During Mass during the Ash Wednesday services, the priest prayers over the burned palm fronds from last year's Palm Sunday liturgies with the following words:
Lord, bless these ashes by which we show that we are dust. Pardon our sins and keep us faithful to the discipline of Lent, for you do not want sinners to die but to live with the risen Christ, who reigns and lives with you forever and ever.
The priest or minister places the ashes on the foreheads of the faithful saying:
“Turn away from sin and be faithful to the gospel” or
“Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return.”
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Monday, March 7, 2011
Take up the Wood: A Green Lent
As a spring thaw moved into New England over the weekend, I arose today with determination to get outside into the vast nature preserves around the retreat house. Scents from the soil told me that the earth was awakening from its enforced frozen slumber. Tree buds were becoming swollen giving hints of their soon-to-be fullness. I stood and mused about the direction I would take on my early morning walk. I decided to forego vigorous walking in favor of doing a little spring cleaning.
As Lent is upon us, I decided to take a traditional route of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving. I tried to be creative over the past few years in my Lenten observance and while my practices have been meaningful and personal, a traditional approach can never hurt. Therefore, I will fast on Ash Wednesday and Fridays and I will abstain from meats on Fridays. Actually, I do that every year. This year I am making grand plans to abstain from meat for the entire season and to limit my portions more strictly. The biggest sacrifice will be to abstain from snacking on certain types of foods in between meals. I plan to do it, not because Christ asked me to do it, but because I need a more sensible dietary practice. O.K. So much for holy sacrifices. I could put a holier spin on it, but that is dishonest.
I decided that my greater Lenten devotion this year is to clear the brush away from the Stations of the Cross at the Retreat House. The woods are overgrown and the Stations are inaccessible. Insidious bittersweet vines are choking the life out of hardy trees. I want to liberate those trees from the attachments that suck the life out of them. I want to make the Stations available for retreatants who come to walk the way of Christ.
Each of us has to pick up his or her cross and heave it onto less than sturdy shoulders. What better way to go through Lent than picking up dead wood and hauling it away? It is difficult work. I am already cut and bruised by the branches that refuse to give, but I am determined to clear out what no longer belongs.
The Stations of the Cross are located in a swampy tract of land at the entrance to the retreat house. The thick woods look foreboding and many a retreatant has asked, "where are the Stations?" From the retreat house, you cannot tell there is anything but a menacing, uninviting overgrown forest. Pruning has not been done in many seasons. No one can walk the Stations because the metal posts have rotted and the markers have fallen to the ground.
My first pass through was to clear a passageway that could provide a devotional worshipper with a clearer path of entry. I began to trim some of the overgrown bushes. Cutting them back makes them look manageable in scale. Then I trimmed the edges of the pathway that are sprouting new growth that covers any signs of tracks.
My plans were soon enlarged when I became entangled in the insidious vines that are choking creation. On some bushes, I can't even figure out where to begin because the formidable vines cut into me. I think about walking away because that would be easier. No one has paid attention to the mess in years. Why should I do so now? What sort of masochist am I? I don't want to be defeated.
As I tear into the vines, I discover that I am most effective if I take the tinier parts of the vine first. If I clear out a passageway, I can soon discover where the roots are located. Eventually, I can strike the root and check the vines' progress. Patience with my methodology will tell me if I'm on the right track. I realize that it will take much time, more than I want to give it, because it is designed to ensnare. It builds duplicate feeding systems so that if I sever one artery, another one will nourish the plant. This is going to be a project where I commit many hours of my resources knowing that the deck of cards is stacked against me.
I see that these vines are representing the sin of the world and that sin is so endemic to our human institutions that no one person can be victorious. Each of us is defeated because of sin. No one can save himself or herself from the deconstructing spiral of sin. Even a large dedicated group of people seem to have no commanding effect upon sin. The vine will also find a way to come back in new and clever ways.
Addictions are extremely devastating. Many people will say that becoming sober was the most difficult act they ever did. Others say smoking was horrendous to beat. Gambling is a silent killer. Sex and love addicts struggle to retain control over their behaviors. The newest forms of addiction seem to be pervasive and the most virulent: technology addictions, including online pornography. Each of these addictions go to the root of our human strengths and weaknesses. We seldom give much respect to the power of our sexual natures.
In the church, many people are unwilling to talk about our sexual nature unless it is only discussed within the extreme ideals of church documents. Being at ease with sexuality helps us dealing with our predicaments. Many penitents confess the sin of masturbation over and over again without a deepening examination of their belief systems. Many penitents focus on the clinical act he or she committed without a more expansive regard of the relationship system that was violated. Sexual sins are sins because they affect human relationships.
Disordered attachments are also like vines. Life's experiences form us. Each of us has some part of our formation that is incomplete or undeveloped. We get hooked by our psychological and emotional needs and we act out of them. We sometimes don't even know why we act in certain ways. We are blind to areas and if we do have sight and insight, we may be powerless to do anything about it. We are wounded in some way. If we don't allow our wounds to be transformed, then we transmit them.
When we add my personal sin to your personal sin, we have social sin and these larger sins are more difficult to transform. Social systems, institutions, governments, and all human infrastructures are besieged by our social sins and they are as unrestrained as the vines that choke the healthy plants beneath them.
