5th Week of Lent 2023 - Wednesday - Yielding a harvest through faithful perseverance

 

One of the lessons of today’s scripture readings is one of faithful perseverance. When told they must worship an idol or be put to death, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, persevered in their faith. They kept the faith even when threatened with death in the fiery furnace.

In the Gospel, too, teaches about perseverance. He says his disciples must remain in his word, to keep his word, to remain faithful to his teachings, to persevere in the way he has shown us, and promises that if we do, we will know the truth and the truth will set us free.

We often think of the perseverance of the early Christian martyrs: martyrs like Perpetua and Felicity, martyr-popes like Sixtus and Cornelius, apologists like Justin, our own patrish patron saint, St. Ignatius of Antioch, bishop, were told to worship the roman emperor or die. And they embraced death as an opportunity to offer the ultimate witness to the truth and freedom that comes from Christ. Their choice to imitate their Lord, who freely goes to the cross out of love for us, continues to echo through the centuries, and they give timid Christians like you and me the courage to persevere in the faith in our own time.

Now the pressures we face, might not involve coercion to offer a burnt offering to the emperor of Rome, but certainly we experience pressure to forsake prayer to the one true God in order to give our time and focus to the false gods of entertainment, gossip, consumerism, or the pressure just to fit in with the rest of the increasingly secular society. 

How often Christians are being faced with the choice to forsake bedrock basic truths to promote the insane ideas of our culture in regards to sexual morality, gender ideology, and the rights of the unborn! Baptized Christians who have chosen to say the Church is wrong and the culture is right! There are bishops right now in the world who are feeling this pressure: to water down or neglect the preaching of church teaching because some teachings are controversial. God help them, and God help us to keep the word with a generous heart.

Most of us feel daily pressures in the form of stress. And likely, most of us are not praying enough to combat the stresses and pressures. We aren’t studying enough to sharpen our minds against the intellectual onslaught of the culture. We aren’t making use of the sacramentals against the dark spiritual forces which seek our ruin. 

The heat of the furnace is being turned-up, and we might not be able to control that. But we can control our prayer lives. Do we seek the presence of Christ with us in the furnace? Do we allow him to sustain us in our trials? Do we allow him to teach us how to survive the fire with him at our side?

Because of their perseverance, Nebuchadnezzar came to believe in the one true God. Such is the power of persevering faith. Don’t give up. Don’t give in. Don’t swallow earthly errors. Don’t worship the false gods of our culture. Souls can be won, hearts can be moved, enemies can be converted. “Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart and yield a harvest (of souls) through perseverance” for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That God may be pleased to increase faith and understanding in the catechumens and candidates who approach the sacraments of initiation in the coming Paschal Solemnity. 

For those without faith, those with hearts hardened toward God, and for those searching for Him.

For strength to resist temptation, and the humility to sincerely repent of sin.

That through fasting and self-denial, we may be ever more conformed to Christ.

For the victims of the horrific school shooting in Nashville and the consolation of their families, for the protection of our young people from such future evils, for all those with mental and spiritual illnesses which contribute to such evils.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Mercifully hear, O Lord, the prayers of your Church and turn with compassion to the hearts that bow before you, that those you make sharers in your divine mystery may always benefit from your assistance.

5th Week of Lent 2023 - Tuesday - The Way of eternal life

 Yesterday, we heard the Gospel of the woman caught in adultery from the 8th Chapter of John’s Gospel. Jesus had come to Jerusalem for the third time in John’s Gospel, on the feast of tabernacles. While he was in the temple area teaching, the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Priests who were trying to trap Jesus somehow seized this woman and made her stand in the midst of everyone, who are ready to stone her for her sins.

But the Lord reveals his mercy. “Has no one condemned you? Neither do I condemn you” Go and sin no more.”

Today’s Gospel continues the scene. In fact, the Gospel passages for the rest of the week continue from John chapter 8. So following the incident with the adulterous woman, the Lord continues to teach about who he is, what he has come to do, the mission given to him by his heavenly Father, and the consequences for not believing him.

He’s come from the Father. He’s come to do the Father’s work. And he will return to the Father. 

The Lord’s teaching here reminds me of those beautiful verses from Isaiah 55: “Yet just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down And do not return there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, Giving seed to the one who sows and bread to the one who eats, So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; It shall not return to me empty, but shall do what pleases me, achieving the end for which I sent it.”

The Son of God is the Word that has come forth from the mouth of God. He has come from heaven to earth in the incarnation. He has given seed to the one who sows through his preaching and forming disciples, bread to the one who eats in the Eucharist. He fulfills the end for which he has been sent watering the earth with his blood in his passion and death, the sacrifice pleasing and acceptable to the Father. And he returns to his heavenly Father after his resurrection by his glorious ascension. 

In today’s gospel, the Lord says he will return to the one who sent him, but then utters a rather chilling judgment to those who lake faith. He says, “where I am going you cannot come.” There are consequences, eternal consequences for unbelief. Jesus opens the path to eternal life, he is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no one comes to the Father except through Him. 

But for those who believe, the Lord makes the most beautiful of promises: But for those who believe, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from within him.’

Likely, this Lent, there have been times when we refused to believe as deeply as we could, where we refused to follow the Lord as we should, and our lives are sadder for it, dryer, more empty. And there have likely been times when we have believed, we have allowed the river of living water to flow in our lives. Thanks be to God.

The Gospel certainly elicits a response. Belief. Belief in who the Lord says he is. Belief that what he teaches is true. Belief that how he teaches us to act is holy. Belief that what we see him doing and suffering in the scriptures these next two weeks, he does out of love for us, he bears out of love for us, that we may join the company of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in eternity, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That God may be pleased to increase faith and understanding in the catechumens and candidates who approach the sacraments of initiation in the coming Paschal Solemnity. 

For those without faith, those with hearts hardened toward God, and for those searching for Him.

For strength to resist temptation, and the humility to sincerely repent of sin.

That through fasting and self-denial, we may be ever more conformed to Christ.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Mercifully hear, O Lord, the prayers of your Church and turn with compassion to the hearts that bow before you, that those you make sharers in your divine mystery may always benefit from your assistance.

5th Sunday of Lent 2023 - Jesus Wept and Raised the Dead

 You may have noticed something unique about the prayers at Mass during these last weeks of Lent. 

