The Passionists of Holy Cross Province

The Love that Compels

Daily Scripture, February 28, 2021

Scripture:

Genesis 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18
Romans 8:31b-34
Mark 9:2-10

Reflection:

Together we enter into this 2nd week of Lent, continuing our journey to Easter, faithful to our commitment of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. God calls us to come to the mountain top, to search out those people, places and events that speak to us of God’s love and everlasting goodness.  God calls us to bring our prayer, fasting and almsgiving to the mountain.  During our lifetime we are called to come to the mountain often and in doing so, enter more deeply into relationship with our brother, Jesus Christ.

God has given us eyes to see, ears to hear, a heart to love and a voice to speak the message of the gospel.  This life that Jesus calls us to does not just happen during these six weeks of Lent. This season of Lent calls us to renewal and reflection.  This can only happen when we take the time to move away from our busyness, our fears, our selfishness, our preoccupation with SELF! 

COVID-19 has forced us to step back and take stock in our life, calling us to change in ways we did not ever expect. In a way it has been a year of Lent.  It has been a life-changing time for all of us. We seem to be rounding the bend, beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel as the vaccine is becoming more available to people.  The sacrifices experienced during Lent bring us to the promise of new life at Easter!

In the coming weeks, spend some quiet time to just BE!  Maybe a good place to hang out, would be on that mountaintop with our friend Jesus.  Let us ask ourselves what is it that we want to take away from these mountain times?  How am I being Changed, Challenged, Empowered to follow the example of Abraham, Peter, James and John and to call others to do the same?

Have a blessed Lent!

Theresa Secord recently retired as a Pastoral Associate at St. Agnes Parish, Louisville, Kentucky.

Ash Wednesday

On March 2, the Church celebrates Ash Wednesday. 

Most of us learned early in our Catholic lives that Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent, and that is a time of special sacrifice in preparation for the Easter celebration of Jesus’ Resurrection.

Dear brothers and sisters, every moment of our lives is a time for believing, hoping and loving…. These words of Pope Francis, taken from his Lenten Message of last year, 2021, and echoing the virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity, can still inspire our answer to the question: “What am I giving up for Lent?” 

We can draw our Lenten sacrifices out of our daily life: 

Share our faith in God’s presence by sharing in prayer with our family or with those in our parish community.
Share our hope in God’s promises by encouraging positive and respectful dialogue in our family circle and among our friends. 
Share the charity God has bestowed on us in the Passion of Jesus, with those whose sufferings are ignored or aggravated.

Let us pray for one another as we enter the season of Lent. Our Passionist “motto” can be our daily prayer during Lent, “May the Passion of Jesus Christ be always in our hearts.”