Why do we try? Because a beautiful tree lies underneath it. The solitary tree is worth saving. It has beauty (especially if it is damaged) and dignity and potential. It deserves to live as fully as it can, even if it cannot reach the height of a California redwood. Life is better lived when it is unimpeded and cleared of unwanted obstacles. This is why I try.
I realize I am not doing this work alone. I am standing together with Christ - face to face, arm in arm. He has a dream for each of us where there is no more violence, killing, or starvation - of plants or people. Nothing is to waste away. Sure, it is just an idea, but an idea needs flesh, and the time is now.
Christ can hear his brothers and sisters cry out, "I want to live. I want to grow. I want to see. I want to know. I want to share what I can give because I have something good to contribute. I want to be beheld and respected. I want to do more than dream. I want to take steps to make my dream come true."
This is why I try.
This is why my boots get muddy and my feet get cold from the soaking ice puddles. This is why I get scratched and wince in pain. This is why I tug at the thick tree-like branches that wrap parasitically around a defenseless tree. My blisters will heal. My cuts will fade. My feeling of being "a fool" will cease when Christ and I look back on our efforts and we see a tree standing taller, standing straighter. My folly will seem like wisdom when people can see Christ in his Stations and realize they too have to one day pick up their own cross of wood. My delight will be when others can see a clearer pathway to him.
At the end of this day, I'm tired. New muscles ache, but it is a good pain. It is a pain from knowing that the possible results will be worth the effort. Striving is always the better route. As I look at the approaching Ash Wednesday, I realize my Lent will be green. If I can pick up one more stick each day, the forest will be clearer for me and for others. It seems daunting right now. I dream of what it will look like on Easter morning.
As Lent is upon us, I decided to take a traditional route of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving. I tried to be creative over the past few years in my Lenten observance and while my practices have been meaningful and personal, a traditional approach can never hurt. Therefore, I will fast on Ash Wednesday and Fridays and I will abstain from meats on Fridays. Actually, I do that every year. This year I am making grand plans to abstain from meat for the entire season and to limit my portions more strictly. The biggest sacrifice will be to abstain from snacking on certain types of foods in between meals. I plan to do it, not because Christ asked me to do it, but because I need a more sensible dietary practice. O.K. So much for holy sacrifices. I could put a holier spin on it, but that is dishonest.
I decided that my greater Lenten devotion this year is to clear the brush away from the Stations of the Cross at the Retreat House. The woods are overgrown and the Stations are inaccessible. Insidious bittersweet vines are choking the life out of hardy trees. I want to liberate those trees from the attachments that suck the life out of them. I want to make the Stations available for retreatants who come to walk the way of Christ.
Each of us has to pick up his or her cross and heave it onto less than sturdy shoulders. What better way to go through Lent than picking up dead wood and hauling it away? It is difficult work. I am already cut and bruised by the branches that refuse to give, but I am determined to clear out what no longer belongs.
The Stations of the Cross are located in a swampy tract of land at the entrance to the retreat house. The thick woods look foreboding and many a retreatant has asked, "where are the Stations?" From the retreat house, you cannot tell there is anything but a menacing, uninviting overgrown forest. Pruning has not been done in many seasons. No one can walk the Stations because the metal posts have rotted and the markers have fallen to the ground.
My first pass through was to clear a passageway that could provide a devotional worshipper with a clearer path of entry. I began to trim some of the overgrown bushes. Cutting them back makes them look manageable in scale. Then I trimmed the edges of the pathway that are sprouting new growth that covers any signs of tracks.
My plans were soon enlarged when I became entangled in the insidious vines that are choking creation. On some bushes, I can't even figure out where to begin because the formidable vines cut into me. I think about walking away because that would be easier. No one has paid attention to the mess in years. Why should I do so now? What sort of masochist am I? I don't want to be defeated.
As I tear into the vines, I discover that I am most effective if I take the tinier parts of the vine first. If I clear out a passageway, I can soon discover where the roots are located. Eventually, I can strike the root and check the vines' progress. Patience with my methodology will tell me if I'm on the right track. I realize that it will take much time, more than I want to give it, because it is designed to ensnare. It builds duplicate feeding systems so that if I sever one artery, another one will nourish the plant. This is going to be a project where I commit many hours of my resources knowing that the deck of cards is stacked against me.
I see that these vines are representing the sin of the world and that sin is so endemic to our human institutions that no one person can be victorious. Each of us is defeated because of sin. No one can save himself or herself from the deconstructing spiral of sin. Even a large dedicated group of people seem to have no commanding effect upon sin. The vine will also find a way to come back in new and clever ways.
Addictions are extremely devastating. Many people will say that becoming sober was the most difficult act they ever did. Others say smoking was horrendous to beat. Gambling is a silent killer. Sex and love addicts struggle to retain control over their behaviors. The newest forms of addiction seem to be pervasive and the most virulent: technology addictions, including online pornography. Each of these addictions go to the root of our human strengths and weaknesses. We seldom give much respect to the power of our sexual natures.
