Thursday, March 2, 2023

 Thursday of the First Week of Lent

(Esther c:12.14-16.23-25; Matthew 7:7-12)

Thomas Aquinas was as intellectually gifted as any saint in Butler’s Lives.  Yet he did not rely on his own acuity.  Always before studying, teaching,  debating, or writing, he prayed intensely.  He withdrew into a private space, often before a crucifix. Then, pouring out tears, he asked for understanding of the divine mysteries.  No doubt, Thomas was quite aware that he was fulfilling the Lord’s instruction in today’s gospel.

Even people who pray regularly often delay their prayer until other means of resolving an issue fail.  The Book of Esther is famous for not mentioning God.  Yet, with nowhere else to turn except to heaven, the queen prostrates herself in prayer.  There is nothing wrong with praying in desperation.  However, Scripture recommends constant prayer, and the wise do not fail to take the advice. 

Like Thomas Aquinas, we can begin every endeavor with a sincere prayer for help.  God does not fail us when we show such faith.  Even if He does not fulfill our need as we imagine, we should notice a more agreeable disposition coming over us. God provides what we need like a father who wants the best for his children.

Wednesday, March 1, 2023

 

Wednesday of the First Week of Lent

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

Historians label Jesus an “eschatological prophet.” They see him, in worldly terms, as a religious scold warning others of the end of the world.  Certainly, Jesus preached repentance.  Much like Jonah in today’s reading, he urged decisive change in how one lives to be saved from a dreadful end.

But the end of the world has not come after almost two thousand years.  Of course, there have been scenarios of an end.  Scientists and novelists tell of a nuclear war; a swift-spreading, death-dealing pandemic; or a giant meteor crash killing billions instantly and short-circuiting agriculture.  Still humans have never united in common effort to live righteously.  How should these facts be interpreted?

We should be thankful that the world has not approached an end.  When it happens, the panic will be unbearable.  Nevertheless, people die all the time.  In other words, we experience individual ends some after eighty or ninety years, others much sooner like a boy recently shot in the crossfire of a drug war.  We need to prepare ourselves for this inevitable occurrence.  Because we know that God is love, we should begin to love as purely and completely as He.  When the time comes then, He will recognize us as His own.

 Tuesday of the First Week of Lent

 (Isaiah 55:10-11; Matthew 6:7-15)

 A cartoon a couple of years ago showed two drivers after a fender-bender.  One says to the other, “My lawyer will contact you tomorrow.”  This is the way many people think today.  When offended, they first and foremost seek monetary redress through the legal system.  Today’s readings teach us that getting back at others is not God’s way.

 The passage from Isaiah’s is taken from the end of the second of three sections of the book.  The prophet is consoling the exiled captives in Babylon.  He has told them that they have suffered enough for their infidelity.  He has also assured them that God does not hold grudges.  Indeed, Isaiah makes clear that God takes delight in forgiving.  Jesus similarly teaches of his Father’s willingness to forgive.  However, he insists that God will forgive only those who are willing to forgive others.  He is saying that humans have to adopt God’s ways if they are going to receive God’s mercy.

 It’s tragic how wars are continually refought because peoples do not want to forgive.  Many Arabs live with resentment for Jews, and many Jews live so with Arabs.  The same is true of Indians and Pakistanis.  In the United States African Americans are demanding reparations while white Americans hold on to prejudices and memories of troubles.  These are not God’s ways.  If people want to be truly free, they should let go of these kinds of demands. They need to forgive others’ their offenses to receive God’s forgiveness for their own.

Monday, February 27, 2023

 Monday of the First Week of Lent

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

Today’s first reading is taken from the famous “Holiness Code” in the Book of Leviticus.  The code lists a series of precepts that are to be followed so that one may become holy as God is holy.  The precepts mirror the Decalogue, but today’s reading has a striking peculiarity.  It tells the reader not to show “partiality to the weak.”  Doesn’t this conflict with the blessing that Jesus bestows on those who serve the needy in the gospel reading?

It doesn’t if one takes into account the context of the prohibition of partiality.  One should not show partiality in a judicial proceeding.  A criminal suspect should be judged guilty or innocent person according to the evidence, not according to the person’s socio-economic status.  Nevertheless, a weak person should be assisted in meeting physical needs.  In the gospel Jesus extends the scope of beneficiaries.  They are not only members of one’s family or community but to strangers as well. 

Despite our reluctance to think of ourselves as holy, achieving holiness is our vocation in life.  It is also the objective of Lent.  We recognize that it is a long road, and it often seems that we proceed at a snail’s pace.  But through the years and with constant effort, progress becomes evident.

Sunday, February 26, 2023

 FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT

(Genesis 2:7-9.3:1-7; Romans 5:12-19; Matthew 4:1-11)

Look at the people at mass with you. Most of them probably have gray hair, at least at their roots. In large numbers both young people and adults have stopped attending Mass. Not a few of these consider those who go to church superstitious. And if churchgoers express doubts about abortion, gay marriage, or reparations for slavery, they may consider them chauvinists and racists as well.

Despite the world's suspicion, we know that being a practicing Catholic Christian does not hurt us. On the contrary, it is our salvation and the salvation of the world from perverse ideologies like communism or hedonism. But are we Christians worthy of the name? That is, are we true sons and daughters of God? We can prove ourselves so together with Jesus in the gospel today. Let us not doubt that the devil tempts us every day as he tempts Jesus here.

The devil never offers sin as something destructive. Rather, he always presents us with something bad under a semblance of good. In the first reading, the serpent offers the woman the forbidden fruit, but he emphasizes that eating it will make her wise. Jesus is very hungry when the devil dares him to change the stones into bread. In the same way he entices us to satisfy our craving for food, drink, and sexual pleasure. Jesus rejects the devil's offer because he gives more importance to attending to the word of God the Father than to eating. Following him, we must remember the need for moderation in matters of appetite.

The devil not only tempts our physical needs but also our deepest yearnings. When in desperation, every human calls on God to save her. In situations that require extreme personal sacrifice, we Christians hope that He will protect us. A woman remembers how she felt empty and lost when she received news that her two brothers had been in a car accident. The crash killed one and seriously injured the other. She did not have inner peace until she received the counsel that God allows these disorders to produce something better. In the second temptation the devil tempts Jesus to kill himself so that he might experience the love of God the Father. But Jesus knows that the love of the Father is so infinitely enduring that He will always take care of him.

Finally, the demon tempts Jesus with power. He says that he will grant him sovereignty over the world in exchange for a simple act of worship. But Jesus knows that power sought for its own sake only corrupts. He does not hesitate to drive the demon out of his presence. We are not that perceptive. Power attracts us a lot. We want to force tribute, respect, even love from other people. This is why domestic violence continues to tear so many families apart. We must resolve that whatever power we have or seek will be used for the betterment of others, never to harm them.

In the Arizona desert around the city of Yuma, the US Army has what is called a “proving ground.” The heat and aridity make the conditions brutal, at least during the summer. Troops undergoing training are proven combat ready. Lent provides us with a kind of proving ground. It prepares us to resist the temptations of the devil. Equally important, it enables us to contribute to the salvation of the world. In these forty days of self-surrender to God, we prove ourselves as his true daughters and sons.