friday after ashes

Isaiah 58:1-9; Psalm 51 A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn; 

Matthew 9:14-15 

Isaiah speaks to the people this reality check, "Lo on your fast days you carry out your own pursuits and drive all your laborers."

For many of us the constant onslaught of errands and duties may pile up until they become a wall that separates us from God.   We do not consciously turn away from God, but instead we slowly drift way like ships without rudders, with no particular aim in mind. 

We just let the business of the day, the business as usually, slowly tear us away.  Our own pursuits become that which drives the wedge.

In Lent we are called to make a deliberate turn.  

The invitation to fasting, to hunger, acts as the rudder that directs bak to God.  It sharpens our instinct, sharpens our awareness; the hunger pains that follow give us that reality check that is so necessary.  The hunger awakens us from our slumber and brings to light the meaning of it all. 

Fasting is essential.  It helps us identify the deepest longing in our life and allow that longing to sharpen our ability to live with meaning and purpose. 

day after ashes

Dt 30:15-20; Psalm 1 Blessed are they who hope in the Lord; Lk 9:22-25

We are converted not only once in our lives but many many times.  And conversion is little by little.  Lent gives us an opportunity to move the process along.  Intentionally.  By small surrenders.  One day at a time. 

This is why Jesus in the gospel reminds us the cross is to be carried daily. 

Holiness grows by small surrenders, daily surrenders, without which we cannot finally be free to give ourselves completely. 

A cross to carry for forty days seems unbearable.  A cross for a day is just a day.

A cross to carry is seldom romantic but more often it is part of the everydayness of life.  This is where we live, this is where we choose to lose our life. 

Lent is a lifetime of letting go and letting ourselves come closer to Jesus, but we do this one day at a time.

"If any one wishes to come after me, he must deny himself take up his cross daily and follow me."

excerpt by St Leo the Great

"dear friends, what the Christian should be doing at all times should be done now with greater care and devotion, so that the Lenten fast enjoined by the apostles may be fulfilled, not simply by abstinence from food but above all by renunciation of sin... the works of mercy are innumerable.  Their very variety brings this advantage to those who are true Christians,  that in the matter of almsgiving not only the rich and affluent but also those of average means and the poor  are able to play their part.  Those who are unequal in their capacity to give can be equal in the love within their hearts."

ashes

Joel 2:12-18; Psalm 51 Be merciful O Lord for we have sinned; 2nd Corinthians 5:20-6:2; Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

Lent is upon us.  A season of spiritual training, exercising so that our hearts might be given fully to God. 

 We use the tools of prayer, fasting, almsgiving to detach ourselves from the world and to restore friendship to Christ and truly live the gospel, "to love God above all and to love our neighbor as ourself."

As the ashes mark our forehead and we hear the words, "turn from you sin and be faithful to the gospel, remember you are dust and unto dust you shall return" may we take the opportunity to evaluate our relationship with God, within ourself, and with others and truly seek to give our whole heart to the faith we have received.

The word Lent means springtime, and lente means slowly.  Thus, we are called to slow down and yet spring forward into new life. 

May our life take the shape of the cross we bear upon our foreheads, and truly live crucified love.

Pope Benedict's Message for Lent 2009

Pope Benedict's message for lent 2008

Pope Benedict's message for Lent 2007

Pope Benedict's message for Lent 2006

they remained silent

Sirach 2:1-11; Psalm 37 Commit your life to the Lord, and he will help you; Mark 9:30-37

 

In today's gospel Jesus is questioning the twelve as to what they were arguing about along the way.  They were all reduced to silence at the question.

They were caught in a compromising position.  They were ashamed of their arguments, they were ashamed of their own speculation.  They had not bothered with the reality of him being killed but all they could focus on was their position, their place, their honor, their reward.  

So when Jesus calls them out, they are reduced to silence. 

It is strange how things acquire their true character and find their proper place when placed before the eyes of Jesus.  As long as they thought Jesus was not listening or not seeing the argument about who was the greatest, argument about honor and reward, seemed fair enough. 

But when it was put before the eyes and ears of Jesus everything changed as it should.

This is why my mother, when she would watch my nephews and nieces, would always have them look at the cross and tell them, "Jesus is watching."

It was not an attempt at shame and guilt but rather a reality check. 

Living in reality has a way of making us all better people who choose better things. 

Living beneath the graceful and merciful gaze of our Lord is not meant to frighten us or scare us but to give us confidence in doing good and wonderful things.  It is meant to reduce us to silence so that we might serve more and speak less.

As my Father would say, "If my hands moved as fast as my lips, everything would be different and everything would get done."  

May we too be reduced to silence and allow our service do all the talking!