In the church, many people are unwilling to talk about our sexual nature unless it is only discussed within the extreme ideals of church documents. Being at ease with sexuality helps us dealing with our predicaments. Many penitents confess the sin of masturbation over and over again without a deepening examination of their belief systems. Many penitents focus on the clinical act he or she committed without a more expansive regard of the relationship system that was violated. Sexual sins are sins because they affect human relationships.
Disordered attachments are also like vines. Life's experiences form us. Each of us has some part of our formation that is incomplete or undeveloped. We get hooked by our psychological and emotional needs and we act out of them. We sometimes don't even know why we act in certain ways. We are blind to areas and if we do have sight and insight, we may be powerless to do anything about it. We are wounded in some way. If we don't allow our wounds to be transformed, then we transmit them.
When we add my personal sin to your personal sin, we have social sin and these larger sins are more difficult to transform. Social systems, institutions, governments, and all human infrastructures are besieged by our social sins and they are as unrestrained as the vines that choke the healthy plants beneath them.
Why do we try? Because a beautiful tree lies underneath it. The solitary tree is worth saving. It has beauty (especially if it is damaged) and dignity and potential. It deserves to live as fully as it can, even if it cannot reach the height of a California redwood. Life is better lived when it is unimpeded and cleared of unwanted obstacles. This is why I try.
I realize I am not doing this work alone. I am standing together with Christ - face to face, arm in arm. He has a dream for each of us where there is no more violence, killing, or starvation - of plants or people. Nothing is to waste away. Sure, it is just an idea, but an idea needs flesh, and the time is now.
Christ can hear his brothers and sisters cry out, "I want to live. I want to grow. I want to see. I want to know. I want to share what I can give because I have something good to contribute. I want to be beheld and respected. I want to do more than dream. I want to take steps to make my dream come true."
This is why I try.
This is why my boots get muddy and my feet get cold from the soaking ice puddles. This is why I get scratched and wince in pain. This is why I tug at the thick tree-like branches that wrap parasitically around a defenseless tree. My blisters will heal. My cuts will fade. My feeling of being "a fool" will cease when Christ and I look back on our efforts and we see a tree standing taller, standing straighter. My folly will seem like wisdom when people can see Christ in his Stations and realize they too have to one day pick up their own cross of wood. My delight will be when others can see a clearer pathway to him.
At the end of this day, I'm tired. New muscles ache, but it is a good pain. It is a pain from knowing that the possible results will be worth the effort. Striving is always the better route. As I look at the approaching Ash Wednesday, I realize my Lent will be green. If I can pick up one more stick each day, the forest will be clearer for me and for others. It seems daunting right now. I dream of what it will look like on Easter morning.
Mardi Gras, Ash Wednesday, and Lent
The carnival season is coming to an end. It has been a lengthy season that began nine weeks ago at the conclusion on the Christmas season. Carnival stands for "carne" (meat) and "vale" (goodbye) when the faithful ones say goodbye to meat. They put it away for the season as they ready for the fasting, prayer, and almsgiving of Lent.
Mardi Gras has developed into a great day of frivolity and revelry and is largely seen by the general public as independent of Ash Wednesday and Lent. For us Christians, the partying carries a measured, respectful tone because of the deeper meaning of the penitential season that begins the following day. It becomes, not a last gasp day of partying, but a day to bid farewell to those ordinary blessings in our lives that we take for granted.
Mardi Gras has developed into a great day of frivolity and revelry and is largely seen by the general public as independent of Ash Wednesday and Lent. For us Christians, the partying carries a measured, respectful tone because of the deeper meaning of the penitential season that begins the following day. It becomes, not a last gasp day of partying, but a day to bid farewell to those ordinary blessings in our lives that we take for granted.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Poem: Crux Fideles
O faithful Cross, incomparable Tree, the nobles of all;
no forest hath ere put forth the likes of thing own leaves,
they flowers they fruits; gentle word with a gentle nail,
to support so gentle a burden.
The Creator looked on sadly as the first man, our forefather,
was deceived,
and as he fell into the snare of death, taking a bit of lethal fruit;
it was then that God chose this blessed piece of wood
to destroy the other tree's curse.
Equal and eternal glory to the Father and to the Son and to the
Illustrious Paraclete, the Blessed Trinity whose divine grace
redeems and conserves us always. Amen.
no forest hath ere put forth the likes of thing own leaves,
they flowers they fruits; gentle word with a gentle nail,
to support so gentle a burden.
The Creator looked on sadly as the first man, our forefather,
was deceived,
and as he fell into the snare of death, taking a bit of lethal fruit;
it was then that God chose this blessed piece of wood
to destroy the other tree's curse.
Equal and eternal glory to the Father and to the Son and to the
Illustrious Paraclete, the Blessed Trinity whose divine grace
redeems and conserves us always. Amen.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Poem: To an Athlete Dying Young
The time you won your town the race
We chaired you through the marketplace;
Man and boy stood cheering by,
And home we brought you shoulder-high.
Today, the road all runners come,
Shoulder-high we bring you home,
And set you at your threshold down,
Townsman of a stiller town.
Smart lad, to slip betimes away
From fields where glory does not stay,
And early though the laurel grows,
It withers quicker than the rose.
