Lent - Broken Hearts Mended Here

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted;

and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.

There is no pain greater than a broken heart. When something touches us so deeply, to our innermost core, the pain can be more debilitating than a physical injury.  Break a leg, and in a matter of weeks, it is healed.  Break a heart, and the injury can last for the rest of your life! 

The hardest part about dealing with a broken heart, at least for me, is the feeling that no one understands the pain you are going through. Even your best friend may tell you to "toughen up and work through it."  The advice is well-meaning but hard to implement. 

We all have suffered a broken heart at one time or another in our lives. Each of us has felt that pain that turns into an ache that does not want to go away.  Some of us embark on a regimen of self-treatment. We look for answers in drugs or alcohol.  Some of us try to heal ourselves by trying to forget by keeping permanently busy in mind and body so we do not have to think about it. This works right up until the time we stop for a moment to rest. It is then that all of the bad feelings come flooding back in.  To deal with a broken heart by doing nothing at all is perhaps the most dangerous thing you can do.  A broken heart never mends through inaction.  

There is a sure cure for a broken heart. To cure a broken heart in the quickest amount of time possible you have to lay the burden down and ask someone stronger to pick it up for you.  There is only one person that can do this astounding feat.  This person is, of course, the Lord.  He is no stranger to a broken heart.  He knows what it is to be disappointed in those he loves.  He knows what it feels like to give His all, only to be rejected by us as we walk away.  I believe that the physical pain of the cross was not as bad as the thoughts that must of went through the mind of Jesus as he hung there. In the Garden, the previous night he sweated blood. So, if you ever need a friend who knows what a broken heart feels like, turn to Jesus, turn to God.  In Him, you will find a friend forever.  In Him, you will find healing for the hurts of life, especially the hurts that break your heart. It will take time but after all, it is better to walk the road of pain with a willing companion.  That willing companion is Jesus who will heal your broken heart. 

Lent = Healing and Being Healed

There was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

Now there is in Jerusalem at the Sheep Gate
a pool called in Hebrew Bethesda, with five porticoes.
In these lay a large number of ill, blind, lame, and crippled. One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there
and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him,
"Do you want to be well?"
The sick man answered him,
"Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool
when the water is stirred up;
while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me."
Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your mat, and walk."
Immediately the man became well, took up his mat, and walked.

Once again, I am showing my age.  When I was a youth in beautiful Brighton Park on the Southwest Side of Chicago, you were hard pressed to find any stores open on Sunday. The National Tea grocery store was open so you could buy some things but the liquor was not for sale on Sunday and because the butchers, who had a very strong union back then, neither were the meats that they packaged.  Most stores were closed back in the early 1960's on Sunday. Taverns were not permitted to open until noon on Sunday.  People, by law, were kind of forced to keep the sabbath.   

Back in the time of Jesus, the Bethesda pool was a place that every so often, not on a regular schedule, an angel was said to appear and "stir up the waters" and the first one in the pool would be cured of whatever was wrong with him.  The man in our story had two strikes against him.  First, it appears he could not walk.  And secondly, he did not have a friend ready and willing to pick him and toss him into the pool when the angel stirred up the waters.  Those with more able bodies would surely get into the pool before him.  For him, however, there was the slimmest of chances that he could be first so he went every day and took up his place.  One day, Jesus appeared at the pool and took pity on the cripple.  Jesus asked the man if he wanted to be cured.  I could imagine what I, being a wiseass, and not a too bright one at that, would have said. "No I just come here every day to sit here and visit with my friends."  The man, showing more brains than I have, simply told his story.  He told Jesus, that he wanted to be cured but he had a problem because he could never be the first into the pool.  Jesus solved the problem and cured the man and told him to take up his mat and go home.   

Now, this took place on the sabbath.  The Jews were very strict about following the sabbath.  The man was accosted as he moved towards his home and was told he could not carry his mat on the sabbath.  Well, since he was at the pool already, he must have carried it there on the sabbath.  But he told the Pharisees that were on his case that the man who cured him told him to get up and walk.  They asked who told him to do this.  The man was not sure and Jesus had wandered off, out of sight.  Later the man caught sight of Jesus and went to the Pharisees and pointed Him out.  From that moment on they began to plot against Jesus. 

Once again, we see Jesus doing something charitable and curing a person.  He brought hope where there was no hope.  The man who was cured had no chance of being the first in the pool. There were others, stronger than he, who would push him out of the way in their attempt to get into the water and be cured.  Jesus took the initiative and cured the man.  He could have told the cripple to come back the next day after the sabbath was over, and he would cure him. But, Jesus knew that the sabbath was made for man and not the other way around. He technically worked on the sabbath and cured the cripple. 

A work of charity has no day or time when it is not appropriate.  Jesus saw a need and he filled it.  Why did Jesus cure this man?  There were probably dozens of people at the pool, why didn't he just wave his arm and cure everyone at one fell swoop?  It was well within his power to do.  Instead, he took care of one man who had no one else who cared.  

For us too, we need to watch for opportunities to help.  We need to take the risk that others may scorn or laugh at us for tilting at windmills.  But if we love Christ, we love all of His people and are called to serve. 

Lent - Once Was Blind - Now I See

"Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature, 

because I have rejected him.

Not as man sees does God see, 

because man sees the appearance 

but the LORD looks into the heart."

Our readings this Sunday are all about vision. First, we read about David being anointed the king of Israel.  One at a time Jesse's sons came before the prophet and while each of them made a splendid appearance, none of them was the one God had in mind. Finally, they called the youngest one in from the field.  David had been out tending the sheep. When David appeared before the prophet, God made it known that this was His chosen one and David was promptly anointed king of Israel. 

