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Friday of the Third Week of Lent

Scripture:

Hosea 14:2-10
Mark 12:28-34

Reflection:

How do we hear the voice of God?  The psalm response of today, ‘I am the Lord your God: hear my voice’ serves to remind us that God is always calling, always near to us, always present.  Each year during the Lenten season we are encouraged to take time to hear God’s call, to listen to that still small voice within nudging, challenging and prodding us to be still and know that God is with us.

How do we hear the voice of God?  For some it is on a 30-day Ignatian retreat, for others it is on a sandy beach at shores edge, for others it is at the bedside of a dying loved one.  Everyone hears the voice of God differently to be sure.  God meets us in the most unexplainable and unpredictable times.  For me growing up on the shores of Lake Michigan, God and I have had many encounters walking the beach, sitting at the lighthouse, catching the sunset.  In my role as pastoral associate, I am privileged to hear God’s voice in our RCIA candidates, in couples preparing for marriage, in visiting the sick or even during  a strategic planning meeting.

Oftentimes we do not hear God or feel that presence at the exact time we want to hear or see.  This doesn’t mean that God has not been present, rather, more often it is us to have not been present to hearing or seeing God.  It is always easy to see God in the good times and the exciting moments of our lives.  It is not as easy to recognize the God moments in times of stress, anxiety, trauma and disappointment.  I had a spiritual director who told me one time that he no longer prayed to see God in only the high times, but the low ones as well.

During this Lenten season let us ponder and reflect on the myriad of ways that God is speaking to us.  Let us quiet our bodies and spirits, come away from the chaos and crisis that often crowd our days and nights.  Come away to that inner room wherein God speaks to us without any distractions or interruptions.  Take time to be refreshed and regroup which will lead us to experience more clearly the ‘voice of God’.  Happy Lent!

 

Theresa Secord is a Pastoral Associate at St. Agnes Parish, Louisville, Kentucky.

Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent

Scripture:

Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9
Matthew 5:17-19

Reflection:

His shoes said it all.  Either he’d come in wearing his ordinary, workday wingtips or his well-worn, grass stained sneakers.  Which ones he wore said it all.

Every Saturday morning my father would make his way to the boys’ bedroom.  We’d all feign deep sleep as we heard him approach.  Sometimes we could discern just by the sound of his footsteps whether he was wearing the wingtips or sneakers.  Sometimes, uncertain what the day held for us, we’d crack an eye to look down toward the floor to get a glimpse of his shoes.  His shoes said it all.

Some of us might remember the time when the work week for many included a half-day on Saturday.  On those Saturdays when my father would head to the office, he’d put on his wingtips.  On those Saturdays he stayed at home, on went those broken in and well worked sneakers.  And what shoes he wore really did make a difference.  Wingtips meant he left a list of chores for us to accomplish by day’s end without much supervision.  Sneakers meant he’d be right by our sides as we worked down that list of chores.

It was never a question of "if."  It was only a matter of "when" my father would appear to rouse us from sleep.  There were always chores to be done: a garage to clean out, a lawn to mow, or a fence to paint. But for my father, it was not really about the garage, the lawn or the fence.  It was about contributing to our family life.  He tried to help us learn how to be a member of this community, this family.  He tried to instill in us a spirit of generosity.

This story comes back to me as I think about Lent.  We can easily experience Lent as a time when we can do all the chores we know need doing in our lives.  There’s always something that needs cleaning out, trimming, or painting inside us.  We’d all like to spruce up our lives and make ourselves more presentable to God.  But all those really admirable-and I mean it-Lenten practices of prayer, fasting and almsgiving should not be viewed as spiritual chores.  They are opportunities for us to grow in being a more generous and kind people.  Lent gives us the opportunity to really become more a part of this family called the Christian community, together helping build the Kingdom of God.

 

Robert Hotz is a consultant with American City Bureau, Inc. and is the Director of The Passion of Christ: The Love That Compels Campaign for Holy Cross Province.

 

The Annunciation of the Lord

Scripture:

Isaiah 7:10-14; 8:10
Hebrews 10:4-10
Luke 1:26-38

 

 

Reflection:

Here I am Lord; I come to do your will!

