The First Sunday of Lent

The First Sunday of Lent

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March 10, 2019

Deuteronomy 26:4-10, Psalm 91; Romans 10:8-13; Luke 4:1-13

Every religion has its own version of Lent, in which believers atone for their sins and make adjustments in their relationship with God. Fair enough. It is a good impulse to always check our actions and attitudes. We want to make sure that it is not an act of denial and deprivation as punitive actions because we are sinners. We well know our own faults and we focus on them more than we focus on our goodness. St. Ignatius of Loyola wants us to see ourselves as loved sinners, with the emphasis on being loved regardless of our failings. God’s mercy needs to be the focus because God is always extending help so that we know of God’s overarching care.  

Jesus was tempted by comfort, honor and wealth, and power in the desert, and we are given similar temptations, but in contemporary ways. We will succumb to those temptations because we are not Jesus, though we strive to live like him. It is okay to fail; we just do not want to beat up ourselves. We grab the outstretched hand of the Lord, we pick ourselves up, and we move on with him.  

I want to give you three questions to ponder as you begin Lent. Here is the first: Ask the Lord to reveal your sins to you. This prayer practice takes away your tendency to self-judge, which you will probably do harsher than Christ will. Sometimes we just make mistakes; other times we miss the mark; often, we mistake angry or sad feelings for sinfulness. When we remove ourselves from the judging ministry and give it over to the Lord, we are often surprised. Those failings that we hold against ourselves, that keep us paralyzed, that weigh us down? He doesn’t even see them. We needlessly hold our sins against ourselves, and yet, I’m often surprised that Christ will reveal to me a relationship that is injured or broken that I have not considered, and he encourages me to examine how I can mend that friendship. He reveals to me where I have failed to bother to love a person who is in relationship with me. I’m sad when I find it out, and I never would have thought of it without his prompting. He then gives me the courage to mend a relationship, which strengthens a friendship that is important to him. All sins, every single sin, is relational, and it is important to remember that he has already forgiven every one of our sins. Therefore, we can live confidently in his care, but we still have work to do. Our work is to mend those fractured relationships.

Here is the second question: Ask the Lord to reveal to you how you have been sinned against. I always find this intriguing. As I listen to people in spiritual direction or in the reconciliation room, people mistake having bad or angry feelings with being sinful. An example of this is: Someone yelled at me and I said something angry back to them; therefore, I sinned. No. Wrong. The person who yelled at you sinned. You stood up for yourself in response and protected your boundaries. That is good. That is healthy. Perhaps you said something mean and hurtful back to the person, but you would not have said it if you were being treated rightly. Having anger, speaking your mind, caring for your boundaries are all good things. We might want to find a better way of expressing our anger so that we can achieve the good we want and that takes practice through learning new techniques. However, the Lord will reveal to us those who have sinned or are sinning against us if we ask. Some of my best moments in prayer have come from these conversations. I reclaimed self-worth that was getting dented and chipped away by others. The Lord gave me my real self back to me.

Here is the third question: Ask the Lord how he wants you to spend your Lent. The church asks for increased prayer, almsgiving, and fasting, and in our private devotionals, we instinctively gravitate towards denial and deprivation. Turn your Lent into a positive one. Before you commit yourself to a practice, ask the Lord how he would like you to mark this season. Ask him to be creative. Let your sacrifice be one of praise. Perhaps it is in handwriting a letter to someone each week, or trying out a long-postponed hobby, inviting someone to meet you for a coffee or to take a walk, or making an actual phone call to talk with a friend from long ago. Lent is about the restoration of relationships. Enjoy the time with each other and know that the Lord is present among you. God has repeatedly told us in Scripture: I desire mercy, not sacrifice. We have to hear those words.

The three questions are: Lord Jesus, what are my sins? Lord Jesus, how and by whom have I been sinned against? Lord Jesus, how do you want me to spend Lent with you? My prayer for you is that your Lent becomes a holy season. Focus upon your goodness and invite the Lord into your daily life. Refresh and renew relationships. The Lord will be near you to guide you. And most importantly, know that Christ wiped away your sins already and his focus is upon how much he loves you.

Scripture for Daily Mass

First Reading: 

Monday: (Leviticus 19) The Lord gives Moses ten commandments that he inscribes on stone tablets.

Tuesday: (Isaiah 55) God’s word will issue forth from his mouth and shall not return until it has fulfilled his will.

Wednesday: (Jonah 3) Jonah set out to Nineveh asking them to proclaim a fast and then repent. The king repents and the Lord dropped his threat because they turned from evil.

Thursday: (Esther 3) Queen Esther appeals to God for help in converting the king’s heart for hatred of the enemy that threatens them.

Friday: (Ezekiel 18) If the wicked turns from sinfulness and keeps the Lord’s statutes, he will surely live. Likewise, if a virtuous man becomes wicked, he shall die.

Saturday: (Deuteronomy 26) Moses tells the people to observe the Lord’s statutes and decrees with their whole heart and soul. The Lord will stand by you.

Gospel: 

Monday: (Matthew 25) Jesus tells his disciples about the last judgment when the goats and sheep will be separated. The measuring stick is the mercy shown to the most vulnerable.

Tuesday: (Matthew 6) The disciples ask Jesus to teach them to pray. He tells them not to pray like the pagans, who seek honor and glory, and then gives them the Lord’s prayer.

Wednesday: (Luke 11) Jesus chastises the crowd that seeks a sign, but none will be given to them. Because of Jonah’s preaching, the king and people repented.

Thursday: (Matthew 7) Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened. The Father is generous, especially to those who love him.

Friday: (Matthew 5) Your righteousness must surpass the levels of the scribes and Pharisees in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Show righteousness by quickly settling disputes.

Saturday: (Matthew 5) Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Heavenly Father. Be perfect as the Father is perfect.

Saints of the Week

 No saints are celebrated this week.

This Week in Jesuit History

·      Mar 10, 1615. The martyrdom in Glasgow, Scotland, of St John Ogilvie.

·      Mar 11, 1848. In Naples, Italy, during the 1848 revolution, 114 Jesuits, after much suffering, were put into carts and driven ignominiously out of the city and the kingdom.

·      Mar 12, 1622. Pope Gregory XV canonized Sts Ignatius, Francis Xavier, Teresa of Avila, and Philip Neri.

·      Mar 13, 1568. John Segura and five companions set sail from Spain for Florida, a fertile field of martyrs. (Nine Jesuits were killed there between 1566 and 1571.)

·      Mar 14, 1535. Ignatius received his degree from the University of Paris.

·      Mar 15, 1632. The death of Diego Ruiz, a great theologian, who studied on his knees.

·      Mar 16, 1649. The martyrdom in Canada of St John de Brebeuf, apostle to the Huron Indians. Captured by the Iroquois along with some Christian Hurons, he endured horrible tortures.