Lent - 2020

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” He replied, “What do you wish [me] to do for you?” They answered him, “Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left.”  Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” Mk 10:35-38 This lent I would like to offer some reflections for those who are striving after a deeper understanding of what it means to have a true and dynamic spiritual life. In the text above, James and John have an ambition for a deeper union with Jesus. Indeed, they want the highest possible union with Jesus. Jesus does not want to diminish their ambition; Jesus would like that we all have this same ambition but desiring it is only the first step.  Those great saints and teachers of the Spiritual Life like St. John of the Cross, St. Teresa of Avila and St. Ignatius of Loyola knew well that such a deep union with Jesus like James and John were seeking would require that many stages of formation and purification would be required to achieve it. St. Ignatius was particularly insightful into the reality that there was Enemy who would fiercely oppose this desire for union at every step and stage along the way. This is laid out so profoundly in his Rule for Discernment  of Spirits. By asking James and John if they are able to drink from His Cup Jesus is preparing them for what awaits them.  Lent is meant to be a time for any who desire such a deeper union with Jesus to take on the challenges that war against holiness and to drink deeply of Jesus Cup of Victory.

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