Rediscover Lent

Lent Begins Soon

2012-02-14T11:36:00.001-08:00

We have only a short time until Lent begins.

The Lenten Reflections will begin on Ash Wednesday, February 22. Watch for them here or subscribe to the Tweets.

Sacred Triduum

2011-03-28T14:33:00.001-07:00

--Reflection
All pivots around the Triduum, and this necessary transformation of the soul. Yes, Jesus is the one who walks it consciously first, but it is so that we can trustfully follow.

Holy Week – Wednesday

2011-03-28T14:22:00.000-07:00

Matthew 26:14-25

One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot,
went to the chief priests and said,
"What are you willing to give me
if I hand him over to you?"
They paid him thirty pieces of silver, and from that time on
he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.

On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread,
the disciples approached Jesus and said,
"Where do you want us to prepare
for you to eat the Passover?"
He said,
"Go into the city to a certain man and tell him,
'The teacher says, "My appointed time draws near;
in your house I shall celebrate the Passover with my disciples." ' "
The disciples then did as Jesus had ordered,
and prepared the Passover.

When it was evening,
he reclined at table with the Twelve.
And while they were eating, he said,
"Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me."
Deeply distressed at this,
they began to say to him one after another,
"Surely it is not I, Lord?"
He said in reply,
"He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me
is the one who will betray me.
The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him,
but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed.
It would be better for that man if he had never been born."
Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply,
"Surely it is not I, Rabbi?"
He answered, "You have said so."

--Reflection
Faithful Jesus, your faith was tried just like mine, but even more. Give me courage to do the same in the time of trial.

Holy Week – Tuesday

2011-03-28T13:59:00.000-07:00

John 13:21-33, 36-38 Reclining at table with his disciples,
Jesus was deeply troubled and testified,
"Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me."
The disciples looked at one another,
at a loss as to whom he meant.

One of his disciples, the one whom Jesus loved,
was reclining at Jesus' side. So Simon Peter nodded to him
to find out whom he meant. He leaned back against
Jesus' chest and said to him,
"Master, who is it?"

Jesus answered,
"It is the one to whom I hand the morsel after I have dipped it."
So he dipped the morsel and took it
and handed it to Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot.
After he took the morsel, Satan entered him.
So Jesus said to him, "What you are going to do, do quickly."
Now none of those reclining at table
realized why he said this to him.
Some thought that since Judas kept the money bag,
Jesus had told him, "Buy what we need for the feast,"
or to give something to the poor.
So he took the morsel and left at once. And it was night.

When he had left, Jesus said,
"Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself,
and he will glorify him at once.
My children, I will be with you only a little while longer.
You will look for me, and as I told the Jews,
'Where I go you cannot come,' so now I say it to you.
Simon Peter said to him, "Master, where are you going?"
Jesus answered him,
"Where I am going, you cannot follow me now,
though you will follow later."

Peter said to him,
"Master, why can't I follow you now?
I will lay down my life for you."
Jesus answered, "Will you lay down your life for me?
Amen, amen, I say to you, the cock will not crow
before you deny me three times."

--Reflection
The more love and hope you have invested in another person, the deeper is the pain of betrayal.

Holy Week – Monday

2011-03-28T13:36:00.001-07:00

John 12:1-11

Six days before Passover Jesus came to Bethany,
where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.
They gave a dinner for him there, and Martha served,
while Lazarus was one of those reclining at table with him.
Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil
made from genuine aromatic nard
and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair;
the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.

Then Judas the Iscariot, one of his disciples,
and the one who would betray him, said,
"Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days' wages
and given to the poor?"
He said this not because he cared about the poor
but because he was a thief and held the money bag
and used to steal the contributions.

So Jesus said, "Leave her alone.
Let her keep this for the day of my burial.
You always have the poor with you,
but you do not always have me."

The large crowd of the Jews found out
that he was there and came,
not only because of him, but also to see Lazarus,
whom he had raised from the dead.

And the chief priests plotted to kill Lazarus too,
because many of the Jews were turning away
and believing in Jesus because of him.

--Reflection
"There will always be poor in the land. I command you there fore, always be open-handed with anyone in the country who is in need or is poor" (Deuteronomy 15:11). Unfortunately, only the first phrase is quoted in the Gospel text.

Holy Week – Palm Sunday

2011-03-28T13:34:00.000-07:00

Philippians 2:6-11

Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance,
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to death,
even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
which is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every toungue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

--Reflection
Jesus is set as the human blueprint, the standard in the sky, the oh-so-hopeful pattern of divine transformation. Who would have presumed that the way up could be the way down? It is, as Paul says, "the secret mystery." Trust the down, and God will take care of the up. This leaves humanity in solidarity with the life cycle, but also with one another, with no need to create success stories for itself, or to create failure stories for others. Humanity in Jesus is free to be human and soulful instead of any false climbing into "Spirit." This was supposed to change everything, and it still will.

Fifth Week of Lent - Saturday

2011-03-18T14:44:00.000-07:00

John 11:45-56

Many of the Jews who had come to Mary
and seen what he had done began to believe in him.
But some of them went to the Pharisees
and told them what Jesus had done.
So the chief priests and the Pharisees
convened the Sanhedrin and said,
"What are we going to do? This man is performing many signs.
If we leave him alone, all will believe in him,
and the Romans will come and take away
both our land and our nation."

But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year,
said to them, "You know nothing,nor do you consider
that it is better for you that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish."
He did not say this on his own,
but since he was high priest for that year,
he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation,
and not only for the nation, but also to gather into one
the dispersed children of God.

So from that day on they planned to kill him.

So Jesus no longer walked about in public among the Jews,
but he left for the region near the desert, to a town called
Ephraim, and there he remained with his disciples.
Now the Passover of the Jews was near,
and many went up from the country
to Jerusalem before Passover to purify themselves.
They looked for Jesus and said to one another
as they were in the temple area,
"What do you think? That he will not come to the feast?"

--Reflection
There are still two ways of gathering, the way of fear and hate and the way of love. But do not yourself be afraid, because Jesus is still "gathering."

Fifth Week of Lent - Friday

2011-03-18T14:36:00.000-07:00

John 10:31-42

The Jews again picked up rocks to stone him.
Jesus answered them,
"I have shown you many good works from my Father.
For which of these are you trying to stone me?"

The Jews answered him,
"We are not stoning you for a good work but for blasphemy.
You, a man, are making yourself God."

Jesus answered them,
"Is it not written in your law, 'I said, "You are gods"'?
If it calls them gods to whom the word of God came,
and scripture cannot be set aside,
can you say that the one whom the Father has consecrated
and sent into the world blasphemes
because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?
If I do not perform my Father's works, do not believe me;
but if I perform them, even if you do not believe me,
believe the works, so that you may realize and understand
that the Father is in me and I am in the Father."

