Preparing for Lent - 2022

We are about to begin the Holy Season of Lent which begins this coming Wednesday. With our churches now open it is hoped that this Lent will afford us the opportunity once again to experience in person the rich source of graces found in the Lenten liturgy's. The key to a fruitful Lent is preparation followed by participation. The following are some suggestions.  The graphic above depicts the three classic practices observed during Lent which help us deal with the three classic challenges facing us in the practice of our faith. In the gospel text for ash Wednesday Jesus gives instruction on each of these practices. Then in the gospel text for the First Sunday of Lent we see Satan attempting to deceive Jesus with temptations in each of these three disciplines. These are the same three disciplines in which Satan will try to trip us up in our spiritual life.  This year, for the First Sunday of Lent, the liturgy has Luke's account of Jesus being tempted by the devil in these three areas.   1. The Flesh: our physical needs to survive in this life. (Not on bread alone . . .)  2. The World: our desire for power over our world. (Worship the Lord as God . . .)  3. The Devil: our need for proof before faith. (Do not put God to the Proof . . .) These elements of Jesus in the wilderness being tested by the devil makes for us an excellent model to pattern our Lenten journey into prayer. 1. Set aside a time and place each day to join with Jesus in prayer. 2. Have a text from the daily Lenten scriptures to be the focus of your prayer. 3. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you to recognise where and how your physical world experiences my be compromising your commitment to God's Truth for a holy life. 4. Ask for the grace to wholeheartedly embrace the remedies to these errors the Lord is showing you.

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Seventh Sunday - 2022

Today’s gospel passage ends with these words of Jesus. “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.” From a worldly view the saying is quite different. “For the measure of this world’s possessions you accumulate will be the measure of your happiness.” The Christian life is not about accumulating points with God, rather it is all about emptying out – stretching our hearts capacity to receive, not out of merit, but stretched wide open by giving out of love.  Here is a reflection on this understanding by St. Augustine. From the Tractates on the first letter of John by Saint Augustine, bishop Our Heart Longs for God We have been promised that we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. By these words, the tongue has done its best; now we must apply the meditation of the heart. Although they are the words of Saint John, what are they in comparison with the divine reality? And how can we, so greatly inferior to John in merit, add anything of our own? Yet we have received, as John has told us, an anointing by the Holy One which teaches us inwardly more than our tongue can speak. Let us turn to this source of knowledge, and because at present you cannot see, make it your business to desire the divine vision. The entire life of a good Christian is in fact an exercise of holy desire. You do not yet see what you long for, but the very act of desiring prepares you, so that when he comes you may see and be utterly satisfied. Suppose you are going to fill some holder or container, and you know you will be given a large amount. Then you set about stretching your sack or wineskin or whatever it is. Why? Because you know the quantity you will have to put in it and your eyes tell you there is not enough room. By stretching it, therefore, you increase the capacity of the sack, and this is how God deals with us. Simply by making us wait he increases our desire, which in turn enlarges the capacity of our soul, making it able to receive what is to be given to us. So, my brethren, let us continue to desire, for we shall be filled. Take note of Saint Paul stretching as it were his ability to receive what is to come: Not that I have already obtained this, he said, or am made perfect. Brethren, I do not consider that I have already obtained it. We might ask him, “If you have not yet obtained it, what are you doing in this life? This one thing I do, answers Paul, forgetting what lies behind, and stretching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the prize to which I am called in the life above. Not only did Paul say he stretched forward, but he also declared that he pressed on toward a chosen goal. He realized in fact that he was still short of receiving what no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived. Such is our Christian life. By desiring heaven we exercise the powers of our soul. Now this exercise will be effective only to the extent that we free ourselves from desires leading to infatuation with this world. Let me return to the example I have already used, of filling an empty container. God means to fill each of you with what is good; so cast out what is bad! If he wishes to fill you with honey and you are full of sour wine, where is the honey to go? The vessel must be emptied of its contents and then be cleansed. Yes, it must be cleansed even if you have to work hard and scour it. It must be made fit for the new thing, whatever it may be. We may go on speaking figuratively of honey, gold or wine—but whatever we say we cannot express the reality we are to receive. The name of that reality is God. But who will claim that in that one syllable we utter the full expanse of our heart’s desire? Therefore, whatever we say is necessarily less than the full truth. We must extend ourselves toward the measure of Christ so that when he comes he may fill us with his presence. Then we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

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Words of Wisdom - 1

Words of Wisdom to Light Our Way “Never let evil talk pass your lips; say only the good things people need to hear, things that will really help them. Do nothing that will sadden the Holy Spirit with whom you were sealed against the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, all passion and anger, harsh words, slander, and malice of every kind. In place of these, be kind to one another, compassionate, and mutually forgiving, just as God has forgiven you in Christ.” Eph. 4:29-32

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Fifth Sunday - 2022

Today’s First Reading gives us an account of the call of the prophet Isaiah. "I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, with the train of his garment filling the temple. Seraphim were stationed above. They cried one to the other, "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts! All the earth is filled with his glory!" Isaiah is experiencing the very presence of God. He is seeing and hearing for himself; “… my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!" "Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send?  Who will go for us?" "Here I am," I said; "send me!" – then an angel purifies his lips with the flame of truth, to become God’s messenger. True prophets are not just person with there own take on theology, they are so much more. As I have often mentioned all of us baptized believers who have been gifted with the Holy Spirit in the sacraments, are called to share in the Church’s vocation to be God’s prophets in our time. St. Paul in Roman’s lays it out so very well for us. How can people have faith in the Lord and ask him to save them, if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear, unless someone tells them?  And how can anyone tell them without being sent by the Lord? The Scriptures say it is a beautiful sight to see even the feet of someone coming to proclaim the good news. Rom. 10:14: Our world needs new Isaiah's. Now we may hesitate to say, “here I am, send me”, because we are surely no theologian. But look again at today’s gospel. The people Jesus is calling to be his disciples are not the learned Scribes and Pharisees, they are simple fishermen. As prophets, we are called to be living evidence of the gospel of Jesus. When people see and experience your holiness, they will take notice. Today the word on the street is “Don’t tell me, show me.” Not everyone will respond positively to our efforts. So it was with the first disciples Jesus sent out, but many did. In Luke 10:1 we read: After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few . . . . . Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves". Then in Verse 17: The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” Jesus replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven . . . . . but, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” So when do we have our mystical experience? When we commit to entering the practice of the "Devout Life". The posts of this blog site are dedicated to support anyone seeking this goal. First we say "Speak Lord your servant is listening" The flame of God's Word will purify our minds and hearts. Then we are ready to say, "Here I am Lord, send me."

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