Two weeks ago, on March 14, I did funeral of 17 year old Sandra, who died of cancer. She was bright, full of life and wanted to be a surgeon. It was indeed a devastating time for the family. I went to meet the family on Wednesday to talk about their daughter and also about the funeral service on Friday. The extended family had gathered at their grandparents’ house for dinner. After dinner a birthday cake was brought to the table and the whole family sang Happy Birthday to little Raymond who was celebrating his birthday!

As we journey through the Lent, with prayer, fasting, abstinence and almsgiving, the church today stops to celebrate! When we started out on Ash Wednesday we were, perhaps, reminded of the goal of the Lenten journey: the foot of the Cross. On this solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, the church reminds us that this journey to the foot of the cross began when Mary said "Yes" to the Angel. That she is our companion on the journey.

As young as she was, the words of the Angel took her by surprise! What? Really? You must be kidding! How can this be possible? The whole world around this young girl suddenly seemed to stop. She was very much aware of the social and religious repercussions. And even as Mary threw questions at the Angel, we see Gabriel being very patient with her. She doesn’t accept what is said in blind faith. She reasons with the Angel. There was much fear. And yet at the end she makes an ‘act of faith’ – "May it done to me according to your word!" Jesus would eventually make a similar act of faith in the garden of Gethsemane: Not my will, but yours be done. Luke tells us that he sweated blood just thinking of what was to come. (Cf. Lk 22:44)

Life often catches us by surprises! When everything seems to be going on just fine, there is this ‘news’. We are rattled…unsettled in our comfort zones. Ordinarily, we do not have such clear, face-to-face dialogues with an angel, of course. God’s message to us more often comes through the circumstances and events of everyday life. All the same, we have questions. We wonder what’s going on. We would like some answers, and like young Mary we should not hesitate to ask our questions before we make her words our own: "May it done to me according to your word!"

The family of Sandra had questions. I am sure in all faith and trust they may have put those questions to God; and yet when they made that ‘act of faith’ they could celebrate the life of Raymond, even as they grieved the death of another child in the family! I read a post on Face Book some time ago: God’s will is our will, minus our selfishness. How true is that!

 

Fr. Bruno D’Souza, CP, is on the staff at Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.

Monday of the Third Week of Lent

Scripture:

2 Kings 5:1-15ab
Luke 4:24-30

Reflection:

For many of us Jesus is not welcome any more today than He was in his hometown so many years ago.  The New Testament word for welcome is dĕktŏs which means receive or accept.  There is an amazing array of variations on this word for welcome in the original Greek Bible.  For example:  "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."Lk 15:2  Here the word is pros-dechomai  i.e. to welcome with an attitude of accepting favorably or receive to oneself, looking forward to accepting  someone.  "Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, welcoming  the consolation of Israel" Lk 2:25

Another variation on welcome is upo- dechomai which means you are welcome under my roof  i.e. in my home.  So Zacchaeus hurried and came down and welcomed Jesus joyfully Lk 19:6   Still another use is word ap-ek-dechomai  which is assiduously and patiently waiting to welcome:  "But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we are waiting to welcome  a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ", Phi 3:20

Another variation of the Greek word for welcome is apo dechomai.  This consists of apo, "from," intensive, and expresses dechomai more strongly, signifying "to receive heartily, to welcome,"  "When the crowds learned it, they followed him, and Jesus welcomed them" Lk 9:11

Our life is a study of how to welcome Jesus.  Our hearts should always be open to His presence.   We should passionately desire His stunning company.  With joy we welcome Christ to our very selves.  "I possess at all times and I hold in all places, the God of my heart and the Heart of my God." St Margaret Mary  

And St Paul of the Cross tells us: "Remember that it is a truth of the holy faith that God is nearer to us than we are to ourselves: He is much nearer to us than the skin is on our flesh" Letter 111 367   Let us keep the welcome sign for Christ before our hearts!

 

Fr. Bob Weiss, C.P. preaches Parish Missions and is a member of the Passionist Community in Louisville, Kentucky.

Third Sunday of Lent

Scripture:

Exodus 17:3-7
Romans 5:1-2, 5-8
John 4:5-42

Reflection:

In Sunday’s Gospel reading (John 4:5-42), we hear the account of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. As I was reflecting on the exchange between Jesus and the woman, I began wondering why she stuck around to hear what Jesus had to say. There were so many obstacles to them having an extended conversation! First, there was the animosity between the Jews and the Samaritans. As we can infer from the conversation, the Jews and the Samaritans disagreed strongly about where one should worship God, and so Jews and Samaritans had nothing to do with each other. Then there were the conventions around Jewish men speaking to Samaritan women. The woman is shocked that Jesus would ask her for a drink of water because Jews believed that anything touched by a Samaritan woman was unclean.