Then they tried again to arrest him; but he escaped from their power.

He went back across the Jordan to the place where
John first baptized, and there he remained.
Many came to him and said, "John performed no sign,
but everything John said about this man was true."
And many there began to believe in him.

--Reflection
They "try to arrest" Jesus, just as much of Christian history has arrested, feared and denied any message of actual union with God.

Fifth Week of Lent - Thursday

2011-03-18T14:22:00.001-07:00

Genesis 17:3-9 When Abram prostrated himself, God continued to speak to him: "My covenant with you is this: you are to become the father of a host of nations. No longer shall you be called Abram; your name shall be Abraham, for I am making you the father of a host of nations. I will render you exceedingly fertile; I will make nations of you; kings shall stem from you. I will maintain my covenant with you and your descendants after you throughout the ages as an everlasting pact, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. I will give to you and to your descendants after you the land in which you are now staying, the whole land of Canaan, as a permanent possession; and I will be their God." God also said to Abraham: "On your part, you and your descendants after you must keep my covenant throughout the ages. --Reflection Many never get beyond "religion as requirements." What does your religion require of you?

Fifth Week of Lent - Wednesday

2011-03-18T14:13:00.000-07:00

John 8:31-42 Jesus then said to those Jews who believed in him, "If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." They answered him, "We are descendants of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How can you say, 'You will become free'?" Jesus answered them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. A slave does not remain in a household forever, but a son always remains. So if a son frees you, then you will truly be free. I know that you are descendants of Abraham. But you are trying to kill me, because my word has no room among you. I tell you what I have seen in the Father's presence; then do what you have heard from the Father." They answered and said to him, "Our father is Abraham." Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works of Abraham. But now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God; Abraham did not do this. You are doing the works of your father!" So they said to him, "We are not illegitimate. We have one Father, God." Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and am here; I did not come on my own, but he sent me. --Reflection Most Christians would probably be slow to admit that by these criteria almost all of us would have opposed Jesus: "This is not our tradition! He is not from our group! He has no credentials!

Fifth Week of Lent - Tuesday

2011-03-18T14:07:00.000-07:00

Numbers 21:4-9

From Mount Hor they set out on the Red Sea road,
to by-pass the land of Edom.
But with their patience worn out by the journey,
the people complained against God and Moses,
"Why have you brought us up from Egypt
to die in this desert, where there is no food or water?
We are disgusted with this wretched food!"

In punishment the LORD sent among the people
saraph serpents, which bit the people
so that many of them died.
Then the people came to Moses and said,
"We have sinned in complaining against the LORD
and you. Pray the LORD to take the serpents from us."

So Moses prayed for the people, and the LORD said to Moses,
"Make a saraph and mount it on a pole,
and if anyone who has been bitten looks at it, he will recover."

Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent
and mounted it on a pole,
and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent
looked at the bronze serpent, he recovered.

--Reflection
We need to "lift up" and "gaze upon" the crucifix, the transformative image, just as Moses first did the serpent in the desert.

Fifth Week of Lent - Monday

2011-03-18T14:03:00.000-07:00

John 8:1-11

Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
But early in the morning he arrived again in the temple area,
and all the people started coming to him,
and he sat down and taught them.
Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman
who had been caught in adultery
and made her stand in the middle.

They said to him,
"Teacher, this woman was caught
in the very act of committing adultery.
Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women.
So what do you say?" They said this to test him,
so that they could have some charge to bring against him.

Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground
with his finger. But when they continued asking him,
he straightened up and said to them,
"Let the one among you who is without sin
be the first to throw a stone at her."
Again he bent down and wrote on the ground.

And in response, they went away one by one,
beginning with the elders.
So he was left alone with the woman before him.
Then Jesus straightened up and said to her,
"Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"
She replied, "No one, sir."
Then Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you.
Go, and from now on do not sin any more."

--Reflection
Jesus' love is so gracious and universal that, looking down, he even wanted to save them from the condemnation of his eyes: "Neither do I condemn you," he says to both the woman and the men.

Fifth Week of Lent - Sunday

2011-03-18T13:43:00.000-07:00

John 11:1-45

Now a man was ill, Lazarus from Bethany,
the village of Mary and her sister Martha.
Mary was the one who had anointed the Lord with perfumed oil
and dried his feet with her hair;
it was her brother Lazarus who was ill.
So the sisters sent word to him, saying,
"Master, the one you love is ill."
When Jesus heard this he said,
"This illness is not to end in death,
but is for the glory of God,
that the Son of God may be glorified through it."

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
So when he heard that he was ill,
he remained for two days in the place where he was.
Then after this he said to his disciples,
"Let us go back to Judea."
The disciples said to him,
"Rabbi, the Jews were just trying to stone you,
and you want to go back there?"

Jesus answered,
"Are there not twelve hours in a day?
If one walks during the day, he does not stumble,
because he sees the light of this world.
But if one walks at night, he stumbles,
because the light is not in him."
He said this, and then told them,
"Our friend Lazarus is asleep,
but I am going to awaken him."

So the disciples said to him,
"Master, if he is asleep, he will be saved."
But Jesus was talking about his death,
while they thought that he meant ordinary sleep.
So then Jesus said to them clearly,
"Lazarus has died.
And I am glad for you that I was not there,
that you may believe. Let us go to him."
So Thomas, called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples,
"Let us also go to die with him."

When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus
had already been in the tomb for four days.
Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, only about two miles away.
And many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary
to comfort them about their brother.
When Martha heard that Jesus was coming,
she went to meet him; but Mary sat at home.

Martha said to Jesus,
"Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.
But even now I know that whatever you ask of God,
God will give you."

Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise."

Martha said to him, "I know he will rise,
in the resurrection on the last day."

Jesus told her,
"I am the resurrection and the life;
whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live,
and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.
Do you believe this?"

She said to him, "Yes, Lord.
I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God,
the one who is coming into the world."

When she had said this,
she went and called her sister Mary secretly, saying,
"The teacher is here and is asking for you."
As soon as she heard this,
she rose quickly and went to him.
For Jesus had not yet come into the village,
but was still where Martha had met him.
So when the Jews who were with her in the house comforting her
saw Mary get up quickly and go out, they followed her,
presuming that she was going to the tomb to weep there.

When Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him,
she fell at his feet and said to him,
"Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."
When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come
with her weeping, he became perturbed and deeply troubled,
and said, "Where have you laid him?"
They said to him, "Sir, come and see."
And Jesus wept.
So the Jews said, "See how he loved him."
But some of them said,
"Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man
have done something so that this man would not have died?"