After the offertory prayer, the priest offers a prayer called the Eucharistic preface. You know the one. The priest standing at the altar prepared with the gifts of bread and wine, prays, the lord be with you, and you respond “and with your spirit”, lift up your hearts, we lift them up to the Lord, let us give thanks to the Lord our God, it is right and just.

And the prayer that follows that little dialogue is called the Eucharistic preface, the preface to the Eucharistic prayer. And normally, the Eucharistic preface is unique to the season—there are eucharistic prefaces for ordinary time, and advent, and lent, nuptial masses, and funerals. But there are a few Eucharistic prefaces that can be used only once a year, on a particular Sunday or feast.

Well, the third, fourth, and fifth Sundays of Lent are such days. And if you remember from the last two weeks, and as you’ll hear later in this mass, the beautiful Eucharistic prefaces correspond to the Lenten Gospels readings. 

So, two weeks ago, when we heard the Gospel of the Samaritan woman at the well, the Eucharistic Preface referenced that reading. Listen again to the beautiful preface. “For when Jesus asked the Samaritan woman for water to drink , he had already created the gift of faith within her; and so ardently did he thirst for her faith, that he kindled in her the fire of divine love.” So many profound theological insights packed into one simple prayer. Jesus thirsts for our faith, and even before we come to faith, God is at work, kindling in our hearts, love for God. This certainly makes us think of the catechumens, in whom God has been at work there whole lives to bring them here, to bring them to faith.

Then last week, when heard the Gospel of Jesus commanding the man born blind to go down into the pool of Bethesda to be healed. And then the Eucharistic Preface spoke of those waters by which we are healed of darkness and spiritual blindness. Listen to last week’s preface. It goes: “By the mystery of the Incarnation, Christ has led the human race that walked in darkness into the radiance of the faith and has brought those born in slavery to ancient sin through the waters of regeneration to make them God’s adopted children.”

Again, notice the connection with the Gospel and the rich and profound theological insights the Eucharistic Preface brings to mind. Like the man born blind, the human race without Christ walks in darkness, but sight is restored, it is regenerated through baptism, when we are made adopted children of God. Restored relationship with God brings healing, brings spiritual sight. 

In our Gospel for this fifth Sunday of Lent, we just heard the raising of Lazarus. And we are given the third of these special Eucharistic prefaces which correspond to the Lenten Gospel. Listen to these words: “For as true man, [Jesus] wept for Lazarus his friend and as eternal God raised him from the tomb, just as, taking pity on the human race, he leads us by sacred mysteries to new life.”

Again, how beautiful and theologically rich! We are given this reminder that Jesus was truly human. He wept. He had a heart that experienced human emotion. Sadness. Grief at the death of friend. He knows what it is like to grieve like we grieve. God, who is infinite and inaccessible light, took on human flesh and experienced pain, emotional and physical. 

And this is an important truth for us to ponder as we near holy week. Next week, as we read the Lord’s passion, we keep in mind, that Jesus’ suffering isn’t just for show, it wasn’t theater, he was moved by real love to undergo real suffering for us, the weight and penalty of every sin which warranted eternal separation from God, the venial and mortal of our lives, out of love for us.

But then, the Eucharistic preface, after reminding us of Jesus’ real humanity, then reminds us of Jesus’ real divinity. As a human like us, he wept, then as God, he raised the dead. 

Resurrection. It is the natural course of dead things to stay dead. Forever. To die and rot. That’s natural. Dead things and dead people cannot come back to life on their own. We only come back to life by the power of God. Science and medical technology can resuscitate things that aren’t really fully dead yet. Only “mostly dead” to quote the classic film. But once fully dead, a person or an animal is dead, beyond science and medical technology. Death is an absolute limit to our human capabilities. Lazarus was dead. He was rotting. There was stench.

And as eternal God, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. No religious leader, in any world religion, at any time, in human history, raised anyone from the dead, save Jesus. Because every religious leader, of any world religion, at any time, save one, was merely human. Even the Jewish prophets, through whom God worked a lot of marvelous things, never raised anyone from the dead. 

Why follow Jesus Christ? Why seek baptism and faithfulness to him? The promise of being raised from the dead is a pretty and living forever in God’s kingdom of peace is a pretty good reason. And it’s not just an empty promise. The promise of some delusional cult leader. Jesus shows us what God is capable of, what God longs to do. He’s done it before. And at Easter, we celebrate that Jesus Himself was raised from the dead. No other religious leader can make that claim either.

Resurrection: it’s really the ultimate argument against anyone who says all religions are the same. No. They aren’t. Show me a member of another religion who not only raised the dead but also rose from the dead. And then maybe we’ll talk.

But again, this beautiful reading and eucharistic preface about resurrection prepares us for Holy Week. Death doesn’t get the last word. And so as people of faith we willingly follow the Lord all the way to the cross. Because we know that the cross isn’t the end of the story. 

But it really makes you wonder, doesn’t it, why Peter and the other apostles fled in fear. They had witnessed the raising of Lazarus. They had been given this glimpse into who Jesus is. What were they afraid of? Well, we know that too, don’t we. Because, even though we’ve been baptized, and we have faith in the resurrection, we still flee from suffering for the kingdom; we flee into myriad sins because sin is the old comfort zone, the ingrained habit, the weakness of man that has yet to be brought to God to be healed.

But that’s why the last part of that Eucharistic preface is so important: God, taking pity on us, leads us by the sacred mysteries to new life. Yes we are sinners. Yes, we are works in progress. And we recognize that as sinners we are being led to eternal life. And we so return week after week to the sacred mysteries, to the Eucharist, because the Eucharist is our pledge of eternal life. Christ promises that those who eat his flesh and drink his blood shall be raised on the last day. The Eucharist is the remedy for mortality, as our dear Patron St. Ignatius of Antioch wrote nearly 2000 years ago. Ignatius writes, “Assemble yourselves together in common; breaking one bread, which is the medicine of immortality and the antidote that we should not die but live forever in Jesus Christ.” 

By these sacred mysteries, may we be strengthened in faith and love, healed of sin and selfishness, and live in firm and unshakeable hope in the resurrection through Christ for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

4th Week of Lent 2023 - Wednesday - Miracles and Teachings

 

Throughout Lent we read often from St. John’s Gospel. And unlike the other Gospels that are filled with stories of the many miracles Jesus performed, John records only seven. Now, St. John knew that the Lord performed many more miracles than he recorded. In fact, the very last verse of John’s Gospel attests to this: St. John writes, “There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written.”