And then there is the conversation itself. After Jesus speaks to her about living water, the woman says, "Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water." Jesus replies, "Go call your husband and come back." Then she says, "I do not have a husband." Then Jesus says, "You are right in saying, ‘I do not have a husband.’ For you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true." I could imagine many people in a similar situation leaving angry or ashamed, but the woman doesn’t leave! In fact, she learns that Jesus is the Messiah, and what’s more, she tells the news to the people in the village!

Why does she stay? Could it be that she is thirsty for more than water from the well? Could it be that she has been searching for just the kind of thing that Jesus offers her? Yes, Jesus confronts her with the details of her life, but also offers her the "living water," the Good News of the kingdom of God in Himself!

I don’t think we can overestimate how much people are thirsting just as the Samaritan woman was thirsting. There are so many people searching for meaning, for something to believe in, and yet, at the same time, they are searching in all the wrong places. We can help others find the answer to their thirst. But we must be careful. There is a strong temptation to judge or condemn or dismiss the thirst that others have. But we can’t do that. Instead, we need to be compassionate and listen to their stories. We need to show them the love and mercy of God in Jesus Christ. We need to share with them the hope we have in Jesus; to reassure them that they can find what they are thirsting for in a relationship with Christ.

The Samaritan woman was willing to tell the whole village what she discovered about Jesus. We must be willing, too. Lent is a time when we might be confronted with our past, but at the same time we know the love Jesus has for us. May we have the same courage as the woman at the well, and may more and more people quench their thirst with the living water that comes from Christ.

 

Fr. Phil Paxton, C.P. is on staff at St. Paul of the Cross Retreat and Conference Center, Detroit, Michigan. 

Scripture:

Micah 7:14-15, 18-20
Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

Reflection:

The first reading from Micah is a prayer spoken when the people had recently returned from exile, were few in number and possessed only a fragment of their former land. It is a plea to God to take care of them and protect them from the hostile nations that surround them. Notice the tone of confidence. The prophet remembers "the days of old" and knows that his God is not like any other god. The people sinned and deserved the exile, but Micah knows God is merciful and God’s anger does not last long because God loves the people too much.

We, too, can be sure of God’s faithful love. God’s compassion for the sinner and God’s great desire to take the sinner back is graphically told in the extraordinary story of the Prodigal Son, the story of today’s gospel. It is a clear reply to the criticisms of the Scribes and Pharisees that Jesus was associating too much with sinners. In the story we read about the younger son who went far from his father and followed his own way. There was the other son who saw himself as totally obedient but did not have a forgiving heart. We hear about their Father whose love never changed . . . no matter what his children did . . . and was ready to accept them back without exception.

The Scribes and Pharisees simply did not understand the nature of God revealing Himself through Jesus. Or maybe they refused to accept this story that demanded change in their own hearts. It is never God who creates the distance. We are the unfaithful ones. When we perceive our sins this Lent, we need to remember "the days of old." Our faith history reminds us that our God is a loving God who desires to forgive. We only need to make the journey back to God, who is ready to celebrate our return.

 

Fr. Don Webber, C.P., is Provincial Superior of Holy Cross Province and resides in Chicago.

Friday of the Second Week of Lent

Scripture:

Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13a, 17b-28a
Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46

Reflection:

We like most of our stories to end: "and they lived happily ever after".  But the only way to give punch and energy to that kind of story is to start it by noting that things were going very badly.  Because, if we start the story by saying everything was going as well as could be desired, then it’s hard, either to end it by saying that things kept getting better and better, or especially to conclude by saying that everything fell apart at the end, and proved to be a disaster.  It is unlikely such a story would attract a strong readership.

God, of course, knows this, since He made us for happy endings, and the most reliable way to enjoy a happy ending is to start off badly.  So the notion of redemption figures prominently in the stories God provides us in the bible.  Redemption means restoration of or improvement upon an initially good situation, which comes on hard times, and threatens to unravel and fall apart.

So we hear two redemption sagas in today’s bible readings: one about Joseph, a son of the patriarch Jacob who (Joseph) came on hard times, and the other about the King who saw his servants upend and undo a very productive vineyard that he owned.  Both these stories start well.

