Septuagesima Sunday 2023 (EF) - Run as to win

Septuagesima Sunday marks the beginning of the period of pre-Lenten preparation on the traditional calendar that tells us that Ash Wednesday is only 17 days away. 

Our scripture readings give us some important principles for our pre-Lenten preparation.

Firstly, in the Epistle, St. Paul urges us to seek heaven with the effort of the most disciplined athlete: “run as to win”. Many of us are certainly becoming less physically athletic as the days go by. But St. Paul isn’t talking about being physically athletic, but simply borrowing a principle from the athletes. Discipline. Discipline is needed in the Christian life. 

Like an athlete, the Christian is to develop a training routine, a schedule for the spiritual practices that we will need to be observing during Lent. While all of us are called to Lenten prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, our individual routines and disciplines are unique. What kind of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are needed at this time in my life, with my unique faults and vices and weaknesses? Where is God calling me to train? And train not for mediocrity, but real spiritual greatness? 

Another dimension of spiritual discipline is to prepare for inevitable obstacles. Now, again, I’m not a big runner, but experienced runners, marathon runners, who are in decent physical shape, say that 90% of the race is mental. And those of us who are honest, now how our mind likes to play tricks on us during Lent. 

There will be inevitable thoughts like “does God really care if I keep my commitments? What’s so sinful about chocolate anyway?” That’s why making a plan now is important. Map out Lent, if you want Holy Week to be a little more penitential than your first week of Lent, fine, but come up with a plan now, and stick with it. 

Also, be humble. You’re a sinner. You’re likely going sin during Lent. So, don’t let a stumble, even a set of stumbles cause you to give up on your Lenten observances. Repent. Renew your commitment. And keep on running. We are all works in progress. Lent isn’t for the perfect, but is a stage in our perfection. 

“Run as to win” Paul says. Marathon runners, in order to keep their motivation up throughout the long, strenuous race, they’ll imagine the satisfaction of crossing that finish line, the adulation of friends and family. 

And there’s a lesson there too. We engage in Lenten observances not for worldly fame, or to prove that we are holier than anybody. It’s about heaven. The penances of Lenten assist us, and assist others in reaching heaven. 

The Gospel passage may be a little confusing at first. Why do we have this Gospel parable about the latecomers receiving the full day’s wage today? Perhaps it is because during Lent, the Church will be praying especially for the latecomers, those who will be entering the Church at Easter. There is of course no jealousy or complaining or grumbling, but rejoicing when new laborers join our company--the company of Christ.

During the Church prays and does penance especially for those who will be entering the Church at easter. There is no jealousy or complaining over those who experience conversion later in life—who become heirs of the promises of the kingdom through baptism at Easter. Rather, we encourage them, in this, their first Lent, by our own example, by cherishing the grace we have received, and making good use of our time, to pray and repent.

Over the next 17 days, make a plan, be realistic, be humble, be serious. This can be the best Lent ever, where graces are won that will echo into eternity, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Septuagesima Sunday 2022 (EF) - Run as to win

Septuagesima Sunday marks the beginning of the period of pre-Lenten preparation on the traditional calendar that tells us that Ash Wednesday is only 17 days away. 

The orations and scripture readings offer direction in our preparations. The Collect of today’s Mass gives us a very important first step: “Graciously hear, we beseech Thee, O Lord, the prayers of Thy people, that we, who are justly afflicted for our sins, may for the glory of Thy Name be mercifully delivered.” 

The first step toward Lenten conversion, or any conversion for that matter, always consists in humbly recognizing that we are sinners in need conversion. The lukewarm must recognize the need to grow in fervor, the fervent must recognize the need to reach for perfection; the perfection must recognize the need to strive to attain heroic virtue. 

In the Epistle, St. Paul, gives us another important principle. He urges us to seek conversion with the effort of the most disciplined athlete: “run as to win”. Whatever conversion we seek during this upcoming Lent, we are going to need discipline. It’s not going to be an easy Lent, for those seeking to get the most out of Lent, it never is. St. Paul had already heard news of some backsliders in Corinth, those who had reverted to the sins of their former way of life. And so Paul is urging those who remain to get ready for the long haul—the long race. To train and develop the virtues that will sustain them in the Christian life.

St. Paul was also encouraging the Corinthian Christian to aim for greatness. To borrow another sports analogy: to not be benchwarmers but Hall of Famers, not to settle for mediocrity, but to aim for real moral and spiritual greatness. So aim for spiritual greatness this Lent.

But then, In the Septuagesima Gospel, the Lord, seems to say the opposite of St. Paul. Rather than striving to be first, he says, “The last will be first, and the first will be last.” He seems to be suggesting that no matter how hard we work for his kingdom under the brutal sun in his vineyards, we’ll get no advantage at all over those who, like the Good Thief, steal the prize at the end.