Our Gospel reading is the one about the man born blind and how Jesus made a paste of clay, rubbed it on the man's eyes and sent him to wash and the man born blind could see! 

God's vision is perfect. He does not look at the exterior of a person. He reads what is in their heart. How often do we judge others using our myopic human vision?  Often times our judgment is clouded by our prejudices. We have to learn to see others as God sees them. God loves every one of his children without exception.  When we apply our judgment we should err on the side of charity.  There is a story I read once about Brother Bernard who lives in a monastery. Whenever someone criticized someone else in his presence he would answer:

"Wouldn't it be funny if he is closer to God than we are?"

Lent - Risking It All

Today, believe it or not, marks nine months from Christmas!  It is also the day we celebrate the Solemnity of the Annunciation.  This is an exciting feast day for all Christians, although many of those in Protestant denominations fail to see the full significance of it. The Angel Gabriel came to a young girl in a small, out of the way, insignificant town, and told her that she had found favor with the Lord. He uses these words, "Hail Mary, full of grace..."  With these words, the angel announced that Mary was full of grace.  When something is full, you cannot fit any more into it. The angel goes on to announce that Mary will be the mother of the Messiah. For her part, Mary, full of grace, with her heart fully turned to God, accepts.  Her "Yes" is the beginning of the life of Jesus on earth. No sooner had she given her consent, when inside of her Jesus began to take on human nature. 

Today we do not grasp the danger she put herself in. Today, our morals are more, shall we say relaxed.  In our world, nothing is thought of pregnancy before marriage.  I am not saying this to judge anyone, it is just a fact. In the time of the Messiah, there was a long courtship period when the couple was said to be betrothed to one another, in effect they were man and wife in the eyes of the law. This period would be used by the husband to prepare a home for his bride. The man and woman had the rights to sleep together but the normal thing was to wait until the wedding. 

From the moment of Mary's "Yes," she was pregnant. What did she do? She left to visit Elizabeth and stayed there three months, coming back three months along in her pregnancy.  She told Joseph and he must have almost died because the one he loved appeared to have been unfaithful. He could go to the priests and denounce her or he could pay to have her transported elsewhere to have her child. If he told the priests there would have been a quick examination of Mary and when found to be pregnant she would have been condemned to death by stoning.  Joseph was a man full of love for Mary and he resolved to have her sent away to have the child. He later was filled in by God in a dream and he took her into his home and they were man and wife.  Both of them risked everything but they also took God at His word and the story of our salvation and God's infinite love for his wayward children moved forward. 

Each of us is here on earth because there is a mission that we have to complete. This mission cannot be done by another.  We may be asked to take a risk for the Kingdom. The question is simply; "Are you ready?"  So many of our brothers and sisters have been asked to shed blood for the faith in the middle east where Christianity took up root and prospered from the earliest time. These modern-day martyrs risked their all in the name of God and His Son, Jesus.

So, like Mary and Joseph, are you ready to turn your world upside down if God asks you to do something?  Do you want to remain safe and secure or are you a risk taker for the Kingdom?

Lent - Fish Sticks and Cheese

"If only my people would hear me,

and Israel walk in my ways,

I would feed them with the best of wheat,

and with honey from the rock, I would fill them."

Let's travel once again back in time to that bastion of learning, Saint Joseph and Saint Ann School deep in the heart of Brighton Park in the City of Chicago.  Lent at SJSA was a test of strength.  We all, kids and sisters alike, had to "give up something for Lent."  For kids, what could you give up?  Adults could give up cigarettes, I am not saying that the nuns smoked, but who knows? Us kids, almost everyone, boy or girl, gave up candy.  I hated the idea of giving up candy for forty whole days.  What I wanted to give up were the fish sticks and the lump of cheese that they fed us on Fridays in the SJSA Lunch Room.  Friday fare was the same the whole year round because we as Catholics were not allowed to eat meat on Friday, it was a church law.  So every week at lunch the fish sticks would be cooked up. If I were a fish and I tasted like these fish sticks, I would certainly be embarrassed.  I mean really to live my whole life as a fish, to fulfill my destiny and end up tasting like bait?  Oh, the shame of it.  To round out the platter we got a dollop of mashed potatoes and a lump of official US of A Government cheese which we called "The Rock."  This cheese was so dry that you had to use most of your half a pint of milk to get it to go down.  I thought it would be better if I gave up lunch on Friday.  Sister Emerita said that we could not give up something we hated.  So I gave up candy just like everyone else. 

Lent is the time when we are to turn back to the Lord.  "Giving up" is a good discipline.  It is good to say "no" to you body once in a while but perhaps a review of how we are living our life, where we are missing the mark would be better.  Then, once we see ourselves as we really are, we can view our lives more realistically, more like God sees us.  We can use this self-knowledge to turn around, to repent, to being anew.  Lent is a word that simply means spring.  Spring is a time when nature awakes from the sleep of winter. Lent, for us, can be a time when we do the same.  

Lent - I've Never Been Good At Math

Peter approached Jesus and asked him,

"Lord, if my brother sins against me,

how often must I forgive him?

As many as seven times?"

Jesus answered, "I say to you, not seven times 

but seventy-seven times."