So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb.
It was a cave, and a stone lay across it.
Jesus said, "Take away the stone."

Martha, the dead man's sister, said to him,
"Lord, by now there will be a stench;
he has been dead for four days."

Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believe
you will see the glory of God?"
So they took away the stone.

And Jesus raised his eyes and said,
"Father, I thank you for hearing me.
I know that you always hear me;
but because of the crowd here I have said this,
that they may believe that you sent me."
And when he had said this, he cried out in a loud voice,
"Lazarus, come out!"

The dead man came out,
tied hand and foot with burial bands,
and his face was wrapped in a cloth.
So Jesus said to them, "Untie him and let him go."

Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary
and seen what he had done began to believe in him.

--Reflection
In a brilliant finale to the Lazarus story, Jesus invites the onlookers to join him in making resurrection happen: "Move the stone away!... Unbind him, and let him go free!" It seems that we have a part to play in creating a culture of life and resurrection. We must unbind one another from our fears and doubts about the last enemy, death. We must now "see that the world is bathed in light" and allow others to enjoy the same seeing-through our lived life. The stone to be moved is always our fear of death, the finality of death, any blindness that keeps us from seeing that death is merely a part of the Larger Mystery called Life. It does not have the final word.

Fourth Week of Lent - Saturday

2011-03-17T14:12:00.000-07:00

John 7:40-53

Some in the crowd who heard these words of Jesus said,
"This is truly the Prophet."
Others said, "This is the Messiah."

But others said,
"The Messiah will not come from Galilee, will he?
Does not scripture say that the Messiah will be of David's family
and come from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?"
So a division occurred in the crowd because of him.
Some of them even wanted to arrest him,
but no one laid hands on him.

So the guards went to the chief priests and Pharisees,
who asked them, "Why did you not bring him?"
The guards answered,
"Never before has anyone spoken like this one."
So the Pharisees answered them,
"Have you also been deceived? Have any of the authorities
or the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd, which
does not know the law, is accursed."

Nicodemus, one of their members who had come to him earlier,
said to them,"Does our law condemn a person
before it first hears him and finds out what he is doing?"
They answered and said to him, "You are not from Galilee also,
are you? Look and see that no prophet arises from Galilee."

Then each went to his own house.

--Reflection
As people become more afraid and insecure, they do not know how to access their own soul, move to prayer, or toward their better instincts.

Fourth Week of Lent - Friday

2011-03-17T13:53:00.000-07:00

Wisdom 2:1 a, 12-22 The wicked said among themselves, thinking not aright: Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us; he sets himself against our doings, Reproaches us for transgressions of the law and charges us with violations of our training. He professes to have knowledge of God and styles himself a child of the LORD. To us he is the censure of our thoughts; merely to see him is a hardship for us, Because his life is not like other men's, and different are his ways. He judges us debased; he holds aloof from our paths as from things impure. He calls blest the destiny of the just and boasts that God is his Father. Let us see whether his words be true; let us find out what will happen to him. For if the just one be the son of God, he will defend him and deliver him from the hand of his foes. With revilement and torture let us put him to the test that we may have proof of his gentleness and try his patience. Let us condemn him to a shameful death; for according to his own words, God will take care of him." These were their thoughts, but they erred; for their wickedness blinded them, And they knew not the hidden counsels of God; neither did they count on a recompense of holiness nor discern the innocent souls' reward. --Reflection Vengeance is often an open but denied secret when fear and gossip reign in a society.

Fourth Week of Lent - Thursday

2011-03-17T13:49:00.000-07:00

Exodus 32:7-14

The LORD said to Moses,
"Go down at once to your people,
whom you brought out of the land of Egypt,
for they have become depraved.
They have soon turned aside from the way I pointed out to them,
making for themselves a molten calf and worshiping it,
sacrificing to it and crying out,
'This is your God, O Israel,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt!'

I see how stiff-necked this people is,"
continued the LORD to Moses. "Let me alone, then,
that my wrath may blaze up against them to consume them.
Then I will make of you a great nation."

But Moses implored the LORD, his God, saying,
"Why, O LORD,
should your wrath blaze up against your own people,
whom you brought out of the land of Egypt
with such great power and with so strong a hand?
Why should the Egyptians say,
'With evil intent he brought them out,
that he might kill them in the mountains
and exterminate them from the face of the earth'?

Let your blazing wrath die down;
relent in punishing your people.
Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel,
and how you swore to them by your own self, saying,
'I will make your descendants as numerous
as the stars in the sky; and all this land that I promised,
I will give your descendants as their perpetual heritage.' "

So the LORD relented in the punishment
he had threatened to inflict on his people.

--Reflection
Prayer, more than anything, seeks, creates and preserves relationship, which is always both giving and receiving.

Fourth Week of Lent - Wednesday

2011-03-17T13:38:00.000-07:00

John 5:17-30 Jesus answered the Jews: "My Father is at work until now, so I am at work." For this reason the Jews tried all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the sabbath but he also called God his own father, making himself equal to God. Jesus answered and said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, a son cannot do anything on his own, but only what he sees his father doing; for what he does, his son will do also. For the Father loves his Son and shows him everything that he himself does, and he will show him greater works than these, so that you may be amazed. For just as the Father raises the dead and gives life, so also does the Son give life to whomever he wishes. Nor does the Father judge anyone, but he has given all judgment to his Son, so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life and will not come to condemnation, but has passed from death to life. Amen, amen, I say to you, the hour is coming and is now here when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For just as the Father has life in himself, so also he gave to his Son the possession of life in himself. And he gave him power to exercise judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not be amazed at this, because the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and will come out, those who have done good deeds to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked deeds to the resurrection of condemnation. "I cannot do anything on my own; I judge as I hear, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will but the will of the one who sent me." --Reflections Each of us is our own truthful judge and our own best friend if we but look honestly into the perfect and compassionate Divine Mirror: Jesus, the Son.

Fourth Week of Lent - Tuesday

2011-03-17T13:26:00.000-07:00

John 5:1-16

There was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
Now there is in Jerusalem at the Sheep Gate
a pool called in Hebrew Bethesda, with five porticoes.
In these lay a large number of ill, blind, lame, and crippled.

One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years.
When Jesus saw him lying there
and knew that he had been ill for a long time,
he said to him, "Do you want to be well?"

The sick man answered him,
"Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool
when the water is stirred up;
while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me."

Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your mat, and walk."
Immediately the man became well, took up his mat, and walked.

