11th Week in Ordinary Time 2026 - Wednesday - The prayer, fasting, and almsgiving of God's priestly people

 

At Sunday Mass, this last weekend, we read from the book of Exodus how God has formed his people into a kingdom of priests—a royal priesthood. Being the people God made us to be involves a priestly dimension. All of us, all of the baptized have priestly duties.

In his recent catechesis on the documents of Vatican II, Pope Leo talks about this priestly dimension of our lives—he says, “we exercise our royal priesthood through prayer, asceticism and active charity, and by doing so, we bear witness to a life renewed by God’s grace.” Those three priestly activities should sound familiar, they are the three Lenten practices—prayer, fasting, and almsgiving—which we all strive to engage in more perfectly during the Lent season.

In our Gospel reading today, we read of Jesus teaching about these three priestly duties—a Gospel which we read on the first day of Lent every year—on Ash Wednesday. He says, “when you pray”, “when you fast”, “when you give alms”. His disciples are expected to engage in these activities not just during the season of Lent, but always. They are part of the ordinary priestly duties of the baptized.

The Lord doesn’t just tell explain THAT we are to engage in these duties, but HOW we are to engage in them: “when you pray, when you fast, when you give alms” don’t do so that others may see you, or to win the praise of others. Our intention for our priestly duties mustn’t be for worldly attention, rather, as Pope Leo explained, echoing the sentiments of Our Blessed Lord, “we exercise our royal priesthood through prayer, asceticism and active charity, and by doing so, we bear witness to a life renewed by God’s grace.”

Our intention must be to bear witness to God, to show others that the relationship with God transforms human life, renews us. Prayer directed to God, renews us, it is a sipping of the fountain of eternal life. Fasting renews us, for it is restraining the bodily appetites in order to focus on what truly matters—for man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. And almsgiving, charitable work, renews us, because it is a participation in the life of God who is love—and that participation transforms us like gold in a furnace.

The priestly dimension of our Christian life is not simply a sacrifice to detracts from us—giving of our time and effort in order to pray, in order to fast, in order to give alms enables us to share in the very life of God.

May we engage in them more fervently, more seriously, but also in great joy, bearing witness to God for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

 

As God’s royal priesthood, we intercede for the needs of the world and the needs of the Church.

For Pope Leo, our bishops, priests, and deacons: that their ministry may strengthen the faithful to live their baptismal dignity with renewed fervor and joy.

For all Christians: that we may pray not for human praise, but from a sincere desire for communion with God.

That through fasting and asceticism, we may discover the freedom of living by the word of God.

For the poor, the lonely, the sick, and all who depend upon the charity of others: that the almsgiving and active love of Christians may reveal to them the tenderness of God. Let us pray to the Lord.

For our young people on summer vacation and those attending our Vacation Bible School this week: that they may be blessed with faith-filled homes, and protected from all physical and spiritual harm.

For the faithful departed: that, purified of every sin, they may share forever in the life and love of God.

Heavenly Father, you have made us your holy people through Baptism and called us to bear witness to your grace in the world. Hear the prayers we offer today, and strengthen us to live our priestly calling with sincerity, humility, and joy. Through Christ our Lord.

Holy Week 2026 - Wednesday (School Mass) - Preparing for the Sacred Triduum

Tomorrow begins the three Sacred Days of the Church Year known as the Sacred Triduum: Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday.

All of our Lenten practices and penances are aimed at preparing us for what happens over the next three days.

Our Lenten prayer has been preparing us to remain close to Jesus. On Holy Thursday, the Lord says, “Stay with me. Remain with me”. We are to prayerfully accompany Jesus into the upper room for the Last Supper on Holy Thursday, we are to prayerfully accompany him as he sweats blood and is arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, and as he goes to the cross on Good Friday, and as his body is laid in the tomb on Holy Saturday.

Our Lenten fasting has been preparing us to take up our crosses as Jesus takes up his. Jesus does not cling to His own comfort, safety, or life. He empties Himself completely. Lenten fasting has enabled us to practice that same self-denial in a small but real way, and to appreciate the suffering Jesus undergoes for us.

Likewise, our Lenten almsgiving has been preparing us to give of ourselves in sacrificial love and generosity as Jesus did on the cross. 

Our Lenten repentance and confession of sin has been preparing us to see our sins honestly. For during the Triduum we see exactly what sin does. Sin is not just some small mistake or a private weakness. Turning away from God—separation from God has real consequences. And Lenten repentance helps us come to Holy Week with clearer eyes: not merely feeling sorry for Jesus, but recognizing that He suffers to save us from our sins.

Finally, Lent prepares us to renew our Christian identity at Easter. For at the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday, the Church celebrates baptism of those who have heard the Lord’s call to the waters of everlasting life. And on Easter Sunday, the Catholic Church collectively renews the promises made at our baptisms—to reject sin and live in the newness of life won for us by Jesus Christ.

In the Gospel today, the disciples approached Jesus and asked him how best they could prepare for the Passover. Each of us does well to do the same? Jesus, how can I best use these short hours we have left to best prepare for Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday? What prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and repentance can help me best be prepared to follow you to the cross, to grave, and to the resurrection, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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As we stand on the threshold of the Sacred Triduum, let us bring our prayers before the Father, asking for the grace to follow His Son more closely through His Passion, Death, and Resurrection.

That the prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and repentance of Lent may bear fruit in a deeper love for Jesus and a more generous readiness to remain with Him in the days ahead, let us pray to the Lord. Lord, hear our prayer.

For catechumens and candidates preparing to receive the Easter Sacraments, that the Lord may strengthen them, purify them, and fill them with joy as they approach the waters of new life, let us pray to the Lord. Lord, hear our prayer.

For God’s blessings upon Corpus Christi Academy students and faculty, and for safety over Easter break. Lord, hear our prayer.

For those who suffer in body, mind, or spirit, and for all who carry heavy crosses, that by uniting their sufferings to Christ they may find strength, peace, and consolation, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, hear our prayer.

For the faithful departed, that having died with Christ, they may share forever in the glory of His Resurrection, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, hear our prayer.

Heavenly Father, in your love you gave us your Son, who suffered, died, and rose again for our salvation. Hear the prayers we place before you, and prepare us to enter these sacred days with faith, gratitude, and love. Through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

 

4th Week of Lent 2025 - Monday - Spiritual Springtime

 

Yesterday, after the morning masses, I was able to enjoy some of the nice weather. So I sat outside, sipped some tea, read a book, and listened to the birds. What was also lovely to notice, was that trees are budding, flowers are starting to push up from the ground. Winter is over, and springtime, the time of new life is here. 

That is one reason why the english speaking church adopted the word Lent for this liturgical season. In latin, the season is called Quadragesima, the 40 days. But our word, Lent, comes from the old english word, Lencten, which means the time of the lengthening of days, when the sun begins to be seen more after the dark days of winter, when the elements of creation seem to wake up and new life begins to flourish again.

It is no surprise that many of our Lenten scripture readings focus on new life and new creation, for Lent truly is a spiritual springtime. Our reading from Isaiah this morning speaks of God creating a new heaven and a new earth, where infants, young men, and old are not limited by brief days, but enjoy an abundance of food and reliable shelter.

