February 18, 2023, the First Sunday of Lent

Eyes on the Prize

Mark 1:45 “This is the time of fulfillment. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the Gospel."

Conversion and repentance are necessary if we are to be fulfilled and build up the Kingdom of God.  Repentance is more than just being sorry or feeling bad about something we did or did not do.  Repentance means to change your convictions, behavior, and life.  To embrace Christ is to live the gospel teaching.  This is the life you were destined to live.  It is to be your very best self.

As St. Peter states in the second reading, Peter 3:18, we follow Christ so "that Christ might lead you to God and have life in the Spirit.”

Once we are touched by God's grace and know Christ, we ought to be his "ambassadors." and builders of the kingdom on earth. To be fulfilled is to be complete and whole. Are you fulfilled?  A good place to start is to look at your priorities.  What do you spend your time on?  What do you spend your money on?  What is most important to you?  Do you make decisions or choices based on Christ's teachings in life?  Do you trust God and have faith, or do you feel everything is up to you and in your control?

The road to repentance is not something we can do on our own.  We need God's grace.  It is not a linear path.  There are ups and downs.  Good days and bad.  We will fall, but Christ helps us back up.  We have the sacraments, especially Reconciliation and the Eucharist to nourish and support us. We can’t get it alone; We need community and a personal relationship with Christ. Repentance is a deep-seated conviction at the very core that you will “continue on” keeping your eyes on the prize – Christ and eternal life.

Week Two of Lent
A Self-Directed Reflection from
The St. Joseph Retreat Center
with Anne Louis De Palo

As we prepare for Easter, the St. Joseph Retreat Center will be sharing weekly reflections during Lent. Thank you for joining us on this journey. We look forward to hearing from you in this time of fasting and reflection.

Are You Listening?

"In your descendants, all the nations of the earth shall find blessing - all this because you obeyed my command." Genesis 22:18.

"Oh Lord, I am your servant." Psalm 116

"This is my beloved son, listen to him." Mark 9:7

The word obey means to listen. In this fast-paced technological world, the question to ask this Lent is "Do I listen? What am I listening to, and do I even know what it is to listen?"

To listen, one must be silent and not only hear another's voice but pay attention. If we hear what someone says and are present to them, there is a connection. We are relational and we all have a deep need to listen, hear, and be present to one another.

God the Father tells Peter, John, and James at the Transfiguration that Jesus is his beloved son with whom he is well pleased and to listen to Him. "Beloved" means Christ was loved by the Father and He was pleased with Him because he listened, obeyed, and did His will. God the Father tells the soon-to-be apostles to follow Jesus. As Christians, this is what we are asked to do be Christ-like and live as He did.

In the first reading, God rewards Abraham for obeying him. He followed God's instructions after listening to his request. He put total faith and trust in God. He was able to serve God because Abraham had a relationship with him and listened and heard what He asked of him without question or hesitation. Psalm 116, also reminds us to do God's will and listen to Him in the words "Lord, I am your servant."

One of the greatest challenges I face as a mediator is to try and keep couples or clients (as the case may be) silent when the other speaks. One of the first rules of mediation for it to be effective is that no one interrupts the other. To listen when someone speaks until they finish, and to hear what the person is saying before you react is key. This is difficult to say the least, especially in emotionally charged situations. The next step to successful communication after you let someone speak is to restate what the person said; not what you think they said but what they said. Instead of listening, one can focus on their interpretation of the words of the person who's speaking and how it relates to them instead of what the person is saying. Also, one can begin to formulate their answer to what the person is saying as they are speaking before they have even finished speaking.

It is ironic in our world today how the word "obey" is often seen negatively. It

may well be because we do not know how to listen or be silent. Receptivity, listening, and obeying are essential for holiness. The Blessed Mother is our greatest model of this. She was the handmaid of the Lord and once she accepted God's invitation and grace, she listened, received, followed, and remained silent. May we follow her example.

Oh Lord, please give us the grace gift of listening to you and others so we may follow your ways.

THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT REFLECTION

LORD SOOTHE MY SOUL

"Lord you have the word of everlasting life, John 6:68."

Psalm 19, "The law of Lord is perfect refreshing the soul."

First letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians, 1:24, "Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God."

I have a confession to make.  One of my Lenten practices this year is to practice what St. Jose Escriva, (who founded Opus Dei and called all to universal holiness) labeled, "the heroic minute".  This is a way of offering a small sacrifice and to discipline yourself in a spiritual life.  It is simply to get up immediately when the alarm goes off.  No rolling over, hitting the snooze button, or pulling the blankets over your head.   "Just do it" as the Nike slogan says.  Well, waking up and getting up to the dark and cold mornings for me has been a sacrifice.

