Wednesday of the Second Week in Lent

As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and said to them on the way, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death, and hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day." Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee approached him with her sons and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something. He said to her, "What do you wish?" She answered him, "Command that these two sons of mine sit, one at your right and the other at your left, in your kingdom." Jesus said in reply, "You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?" They said to him, "We can." He replied, "My chalice you will indeed drink, but to sit at my right and at my left, this is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father." When the ten heard this, they became indignant at the two brothers. But Jesus summoned them and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Matthew 20: 17-28 )

Introductory Prayer: Lord, though I cannot see you with my eyes, I believe you are present to me now, in my innermost being, and that you know me far better than I know myself. I also know that you love me much more than I love my own self. Thank you for loving and watching over me, though I don’t deserve your love. In return, I offer you my sorrow for my sins and my hopes to love you more each day.

Petition: Lord, wean me from dependence on human honors and approval.

1.Seeking the Limelight: James and John rub shoulders with that temptation the devil puts before every apostle: “What’s in it for me, Lord?” We start out our apostolic work with purity of intention, but if we are careless, it soon becomes “purely attention.” That is why we should always be willing to submit our work to the approval of the proper ecclesiastical authorities. Christ steered clear from all power grabs and squabbles. John would alert Christ, “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.” Christ simply replied, “Do not prevent him … for whoever is not against us is for us” (Mark 9:38-9).

2. Christ is Never Discouraged: Christ has just told his apostles of his passion, and it weighs heavily on his heart. Drowning in their own fascination for recognition, however, they are completely oblivious to Christ’s sufferings. He doesn’t let himself get discouraged. Rather, he gently helps them to look beyond themselves to follow his lead of self-giving to the point of death.

3. Putting Others First: “Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you” (John 6:27). Human recognition is passing; it doesn’t even last a lifetime. Even in heaven human recognition will be useless—our eyes will be fixed on God, not on each other or ourselves. However, we do know by faith that God will reward us in heaven according to our merits. He will exalt us for serving others, especially when we bring others to love and serve him. Am I convinced of this? What ephemeral honors am I hankering after? How can I put Christ and serving him first in my life?

Conversation with Christ: Dear Jesus, too often I compare myself with others. It´s easy for me to find or imagine my superiority. I ignore you and your great goodness. I forget that everything I have comes from you and that I can´t claim credit for any of my qualities and virtues. Help me to keep this truth in mind so I may have an attitude of genuine humility in my heart.

Resolution: I will pray a special prayer for humility every day this week.

Tuesday of the Second Week in Lent

Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses´ seat; therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them. They do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long. They love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have people call them rabbi. But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all students. And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father-- the one in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Messiah. The greatest among you will be your servant. All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Matthew 23: 1-12)

Introductory Prayer: Lord, though I cannot see you with my eyes, I believe you are present to me now, in my innermost being, and that you know me far better than I know myself. I also know that you love me much more than I love my own self. Thank you for loving and watching over me, though I don’t deserve your love. In return, I offer you my sorrow for my sins and my hopes to love you more each day.

Petition: Lord, help me to be humble like you.

1. Disinterested Charity: How do we know that we are truly working for God? When we are willing to work for him for nothing. God calls some missionaries to work with the poor, who can repay their benefactors with nothing more than smiles and gratitude. Other missionaries work with the humanly and spiritually poor, who neither recognize their neediness nor value the work of Christian evangelization. Parents put in long, hidden hours of service to sustain their families, often without receiving a simple “thank you.” Christ shunned human recognition not just with his words: when the people wanted to make him king, he hurried off to proclaim the Good News somewhere else. Do I value my charity towards others more than I value any position of authority? Do I seek the praise of others for the good deeds I do?

2. Little Misunderstandings: Christian authority comes not from titles or positions, but from our faithful adherence to Christ’s commandment of charity and service. We should welcome misunderstanding in the face of our doing good. It means that God is inviting us to attain a higher level in our charity and Christian leadership.

With his fidelity, Christ shows us that we have every reason to believe in the fulfillment of God’s promise. The book of Wisdom shows us that misunderstanding is part of God’s plan: “He calls blest the destiny of the just and boasts that God is his Father. Let us see whether his words be true; let us find out what will happen to him. For if the just one be the son of God, he will defend him and deliver him from the hand of his foes. With revilement and torture let us put him to the test that we may have proof of his gentleness and try his patience. Let us condemn him to a shameful death; for according to his own words, God will take care of him” (Wisdom 2: 16-20).

3. The Cross is Our Claim to Glory: “And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself” (John 12:32). Christ did not lift himself up for others to notice; he refused to exalt himself. He refused the places of honor at banquets (he sat with the tax collectors), seats of honor in synagogues (they threw him out), and special greetings in marketplaces (“Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone” (Mark 10:18)). His silence infuriated Pilate: “Do you not speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you and I have power to crucify you?” (John 19:10). They asked Christ to exalt himself by coming down from the cross, and he refused. This is the real test of our trust and love: trusting that God really cares for us when he allows us to be crucified for being faithful, and loving that crucifixion by embracing it willingly for the good of souls.