Then, in the Gospel, we encounter a royal official who experiences the power of God’s new creation directly, when Jesus heals his dying son. Christ came to bring new life not only physically, as seen in the healing of the boy, but spiritually as well.

Lent invites us dispose ourselves to the new life God wants for us. Our prayer, fasting, and almsgiving help prepare the soil of our hearts, removing the obstacles of selfishness, distraction, and sin, and creating space for the seeds of grace to grow. Just as we see nature awakening and new life emerging around us, Lent encourages us to open our hearts to God's life-giving grace, allowing Christ to heal us and renew us deeply from within.

In these final weeks of Lent, let us embrace this season of renewal with openness, eagerly anticipating the transformative power of Christ’s resurrection. May our hearts become fertile ground for God’s grace, allowing us to experience the abundant life Jesus offers—life that heals, restores, and renews. Through our sincere observance of Lent, let us prepare ourselves joyfully and intentionally for the new life that awaits us at Easter.

May we be open to the divine work God wishes to do within each of us, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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Trusting in God's promises of new life and renewal, let us present our prayers and petitions with open hearts.

For the Church, that throughout Lent, all Christians may open their hearts fully to the renewing power of God’s grace, preparing joyfully for the celebration of Easter. Let us pray to the Lord.

For world leaders, that they may be guided by the wisdom of the Holy Spirit in working toward justice, peace, and prosperity, allowing all peoples to experience new hope and abundant life. Let us pray to the Lord.

For those who feel spiritually dormant or disconnected from God’s presence, that they may experience a profound renewal of faith, hope, and joy. Let us pray to the Lord.

For those suffering from illness, despair, or hopelessness, that the healing presence of Christ, who restores life, may touch them and bring comfort, strength, and renewal. Let us pray to the Lord.

For our beloved deceased, that they may share fully in the eternal life promised by Christ, experiencing forever the joy and renewal of heaven. Let us pray to the Lord.

Heavenly Father, you continually bring forth new life and hope. Hear our prayers and renew our hearts, that we may live joyfully in anticipation of the Resurrection. Through Christ our Lord.

3rd Week of Lent 2025 - Wednesday - Simply Obey

Summing up the entire spiritual life, Saint Francis de Sales, Patron Saint of Spiritual Directors said: “Simply Obey.  God does not ask anything else of you.” 

Saint Francis de Sales spoke about the importance of obedience because our Lord spoke about the importance of obedience, as we heard in our Lenten Gospel today: “But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.”

Obedience to the commandments keeps us in right relationship with God, and obedience to the inspirations of His Holy Spirit make us instruments of his grace in the world.

All of our Lenten prayer, fasting and almsgiving is really at the service of helping us to be more obedient to the commands and inspirations of God.  Fasting can strengthen our wills against disordered tendencies, and almsgiving flows out of that command to love our neighbor as ourselves. Prayer helps us to love God and to hate offending him through disobedience. Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are like unfurling the sails of our soul, so that we can be directed by the Will of God.

Obedience is not always easy, just ask Adam and Eve and every human being that has ever lived. However, to the soul who loves God, obedience becomes a delight.

Our Lord is clear that, Obedience and disobedience have eternal consequences. Adam and Eve’s disobedience brought about a fracture with God that is felt in every human life. The Lord teaches about the eternal consequences of disobedience in today’s Gospel too, when he says, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.

Where disobedience brought about broken communion with God, Christ’s obedience brought salvation, he who was, as St. Paul says, “obedient unto death, death upon a cross”.

The Lenten journey leads us to encounter Christ and emulate Christ who is totally obedient to his Father’s will; the Sacred Heart is an obedient heart, it is the heart of one which has surrendered everything to the Holy Will. 

We cannot err in obedience to God, rather we ought to strive, as the Lord teaches to obey the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter of God’s will, as did Christ his Son for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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Trusting in the goodness of our Heavenly Father, who calls us to obedient and faithful lives, let us present our prayers with humility and confidence.

For the Church, especially during this Lenten season, that all her members may grow in obedience to God’s commandments and openness to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit. Let us pray to the Lord.

For all spiritual leaders, bishops, priests, deacons, and religious, that inspired by the example of Saint Francis de Sales, they may guide the faithful toward greater obedience and trust in God. Let us pray to the Lord.

For world leaders and all in positions of authority, that they may seek the wisdom of God and lead with integrity, justice, and a spirit of obedient service to truth and peace. Let us pray to the Lord.

For all who struggle with obedience to God’s will, especially those battling temptation, addiction, or disordered desires, that through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, they may find strength and freedom in Christ. Let us pray to the Lord.

For the success of our parish Lenten mission this weekend, and for blessings upon our mission leader Fr. Laniaskas.

For the sick, the suffering, and those experiencing hardship or loss, that they may obediently unite their trials with Christ’s own suffering and experience His comforting presence. Let us pray to the Lord.

For the deceased members of our families, friends, parish, and benefactors: may they come to share in the eternal joy of heaven. Let us pray to the Lord.

Loving Father, help us always to respond with joyful obedience to your holy will. Hear these prayers we offer you through Christ our Lord.

3rd Sunday of Lent 2025 (C) - Burning Bush and the Fig Tree

 

Each Sunday of Lent, our first readings lead us to consider the different stages of salvation history. Last week, remember we read from the book of Genesis of God making a covenant with Abraham. And God foretold how Abraham’s descendants would go down to Egypt, and there they would become numerous, until God led them out of Egypt into the Land of Canaan, the promised land.

This week’s first reading takes places about 400-450 years later, and it has come to pass jut as God said it would: Abraham’s decedents had indeed become very numerous in Egypt, so much so that Pharoah begins killing off the little boys. Under the tyranny of Pharoah God’s people cried out for deliverance. And so, our first reading today describes Moses receiving this task from God to lead the descendants of Abraham out of slavery.

Now Moses, wasn’t a political leader or a soldier, rather he had occupation of a shepherd, an occupation so despised by the Egyptians that Egyptians would not even eat with such men. In the midst of Moses’ lowly existence, God reveals himself to Moses and gives Moses this monumental task.

And, initially, as you might expect, Moses is reluctant and hesitant. He doesn’t speak well, he’s just a shepherd, he has the respect of neither Egyptian or Israelite. But what fills Moses with confidence is when God reveals his name. From the burning bush, God reveals himself to Moses: “I am who am” in other words, “I am the One truly existent One.” The one true God is with you Moses, don’t be afraid of Egypt, don’t be afraid of your own limitations. I AM with you.

Have any of you ever had a burning bush moment? Where either at mass, or in quiet prayer, or at a retreat, or at a festival of praise, you have an undeniable experience of God’s presence. You know you are in the presence of the Great I AM. And that fills you with confidence? I know many priests who received such a grace, and they became secure in their vocation—confident in their calling—upon experiencing an extraordinary encounter with God.

To be honest, I’m not sure everyone gets those. Yes, all of us are able to encounter God in the sacraments. Jesus Christ is truly present in the Eucharist. He’s present in the proclamation of the Word. But God’s presence, in the sacraments is veiled. We know he is present through faith, but, again, I’m not sure every gets burning bush experiences in this life time. Many of us simply need to walk by faith, not by sight.

