry at God. Realizing the anger was something that I needed to deal with I sought the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Tuesday of the First Week of Lent
Growing up, my family rarely went to church. I think that was because my mother was raised Catholic, and my father grew up in a Methodist home. I think they just didn’t know how to resolve that difference. As a result, I had very little in the way of religious education. For reasons I cannot explain, I was still very interested in the Bible, and I prayed a lot. But because I didn’t have much of an idea about how to be a Christian, I also didn’t know how to pray. So, my prayers consisted mostly of me pleading to God for this or that. And my pleas were generally pretty selfish. I recall a prayer I sent up a number of times when I was in the eighth grade—that a cute boy who sat near me in the marching band would take notice of me.
Monday of the First Week of Lent
We recently hosted a gathering of friends at our home. In the course of the evening, our conversation turned to religion. One guest shared that the thing that makes our Catholic faith so amazing is the fact that it has a 2000 year old track record upon which we can build our lives. Although I agreed with him, I commented that I believe that my faith (and I think our church) continues to evolve as we become more open and aware of God’s presence and grace in our lives and the world. I think that the readings today help illustrate this concept. The laws are not thrown away, but these precepts evolve into a pathway to direct us to live compassionately and with great love.
First Sunday of Lent
There is a ninety year old parishioner whom I visit every so often. She takes Lent very seriously. The other day when I visited her she winked at me and said, “I am giving you up for Lent!” It was one of those rare times when I did not have a comeback. I said to her that I was going to tell on to the entire parish. She smiled. Humor aside, I think the story highlights our obsession with “giving up” during Lent. Often, Lent becomes all about giving up. Sometimes, the very thing that is integral to the Lenten spirit is also the cause of its demeaning. Equating Lent with “giving up” or penance-for-penance-sake destroys the spirit of Lent.
Saturday after Ash Wednesday
Being a jerk is easy. I'm serious. It often seems far easier to be a jerk than to live according to the commands and models we find in today's readings.
Friday after Ash Wednesday
This winter has been a tough one for me. I don't know if it's the cold, or the dark, or just the plain old unrelenting busy-ness of my days - but some days I have had a hard time just wanting to keep going through the day and do the work that needs doing! For me, it's not really despair so much as a very great desire to hole up under a quilt, drink hot tea, and read good books till, well, till I don't know when. Till the tough times pass....
Thursday after Ash Wednesday
Today’s readings show us the type of life we can expect to live if we place our trust in God’s providence. In Deuteronomy we read the original life-or-death question from Moses: Follow God to life and prosperity, or do it yourself and face certain death. With a choice so plain, it’s surprising that anyone would choose not to follow the Lord. Yet so many people do not follow. Why?
Ash Wednesday
At home, there is a shamrock plant that sits on the kitchen window sill. It is an old plant and almost died. This past summer I carefully planted it with all new soil. It has become stronger than ever before. Also, I have been more intentional about the caring for it. I water it every other day and I turn it one hundred eighty degrees once a week. A few days later, the leaves move from the shadows back to the light. They look as if they're straining to be as close to the light of the sun as they can.
Tuesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time
Poor Jesus. You’d think that the disciples would know by this point in his ministry who he is and what sort of kingdom he is bringing forth. But they don’t. And so in this text from Mark they are fretting over the fact that they did not bring enough bread (or perhaps they brought none at all). And Jesus is frustrated—not because they forgot the bread but because they don’t understand that it doesn’t matter. It is not the forgetting of the bread that is the problem. It’s the fact that they still don’t get the economy of the Kingdom.
Monday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time
Trials and testing produce perseverance. Afflictions invite joy and gratitude. And, regardless of 'signs' or objective evidence, personal faith grows. Today's Scriptures, so closely interwoven with similar themes, challenge us to reflect upon our present spiritual circumstances. With only a few days before the season of Lent begins, it's the perfect time to 'get back to basics', especially when it comes to prayer.
Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
As powerful as the story of the healing of the leper is in today’s gospel reading, I want to begin with Paul in the second reading. Pauls says, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ!” (1 Cor 11:1). Paul makes this statement as a conclusion to the question of believers eating food offered to idols by an unbeliever. This was a complex issue for the early Christians and it will long to explain it in this homily. The point I am trying to make is that Paul refuses a black and white answer. Rather, he says that he’d rather eat the food placed before him by an unbeliever so that he does not displease the unbeliever. On the other hand, if a believer would be scandalized by Paul’s behavior, he would rather not eat it. Thus he concludes, “… I try to please everyone in every way, not seeking my own benefit but that of the many, that they may be saved” (1 Cor 10:34). Paul imitation of Christ lies in this - that he does not seek his own benefit but of others, so that they might be saved. His imitation of Christ is not about saving himself. His imitation of Christ is that they might be saved!
Memorial of Saint Scholastica, Virgin
Why is the ocean near the shore? That seems like an easy question, but that little puzzle comes from the Wizard of Oz. Remember the three-part song by the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion about wanting a brain, a heart, and some nerve, respectively. That songs came back to me as a I read today’s gospel and experienced conviction (also, if you get a minute, spend some time understanding the context of what is happening in the first reading because it is interesting history).