Monday, March 17, 2014

Monday of the Second Week of Lent

(Daniel 9:4b-10; Luke 6:36-38)

A leading oncologist made a serious mistake in surgery.  He removed a sliver of tissue from the wrong rib of a patient.  When he verified that he committed the error, instead of covering up his mistake, the doctor apologized sincerely to the patient.  In turn, the patient did not react in anger but appreciated both the doctor’s candor and contrition.  God is even more satisfied with Daniel’s confession in today’s first reading.

“We are shamefaced,” Daniel reiterates.  Israel has not been faithful to its covenant with the Lord.  Rather the people have sinned intentionally by seeking profit over justice and marrying foreign women with strange gods rather than their own people.  Daniel, however, knows that God is merciful to anyone who sincerely expresses contrition.

It is often hard to admit our faults.  We prefer to justify our offenses by saying that we really did not mean to do anything wrong.  Such a pity!  Whereas God is always ready to forgive, the people whom we try to impress by our self-confidence are likely to dismiss us as arrogant when we never apologize from the heart.

Friday, March 14, 2014

Friday of the First Week of Lent

(Ezekiel 18:21-28; Matthew 5:20-26)

Tolerance is surely a “sign of the time.”  Western society calls its members to live without hostility toward people of different races, beliefs, and national origins.  As hopeful as tolerance is in some places, it does not meet Jesus’ standard for his followers as expressed in today’s gospel passage.

The context is the Sermon on the Mount.  In it Jesus calls for an inner conversion that goes far beyond a cessation of firing arms.  He wants his disciples to make every effort to love their enemies.  In this passage, he tells them to reconcile with brothers or sisters with whom there has been enmity.  But it must be remembered that a brother for Jesus is more than a sibling or even a community member.  It is every human person since all humanity has God as Creator.

John Allen tells the story of Sr. Leonella Sgorbati, an Italian religious, who was being targeted by radical Muslims for running a hospital in Somalia.  One day the radicals came to kill her.  The sister’s Muslim driver threw his body before her and was hit by the assassins’ first bullets.  But Sr. Leonella was not protected for long and took several shots as well.  The blood of the – Christian and Muslim -- mingled together.  As she was dying, Sr. Leonella’s last word was “Perdono,” Italian for “I forgive.”  Both Sr. Leonella and her driver showed the kind of love for others that Jesus preaches to us on the mount.

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Thursday of the First Week of Lent

(Esther C12:14-16; 23-25; Matthew 7:7-12)

Why do people pray? The age-old question is probably made more by unbelievers than by believers. Still, the faithful need to ask themselves if they think that they might change God’s will by their efforts.  Is He not changeless?  If so, then why bother to seek His helpim??

Yet prayer is the most urgent of Christian actions.  Christians cannot help but pray because it is the Holy Spirit that is prompting them to pray from within.  Their prayers do not change God, but through their prayers God is changing them.  First, He moves them to seek His help.  Then they discover resources within themselves to meet the demands they face.  Finally, they find possibilities outside them at every turn to help them.  It has been wisely said that God’s posture toward pray-ers does not change with their prayer.  It always remains one of pure love.

In today’s gospel Jesus urges his disciples to pray for what they need.  The first reading pictures the Jewish Queen Esther of Persia doing that as she prepares to meet with her husband, the king of Persia.  Her prayers lead to the salvation of her people as she unmasks the maliciousness of its persecutor.

Wednesday, March 12, 2013

Wednesday of the First Week of Lent

(Jonah 3:1-10; Luke 11:29-32)

The Book of the Prophet Jonah has become one of the most popular readings of the Old Testament.  For one thing it has a short, fascinating narrative.  For another, it highlights the contemporary value of tolerance for other peoples.  Also, as today’s gospel relates, Jesus used the story to teach about his own mission.

Jesus refers to the great conversion that takes place with Jonah’s preaching.  A city-state perhaps as large and as notorious as Mexico City today is imagined.  Jonah might have been a reluctant preacher, but evidently his words had great power.  He inspired everyone to change heart and conform to God’s ways.  There are no historical records that such a repentance ever took place in Nineveh or anywhere else.  Nevertheless, Jesus intends that his own preaching cause such a dramatic turnabout in Israel.

God can so change us with no effort on our part.  But more often we become more kind and holy through our cooperation with God’s grace.  In any case we should ask God’s assistance so that the change be inward and not just outward, that it be permanent and not just temporary.

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Tuesday of the First Week of Lent

(Isaiah 55:10-11; Matthew 6:7-15)

The Sermon on the Mount in Matthew’s gospel comprises what scholars call a parenesis.  This Greek term means a spiritual exhortation with a program of moral imperatives.  The section begins with Jesus explicating the goal of life, which is always happiness or beatitude.  It proceeds with his heightening the Law of Moses to embrace the imperatives of a truly God-like lifestyle.  After elaborating the goal and the way of life, Jesus indicates in today’s gospel the assistance that is necessary to proceed.

Addressing God confidently by calling Him “Father,” the “Lord’s Prayer” beseeches God to create an environment where one may act righteously.  In a world where God’s name is revered, His kingdom is realized, and His will accomplished, walking an extra mile and loving one’s enemy do not seem like such daunting tasks.  Then the prayer asks for more specific aids: bread, both the natural and supernatural kinds; forgiveness of faults, which plague people even in a truly just society; and liberation from trials that may unravel the entire good one has endeavored to produce.

Many of us say the “Our Father” rather unthinkingly throughout the day.  It is good that the words pass through our heads so frequently because when we find ourselves in dire need, they will direct us to where our help come from.  It is also eminently beneficial that we reflect on the words once in a while so that we may realize how we need our Father’s assistance if we are going to act like Him.