Third Sunday of Lent: Thanksgiving

A few years ago, I read about a social scientist's observations of school children on a playground. He realized that the playground had no boundaries, fences, or markings as to the limits, and the students, not knowing what was the playground and what was not, utilized only a small portion of the actually ground. He made and the school took a suggestion, and suddenly, the students at play covered the wide expanses of the playground, utilizing every area. The difference? The construction of a fence. When we think of fences, we too easily think of them as limiting, but in the case of this playground, the fence gave them the freedom to play safely in the entire area. From this, and analogy could be made. Image a playground with no fence. On one side, there is a cliff, with jagged and dangerous edges. On another side is a wasteland filled with dangerous animals and venomous snakes. On the third side is a massive, blazing fire. Are the children truly free? No - they are not, in fact, they are extreme danger. It is only when someone has properly marked out the safe edges of the cliff, constructed a animal and snake proof fence, and a fireproof wall that the children are truly free. Until then, they will most likely be found huddling close to the school!
This weekend, we hear of the cleansing in the temple in the Gospel, and the giving of the Law in the first reading. Both of these, when looked upon as the world would, seem that Jesus is a cruel man and that the Lord is a demanding judge. In reality, it could not be further from the truth. There are boundaries on human behavior, and just like the boundaries of a playground, those who know them are truly free. In ,such the same way, there is a boundary violation in the selling of animals and the crass exchanging of money (with the corruption that so often accompanied exchanges) in the temple area, so Jesus drives them out. He cleanses the sacred temple by getting rid of the profane. In the commandments, God does the same. He sets the boundaries on human behavior not because He is mean, but because He knows how we best function. Rules and boundaries, which is what the Law is all about, are about helping us to function as individuals and society better. It is a gift of love from a God who not only knows us, but desires us with an unquenchable love. With that in mind, it is with profound thanksgiving that we approach these two-fold process of purification and submission to the Law of God. That is the aspect of prayer, therefore, that we are focussing on this week.
Thanksgiving is an act of stating our gratitude for what someone has done for us. With the Lord, we tell Him what He has done, and how we are thankful for it. Unlike adoration, which again is praising the Lord fro who He is, this is focussed on what He does. So often, though, we are not as thankful as we ought, and this aspect of prayer is often unexpressed. When we open our eyes to the Lord’s working in our life, we ought to have that sense of gratitude. Perhaps He is working in the shadows of our lives, those places of darkness of sinful patterns that He is healing, or perhaps he is cleansing a wound that while it hurts, will become a source of profound grace and presence to the Lord. Like the Law or the cleansing of the temple, when we see that the Lord loves us, we can turn to thanksgiving more easily.
Thank God for setting our human boundaries, which, when we follow them, keep us safe and free!

Second Sunday or Lent: Adoration

The Narrative of the transfiguration is read every Second Sunday of Lent. Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up Mount Tabor. The landscape is not just a nice description or mere historical fact. Mountains are places of encounter, symbolically due to their closeness with the Heavens, one was expected to encounter GOd. There, Jesus reveals Himself to the apostles,giving them a glimpse of His divinity. They are transfixed by the vision. The evangelists struggle with find the words to describe the encounter with the Lord, probably because the three witnesses struggled. Moses, the one through whom the Lord gave the Law, and Elijah, the Prophet, are speaking with Him - these two began what Jesus was going to accomplish - calling the people back to the Lord our God. The apostles were caught up in praise of the sight, and though they struggled to understand, they knew that it was good. St. Peter proclaims it, along with stating his desire to remain there. This encounter with the Transfigured Lord is one that so moved them that St. Peter writes about it years latter as giving a proof of the Gospel in his second letter (2 Peter 1;16-18): "For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.” They had already encountered Him day after day, understanding Him to be human, but when He reveals His divinity, it changes them. They we in true adoration of the Lord - they were praising Him for who He truly is. That is another aspect of our prayer. Like complimenting a friend on some quality, we too need to ‘compliment’ God in who He is. It is adoration and praise. God does not need our praise, but we need to give it, because when we do, we submit ourselves in love to the our loving, all-powerful God who is three Persons in one divine being. We need to remember that just as we are loved sinners (contrition), that we are invited into a loving relationship with the Holy Trinity, and that when we truly adore the Lord, we stand humbly in His presence not by our own merits, but by the grace of God.
Added to this aspect, we have another ‘adoration’. We are so removed from the Transfiguration. We do not have the privilege of walking with Jesus in the flesh, but we know that Jesus is the Son of God because of the witness of the Apostles. Just as we know that Jesus is God, we, too, need to place our trust in the apostles in other areas - especially of the teaching on the Eucharist. We too easily see the bread and wine, but do we see the Flesh and Blood of Jesus Christ? Are we just as caught up in adoration when we are in the presence of Christ in the Eucharist? When we take time in front of the Blessed Sacrament, especially when He is exposed in the monstrance for our adoration, we are in the presence of the same Lord who was present on Mount Tabor. He invites us to adore Him, to praise Him for what He has done. Indeed, when we adore the Blessed Sacrament, we are drawn in to praise of God, and should declare “Look what Love has done!” by becoming food and drink for us, that we may be saved through Him!