So, in John there are seven miracles. Why seven? It’s a pretty good number. A divine number. It’s the number of the days of creation, and isn’t that what Jesus was here to do, to begin something new. In fact, just like the first day of creation involved water, Jesus’ first miracle narrated by St. John is the turning of water into wine. And then John tells us of the miraculous Healing of the Royal Official’s son, which we would have heard on Monday, had it not been for the feast of St. Joseph, then another healing involving water, the healing of the blind man at the pool of Bethesda. The fourth miracle is the feeding of the 5000, then another miracle having to do with water, Jesus walking on the water of the Sea of Galilee. Sixth is the healing of the man born blind, which we heard last Sunday, and lastly, the raising of Lazarus, which we’ll hear this Sunday.

Often following the miracles in John’s Gospel, the Lord gives a length teaching. He gets peoples attention with the miraculous sign, now, then he teaches. He clarifies who he is and the mission he is about: He is the Son of God, he is here to do His Father’s work.  

These teachings, also deepen the antagonism between Jesus and his persecutors.  Especially as we get closer to Holy Week, the more he shows his goodness and divinity, the more the Word preaches the Truth, the more the world conspires to silence Him. 

The lengthy teaching we hear today follows the third miracle, the miracle of the healing at Bethesda. St. John reports this growing antagonism: The Lord says "My Father is at work until now, so I am at work." For this reason they tried all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the sabbath but he also called God his own father, making himself equal to God.”  

Christians are invited to take the opposite approach. During Lent, as we read this stories, we are to draw near to him. We are to lay our heads on his breast, like John the Evangelist, the beloved disciple, to remain close to the sound of his voice.  Jesus reveals the Father. Jesus is God and leads us into deeper experience of God, who is full of mercy, compassion, self-sacrifice, and love. 

These lengthy teachings are packed full of truth and spiritual insight. We do well to meditate upon them in the quiet of our rooms. To go to our inner room, to shut the door, and meditate upon them in secret. Slowly, thoughtfully, prayerfully. And who knows, if we stick around to listen to his teachings, we might be around to see him perform another miracle, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That God may be pleased to increase faith and understanding in the catechumens and candidates who approach the sacraments of initiation in the coming Paschal Solemnity. 

That those in need may find assistance in the charity of faithful Christians and that peace and security may be firmly established in all places.

For strength to resist temptation, and the humility to sincerely repent of sin.

That through fasting and self-denial, we may be ever more conformed to Christ.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Mercifully hear, O Lord, the prayers of your Church and turn with compassion to the hearts that bow before you, that those you make sharers in your divine mystery may always benefit from your assistance.

March 17 2023 (school mass) - St. Patrick's Breastplate - Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me

 “Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise, Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me, Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me.”

This beautiful prayer was written by St. Patrick himself, over 1,500 years ago. The prayer is often called the “Breastplate of St. Patrick”. A breastplate is a piece of armor worn by soldiers to protect them in battle from the swords and arrows of their enemies. St. Patrick's breastplate is a prayer that invokes the divine protection of Jesus Christ like a suit of armor. 

St. Paul tells Christians to put on the armor of Christ—armor by which God wants to protect us from evil. There are many forces in this world that are evil, that seek to lead us away from God. Evil wants to take root in our life so that we never think of God or what God wants for us. Evil that wants us to be selfish, self-absorbed, jealous, envious, hateful, rude, disobedient, lustful, violent, irreverent and profane. Evil does not want you to follow God, pray to God, love God, have faith in God, or hope in God. Evil does not want you to love Jesus, imitate Jesus, or even think of Jesus.

And because there is so much evil in the world that opposes God and hates us and seeks to ruin our lives, St. Paul told Christians to put on the armor of Christ. And St. Patrick, that great apostle to the land of Ireland, gave us that beautiful prayer. 

“Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise”

No athlete, social media influencer, Tiktocker, Hollywood actor, video game hero, social activist or politician has the power to armor you from evil. These people will not be there when you are in trouble or facing the challenges of your life and in the dark times of life. Only Christ. Only Jesus Christ can be with you always to armor your and defend you, to lift you up when you have fallen.

Learn from the example of St. Patrick. He's not just a saint for irish people, his example is important for the whole Church. Make Jesus Christ first in your life. Seek to become like him, preach the Word of God like him, treat others like Him, heal like Him, reconcile people to God like Him. Invite him into your life more deeply so that he is with you when you wake, when you eat, when you go to school and work, when you relax, when you speak. Invoke Christ to be your armor and your shield today and all days, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

3rd Week of Lent 2023 - Wednesday - Scrutinizing sin, yet trusting in God's mercy

 In the early centuries of the Church, the Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent was the day on which the first of the Scrutinies was celebrated.  The three scrutinies are solemn rituals which help to both purify and enlighten and strengthen the catechumens as they prepare for the Easter Sacraments.

The three scrutinies are now celebrated on the third, fourth, and fifth Sundays of Lent with those who are preparing to enter the Church at Easter.  The First Scrutiny was celebrated here at St. Ignatius of Antioch at the 11am Mass this last Sunday. 

The word "scrutinize" means to examine in minute detail, and in the scrutinies, the Church prays that every last minute detail of the lives of the Catechumens may be handed over to Christ.

In the Gospel today, the Lord speaks of how his followers are to follow the smallest letter and the smallest part of the letter of the law, even the least of the commandments are to be followed. 

We are to scrutinize our behaviors, attitudes, and decisions in light of the Word of God in its entirety, including the challenging parts! And we are to seek conversion for all that is sinful, even minutely sinful. For the Lord desires to deliver us from sin, even the smallest amount of it. For not the smallest amount of sin will enter into heaven, not the tiniest amount. And we must cooperate with God in this matter to the furthest extent of our strength and our being.

The ritual book for the scrutinies says that the purpose of the scrutinies is to "heal all that is weak, defective, or sinful in the hearts of the elect" and "to give them strength in Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life".  And that’s something each of us need to seek, every day: to turn to the Lord to heal anything that is defective or sinful in our hearts.

Catechism says, “In order to reach perfection the faithful should use the strength dealt out to them by Christ’s gift, so that . . . doing the will of the Father in everything, they may wholeheartedly devote themselves to the glory of God and to the service of their neighbor. Thus the holiness of the People of God will grow in fruitful abundance, as is clearly shown in the history of the Church through the lives of so many saints.”