Eyes the shady
night has shut
Cannot see the record cut,
And silence sounds no worse than cheers
After earth has stopped the ears:
Now you will not swell the rout
Of lads that wore their honors out,
Runners whom renown outran
And the name died before the man.
So set, before its echoes fade,
The fleet foot on the sill of shade,
And hold to the low lintel up
The still-defended challenge-cup.
And rounded that early-laurelled head
Will flock to gaze the senseless dead,
And find unwithered on its curls
By A.E. Housman (1896)
Friday, March 4, 2011
Prayer: Ignatius of Loyola
I ask you also, dear brothers in Jesus Christ Our Lord
and God, to make yourselves open for His coming and His spiritual treasures.
This openness comes through purity of heart, true humility, a common mind among
you all, a common desire, and peace within and without, which is what makes a
dwelling place in your soul for the One who is called ‘Prince of Peace,’
enabling Him to be Lord within you. In short, my prayer is that you be
completely united, indeed simply one entity, in Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Prayer: Augustine of Hippo
There are many kinds of alms, the giving of which helps us to obtain pardon for our sins; but none is greater than that by which we forgive from our heart a sin that someone has committed against us.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
March 6, 2011 Deuteronomy 11:18, 26-28; Romans 3:21-25, 28; Matthew 7:21-27
The words we hear today are the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount, and rightly so, they speak of matters of the last judgment. Two unsettling questions arise from the readings. The first is, "how do we know we are on the right path to salvation?" This question originates in the words of Moses to the Israelites as they are asked to accept God's commandments. Following them brings life; hearing them but not abiding by them brings curses and destruction. These two ways form the basis of Wisdom literature. To Moses, following God's laws means one's obedience has to come from one's heart. It shows one's fidelity to the spirit of the laws through one's entire being rather than a minimalistic approach.
The second question is "what does it take to enter into heaven?" God is cast as the judge with Jesus as the legal advocate. Merely saying that one has faith in Jesus is not enough to satisfy the entrance requirement. Jesus will stand at the door when you knock and declare he doesn't know you if you have not fulfilled the social justice that is linked with faith. No one can emerge triumphant from the last judgment on merely the basis of words or the strength of one's spiritual power. Faith must produce active justice.
Matthew always connects ethics with his belief about the last days. He sees the church as a body of sinners and saints that will be sorted out in the eventual end-times. His position warns against the presumption that Christians can carry when they assume they are going to heaven merely because they attend church services. (This argument stands in contrast to Paul's and John's beliefs.) For Matthew, salvation is not necessarily assured. Only a person whose life is marked by love and justice will inherit eternal life.
Matthew's use of the parable about a wise man who built his house of rock that can endure the storms illustrates his point. Listening and hearing are key features of discipleship. However, it is not enough. Hearing and the doing the word is the solid foundation. We have to put the words of Jesus into action by choosing to interpret God's will through the lens of a justice built on love for neighbor. At the conclusion of his Sermon, Jesus wants people to hear all his words and enact them as the wisdom of life. Incorporating this radical new teaching into one's actions will prove that you know Jesus. He will recognize you during the last days.
Paul reminds us in Romans that we are all sinners and are deprived of God's glory. We receive it as a grace from God. Our righteousness depends upon the righteousness of God, which is a free gift already accomplished by Christ. For Paul, belief is enough because our salvation is ultimately worked out by God. We know that God will accomplish in us the transformation we need to live justly and well. The law has its rightful place in the world. Our justification is free from the constrictions of the law and is freely offered by God's grace. While faith alone is enough for Paul, he knows that the integrity of one's faith will bring about God's justice on earth. They are inseparable.
Themes for this Week’s Masses
First Reading: The Book of Tobit begins in Ordinary Time but is interrupted by Ash Wednesday and the Lenten season. In the days following Ash Wednesday, the themes of fasting and abstinence are introduced. Deuteronomy tells us that we have a choice of life or death, blessing or curse, and that God's Law and wisdom will keep us on the path of life. Isaiah declares the virtues and customs of fasting that will please the Lord. This involves great works of mercy and social justice. The works we do will shine a light on our faith.
Gospel: To complete this portion of Ordinary Time, Jesus tells a stinging parable to the religious authorities about their hardness of heart in hearing God's word. The Pharisees were sent to snare Jesus in a trap, but Jesus skillfully maneuvers his way past their logic. After Ash Wednesday, Jesus declares to his friends that he must die and that the cost of discipleship is to deny one's life for the sake of the cross. He also tells them they have no need of fasting while he is with them, but the time will come when they will fast. He then calls Levi the tax collector into his closest circle of friends as an illustration of the surprising logic of the kingdom of heaven.
Saints of the Week
Monday: Perpetua and Felicity (d. 203) were catechumens arrested during a North African persecution. Perpetua, a young noblewoman, and Felicity, her pregnant slave, were baptized while under arrest and they refused to renounce their faith. Felicity was to be released because she was pregnant but she delivered her child prematurely days before her execution. Both were beheaded and sent among wild beasts.