Okay, I will  admit it, I've never been good at math.  It all started around 1960 or 1961 when my alma mater, St. Joseph and St. Anne School decided to teach it's inmates, I mean students, "The New Math."  Even today when I think about The New Math I shake my head and wonder why humans have a tendency to want to fix things that ain't broke.  Back then I was considered stupid by the good Sisters of Saint Joseph and the transition from arithmetic to The New Math seemed to prove them correct in their assumption. In first and second grades, after my father gave up trying to help his dope of a son and my mother took over trying to help me understand math.  She was able to make wonderful progress.  Through her tutelage  I was able to master the art of adding and subtracting which included the concept of borrowing. Then, without warning came The New Math and everything went to hell in a handbasket.  In the modern world given the same circumstances, I would be recognized as having a learning disability and modern techniques would be used to help me understand what to my mind was gibberish. Sister Emerita, if you are out there somewhere, none of my employers over the last forty-something years has asked me to subtract two negative numbers, just saying.  Today I can add, subtract, multiply, and divide with the rest of humanity.  

In today's Gospel, we are told to forgive our brother seventy-seven times. That is a number I can wrap my hands around.  On a number line, it is seventy-seven places to the right of zero, it is not a prime number, it is odd, and only twenty-three places on the number line from one-hundred.  But, Jesus is not giving us a math lesson here. He is giving us a life lesson.  Peter is being generous and asks if he should forgive a person seven times.  That was a lot back then where the law was still an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.  Peter may have been trying to score some points with Jesus by appearing generous.  Jesus wasn't having any of it.  I can imagine Him turning to Peter and saying ""I say to you, not seven times 

but seventy-seven times." 

The number seven, of course, is "God's Number" it is a number of the day that God rested from His work of creation when He saw that all of what He made was very good.  What Jesus is telling us to do, is to forgive an infinite amount of times. We are to strive to be perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect.  We are to forgive as many times as the Father forgives us.  We can throw sand in the face of God every day of our life and repent just before we die and be forgiven. There is no circumstance in life that precludes forgiveness.  I know, I know, it is hard to forgive what he did, what she said, what they did.  We are called to forgive and to bring ourselves the peace that forgiveness of those who offend us will bring here on earth.  It is not easy to be a Christian.  It is not easy to forgive.  But we must imitate Christ who, from the cross, said, "Father forgive them, they know not what they are doing."   If Jesus can do that from the Cross, can we not do it as well as safe on the ground, eating an apple, we watch Him die?

Third Sunday of Lent - Heart Attack!

When I graduated from High School, part of the program, actually, the administration's last attempt at controlling our class, was to sing "The Age of Aquarius"  which was made popular by the Mammas and the Pappas, if my mind serves me right.  If you are not familiar with the tune, it is a tune that glorifies astrology.  The age of Aquarius is supposed to usher in a time of peace and tranquility.  Well, I graduated in 1970 so we see how well that worked out, peace and tranquility indeed!  But Aquarius is the water bearer. Today's first reading tells of the Hebrews who have a lack of water and they were concerned about this. Moses is at his wit's end.  Here were a people who had seen the Red Sea open up allowing them to pass over dry land with water like a wall on the left and on the right.  This was a people who had been eating free food, manna in the morning and quail at night. Now, they were thirsty.  They begin grumbling and forgetting what God had already done and had the unmitigated gall to ask Moses if he had dragged them out to the desert just to see them perish from thirst.  Moses went to God and told his tale of woe about the stiff-necked people. God provided water when Moses struck the rock. The issue here was one of trust.  The people, who had been given abundance and plenty still failed to trust in God when the going got tough. The people needed water.  This was not an optional thing as they would die without it. God was well aware of their needs and would have met them without all of the grumblings. 

Are we any different than the Hebrews at Meribah? On the day of Massah when our fathers tempted God although they had seen His works?  In our lifetime have there been times when we have had needs and have forgotten the times when God has been there? Do we grumble as the Hebrews did in the desert?

It is more than a matter of trust. It is a matter of giving up control.  We want control of our lives, every day and every minute.  As one who has had a heart attack, I can tell you that each of us will come to a point when all control is lost. Here is my story. 

If you ever want to beat the crowd in the emergency room simply follow these instructions. Step one, Be a past middle-aged man who is overweight. Step two, go up to the counter and say just two words, "Chest Pain."  The doors swing wide open and the medical community descends on you in force and in little more than two minutes you are in a bed with a central line in and hooked up to a monitor and munching on an aspirin.  All control was wrested from me. I sunk into a moment of self-pity, which was my version of what the Hebrews did at the rock, Then, recovering my senses I turned my plight over to God. I have to tell you it was hard to give up the illusion of having complete control as just one hour before I was seemingly in charge of my life, then, suddenly, I was not in charge or control of anything. Strangers all dressed in white were coming in, checking this and that, injecting medicine all without asking my permission. I prayed and turned it over to God. Things improved for me from that moment on.  By this I mean my mind stopped racing and I knew that no matter what happened from this point on, good or bad, I would be okay. For a few moments, I was just like the Hebrews. When I sunk into self-pity I forgot all of the things God had done for me in my life to that moment.  Long story short, four stents later I was sent home after a couple of days in the hospital.  The doctor said that there had been no damage to my heart.  He likened it to getting a scratch on a new car.  The car still worked, it just had this scratch. 

Water, a simple thing. Our bodies are about sixty percent water. Water refreshes the body when we drink it.  It cleanses the body when we wash with it. It cleanses the soul at Baptism.  Water is just another example of God's love and care for His children. Don't be surprised if when something happens in your life and you lose control. Your first reaction may well be to grumble and say "why me?"  Later, when you come to your senses and you realize that God is in control, you will surrender to Him, secure in the knowledge that he will not disappoint you. 

Lent = Being Forgiven

`Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to make merry and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost and is found.'"