We should be scrutinizing but not scrupulous. While we should bring our sins before God every day and seek conversion from them, we must not lose sight of God’s immense love for us, and his patience with us. An examination of conscience should be done in the light of God’s immense love. 

In the first reading, Moses says that he teaches the people the statutes and decrees of God “that they may live”. May we, too, seek faithfulness to every statutes and decree of the Lord, handing over every dimension of our life to Christ, to be healed, strengthened, purified, enlightened, sanctified and blessed, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That obedience to all the commands of Christ and the statutes and decrees of the Church may mark the life of every Christian. 

For all those preparing to enter into Christ through the saving waters of Baptism and those preparing for full initiation this Easter, may these final Lenten weeks bring about purification from sin and enlightenment in the ways of holiness.

For those who have fallen away from the Church, who have become separated through error and sin, for those who reject the teachings of Christ, for their conversion and the conversion of all hearts.

For those experiencing any kind of hardship or sorrow, isolation, addiction, or illness: may they experience the healing graces of Christ. 

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, for the repose of the soul of dear parishioner and staff member Rich Wild, who died yesterday, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Grant, we pray, O Lord, that your people may turn to you with all their heart, so that whatever they dare to ask in fitting prayer they may receive by your mercy.

3rd Week of Lent 2023 - Tuesday - Forgive from the heart

 

One of the great Lenten themes is that of forgiveness.  On Good Friday, we will hear Jesus plead from the cross, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”  All that Jesus suffered, all that he endured, the tortures, the mockery, the humiliation—he endured that our sins may be forgiven.  Yet, Jesus was willing to die for the forgiveness of sins because of his great love for us.  Jesus came to earth for this purpose.

When GK Chesterton was asked why he became Catholic, his simple answer was “to get my sins forgiven”.

The reception of God’s mercy is not automatic.  We must want it, desire it, seek it, and do what it takes to receive it.  The soul stained by original sin must receive baptism.  The baptized soul stained by mortal sin must receive the sacrament of reconciliation. Without God’s forgiveness, we cannot enter into eternal life.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus calls “wicked” the servant who refused to forgive.  

A Christian must never say, “I will never forgive you.”  For if we are closed to forgiving others, we become closed to receiving the forgiveness which leads to heaven.  Again, Jesus describes refusal to forgive as wickedness.  

Forgiveness is not easy.  It might feel like, say, being crucified.  

It is difficult enough to forgive those who have offended us even once with a small offensive remark or an unfriendly look.  When asked how many times we should forgive someone who offends us, St. Peter is pretty generous, he says seven times. But the Lord corrects him, we must forgive not seven times, seventy-seven times, meaning its not worth counting at all: forgive without limit.

If upon examining our hearts we detect any resentment or bitterness, we need to bring those feelings to the foot of the cross and let them go.  And if those resentments rear their ugly heads, we must repeat that process over and over: "Lord help me to forgive, help me to forgive with all of my might and the help of your grace, help me to forgive from the depths of my heart." If you are keeping a list against anyone of times they’ve offended you, rip-up the list and consider the slate wiped clean—daily!

So as we meditate this Lent upon the Lord’s forgiveness of our sinfulness, we also recall our own need to forgive without limit.  Forgive completely, forgive regardless the cost, forgive from your heart, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That readiness to forgive may mark the life of every Christian. Let us pray to the Lord.

That all families will recommit themselves to fervent prayer this Lent so as to grow in greater love and holiness.  Let us pray to the Lord.

That this Lent we will be faithful to fasting and to all the ways that the Lord sanctifies us.  Let us pray to the Lord.

For generous giving for the needs of the poor, the hungry, the homeless, those who are sick, unemployed, victims of natural disaster, terrorism, war, and violence, the grieving and those most in need.  Let us pray to the Lord.

For all those who have died, for all the poor souls in purgatory, for those who have fought and died for our country’s freedom, and for [intention below], for whom this Mass is offered.  Let us pray to the Lord.

Mercifully hear, O Lord, the prayers of your Church and turn with compassion to the hearts that bow before you, that those you make sharers in your divine mystery may always benefit from your assistance.

3rd Week of Lent 2023 - Monday - Trust God, Be Washed, Accept Persecution

 

Naaman, the Syrian army commander, had the worst disease imaginable, leprosy.  So her fervently sought a cure, convincing his King to sacrifice an enormous amount of wealth for a cure.  He even traveled to Jerusalem, to Elisha the prophet of a God that he did not claim to be his own.  And Naaman felt that Elisha's remedy insulted his intelligence: wash seven times in the dirty Jordan river, when there were so many other rivers with cleaner water back home in Syria.  

But notice how God convinced Naaman to relent to this remedy. A group of humble servants convinced him: “If the prophet would have instructed you to do something HARD, would you have done it?”  “Of course,” said Naaman.  Then why won't you do what the prophet asked?”  We know the rest of the story, Naaman went, and washed, and his leprosy was cured.

What a quintessential Lenten scripture reading! God wants to heal us. We need to trust God that, yes, through ordinary practices like prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, God can bring healing to our leprous souls. We need to trust God. Trust the Church. Trust the Saints: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving work!

The story also contains a foreshadowing of the sacrament of Christian baptism—the easter waters. Ordinary waters are transformed into the saving waters in which people of every nation are called to trust God and be cleansed and saved. 

Naaman’s story also contains a foreshadowing of our Easter mission. We are called to be that group of humble servants that convince the doubtful to trust in the One True God and to be baptized. 

And yet, our Gospel contains another lesson. Yes, those waters bring cleansing. Yes, we are sent to all people to invite them to bathe in those waters. Will all people accept that invitation? No. In fact, in the same manner as the people of Nazareth were enraged by Jesus for speaking the truth to them, and drove him to the edge of the cliff to kill him, so they shall do the same with us.

When we say Lent prepares us for Easter, that also includes toughening us up to accept the persecution that comes from being faith to the Lord. Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving bring us purification, but also fortitude, for the work God has in store for us. May we use this time wisely, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For Holy Father, Pope Francis on the 10th anniversary of his pontificate, that the Holy Spirit may continue to guide and bless his pontificate, his leadership, and sustain him in his trials. 