I find I get up all right; but I am not in good spirits to say the least.  In fact, I am like a bear with a sore foot (and in fact, my cold feet do hurt).  I grab my headphones, listen to the liturgy of the hours as I feed and comb my cats, do necessary chores, hit the coffee pot, and ready myself for prayer time and the day.

As I sit to pray, my mood is better, but I am still somewhat distracted thinking about all I have to do, and I don't want to do in the day ahead.  I look out at the dawn, settle myself and listen more intently to the liturgy of the hours and slowly begin to see a shift in my mood.

Then I sit quietly in silence.  I begin to pray and talk to God.  I admit sometimes I complain, sometimes I thank him for all the blessings of the previous day, and I share my desires, concerns and problems. Then I read the Mass readings for the day.

Slowly but surely, the crankiness washes away.  I begin to experience peace, completeness, and feel a sense of God's presence.  From a bear, I become a lamb.  This is what I believe the psalmist means when he prays, "The word of the Lord is perfect it refreshes the soul."  And in the responsorial refrain from John, "Lord, you have the words of eternal life."

In the first reading of Exodus, the Lord gave the Israelites the Commandments.  If they followed them, they would have life, give life, and “live a long life in the land which the Lord would give them”. Exodus 20:12. These words of the Lord are precious.

Christ is the Word made flesh and gives us light and power through the scriptures.  Prayer is so powerful and necessary to refresh and heal our souls.  That is why it is one of the pillars of Lent.  Reading the Bible gives comfort, wisdom, and "life."  For me, the "Word" soothes the savage beast.

REJOICE SUNDAY-A BEAUTIFUL ROSE

 "Let my tongue be silenced if ever I forget you!"
Psalm 137:6(ab)

Ephesians 2:4 "Brothers and sisters: God who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he has for us, even where we were dead by our transgressions brought us to life with Christ - by grace you have been saved"

Today, on this fourth Sunday of Lent, we put away the purple candles and purple vestments. We light a pink candle, and the vestments are also a rose or pink. We are in the "pink."

Why? It is the midway point of the penitential season. That, you may think, as we struggle to maintain our Lenten promises and practices is reason enough to "rejoice"; however, there is much more. Daylight savings time begins, and Spring is only 19 days away. There is increasing light in nature, and hopefully within ourselves.

Today, the Church asks us to go deeper in our Lenten journey and we are asked to contemplate and remember that our "joy" is in everlasting life and points us to the Resurrection of Christ on Easter Sunday, and to live every day with eternal life in mind.

Our life is transitory and we are but pilgrims on the road to Heaven. We must remember that Heaven is our true home and reflect on the Last Four things: Death, Judgment, Heaven or Hell. For me, the readings today ask us to contemplate and commit to this joy and celebration of eternity with Christ on this fourth Sunday of Lent. On this rejoice Sunday, the Pope traditionally blessed a golden rose to signify the joy that awaits us in the heavenly Jerusalem. The Pope then sent it to political leaders and churches, as a sign of the Pope's goodwill.

How is your Lent going? If you are like me, you have had good days and bad days. Don't look back, but forward. Continue to ask for God's help and grace. Remember we can do nothing by ourselves and we are never alone. There is still time. Have you gone to confession yet? Are you growing closer to Christ? Have you set time aside to pray and be silent, alone with God? If not do something today. God is a good and merciful God who loves you so. Rejoice in that.

Today I will pick this rose of love and joy and share it. I want to sing, rejoice, and shout out at the top of my lungs, thank you, Lord, for life. Like the psalmist in Psalm 137, I will say, "Let my tongue be silenced if ever I forget you." I will never forget, as Saint Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:4, " God, who is rich in mercy, loves us and brings us to life with Christ." Let's rejoice and send a golden rose to someone today.

An Irish Heart

"I will place my law within them and write it upon their hearts." Jeremiah 31:33

"Son, though he was, learned obedience from what he suffered; and when he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him." Hebrews 5:9

RESPONSORIAL PSALM 51

"Create a clean heart in me, oh God." Palm 51(a)

The heart symbolizes the center or core of our being from which prayer and moral actions originate. It encompasses our mind body and soul. It is the heart that prays." The heart is the dwelling place where I am, where I live: …a place to withdraw to. It is our hidden center, beyond the grasp of our reason and of other; only the Spirit of God knows the heart." Catechism of the Catholic Church No. 2563

On the fifth Sunday of Lent, the readings ask us to look at our hearts. Have your Lenten

practices brought you closer to Christ? Are you more rooted in God? Have you given him your

whole heart? Are you connected to him, and is he the most important thing in your life?