But if you have received some sort of Burning Bush experience of God, know that you like Moses have a task to fulfill. That experience isn’t just for you. You have a task to help those who haven’t to believe and to walk in the ways of the Lord. To bear fruit that will last.

So God reveals himself to Moses at the burning bush. Fast forward about 1500 years to our Gospel this weekend. And Jesus tells a parable about a very different type of plant, not a burning bush, but a fig tree.

In the parable, a landowner has planted a fig tree in his orchard, expecting fruit. After three years of disappointment, the landowner decides it should be cut down. Yet, the gardener steps in with compassion and hope, pleading for patience: “Leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it; it may bear fruit in the future. If not, you can cut it down.”

This parable was being directed to the religious leaders of the day who claimed to be spokesmen of God. Jesus was critical of them because they were not bearing fruit. They were not helping God’s people strive for authentic holiness and they certainly weren’t helping people believe that God was in their midst in the person of Jesus. So the Lord foretells how they will be cut down, like a barren fig tree, if they don’t start bearing fruit for the kingdom of God.

But, the parable is not only directed to the religious leaders of Jesus’ day of course, the parable is also directed at all of us. We were all made by God to bear spiritual fruit. St. Paul, in his Letter to the Galatians, clearly identifies these fruits as love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. The fruits of our faith hope and love are to be seen in our lives.

But, we don’t always bear the fruit we are supposed to, do we? Our struggle with sin, our laziness, causes us to bear less fruit, or no fruit. Many people, even some baptized Christians are essentially fruitless because they walk the way of the world rather than the way of Christ. Prayer has been replaced with entertainment, fasting has been replaced with indulgence and decadence. Almsgiving has been replaced with seeking happiness in material things. Repentance has been replaced with convincing themselves that they don’t need God or the Church to be good people or go to heaven.

Now, the image of the gardener in the parable reminds us that God is very patient with us. In his mercy, God gives us many opportunities to repent and believe in the Gospel.

However, The message of the parable is clear: the fig tree is not given infinite time. The patient gardner says, “we’re going to try to cultivate the ground, fertilize the tree, but if it doesn’t bear fruit, you can cut it down.”

There is a practical limit to the time that we have been given on this earth to repent and bear fruit, a window of grace. There is an urgency to Jesus’ message. It is not enough simply to go through life with an essentially dead and faithless relationship with Jesus. We are to cooperate with the gardener as best we can—to cultivate our souls—so that we can bear the fruit God desires us to bear.

So again, here is the Lenten call to get serious about prayer, fasting, almsgiving and repentance from sin. This is the cultivation God wants for us in this season.

Like Moses, we are called to move from hesitation to boldness, from complacency to action, trusting that God will help us in the path he has set before us for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

 

2nd Sunday of Lent 2025 - More than a superficial faith

 There’s a story about a wealthy king who wanted to find a bride. And not just any bride, the king wished to marry a woman who would love him, not for his wealth and power, but for who he was as a man. He knew that if he rode through the streets in his royal robes, with trumpets announcing his intentions, his quest would be compromised. This would attract a superficial bride.

So, he set aside his crown and dressed as a simple peasant. He lived among his subjects, working alongside them, and shared in their struggles. And in time, he met a woman who loved him not for what he owned, but for who he was. Only then did he reveal his true identity.

In today’s Gospel, Peter, James, and John are given an extraordinary grace: they see Jesus transfigured in dazzling white, standing with Moses and Elijah. It is a revelation of His divine glory, a brief unveiling of who He truly is. And yet, Jesus does not remain in that state. He does not go back down the mountain glowing, proving to the crowds that He is the Son of God.

We might wonder: why not. If he wished to attract disciples, why didn’t Jesus appear like that all the time? Why doesn’t He display His full power to the whole world and remove all doubt?

While it seems logical that if Jesus displayed His divine glory all the time, people would believe, but the Scriptures repeatedly show that miracles and divine manifestations do not automatically lead to lasting faith, hope, or love.

The Israelites in the Wilderness saw the parting of the Red Sea, manna from heaven, and God's presence on Mount Sinai, yet they still doubted and turned to idolatry.

Many who witnessed Jesus healing the sick, feeding thousands, and even raising the dead still did not follow Him. In John chapter 11, the chief priests and Pharisees respond to the resurrection of Lazarus not with faith, but with a plot to kill both Jesus and Lazarus.

If people could witness these direct interventions of God and still reject Him, then even if Jesus appeared in transfigured glory to the whole world, many would still dismiss it as an illusion, exaggeration, or something that could be explained away.

God desires a relationship with each of us, not based on mere compulsion or overwhelming evidence, any way, but on our choice to believe, and hope, and love Him.  If God simply overpowered us with His glory, it might force knowledge of his existence, but we would lose our ability to have faith. "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe" Jesus says after his resurrection.

The Transfiguration was a moment of divine revelation, but it was not the ultimate proof of Jesus' deepest identity. For ultimately, He is the one sent by God not to overpower humanity through undeniable proof of God’s existence, but rather to show the depths of God’s love to those with eyes to see and ears to hear.

Jesus did not walk around permanently transfigured in dazzling light because that dazzling light would have veiled and obscured—his identity as incarnate love willing to undertake supreme suffering for his beloved. 

His identity is revealed most fully, not in the transfiguration, but in the crucifixion. His identity is love. God is love. And there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 

Notice that this was even the topic the Lord was discussing with Moses and Elijah while he was transfigured. He spoke of how he had to go to Jerusalem to suffer and die to deliver us from the slavery of sin and death. But he goes willingly because he loves us and wants to see us free.

If God’s goal was simply to make us believe in Him, he could have done so easily. Just like the king in the story could have easily found a bride through crown and treasury. But Jesus desired a bride who would love Him with true love. And he goes to the cross to show His love for us, his bride. 

And of course he goes to the cross to give us an example to follow—to in fact show us the road to heaven—the road we must follow. We must take up our cross and follow him in all things. 

To be Christian is not simply to walk around with the idea that God exists in our heads. Rather, to be Christian—to be heirs of the kingdom—is to conform ourselves in thought, word, deed, in obedience to God, to Jesus Christ—to love as he loves—to work for the good of others at cost to ourselves. True love is costly, as our Lord shows us. But we have been redeemed so that we may be transformed into love with Christ.

How are we to experience this transformation? Again, I stress the importance of our Lenten practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving during this season. Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving signal our openness to the transformation God wants for us.

Prayer: it’s not just about asking for things; it is about aligning our hearts with God’s will. Through prayer, we allow God to reveal Himself to us—not in overwhelming signs, but in the quiet of our hearts, where He gently calls us to trust Him.

Fasting: it’s not simply an act of self-denial or discipline; it is a concrete way of expressing our hunger for something greater than what the world offers. When we give up certain foods, comforts, or habits, we remind ourselves that our deepest satisfaction is found in God alone.

Almsgiving is not the cold fulfillment of a religious obligation, rather it shifts our focus from self to others. When we give to those in need—not just from our excess, but in a way that costs us something—we imitate Christ-like love. Our almsgiving signals that we are allowing Christ’s love to transform us into people who give of themselves as He did.

Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are not ends in themselves. They are signs of our willingness to be changed. Through them, we tell God: “I want to know You” “I want to be freed from what holds me back” “I want to love as You love”.

Again, it is not through some undeniable sight of Christ’s divinity that God transforms us. But choosing those actions to become like Jesus in his self-giving. By choosing to pray, fast, repent and engage in works of charity, our spiritual sight is made pure to know God’s presence with us in this life and to behold God’s glory in eternity for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

1st Week of Lent 2025 - Friday - Transformation of heart and behavior

Several times this first full week of Lent, we read from Jesus’ great Sermon on the Mount. 

On Tuesday, Jesus taught his disciples how to pray—that Christian prayer is much more than babbling, like the pagans. We are to prayerfully turn our hearts to the Father, seeking His Will, His sustenance, His forgiveness and ability to forgive, and his protection from evil. Our prayer is to be deepened and purified during this Lenten season.

Today, we hear that not only our prayer, but our hearts and minds are to be purified as well. Not only are we to avoid grave sins like murder: we are to be purified from the slightest hint of any attitude that leads to murder. We are to avoid anger toward our brother, we are to avoid calling him belittling names, and we are to seek to reconcile with him even before fulfilling some of our other religious duties.

Here is yet another teaching from the Sermon on the Mount that our conversion must be more than skin-deep, our conversion to Christ means more than just giving lip service to ideas like forgiveness and peacemaking. 

We are to be purified from inner attitudes that lead to sin, injustice, division, and malice. We are to seek to actively overcome our inhibitions towards working for peace. In fact, we are to actively cultivate those dispositions where we are ready to go out and make peace even when it costs us something. 

If you don’t, what does the Lord say, “you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.” If we are unwilling to purify our hearts and actively work for peace there is a sort of debt, there is something missing. And we will not be able to progress spiritually in this life or likely from purgatory into heaven in the next life until that purifying has taken place.

From what the saints say, it is more pleasant to work for that purification in this life, than in purgatory. So we should do it now. My guess is that this is issue is a major stumbling black in the spiritual life for a lot of Christians: the unwillingness to make peace with those who have offended us, with whom there is some sort of open wound.

I get it, it’s hard, it’s uncomfortable, it’s humbling. “Why should I have to be the one to make peace?” Because we are Christian and the Lord told us to.

Again our readings remind us, that Lent is not simply about performing exterior deeds of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, but is aimed at inner transformation, where we can think with the mind of Christ, and more importantly, love with his heart, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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We should pour forth prayers at all times dear brothers and sisters but above all in these days of lent we ought to watch more intently with Christ and direct our petitions more fervently to God.

For the Church, that this Lent may be a time of deep interior purification, leading each believer to more fully embrace the mind and heart of Christ.

For those struggling to forgive or reconcile with others, that they may find the courage, humility, and strength to actively seek peace

For those preparing for baptism and reception into the Church at Easter, that their hearts may grow pure and radiant through prayer, fasting, and acts of charity, we pray to the Lord.

For Holy Father Pope Francis, in this time of illness, and for all the sick, suffering, and those who carry heavy burdens, that they may experience the comforting presence of God, who draws near to those who earnestly seek Him, we pray to the Lord.

For the faithful departed, for the deceased members of our family, friends, and parish, for all the souls in purgatory, that through our prayers and sacrifices, they may swiftly enter the eternal peace of God’s presence.

Grant we pray our 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.

Friday after Ash Wednesday 2025 - Lenten Collects and Bodily Observances

 

In every Mass, we have the two major parts of the Mass: the liturgy of the Word in which we listen attentively to God’s Word, and the Liturgy of the Eucharist – in which we are fed with the Word made flesh in Holy Communion.

Well in every mass, prior to the Liturgy of the Word, we celebrate the introductory rites: the sign of the cross, an official liturgical greeting, usually the penitential rite, the gloria on Sundays and holy days, and finally the collect prayer.

And those Collect prayers are thusly called because they collect or gather all of the intentions, dispositions and prayers of all who are gathered, and offer them to God in a concise form.

Because each liturgical season has a specific character--Advent’s longing expectation, Christmas’ joy at the Incarnation, Lent’s call to repentance, Easter’s triumphant celebration of the Resurrection—the Collect of each day or season condenses that season’s spiritual emphasis into a short, structured prayer.

In doing so, the Collect also shows us how we are to approach God in prayer during the particular liturgical season, reflecting the dispositions the Church wants to foster in the faithful.

In these first few days of Lent, our collect prayers speak a lot about the Lenten disciplines that we have begun. Listen again to todays Collect: Show gracious favor, O Lord, we pray, to the works of penance we have begun, that we may have strength to accomplish with sincerity the bodily observances we undertake"

The “bodily observances” mentioned in Collect today refer to those Lenten practices that we engage in with our bodies. The Church’s tradition recognizes that we are both body and soul. Penance isn’t meant to remain at the level of abstract good intentions; rather, penances involves concrete practices that engage the whole person—physically as well as spiritually.

St. Paul speaks of how Christians share in Christ’s suffering in our flesh—“offer your bodies as a living sacrifice”, he tells us. Our Lord himself didn’t simply offer us his good intentions, rather he offered his body on the cross. So, too, during Lent we are to engage our bodies, in fasting, prayer, and other tangible tangible forms of self-denial that engage the body.

And what we discover is that these bodily observances help to purify our hearts, minds, and souls.

So during Lent, pay attention to the daily Collect prayers, they will give a lens for understanding the daily scriptures, they give daily insight for directing our Lenten observances, and they remind us to engage our whole self in preparing throughout Lent for the great Paschal Victory at Easter for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

 

For the whole Christian people, that in this sacred Lenten season, they may be more abundantly nourished by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

For the whole world, that in lasting tranquility and peace our days may truly become the acceptable time of grace and salvation.

For sinners and those who neglect right religion, that in this time of reconciliation they may return wholeheartedly to Christ.

For ourselves, that God may at last stir up in our hearts aversion for our sins and conviction for the Gospel.

For Pope Francis: that during this time of serious illness, the Holy Father might know the merciful presence of the Lord and give us all an example of patience and faith. And for all those who are sick, suffering, or near death: That may know the consoling presence of Christ crucified and risen.

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 2024 - Monday - Cultivating Mercy through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving

Yesterday, in my Sunday homily I talked about the relationship between the first reading and the gospel reading—how the first reading in a sense prepares us for the Gospel.  

The history, prophecies, and wisdom of those Old Testament readings prepare us and help us understand the theological and spiritual background for what we find Jesus saying and doing in the Gospel

Our First reading today is a passage from the book of Daniel, where Daniel is praying to God on behalf of the Israelites. In this prayer, he is reflecting on how Israel failed to head the warnings of the prophets, particularly those of Jeremiah and how this resulted in the seventy-year captivity in Babylon of which Daniel was subject. And we hear Daniel pleading to God for mercy—to restore Jerusalem, to restore the temple, to have compassion and mercy upon his sinful wayward children. The prayer is an acknowledgement of the righteousness of God’s judgments and Israel’s total dependence upon his mercy for Israel’s deliverance and restoration.