Tuesday: John of God (1495-1550) was a Portuguese mercenary soldier who squandered his youth on less than respectable endeavors. At age forty, he reformed his life and formed the Order of Brothers Hospitallers to take care of the sick and the poor.
Wednesday: Ash Wednesday - Today is the end of the carnival season and the beginning of days of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving in commemoration of the last days of Jesus in his earthly life. Forty days of Lent leads to Holy Week and the Paschal Triduum when Jesus goes through his Passion, Death and Resurrection.
This Week in Jesuit History
• Mar 6, 1643. Arnauld, the Jansenist, published his famous tract against Frequent Communion. Fifteen French bishops gave it their approval, whereas the Jesuit fathers at once exposed the dangers in it.
• Mar 7, 1581. The Fifth General Congregation of the Society bound the professors of the Society to adhere to the doctrine of St Thomas Aquinas.
• Mar 8, 1773. At Centi, in the diocese of Bologna, Cardinal Malvezzi paid a surprise visit to the Jesuit house, demanding to inspect their accounting books.
• Mar 9, 1764. In France, all Jesuits who refused to abjure the Society were ordered by Parliament to leave the realm within a month. Out of 4,000 members only five priests, two scholastics, and eight brothers took the required oath; the others were driven into exile.
• 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.
New Zealand
Please continue your prayers for the people of Christchurch, New Zealand who have begun to bury their dead. The death toll is already at 150. They continue to search for hundreds of missing people.
Friends from the Portland, Maine area were in Christchurch on the day of the earthquake and have described their experiences in a Portland Press Herald news article.
Revolutions and Uprisings
Many people in North Africa, the Middle East, and within Arab nations continue to demonstrate their disapproval with monarchies and dictatorships. They push for needed social, political, and economic reforms. Let's continue to pray for their safety as they express pent-up frustrations and push for new policies and structures that will assure them greater reverence and dignity.
Mardi Gras, Ash Wednesday, and Lent
The carnival season is coming to an end. It has been a lengthy season that began nine weeks ago at the conclusion on the Christmas season. Carnival stands for "carne" (meat) and "vale" (goodbye) when the faithful ones say goodbye to meat. They put it away for the season as they ready for the fasting, prayer, and almsgiving of Lent.
Mardi Gras has developed into a great day of frivolity and revelry and is largely seen by the general public as independent of Ash Wednesday and Lent. For us Christians, the partying carries a measured, respectful tone because of the deeper meaning of the penitential season that begins the following day. It becomes, not a last gasp day of partying, but a day to bid farewell to those ordinary blessings in our lives that we take for granted.
The words we hear today are the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount, and rightly so, they speak of matters of the last judgment. Two unsettling questions arise from the readings. The first is, "how do we know we are on the right path to salvation?" This question originates in the words of Moses to the Israelites as they are asked to accept God's commandments. Following them brings life; hearing them but not abiding by them brings curses and destruction. These two ways form the basis of Wisdom literature. To Moses, following God's laws means one's obedience has to come from one's heart. It shows one's fidelity to the spirit of the laws through one's entire being rather than a minimalistic approach.
The second question is "what does it take to enter into heaven?" God is cast as the judge with Jesus as the legal advocate. Merely saying that one has faith in Jesus is not enough to satisfy the entrance requirement. Jesus will stand at the door when you knock and declare he doesn't know you if you have not fulfilled the social justice that is linked with faith. No one can emerge triumphant from the last judgment on merely the basis of words or the strength of one's spiritual power. Faith must produce active justice.
Matthew always connects ethics with his belief about the last days. He sees the church as a body of sinners and saints that will be sorted out in the eventual end-times. His position warns against the presumption that Christians can carry when they assume they are going to heaven merely because they attend church services. (This argument stands in contrast to Paul's and John's beliefs.) For Matthew, salvation is not necessarily assured. Only a person whose life is marked by love and justice will inherit eternal life.
Matthew's use of the parable about a wise man who built his house of rock that can endure the storms illustrates his point. Listening and hearing are key features of discipleship. However, it is not enough. Hearing and the doing the word is the solid foundation. We have to put the words of Jesus into action by choosing to interpret God's will through the lens of a justice built on love for neighbor. At the conclusion of his Sermon, Jesus wants people to hear all his words and enact them as the wisdom of life. Incorporating this radical new teaching into one's actions will prove that you know Jesus. He will recognize you during the last days.
Paul reminds us in Romans that we are all sinners and are deprived of God's glory. We receive it as a grace from God. Our righteousness depends upon the righteousness of God, which is a free gift already accomplished by Christ. For Paul, belief is enough because our salvation is ultimately worked out by God. We know that God will accomplish in us the transformation we need to live justly and well. The law has its rightful place in the world. Our justification is free from the constrictions of the law and is freely offered by God's grace. While faith alone is enough for Paul, he knows that the integrity of one's faith will bring about God's justice on earth. They are inseparable.
Themes for this Week’s Masses
First Reading: The Book of Tobit begins in Ordinary Time but is interrupted by Ash Wednesday and the Lenten season. In the days following Ash Wednesday, the themes of fasting and abstinence are introduced. Deuteronomy tells us that we have a choice of life or death, blessing or curse, and that God's Law and wisdom will keep us on the path of life. Isaiah declares the virtues and customs of fasting that will please the Lord. This involves great works of mercy and social justice. The works we do will shine a light on our faith.
