Holy Week

Yesterday we heard the readings for Palm Sunday.  There is a sharp contrast between the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem with praises of “Hosanna in the Highest” to the Passion of our Lord where we hear “Crucify Him”.   The Gospel of the Passion is a solemn account of our Lord’s sacrifice.  At the 5:30 pm Mass Fr. Vince let the Gospel speak for itself.   We heard Jesus last words, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit”.  Please make some time this week to prayer and practice of Lenten disciplines, and plan to attend the Holy Week services, the Triduum, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the East Vigil all at 7:00 p.m.  May you have a blessed Holy Week.

Liturgy of the Hours: The prayer of the Church for all faithful

Are you familiar with the Liturgy of the Hours?   This is the prayer that priests, deacons and religious are obligated to prayer daily and also many laity choose to pray as well. It is the prayer of the Church and the Catechism comments on it in section 1175:

The Liturgy of the Hours is intended to become the prayer of the whole People of God. In it Christ himself "continues his priestly work through his Church." His members participate according to their own place in the Church and the circumstances of their lives: priests devoted to the pastoral ministry, because they are called to remain diligent in prayer and the service of the word; religious, by the charism of their consecrated lives; all the faithful as much as possible: "Pastors of souls should see to it that the principal hours, especially Vespers, are celebrated in common in church on Sundays and on the more solemn feasts. The laity, too, are encouraged to recite the divine office, either with the priests, or among themselves, or even individually."

You can see above that the laity is also invited to prayer as well.   I was vaguely familiar with it prior to entering formation for the diaconate.  A publication I had subscribed to, the Magnificat, has an abbreviated version, and it was laid out in an easy to follow format.  The morning and evening prayers came prior and after the daily Mass reading and reflection.  If you are considering dipping your to in the waters to start praying the Liturgy of the Hours this may be a good introduction. If you are interested in finding out how to pray the Liturgy of the Hours there is a recent article on the American Catholic blog I just read referring to a book that would be helpful.

My introduction to the Liturgy of the Hours was at the first gathering of deacon aspirants newly selected for the next formation class.   We were all given the brief version of the Liturgy, Shorter Christian Prayer, and instructed to open to the hymn.   After that about half the rest of the group and I were lost.   It was pretty comical seeing the confused and bewildered look on so many faces.  I think it was assumed that many of us had prayed the hours before, but obviously we had not.

I have grown accustomed to the Liturgy of the Hours and it is now part of my daily prayer routine and if I miss part of it something does not feel right.  I really enjoy praying the Liturgy of the Hours in community, but most often I pray it on my own.  It is centered on the Psalms along, a reading from Scripture, and then the Canticle of Zechariah (Evening Prayer) or the Magnificat (Morning Prayer), followed by intercessions, the Our Father, and a closing prayer.  It takes about 10-15 minutes to pray. 

There are several print versions that are in single volumes, Shorter Christian Prayer, Christian Prayer, and the four volume set that has two volumes for Ordinary Time, one for Lent/East and another for Advent/Christmas.  If you are interested in getting started you may want to start with one of the single volume editions.   There are also apps for iPhone and Android as well.  Divine Office is a version that I enjoy very much.   Besides having the text of the prayers all in order there is the option of playing audio that you can also use which offers the feeling of prayer in community.   You can also prayer along while exercising or driving.   Some other apps, Roman Catholic Calendar, and Laudate, are other versions for providing the text of the prayer.

It’s the mid-way point of Lent and if you are still looking for something to add to your daily routine to bring you closer to God consider starting to pray the Liturgy of the Hours.   I’d suggest picking either Morning or Evening Prayer as a start.   If you would like an introduction the DADS (Dedication and Devotion to our Divine Savior) prays this on Monday evenings at 7:00 pm.  If your interested and like to do this in community let me know and I will schedule a time to do so either before of after a daily Mass.   May God bless you.

Rejoice! God always welcomes you back.

 

                                Picture of prodigal son above from catholicjules.net

The Gospel for the Fourth Sunday of Lent is a familiar one to most of us, the parable of the Prodigal Son.  Father Vince started out asking us if we feel like rejoicing and a few hands went up.   He said you would all be rejoicing by the end of the homily.    Father also asked if we know what the word prodigal meant and gave us the definition of reckless, extravagant, and wasteful. This is something that we can all identify with at some time in our own lives.   

The prodigal son fit this description and his journey was similar to Jesus' temptation in the desert.  Jesus went off away from everyone in the barren desert and the son went off away from his family to a foreign land where there was nothing for him.   Jesus was hungry and was tempted by the devil to turn bread into stone, but Jesus tells him that the word of God is what we live on.  The son is tempted to eat the pods, which are the husks that had little nutritional value, when he realized that he could really live by going back to his father. Jesus is tempted by the devil to be given rule over all the kingdoms of the world by worshiping him, but Jesus told him in humility that you should only worship the Lord alone.   The son in humility comes back asks the father to treat him as a hired son, realizing his sin against the father. 