But the Lord is not contradicting his apostle at all…or should we say, the Apostle is not contradicting His Lord. Rather, the Gospel IS a summons to strive with all of our might with the time that we’ve been given. Some are hired by the Lord to work in his vineyard in the morning of life; Catholics from infancy must run as to win. Some hear the Lord calling them in their 20s or 30s, and must also run as to win. Some hear the Lord calling them, as the sun of their earthly life is setting, and must run as to win. 

Wherever we are in life, Septuagesima Sunday is a summons to prepare well for the upcoming Lenten season. Over the next 17 days, we do well to identify those parts of the vineyards of our lives were some wild vines have sprouted and need to be trimmed back. Now is the time to begin to come up with a Lenten program of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. What will my Lenten prayer consist of? What will is the Holy Spirit calling me to fast from? Where can I give of my time, talent, and treasure in efforts to alleviate the suffering of others? What are the virtues that need to be trained? And what will the regiment consist of? What do I need to be delivered of? For the glory of God and salvation of souls.

- - - - - 

 A reading from the First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians.

Do you not know that the runners in the stadium all run in the race, but only one wins the prize? Run so as to win. Every athlete exercises discipline in every way. They do it to win a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one. Thus I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight as if I were shadowboxing. No, I drive my body and train it, for fear that, after having preached to others, I myself should be disqualified. I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea, and all of them were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. All ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they drank from a spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was the Christ. Yet God was not pleased with most of them, for they were struck down in the desert.

The continuation of the Gospel according to St. Matthew

At that time, Jesus said to his disciples this parable, “The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. Going out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and he said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard, and I will give you what is just.’ So they went off. [And] he went out again around noon, and around three o’clock, and did likewise. Going out about five o’clock, he found others standing around, and said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ They answered, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard.’ When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Summon the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and ending with the first.’ When those who had started about five o’clock came, each received the usual daily wage. So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more, but each of them also got the usual wage. And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, saying, “These last ones worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who bore the day’s burden and the heat.’ He said to one of them in reply, “My friend, I am not cheating you. Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what is yours and go. What if I wish to give this last one the same as you? [Or] am I not free to do as I wish with my own money? Are you envious because I am generous?’ Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

5th Week in Ordinary Time 2022 - Monday - Running to Christ with Urgency

 As we’ve considered before, there are a lot of reactions to Jesus in the Gospels. Some keep their distance, conspiring against him from the shadows. Some insult him or become riled at his words. 

This morning we hear how crowds run toward him. They don’t just saunter, they run. Not the first time or last time in this Gospel people run to him. Not many people I would run to see. 

People ran because they were powerfully drawn to the Lord. They saw that he was able to heal and to teach them, and it attracted them. They earnestly longed for what he offered: words of hope and comfort, revelation about the love of the Father, and the power of the humble, surrendered life. When news of his arrival hit their ears, there was an urgency to go and meet him. 

The Christian should experience a similar urgency on a daily basis. An urgency to spend time with the Lord in prayer and to bring to him the needs of our loved ones. An urgency to learn about our faith so that it can be shared and explained to others. An urgency to engage in works of charity when the opportunity arises. An urgency to repent if we’ve fallen into sin. Time is short and we should seek him while he may be found. As the old poem goes: “This earthly life is quickly past; only what’s done for Christ will last.”

We can lose the sense of urgency when we begin to live for creature comforts. “I don’t want to do anything to upset me from being comfortable. I can pray tomorrow, do my spiritual reading tomorrow, go to confession next week.” But to quote playwriter Meredith Wilson, “You pile up enough tomorrows, and you'll find you are left with nothing but a lot of empty yesterdays.”

If we have lost the sense of urgency in our spiritual life, we do well to take the time and make the effort to rekindle that flame. Priests take a yearly spiritual retreat to keep that flame going. A spiritual retreat can never hurt. The upcoming season of Lent is like a retreat for the whole Church, to strip away the creature comforts, in order to rekindle the urgency for the spiritual life, the urgency to run to Christ.

May the Holy Spirit assist us in identifying all that keeps us from running to Christ with urgency every day, and to have the courage to divest ourselves to those obstacles in the spiritual life, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

 

That the bishops of the Church will act as true prophets through their faithful teaching, their courageous witness, and their self-sacrificing love. Let us pray to the Lord.

That government leaders around the world may carry out their duties with justice, honesty, and respect for freedom and the dignity of human life.  Let us pray to the Lord.

For the grace to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, to love our neighbors and enemies and those who persecute us, and to share the truth of the Gospel with all.  Let us pray to the Lord.

For all those who share in the sufferings of Christ—the sick, the sorrowful, and those who are afflicted or burdened in any way, especially by inclement winter weather, storms, and natural disasters.  Let us pray to the Lord.

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, for the deceased clergy and religious of the diocese of Cleveland, for the poor souls in purgatory, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom. Let us pray to the Lord.

O God, who know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the prayers of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our Lord.