Gospel: To complete this portion of Ordinary Time, Jesus tells a stinging parable to the religious authorities about their hardness of heart in hearing God's word. The Pharisees were sent to snare Jesus in a trap, but Jesus skillfully maneuvers his way past their logic. After Ash Wednesday, Jesus declares to his friends that he must die and that the cost of discipleship is to deny one's life for the sake of the cross. He also tells them they have no need of fasting while he is with them, but the time will come when they will fast. He then calls Levi the tax collector into his closest circle of friends as an illustration of the surprising logic of the kingdom of heaven.
Saints of the Week
Monday: Perpetua and Felicity (d. 203) were catechumens arrested during a North African persecution. Perpetua, a young noblewoman, and Felicity, her pregnant slave, were baptized while under arrest and they refused to renounce their faith. Felicity was to be released because she was pregnant but she delivered her child prematurely days before her execution. Both were beheaded and sent among wild beasts.
Tuesday: John of God (1495-1550) was a Portuguese mercenary soldier who squandered his youth on less than respectable endeavors. At age forty, he reformed his life and formed the Order of Brothers Hospitallers to take care of the sick and the poor.
Wednesday: Ash Wednesday - Today is the end of the carnival season and the beginning of days of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving in commemoration of the last days of Jesus in his earthly life. Forty days of Lent leads to Holy Week and the Paschal Triduum when Jesus goes through his Passion, Death and Resurrection.
This Week in Jesuit History
• Mar 6, 1643. Arnauld, the Jansenist, published his famous tract against Frequent Communion. Fifteen French bishops gave it their approval, whereas the Jesuit fathers at once exposed the dangers in it.
• Mar 7, 1581. The Fifth General Congregation of the Society bound the professors of the Society to adhere to the doctrine of St Thomas Aquinas.
• Mar 8, 1773. At Centi, in the diocese of Bologna, Cardinal Malvezzi paid a surprise visit to the Jesuit house, demanding to inspect their accounting books.
• Mar 9, 1764. In France, all Jesuits who refused to abjure the Society were ordered by Parliament to leave the realm within a month. Out of 4,000 members only five priests, two scholastics, and eight brothers took the required oath; the others were driven into exile.
• 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.
New Zealand
Please continue your prayers for the people of Christchurch, New Zealand who have begun to bury their dead. The death toll is already at 150. They continue to search for hundreds of missing people.
Friends from the Portland, Maine area were in Christchurch on the day of the earthquake and have described their experiences in a Portland Press Herald news article.
Revolutions and Uprisings
Many people in North Africa, the Middle East, and within Arab nations continue to demonstrate their disapproval with monarchies and dictatorships. They push for needed social, political, and economic reforms. Let's continue to pray for their safety as they express pent-up frustrations and push for new policies and structures that will assure them greater reverence and dignity.
Mardi Gras, Ash Wednesday, and Lent
The carnival season is coming to an end. It has been a lengthy season that began nine weeks ago at the conclusion on the Christmas season. Carnival stands for "carne" (meat) and "vale" (goodbye) when the faithful ones say goodbye to meat. They put it away for the season as they ready for the fasting, prayer, and almsgiving of Lent.
Mardi Gras has developed into a great day of frivolity and revelry and is largely seen by the general public as independent of Ash Wednesday and Lent. For us Christians, the partying carries a measured, respectful tone because of the deeper meaning of the penitential season that begins the following day. It becomes, not a last gasp day of partying, but a day to bid farewell to those ordinary blessings in our lives that we take for granted.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Homily for Mark 10:28-31
We are at the final stages of the earthly ministry of Jesus in Mark's Gospel. In each segment, we see Jesus asking his friends for a personal response to him, and most times they fail. Yesterday, we listened to the story of the rich man who walked away from the potential relationship with Jesus because he was too preoccupied with his possessions. The statement of Jesus was harsh - few can enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Today we hear the perplexed Peter pose the weighty question, "what about us? We've given up everything to follow you. Will we make it?" You can tell it is a frightening question to ask because it is laden with the fear of rejection and purposelessness. On a personal level it asks, "do I matter to you? I thought I did." You can sense an unspoken dialogue behind the few stated words. Although the words of Jesus sound harsh to many, he means them as a compassionate response to their anxiety. Yes, they have a place with him, and yes, their reward will be more abundant than they imagine.
This passage does remind us of the primacy of our relationship with Jesus, and that can be frightening. I have often heard concerned people pray for their loved ones who turned away from the church and/or Christ. It breaks their heart. They want the best for their loved ones and they want to know they will be with them in the eternal life that is to come. Their love is so strong that it sometimes gets in the way of following the direction Christ sets for them.
Family bonds are impenetrable. We are extremely interconnected and we know that we cannot erase the bonds that exist, and as a reconciling people, we want to reach out to others and settle disagreements. As Christians, we want to heal the rift between the estranged. This is in the fabric of our understanding of charity. To reject property or family or lands for Jesus is fantastically too difficult to digest.
