February 26, 2020: Ash Wednesday

The ashes symbolize our frailty and mortality as humans.  Our lifespan is limited, and we are truly in sin, which breaks our perfect relationship with God.

The prophet Joel sets a tone for earnestly seeking to be restored in right relationship with God.  As laid out in the Gospel reading, taken from the Sermon on the Mount, we take up the practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving so that we can restore our right relationship with God.

We do all these practices because it is now the time, as St. Paul writes.  With the Triduum on the way, we seek to go deeper in our relationship with God, Who came to restore us to Who He created us to be, taking the initiative to reconcile us.  May we live our days constantly seeking after this God Who has sought after us so profoundly.

February 23, 2020: 7th Sunday in Ordinary Time

God calls us to a high standard, to be holy as He is, as Leviticus states, and to be perfect as our Heavenly Father, as Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount.

It's clear that it's not enough as God's people to follow laws, commands, and rules.  He calls us to something more, to give of ourselves in showing love to others who don't show love and goodness, just as God showers goodness upon all people.  Responding to hate with love is what truly stands out and makes God's presence known, for He is truly kind and merciful.

Like St. Paul writes, we are God's Temple, because God's Spirit dwells in us.  It is a challenge for us to live up to, in maintaining holiness in our lives day by day.  But it is also an incredible blessing that God has made us holy for the purpose of making Him known, for we all truly belong to Him.  So let us live in the ways of His wisdom by showing His type of kindness to all.

February 16, 2020: 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time

God speaks to us wisdom that is unlike the wisdom the world offers us.

It is a wisdom that sets before us the choice between death and life.

It is a wisdom that probes deeper into our hearts, beyond external actions to the inner dispositions and attitude of our hearts.

Jesus proclaims that He has not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it, so that it transforms our hearts, reflected in our righteous living.

February 9, 2020: 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Because we are God's people, we are truly salt and light.  We make an impact on the world, because God has transformed our lives.  He Who is the Light of the World has placed His Light into us so we can shine.

We shine when we do deeds of justice in love and service to one another.

And in the spirit of what St. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 2, we do so not to bring attention to ourselves, but to magnify the power of God, which we make present in this world by our lives.

February 2, 2020: Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

It's been 40 days since the Feast of the Nativity of the Lord, and today's feast offers us a great opportunity to reinvoke the spirit of Christmas as we celebrate the Presentation of the Lord.

Jesus is brought to the Temple by His parents that He may be presented as the One Who offers the perfect sacrifice to God, and does so by becoming a human like us.

We join with Simeon and Anna, who celebrate the presence of God in the Christ Child and acknowledge Who He is, the Light of Salvation for all the world, revealing God to the Gentiles, and glory for His people.

With Simeon and Anna, let us behold the presence of God before, as He shines His Light into our hearts.  Let us be filled with peace and consolation that He is here, and join in praising God for the gift of His Salvation, as we shine forth His Light in our world.