Category: Uncategorized

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Gospel: Mt. 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.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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One of the most popular Saints of our time is Mother Teresa.

I’m sure we all know her story: she brought together a group of 11 other nuns and founded a religious order, the Missionaries of Charity, in 1950.

Then she spent the rest of her life serving the poorest of the poor in India.

Today the Missionaries of Charity have over 5,000 members, who run schools, soup kitchens, homes for refugees, abandoned children, people with AIDS, leprosy, or mental illness.

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A reporter once asked her, “Mother Teresa, why do you do this?”

She reached over, touched his hand, and on each finger repeated one of those five sacred words we heard from Jesus in today’s Gospel, “You…did…it…to…me.”

Mother Teresa believed that whatever she did with her hands for the poor, she did for Christ.

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It can feel intimidating to compare our life to hers. She was a prophet; a spiritual giant, who was uniquely gifted with a love for the poor.

But we can be just like her if we hold out one hand, and as we bend each of our five fingers, repeat those words of Christ:

“You…did…it…to…me.”

Then go out and find someone to serve.

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Image credits: (1) Brady Lane Church (2) secure.qgiv.com (3) Pinterest

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Genesis: 2:7 – 3:7

The LORD God formed man out of the clay of the ground 
and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, 
and so man became a living being.

Then the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, 
and placed there the man whom he had formed.
Out of the ground the LORD God made various trees grow 
that were delightful to look at and good for food, 
with the tree of life in the middle of the garden 
and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the animals 
that the LORD God had made.
The serpent asked the woman,
“Did God really tell you not to eat
from any of the trees in the garden?”
The woman answered the serpent: 
“We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; 
it is only about the fruit of the tree 
in the middle of the garden that God said, 
‘You shall not eat it or even touch it, lest you die.'”
But the serpent said to the woman:
“You certainly will not die!
No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it
your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods 
who know what is good and what is evil.”
The woman saw that the tree was good for food, 
pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom.
So she took some of its fruit and ate it; 
and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, 
and he ate it.
Then the eyes of both of them were opened, 
and they realized that they were naked; 
so they sewed fig leaves together
and made loincloths for themselves.

The Word of the Lord.

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Mark Twain once said, “The best way to get rid of temptation… is to give into it.”

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Temptation.

We all feel it … and sometimes we give in. 

It’s something human beings have struggled with since the Garden of Eden. 

Our first reading takes us back to the beginning, that moment when Adam and Eve first sinned. 

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Satan appears in the form of a serpent.

Slithering towards Eve, he allures her into eating from the tree of knowledge. “Did God really say, ‘You shall not eat from any of the trees in the garden?” he hisses.

“No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods!”

Notice Satan does not deny the existence of God when manipulating Eve; he is far more cunning than that. Rather, he tries convincing her to doubt her need for God.

“Your eyes will be opened…and you will be like gods!” he says.

Free. Independent. Self-sustaining. No need for God.

This becomes a marquee tactic of the devil – not to make us doubt God’s existence, as much as convincing us not to care that God exists, or has our well-being in mind.

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The moment Eve looks at the fruit, she concludes three things: it is, “good for food, pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom.” 

Then, she takes it and bites into it.

Most of our temptations stem from that moment. 

Although God commands Eve not to eat the fruit – doing so would be poisonous to her body and soul – she perceives it as, “good for food,” something pleasing to her physical appetite. 

Often, we face the same temptation – to bite into things that seem pleasing to our appetites in the moment, but really do us harm. 

For example, do we ever overindulge in things like food, drink, betting, social media, or the internet? 

We can spend hours draining ourselves, wasting our time… and for what good?

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One way to combat this temptation to overindulge is to fast, creating a stronger sense of self-discipline and balance this Lent.

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Secondly, Eve finds the fruit, “pleasing to the eyes.” 

Lured by its shape and color, she bites in. Then, she shares it with Adam. Chances are, they both went back for more, even though God commanded them not to.

Today we’re lured by a different kind of “fruit” – a nice pair of shoes, a fashionable purse, a new set of golf clubs, a fancy car, a bigger home. 

Things that seem, “pleasing to the eyes.” 

We acquire them, but more is never enough. Somehow, having more leaves us feeling just as restless weeks or months later as we did before.

What lures me? What do I find myself constantly wanting more of?

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One way to assuage that desire for more is to give alms to those who have less. As Saint Francis of Assisi reminds us, “It is in giving that we receive.”

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Finally, Eve finds the fruit, “desirable for gaining wisdom.” 

Although God warns her not to touch it, she cannot turn away. So, she does what she wants, instead of what she should. 

This is, perhaps, the most common temptation of all: pride. Thinking that we can have whatever we want or do whatever we want, even when our conscience tells us otherwise.

When do I ignore my conscience and do what I want instead of what I should?

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One way to humble ourselves into doing the right thing is through prayer.

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“The best way to get rid of temptation,” Mark Twain once said, “is to give into it.”

While witty, we know that isn’t true. The best way to get rid of temptation is to fast, give alms, and pray as the Lord has taught us.

Are we willing to do that – to become more like Christ – this Lent?

May God bless our journeys ahead.

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Image credits: (1) Oswald Chambers (2) National Catholic Register (3) QuoteFancy

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Isaiah: 58: 1-9

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!

The Word of the Lord.

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I remember as a child playing a game with my cousins. We’d jump into our grandfather’s pool and see how long we could hold our breath for: ten, twenty, thirty seconds.

Sometimes the winner would have to wait underwater for over a minute until second place was squirming, nearly blue in the face!

It was a pointless game, really. Boys being boys.

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But that feeling of repression – of holding our breath in until we nearly fainted – reminds me of a potential pitfall we face during Lent.

In addition to praying and giving alms, many of us give something up – caffeine, impatience, alcohol, social media, chocolate, etc.

The trick is doing so without becoming a grouch. Nobody wants to be around a “hangry,” irritable person. If fasting from caffeine only makes you tired and snappy, then something’s wrong.

As the prophet Isaiah warns the Israelites in our first reading: “Your fast ends in quarreling and fighting, striking with wicked claw. Would that you might fast so as to make your voice heard on high!”

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Yes, fasting can be painful at times. But it’s meant to direct our attention to our deepest hunger – our hunger for God – and towards the real hunger that many face without choice.

“Share your bread with the hungry, shelter the oppressed and the homeless, clothe the naked when you see them,” Isaiah says. 

Do everything with a joyful, loving disposition. Then the Lord will hear us when we cry.

Otherwise, if we’re just holding our breath until Easter, then we might as well dive underwater until we’re blue in the face.

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Image credits: (1) Catholic Daily Reflections (2) Pinterest (3) Kindness Blog