Yes

Isaiah 43:18-25; Psalm 41 Lord, heal my soul, for I have sinned against you; 

2nd Corinthians 1:18-22; Mark 2:1-12

St. Paul tells us today in his letter that the Son of God, Jesus Christ was not "yes" and "no" but "yes" was in him.  

Jesus did not waver.  He did not hedge his bets.  He did not hire a risk assessor to determine if the benefits outweighed the risk.  He said "yes" and allowed his "yes" to be a source of strength.

One of the most powerful images of "yes" to God is the IV station: Jesus meets his mother.  

What a gaze, when their eyes met!  What a moment in history!  What an explosion of interior strength and determination!  

Jesus saying "yes" to the cross peering at his mother whose "yes" started it all. 

Both were completely open.  They did not live with their doors half closed. 

Lent is opportunity to evaluate our "yes" to God.  It is a season by which we open wide the doors of our heart and allow that "yes" of faith, our "amen" truly be our foundation and our life.

May the tools of Lent: prayer, fasting, almsgiving be those instruments necessary to open wide the door, even take the hinges off the door of our heart to God so that we might live for him alone serve his Church in all that we do.

May we live boldly the "yes" we are invited to make each and everyday.   

May the Blessed Mother show us the way and may Christ be our strength.  

No Nimrod Here

Genesis 11:1-9; Psalm 33 Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own; Mark 8:34-9:1

The tower of Bable makes its appearance in the readings.  We have been journeying along with the first 11 chapters of the book of Genesis, which is considered to be part of the pre-history. 

We encountered creation in 7 days, we encountered the making of man and women in God's image, we have encountered the Garden of Eden and the fall, we have encountered Cain slaying Abel, we have encountered Noah and the Ark and the flood, we have encountered the Rainbow as a sign of covenant, and today we see the tower of Babel rise high into the sky. 

It is important to note that the King in charge of organizing the construction of the tower was named Nimrod.  Hence, the association of the meaning with the name.  Probably not a good idea to go along with anyone named Nimrod.  

His name actually means, "the one who rebels."

Nimrod convinces the people to make a name for themselves.  This is the great sin: men seeking a name for themselves rather than invoking the name of God. 

It was the sin of Adam and Eve.  They were tempted to eat so that they could be like gods.  It was the sin of Cain over Abel.  It was present with the destruction of the flood.  It was present with the shame of Noah and his sons.  It pops up again in the tower of Babel. 

As you go through the biblical record, somewhere in every downfall we discover men seeking to make a name for themselves and no longer invoking the name of God. 

If we look into our present economic woes, we discover the same reality.  Why are we in a recession?  In a large part because men have been seeking to make a name for themselves and for their constituents and have ceased invoking the name of God.  

As a result, like in the tower of Babel, people no longer are able to communicate.  They no longer are speaking the same language because they are to busy caught up in themselves.

What is the answer to this Babel?

The answer is found in Acts ch. 2.  The Pentecost experience is the answer to Babel.  The power of the Spirit unites where pride scatters.  At the pentecost experience, the birth of the Church, Peter stands and proclaims the gospel message, the truth of things.  All are able to hear him in their own tongue. 

What is the central message of this experience: Jesus Christ was hung on tree, put to death, and rose again.  The paschal mystery is the bridge that unites.  The verdict of true love overwhelms and unites and draws all together as one. 

When we invoke his name, as St. Paul tells us, the name by which every knee shall bend and every tongue profess, then truly we begin to realize the beauty of our name, one that is not made but received, "Christian."

Here we begin to build a civilization that can truly be united.  This is why the Church is one, holy, catholic, apostolic: universal sign of the oneness God invites all to participate in fully through Jesus the one who refuses to rebel, the one who refuses to take matters into his own hands.

There is no Nimrod here!  Jesus does not make a name for himself, rather he surrenders so that God's name might be known, "I have made known to them your name, and I will make it known."(Jn 17:26)  

May we invoke His name and then live what we invoke and build our lives on that bridge that unites.

Who do you say that I am

Genesis 9:1-13; Psalm 102 From heaven the Lord looks down on the Earth; Mark 8:27-33

It is that time again.  Lent is right around the corner.  We should not wait until ash Wed to start preparing for our Lenten experience, our lenten retreat. 

Lent is a time of Spiritual training, a time to get "cut" in our spiritual muscle. 

How do we chisel our lives so that we might be shaped into christ more perfectly. 

The tools the church lays before us as the means by which we truly begin to answer the question Jesus poses in todays gospel, "who do you say that I am," with greater precision and accuracy and love are the following:

Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving.

The three tools enables us to detach ourselves from the world, empty ourselves so God alone can fill, grow more dependent on God's saving word, and enter more deeply into a true compassionate relationship with our neighbors. 

Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving restore friendship to Christ. 

As we prepare for lent may we ask the Lord what is the means by which he wants us to really train.