That our Lenten prayer, fasting, and almsgiving may humble our earthly pride and bring about conversion and renewal within the Church.

For all those preparing to enter into Christ through the saving waters of Baptism and those preparing for full initiation this Easter, may these final Lenten weeks bring about purification from sin and enlightenment in the ways of holiness.

For souls in our neighborhood to accept the invitation to baptism and faith.

For those experiencing any kind of hardship or sorrow, isolation, addiction, or illness: may they experience the healing graces of Christ.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, for the repose of the soul of the poor 7 year old boy who was shot and killed on Cleveland’s west side this weekend, for the consolation of his family and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Grant, we pray, O Lord, that your people may turn to you with all their heart, so that whatever they dare to ask in fitting prayer they may receive by your mercy.

3rd Sunday of Lent 2023 - Thirst for the living water of Christ

 

As we venture deeper into the desert of Lent this weekend, we hear a lot about water and thirst—the thirst of the Israelites in the desert… Jesus himself asks a Samaritan woman for a drink of water, but then a discussion ensues about the woman’s thirst for something for vital than water—a thirst for God.

Thirst certainly drove her to the well that day. . She must have been desperate for water to go to the well at high noon at the height of the piercing sun. Why didn’t she go earlier in the day? Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that she had married five times and was living with a sixth man who was not her husband. Perhaps she avoided going to the well at the cooler times of the early morning or late afternoon, when the rest of the village was there because she sought to avoid the criticism of her the other women because of her complicated past and present. 

We can detect already a thirst for more than water—we don't know what happened to her first 5 husbands, or why she was living with a man who was not her husband, but she no doubt displayed a thirst for authentic lasting companionship. That she ventured  to the well alone, displayed a thirst for community from which she had become alienated either due to her own poor choices or factors beyond her control. 

But, then she encountered Jesus who fulfilled all these thirsts and more. At the most brutal hour of the day, perhaps the most brutal moment in her life, she encountered the Lord.. And breaking with the social conventions—two social conventions, in fact, Jews didn’t speak to Samaritans and men didn’t speak to women alone in public places — the Lord began to speak to her about the spiritual life: of God’s grace, symbolized by the “living water” he describes, and our desire or “thirst” for that water.

This encounter with the Lord Jesus was life changing. Like the fishermen-apostles who leave their fishing nets behind to follow the Lord, their life changed by Jesus’ invitation, St. John tells us that the Samaritan women left her water jar behind and went into the town to tell people about Jesus. Following Jesus more closely always means leaving something behind. The Season of Lent—the quiet of the season of Lent, the prayerful reflectiveness of this holy season helps us to identify the things we need to leave behind in order to follow Jesus more closely.

Perhaps we need to leave behind a habit of quick cutting remarks, or wasting hours on social media or video games or perverted internet content; perhaps we need to leave behind the habit of looking for reasons to criticize or dismiss the people you don’t like. But there are things all of us are invited to leave behind in order to drink more deeply of the living water of Jesus Christ.

And in leaving those artificial substitutes—those inhumane behaviors, we discover that which is truly life giving in Christ—we rediscover our humanity in Christ.

At his Angelus audience a few years ago, Pope Francis pondered what it meant that the Samaritan woman left her water jug there at the well, “The result of that encounter at the well was that the woman was transformed. She left her water jug with which he had come to get water and ran into the city to tell others of her extraordinary experience. … She had gone to take water from the well but had found another water, the living water of mercy that flows to eternal life. She found the water for which she had always been searching. She ran to the village that was judging, condemning and rejecting her and announced that she had found the Messiah who had changed her life. … In this Gospel, we, too, find the stimulus to ‘leave our own jug,’ a symbol of everything that seems important to us but that loses its value before the ‘love of God.’ All of us have one or more than one of these water jugs. I ask you and ask myself, ‘What is my interior jug, which weighs you down, which distances you from God?’ Let us leave it and listen with our heart to the voice of Jesus that offers us another water, one that brings us closer to the Lord.”

This Gospel also challenges us to consider who we have ostracized like the Samaritan women was ostracized by her fellow villagers. Who have we turned off the water faucet of charity, patience, kindness, and courtesy towards? Who have we written off as irredeemable? That is the judgmentalism that is not our way—when we write people off and withhold charity towards them because they don’t conform to either our preconceptions or even to the Gospel. The people who don’t conform with the Gospel are precisely the people to whom the Lord sends us. We are to approach those lonely souls sitting at the well alone with kindness.

The great Father Faber says “Kindness has converted more sinners than either zeal, eloquence, or learning; and these three have never converted anyone, unless they were accompanied by kindness.” As you become kinder yourself by practicing kindness, so the people you are kind to, if they were kind before, learn to be kinder, or if they were not kind before, learn how to be kind. To engage in kindness is to take a drink of the living water which produces a wonderful effect in us. The wonderful effect of a kind deed makes you wonder why you do not do more kind things. 

Lent helps us to identify those ways in which we withhold kindness, and then impels us into the world to perform acts of kindness and love. Love is patient, love is kind, it is not rude, it is not pompous.

In the last book of the Bible, in which Jesus speaks to us from within the heavenly Jerusalem, he reiterates what he said to the Samaritan woman. He states: “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life” He is the Alpha offering each of us a new beginning. And He is the Omega towards which we are to direct all of our actions, our whole lives.

There are so many people in this world dying of spiritual thirst. They go from one fad to the next, one novelty to the next, one addiction to the next, one sin to the next, but the world offers nothing but sand. The world cannot quench the thirst for God. And these people—the thirsty--are in this neighborhood, they are sitting at those empty wells alone, thinking all they need is to find the right thing and then they’ll be happy. But happiness and fullness of life are found not in some thing, but in somebody, and the somebody is Jesus Christ.

“Come” the Lord says in the book of Revelation, “Come and drink.”  “The Spirit and the bride (the Church) say, ‘Come.’ And let everyone who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let everyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift” 

He invites us to drink of the life giving water, then sends us out to make that invitation to others—in words of preaching, in acts of kindness, in prayers and penances, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

2nd Week of Lent 2023 - Friday - God brings good out of suffering and evil

 On this Friday of the second week of Lent, we hear the story of Joseph betrayed and sold into slavery by his brothers. Joseph foreshadows, certainly how Our Lord was betrayed by Judas and sold for the price of a slave—30 pieces of silver. 