The key to the story is held in the passage we heard yesterday when the rich man walked away from Jesus with great sadness. He gave up on the potential friendship. He walked away and left Jesus. The chance that Jesus could become meaningful to him was snuffed out. He closed his mind, heart, and attitude to the possibility of a friendship. We haven't done that, and we are not likely to do so. In this, we can find great comfort.
But it also tells us that worrying about relationships with others, especially families, doesn't help us. We are to go where he leads us or be where he wants us to be. If we trust in Christ strongly enough, the other stuff matters, but it is not within our control. He will take care of the relationships that we can't shape. The best thing we can do is to share our desires with him. We can't control or change anyone else and it is very wrong for us to try. We look to God who gives us freedom and we follow God's example. God doesn't manipulate. God doesn't intervene to control a situation. God gives us freedom - and we are not used to living in freedom.
I think of Walter Ciszek of the Society of Jesus who was imprisoned in Russia, mostly in Siberia, for nearly a quarter of a century. Each day, the prisoners were lined up for roll call. They stood before the guards hands behind their back. On the day of his release, his name was called by the guards, and he lined up in the usual formation, hands behind his back, awaiting words from his captors. He followed the same routine that saved him each day, and now that he was free, he did not know what to do. His captors laughed at him as they shouted, "You are free. You can go." Those rhythms necessary for survival are painful to break.
And it tells us that our freedom comes from the outside. We know we can't fix what is broken within us. We've tried. We haven't succeeded, and yet we keep trying to make our situation manageable. No matter what we do, we can't solve ourselves. Only Christ's concern for us can achieve this. Christ himself can unlock to door to our prison. We have to let him be the one who releases us from our captivity, and then we have to learn to live like him - like one who savors the victory of his freedom.
The first reading tells us of the just one who finds joy in freedom. One who is free is marked by generosity and gratitude with a spirit that impels one to offer oneself for others. We notice in this person a change of disposition or attitude. Who among us wants to be with someone who is also grumpy and critical? No one. We can offer our care and concern, but the person who constantly speaks and acts negatively is seldom willing to allow Christ and others to affect their lives. They reject the assistance they may inwardly crave. Little good will come to a person like this until one avails oneself of the love that hovers around the person. And yet less and less love hovers because the person makes himself or herself unlovable.
Who doesn't want to be around one who is happy and content? Happiness is very attractive. When we realize the amazing affection God has for us, we become like Mary as we sing our own Magnificat. We sing our own song that tells of God's goodness to us. This is a song that needs to be sung because so many others are yearning for the freedom Christ offers. It is a tune that helps us remember the gratitude of the one who saved and saves us. It is a single note, pure and easy, playing so free like a breath rippling by.
Although we carry heavy concerns on this retreat, let us find some time to offer praise as our sacrifice. We traditionally think of sacrifice as giving up something meaningful. It means denying oneself and going without. It means making one a little less comfortable for the sake of a greater good. This traditional definition has its place, but today let's offer praise as sacrifice to the Trinitarian God for the goodness we receive each minute of our day. Let's offer essentially who were are - our feelings and desires, our freedom, our good and bad memories, our comprehension of life's events, and the toughest one of all - our will. Take time today to give generously and have a cheerful countenance.
Though we have given up lots to follow Christ, he tells us we will receive much more than we ever give up. This is the abundance of God in the kingdom. This is the God who has given you yourself as gift and wants you to return it joyfully. This is the God who delights in you and gushes over you, just as proud parents tells friends about their beloved children. Let God make you feel special today. Let God gush over you and feel proud.
Today we hear the perplexed Peter pose the weighty question, "what about us? We've given up everything to follow you. Will we make it?" You can tell it is a frightening question to ask because it is laden with the fear of rejection and purposelessness. On a personal level it asks, "do I matter to you? I thought I did." You can sense an unspoken dialogue behind the few stated words. Although the words of Jesus sound harsh to many, he means them as a compassionate response to their anxiety. Yes, they have a place with him, and yes, their reward will be more abundant than they imagine.
This passage does remind us of the primacy of our relationship with Jesus, and that can be frightening. I have often heard concerned people pray for their loved ones who turned away from the church and/or Christ. It breaks their heart. They want the best for their loved ones and they want to know they will be with them in the eternal life that is to come. Their love is so strong that it sometimes gets in the way of following the direction Christ sets for them.
Family bonds are impenetrable. We are extremely interconnected and we know that we cannot erase the bonds that exist, and as a reconciling people, we want to reach out to others and settle disagreements. As Christians, we want to heal the rift between the estranged. This is in the fabric of our understanding of charity. To reject property or family or lands for Jesus is fantastically too difficult to digest.
The key to the story is held in the passage we heard yesterday when the rich man walked away from Jesus with great sadness. He gave up on the potential friendship. He walked away and left Jesus. The chance that Jesus could become meaningful to him was snuffed out. He closed his mind, heart, and attitude to the possibility of a friendship. We haven't done that, and we are not likely to do so. In this, we can find great comfort.
