Thursday of the First Week of Lent
(Esther C:12.14-16.23-25; Matthew 7:7-12)
The young man was late for a crowded event. Because parking was tight in the downtown area, he said a prayer that he would find a space quickly. Surprised but hardly astounded, the man saw a car pull out of a parking place after riding hardly a block more. God always seemed to answer his prayers when the man turned to Him in need.
Jesus teaches us the same lesson in the gospel. He does not hesitate to call God our “Father” as well as his. As any father, God provides for our needs. “Do we have to ask Him?” we wonder. Not really, but recognizing our dependence on Him makes us more like His only-begotten son, Jesus.
The evangelist attaches to Jesus’ exhortation to pray the challenge that we care for one another. As in the “Our Father” where we ask God to forgive our offenses as we forgive others, we are to care for others as we ask God to care for us. This only reiterates what we just said: God’s true daughters and sons act like Jesus.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Wednesday of the First Week of Lent
(Jonas 3:1-10; Luke 11:29-32)
Religious people have a way of speaking about converts that seems to betray the biblical meaning. Converts are those people who change their religious affiliation. They may have been raised Methodists and have become Catholics. Or they may have been raised Catholics and have become Muslims. The readings today offer a deeper sense of the word.
Although neither the Old Testament nor the gospel reading actually uses “convert” or “conversion,” both have it in mind when they speak of people changing their wicked ways and repenting. Conversion is a change of heart, a new way of living. Alcoholics Anonymous is an association of converts pinning their hopes for sobriety on the grace of God working through the company of fellow travelers. Francis of Assisi was a convert from a bourgeois lifestyle to blessed poverty. So was Ignatius of Loyola who gave up the cavalier life of a soldier to become the Lord’s servant.
During Lent all Christians are called to conversion. But we often find it difficult to recognize how this will take place. It is not that the changes needed are too large to tackle. Rather they seem often too small to bother with. To overcome this obstacle we should isolate one area that calls for a change. For example, we will no longer curse while driving. Then we should describe the behavior that might replace the bad habit. For example, we will offer a short prayer instead of ranting. Finally we have to apply the resolution to the vice daily, and we are likely to see conversion happening faster than we thought possible.
(Jonas 3:1-10; Luke 11:29-32)
Religious people have a way of speaking about converts that seems to betray the biblical meaning. Converts are those people who change their religious affiliation. They may have been raised Methodists and have become Catholics. Or they may have been raised Catholics and have become Muslims. The readings today offer a deeper sense of the word.
Although neither the Old Testament nor the gospel reading actually uses “convert” or “conversion,” both have it in mind when they speak of people changing their wicked ways and repenting. Conversion is a change of heart, a new way of living. Alcoholics Anonymous is an association of converts pinning their hopes for sobriety on the grace of God working through the company of fellow travelers. Francis of Assisi was a convert from a bourgeois lifestyle to blessed poverty. So was Ignatius of Loyola who gave up the cavalier life of a soldier to become the Lord’s servant.
During Lent all Christians are called to conversion. But we often find it difficult to recognize how this will take place. It is not that the changes needed are too large to tackle. Rather they seem often too small to bother with. To overcome this obstacle we should isolate one area that calls for a change. For example, we will no longer curse while driving. Then we should describe the behavior that might replace the bad habit. For example, we will offer a short prayer instead of ranting. Finally we have to apply the resolution to the vice daily, and we are likely to see conversion happening faster than we thought possible.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Tuesday of the First Week of Lent
(Isaiah 55:10-11; Matthew 6:7-15)
Most parents teach their children manners by withholding something that the children want until they utter the correct word. We all know the dialogue. “You want a piece of cake?” the parent tells the child, “Then what do you say?” When the child responds correctly and the cake is passed, the parent will finish the lesson: “Now what do you say?” It does not seem off the mark to say that Jesus gives his disciples a similar lesson in today’s gospel.
But before going to the gospel, we should note what the first reading proclaims. Isaiah assures us that every word proceeding from the mouth of God is efficacious. Therefore, we can trust not only what Jesus will tell us but also that the prayer he teaches will effect the requests it makes. Jesus says that we are to ask our Father in heaven to make manifest on earth his will. Further, he prepares us to participate in the manifestation by committing ourselves to forgive the wrongs others do to us.
But, then, why don’t we see the world at peace and ourselves free from the clutches of evil? Perhaps it is because we are too anxious. It is happening, however, although until the coming of Jesus the Kingdom of God on earth will always be in process. We can perhaps glimpse it as we become less spiteful when wronged and as nations decide to spend more on education and health and less on arms.
(Isaiah 55:10-11; Matthew 6:7-15)
Most parents teach their children manners by withholding something that the children want until they utter the correct word. We all know the dialogue. “You want a piece of cake?” the parent tells the child, “Then what do you say?” When the child responds correctly and the cake is passed, the parent will finish the lesson: “Now what do you say?” It does not seem off the mark to say that Jesus gives his disciples a similar lesson in today’s gospel.