Joseph being sold into slavery is certainly not the end of the story. Things actually got worse for Joseph, before they got better. Joseph, sold into slavery, would go on to serve in the house of Potiphar.  but then, he would be falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife. And for this false accusation, Joseph was imprisoned.

But while in prison—in the darkness of his prison cell—Joseph used his God given gift of interpreting dreams to help his fellow prisoners. Well, one of those prisoners was released, and while employed in the court of the Egyptian king, got Joseph a job interpreting dreams for the pharaoh. 

Soon, Joseph’s talents for administration became evident that he became the right hand of the king and he became so influential in Egypt, that when his brothers come from the holy land to Egypt seeking food, he is able to provide for them, and is even reconciled with them and his father. God brings good out of evil.

The story of Joseph certainly foreshadows the passion of Our Lord. The stone rejected by the builders becomes the cornerstone. Through the evil he suffered, his rejection by his own people, the false accusations, imprisonment, torture, mockery, crucifixion, and death, God would bring about the greatest good: the resurrection of Christ and our redemption.

“All things work together for those who love God,” says Paul. Our sufferings, our imprisonments, the mockery we endure for standing firm in the faith, God will bring good out of it, out of all of it.  The ways of God are mysterious, but God is in charge. Not even the greatest evils can hinder God from bringing about an even greater good.

We willingly undergo penances—minor sufferings, all in all, no—believing that God can bring good out of those sufferings willingly endured—if anything else, he brings about our own sanctification. But my guess is that God uses those penances to bring about much more than that: graces are won by our penances for the softening of hearts hardened toward God’s Son. 

And those sufferings which are beyond our control—like they were beyond the control of Joseph—betrayal from his own family, false accusations—may we keep calm, and keep the faith, trusting that God will bring about great good for those who love Him, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That the season of Lent may bring the most hardened hearts to repentance and bring to all people purification of sin and selfishness.

For those preparing for baptism and the Easter sacraments, that they may continue to conform themselves to Christ through fervent prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

For success for our upcoming Lenten retreat next week and for blessings upon our retreat leader, Bishop Woost.

That we may generously respond to all those in need: the sick, the suffering, the homeless, the imprisoned, and victims of violence. 

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Grant, we pray, O Lord, that your people may turn to you with all their heart, so that whatever they dare to ask in fitting prayer they may receive by your mercy. Through Christ our Lord.

2nd Week of Lent 2023 - Wednesday - The Prophets: God's Mouthpieces

 

Throughout Lent our scripture readings are often taken from the Old Testament prophets. The prophets were chosen by God to preach His Word. Already this Lent we’ve heard Jonah preaching to the Ninevites, Ezekiel preaching to the Jews in exile to turn away from the wickedness that led to the destruction of Jerusalem and their Babylonian captivity. Throughout Lent we’ll hear from Micah, Hosea, we’ll hear more from Daniel.

The word prophet in Hebrew literally means “mouth”. While the prophets lived in different stages of Israel’s history, each was sent by God, to be his mouthpiece, to deliver messages Israel needs to hear. And most of the time those messages had to do with sin, either calling God’s people back to faithfulness when they had sinned, announcing the devastating consequences of sin, or announcing how God was about to deliver his people from sin.

And you’d think that when it was clear that a prophet had been sent, the multitudes would open their hearts to the message from heaven, knowing that, God who is God was sending them a message they needed to hear.

But Scripture records that the common reaction to the prophets wasn’t to embrace them, but to reject them. The vast multitudes reject the prophets, they reject God’s word. And they don’t just turn a deaf ear to the prophets, they seek to silence God’s mouthpieces, through violent means. 

In the first reading today, the people of Jerusalem plot to kill Jeremiah: “Come, let us contrive a plot against Jeremiah…let us destroy him by his own tongue; let us carefully note his every word.”

The church fathers see the rejection of the prophets as a foreshadowing of the hostility that would be shown to Jesus, who faced plots, mockery, and calumny, by his own people. At the trumped up trial before the Sanhedrin, they would misconstrue his words, his message, to justify putting him to death—they accuse the Word of God—the fulfillment of the prophets—as speaking blasphemy.

The Church continues to experience hostility from the masses, from the world, when she fulfills her prophetic role. The call to conversion from sin is labeled as judgmental, when it is really an act of mercy. We love souls, we want them to be with God forever in eternity, and so we preach Christ.

But, as much as we are meant to sympathize with Jeremiah and the holy prophets, throughout Lent, we are certainly to consider the ways that we, personally, have resisted God’s Word—how we have dismissed the call to conversion, the call to holiness. We have been called to change, to be less selfish, to strive for purity, to humble our pride, to bridle our tongues, and in many instances have resisted the exertion of the extra effort.

So, during Lent we do penance through fasting, prayer, and almsgiving for the times we rejected truth, and scorned goodness, and were given to ugly words and uglier behavior, for the times when we have run away from the cross. And we plead, Lord have mercy.

This evening we will have confessions from 5 to 8 in every parish church in the diocese. Invite a fallen-away Catholic back to the Sacraments today. Pray for conversion for all, for the ability to respond humbly and generously to the prophetic call to repent, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That the Christians will experience the graces of profound renewal during this season of Lent.  

That this evening’s diocesan wide celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation will bring about a return of many hearts to communion with God. 

That all families will recommit themselves to fervent prayer this Lent so as to grow in greater love and holiness.  

That this Lent we will be faithful to fasting and to all the ways that the Lord sanctifies us.  

For generous giving for the needs of the poor, the hungry, the homeless, those who are sick, those with  serious illness, for the unemployed, victims of natural disaster, terrorism, war, violence, and human trafficking, and for those most in need.  

For our beloved dead and all the poor souls in purgatory.

Mercifully hear, O Lord, the prayers of your Church and turn with compassion to the hearts that bow before you, that those you make sharers in your divine mystery may always benefit from your assistance.

2nd Week of Lent 2023 - Tuesday - Righteous deeds for God's glory

 On Ash Wednesday, we heard the Lord’s instruction: "Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them…” Well, in the Gospel today, the Lord condemns the Pharisees for using their positions as religious leaders to draw attention not to God, but to themselves. As Jesus said, “All their works are performed to be seen.”

The pharisees were the original virtue-signalers. Their works were for performed for the purpose of gaining fame and honor for themselves instead of furthering the kingdom of God. They wanted to draw people to themselves instead of to God. 