We all know the reading about the prodigal son.  We know that the father spends his time watching and waiting for his younger son to return.  We know how he is greeted and how he is treated.  Let's face it, the kid was a brat. He wanted what was his, all without working for it and he proceeded to lose it all. We know how he was treated once he returned,  This is a wonderful example of God's mercy, He will always take us back. But what about the older son? Let's put us in his position. Once his brother left, he was left to do all of the work. It was hot, hard, dirty work.  As the older son, you had to handle twice the workload while your brat brother was dancing with a hootchie coochie dancer and sipping cold drinks turning his liver into a hunk of wood.  But, you loved your father and you did what you had to to keep the place going.   Suddenly, this lowlife comes running home and instead of being thrown off of the place, your father welcomes him back and throws him a party.  What nerve!  You reveal your bratty side and refuse to welcome your brother back.  Your father, just as he had done for the older son, does not wait, he comes to you and tells you of his love and he affirms that although his brother is back, all that the father owns is his older sons.  He will have his reward for his loyalty.   It is now up to us to extend the olive branch to our brother and to reunite the household of the father. 

The young son and the elder son both were forgiven much. The younger for being absolutely stupid and the elder son for being so disrespectful to the father.  But the father, he showed both sons the way it was going to be in his household.  There would be no division.  He also affirmed the older son by confirming that all that he had was his.  He proved to be a loving and just father. 

Second Sunday of Lent - Hardship and Triumph

Paul writes in his Second Letter to Timothy 

Beloved:

Paul writes in his Second Letter to Timothy 

Beloved:

Bear your share of hardship for the gospel

with the strength that comes from God.

He saved us and called us to a holy life,

not according to our works

but according to his own design

and the grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus before time began,

but now made manifest 

through the appearance of our savior Christ Jesus,

who destroyed death and brought life and immortality

to light through the gospel.

Hardships and suffering for being a Catholic in the United States of America actually do exist. Fundamentalist Evangelicals of the Jack Chick, the "Christian" that produces those hateful little comic books that spread nonsense about the Church and Lorraine Boettner who published an error-filled tome with the clever name "Roman Catholicism" form the sources of Anti-Catholic Thought in America which allows the prejudiced to trot out those antiquated lies about the Catholic Church  that have been their stock in trade for years. 

In the 1960's the world marveled as a Roman Catholic was elected president of the United States.  The fear for the "Old Time Religion" boys was that Kennedy was going to invite Pope John XXIII to move into the White House and dictate policy. We know that this did not happen. 

In prior years Catholics were kept from certain jobs and were considered second-class citizens. Even today when Christians, in general, are looked down upon by the liberal left wingers and proponents of abortion and so-called gay rights, Roman Catholics seem to receive especially harsh treatment. It is a fact that at one time most of the mainline Protestant churches were aligned with the Catholic Church in its stand against abortion and even birth control. Today, some of these same denominations now see no issue with birth control and abortion as a matter of choice. Some denominations have admitted gay clergy, and see nothing wrong with same-sex marriage which is an affront to the Law of God. The problem is that these denominations have abandoned doctrine based on the law of God for doctrine based on popular vote. The Catholic Church stands alone in maintaining the pure doctrine from Apostolic times until today. Yet, it is quipped that Anti-Catholicism is the last allowable prejudice in America. 

I don't want to make it seem like it is too bad for American Catholics because it isn't.  Today, while there is certainly still an undercurrent of prejudice against Catholics, it is a war of words and as the old cliché states, "Sticks and stones can break my bones but words will never hurt me."  We are still free in the USA to practice our religion as we see fit and no one can stop us. In the rest of the world, not so much. 

In parts of the world Muslim fundamentalists, spouting a strange interpretation of Islam are carrying on genocide against any group that does not believe exactly as they do. This includes Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox and oddly enough Muslims who believe differently. For the Catholics in the middle east, the luxury of attending mass has been taken away from practicing Catholics as over three-hundred-thousand Christians, including many  Catholics, have been chased from their homes by ISIS.  The passage from Paul was written for these refugees.  These martyrs were peaceful people. They were people just like you and me. They had their homes, their families, their dreams. They also had Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and it is in His name that they suffer. Children have seen their fathers killed, some of them crucified in imitation of our Lord.  Mothers and fathers have buried their children who have been killed by ISIS because they professed the name of Jesus.  Please pray for the people chased from their homes and those that have been the victims of genocide in the war-torn middle east. 

God weeps when people of any religion kills in His name. We must remember that we know how this story will end.  The Transfiguration of Jesus prefigures His return to earth to bring His children to glory. God is Love and on this Sunday we heard the words of God approving of his Son, Jesus when he said, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him."   I think we should do as God suggests.   

Lent Day 10 - How To Be Like God!

Jesus said to his disciples:

"You have heard that it was said,

You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.

But I say to you, love your enemies,

and pray for those who persecute you,

that you may be children of your heavenly Father,

for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good,

and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.

For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?

Do not the tax collectors do the same?

And if you greet your brothers and sisters only,

what is unusual about that?

Do not the pagans do the same?

So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect."

Jesus does a whole lot more than to give us instructions in our reading today.  He describes God. Here is what God does for all of His People. 

• He loves those that persecute Him.
• He blesses his enemies.
• He allows the sun to rise on the bad and the good.
• He cares for His enemies. 