Now that day was a sabbath.
So the Jews said to the man who was cured,
"It is the sabbath, and it is not lawful
for you to carry your mat."
He answered them,
"The man who made me well told me, 'Take up your mat and walk.'"

They asked him,
"Who is the man who told you, 'Take it up and walk'?"
The man who was healed did not know who it was,
for Jesus had slipped away, since there was a crowd there.

After this Jesus found him in the temple area and said to him,
"Look, you are well; do not sin any more,
so that nothing worse may happen to you."
The man went and told the Jews
that Jesus was the one who had made him well.
Therefore, the Jews began to persecute Jesus
because he did this on a sabbath.

--Reflection
Jesus mirrors his best self for the paralytic man. He gives him back his own power.

Fourth Week of Lent - Monday

2011-03-17T13:16:00.000-07:00

Isaiah 65:17-21

Thus says the LORD:
Lo, I am about to create new heavens and a new earth;
The things of the past shall not be remembered or come to mind.
Instead, there shall always be rejoicing and happiness in what I create;
For I create Jerusalem to be a joy and its people to be a delight;
I will rejoice in Jerusalem and exult in my people.
No longer shall the sound of weeping be heard there, or the sound of crying;
No longer shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days,
or an old man who does not round out his full lifetime;
He dies a mere youth who reaches but a hundred years,
and he who fails of a hundred shall be thought accursed.
They shall live in the houses they build,
and eat the fruit of the vineyards they plant.

--Reflection
The circle of the biblical revelation keeps widening to create that "new earth" of Isaiah. Christians, early on, call themselves catholic or universal. Here comes everybody!

Fourth Week of Lent - Sunday

2011-03-17T12:57:00.000-07:00

John 9:1-41 As Jesus passed by he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus answered, "Neither he nor his parents sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him. We have to do the works of the one who sent me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva, and smeared the clay on his eyes,and said to him, "Go wash in the Pool of Siloam" (which means Sent). So he went and washed, and came back able to see. His neighbors and those who had seen him earlier as a beggar said, "Isn't this the one who used to sit and beg?" Some said, "It is," but others said, "No, he just looks like him." He said, "I am." So they said to him, "How were your eyes opened?" He replied, "The man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and told me, 'Go to Siloam and wash.' So I went there and washed and was able to see." And they said to him, "Where is he?" He said, "I don't know." They brought the one who was once blind to the Pharisees. Now Jesus had made clay and opened his eyes on a sabbath. So then the Pharisees also asked him how he was able to see. He said to them, "He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see." So some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, because he does not keep the sabbath." But others said, "How can a sinful man do such signs?" And there was a division among them. So they said to the blind man again, "What do you have to say about him, since he opened your eyes?" He said, "He is a prophet." Now the Jews did not believe that he had been blind and gained his sight until they summoned the parents of the one who had gained his sight. They asked them, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How does he now see?" His parents answered and said, "We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. We do not know how he sees now, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him, he is of age; he can speak for him self." His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone acknowledged him as the Messiah, he would be expelled from the synagogue. For this reason his parents said, "He is of age; question him." So a second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, "Give God the praise! We know that this man is a sinner." He replied, "If he is a sinner, I do not know. One thing I do know is that I was blind and now I see." So they said to him, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?" He answered them, "I told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?" They ridiculed him and said, "You are that man's disciple; we are disciples of Moses! We know that God spoke to Moses, but we do not know where this one is from." The man answered and said to them, "This is what is so amazing, that you do not know where he is from, yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if one is devout and does his will, he listens to him. It is unheard of that anyone ever opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he would not be able to do anything." They answered and said to him, "You were born totally in sin, and are you trying to teach us?" Then they threw him out. When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, he found him and said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" He answered and said, "Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?" Jesus said to him, "You have seen him and the one speaking with you is he." He said, "I do believe, Lord," and he worshiped him. Then Jesus said, "I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see might see, and those who do see might become blind." Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard this and said to him, "Surely we are not also blind, are we?" Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you are saying, 'We see,' so your sin remains. --Reflection As Christianity’s High Holy Days draw near, this Sunday of the "Second Scrutiny" of the catechumens revolves entirely around the theme of light and seeing things truthfully. This problem is at the heart of what almost all ancients saw as the "tragic sense of life." Our lack of self-knowledge and our lack of wisdom make humans do very stupid and self-destructive things. Because humans cannot see their own truth very well, they do not read reality very well either. We all have our tragic flaws and blind spots. Humans always need more "light" or enlightenment about themselves and about the endless mystery of God.

Third Week of Lent - Saturday

2011-03-17T12:45:00.000-07:00

Luke 18:9-14

Jesus addressed this parable to those who were convinced
of their own righteousness and despised everyone else.

"Two people went up to the temple area to pray;
one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector.
The Pharisee took up his position
and spoke this prayer to himself,
'O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity--
greedy, dishonest, adulterous--or even like this tax collector.
I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.'

But the tax collector stood off at a distance
and would not even raise his eyes to heaven
but beat his breast and prayed,
'O God, be merciful to me a sinner.'

I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former;
for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled,
and the one who humbles himself will be exalted."

--Reflection
Jesus is never upset at sinners! He is only upset with people who do not think they are sinners.

Third Week of Lent - Friday

2011-03-17T12:43:00.000-07:00

Hosea 14:2-10

Thus says the Lord:
Return, O Israel, to the LORD, your God;
you have collapsed through your guilt.
Take with you words,
and return to the LORD;
Say to him, "Forgive all iniquity,
and receive what is good, that we may render
as offerings the bullocks from our stalls.
Assyria will not save us,
nor shall we have horses to mount;
We shall say no more, 'Our god,'
to the work of our hands;
for in you the orphan finds compassion."

I will heal their defection,
I will love them freely;
for my wrath is turned away from them.
I will be like the dew for Israel:
he shall blossom like the lily;
He shall strike root like the Lebanon cedar,
and put forth his shoots.
His splendor shall be like the olive tree
and his fragrance like the Lebanon cedar.
Again they shall dwell in his shade
and raise grain;
They shall blossom like the vine,
and his fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.

Ephraim! What more has he to do with idols?
I have humbled him, but I will prosper him.
"I am like a verdant cypress tree"--
Because of me you bear fruit!

Let him who is wise understand these things;
let him who is prudent know them.
Straight are the paths of the LORD,
in them the just walk,
but sinners stumble in them.

--Reflection
Hosea’s wife became the image of the soul before God. Think about that awhile.