 

The father shows his love for the son by welcoming him back, clothing him with a fine robe, rings for this fingers, sandals, and celebrating with a feast.   The father is rejoicing because his son was lost and it now found, a reason to rejoice! The father’s response to the son is an analogy to show God’s love for us, and that he is willing to welcome us back no matter what we’ve done.  The devil does not want us to hear this message. He wants to separate us away from God and think that we are not worthy of God’s love, but this couldn’t be farther from the truth.  The devil of course doesn’t want us to know the truth, but the truth is that God always loves us and is willing to welcome us back.   This is a reason to rejoice!  

Father Vince asked again, how many people have a reason to rejoice?  Everyone’s hands shot up.   Come and feel the reason to rejoice by receiving the sacrament of reconciliation. There are plenty of opportunities prior to Easter to receive the sacrament and rejoice!  May God bless each and every one of you.

Repentance, Conversion, & God's Mercy

Deacon Ron Pirau - Third Sunday of Lent, Cycle C

 

Today’s opening prayer sets the stage for the focus of the Lenten season: Repentance.   Just in case you missed it, let me repeat the first part:

O, God, author of every mercy and of all goodness, who in fasting, prayer, and almsgiving have shown us a remedy for sin, and graciously on this confession of our lowliness that we, who are bowed down by our conscience, may always be lifted up by your mercy.

The prayers’ focus is on Lenten disciplines, confession, and conscience that can help lead us to repentance.  I’ll return to these topics after reflecting on the readings. 

In the Gospel we hear about two unfortunate incidents of people getting killed and then a parable about a fig tree.  Some people come up to Jesus telling him of some current events of the day.   The news is that Pilate had killed some Galileans who were worshipping in the synagogue & the temple tower by the pool of Siloim in Jerusalem fell and killed 18 people. What is the significance of these two tragedies? There was probably some gossip among the people going around that those who were killed must have deserved it.   I can just hear it: “If those sinful Jews just followed the law this would never have happened.   They brought it on themselves!”  It was common belief that people suffered misfortune due to their sinful nature, and God was punishing them.   The flipside of this belief was if everything was going along fine in your life, you must be in an ok relationship with God

         Jesus knows this was not the case.  The incidents that occurred were a case of people being at the wrong place and at the wrong time.   But Jesus warns the people that they should be concerned about their own souls and not about the people who were killed. Jesus knows that many of them had their own issues were not ready for the final judgment if the same fate happened to them. So he warns them with a sense of urgency to repent or they will perish. 

         Don’t we all know people in our own lives that we think the same thing?  We may have co-workers, friends, or family members who habitually engage in practices that are contrary to the Gospel, and may suffer misfortune: illness, depression; loss of job, spouse, or even loss of life.   We may think they are receiving punishment from God, due for their misgivings.  By no means!  We need to look into our own hearts, at where we need to repent.   Or sometimes when we hear about world events where people who live in so called “godless” nations lose their lives in disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, or flooding are being punished as an “act of God”?  By no means! We need to repent of our ways or we may suffer the same fate unprepared to meet our final judgment.

         Jesus then tells a parable about a fig tree to help teach the people that God doesn’t want to punish people in this life for their sins.  In the parable we hear about a man who plants a fig tree and is frustrated that it hasn’t yet produced fruit in three years.  He just wants to cut it down. A fig tree usually takes three years to grow before it produces its first batch of fruit, sometimes even more.   So if he’s been coming back for three years it’s been at least 6 years and possibly more, and his patience is worn thin.  No wonder the man wants to cut it down.  It’s just taking up space and nutrients that could be better served by another tree.  Isn’t this how we feel with some people in our lives who aren’t living as God intends and are always struggling with misfortune? But the gardener asks for more time so he can cultivate and fertilize it.  He thinks the tree has potential, and with some tender loving care it may bear fruit.  But there is a limit even to the gardener’s patience, as he says to cut it down in a year if it is fruitless, and image of the final judgment.

In this parable the gardener is God, who knows that we are going to sin, but is patient and merciful, helping us to change our ways, to come to repentance.   The cultivation and fertilization that helps bear fruit and prevent us from being cut down are the Church and her sacraments.   Through the sacraments, especially reconciliation, we receive Gods mercy and grace to help prevent us from sinning again.  Due to our sinful nature, we know that we need the sacraments because we will sin again.  If keep up with the practice our faith and continue to receive the sacraments we will hopefully sin less often and be ready when our time comes to face the final judgment. 

The Church helps us every year through the season of Lent, calling us to repentance. Fasting, prayer, and almsgiving are disciplines to help strengthen our relationship with God and discern what sins are separating us from God.   The word repentance can sometimes come across negatively.  When I think of repentance the image comes to mind of the Bible thumping preacher on the street corner shouting, Repent, and be saved or you’ll lose your life!  I’ve never found this very appealing, and I would suspect you don’t either.  

So what exactly does repentance mean? In looking up repentance in the Catechism it refers to contrition. Contrition is sorrow of the soul and hatred for the sin committed, together with a resolution not to sin again. Contrition is the most important act of the penitent, and is necessary for the reception of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  The Act of Contrition is the essential prayer of the penitent prior to receiving absolution by the priest.

