Friday of the Second Week of Lent
“The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
by the Lord has this been done,
and it is wonderful in our eyes”
Jesus refers to this passage from Psalm 118 in today’s Gospel after sharing the parable of the farmer whose servants and son are all killed by the greedy tenants of his vineyard. When Jesus asks the chief priests and Pharisees if they have ever heard this Scripture, they understand the connection between the parable and their lived experience. Perhaps it is easy enough for us, living over two thousand years later, to see the truth of this psalm throughout scripture. In today’s first reading, we hear about Joseph, rejected by his brothers and sold to the Ishmaelites. Although we don’t hear the whole story today, we know how it ends, with Joseph, the rejected stone, becoming a cornerstone to save Egypt during a famine. We know the parable that Jesus shares in today’s Gospel actually refers to him, the son of God, rejected and crucified, the cornerstone of our salvation.
Thursday of the Second Week of Lent
Scripture Readings
You’ve probably heard the saying something like, “people see what they want to see and hear what they want to hear.” I think there’s some truth to that, at least when we are in a closed or resistant frame of mind, or maybe in denial about something. Our perceptions can be influenced by what we believe to be true (or not true). Unfortunately, this can result in “blind spots” or a sort of selective hearing. This can be true in our spiritual lives as well. Today’s gospel reading (Luke 16:19-31), the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, provides us with a good example of just this sort of thing on two different levels.
Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent
Be a servant. That’s a pretty clear call of our Lord in the Gospel, isn’t it? Our fallen nature wants to be served, to be esteemed, to think of ourselves as better or more deserving than others. But at the foot of the Cross, if we’re willing to stand there and behold our crucified Lord, the perspective changes, doesn’t it? This Lent, as we behold the Lamb of God, the Suffering Servant, let us seek to serve others more and so to become the kind of servants who love like Jesus does.
Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent
I have been thinking lately about what it means for me as a Christian to go through the season of Lent and about the possibility for spiritual renewal that Lent provides. It seems to me that Lent gives us Christians the possibility of a new starting point in our journey towards God. At times I’ve felt closer to God and at other times I’ve felt farther away. Yet it is often at those times when I feel the farthest from God that I realize that God is there with me and present in the situation. It seems to me that God uses these tough times to show me that he is there with me, and that he will never desert me.
Monday of the Second Week in Lent
Today’s Gospel is the middle section of what has been called Luke’s “Discipleship Manual.” Here Jesus lays out (similar to Matthew 5-7) a “how to be a disciple.”
Saturday of the First Week of Lent
Today’s Gospel is challenging, especially the last line, “So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” I’m reminded of when I was growing up, my parents told me to not just get good grades or even all As but perfect grades with no wrong answers. Even if extra credit was offered, those answers had to be correct too.
Friday of the First Week of Lent
“Do I indeed derive any pleasure from the death of the wicked?” (Ezekiel 18:23a) Although the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel tells us this was God’s rhetorical-like question, I found myself asking myself that question as I read today’s first reading. If I’m completely honest, I have (like most people, I suspect), enjoyed an occasional Good vs Evil movie or novel in which the wicked character dies, especially if their death involves what we perceive to be much deserved suffering. And I’m sure I have been tempted to rejoice at the actual death of a seemingly evil or wicked person. Whether or not we derive any pleasure from the death of a wicked person, thankfully our God does not.
Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter, Apostle
Today we celebrate the Feast of the Chair of Peter. The gospel highlights the crucial point in St. Peter’s life where he proclaims his faith in Jesus as the Christ. This time of Lent provides us an opportunity to reflect on our relationship with Jesus and how we can grow in our faith. When Jesus asks us the question, “Who do you say that I am?” how will we respond?
Wednesday of the First Week in Lent
“Show us a sign.” That unholy request rings out many times throughout the Gospels. Religious leaders and even the disciples ask Jesus for signs. Implicit in this plea is the desire for proof – show us some sign so that we might have evidence of who you are and from whence you’ve come. Our Lord doesn’t need to prove himself to us; we ought to prove ourselves to him by responding to his self-revelation, love, and invitation to life eternal. Let us seek to go deeper in our intimacy with God through more frequent reception of the Sacraments. It is by these efficacious signs of grace that we grow in faith and trust in God.
Monday of the First Week of Lent
Matthew 25, as proclaimed today, teaches of the universal call to holiness that we all share by virtue of our baptisms.
Saturday after Ash Wednesday
Many things strike me from today’s readings. For instance, the visual imagery the reading describes when we turn to God. Our life will be like light rising in the darkness. We will be like a watered garden that has for its water source a spring that never ends. Our life will be like ancient ruins that are rebuilt.