What Jesus is asking us to do is to be like God and do the things He does.  We already know that in order for us to be forgiven, we need to forgive. To forgive someone that has done us harm, or even great harm, is very hard for us to do.  I believe that it is possible to forgive even the most grievous injuries if we but take it a step at a time. To begin the process we should pray for the person that has offended us.  We should ask God to bless them every day and in every way. It will NOT be enough to pray for them just once. In most cases, multiple prayers will need to be sent to our Father and we will need to be receptive to the grace He sends us. Eventually, the ice in our heart will begin to melt and we will be able to begin to entertain the thought of forgiving the offender. It may take years for spring to appear in our heart but we should keep up the offensive and God's grace like a gentle spring rain will help melt away years of resentment and hurt.  When you forgive someone, do you have to tell them?  In a perfect world, it would be a good idea to mend the broken relationship.  Here, again, we have to evaluate the situation. Would contact with the other party be beneficial or would it just open up wounds that have scabbed over?  The important part is that you grant them a complete pardon for any wrongs committed against you from the day of their birth to the current day.  You release all claim to revenge and reboot the relationship, the later you can do at the very least in your heart and then later, when you think it is the time approach the person and offer an olive branch. The final step after forgiving is forgetting.  Jesus not only forgives our sins, He forgets them.  We must do the same.  Forgiveness is not something that you give and hold over the head of your adversary.  If you keep reminding someone that you forgave them, well, that means you really haven't. 

Is every offense against us forgivable? The hard answer is yes, This is because our Father in heaven has forgiven every offense we have ever committed against Him.  I heard a speaker one time tell a story about how once when someone cut him off in traffic he got red in the face, spitting mad, and uttered every obscenity he could think of against the man.  That was bad enough. He then said, what if the same thing happened and the offender was his mother and he uttered all of this graphic language at her? The offense would be greater because one's mother is a person of more dignity than a stranger. It is the same with God.  When we offend Him, we are offending the highest dignity that there is. What does God do for us?  We confess He forgives, He forgets. 

The last line of today's reading assigns us our task; "So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect."  Saint Francis of Assisi, at the end of his life, said this to his brothers; "Brothers, let us begin now, for until now, we have done nothing."  

  

Lent - Day 9 - The "F" Word

Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar,

and there recall that your brother

has anything against you,

leave your gift there at the altar,

go first and be reconciled with your brother,

and then come and offer your gift.

There is not a whole lot that I can add to this reading.  Jesus kind of says it all.  Forgiveness is more important to the second person of the Holy Trinity than worship. What makes forgiveness hard is that sometimes, we have to swallow our pride and make the first step.  It is even harder when you are actually on the "right" side of the argument.  

Jesus tells us that our relationship with God and with our fellow creatures occupy the level!  How can this be?  Well, our Baptism made us adopted sons and daughters in the household of God.  We in effect are princes and princesses.  We are called to be ambassadors for our Father's Kingdom.

When Adam and Eve sinned against God in the Garden of Eden, God did not wait for Adam and Eve to appear.  He knew that there had been a sin committed and He went looking for Adam and Eve, He did not wait until they came to Him.  

So, for us, we are called to imitate our Father.  We are called to make the first step.  Are you ready to do this?

Lent Day 5 - Carrying A Heavy Load

"If you forgive men their transgressions,

your heavenly Father will forgive you.

But if you do not forgive men,

neither will your Father forgive your transgressions."

You cannot say that we were not warned.  How many people are there on this earth that are carrying a heavy load of hatred on their backs? The saddest part of being burdened with hate is simply it is a burden that no one will help you carry.  It is yours, and yours alone to trudge around with. It affects your health, it affects your mental health, it does no one any good but you still carry it. 

Read the scripture passage again. Read it slowly, let it sink into your very soul. Forgiving someone is not just a suggestion from Jesus, it is a command. Let me tell you about something that happened to me.  This is a true story.

My mother worked for a doctor. As part of her employee benefits, she was to receive free medical care.  One day she showed a growth on her shoulder to the doctor. The doctor though nothing of it and gave her some ointment to put on it.  after four months of this "treatment" it was no better.  My mother visited with another doctor friend and showed him the growth.  He immediately put her into the hospital where the cancer was removed.  She received treatments and scans showed that she appeared to be cancer free.  Them, about six months later the scans revealed the cancer was back in the form of a very aggressive form of lung cancer. Mom was scheduled for surgery and her children were there and she was sent off to the operating room knowing that she was loved.  The surgeon did the best he could and the surgery bought Mom about a year he said.  Four days later my mother lapsed into a coma, she had given up.  She died with her children around her. At the funeral I noticed two women sitting alone and I went up to them and thanked them for coming.  My sister came up to me afterwards and told me that one of the ladies, she pointed out which one, was the doctor that cared so very little that she could not be bothered to properly treat my mother.  At that moment my heart filled with hate for this so-called doctor.  We buried my mother and I went into depression.  I did not recognize it as depression.  I lost interest in things.  I was a great reader and kept reading the same books over and over. I quit taking care of the little things in life and felt sad all of the time.  Had that doctor come before me during this time, I think that I would have been capable of killing her and believing that I had done the world a favor.  The hate had possession of my soul.  Going to work every day I passed a Catholic Church.  It was my habit to make the sign of the cross when I passed a church because I knew that inside those walls was the Holy Eucharist, the very Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ.  One day i had followed my custom when I heard a voice inside me telling me to forgive that doctor.  I broke, then and there, with tears in my eyes I forgave that doctor.  At that very moment, the cloud I was living under disbursed, the depression left me and I was able to take up life again.  There was one lasting effect that I carry with me to this very day.  I cannot hate anymore. I have forgiven the woman that killed my mother. What more could you do to me that would be worse? 