During the season of Lent we are strongly encouraged to receive the sacrament of reconciliation.  This fulfills a precept of the church, to go to confession once a year. Before going to confession a thorough examination of conscience is needed, which is a prayerful self-reflection on our words and deeds in light of the Gospel to determine how we may have sinned against God.  Doing this a few days before you go to confession provides ample time to take inventory and reflect.  The examination of conscience is best done at a time in quiet prayer, reflecting on the Ten Commandments, Beatitudes, and Psalm 51.  I’ve been reading Matthew Kelly’s Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic, and he recommends in the chapter on prayer to make an examination of conscience part of your daily prayer. I’ve been added to my own daily prayer routine.    This will help to prepare for more frequent confession, possibly quarterly or even monthly. 

By repenting of sins it’s the first step to a more complete change, which is conversion.  Conversion is a radical reorientation of the whole life away from sin and evil, and toward God.  The 40 days of Lent provides a good length of time to start towards conversion, as the practices adopted over the period turn into habits that strengthen the relationship with God.  Conversion is not something that’s immediate; it’s a lifelong journey that we are all on.  That’s why we have the sacrament of reconciliation, to help us with God’s grace and mercy when we stumble along the way.   May you continue having a good Lenten season following the call to repentance and growing in your relationship with God.   May God bless you.

Good advice: Repent & Change

Deacon Steve Hodges - Third Sunday Ordinary Time

When I was growing up, my brother, Dan, who is a year older than me, always had advice for me.

When I went to kindergarten, he told me what to expect and what to avoid at school.

That advice continued each and every year all the way into high school.

I always appreciated his advice, but when you look back at it some of it was just funny.

Children have a unique perspective and say the darndest things, don’t they?

Funny Advice From Children

1.   Never trust a dog to watch your food. - Patrick, 10.

2.   Never tell your mom her diet's not working. - Michael, 14.

3.   When your mom is mad at your dad, don't let her brush your hair. - Taylia, 11.

4.   Never allow your three-year old brother in the same room as your school assignment. - Traci, 14.

5.   Don't pick on your sister when she's holding a baseball bat. - Joel, 10.

6.   When you get a bad grade in school, show it to your mom when she's on the phone. - Alyesha, 13.

7.   Never try to baptize a cat. - Eileen, 8.

All kidding aside, we all seek advice from time to time.

We may need advice for finances, what kind of car to buy, what school to attend, or how to deal with a certain situation.

Of course, there are many other areas in which we seek advice. 

We seek advice from family, from friends, from professionals, and from our pastor.

As I reflected on today’s readings, I thought about the word advice.

Jesus gave some great advice in our Gospel reading from Luke.  Twice he says:

“But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish...”

Jesus is calling the people to repent and he says it more than once.

As we continue our Lenten journey, we too are called to repent.

When I hear the word repent, I think to myself, “I have no need to repent.  I am just fine the way I am.”

The word ‘repent’ sounds like such a harsh word, doesn’t it?

I think to myself “Who wants to do that?”

What does it mean to repent?

The definition of repent is:

 “…a sincere turning away, in both the mind and heart, from self to God.”

“…to feel remorse or contrition.”

“…to change one's mind and heart.”

My friends, since none of us is perfect, and we all sin in one way or another, we all need to repent, don’t we?

And, that’s the advice that Jesus is giving the people in today’s gospel.

Jesus could also have said: “But I tell you, if you do repent, you will all have eternal life...”

Paragraph 1864 of our catechism says this:

“There are no limits to the mercy of God, but anyone who deliberately refuses to accept his mercy by repenting, rejects the forgiveness of his sins and the salvation offered by the Holy Spirit. Such hardness of heart can lead to final impenitence and eternal loss.”

None of us wants to be eternally lost, do we?

In last week’s gospel, we read the Transfiguration.

The voice from the cloud said “This is my chosen son; listen to him.”

God’s words remind all of us that we should listen closely to the words of Jesus.

Jesus gave great advice to the people 2000 years ago which applies to us today.

Jesus proclaimed the Good News throughout his public ministry on earth.

The Good News, my friends, is really not good news - it’s Great News!

The Great News is that all of us can have ‘eternal life’.  

We don’t have to perish because we have a God who wants each of us to spend eternity with Him.

That is why God sent His son, Jesus, to open the gates of heaven and to teach us how to walk through those gates. 

Today’s readings remind us that we have a choice to follow God or not.

Do we take the advice of Jesus and repent?

Or do we ignore Jesus and follow the ways of the world?

The choice is simple - to have eternal life or to perish.

I dare say that all of us here have followed Jesus’ advice by being part of the church, the body of Christ here on earth.

As we continue our Lenten journey, let’s reflect upon these readings and ask ourselves if there are any areas in our lives where we need to follow Jesus’ advice more closely.

What are those sins, those bad habits, that we need to change to improve our relationship with God?

Let’s ask God for the grace to see those sins and the courage to repent, the courage to change.

Let’s begin by seeking God’s forgiveness in the sacrament of reconciliation.

May we always remember that following Jesus’ advice leads to everlasting life.

God bless you all!