Friday after Ash Wednesday
As I have gotten older, the preparation seasons (Advent & Lent) have become more and more attractive to me. My 13-year-old self would like to punch me for saying that. What was Lent to teenage Brandon? Fasting equals being hungry all the time and no meat on Fridays. I hated fasting; being hungry is hard and miserable. When we are hungry, we can become more irritable, prone to arguments, and generally grumpy. I’ll never get the old Snickers slogan and commercials out of my head, “You’re not you when you’re hungry”. In my experience, this holds true with our children as well. There is a noticeable tension that builds (and sometimes bursts) when they haven’t had a snack after school or dinner isn’t ready yet. But to return to my opening statement, in the last 10 years, I have come to recognize all of the clutter, distractions, and excess that gets in the way of my relationship with God, my spiritual life, my physical and mental health, and my connection to the world around me. The need for a season of preparation is a reset process to empty ourselves out so that we might be filled up with God’s grace at Easter.
Thursday after Ash Wednesday
In our Gospel reading for today, we don’t get much in the way of good news. If I’m a disciple receiving this message from Jesus, I’m gonna have second thoughts. So, here’s the rundown:
- This Messiah I am following is going to be reviled, especially by the higher-ups.
- He’s then going to be executed and die.
- And if you follow him, you can expect your own version of suffering.
- You’ll have to take up your own cross—and you have to do it daily.
- If you can pull it off, your life will have meaning.
You don’t have to be a biblical scholar to get the point. Ours is a suffering savior. And He asks us to prepare ourselves to suffer also, in order to be true to Him.
Ash Wednesday
I’ve been focusing much prayer and thought recently on what it means to follow Christ closely every step of the way. Our earthly lives ought to be a true participation in every aspect of Christ’s life, ministry, prayer, relationship with the Father, suffering, dying, rising . . . Today we enter the desert with Jesus. Just as Jesus spent 40 days in the desert praying and fasting and undergoing temptation, we too participate with him in his desert experience during Lent. Jesus came out of the desert ready to begin his earthly ministry. As we begin Lent today, let us not only prepare ourselves for this season of penitence, but also for whatever God has prepared for us on the other end. What is our Lenten experience preparing us for?
Tuesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time
It happened again yesterday. My grocery list was clear. Somethings listed were given extra detail like found in a can. Clarity above and beyond, yet I still came home with two things on the list that I thought met the bill. Instead, I overlooked the details and now find myself going back to the store to get the correct product. What made matters worse was my wife had even shown me the product before I left the house.
Monday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time
“Less is more.” “Lay your egg and get off the nest.” “This is not a hostage situation.” “If you want to teach a class, get a classroom.” “Be brief. Be bold. Be gone.”
Memorial of Saint Scholastica, Virgin
Today’s Gospel reminded me of when I was cooking dinner recently for the birthday of one of the Sisters in my community. As I looked at the ingredients and started chopping vegetables, I wondered if this was enough food for them and our guests. Turns out, it was too much food. I had to transfer my cooking to bigger pots and pans, and we had leftovers. Somewhat similarly, the disciples didn’t have much to feed the crowd, but Jesus was able to serve the several loaves and few fish to feed thousands. As I read and reflect on this reading, I see two lessons. One is that following Jesus Christ means to give generously even if we have very little. Generosity includes entrusting God with the gifts that we have and being assured that what we have is enough. Jesus challenges us to recognize and discern how to use our talents and time.
Friday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
“He took him off by himself away from the crowd…” and having healed the man, “He ordered them not to tell anyone.” Jesus, in this gospel passage from Mark (7:31-37), is performing a miracle and gaining “followers,” but clearly not through self-promotion like we see on social media. True, those who witnessed this healing were “exceedingly astonished” and said, “He has done all things well”, but he wasn’t looking to gain popularity or trying to impress. Jesus was not a performer, was not a self-promoter, was not a social media influencer, at least not of his own making. “But the more he ordered them not to, the more they proclaimed it.”
Thursday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
There are many people around the world who are exploited by human trafficking. Today is the Memorial for St. Josephine Bakhita who is the patron saint for the victims of human trafficking. In today’s gospel, Jesus reminds us that all people deserve the mercy and freedom that He brings to this world.
Wednesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
Jesus speaks to us from today’s Gospel about our hearts. As we approach the beginning of Lent on February 14, today’s text invites us to do some pre-Lenten examination of our hearts. Do we come before him today with purity of heart? Or do our hearts, perhaps, need healing of some vices, stains, and sin that prevent us from loving God more perfectly? Let us bring our hearts before the Lord who knows us better than we know ourselves and ask him to reveal the condition of our hearts.