Christians, to be certain, are to perform righteous deeds, good works, works of charity. St. James says, faith without works is dead. But the manner of our deeds is the opposite of the Pharisees. The Lord teaches his disciples to let their lights shine before men so others would see their good deeds and glorify the Father in heaven (Matt. 5:14–16). 

How do we ensure that our deeds are being done for God’s glory and not simply our own? Prayer and discernment certainly help that end. We pray are to pray before our actions, during our actions, and at the completion of our actions. We pray, Lord let this work be done for your glory. Draw souls towards your love and goodness through this work done in your honor.

In essence, we are to cultivate humility. C.S. Lewis wrote, “By this virtue [of humility], as by all others, [God] wants to turn [our] attention away from self, to Him and [to our] neighbors.” Humility is not a matter of thinking less of ourselves—but less ABOUT ourselves, forgetting ourselves and turning outward in love. The motivation for righteous deeds are not to be seen by others, but out of true concern for the needs of others and spreading God's kingdom.

And so humble prayer is needed--humble prayer which keeps us oriented toward God--prayer which asks God for the grace to further His kingdom rather than our self-interested ends.

In Matthew 15, the Lord laments how the Pharisees draw near to God with the lips, but allow their hearts to remain far from God. We must draw near to God, we must bring our hearts nearer to God this Lent through humble prayer and fasting, that our almsgiving and our righteous deeds, which the Lord commands, may be done for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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That the season of Lent may bring the most hardened hearts to repentance and bring to all people purification of sin and selfishness.

For those preparing for baptism and the Easter sacraments, that they may continue to conform themselves to Christ through fervent prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

That we may generously respond to all those in need: the sick, the suffering, the homeless, the imprisoned, and victims of violence. 

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Grant, we pray, O Lord, that your people may turn to you with all their heart, so that whatever they dare to ask in fitting prayer they may receive by your mercy. Through Christ our Lord.

2nd Sunday of Lent 2023 - Seek his face continually

 

Upon Mt. Tabor, Peter, James, and John were honored to see in time what we all long to see in eternity: the face of God shining like the sun.

Scripture speaks often of man’s deep desire to gaze upon the face of God. Psalm 27 expresses this desire: “Your face, O Lord, do I seek. Hide not your face from me.”

Way back in the book of numbers the Lord instructed Moses how Aaron and the Levites were to bless the people of Israel by invoking the promise of the holy face. “May the LORD bless you and keep you! May the LORD let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you! May the LORD look upon you kindly and give you peace!”

First Chronicles instructs us: “Seek the LORD and His strength; Seek His face continually.”

The very last prayer a soul might hear from the last rites of the Church speak of the Lord’s face: “Go forth Christian soul from this life…May you return to your Creator who formed you from the dust of the earth. May holy Mary, the angels, and all the saints come to meet you as you go forth from this life. . . May you see your Redeemer face to face.”

Everlasting life consists of beholding God face to face, what we call the beatific vision. “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face” as Paul writes to the Corinthians.  In the beatific vision, all of our longings are fulfilled in God, we will know God fully and experience being fully known by Him—being seen fully. “Now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.”

And upon Mt. Tabor, Peter, James, and John, if but just for a moment, saw Christ’s divine countenance revealed. We read of this story every hear on the 2nd Sunday of Lent to urge us on and to remind us that we willingly undergo so many Lenten penances and sacrifices because we hope that through them we may be assisted in coming to behold the face of God in eternity.

Yet, like Peter, James, and John, we can enjoy a foretaste of the beatific vision by contemplating the face of God made flesh—by contemplating the face of Jesus Christ. One of the Lenten practices which helps us contemplate the face of Christ is of course the Stations of the Cross. 

As Jesus made the via crucis, the way of the cross, many people gazed upon his suffering face—some looked upon him with pity, some in sorrow, some with faith, some seeking a way to comfort him.  As you make the stations of the cross, you are invited to imagine the face of Jesus—the strain on his face as he took the heavy cross upon his shoulders, the blood stinging his eyes from the crown of thorns along with the dust of the streets of Jerusalem, perhaps even the spittle running down his cheek of those who derided him—his face, once beautiful, but now disfigured and bruised from the beatings and scourgings. Throughout the Lenten stations of the cross we image his holy face wincing in pain as he was whipped by the soldiers, and when he fell under the heavy weight of the cross. You can imagine his face when he locked eyes with his mother, whose maternal heart saw the suffering upon the face of her son, as only a mother can detect.

You can imagine the look of determination as he climbed Mt. Calvary, his blistered chapped lips as he thirsted during the crucifixion, and perhaps the peace that overtook his face as anguish transitioned into death as he took his last breath.

I invite you, as you pray the stations of the cross, or the sorrowful mysteries of the rosary, or as you read through the passion stories, this Lent to prayerfully use your imagination to contemplate the face of Jesus. For the suffering upon his Holy Face was that you might come to behold his glorious face in eternity. His Holy Face is a sign of love for you and for all sinners.

One woman in particular during the way of the cross, gazed upon the face of Jesus, a woman named Veronica.  Seeing his suffering, Veronica risked the threat of punishment by the Roman Soldiers and approached the Lord to wipe his face with her veil. What a beautiful act to console the suffering Christ. 

Veronica wiping the face of Jesus with her veil is depicted in the sixth station. And if you’ve never looked at the station closely, here in church, go take a closer look. You will see, Veronica, holding her veil aloft. And on her veil the image of the face of Christ which had appeared miraculously. 2000 years later the very veil of Veronica is now kept at St. Peter’s in Rome, and pilgrims there are blessed with it on the 5th Sunday of Lent after evening vespers. 

I came across a beautiful reflection upon St. Veronica by the late Pope Benedict XVI who said, “Veronica embodies the universal yearning of the devout men and woman of the Old Testament, the yearning of all believers to see the face of God. On Jesus’ Way of the Cross, she at first did nothing more than perform an act of womanly kindness: she held out a facecloth to Jesus. She did not let herself be deterred by the brutality of the soldiers or the fear that gripped the disciples. She is the image of that good woman, who amid turmoil and dismay, shows the courage born of goodness and does not allow her heart to be bewildered…At first, Veronica saw only a buffeted and pain-filled face. Yet her act of love impressed the true image of Jesus on her heart. On his human face, bloodied and bruised, she saw the face of God and his goodness, which accompanies us even in our deepest sorrows. Only with the heart can we see Jesus. Only love purifies us and gives us the ability to see. Only love enables us to recognize the God who is love itself.”