I think that the important part of this story is that forgiving did much more for me than it did for the person I forgave.  It gave me my life back.  Besides, the person who was the object of my hate did not even know it. So, forgiveness will bring much more to you.  It will bring peace to your soul.  Mind you, I would not invite this woman to lunch, but I also would wish her no harm and I prayed that God would bless her.  Was this hard to do?  Well, it took me six months of misery and pain to do it, so it was not the easiest thing I have ever done. But the peace it brought to me was a gift from God

Do not forget that for a Christian, forgiving is not optional, it is required.  We cannot enter heaven with hate on our soul.  Heaven is a place of great joy and happiness and discord is not allowed there.  Imagine if I met this doctor in heaven and still had hate in my heart for her.  Hate cannot exist in heaven for God is Love.

Lent Day 5 - Believing is Not Enough

For I was hungry and you gave me food,

I was thirsty and you gave me drink,

a stranger and you welcomed me,

naked and you clothed me,

ill and you cared for me,

in prison and you visited me.'

'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did

for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.'

The boy was twelve years old when he accepted the Lord as his savior. The preacher told him he was saved.  The boy grew into manhood and led a life of evil.  He lived life with the attitude that if it benefited him it was good.  He died a rich old man who was fattened on the spoils of a selfish life.  When he stood before Jesus, it was not as a savior, but as the just judge.  The boy asked Jesus why he could not enter heaven. Jesus said it is because you lived your life for yourself and so you reaped your reward on earth and never thought of Me or My Kingdom at all.  You have no place here.  The boy pointed out to Jesus that he had accepted Jesus as a savior when he was twelve years old and he was claiming his rights under the Once Saved, Always Saved doctrine.  Jesus shook his head and asked him where he had heard of this doctrine.  The boy explained how the preacher told him that once he accepted Jesus, he could never be kept out of heaven.  Jesus then explained to him that just believing in Him does not qualify him for heaven.  To just believe is not enough. You have to live your life in the way that I did, I sacrificed my life for all.  I gave until there was no more to give. I loved without end.  Believing in me is a good start but you needed to serve me during your life.  The boy said to Jesus, "If I had seen you in need, I would have moved heaven and earth to help you."  Jesus then showed a moment from the boy's life where he had passed a man who was asking for a handout.  The boy walked right by without even seeing the man.  Jesus told him, "That was me."  He showed him another scene, this was a great mass of people, there were many children.  They were looking through garbage cans for something to eat.  The scene changed to the boy in a restaurant eating a huge meal.  Jesus said, "Those children, they were me."  On and on it went, Jesus showed the boy the times he could have helped but chose to help only himself.  Their time together was over.  Jesus turned and walked silently back to heaven. The boy, tears in his eyes, knew he could not follow. He turned and went the other way. 

First Sunday of Lent - Waiting For The Right Moment

At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert

to be tempted by the devil.

He fasted for forty days and forty nights,

and afterward, he was hungry.

Today's Gospel reading is the familiar story of Jesus being tempted by the devil in the desert.  I want to talk about the very beginning of this story because I believe it tells us something very important about our enemy, the devil. 

I think that the Holy Spirit proved Himself to be a master of understatement here. After fasting for forty days and forty nights we are informed that Jesus was hungry.  Do you think so?  

The devil is not a stupid being.  He did not approach Jesus at the start of the forty-day fast. At the start of the fast, he knew that we human beings are at our strongest and would be capable of easily casting him off.  No, he waited until the end of the fast to tempt Jesus. The devil knew that was when he had the best chance of being victorious. Jesus, for His part, resists the temptations and the devil trudges off in defeat to await another opportunity. 

As it was for Jesus, so too is it for us. The devil is unlikely to put on a major campaign at the start of our Lenten observances.  He knows human beings are very enthusiastic at the start of a spiritual journey such as Lent.  No, he will wait until we have walked the road for a time.  Then, he will point out very softly how long the road is.  He will put into our head the question, "Does this road always have to go uphill?"  He makes our hunger sharper and our thirst drier as he tells us, "You are not built for this."  He shows how other people are happy and carefree as they stray from the path of Jesus.  Some of us will fall, some of us will stop our Lenten observance and join the crowd that cares nothing for spiritual things. Some of us will fall and we will call upon Jesus to help us. Jesus will help you arise and carry on.  Jesus is with us in every step of our journey during these forty days of Lent.  He will see to it that although our legs are tired and our arms are weary and we feel too weak to continue, that we will have the strength to continue.  Keep Him at your side and you will not fail. 

SINCE WE REMEMBER THE RESURRECTION ON SUNDAY, SUNDAY'S ARE NOT COUNTED AMONG THE FORTY DAYS OF LENT. YOU MAY IF YOU WANT TO, RELAX YOUR OBSERVANCE TODAY.

Lent - Day 4 -The Tax Man

Jesus saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the customs post.

He said to him, "Follow me."

And leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him.

Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house,

and a large crowd of tax collectors

and others were at table with them.

The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples, saying,

"Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?"

Jesus said to them in reply,

"Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do.

I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners."

