The Fourth Monday of Lent

Now there was a royal official whose son was ill in Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, who was near death. Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.” The royal official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Jesus said to him, “You may go; your son will live.” The man believed what Jesus said to him and left.

Sometimes God answers our prayers of petition, but He only does so when what we request is both good for us and in alignment with His Divine Plan. He will never give us something that will harm us or lead us away from Him. This is why when we pray we should not just ask for something from God, but also be open to listening to Him so that we can know what He is asking us to do with our lives. Prayer is meant to be a two way street. If all we do is flood God with requests, but never listen to His inspirations, then we lose out on opportunities to grow in our relationship with Him. If we open our ears to Him, He will speak to us through our conscience and our thoughts. He will give us the wisdom to live our lives in accordance with His Will without having to seek signs and wonders. The only sign we need is the cross. The only wonder we need is to know Jesus died for us and by his death he has given us all the opportunity to live with the Heavenly Father forever and forever. All we have to do is believe and follow the Way Jesus laid out before us.

How do we pray? Do we listen to God during and after our prayers so He can speak to us through our thoughts? Are our hearts, minds, and ears open to God’s inspirations?

O Lord, you are the only sign we need.

Amen.

The Fourth Sunday in Lent

A man had two sons, and the younger son said to his father, “Father give me the share of your estate that should come to me.” So the father divided the property between them. After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation. When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need. So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him to his farm to tend the swine. And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed, but nobody gave him any. Coming to his senses he thought, “How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food to eat, but here am I, dying from hunger. I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.’”

We don’t normally get our inheritances until after someone dies, but here the younger son demands the share that should come to him after his father’s death. By doing so, the younger son is essentially treating his father as if he is already dead. He breaks off all ties and sets off to do whatever he wants, squandering his inheritance on a life of decadence. When we choose sin over God we do the same thing, we treat God as if He is dead and go off on our own path. And in the end, like the younger son, we lose everything and find ourselves in dire straits. Our souls starve on the empty pleasures of the world and we hire ourselves out to uncaring masters. However, God is always willing to take us back. All we need to do is come to our senses, admit our sins, and be willing to do good works for our Heavenly Father in reparation for our transgressions. If we do these things, then God will welcome us back with open arms and celebrate our return with an everlasting feast.

In what ways are we like the younger son? Are we willing to admit our sins and return to God? How can we imitate the forgiveness of the Heavenly Father in regards to those who trespass against us?

O Lord, we have sinned against you. Forgive us and welcome us back into your heavenly kingdom with open arms.

Amen.

The Third Saturday of Lent

Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, “O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity greedy, dishonest, adulterous or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.” But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, “O God, be merciful to me a sinner.”

Jesus warns his followers against becoming convinced of their righteousness and despising others. This is not to say that his followers shouldn’t be righteous, because we all should seek to do what is right, but rather they shouldn’t consider themselves holier-than-thou. Our piety is under constant attack by the Devil and one of his weapons is pride, which worms its way into our hearts by convincing us that we are better than others and encouraging us to despise them. However, the truly righteousness will never be convinced of their superiority, nor will they look down on others. Instead, they will do what God asks them to do and cultivate the virtues of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Most importantly, they will recognize themselves as sinners, seek God’s Mercy, and be compassionate toward their fellow sinners. When we live in such a way, we give glory to God and will be exalted before Him for being good and faithful servants.

Do we believe ourselves to be better than others or recognize we too are in constant need of God’s Mercy? What are we doing to ensure our piety is not corrupted by false pride? Are prayer, fasting, and almsgiving the pillars of our lives?

O Lord, be merciful to us sinners.

Amen.

The Third Friday of Lent

The scribe said to him, “Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, He is One and there is no other than he. And to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding, he said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.”

Jesus is our teacher, but he is also our model as well. He does not just tell us what is right. He also does it. He shows us how to lead an authentic and holy life, the Life we are all called to aspire to and put into action. However, it is up to us to recognize the Truth that Jesus has spoken and to follow the Way he has laid out for us. When we do these things, we too become living sacrifices to God and loving neighbors to all.

Do we try to imitate Jesus in everything we do? Do we put Jesus’ words into action in our lives? Do we love God and our neighbors with all our hearts, minds, and strength?

O Lord, you are our teacher show us how to become living sacrifices.

Amen.

The Third Thursday of Lent

When a strong man fully armed guards his palace, his possessions are safe. But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him, he takes away the armor on which he relied and distributes the spoils. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

Jesus’ love for us is stronger than any trials we will ever face in our lives. With him at our side nothing will conquer us. However, if we turn away from him and believe not in his strength, but in our own, then one day we will be scattered. In life, we shall face sufferings that reveal how weak we really are and if we do not accept Jesus into our hearts, then we shall experience true poverty. In death, we shall have everything we own stripped from us and distributed to others. How much easier will that day be for us if we have developed a spirit of holy detachment from all our possessions? We cannot take things with us, but we can take Christ with us wherever we go if we have made him the source, center, and summit of our lives. Then, as we stand before Paradise, Jesus will lift us up to our Heavenly Father as one of his faithful servants.

Do we admit our weaknesses and seek God’s strength? Are we possessed by our possessions or free of material attachments? Have we committed ourselves to gathering with Christ and having him as the heart of our lives?

O Lord, you are our strength.

Amen.

The Third Wednesday of Lent

Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.

We have been given many commandments by God, but in the end they boil down to those two commandments given to us by Jesus. We are to love God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths, and love our neighbors as Jesus loves us. Whenever we break one of these laws, even in the smallest of manners we damage our relationship with God and His children. We add to the suffering of Christ’s Passion. We also show our ingratitude for Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross when we turn our backs on him to follow our own way. This is why it is so important to practice the virtue of obedience to God and the teachings of the Church. By aligning our freedom to God’s Will, we become more perfectly free and increase in holiness. We also sanctify ourselves whenever we proclaim and teach the truth to others. We do this best when we put the truth into practice in our lives. In this way, we become living gospels to all we meet.

Do we follow the commandments of God in both great and small matters? How are we bringing our wills into union with God’s Divine Plan? In what ways do our lives teach others how to live in accord with God’s commandments?

O Lord, help us to obey and teach your commandments through our every thought, word, and work.

Amen.

The Third Tuesday of Lent

That is why the Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants. When he began the accounting, a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount. Since he had no way of paying it back, his master ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, his children, and all his property, in payment of the debt. At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.’ Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan.

The Heavenly King is always showing us His compassion. He forgives our sins and imperfections when we seek reconciliation with Him. He pardons our failings, great and small. However, if we are not truly contrite, do not do our penance, or are cruel in our dealings with others, then He will hand us over to the torments of Hell. He expects us to treat others as He treats us, with mercy. This is why it’s so important to have forgiving hearts, especially in regard to those who try our patience and impose on us the most. Whenever we are tempted to anger by someone’s actions, we should remember we too are sinners and find a way to forgive the person who harmed us.

Do we seek forgiveness with contrite hearts? How do we treat others, especially those who harm us in some way? What can we do to cultivate spirits of compassion?

O Lord, help us to be patient with others and forgiving of their faults.

Amen.