But it also tells us that worrying about relationships with others, especially families, doesn't help us. We are to go where he leads us or be where he wants us to be. If we trust in Christ strongly enough, the other stuff matters, but it is not within our control. He will take care of the relationships that we can't shape. The best thing we can do is to share our desires with him. We can't control or change anyone else and it is very wrong for us to try. We look to God who gives us freedom and we follow God's example. God doesn't manipulate. God doesn't intervene to control a situation. God gives us freedom - and we are not used to living in freedom.
I think of Walter Ciszek of the Society of Jesus who was imprisoned in Russia, mostly in Siberia, for nearly a quarter of a century. Each day, the prisoners were lined up for roll call. They stood before the guards hands behind their back. On the day of his release, his name was called by the guards, and he lined up in the usual formation, hands behind his back, awaiting words from his captors. He followed the same routine that saved him each day, and now that he was free, he did not know what to do. His captors laughed at him as they shouted, "You are free. You can go." Those rhythms necessary for survival are painful to break.
And it tells us that our freedom comes from the outside. We know we can't fix what is broken within us. We've tried. We haven't succeeded, and yet we keep trying to make our situation manageable. No matter what we do, we can't solve ourselves. Only Christ's concern for us can achieve this. Christ himself can unlock to door to our prison. We have to let him be the one who releases us from our captivity, and then we have to learn to live like him - like one who savors the victory of his freedom.
The first reading tells us of the just one who finds joy in freedom. One who is free is marked by generosity and gratitude with a spirit that impels one to offer oneself for others. We notice in this person a change of disposition or attitude. Who among us wants to be with someone who is also grumpy and critical? No one. We can offer our care and concern, but the person who constantly speaks and acts negatively is seldom willing to allow Christ and others to affect their lives. They reject the assistance they may inwardly crave. Little good will come to a person like this until one avails oneself of the love that hovers around the person. And yet less and less love hovers because the person makes himself or herself unlovable.
Who doesn't want to be around one who is happy and content? Happiness is very attractive. When we realize the amazing affection God has for us, we become like Mary as we sing our own Magnificat. We sing our own song that tells of God's goodness to us. This is a song that needs to be sung because so many others are yearning for the freedom Christ offers. It is a tune that helps us remember the gratitude of the one who saved and saves us. It is a single note, pure and easy, playing so free like a breath rippling by.
Although we carry heavy concerns on this retreat, let us find some time to offer praise as our sacrifice. We traditionally think of sacrifice as giving up something meaningful. It means denying oneself and going without. It means making one a little less comfortable for the sake of a greater good. This traditional definition has its place, but today let's offer praise as sacrifice to the Trinitarian God for the goodness we receive each minute of our day. Let's offer essentially who were are - our feelings and desires, our freedom, our good and bad memories, our comprehension of life's events, and the toughest one of all - our will. Take time today to give generously and have a cheerful countenance.
Though we have given up lots to follow Christ, he tells us we will receive much more than we ever give up. This is the abundance of God in the kingdom. This is the God who has given you yourself as gift and wants you to return it joyfully. This is the God who delights in you and gushes over you, just as proud parents tells friends about their beloved children. Let God make you feel special today. Let God gush over you and feel proud.
Poem: Prayers of Kierkegaard by Samuel Barber
O Thou Who are unchangeable,
Whom nothing changes,
May we find our rest
And remain at rest
in Thee unchanging.
Thou art moved
and moved in infinite love by all things;
the need of a sparrow, even this moves Thee;
and what we scarcely see,
a human sigh,
the moves Thee, O infinite Love!
But nothing changes Thee, O Thou unchanging!
Lord Jesus Christ
Who suffered all life long
that I, too, might be saved,
and Whose suffering still knows no end,
this, too, wilt Thou endure;
saving and redeeming me,
this patient suffering of me
with whom Thou hast to do -
I, who so often go astray.
Father in Heaven,
well we know that it is Thou
that givest both to will and to do,
that also longing,
when it leads us to renew
the fellowship with our Savior and Redeemer,
is from Thee.
Father in heaven, longing is Thy gift.
Hold not our sins up against us
But hold us up against our sins,
So that the thought of Thee should not remind us
Of what we have committed,
But of what Thou didst forgive;
Not how we went astray,
But how Thou didst save us!
Whom nothing changes,
May we find our rest
And remain at rest
in Thee unchanging.
Thou art moved
and moved in infinite love by all things;
the need of a sparrow, even this moves Thee;
and what we scarcely see,
a human sigh,
the moves Thee, O infinite Love!
But nothing changes Thee, O Thou unchanging!
Lord Jesus Christ
Who suffered all life long
that I, too, might be saved,
and Whose suffering still knows no end,
this, too, wilt Thou endure;
saving and redeeming me,
this patient suffering of me
with whom Thou hast to do -
I, who so often go astray.
Father in Heaven,
well we know that it is Thou
that givest both to will and to do,
that also longing,
when it leads us to renew
the fellowship with our Savior and Redeemer,
is from Thee.
Father in heaven, longing is Thy gift.
Hold not our sins up against us
But hold us up against our sins,
So that the thought of Thee should not remind us
Of what we have committed,
But of what Thou didst forgive;
Not how we went astray,
But how Thou didst save us!
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