Third Week of Lent - Thursday

2011-03-17T11:54:00.001-07:00

Luke 11:14-23 Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute, and when the demon had gone out, the mute person spoke and the crowds were amazed. Some of them said, "By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons." Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven. But he knew their thoughts and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house. And if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons. If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own people drive them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man fully armed guards his palace, his possessions are safe. But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him, he takes away the armor on which he relied and distributes the spoils. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. --Reflection When you try to fight evil, you are invariably accused of doing evil your self. Isn’t that interesting and strange? Read history, and especially the lives of whistleblowers, justice seekers and peace workers.

Third Week of Lent - Wednesday

2011-03-17T11:50:00.000-07:00

Matthew 5:17-19 Jesus said to his disciples: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven." --Reflection Jesus knows that laws and dogmas are not goals or ends in themselves, and in that he disagrees with much immature religion, but they are a necessary beginning point.

Third Week of Lent - Tuesday

2011-03-17T11:47:00.000-07:00

Matthew 18:21-35

Peter approached Jesus and asked him,
"Lord, if my brother sins against me,
how often must I forgive him?
As many as seven times?"

Jesus answered,
"I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.
That is why the kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king
who decided to settle accounts with his servants.
When he began the accounting,
a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount.
Since he had no way of paying it back,
his master ordered him to be sold,
along with his wife, his children, and all his property,
in payment of the debt.
At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said,
'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.'
Moved with compassion the master of that servant
let him go and forgave him the loan.

When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants
who owed him a much smaller amount.
He seized him and started to choke him, demanding,
'Pay back what you owe.'
Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him,
'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'
But he refused.
Instead, he had him put in prison
until he paid back the debt.

Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened,
they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master
and reported the whole affair.
His master summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant!
I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to.
Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant,
as I had pity on you?'
Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers
until he should pay back the whole debt.
So will my heavenly Father do to you,
unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart."

--Reflection
Jesus invites all of us in this rather easy-to-understand story into God’s nonsensical loving "from the heart."

Third Week of Lent - Monday

2011-03-17T11:25:00.000-07:00

Luke 4:24-30

Jesus said to the people in the synagogue of Nazareth:
"Amen, I say to you,
no prophet is accepted in his own native place.

Indeed, I tell you,
there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah
when the sky was closed for three and a half years
and a severe famine spread over the entire land.
It was to none of these that Elijah was sent,
but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon.
Again, there were many lepers in Israel
during the time of Elisha the prophet;
yet not one of them was cleansed,
but only Naaman the Syrian."

When the people in the synagogue heard this,
they were all filled with fury.
They rose up, drove him out of the town,
and led him to the brow of the hill
on which their town had been built,
to hurl him down headlong.
But he passed through the midst of them and went away.

--Reflection
The insider often misses the grace, while the outsider gets it.

Third Week of Lent - Sunday

2011-03-17T11:19:00.000-07:00

John 4:5-42 Jesus came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there. Jesus, tired from his journey, sat down there at the well. It was about noon. A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." His disciples had gone into the town to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him, "How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?" (For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him and he would have given you living water." The woman said to him, "Sir, you do not even have a bucket and the cistern is deep; where then can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this cistern and drank from it himself with his children and his flocks?" Jesus answered and said to her, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water." Jesus said to her, "Go call your husband and come back." The woman answered and said to him, "I do not have a husband." Jesus answered her, "You are right in saying, 'I do not have a husband.' For you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true."The woman said to him, "Sir, I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain; but you people say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem." Jesus said to her, "Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You people worship what you do not understand; we worship what we understand, because salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth; and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth." The woman said to him, "I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called the Anointed; when he comes, he will tell us everything." Jesus said to her, "I am he, the one who is speaking with you." At that moment his disciples returned, and were amazed that he was talking with a woman, but still no one said, "What are you looking for?" or "Why are you talking with her?" The woman left her water jar and went into the town and said to the people, "Come see a man who told me everything I have done. Could he possibly be the Messiah?" They went out of the town and came to him. Meanwhile, the disciples urged him, "Rabbi, eat." But he said to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know." So the disciples said to one another, "Could someone have brought him something to eat?" Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to finish his work. Do you not say, 'In four months the harvest will be here'? I tell you, look up and see the fields ripe for the harvest. The reaper is already receiving his payment and gathering crops for eternal life, so that the sower and reaper can rejoice together. For here the saying is verified that 'One sows and another reaps.' I sent you to reap what you have not worked for; others have done the work, and you are sharing the fruits of their work." Many of the Samaritans of that town began to believe in him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me everything I have done." When the Samaritans came to him, they invited him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. Many more began to believe in him because of his word, and they said to the woman, "We no longer believe because of your word; for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the savior of the world." --Reflection This long and truly mystical Gospel story of the Samaritan woman at the well was already used by the early Church in immediate preparation of the new candidates for Baptism on Holy Saturday. All the elements of invitation, disclosure, unfolding levels of meaning, intimacy, reciprocity and enlightenment are here for the taking. This multi-leveled story surely deserves our overall theme of a "wondrous loop" of giver, given and gift. The whole point of the story of the Woman at the Well is that unless you experience the Spirit, which Jesus says is "the water that I will give which will turn into a spring within you, welling up unto eternal life" (4:14), the whole thing falls apart.

Second Week of Lent - Saturday

2011-03-17T11:12:00.000-07:00

Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near
to listen to Jesus,
but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying,
"This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."
So to them he addressed this parable.

"A man had two sons, and the younger son said to his father,
'Father, give me the share of your estate that should come to me.'
So the father divided the property between them.
After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings
and set off to a distant country
where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation.
When he had freely spent everything,
a severe famine struck that country,
and he found himself in dire need.
So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens
who sent him to his farm to tend the swine.
And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed,
but nobody gave him any.

Coming to his senses he thought,
'How many of my father's hired workers
have more than enough food to eat,
but here am I, dying from hunger.
I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him,
"Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
I no longer deserve to be called your son;
treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers."'
So he got up and went back to his father.

While he was still a long way off,
his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion.
He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him.
His son said to him,
'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you;
I no longer deserve to be called your son.'
But his father ordered his servants,
'Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him;
put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.
Take the fattened calf and slaughter it.
Then let us celebrate with a feast,
because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again;
he was lost, and has been found.'
Then the celebration began.

Now the older son had been out in the field
and, on his way back, as he neared the house,
he heard the sound of music and dancing.
He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean.
The servant said to him,
'Your brother has returned
and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf
because he has him back safe and sound.'
He became angry,
and when he refused to enter the house,
his father came out and pleaded with him.
He said to his father in reply,
'Look, all these years I served you
and not once did I disobey your orders;
yet you never gave me even a young goat
to feast on with my friends.
But when your son returns
who swallowed up your property with prostitutes,
for him you slaughter the fattened calf.'