Jacob has a flock of boys (12 of them) who apparently got on well together, in boys’ fashion, that is, more or less.   But as the story gets underway, it soon degenerates, with 11 of the brothers ganging up on a twelfth, Joseph, with Joseph coming out the loser, by his brothers throwing him into the bottom of an empty well, eventually to be hauled up and traded off to a band of wandering Ishmaelites in exchange for 20 pieces of silver, as these strangers proceeded on to Egypt, where Joseph was sold yet again.  This is a very low point in Joseph’s life and things can only get better, as indeed they do.  He eventually rose into a position of power in Egypt.  We see redemption at work here: a happy ending to a dismal beginning.

Then we are presented the gospel story of a king sending his emissaries off to his flourishing vineyard to gather its grapes.  We then learn of a bad situation that soon developed, when servants sent by the king to collect his produce are mistreated and killed, including his very own son sent by him to offset a rapidly deteriorating situation.   However, this story was to end happily, if not for the troublesome tenants of the vineyard lands, at least for the king and a new batch of more reliable tenants.  A redemption of sorts once again gets underway in this episode.

God’s stories usually end happily, but we can only appreciate them fully against a rather somber   background.  While we’re familiar with the commonplace observation that whatever goes up must come down, we have to be reminded that things at the bottom can rise to the top.  That’s God special way of doing things, and it goes by the name: redemption. 

In our everyday language, we call this a "repair job".  When a piece of our equipment breaks down, we go to the repair person asking him or her  to restore the broken object to working condition again.   We’re accustomed to doing this.  As a matter of fact, It is a form of redemption, illustrating that what has broken down can be restored to working order again.  This is good news that occurs in the bible readings today.  God is the repair person, the Redeemer.  While we deplore that things break down, we rejoice when someone repairs them.  This is redemption.  And it is good news.  The best way to start Lent is to acknowledge we are broken, but can look forward to Easter when we will be restored.

 

Fr. Sebastian MacDonald, C.P. is a member of the Passionist formation community at Catholic Theological Union, Chicago. 

Feast of Saint Joseph, husband of Mary

Scripture:
2 Samuel 7:4-5a, 12-14a, 16
Romans 4:13, 16-18, 22
Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24a or Luke 2:41-51a

Reflection:
Behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. Matthew 1:20

The other day, I was watching a news story about a well known athlete who came back home and visited the high school where he was a star player. His message was very simple: follow your dreams! You can be whoever you want to be, just don’t give up on your dreams. Every famous person seems to give the same advice.

It sounds so simple: just follow your dreams! Yet the dreams we had when we were young may now be long gone. Some may look back with great regret and ask ourselves, why didn’t we follow our dreams? Our lives would have been so different if we had just followed our dreams.

Dreams are all about the choices we can make for our future. St. Joseph, whose feast day we celebrate today, was a man who allowed his dreams to guide him. He dreamed about making a life with Mary as his wife. In fact, they were engaged, according to the Gospel account we have for today’s Mass. He was about to live out his dream. He was about to take Mary as his wife and to welcome her into his home.

That dream was shattered when he found out that Mary was pregnant. Then he went about doing the right and compassionate thing, divorcing her quietly. But then he had another dream, a dream that called him to go beyond appearances, beyond his understanding of the "law." It was a dream inspired by God. He was to accept Mary into her home. He did so. And this was not the last dream that Joseph would have. Dreams inspired by God led him and the Holy Family into a future that they were not expecting to live. Just because our original dreams aren’t realized does not mean we need to stop believing in them.

Our Christian Faith calls us to keep on dreaming, even when our dreams are not realized. Joseph could have become disappointed, depressed and vindictive when he was not able to live out his original dream. How do we handle a shattered dream? How open are we to God and the new directions that God leads us towards when things do not go according to our plans, to our dreams? Do we turn to God? Do we follow the example of St. Joseph? Or do we allow our human weakness get the better of us?

This feast day comes when the whole Church is celebrating Lent. Lent gives us just the right opportunity to think about the life of St. Joseph, to really invite him into our lives and allow him to guide us when things become difficult for us.

Thank you, St. Joseph, for following your dreams! Help us to follow ours!

 

Fr. Clemente Barrón, C.P. is a member of Immaculate Conception Community in Chicago, Illinois.