Consider that as the context for our short Gospel passage from the Lord Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain in the Gospel of Luke. The opening line is that we must become merciful as God is merciful.

Daniel pleads for mercy in the first reading, and in the Gospel, Jesus not only claims that God is merciful, but that if we wish to experience God’s mercy, we must become merciful—we must cultivate mercy.

Here the Lord touches upon one of the great themes of the season of Lent. Yes, we are engaging in prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, doing penance as a way of pleading God’s mercy upon us. But those Lenten observances are meant to change us too. We want God’s mercy, but God wants us to become merciful. And those Lenten observances aim at that transformation.

Through prayer, we cultivate a deeper relationship with God—the merciful one. Praying for the living and the dead is a spiritual work of mercy. By praying for physical and spiritual good of others, including those who have wronged us, we exercise mercy. And the mercy exercised in prayer flows out into our relationships with these people.

Our Lenten fasting also cultivates mercy. By denying ourselves of certain foods and activities, we are fighting against our selfish tendencies which are opposed to mercy. Moreso, Fasting serves as a reminder of the needs of others, particularly those who suffer from hunger and deprivation. It inspires us to be more generous and compassionate toward the hungry--leading to acts of mercy such as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and caring for the vulnerable.

And our Lenten Almsgiving is of course a prime example of how the disciples of Christ are to demonstrate God’s love and mercy towards all people in tangible ways. Almsgiving demands we become attentive to the needs of others and respond with compassion and kindness. 

If you want God’s mercy, you must practice mercy. You want kindness, you must practice kindness. You want patience, you must practice patience. You want the goodness of Christ to be manifest in the world, you must restrain your selfishness and radiate his goodness toward all for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

 

For the whole Christian people, that in this sacred Lenten season, they may be more abundantly nourished by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

For the whole world, that in lasting tranquility and peace our days may truly become the acceptable time of grace and salvation.

For sinners and those who neglect right religion, that in this time of reconciliation they may return wholeheartedly to Christ.

For ourselves, that God may at last stir up in our hearts aversion for our sins and conviction for the Gospel.

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 2024 - Friday - Surpassing Righteousness (and St. Polycarp)

Unless your holiness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees you shall not enter the kingdom of God.

The scribes and Pharisees were renowned for their zeal, concern for purity, and their conformity to the law of Moses.  The very word Pharisee comes from the word meaning “to separate”. 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.  They were meticulous in distancing themselves from sin. 

However, the Lord often criticizes the Pharisees for neglecting the deeper, internal aspects of righteousness, such as humility, mercy, and genuine love for God and others. 

Christians must do both. We must be meticulous in rooting out sin, while at the same time pursuing that internal transformation, that God wants for us. 

Christians are called to a righteousness that goes beyond external religious rituals and legalistic observance. That doesn’t mean that we prohibit religious rituals or legal observance. Like, well, I’m humble so I don’t need to follow the law. No. We need both. 

We follow legitimate authority, we follow liturgical law, we separate ourselves from sinful behavior, and root out our attachments to sin, but we also are to cultivate gentleness, patience, generosity, genuine care for people, and a burning love for God. 

This teaching of Jesus is important for us to keep in mind as we engage in our Lenten observances. Our prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are not mindless rituals. Fasting isn’t magic. Fasting alone is not enough to win entrance into heaven. Nor is the quantity of one’s fasting a measure of one’s righteousness. Rather, fasting is to be done a sign of sincere repentance and penance for sin which offends God and has damage our souls. Lenten fasting and detachment from worldly entertainments is to deepen our hunger, nor just for food, but for God. 

We fast and pray and give because Christ fast and prayed and gave, but also to become like him in ALL things. That our minds and hearts may become like His. 

Today on the liturgical calendar is one of the beloved saints and martyrs of the early church, St. Polycarp. The top middle stained glass window in the eastern narthex here depicts St. Polycarp being ordained a bishop of St. John the Apostle along with our parish patron St. Ignatius of Antioch. Like Ignatius, Polycarp also wrote letters, but we have only one surviving letter: St. Polycarp’s letter to the Philippians. 

In it, St. Polycarp takes up this idea of righteousness as following the example of Christ. Polycarp writes: “Let us then continually persevere in our hope and the security of our righteousness, which is Jesus Christ who bore our sins in his own body on the tree. He who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth), but who endured all things for us so that we might live in Him. Let us then be imitators of his patience. If we suffer for his name's sake, let us glorify him. For he has set us this example in himself, and we have believed that.”

Let us take up this great saint’s advice this Lent, in striving for true righteousness, which is Jesus Christ himself for the glory of God and the salvation of souls. 

- - - 

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 all who are oppressed by any kind of need, that the Lord may graciously grant them relief.

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 Sunday of Lent 2024 - Noah's Ark and Desert Temptations

 Since the times of the Early Church Fathers, Noah’s ark has been seen as a prefigurement, a foreshadowing, of the Church. Just as the ark was the means by which Noah and his family were spared destruction, so also the Church is the instrument by which Christians are saved from eternal damnation.

The ark housed a male and female of every kind of animal, and the Church houses men and women from every nation, language, and background. God saved Noah and his family, not by a fleet of ships, but by one ark. Similarly, Christ founded not many Churches, but one Church. The ark of Noah sheltered his family from the storm, and it is in the Church that we take refuge from the storms and floods of life. 

The Ark prefigures the church and our salvation in Christ. The salvific wood of the ark foreshadows the salvific wood of the cross. After the flood, God made a covenant with Noah, promising never again to destroy the earth in the same way. This covenant is seen as a precursor to the new covenant established through Jesus Christ.

In our second reading, Scripture itself sees the eight persons of Noah’s family being saved through the waters of the flood as a prefigurement of baptism. And by the way, from the early Church to this day, it is common to construct baptismal fonts with eight sides, to symbolize the eight people on the ark: Noah and his wife, and his sons, Ham, Shem, and Japeth, and their wives.  

We begin the season of Lent with this image of the ark and the waters of the flood because right from the beginning of Lent we are meant to be thinking about salvation and baptism. From the early Church, Lent was a time of preparing for baptism. Those seeking Christ, seeking baptism, would prepare for baptism at easter throughout this Lenten season through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Lenten prayer, fasting, and almsgiving aid the catechumens—those seeking baptism—to conform themselves to Christ, who fasted, and prayed, and gave his life for our salvation.

But it’s not just the catechumens who pray, fasting, and give to the poor…all of us are to pray, fast, and a give alms during Lent, as a way of offering spiritual support and good example for those to be baptized, as well as a way of spiritual preparation for the renewal of our own baptismal promises at Easter.

We pray, fast, and give alms to help us get back to the basics of baptism: prayer, to remind us of the spiritual intimacy we must constantly nurture with God, fasting to remind us of the self-sacrifice of Christ which is to be the model of our own constant self-discipline and self-sacrifice, and almsgiving, to remind us of the charity which should mark every day of our life as Christians. 

Here at St. Ignatius, we have two candidates for full initiation this year: David & Tyler who will be received into full communion with the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil. This morning, there will be a short ritual called the rite of sending, in which we will pray for these candidates, who will be sent this evening to the Cathedral, to gather with Bishop Malesic and all the other catechumens and candidates from throughout the diocese.