What a beautiful and powerful reflection! The purpose of Lent, the purpose of all of those lenten penances, is to be purified in order to love God more, to love God in this life that we may behold the face of the One who is Love in eternity.

Each of us, whether you’ve ever acknowledged it or not, has the desire to see the face of Jesus. And so we risk the mockery of the crowd and the hostility of the government to run toward Christ, to do all that we can to seek his face, to seek his face continuously. 

At the turn of the Millennium Pope St. John Paul urged the Church “I dare to summon the whole Church bravely to cross this new threshold, to put into the deep, …so that now as in the past the great engagement of the Gospel and culture may show to the world ‘the glory of God on the Face of Christ.’

May we do just that, put out into the deep, dig deep—to garner effort and strength from the depth of our being —in order to discern with the help of the Holy Spirit what earthly endeavors must be cast aside and what heavenly practices we must more seriously take-up in order to seek the face of Christ and show it to the world, for the Glory of God and salvation of souls.

1st Week of Lent 2023 - Friday - The opposite of sin

The Gospel reading for today should sound familiar, we heard it just two weeks ago on the 6th Sunday of ordinary time. For a few weeks leading up to Lent, in fact, our Gospels were being taken from the Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, his instructions to his followers on how to live a life of blessedness—of holiness. Growth in holiness is certainly one of the purposes of Lent.

“Unless your holiness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven.”

The scribes and Pharisees were admired for their zeal, concern for purity, their conformity to the law of Moses.  The very word Pharisee came comes from the word meaning “to separate”. For the Pharisees sought to separate themselves from everything that was sinful. They would even avoid eating with sinners, hence, their consternation when Jesus would dine with tax collectors and prostitutes.  

How could our holiness possibly "surpass" that of the people of Jesus' day who obeyed every letter of the law?  It sounds as if Jesus has just set the highest standards in history.  

Well, what is the Lord doing in the Gospel today. He’s takes one of the 10 commandments. He mentions how most people of his time understand faithfulness to that commandment to be, and then says, no, my followers need to do better than that. Don’t just avoid murder, avoid hateful thoughts that could lead to hostility and also seek to make peace. Don’t just avoid adultery, avoid lustful thoughts that could lead to sins of the flesh, and seek to purify your heart from all perversion. Don’t just avoid theft, avoid thoughts of greed and envy that lead to stealing, and avoid emotional attachment to possessions by giving them to the needy. 

Not only do we need to turn away from sin, we need to turn towards goodness, selflessness. For Jesus isn’t holy simply because He is without sin, but because his charity overflows. Similarly with the Blessed Virgin Mary. Mary isn’t holy simply because she never sinned, but because her soul became an ocean of grace. And with all the saints whom we honor throughout the year. They are holy not simply because the avoid sin, but they sought to root out all attitudes that could lead to sin and engaged with real intentional effort.

The opposite of sin isn’t simply not sinning; the opposite of the selfishness of sin is the active engagement in patterns of goodness, charity, and mercy. The opposite of sin is the Love of the Sacred Heart, enflamed with charity, embracing the crown of thorns and all suffering, for the supreme good of others.

It is this transformation we seek during Lent, not simply avoid sin, but engagement in charity, which is the very life of God, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That the season of Lent may bring the most hardened hearts to repentance and bring to all people surpassing holiness seen in works of goodness, justice, and charity.

For those preparing for baptism and the Easter sacraments, that they may continue to conform themselves to Christ through fervent prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

That we may generously respond to all those in need: the sick, the suffering, the homeless, the imprisoned, and victims of violence. And for all victims of the coronavirus and their families.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Grant, we pray, O Lord, that your people may turn to you with all their heart, so that whatever they dare to ask in fitting prayer they may receive by your mercy. Through Christ our Lord.

1st Week of Lent - Wednesday - 40 days of repentance

 As I mentioned in my homily on Ash Wednesday, which begins the 40 days of Lent, there are quite a few instances of the number 40 in the Bible:

Moses was on Mt Sinai for 40 days conversing with God in preparation to receive the commandments.

The Israelites wandered through the desert for 40 years in preparation to enter the promised land.

Elijah fasted for 40 days in preparation for his prophetic mission.

And of course, the Lord Jesus fasted for 40 days in preparation for his Gospel mission which culminated in his self-sacrifice on Good Friday.

These periods of 40 days and year represent 40 days of intense, intentional preparation for God’s will and new life with God.

In today’s first reading we heard of another 40, 40 days of preaching by Jonah to a pagan people. For 40 days, the prophet Jonah preached to the Ninevites, calling them to conversion, warning them of destruction if they failed to repent. And after those 40 days, the Ninevites did repent, beginning a new life turned toward God. And they did so, in quite the elaborate and enthusiastic fashion. They did so in visible ways, outward ways—in sack cloth and ashes and fasting—in order to show their inward repentance.

Throughout these 40 days we are called by the prophetic voice of the Church to repent as the Ninevites did—to show our repentance for our sins and waywardness in outward, enthusiastic, and deeply sincere ways.

In the Gospel today, the Lord Jesus in fact condemns those of his generation for failing to repent. Lent presents us with a stark option: will we associate with the Ninevites, who repent and show their repentance by their holy works and actions? Or will we be condemned by Jesus for failing to repent as wholeheartedly as we should.

Next week, Wednesday evening, every parish in the diocese will have confessions from 5 to 8pm. If there is anyone in your life who has fallen away from the Church, be Jonah for them, call them to repentance. Your invitation might be the prophetic gesture which leads them back to God. And be a Ninevite for them, show them the power of repentance, the joy that comes from encountering God’s mercy, of returning to Him with your whole heart, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That the season of Lent may bring the most hardened hearts to repentance and bring to all people purification of sin and selfishness.

For those preparing for baptism and the Easter sacraments, that they may continue to conform themselves to Christ through fervent prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

That we may generously respond to all those in need: the sick, the suffering, the homeless, the imprisoned, and victims of violence. And for all victims of the coronavirus and their families.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Grant, we pray, O Lord, that your people may turn to you with all their heart, so that whatever they dare to ask in fitting prayer they may receive by your mercy. Through Christ our Lord.