Monday, March 11, 2019

Monday of the First Week in Lent

(Leviticus 19:1-2.11-18; Matthew 25:31-46)

A movie shows a ranger who takes a boy in his care.  The ranger recognizes that the boy has been hurt by the death of his father.  Although he does not demand that the lad converse, he expects him to complete his chores.  It does not take long for the ranger to win the boy’s respect and confidence.  In light of today’s readings it might be said that the ranger is holy.

People often think of holiness as one being set apart in a monastery or hermitage to pray all day.  However, in both the reading from Leviticus and Matthew’s gospel holiness has a very dynamic dimension.  To be holy is to act like God.  Holy people judge fairly and love widely.  They also abhor meanness and injustice.  Holiness is the abiding quality of those who practice God’s law.

We sometimes call life a “rat race.” We mean that it is a constant struggle to keep up with others.  It may be said as well that it is like a “rat race” because we tend to act like rats always appropriating as much as possible for ourselves .  During Lent we are urged to leave the rat race behind for holiness.  Rather than keeping up with others, we should concentrate on doing what is good for all. Rather than hoarding for ourselves, we should assist our neighbors in need.

Friday, March 8, 2019

Friday after Ash Wednesday

(Isaiah 58:1-9a; Matthew 9:14-15)

Muslims are apt to ridicule the Catholic way of fasting.  “What is so hard about not eating between meals,” they might ask, “when you can eat three times a day?”  They see their fast of not eating or drinking at all during daylight hours as much more demanding.  But we might query Muslims about the severity of their practice as they often binge throughout the night during their month of fasting.

God calls into question the fasts of both Catholics and Muslims as He chastises Israel in today’s reading from Isaiah.  His criticism is not that fasting has no value but that it must be accompanied by a change of heart.  Indeed, fasting can facilitate conversion by palpably reminding us of those in extreme need.  Not eating sweets should make us think of the millions of refugees whose daily bread is bitterness.  Abstaining from meat should conjure images of poorly educated people in our own country whose lives lack substance. 

We must also pray for the needy, give of our sufficiency to assist them, and advocate for changes in public policy to safeguard their human dignity.  These are not Lenten exercises.  They only begin now and should last until our deaths.  Each year we will want to modify and add to them so that God finds all His people living in peace.

Thursday, March 7, 2019

Thursday after Ash Wednesday

(Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Luke 9:22-25)

Yuval Noah Harari lectures at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.  He has authored a couple of best-selling books critiquing Western Civilization.  In one he describes the driving forces behind contemporary life.  One force is that there is no morality other than what feels right to the individual.  Basically this position is a development of David Hume’s made during the Enlightenment.  A second force is evolution.  Nature including humanity evolves by chance with no final cause or purpose.  Of course, this idea is based on the work of Charles Darwin.  Finally, for now, Harari sees capitalism as humankind’s mechanism for satisfying human desires.  Capitalism has enabled more and more people to live in comfort while avoiding the scourges of war, famine, and disease.  Harari leaves no room for divine initiative, sustenance, or finality.  God for him is simply beside the point, and traditional religion a dampener to true human interests.  For Harari this is the contemporary human condition.  We buy into it with the air we breathe coming out of our mothers’ womb.

Needless to say, we do not accept Harari’s theses.  We know that there is a moral law which supports our necessary social institutions.  We further believe in God.  He is not just the Creator but the one who helps us through our daily struggles and will be there when all else is gone.  And we know that God wants us to take care of the needy so that everyone experiences His mercy.

Lent is our time of reorientation.  During this stretch of time we take a stand for life as Moses sees it in today’s first reading.  We acknowledge God as our Lord.  We pledge to leave aside our baser instincts of what feels right to obey His laws.  More than that during these forty days we take up our crosses to follow Jesus.  He will lead us beyond self-centered desires to the state of universal love which is eternal life.

Wednesday, March 6, 2019

Ash Wednesday

(Joel 2:12-18; II Corinthians 5:20-6:2; Matthew 6:1-6.16-18)

World Youth Day events in Panama attracted approximately 500,000 pilgrims from around the world.  Needless to say, there was not enough hotel space for all those people.  But hotels were not necessary as schools, churches, even private homes opened their doors.  They not only provided lodging but in some cases food as well.  Panamanians showed needed solidarity with their guests.

Lent may be thought of as a pilgrimage requiring solidarity.  All Christians support one another in this annual drive to become more Christ-like.  Without mutual support most people would not aspire to fasting, prayer, and good works that characterize their savior.  Many others would falter in the long but necessary course of forty days.

We wear signs of ashes today to indicate the common need to repent of sinfulness.  Thus, we sport them both humbly and proudly.  We say “humbly,” of course, because they indicate that we have been selfish.  We add “proudly” because they indicate our faith in Christ to transform us.

Tuesday, March 5, 2019

Tuesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time

(Sirach 35:1-12; Mark 10:28-31)

Americans call the day before the beginning of Lent “Mardi Gras” which means Fat Tuesday.  The name comes from the medieval custom of consuming all the lard and butter in the house before the time of fasting begins.  In those times during Lent the people abstained from fatty foods as a sacrifice to God.  The first reading today aids in appreciating such sacrifices.

Sirach tells his readers how various sacrifices please the Lord.  Most of all God appreciates offerings of obedience.  The people who carry out His law, especially the commandment to love God and neighbor, please Him most.  Physical sacrifices offered in tandem with living righteously are doubly gratifying.  Of course, God does eat the animals brought to the Temple any more than a mother consumes the flowers brought to her on Mother’s Day.  But knowing that His daughters and sons desire to please Him by offering what is satisfying to them brings satisfaction.

We make such sacrifices by refraining from what we enjoy during Lent.  Again, in tandem with love for others such acts of self-denial especially please God.  We would be deeply touched if a child were to all her savings to buy us a gift.  We can also appreciate God’s satisfaction with our sacrifices however small they might be to Him.