Now David and Tyler are already baptized, and are seeking full initiation, but we still pray and fast for them, and for the thousands of people this year who will be baptized and will receive Confirmation and First Eucharist at Easter—about 150,000 adults each year in the United States—who are getting on board the ark of Holy Mother Church.

So, on this first Sunday of the season of Lent, we have the image of the ark and baptism—we have a glimpse of the destination. But, sort of paradoxically, not only do we have this image of water, but this image of the desert. Christ going into the desert, where he is tempted by Satan. 

This story is a powerful reminder that Lent, and really the whole Christian life, constitute a spiritual battle. The powers of Satan are at work to seduce us away from God—to separate us from God through sin. Just as Satan tempted the Lord, the devil utilizes temptation against us. He makes sin sound like a good idea, he makes self-centeredness and disobedience to God seem reasonable, he emphasizes the pleasures of sin while minimizing the physical, emotional, and spiritual cost of sin. 

One reason that Mother Church gives us this reading of Christ’s temptations each year on the first Sunday of lent is because she wants us to be aware that in reaching our destination there is going to be some resistance. Whether that destination is baptism, or individual sanctification, or heaven—there is going to be some resistance, some spiritual resistance by a being who does not want us to reach that destination. He does not want us taking up those weapons of self-restraint, as the Ash Wednesday liturgy called them—prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. He wants us weaponless. He wants to disarm us and create obstacles to faithfulness through temptation. Temptation is real. 

I couldn’t stop thinking about cheeseburgers on ash Wednesday. I swear I am hungrier on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday than I have any right to be. Temptation is real. And as we engage in the Lenten observances, the devil redoubles his efforts to discourage us. 

The devil loves to make evil seem reasonable, and goodness seem unreasonable. He introduces strange thoughts into our heads to convince us to give up on the spiritual disciplines. Fast? Why would you want to fast? You’ll be too weak for work. You’ll starve. You’ll be so weak you won’t be able to think and you’ll embarrass yourself. Pray? You’re too busy to pray. After all you pray just enough as it is. You have other things to do. You don’t want to get behind on your programs after all. God forbid, you miss an episode of Wheel of Fortune. Those TV characters make you feel good about yourself. And Almsgiving? You already give plenty. You’re too poor to give any more than you already do. What about your needs, your wants, your security. Give too much away and you’ll find yourself homeless if you give any more than you are giving.

See, he tells us lies that are just plausible enough to discourage us from what can truly help us to be sanctified. So be aware, you will be lied to this Lent, lied to by the devil who hates you, who hates God, and wants nothing more than to separate you from Him. 

How will we emerge victorious from the desert? By uniting ourselves to Christ, the faithful Son of the Father, and allowing Him to live in us—to be victorious over Satan within us. 

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, please try to attend daily mass throughout the week as much as possible throughout Lent. Here at Church, Christ feeds us with his body and blood which is the greatest protection against the seductions of the enemy. For when we receive Christ in the Eucharist, we receive the one whose truth pierces the lies of satan—we share in his victory. God allows the devil to tempt us, because those temptations are opportunities to allow Christ to punch the devil in the nose—transforming us weak selfish creatures into the image of the faithful Son of God.

So please avail yourselves of the Eucharist as often as possible, eat his flesh and drink his blood, that you may not fall for the lies and empty promises of the devil, and that you might make use of all the opportunities to grow in grace that God desires for you. 

Throughout Lent, together we make this journey of faith, that we may prepare ourselves well to experience, after the mystery of the cross, the joy of Easter, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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.

- - - - -  

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.

2nd Week of Lent 2022 - Wednesday - Sacrificial Love and the Lenten Program

 Three times during Matthew’s Gospel, the Lord tells of his forthcoming Passion and Death 

The first foretelling of his Passion immediately follow’s Peter’s Confession that the Jesus is the Messiah, Son of the living God. 

The second foretelling comes after the Lord’s transfiguration and the healing of the demon possessed boy.

The third foretelling, which we heard today, precedes the request for James and John to sit at the right hand of Jesus in the heavenly kingdom.

In each of these three cases there is some revelation—some insight into Jesus’ identity, along with the news of his Passion. He truly is the Son of the Living God, as Peter asserts. He is glorious divinity as is seen on the mount of transfiguration and the one to overthrow the powers of the devil as he does when he descends the mountain. And he is the one to sit on the throne of heaven, as James and John’s mother rightly claims.

But Jesus shows that divinity is not about power, wealth, and fame, it is about love—self-sacrificial love. God loves us enough to take on the our humanity, and to suffer—to be handed over to the Gentiles, to be mocked and scourged and crucified. It is by willingly embracing sacrificial love that demons are cast out, that death is destroyed. Sacrificial love is sanctifying love—divinizing love. By it we are redeemed and made holy in the eyes of God. 

Catholics show such great devotion to the crucifix of our Lord, placing it in all of our churches, school classrooms, and homes because by it we are reminded of the source of our salvation and also the life we’ve been chosen to lead.

We are to love God with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength, and that love is not a matter of lip service or a sentiment an emotion, but allows Jesus to teach us the way of self-sacrificial love, to fill us with his spirit of self-sacrificial love.

Lent is such an important season in the life of the Church for one because we contemplate the depths and God’s love for us in all that Jesus suffered, but also because the Lenten program of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving conditions us to embrace and practice that same form of love. Fasting conditions us to sacrifice the things we enjoy to achieve a higher good. Almsgiving as well, forms us in that practice of looking to the needs of others and sacrificing our goods for their good. And prayer, places us at the font of love, it contemplates love, drinks deeply of love, that we may have the courage and fortitude to practice love, to become love for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

 

That our Lenten observances will bring about profound renewal in our parish and in our lives and relationships.

That God will rescue all those who live at a distance from him because of self-absorption or sin, 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.  We 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.  

For all those who have died, for 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.

1st Week of Lent 2021 - Friday - The paradox of God's impossible standards

Unless your holiness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees you shall not enter the kingdom of God.

The scribes and Pharisees were renowned for their zeal, concern for purity, and their conformity to the law of Moses.  The very word Pharisee comes from the word meaning “to separate”. 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 humanely impossible standards for entrance into the kingdom of God. Well…he has.

No amount of fasting will gain you entrance to heaven. No amount of almsgiving will gain you entrance into heaven. No amount of feeding the poor and clothing the naked, on their own, will gain us entrance into the kingdom of heaven.

For there is nothing we can do humanly to gain entrance to heaven. If there was, we wouldn’t have needed a savior. Even the first reading contains the same impossible standard: “If the wicked man turns away from all the sins he committed, if he keeps all my statutes and does what is right and just, he shall surely live, he shall not die.” Again, the same impossible standard. Who of us has kept all God’s statutes? Not a one. If we had, we wouldn’t have begun Lent marking ourselves as sinners with ashes on our foreheads.

Since my holiness and acts of charity and penances are not enough, what can I do? If there is nothing we can do, what can we do?

St. Paul understood man’s inability to gain entrance to heaven on his own. Which is why he sought for Jesus Christ to take over his life. So much so, that he goes on to say that, “It IS no longer me who lives, but Christ who lives in me.” How can the holiness of my life surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees—when it’s not my holiness—when it is not my will directing my life—but His.

