March 15, 2020: Third Sunday of Lent

We, as humans, are all thirsting and hungering for something.

The Hebrews, having just been redeemed from slavery in Egypt, hunger for good in the desert, and as is described in the first reading for today, they thirst for water in great desperation.

Yet maybe their physical thirst reveals their deeper thirst, like the woman at the well.

She's longing to belong in the midst of so many social standards that exclude her.

She is initially hesitant to embrace what Jesus has to offer, because she doesn't get it.

But Jesus continues to reach out to her, and she then realizes what He has to offer her will satisfy her deep-seated thirst.

God satisfies us because, as St. Paul writes, Jesus showed the full extent of God's love by dying for us sinners, demonstrating that He has met our greatest need for salvation.

So let us reach to Jesus Who probes deeply into our lives so that our deep-seated thirst for meaning in life can be satisfied by His Presence with us.

Especially in the midst of the highly pressing situation at hand, we can have the assurance that our God accompanies us:  Let us rejoice in our God, not hardening our hearts, but opening them to Him, so He may pour forth living water into our hearts, and we may be truly alive, as He sustains us.

March 8, 2020: Second Sunday of Lent

Lent gives us an opportunity to broaden our horizons, to experience God like never before.

God calls Abram to venture to a new land, and promises he'll be a blessing to all the world.

Jesus takes Peter, James, and John, up a mountain, and they experience the fullness of His glory.

This experience gives us a glimpse of where we're headed, that we're bound for experiencing the glory of God.

Even now, we experience it, because, like St. Paul writes, we are called to a life of holiness.

With this call, and its promises, we can strive with great perseverance toward the Glory of God.

March 1, 2020: First Sunday of Lent

There is a stark contrast between the First Reading and the Gospel reading.

Satan comes to Eve with deceptive statements, and she disobeys God's command.

Satan comes to Jesus in the wilderness, when He is in a vulnerable state, also with deceptive statements.  Yet Jesus remains fully obedient to the Father, grounding Himself in the Word of Truth.

As impactful, in a devastating way, as Adam and Eve's disobedience was, St. Paul writes in the selection from Romans 5, today's 2nd reading, that Christ's obedience was just as impactful, in a powerful way, reversing the curse of sin.

We share in the victory that Christ won in the wilderness against Satan as we ground ourselves in the Word of God, which is Truth that sustains us.  And as we turn from sin, we are brought alive as God restores His presence to us in a whole new way.

As we stand near the start of our Lenten journey, let us hold close to Christ, letting Him speak His life-giving words, and following His way of obedience through all temptations.

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.