It was not cool to be a tax collector in the time of Jesus. But why is that?  Back in the time that Jesus was alive and on the earth with us, the tax collector was seen as a collaborator with the hated Romans.  The Romans did not have their own men collect taxes from the local population.  They hired locals to collect the taxes for them.  They paid the local citizen to collect the Emperor's money and paid a small salary to the person willing to do this job.  The Emperor wanted X amount from the people in the province.  Just like today, people kept wads of cash lying around waiting for the government to claim it, not!  The citizen of Israel hated giving their money to the Romans because they were occupying the nation.  In spite of all of the good things that the Romans did, such as bring water to Jerusalem, paving roads and other things, the Jews were not happy paying their hard earned money out to the Romans.  Further, the tax man, when he accepted the job, agreed to supply a certain amount of taxes to Caesar and anything above and beyond that was theirs to keep.  Levi, or as we know him better, Matthew, was a very successful tax man indeed.  How do we know this?  Well, he had the funds to throw a lavish party and to invite every form of riff-raff that served as his closest friends.  We see that even at this early moment in the ministry of Jesus that He was being watched by the Pharisees who took umbrage with Jesus because He was spending time with sinners.  He rightfully says that He does so because the healthy have no need of a doctor but the sick do. 

Let's focus on the calling of Matthew. Jesus was fully aware of the fact that Matthew was a tax collector. Matthew had been chosen to be one of the closest followers of Jesus and later would be called an apostle.  What is surprising is that Matthew did not hesitate, he left everything to follow Jesus.  He was a rich man and I am sure that when he tendered his resignation the Romans were surprised indeed. 

Matthew left all he had to follow Jesus.  He gave up a life where there was no doubt that he would have the comfort of friends, a life where he did not have to worry about what he was going to eat, drink, or what he was going to wear, all to follow the Jesus fellow. What he received in return was a life where nothing would be assured.  This was how strong the message of Jesus was to Matthew. He gave up the things of this world for those of the next. 

Jesus has come into your life this lent and has issued a special call.  He says, "Follow Me."  He calls each of us to step out of our comfort zone and to walk with Him.  As in the case of Matthew, there will be a cost.  Leaving the warmth of our little cocoon and to venture outside in the cold world will make you uncomfortable. But the wonders you will see, the lives that you touch, will make it all worth while.  |Heed the call of Jeus as He calls you with those two words, "Follow Me.:"

Lent Day 3 - Sin and the gnashing of Teeth

Psalm 51

Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;

in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.

Thoroughly wash me from my guilt

and of my sin cleanse me.

R. A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.

For I acknowledge my offense,

and my sin is before me always:

"Against you only have I sinned,

and done what is evil in your sight."

R. A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.

For you are not pleased with sacrifices;

should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it.

My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;

a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.

R. A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.

Whatever happened to sin?  Do we sin anymore?  I don't think that we sin any less!  Sin has disappeared from our conscious thought and escapes our attention.  When I was a boy, my sins were always before my eyes,  This was because I was in the charge of God's most cherished employees, the Sisters of St. Joseph.  They made sure that we, meaning the boys in the class, were always aware of our sins. Oh, sometimes a girl would be caught doing something wrong, but it just was not in their nature to go against sister's wishes. Once in sixth grade, I had sinned most grievously.  I pointed out to sister that she had picked only her favorites for speaking parts in the class play.   Sister Margaret Jean was not one to suffer such brashness and insubordination quietly.  I guess that she turned her other cheek for some things and not for others.  I was quickly and efficiently dealt with.  She just about flew over to where I was standing, you never, ever, spoke to a sister while your butt was in contact with a chair.  She grabbed me and placed me out in the hall facing the wall.  Then for next several weeks, while the other kids went to practice her play, I got to stand in the hallway facing the wall until they came back.  The finishing touch, meant to put me in my place, was that she gave me a "D" in school spirit on my report card.  To show you how rare that was, it was once thought that to get a "D" in school spirit, you had to be caught with bottles of gasoline with rags stuck in the necks and a lighted match in hand ready to burn down the school.  Going against the "Teacher's Pet" system was almost as serious.

A sin of any type comes between God and us.  If you think of the punishment of the rebellious angels was when St. Michael, my patron saint, by the way, swept them from heaven into hell, the major part of their punishment was forever being unable to see God.  There was a barrier placed between them and God.  This barrier caused great sorrow.When we sin, we too create a barrier between us and God.  If we sin in a minor way the barrier is not total.  If we commit a major act of rebellion the wall we build shields us from the Face of God.  If we die with this wall in place, our choice becomes permanent and God will honor our choice to be without Him in eternity.  A preacher once was preaching about sin and hell and he yelled out, "And there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!" A voice of an old lady in the back of the church piped up and said, "But pastor, I don't have any teeth."  Without missing a beat the pastor replied, "Teeth will be provided !" 

I might be dead wrong about this but I think we have lost or sense of sin. In the olden days, especially during Lent, the lines at the confessionals were long.  Today, not so much.  I got myself in trouble on the Catholic Answers forum once.  I mentioned in a reply to another member's question that I thought the sacrament of confession was underused by Catholics today.  I was given a "major violation" and was told that it was none of my business if someone went to confession or not.  The self-righteous moderator missed the whole point of what I was saying.  I no longer participate in Catholic Answers forum because of this but my contention still is that the sacrament of penance is underused today.

Lent is a time to clean up the cobwebs that have gathered in our soul. But confessing to a priest, can't I go directly to God and ask for forgiveness?  Of course, you can and it is a brilliant first step. But the way Christ wants us to do it is to confess to Him through the priest who is acting in persona Christi. You see, sin is not a private matter between you and God.  We are all part of the Body of Christ and any sin, no matter how private, hurts the Body and needs to be healed. But, you say, "It's been years since I last went!"  So what? Mention that to your confessor and he will be even more gentle with you because he knows how hard this is for you.  Oh, the act of confession was never meant to be easy.  It is a very humbling experience to be in confession and to give voice to what God already knows.  Getting it out on the table is the first step in getting your imperfection healed.  Do not be afraid of seeing who you really are.  Remember, what we are is how God sees us and he sees us, imperfect as we are, and loves us anyway.  Whisper to God and listen for His reply.  His reply to you, the prodigal son or daughter, will always be, "I love you, welcome home!" 

