Wednesday, March 9, 2022

 Wednesday of the First Week of Lent

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

Pope Francis has said that conversion or repentance is “a process that purifies us from moral encrustations.”  He probably meant immoral encrustations.  It is necessary that individuals recognize their faults and correct them.  If not, the faults may result in something monstrous.  Francis is aware that conversion is not easy.  He calls it “painful, because there is no path of holiness without some sacrifice…”  He might have added that people think too much of themselves.  They do not repent because they do not want to admit that they were wrong.

Today’s first reading tells of an extraordinary conversion.  The great city of Nineveh recognizes its sinfulness and repents.  There is no historical evidence that this conversion ever took place.  But there are other examples of national conversion.  Germany, after World War II, repented of its involvement with the Nazi’s scientific experimentation on humans without consent and its attempted genocide.  Today the country has relatively strict laws protecting people, including fetuses, from harm in the name of science.

Perhaps when our sins are large, we cannot hide from them.  We are almost forced to repent.  Smaller sins are less difficult to spot and more readily concealed.  Particularly this kind of sin – pornography, backbiting, lying -- challenges us the most.  Now is the time to rid them of our lives forever.

Tuesday, March 8, 2022

 Tuesday of the First Week of Lent

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

The words efficacious and effective have the same Latin root.  But they do not have the same meaning.  An instrument is effective if it has some positive result.  It is efficacious if it produces fully what the agent desired.  Today’s first reading describes the word of God as not just effective but efficacious.  It produces the good which God intends.

In the gospel Jesus urges his followers to pray to the Father.  They are to ask for the fullness of His Kingdom.  When this occurs, war and violence will cease.  Individuals and nations will reach their full potential.  Everyone will have food to eat, schools in which to learn, and quality health care.  Life will be more than tolerable; it will be joyful.

We keep praying the Our Father but do not yet experience the coming of the Kingdom in full.  War wages in Ukraine. children lack nutrition in Haiti.  Human rights are violated in Hong Kong.  What is keeping the Kingdom away?  We cannot say.  But signs of the in-breaking of the Kingdom have appeared.  East and West are cooperating in effort to curtail violence. Liberals and conservative are beginning to realize that virtue, not egotism, makes for the good life. 

Monday, March 7, 2022

Monday of the First Week of Lent

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

The Lord in the first reading tells His people that they must be holy.  He means that they are to preserve themselves from moral corruption. They are to be honest and just in their dealings.  They are to respect everyone, especially the disabled.  The Lord sums up what holiness entails in the command to love others as oneself.

In the gospel Jesus presents more specific requisites.  The holy ones, designated for the Kingdom of God, feed the hungry.  They take care of the sick and visit the imprisoned.  Although they may not realize it, they serve Jesus himself in lessening the burden of the oppressed.

We may say that we do not want to be considered holy.  We may even try to convince ourselves that we want to be like everyone else.  But deep down, we know that it is not true.  We want to be good and loving.  We want to walk in the company of the Lord Jesus.  This is the same as saying that we want to experience the joy of eternal life. 

Sunday, March 6, 2022

 

First Sunday of Lent

(Deuteronomy 26:4-10; Romans 10:8-13; Luke 4:1-13)

Few children of the great of  history were as successful as their parents. Alexander the Great surpassed the exploits of his father, Philip of Macedon. But the sons of Lincoln did not have his political sagacity. Neither the children of Pele or Mardones could match the athletic prowess of their fathers. In the gospel today the devil calls Jesus “Son of God”. He only repeats what God himself said of Jesus at his Baptism. What does it mean to be the “Son of God”? We learn its meaning in the drama of Jesus' trials in the desert. We also learn we are to live as God’s sons and daughters.

The first test is the desire to satisfy hunger. Jesus has a great appetite after forty days of fasting. The devil challenges him to satisfy the need by turning a stone into bread. Certainly the "Son of God" can make such a conversion. But, knowing who it is that invites him to eat, Jesus rejects the offer. The "Son of God" lives by the word of God, not the word of the devil.

By our Baptism we have become members of the family of God. We too must live more to fulfill the will of our Father than to satisfy our desires. That is why we try to discipline our desires during Lent. We fast from food so that our desires do not dominate us. The Church requires that we refrain from the meat of land animals on the Fridays of Lent. It would be helpful if we also abstain from other favorite foods and drinks.

We have just seen a huge case of the desire for power. No person of good will can justify the invasion of Ukraine. But we have to remember that such a desire exists in each of us in a tiny way. Each of us wants to impose his will on others. We want others to hear our stories and watch our TV shows. The will to dominate the peoples of the world comprises the second temptation of Jesus. According to the devil, as the "Son of God" everyone must bow before Jesus in submission. However, his proposal does not attract the attention of Jesus. He knows that any power conjured by the devil would surely corrupt him. More importantly, the "Son of God" does not come to be served but to serve.

Finally, the devil tempts Jesus with vanity. If he is the “Son of God”, can Jesus not presume that the Father would rescue him when he finds himself in a precarious situation? To verify his relationship with God, the devil challenges Jesus to throw himself off the top of the Temple. However, Jesus knows that by putting himself at risk like this he would not be trusting his Father but rather tempting him. It is a temptation that people today are susceptible to. Many think that they are children of God by their mere existence as human persons. And because they are children, they can do what they want without worrying about the consequences. This is a mistaken notion of God's goodness. Although we are his children, we must ask him for help with prayer. Equally necessary we must fulfill his law. Religion without love for God and neighbor is pure vanity.

Because of the sacrifice of Jesus we are sons and daughters of God. Like him, we are very loved by our Father. Especially during Lent we show our love for God in return. We fast to remain in solidarity with Jesus in the desert. We pray to give him due attention. And we increase our works of charity to fulfill his law of love.

Friday, March 4, 2022

 Friday after Ash Wednesday

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

Today’s first reading from the prophet Isaiah has led some priests to discourage fasting as a Lenten practice.  They say people should do something positive for their neighbors rather than deny themselves.  Up to a point, they have a point.  However, Jesus does not reject fasting in the gospel.  As today’s passage indicates, there is a time for fasting.  Christians traditionally made that time the season of Lent.

Nevertheless, Christian fasting should be accompanied by good deeds. Without such deeds fasting becomes hollow ritual, an exercise in vanity.  Everyone is aware that fasting likely ends in weight loss which is often favorable to health and beauty.  Good works indicates that these are not all we seek by fasting.

We might ask whether fasting itself does any good.  The answer is that it depends upon our motivation, which is usually complex.  If we fast, at least in part, out of love for God, we will grow closer to Him.  Fasting may be compared to joining a solidarity march in support of the Ukrainian people.  Even though we are far away, the people may become aware of our concern for their fate.  Also, done out of love, it becomes another good act by which we grow in virtue.