But before going to the gospel, we should note what the first reading proclaims. Isaiah assures us that every word proceeding from the mouth of God is efficacious. Therefore, we can trust not only what Jesus will tell us but also that the prayer he teaches will effect the requests it makes. Jesus says that we are to ask our Father in heaven to make manifest on earth his will. Further, he prepares us to participate in the manifestation by committing ourselves to forgive the wrongs others do to us.
But, then, why don’t we see the world at peace and ourselves free from the clutches of evil? Perhaps it is because we are too anxious. It is happening, however, although until the coming of Jesus the Kingdom of God on earth will always be in process. We can perhaps glimpse it as we become less spiteful when wronged and as nations decide to spend more on education and health and less on arms.
Monday, February 18, 2013
Monday of the First Week in Lent
(Leviticus 19:1-2.11-18; Matthew 25:31-46)
In a reflection on the commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves, Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, OFM Cap., the Preacher of the Papal Household, makes a disturbing realization. He says that we can love ourselves in the wrong way! That is, we can overindulge our appetites or seek misguided goals – vice and not virtue. If we wish these things on others, we do them a disservice. In the gospel today Jesus spells out true ways to show love of neighbor.
Jesus outlines what has become known as the “corporal works of mercy” in a dramatic way. He says that when we feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, etc., we actually are rendering service to him. There is a scholarly debate regarding the deprived people with whom he identifies himself. Are they missionaries who speak in his name or are they all people in dire need? Although those who in all humility bring God’s word to the people bear Jesus within them, it would be rather narrow-minded to limit Jesus’ intent to only these. He came to embrace the whole world in our suffering, and because he is God who cares for those society ignores, he reaches out especially to the poor and helpless.
All human actions should be guided by the virtue of prudence. It may not be wise to give cash to the beggar at the corner. But we can open our hands as well as our wallets to provide for street people. There are a million ways to render assistance to Jesus as he describes himself here. All involve sacrifice. Lent is the time to figure out and to do what we can.
(Leviticus 19:1-2.11-18; Matthew 25:31-46)
In a reflection on the commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves, Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, OFM Cap., the Preacher of the Papal Household, makes a disturbing realization. He says that we can love ourselves in the wrong way! That is, we can overindulge our appetites or seek misguided goals – vice and not virtue. If we wish these things on others, we do them a disservice. In the gospel today Jesus spells out true ways to show love of neighbor.
Jesus outlines what has become known as the “corporal works of mercy” in a dramatic way. He says that when we feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, etc., we actually are rendering service to him. There is a scholarly debate regarding the deprived people with whom he identifies himself. Are they missionaries who speak in his name or are they all people in dire need? Although those who in all humility bring God’s word to the people bear Jesus within them, it would be rather narrow-minded to limit Jesus’ intent to only these. He came to embrace the whole world in our suffering, and because he is God who cares for those society ignores, he reaches out especially to the poor and helpless.
All human actions should be guided by the virtue of prudence. It may not be wise to give cash to the beggar at the corner. But we can open our hands as well as our wallets to provide for street people. There are a million ways to render assistance to Jesus as he describes himself here. All involve sacrifice. Lent is the time to figure out and to do what we can.
Friday, February 15, 2013
Friday after Ash Wednesday
(Isaiah 58:1-9a; Matthew 9:14-15)
Fasting – Isaiah in effect denies it in the first reading today, and Jesus delays it in the gospel. There is, therefore, cause to wonder about its worth.
Medics often demand that patients fast before undertaking certain procedures. Of course, people needing to lose weight regularly fast for salutary reasons. Religious traditions, despite the reservations of the readings today, have long considered a way to purification. Not only does it allow the body to purge itself of contaminants; it represents a victory over one’s often excessive appetite.
Catholics in Lent are bound to fast only on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. That is, only on these two days are we not allowed to eat between meals. But individual, more strenuous fasting is encouraged. Skipping a meal and even passing an entire day without eating can express genuine love for the Lord. Still, God has decreed that the fasting that pleases Him most is working so that all may enjoy the freedom without which fasting cannot be a willful act of love but an inescapable necessity out of want.
(Isaiah 58:1-9a; Matthew 9:14-15)
Fasting – Isaiah in effect denies it in the first reading today, and Jesus delays it in the gospel. There is, therefore, cause to wonder about its worth.
Medics often demand that patients fast before undertaking certain procedures. Of course, people needing to lose weight regularly fast for salutary reasons. Religious traditions, despite the reservations of the readings today, have long considered a way to purification. Not only does it allow the body to purge itself of contaminants; it represents a victory over one’s often excessive appetite.
Catholics in Lent are bound to fast only on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. That is, only on these two days are we not allowed to eat between meals. But individual, more strenuous fasting is encouraged. Skipping a meal and even passing an entire day without eating can express genuine love for the Lord. Still, God has decreed that the fasting that pleases Him most is working so that all may enjoy the freedom without which fasting cannot be a willful act of love but an inescapable necessity out of want.
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