In Jeremiah, God tells him he wants to enter our hearts and write his law upon it. This is

for our benefit and the covenant he made with us to live a certain way. In this way, we can grow in holiness and love, and we will care for our neighbors as well as ourselves. The law and its fulfillment in Jesus Christ - which is the law of love. Christ perfected the law, and through his obedience to the Father, gives us salvation and eternal life.

We are all given a path to follow. My path and circumstances and experiences are

different from yours. The way to perfection, as Jesus models, is to stay on our path not run away from it. As Jesus says in John 12:27, "I am troubled now, but what should I say? Father save me from this hour? But it was for this purpose that I came."

How we can all learn and understand our lives from these words? Today is Saint Patrick's Day, and though it is not celebrated as it is a Sunday, I kept thinking of Saint Patrick, his life, and his legacy as I read these words. The life he thought he would have as the son of a senator and tax collector in a Roman British city came crashing down when he was kidnapped at sixteen and brought to Ireland by a band of pirates. He was made a slave. As a slave for 6 years, he tended sheep spent a lot of time alone, and developed a strong relationship with God. He had a profound conversion experience as he did not have a strong belief before. As time passed, he saw God's providence in his situation and learned to surrender and trust him. He escaped and returned home in his early twenties to his wealthy family. He became a cleric.

God had touched his heart; however, he heard God's voice telling him to return to Ireland and save souls, and he did it even in the face of much opposition from his family and friends. He converted an entire nation. What would Ireland be without Saint Patrick?

This gives me pause to think and beg the question: "What would _____ blank be without you?" Think deeply about that. What person, relationship, community, institution, or profession have you touched and impacted? If we listen to Christ and look at the lives of the saints, we know you cannot run away from God's plan for you. Once he has hold of your heart - there is nothing else you can do but obey and follow. Saint Patrick, pray for us as we discern and

Palm Sunday

Isaiah 50:4 Morning after morning he opens my ear so I may hear."

Philippians 2:7 "Rather he emptied himself.

Mark 14: 3. "She broke the alabaster jar of perfumed oil and poured it on his head."

Today is Palm Sunday. As Mass begins, we can be dazzled by the procession at church as we wave our palms. We may notice how crowded the Church is because it is Palm Sunday. Perhaps it is as crowded as it was on Ash Wednesday. Ashes and palms seem to draw more to Mass. Again, as we do every year, we listen to the same Gospel story about our Lord's Passion; the betrayal, arrest, suffering and crucifixion through one of the evangelists. We are entering into Holy Week.

This year, as you hear the passion story, I challenge you to go deeper and reflect on the enormity of Christ gift to us-the emptying and pouring out His love and mercy on the cross. The word "empty and broken" in the Gospel reading resonated with me.

To begin the meditation and contemplation of these readings, I ponder Isaiah 50:4. "Morning after morning he opens my ear so I may hear." Take a few minutes to be silent. Breath in and out deeply. Open yourself up to the Spirit. Prepare your heart to receive by emptying yourself of any distractions or worldly concerns. Be still.

It is only an open heart that can receive. Sometimes, it may have to be broken to be opened and receive; as well as be able experience compassion and mercy. A hardened heart is impenetrable. Saint Paul in Philippians 2 tells us, "Christ emptied himself and poured himself out on the cross for love of us."

In the Gospel of Mark 14, we meet the woman in Bethany who out of love for Christ, broke the alabaster jar to pieces and poured the entire bottle of anointing oil over Christ's head, washing his feet with her tears and her hair.

What a total gift of self. Christ praises for her faith, devotion and love of him. Christ praises her pouring out her love for him, and he invites us to pour out our sorry, pain, and suffering and give it all to Him

What in your life has to be broken and emptied for you to be able to be free to love yourself and others for love of God? A life filled with busyness, activity, and things of the world cannot love as Christ challenges us to. Everyday, we must break open our egos, empty ourselves, listen to the voice of God and pour ourselves out to help build the kingdom of God.

Palm Sunday is much more than palms, it is about love. There is no true love without sacrifice. This is what the cross embodies for us. How many palms today are made into a cross?

Will yours be one?