He said to him,
'My son, you are here with me always;
everything I have is yours.
But now we must celebrate and rejoice,
because your brother was dead and has come to life again;
he was lost and has been found.'"

--Reflection
The story that is strangely called "The Prodigal Son" is much more about "The Prodigious Father" who seems to love to excess! All scholars seem to agree that this story most perfectly represents Jesus’ active and operative image of his personal experience of God.

Second Week of Lent - Friday

2011-03-17T11:05:00.000-07:00

Matthew 21:33-43,45-46

Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people:
"Hear another parable. There was a landowner
who planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it,
dug a wine press in it, and built a tower.
Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey.
When vintage time drew near,
he sent his servants to the tenants to obtain his produce.
But the tenants seized the servants and one they beat,
another they killed, and a third they stoned.
Again he sent other servants, more numerous than the first ones,
but they treated them in the same way.
Finally, he sent his son to them,
thinking, 'They will respect my son.'
But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another,
'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him
and acquire his inheritance.'
They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.
What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?"

They answered him,
"He will put those wretched men to a wretched death
and lease his vineyard to other tenants
who will give him the produce at the proper times."

Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the scriptures:

'The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
by the Lord has this been done,
and it is wonderful in our eyes'?

Therefore, I say to you,
the kingdom of God will be taken away from you
and given to a people that will produce its fruit."

When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables,
they knew that he was speaking about them.
And although they were attempting to arrest him,
they feared the crowds, for they regarded him as a prophet.

--Reflection
I know that any kind of defeat or humiliation is not the American way, but it is surely the biblical way. There the pattern is rather clear, and there is no going up until you go down.

Second Week of Lent - Thursday

2011-03-17T10:56:00.000-07:00

Luke 16:19-31

Jesus said to the Pharisees:
"There was a rich man
who dressed in purple garments and fine linen
and dined sumptuously each day.
And lying at his door
was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores,
who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps
that fell from the rich man's table.
Dogs even used to come and lick his sores.

When the poor man died,
he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham.
The rich man also died and was buried,
and from the netherworld, where he was in torment,
he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off
and Lazarus at his side.
And he cried out, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me.
Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water
and cool my tongue,
for I am suffering torment in these flames.'

Abraham replied, 'My child, remember that you
received what was good during your lifetime
while Lazarus likewise received what was bad;
but now he is comforted here,
whereas you are tormented.
Moreover, between us and you a great chasm
is established to prevent anyone from crossing
who might wish to go from our side to yours
or from your side to ours.'

He said, 'Then I beg you, father,
send him to my father's house,
for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them,
lest they too come to this place of torment.'
But Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the prophets.
Let them listen to them.'
He said, 'Oh no, father Abraham,
but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'

Then Abraham said,
'If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets,
neither will they be persuaded
if someone should rise from the dead.'"

--Reflection
We will all receive exactly what our lives say we really want and desire: Love is always torment for the hateful. Final torment is impossible for the loving.

Second Week of Lent - Wednesday

2011-03-17T10:50:00.000-07:00

Matthew 20:17-28

As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem,
he took the twelve disciples aside by themselves,
and said to them on the way,
"Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem,
and the Son of Man will be handed over
to the chief priests and the scribes,
and they will condemn him to death,
and hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked
and scourged and crucified,
and he will be raised on the third day."

Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee
approached him with her sons
and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something.
He said to her, "What do you wish?"
She answered him,
"Command that these two sons of mine sit,
one at your right and the other at your left, in your kingdom."
Jesus said in reply,
"You do not know what you are asking.
Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?"
They said to him, "We can."
He replied,
"My cup you will indeed drink,
but to sit at my right and at my left,
this is not mine to give
but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father."
When the ten heard this,
they became indignant at the two brothers.
But Jesus summoned them and said,
"You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them,
and the great ones make their authority over them felt.
But it shall not be so among you.
Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you
shall be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.
Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for many."

--Reflection
Jesus, against all odds, expectations and human programming, insists that we make the preemptive and positive move into "drinking of the cup" ourselves instead of always asking others to drink it.

Second Week of Lent - Tuesday

2011-03-16T15:27:00.000-07:00

Matthew 23:1-12

Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples,saying,
"The scribes and the Pharisees
have taken their seat on the chair of Moses.
Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you,
but do not follow their example.
For they preach but they do not practice.
They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry
and lay them on people's shoulders,
but they will not lift a finger to move them.
All their works are performed to be seen.
They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.
They love places of honor at banquets,
seats of honor in synagogues,
greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation 'Rabbi.'
As for you, do not be called 'Rabbi.'
You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers.
Call no one on earth your father;
you have but one Father in heaven.
Do not be called 'Master';
you have but one master, the Messiah.
The greatest among you must be your servant.
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled;
but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

--Reflection
Nothing any of us could say today would match Jesus’ anger and judgment on hypocrisy in spiritual leadership and self-serving religious authority.

Second Week of Lent - Monday

2011-03-16T15:22:00.000-07:00

Luke 6:36-38

Jesus said to his Disciples:
"Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

"Stop judging and you will not be judged.
Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.
Forgive and you will be forgiven.
Give and gifts will be given to you;
a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing,
will be poured into your lap.
For the measure with which you measure
will in return be measured out to you."

--Reflection
It appears that humans can only know themselves through the gaze of others. We call it mirroring. Good parents, like God, naturally bless the child through their receptive and affirming faces.

Second Week of Lent - Sunday

2011-03-16T15:19:00.000-07:00

Matthew 17:1-9

Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother,
and led them up a high mountain by themselves.
And he was transfigured before them;
his face shone like the sun
and his clothes became white as light.
And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them,
conversing with him.

Then Peter said to Jesus in reply,
"Lord, it is good that we are here.
If you wish, I will make three tents here,
one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."

While he was still speaking, behold,
a bright cloud cast a shadow over them,
then from the cloud came a voice that said,
"This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him."

When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate
and were very much afraid.
But Jesus came and touched them, saying,
"Rise, and do not be afraid."
And when the disciples raised their eyes,
they saw no one else but Jesus alone.

As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, "Do not tell the vision to anyone
until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."

--Reflection
After this awesome and consoling epiphany, there is clear mention of "a cloud that overshadows" everything. We have what appears to be full light, yet there is still darkness. Knowing, yet not knowing. Getting it, and yet not getting it at all. Isn’t that the very character of all true Mystery and every in-depth encounter?

First Week of Lent – Saturday

2011-03-09T07:10:00.000-08:00

Matthew 5:43-48

Jesus said to his disciples:
"You have heard that it was said,
'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'
But I say to you, love your enemies,
and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be children of your heavenly Father,
for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good,
and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.
For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?
Do not the tax collectors do the same?
And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that?
Do not the pagans do the same?
So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect."