A week into the season of Lent, and we are probably still doing pretty well with our Lenten penances—maybe even taking some pride that we haven’t slipped and snacked when we shouldn’t or given into gossip when we shouldn’t. Today’s readings are a remedy to human pride that can set in when we become focused on good works.  A reminder that our good works are not a replacement for our need for a savior, rather, they are the means by which we repent for not allowing God to direct our lives, and a solemn plea for Him to do what we cannot do, to purify, to cleans, to guide, and direct our lives, to help us decrease that he may increase in us, and to deepen our gratitude for the surpassing righteousness of Christ, who alone has saved us from our sins, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

- - - - - -  

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. And for the Church in China and all places where the Gospel is silenced.

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 2021 - Wednesday - Lavish, dramatic, and over-the-top repentance

 A week into the penitential season of Lent, we read one of the most dramatic responses to the call to repentance in the entire old testament—the entire a city of Nineveh—about 120,000 people—everyone, the nobility, the peasantry, even the cattle and sheep—all repented when God sent Jonah to preach to them.  

We then read of the Lord Jesus referencing the story of Nineveh in his ministry. The Lord looks around at this crowd of pharisees, scribes, and common folk and he calls them an evil generation for failing to repent at his preaching. If an entire city of non-Jews will repent due to the preaching of Jonah, a lesser prophet, how hard hearted must this generation be for failing to repent at his teaching! some of these folk probably took their religion pretty seriously---and didn’t appreciate his tone, as we might say, these days.

Why are we presented with these readings, in tandem, a week into Lent. Well, for a number of reasons. First, we begin to understand a bit of the hostility toward Jesus. He’s basically telling folk that they’re evil for not accepting Gospel. So we hear these readings so that we are not surprised by calls for his crucifixion come Holy Week.

Secondly, we begin to understand our own need to repent. For unlike that evil generation of the Lord’s day, we are called to imitate the Ninevites in their dramatic, lavish, and over-the-top repentance. Our prayer, fasting, and almsgiving should be lavish, dramatic, and a little over-the-top…we shouldn’t let a bunch of Ninevites show us up, after all.

And thirdly, perhaps we remember that in preaching the Gospel in the midst of the fallen world and undergoing our Lenten penances, we might experience some of the same hostility as the Lord experienced. For turning our hearts to the Lord in visible signs of repentance, we might experience from the members of the current wicked generation, mockery or hostility—for pricking their consciences. They might try to convince us that we are wasting our time with all these “silly” penances.

Hostility, will certainly come from our spiritual enemy, who hates to see us taking Lent seriously. The devil hates signs of repentance. The devil hates our efforts to pray more, fast more, and give more. He hates that we seek to spread the kingdom because he knows that we’ll be successful. For just as in the Lord’s time, some people did respond positively to his call, and some people will respond positively to the call to conversion by the Church in this generation.

So may we persevere throughout these 40 days in our signs of repentance, our Lenten penances, that through us the Lord may continue to draw souls to himself for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

- - - - - - -  

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.

1st Week of Lent 2020 - Tuesday - Words, words, words

In Scene II, Act II of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark sits in a library, reading a book, when Polonius, the King’s chief counselor asks the melancholy prince, “What do you read, my lord?” And Hamlet replies, “words, words, words.” Of course, Polonius wants to know what Hamlet is reading about, the meaning of the words in the book. Hamlet’s deliberate misinterpretation of Polonius question suggests that the words he is reading are meaningless to him. The words of the page could not penetrate the mind and heart of the melancholy prince.

In our first reading, Isaiah the prophet speaks of how the word of God waters the human soul and does not return to heaven void as did the words of Hamlet’s page.

So, too, the words of prayer the Lord teaches in the Gospel today, are not empty, like the words of the pagans, whose prayers amount to a bunch babbling.

The Word of God brings transformation. It is meant to bear fruit. We are always to approach the scriptures with a hearts and minds ready to be changed by them. We are to be constantly ready to learn from them and be directed by them, to put them into action.

Hamlet could not be moved by words because they were the words of man and symbolic of his own inabilities, his frustrations at accomplishing his plans. But the Word of God brings life to souls and impels us into cooperating with God’s plans.

The Lord called the words of the pagans a bunch of babbling, because they did not wish to be changed by their prayers, they didn’t wish to engage in the work of God, they just wanted to be seen, through their empty words they wished to gain attention for themselves. Rather, the first petition of the prayer Jesus teaches is “Father, Thy Will be Done”.

Hamlet’s melancholy is shared by all who, seeking only after their own wills, their own false gods, end up exhausted and unfilled.

During Lent, we do well to spend much time reflecting upon the word of God, especially our Lenten Mass Readings and the passion narratives, and allow them to till the soil of our hearts and to help us surrender, like Christ, the Father’s will in all things, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

- - - - - - -
 
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.

1st Week of Lent 2020 - Monday - "You did it for me"

On Ash Wednesday, our Gospel reading from the Sermon on the Mount every year, calls us to the Lenten Observances of Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving. Our Gospel today, certainly touches upon the third of the Lenten practices—Almsgiving—and emphasizes not only are we to give to the poor, but we are to recognize something about the poor. In some mysterious way, when we give to the poor—the hungry, naked, thirsty, and alienated, we give to Jesus Himself: “That which you did for the least of my brethren, you did for me.”

The Lord identifies with every human person who suffers and is in need of compassion—regardless of age, sex, nationality, or creed. Being their creator, his image is pressed upon every living person. Our love for God and love for neighbor are intrinsically bound. Our love for God impels us to care for those created in his image.

It is not easy to see Jesus in the unwashed, addicted, homeless. It is not easy to see Him in the lonely, hardened, bitter widower or widow. But our Lenten practices help us to see Jesus in all. Our Lenten prayer, if it is genuine, opens the eyes of our hearts not just to God, but to the needs of those created in his image. Our Lenten fasting, frees us from our attachments to food and other created things, that we might more freely give of ourselves in service to the Gospel and to the poor.

For those who have difficulty finding God in prayer, yes they should persevere in prayer, but they should also seek the Lord in service.

Mother Teresa often called the poor “Jesus in disguise.” Consider her powerful words references our Gospel passage today: “In order to help us deserve heaven, Christ set a condition: that at the moment of our death you and I, whoever we might have been and wherever we have lived, Christians and non-Christians alike, every human being was has been created by the loving hand of God in his own image shall stand in his presence and be judged according to what we have been for the poor, what we have done for them…”
 
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For the needs of the poor, the hungry, the homeless, those who are sick, unemployed, or suffering from addiction, mental, or physical illness, imprisoned, and those most in need: that the Lord in his goodness will be close to them in their trials.  We pray to the Lord.
For mercy for the most vulnerable of our human family, the unborn; that their mothers may choose life and be supported by a culture of life.
For the young people of our Church. May they be strengthened to be witnesses to the Gospel of mercy and work for a future that embodies a genuine culture of mercy.
For those preparing to enter the Church at Easter: that they will be profoundly blessed in their preparation for full initiation into the Body of Christ.  We pray to the Lord.
For the Holy Spirit’s guidance in the selection of Cleveland’s next bishop, and that our next Bishop may be a man of true faith and conviction for the Gospel.
For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, for all the poor souls in purgatory, and N. 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.

