Fourth Sunday of Lent

God is love. Paul's first letter to the Corinthians lays out what love means. He writes, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” (1 Cor 13: 4-8). God is all these things, because He is love.

Paul's second letter to the Corinthians, today's second reading, tells us what that love is able to do for us. God's love has the power to heal and transform. He has reconciled us to Him. He does not want us to be lost and wandering in the desert like the Israelites in last week's readings. He does not want us to squander our lives, and live apart from Him, like this week's prodigal son. He, like the father in the gospel, stands at the gate, day after day, waiting for us.

The power of God's love is transformative. He makes all things new. St. Paul tells us, “Whoever is in Christ is a new creation.” When we seek God, not only do we we seek a new way of life, we are able to find it. Like the father in the gospel, God is always there waiting for us. When He sees us on the horizon, He runs to us, and embraces us. He desires to have us as His own, to bring us into His love, and to change our lives. Like the son in the gospel, we sometimes feel we must grovel our way back. It is much simpler to remember that God is love, and He waits for our return.

Third Sunday of Lent

Find today's readings here!

The Israelites, held captive in Egypt, had pleaded with God for salvation and freedom. When Moses meets God on the mountain, God announces that He has come to their rescue. We know the story from here, the Israelites are freed after a series of plagues and travel across the red sea, and the desert to the promised land. Along their journey they complain about many things from the quality of food, to the fact that they miss being slaves. God tries to help them along the way by giving them mana and then quail in the desert. He also gives them the commandments.

The Gospel tells us that God did not like their grumbling, and many people died because they did not trust God in the journey across the desert. Do we trust God?

God promised Moses that he would lead his people out of slavery into a land flowing with milk and honey. God has promised us that if we come to Him with our burdens, He will take them from us. He is kind and merciful, slow to anger, rich in love. Do we trust that?

Lent is a time to examine our relationship with God. Do you really trust God? When times get hard, do you bring them to God? Do you place your life in God's hands? Do you go where God is leading you? Do you see where God is leading you and try to go somewhere else? While waiting instruction from God, do you create a false god? Do you really trust God? He wants to help us. He has witnessed our affliction, heard our cries, and knows of our suffering. He has come to rescue us and lead us to a promised land. Our savior is His son, Jesus, he freed us from our sin and suffering. He said, “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.” Trust Him.

First Sunday in Lent

Sorry about not posting last week, but I'm back this week!
Here is where you can find the readings for today.

Jesus speaks three lines in the Gospel this first Sunday of Lent. He is spending 40 days in the desert and he is tempted by the devil. His responses to the devil's temptation should be our guide in holiness this Lent.

Jesus' first response is, “It is written 'One does not live on bread alone.'” and so we cannot. Our life is made of the things our body does, and the things our spirit does. Many times they come together in beautiful harmony, and sometimes they do not. Our body is fed by food. Our spirit, however, is fed by God. If we do not bring our spirit before God on a regular basis for a refill, then our spirit grows weak, famished, hungry and dumb. Jesus tells us we cannot live on bread alone, and we cannot.

Jesus' second response is, “It is written, 'You shall worship the Lord, your God, and him alone shall you serve'” and so we must. Our hungry spirits are fed by worship of our Lord God. Our spirit is fed by serving Him. In Lent, we are often encouraged to give something up, this is to make us recognize our physical hunger, and then spark us to recognize our spiritual hunger. Another way to awaken awareness of spiritual hunger is to serve others. When we share our love with others through labor, donations, or direct service to those in need, God's love is returned to us, strengthening our spirit.

Finally, Jesus says, “It also says, “You shall not put the Lord, your God to the test'” and we mustn't. Lent isn't a time to give up chocolate secretly hoping that weight will be lost, but many approach it this way. Lent is a time to give up chocolate and reflect. Reflect upon the poor of the world, many of whom have never tasted chocolate, who cannot afford chocolate, who cannot even afford water or rice to eat, who go to bed hungry, wake up hungry and live and work hungry.

Our Lenten sacrifices are meant for the poor. The poor who hunger in body, and the poor who hunger in spirit. While we in the USA hardly hunger in the body, we often hunger in the spirit. Our Lenten sacrifices are meant to direct our spirits towards God in humble sacrifice. Our Lenten sacrifices of body should become our Spiritual Thanksgiving of fullness. What we sacrifice in food or extras, that money saved should go to those who hunger in the body. The money saved from our chocolate sacrifice does not have to be large to make a great impact. Blessed Teresa of Calcutta once said, “ If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one.” I pray that we may be full this Lent in spirit and find our bodily sacrifices feed at least one.

Fourth Sunday of Lent

The Old Testament often tells the story of a people who have been abandoned by God, enslaved and exiled from their promise land. They received this punishment because they refused to obey the law, defiled the temple and scoffed at the prophets who tried to show them the error of their ways. While abandoned, enslaved, and exiled, they cried and mourned because they realized the need to repent and turn back to God.

Our participation in Lent should also tell this story. How many times in our own lives do we feel abandoned, enslaved and exiled from God? Why do we feel this way? Is it because we have turned away from his law, denied the teachings of the Church, or told those who challenge us to “get out of our face”? Reading the gospel may make us realize that we too love the darkness instead of the light. We may not want our darkness to be exposed – and that is why we continue to make a half-effort of our faith.

However, as we open ourselves to God and his teachings, we step closer to truth and light. We step closer to freedom. We step closer to who we truly are. In the second reading from Ephesians, it says that we are God’s workmanship, we are his masterpiece. We were created for good works that God prepared for us.

God made us for a reason, and that reason was to do good on this Earth. If we constantly turn away from God, then we miss out on the opportunity to love others and do the good things he has planned for us to do. If we turn away from who we are, God’s masterpiece, then we turn towards a distorted, shadowy self. Who wants to be that? Who wants to be a masterpiece that is hidden, tarnished, dusty or forgotten? Who wants to waste their time here on Earth trying to do the right thing, but always missing the bar because we are not open to God’s plan for us?

I want to be something glorious, a beautiful creation of God – and I know that I am. However, in order to really, truly be that masterpiece, I must look for Him, follow his law, seek the truth, and embrace those who challenge me. This is the essence of Lent: walking away from the darkness in ourselves into the light of Christ, into a more perfect self, and embracing the masterpiece that we are. When we do this, we can begin to do those good works for which we were created with the help of God’s grace.