Lent Day 2 - Take Up Your Cross

Jesus said to his disciples:

"The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected

by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,

and be killed and on the third day be raised."

Then he said to all,

"If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself

and take up his cross daily and follow me.

For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,

but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.

What profit is there for one to gain the whole world

yet lose or forfeit himself?"

It is not a question of whether or not we are going to have to carry a cross in life, no that is not the question at all.  The question is s how are we going to react to the cross or crosses we are given to carry? No man or woman has gone through life without a cross to bear. In this world that we live in a cross, pain and suffering are things to be avoided at all costs. Mind you, I am not a person who would volunteer to wear a hair shirt, or put rocks in my shoes, or kneel on rock salt while saying my prayers. But I can see the value in suffering if it comes to us.  All too often we waste the pain and outrages that happen in life.  We do not have to go looking for suffering, but when it comes we should not waste it.  We should offer it up to God in reparation for our sins and the sins of others. Jesus tells us that if we reject the crosses we are given, we only win in the short term.  

Taking up our crosses can take many different forms.  Matthew Kelly gives this illustration.  You open the refrigerator and see the last can of soda.  Your body says, "Yes, Yes! Grab it, I want that." To discipline your body you tell it, "No. We will have water."  This saying "no" to yourself is a good way to discipline yourself.  This is a cross that you pick up voluntarily.  

But what about those crosses that come unbidden?  What do we do about those?  You receive a diagnosis of a chronic, life-changing disease, or you watch a loved one in great suffering but you are unable to do anything for them, what do we do about these crosses? We accept them of course.  We do as St. Paul tells us to do and we join them to the sufferings of Jesus on the cross.  We bear what we can bear patiently and ask the Lord to help us to bear what we seemingly cannot.  Suffering of any sort reminds us that we are but a creature and allows us to rely on God for the strength to come through it all.  We remember, we have a God that has been through great and tragic suffering.  Jesus, in his early life, suffered the death of his father Joseph.  He consoled his mother on her loss.  Jesus felt the pain of betrayal when Judas Iscariot gave him up in the garden and again when Peter denied Him.  Jesus suffered a brutal beating at the hands of the Romans and was nailed to a cross and felt the loneliness of death.  He has been there and he defeated all of these things including death. 

Finally, remember that Jesus will help you bear any cross that is given to you. Be open to the help he sends through others.  Be patient and know that He is God.  

Ash Wednesday

For many of us, myself included, Lent, is sometimes viewed as an inconvenience.  After all, there is the inconvenience of not eating meat on Ash Wednesday, all of the Friday's of Lent, and of course, you would not think of eating meat on Good Friday.  There is the requirement of fasting.  There is nothing crabbier on this earth than Michael The Lesser when he is hungry.  Luckily, due to my advanced age, I am exempt from fasting. Lent can be very inconvenient indeed.  I remember once when I was a child, about ten years old I would say, my father, took me to the Chicago Auto Show.  We looked at all of the cars and trucks and were amazed at all of the new features that were coming out. Could cars get any more modern?  Well, the time came to have a little snack.  My father, knowing my love of hot dogs bought me a Vienna Weiner - they are about the best hot dog you can get.  It came with all of the trimmings including hot peppers. I took a big bite of the hot dog, enjoying its steamy goodness, the soft steamed bun, the bite of the hot pepper, the taste of the mustard and relish all combined and made me think that this was what heaven had to be like!  As I swallowed that first bite my father, who did not practice any religion, reminded me it was Friday and that I was eating meat. He laughed.  I ran, not walked, to the nearest garbage can and spit the crumbs still in my mouth out and threw the rest of the sandwich into the trash.  My father thought it was hilarious! I was serious about my religion at age ten. So, that is one time when Lent was most inconvenient for me.  I no longer see Lent as an inconvenience, at least most of the time.  I see it as a chance to go on a journey, to walk next to Jesus.  To walk arm in arm with Him as he leads me through the desert of my life.  As we walk he points out improvements I can make and things that I should notice. And all through this journey with Jesus, I am carrying ashes with me. 

Ashes, what a strange thing to use at the start of a journey.  After all, ashes are really not good for a whole lot. As a matter of fact, they are what is left over when something has been completely consumed. Ashes are dirty, they get into everything. They change what was white into something that is gray or even black.  Ashes, why should we carry dirty ashes upon a journey?  And more than that, why should we carry ashes along with us on this most important of journeys?  The ashes we receive on this holy day are a reminder that we too are little more than ashes ourselves. We are reminded that God created us out of the dust and that someday our earthly body will return to dust. When we think of this we should really examine our lives. We brought nothing into this world and we will take nothing out of it. We busy ourselves with the things we think we need. The ashes we receive on this first day of Lent remind us not to value so much the things that decay. It is true, that we need some basic things to stay alive in this world.  We need food, but do we eat too much?  We need water but do we waste this precious commodity?  We need a place to keep ourselves warm but do we need to make a statement by having much more room than we need? We need clothing, but how much do we need? You see, everything that we consider a need is matter and it decays.  The stuff of earth is around just for a little while and then it is gone.  We fight and scramble for the things of this world and when we die, someone else gets all of the things we considered our treasure. Ashes, useless, dry, dirty and dusty ashes serve as a reminder of where we have been and where we are going.  So it is good that we start this Lenten journey with ashes on our forehead.  Maybe we should move those ashes from our forehead to our heart.