Friday after Ash Wednesday 2020 - Fasting with Sincerity

Throughout the Gospels the Lord is consistently criticizing the religious practices of the Pharisees. On Ash Wednesday, the Lord challenged the prayer, fasting, and almsgiving of the Pharisees. They love to pray in order get attention and appear to be pious, all the while their hearts are far from God. They take on a gloomy disposition that they may appear to be fasting. They make a big public spectacle about their almsgiving, that they may appear to be generous.

But the Lord criticizes this purely external and self-serving form of religion. Christians on the other hand are seek to please God in our prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, by not just completing these activities, but doing so with the right spirit, the right intention and motivations. We aren’t simply to seek the appearance of holiness, for God sees to the heart. We are to engage in prayer, fasting, and almsgiving out of true love for God and love of neighbor.

In his criticisms of Pharisaical religion, the Lord echoed the prophets, like Isaiah in our reading today. Isaiah denounced the Jews of his day who fasted but whose lack of love for God and neighbor could be evidenced in how they treated people: in their quarreling, fighting, mistreatment of servants, failure to heed the call of the starving.


We are called to fast, but fasting which flows from and increases our practice of justice, righteousness, loving-kindness, and attentiveness to the needs of the poor.

Lent aims to deepen our sense and practice of right worship, stripping away our selfish motives, purifying our hearts of indifference--as our Collect today prays, that our Lenten observances may be accomplished with sincerity.

“The days are coming when my disciples will fast” the Lord says in the Gospel. Yes, and the days are here. But our fasting must be done in the right spirit, or it’s no different from the Pharisees.
Each day during Lenten, we do well to ensure that our fasting, prayers, and almsgiving our being done with the right motivation, to please God, to increase our love and selflessness, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For the whole Christian people, that in this sacred Lenten season, they may be more abundantly nourished by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

For the whole world, that in lasting tranquility and peace our days may truly become the acceptable time of grace and salvation.

For sinners and those who neglect right religion, that in this time of reconciliation they may return wholeheartedly to Christ.

For ourselves, that God may at last stir up in our hearts aversion for our sins and conviction for the Gospel.

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.

Ash Wednesday 2020 - We implore you to be reconciled to God

“We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”

St. Paul couldn’t use stronger language to try to convince the people of Corinth to do everything in their to turn back to God.

He uses the word “implore”, I “implore you”, I beg you, I plead with you with tears in my eyes. Paul was deeply concerned that the Christians of Corinth were allowing sin and division to turn them away from God. They were in danger, their souls were in danger, because they were allowing sin to reclaim them. They were allowing the powers of darkness and selfishness to reenslave them. They were acting as if Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was for nothing.

And so he appeals to them “I implore you on behalf of Christ”, he reminds them exactly of what Jesus did for them. Jesus embraced suffering, he embraced death, he died for them, he freed them and liberated them. Remember who you are, O Christians, remember who died for you, remember who you are supposed to be and how you are to act.

“Be reconciled to God”. That word reconciliation, as I’ve mentioned, is a wonderfully descriptive word. It means to turn your face, your eye lashes in fact, back to God. Where you turned your eyelashes away from God by sinning, by coldness, by division, by focusing on earthly matters and selfish pursuits, turn back to God. Everyone of us here, in some way, has taken our eyes off of God.
Maybe we haven’t been praying as we should. Maybe we’ve been to focused on pleasure. Maybe we’ve allowed our earthly business to take precedence over our faith. Maybe you’ve been angry with God or a family member and you need to let go of that anger, you need to forgive. Maybe you’ve been selfish or arrogant and refused to believe the teachings of the Church.

Today is the day where we admit that we have taken our eyes from God, and we receive ashes on our forehead as a sign, that over these next 40 days, we will do everything we can to be reconciled to God. We will fast from food, as a way of showing that we do not live for the pleasures of the flesh alone. We will fast from activities which get in the way of our faith—activities like television, video games, internet browsing, social media. We will pray, we will make extra time every day for prayer, we will go to our inner room and shut the door, as Jesus tells us in the Gospel, and pray, and listen to God. And we will give alms, we will think less about ourselves and more about others, we will consider the ways we can help them. We will turn away from sin, we will go to confession, the sacrament of reconciliation.

We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God: through prayer, fasting, almsgiving and the confession of sins for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That the Church will experience the graces of profound renewal during this season of Lent.  We pray to the Lord.

That God will rescue all those who live at a distance from him because of self-absorption or sin.  We pray to the Lord.

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

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

For those preparing to enter the Church at Easter: that they will be profoundly blessed in their preparation for full initiation into the Body of Christ.  We pray to the Lord.

For the needs of the poor, the hungry, the homeless, those who are sick, unemployed, or suffering from addiction, mental, or physical illness, and those most in need: that the Lord in his goodness will be close to them in their trials.  We 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.  We pray to the Lord.

27th Week in OT 2019 - Tuesday - Ordinary Spiritual Growth

Every year we hear this passage from the prophet Jonah on the first week of Lent, 7 days after Ash Wednesday.  It’s one of the most dramatic responses to the call to repentance in the entire old testament: a city of about 120,000 people all come to repent the nobility, the peasantry, show signs of their repentance by fasting, covering themselves with sackcloth, and sitting in ashes.

We begin Lent on Ash Wednesday doing the exact same thing—with fasting and the imposition of ashes on our foreheads.  And throughout Lent we undertake practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving—visible and external signs of our internal sorrow for our sins.

Repentance is a pre-requisite for new spiritual life.  Repentance seeks to end the cycle of sin by acknowledging it with heartfelt sorrow and firmly resolving to sin no more.  Repentance ends the illusion that independence from God and his commandments brings the fulfillment we long for.

I’ve spoken before of the order of monks who take as their motto: “Semper Quadragesima”— “Always Lent”.  They seek to live, all year round, in that penitential Lenten Spirit because it is so effective in disposing us to the new spiritual life God wants to bring forth in us. If we are not actively seeking to be free from selfishness and to grow in generosity and charity, then we are in trouble.

Penitential Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, are taken up, particularly during Lent, but they are meant to be part of our normal spiritual growth—our Ordinary Time spiritual growth.

In the Gospel, Jesus rebuked Martha for being anxious about many things and not focusing on the one thing that really matters, namely, Himself, his presence in her life.  So what are the modes of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving that perhaps we need to commit to or recommit to, in order to be more centered on Christ, more serious about becoming liberated from selfishness.

Semper Quadragesima—always Lent.  May we be generous in surrendering all the different parts of our life to God’s transforming mercy, and allow God to reform, reshape, and renew us today and every day, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That hearing the call to repentance preached by the Church, all men may turn away from their sins to the mercy of Christ.

That world leaders may look upon the Son of God, believe in him, and seek the peace and justice that only he can bring.

That our young people may take seriously the missionary call of Christ, that they will turn away from the evils of our culture to spread the good news of Christ’s eternal kingdom.

For all whose lives are marked by suffering, may they come to know the healing and peace of Christ.
For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased clergy and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.

O God, you 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.