--Reflection
You are to love with the same kind of love that God loves you, which is total unconditional love. This is the summit, the goal of all Jesus’ moral teaching.

First Week of Lent – Friday

2011-03-09T06:58:00.000-08:00

Matthew 5:20-26

Jesus said to his disciples:
"I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that
of the scribes and Pharisees,
you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

"You have heard that it was said to your ancestors,
'You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.'
But I say to you,
whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment,
and whoever says to his brother, 'Raqa,'
will be answerable to the Sanhedrin,
and whoever says, 'You fool,' will be liable to fiery Gehenna.
Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar,
and there recall that your brother has anything against you,
leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled
with your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court.
Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge,
and the judge will hand you over to the guard,
and you will be thrown into prison.
Amen, I say to you,
you will not be released until you have paid the last penny."

--Reflection
Human consciousness is ready to be invited by Jesus beyond mere external observance of rights and wrongs, to inner attitudes, motivations, judgments and opinions.

First Week of Lent – Thursday

2011-03-09T06:55:00.000-08:00

Matthew 7:7-12

Jesus said to his disciples:
"Ask and it will be given to you;
seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks, receives;
and the one who seeks, finds;
and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
Which one of you would hand his son a stone
when he asks for a loaf of bread,
or a snake when he asks for a fish?
If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him.

"Do to others whatever you would have them do to you.
This is the law and the prophets."

--Reflection
God seems to plant within us the desire to pray for what God already wants to give us. Even better, it’s what God has already begun to give to us!

First Week of Lent – Wednesday

2011-03-09T06:47:00.000-08:00

Jonah 3:1-10

The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time:
"Set out for the great city of Nineveh,
and announce to it the message that I will tell you."
So Jonah made ready and went to Nineveh,
according to the LORD'S bidding.
Now Nineveh was an enormously large city;
it took three days to go through it.
Jonah began his journey through the city,
and had gone but a single day's walk announcing,
"Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed,"
when the people of Nineveh believed God;
they proclaimed a fast
and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth.

When the news reached the king of Nineveh,
he rose from his throne, laid aside his robe,
covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in the ashes.
Then he had this proclaimed throughout Nineveh,
by decree of the king and his nobles:
"Neither man nor beast, neither cattle nor sheep,
shall taste anything;
they shall not eat, nor shall they drink water.
Man and beast shall be covered with sackcloth
and call loudly to God;
every man shall turn from his evil way
and from the violence he has in hand.
Who knows,
God may relent and forgive, and withhold his blazing wrath,
so that we shall not perish."

When God saw by their actions
how they turned from their evil way,
he repented of the evil that he had threatened to do to them;
he did not carry it out.

--Reflection
Faith is the leap into the water, now with the lived experience that there is One who can and will catch you-and lead you where you need to go!

First Week of Lent – Tuesday

2011-03-09T06:41:00.000-08:00

Matthew 6:7-15

Jesus said to his disciples:
"In praying, do not babble like the pagans,
who think that they will be heard because of their many words.
Do not be like them.
Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

"This is how you are to pray:
Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

"If you forgive others their transgressions,
your heavenly Father will forgive you.
But if you do not forgive others,
neither will your Father forgive your transgressions."

--Reflection
Forgiveness is not some churchy technique or formula. Forgiveness is constant from God’s side, which should become a calm, joyous certainty on our side.

First Week of Lent - Monday

2011-03-09T06:31:00.000-08:00

Matthew 25:31-46

Jesus said to his disciples:
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory,
and all the angels with him,
he will sit upon his glorious throne,
and all the nations will be assembled before him.
And he will separate them one from another,
as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
Then the king will say to those on his right,
'Come, you who are blessed by my Father.
Inherit the kingdom prepared for you
from the foundation of the world.
For I was hungry and you gave me food,
I was thirsty and you gave me drink,
a stranger and you welcomed me,
naked and you clothed me,
ill and you cared for me,
in prison and you visited me.'

Then the righteous will answer him and say,
'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you,
or thirsty and give you drink?
When did we see you a stranger and welcome you,
or naked and clothe you?
When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?'

And the king will say to them in reply,
'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did
for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.'

Then he will say to those on his left,
'Depart from me, you accursed,
into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
For I was hungry and you gave me no food,
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
a stranger and you gave me no welcome,
naked and you gave me no clothing,
ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.'

Then they will answer and say,
'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty
or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison,
and not minister to your needs?'

He will answer them,
'Amen, I say to you,
what you did not do for one of these least ones,
you did not do for me.'

And these will go off to eternal punishment,
but the righteous to eternal life."

--Reflection
Jesus’ "commandments" go far beyond mere boundary-keeping. They actually move beyond all boundaries to take care of those who did not make it, do not fit in. These are the outsider, the criminal, the vulnerable and the weak. It is quite a leap.

First Week of Lent - Sunday

2011-03-01T14:59:00.000-08:00

Matthew 4:1-11

At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry.

The tempter approached and said to him,
"If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread."

He said in reply, "It is written:
'One does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes forth
from the mouth of God.' "

Then the devil took him to the holy city, and made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him,
"If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written:
'He will command his angels concerning you
and 'with their hands they will support you,
lest you dash your foot against a stone.' "

Jesus answered him, "Again it is written,
'You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.' "

Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence, and he said to him,
"All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me."

At this, Jesus said to him,
"Get away, Satan! It is written:
'The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve.' "

Then the devil left him and, behold, angels came and ministered to him.

--Reflection
In all three years of the lectionary cycle, the Gospel for the first Sunday of Lent is devoted to the temptation of Jesus in the desert. Examining temptations is a good way to begin Lent. Most people’s daily ethical choices are not between total good and total evil, but between various shades of good, a partial good that is wrongly perceived as an absolute good (because of the self as the central reference point), or even evil that disguises itself as good. These are what get us into trouble.

Saturday after Ash Wednesday

2011-03-01T14:19:00.000-08:00

Lk 5:27-32

Jesus saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the customs post.
He said to him, "Follow me."
And leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him.
Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house,
and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were at table with them. The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples, saying, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?"

Jesus said to them in reply,
"Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do.
I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners."

--Reflection
"God, where am I trapped and unable to see it?" That may be the best starter prayer for Lent.

Friday after Ash Wednesday

2011-03-01T14:14:00.000-08:00

Is 58:1-9a

Thus says the Lord God:
Cry out full-throated and unsparingly,
lift up your voice like a trumpet blast;
Tell my people their wickedness,
and the house of Jacob their sins.
They seek me day after day,
and desire to know my ways,
Like a nation that has done what is just
and not abandoned the law of their God;
They ask me to declare what is due them,
pleased to gain access to God.
"Why do we fast, and you do not see it?
afflict ourselves, and you take no note of it?"