First Sunday of Lent: Contrition

This weekend, as we do every first Sunday of Lent, we hear of Jesus’s temptation in the desert and Jesus’s beginning ministry and proclamation. This year, we hear Mark's account, and it is noticeable brief. In his account, we do not hear of the nature of the temptations, but rather that he was ministered to by angels and was accompanied by wild animals. This may be a small and odd description, but it is a motif of tranquility - that Jesus is among wild animals, but there is peace and harmony - it is a return to the Garden of Eden. He is ministered to by angels, demonstrating that just as Elijah was feed by the ravens, Jesus is supported by spiritual entities. Jesus enters the desert after His baptism, but there is strengthened for His beginning ministry.
He begins with a bold proclamation - the time has come - repent and believe in the Gospel. It is the message that marks His whole ministry - the time is now, and it is an invitation to return to the Lord, much as the prophet Joel proclaimed. Jesus' invitation to us remains - we are to repent and believe in the Gospel. Repent… The word is a command, not an option. In Greek, it literally means “Change your mind!” It is the task to take on the mind of Christ, to change our hearts and minds so in conformity with God’s that we live differently. It is a call to conversion, to recognizing that we are weak and fallen human beings in need of a savior. We are sinners, and too often are ‘small-minded’ in that we chose sin over the life of grace. When we turn to the Gospel, that God loves us and desires us, we open ourselves to His will. This means that we are constant need of conversion, and when we are aware of sin, we need contrition. This is the aspect of prayer we ought to start. Contrition is to admit we are sinners, but that we are asking for the mercy and forgiveness of God.
Even as we begin this Lent with Contrition, we might be aware of the need of the Sacrament of Confession. I encourage this great sacrament! When we focus on our sins, we might lose sight of the mercy of God, or we might rationalize our sins away. In the Sacrament, however, we are showered with mercy as we come before the Lord, and and we admit that we have sinned. Let mercy lead us to true contrition!

Catas - An invitation to prayer

In the weeks of Lent, I will be writing a paragraph or two of the core of my Sunday homily. I plan on giving a series on types of prayer that will take me through to Easter.
The sundays of lent will focus on 5 types, and I have arranged them as an anagram to spell out Catas - which is Spanish for "you taste" or "you experience", when we use all five types of prayer, we will experience a great intimacy with the Lord and taste and see that He is good.

Ash Wednesday

Lent is a blessed time in the Church year. The season was first experienced by the Catechumens (those who were to be baptized at the Easter Vigil) as that they entered 40 days of intense spiritual preparation before their sacramental entrance into the Church. The time-frame of forty days was not haphazardly chosen, but because of Jesus’ own 40 days in the desert, the 40 years of the Hebrews being purified in the desert through their wandering, and Elijah’s fast of 40 days on Mount Horeb. It was a means of remembering that they were uniting with the Lord and of being purified for their encounter with Him in the sacraments. Eventually, the preparation of 40 days in the season of Lent was offered to the Church in general as a means of recommitment, association with the catechumens and a preparation of their own hearts to celebrate the joy of the resurrection.

When we truly enter the spirit of the season, we follow the Lord’s command to pray, fast, and give alms and three practical means of Lenten preparation. These are things that go against our fallen nature. We too often remain in broken relationship with our loving Father, and like Adam hid from Him in our shame. Prayer seeks to stand before Him, as venerable and spiritual naked and impoverished as we are. When we fast, we avoid the comforts that the world offers and reminds us of our reliance on the Lord. Our almsgiving is a means of seeking to become generous and to connect with those who have so little, that we can share in their poverty.

This season of Lent is for us who follow Christ to grow in faith, to empty ourselves of all that is not Christ so that we can be ready to receive Him who died and rose again for us, to give us eternal life. This season is not one of self-directed improvement, but of allowing the Lord to grasp us, grace us, and guide us to Himself. May these days of Lent be days of intense preparation for us!

End of Life Decisions

Some have recently asked about living wills. health care directives, and moral issues around end of life. The Minnesota Catholic Conference has assembled resources to aid in the process, including a sample Health Care Directive Form. Filling this out prior to need helps family to make wise decisions in consultation with doctors and medical staff regarding care.

Who Is Jesus Christ?

In the Gospels, Jesus asks a seemingly easy question: “Who do you say that I am?” (Mt. 16:15, Mk. 8:29, Lk. 8:20). It is not that Jesus is having either a moment of amnesia or an existential crisis. His reason to ask seems to be more of a PR question – do people understand who He is? St. Peter answers that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. His answer is correct, but Peter’s understanding of the answer is flawed, as he later reprimands Jesus on His prediction of His death and resurrection.
The question remains for us to answer, too. Who do we say that He is? If the claims of the Gospel are correct, we are commanded to answer. Jesus makes some bold statements! He claims to be the only way to God, that He is the Bread of Life that gives life to the entire world, that He and the Father are one. How can we understand Jesus’ proclamations? CS Lewis gives a wager, of sorts, that we can use to help answer both questions of who we say Him to be and who He is. If what He taught is not true, but Jesus believes it to be, Jesus is crazy, proclaiming false truths. If, on the other hand, Jesus knowingly is teaching what He knows not to be true, He is telling lies. But, if Jesus is telling the truth, He really is who He says he is. In short, Jesus is either a lunatic, a liar, or truly the Lord. He cannot be just a wise man, or a good teacher, or a sort of guru… He is either Lord or nothing at all.
So my answer to the question, “Who is Jesus?” He is Lord. He is the Savior of the world, and He is the Father’s loving offer of eternity. He is the one who offers Himself to the Father for us and is ever present to us. He is the Son of God made flesh. When we encounter Him, we encounter God, and Jesus reveals the Holy Trinity (the eternal union of the three Persons – Father, Son, and Spirit – in the one God). If this is true, how can we go about our lives unchanged, failing to see everything through the eyes of faith.
As CS Lewis also wrote, “Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.” It is a bold claim! We must allow Him to be God, and allow Him and that faith inform our decisions and activity.