Lo, on your fast day you carry out your own pursuits,
and drive all your laborers.
Yes, your fast ends in quarreling and fighting,
striking with wicked claw.
Would that today you might fast
so as to make your voice heard on high!
Is this the manner of fasting I wish,
of keeping a day of penance:
That a man bow his head like a reed,
and lie in sackcloth and ashes?
Do you call this a fast,
a day acceptable to the LORD?
This, rather, is the fasting that I wish:
releasing those bound unjustly,
untying the thongs of the yoke;
Setting free the oppressed,
breaking every yoke;
Sharing your bread with the hungry,
sheltering the oppressed and the homeless;
Clothing the naked when you see them,
and not turning your back on your own.
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your wound shall quickly be healed;
Your vindication shall go before you,
and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer,
you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am!

--Reflection
Isaiah makes a very upfront demand for social justice, non-aggression, taking our feet off the necks of the oppressed, sharing our bread with the hungry, clothing the naked, letting go of our sense of entitlement. How often we miss the point!

Thursday after Ash Wednesday

2011-03-01T14:11:00.000-08:00

Lk 9:22-25

Jesus said to his disciples:
"The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected
by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed and on the third day be raised."

Then he said to all,
"If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself
and take up his cross daily and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
What profit is there for one to gain the whole world
yet lose or forfeit himself?

--Reflection
We must place our bet, set our trajectory, make a choice, surrender to the Great Love ... just be ready for the trials and confusion into which this clear choice will lead you.

Ash Wednesday

2011-03-01T14:06:00.000-08:00

2 Cor 5:20-6:2

Brothers and sisters:

We are ambassadors for Christ,
as if God were appealing through us.
We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin,
so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.

Working together, then,
we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain.
For he says:
"In an acceptable time I heard you,
and on the day of salvation I helped you."
Behold, now is a very acceptable time;
behold, now is the day of salvation.

--Reflection
It seems that we need beginnings, or everything eventually devolves and declines into unnecessary and sad endings. You were made for so much more! So today you must pray for the desire to desire!

Lenten Reflections Beginning Soon

2011-03-01T13:58:00.000-08:00

Beginning on Wednesday, March 9, 2011, we will post daily reflections. If you use Twitter, you can also follow them on SFA_Lent.

Below you will still find all the posts from last year.

Easter Vigil, Saturday, April 3: Rejoice!

2010-02-24T13:09:00.000-08:00

Easter Vigil Readings

The tomb is empty. It is up to us to be open to its meaning. Where is Jesus? What do you believe has happened here? Some experience terror at that open grave. Others are mystified. Many will shrug and go home. Those who prepared themselves to see clearly rejoice!

Gospel

At daybreak on the first day of the week
the women who had come from Galilee with Jesus
took the spices they had prepared
and went to the tomb.
They found the stone rolled away from the tomb;
but when they entered,
they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
While they were puzzling over this, behold,
two men in dazzling garments appeared to them.
They were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground.
They said to them,
“Why do you seek the living one among the dead?
He is not here, but he has been raised.
Remember what he said to you while he was still in Galilee,
that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners
and be crucified, and rise on the third day.”
And they remembered his words.
Then they returned from the tomb
and announced all these things to the eleven
and to all the others.
The women were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James;
the others who accompanied them also told this to the apostles,
but their story seemed like nonsense
and they did not believe them.
But Peter got up and ran to the tomb,
bent down, and saw the burial cloths alone;
then he went home amazed at what had happened.

Good Friday, April 2: Thirst

2010-02-24T13:06:00.000-08:00

Rediscover Lent

Lent Begins Soon

Sacred Triduum

Holy Week – Wednesday

Holy Week – Tuesday

Holy Week – Monday

Holy Week – Palm Sunday

Fifth Week of Lent - Saturday

Fifth Week of Lent - Friday

Fifth Week of Lent - Thursday

Fifth Week of Lent - Wednesday

Fifth Week of Lent - Tuesday

Fifth Week of Lent - Monday

Fifth Week of Lent - Sunday

Fourth Week of Lent - Saturday

Fourth Week of Lent - Friday

Fourth Week of Lent - Thursday

Fourth Week of Lent - Wednesday

Fourth Week of Lent - Tuesday

Fourth Week of Lent - Monday

Fourth Week of Lent - Sunday

Third Week of Lent - Saturday

Third Week of Lent - Friday

Third Week of Lent - Thursday

Third Week of Lent - Wednesday

Third Week of Lent - Tuesday

Third Week of Lent - Monday

Third Week of Lent - Sunday

Second Week of Lent - Saturday

Second Week of Lent - Friday

Second Week of Lent - Thursday

Second Week of Lent - Wednesday

Second Week of Lent - Tuesday

Second Week of Lent - Monday

Second Week of Lent - Sunday

First Week of Lent – Saturday

First Week of Lent – Friday

First Week of Lent – Thursday

First Week of Lent – Wednesday

First Week of Lent – Tuesday

First Week of Lent - Monday

First Week of Lent - Sunday

Saturday after Ash Wednesday

Friday after Ash Wednesday

Thursday after Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday

Lenten Reflections Beginning Soon

Easter Vigil, Saturday, April 3: Rejoice!

Good Friday, April 2: Thirst

Holy Thursday, April 1: Wash

Holy Week, Wednesday, March 31: Nourish

Holy Week, Tuesday, March 30: Confess

Holy Week, Monday, March 29: Waste

Holy Week, Sunday, March 28: Be Generous

Saturday, March 27: Focus

Friday, March 26: Run

Thursday, March 25: Keep

Wednesday, March 24: Release

Tuesday, March 23: Belong

Monday, March 22: Believe

Fifth Sunday of Lent, March 21: Look Within

Saturday, March 20: Decide

Friday, March 19: Connect

Thursday, March 18: Shine

Wednesday, March 17: Dare

Tuesday, March 16: Walk

Monday, March 15: Receive

Fourth Sunday of Lent, March 14: Let Yourself Be Loved

Saturday, March 13: Kneel

Friday, March 12: Praise

Thursday, March 11: Discern

Wednesday, March 10: Listen

Tuesday, March 9: Repay

Monday, March 8: Testify

Third Sunday of Lent, March 7: Nurture Growth

Saturday, March 6: Celebrate

Friday, March 5: Respect

Thursday, March 4: Act

Wednesday, March 3: Serve

Tuesday, March 2: Demonstrate