Conversation with Christ: Dear Jesus, I know I will never be able to be as humble as you, but I want to desire and work for the greatest degree of humility possible for me. I want to leave behind the pride that has damaged so many areas of my life. I want to have your example always fresh in my mind so that I can keep advancing—not in order to glory in my own perfection, but in order to please you and do your will.

Resolution: I will think of the relationship in my life where my pride is most destructive. I will take concrete steps to deal with that person more positively and humbly.

Monday in the Second Week in Lent

Jesus said to his disciples: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you." (Luke 6: 36-38 )

Introductory Prayer: Dear Jesus, too often I compare myself with others. It´s easy for me to find or imagine my superiority to them. I ignore you and your great goodness. I forget that everything I have comes from you and that I can´t claim the credit for any quality and virtue, although I would like to. I wish to keep this truth in mind and to have an attitude of genuine humility in my heart. Here I am, Lord, to know and love you more through prayer.

Petition: Lord, help me to forgive from the heart.

1. The True Battlefield: Although it is difficult, we can usually bring ourselves around to excuse an injustice we have suffered. We forget about what happened, and we try to move forward. However, it is more difficult for us to forgive when we look into our offender’s heart and refuse to turn a blind eye to the goodness that is there. Our hearts are a battleground for good and evil, and to forgive is to be willing to help both the offender and ourselves overcome the logic of evil. It is to wager on the side of good and to trust that goodness is ultimately more attractive to the human heart than the idol of evil. Christ always looked into the heart and wagered on the side of good.

2. Turning the Other Cheek: “For if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them” (Luke 6:32). Christian forgiveness involves waiving our claim to damages. It means turning the other cheek. It means giving up our cloak as well. Yet all this is relatively easy in comparison to giving over our good name, to proceeding in charity even when we will be misunderstood. Even here, we must waive our claim to damages, willingly die in the furrow, and patiently await the Father to raise us up again.

3. Going the Entire Distance: The Christian ethic is positive. It does not consist merely in not doing bad things but in doing good things; building up positively. We change the world little by not doing things. Christ was not satisfied with that. He gave up his tunic, he gave up his good name, and he gave up everything—to the last drop of his blood.

So often we feel good about ourselves because we measure up to our neighbor; but it is not our neighbor with whom we must compare ourselves. It is God with whom we must compare ourselves, and he has shown us how to be fruitful: by paying our ransom with his own blood. In forgiveness and mercy, his generosity is without measure.

Conversation with Christ: Dear Jesus, help me to seek perfection in loving you and my neighbor constantly. I want to travel the path of generous love because it is your path, and you are the source of all my happiness.

Resolution: I will be the first to offer an apology or a solution to build unity in my home and workplace.

Second Sunday of Lent

There was a savage practice in the old tribes of Palestine; they sacrificed their children as a way to please their gods.  These methods were really horrible, to the point that they sometimes burnt the children alive. The “chosen ones” for that barbaric practice were the first-born sons, because in them one could find not only the love of the father but victory over sterility. It seems that there would be a supreme act of pain in that offering; to the point of forcing the gods to “commit” so that they would also fulfill “their part of the covenant”: To protect and bless those offering the sacrifices.

That is why we often see in the Bible the prohibition of sacrificing children: 

 •        “Let there not be found among you anyone who causes their son or daughter to pass through the fire, or practices divination, or is a soothsayer, augur, or sorcerer, or who casts spells, consults ghosts and spirits, or seeks oracles from the dead.” (Deuteronomy 18:10-11)

•        Or the father who sacrificed his daughter in Judges 11:30-40,

•        Or Acaz who burnt his son in 2 Kings 16:3,

•        Or the Manasés in 2 Kings 21:6.

In this context and in this specific situation Abraham had thought that God was asking him to go this far to please Him. He was ready to obey.

It is easy for us to horrify ourselves and to gossip about the savage practices of other societies, especially killing a child in order to assure the prosperity of parents.  But…this is what we see often; a college student in the middle of her studies becomes pregnant; what do we do? Abortion. The baby is sacrificed in a very savage way because of the personal plan of the mother… as we see, we are still in Canaan.

In the Gospel we have another clue on the topic of fathers and sons. This time it is about the Father with a capital “F” and the Son with a capital “S”. The word Father is the word that finalizes the work of our redemption. When God is my Father, my Dad, my Abba all the distance between Him and me is gone! God is not my competitor, my obstacle, an abstract idea or energy force without a name; He is not a thought or a memory of another culture, or an ideology to be used to dominate me. No, when Jesus introduces me to the way He loves His Father and the way the Father loves me, the lie of the serpent becomes evident; the devil tries to get me to stop trusting in The Creator.

This is why Saint Paul reminds us in Rom 8:31-32 “If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son but handed Him over for us all, how will He not also give us everything else along with Him?” so with this certainty in our souls there is no room for the lies of the enemy, there is no room for the seductions of the world or the pleasures of the flesh which lose their attractions.

Oh Glory of God who is Father and who sent His Son to show us His face so that in Him He can restore His image that was lost because of sin.

Lord, I offer up this time for the desire to know and love you more intimately. I know my faith is the door to knowing you better so I ask you to increase my faith so I can see your presence in my life more clearly.

Lord, increase my faith in my prayer and in your response.

Lord Jesus, as I hear the voice of your Holy Spirit calling me, I ask you for the grace to respond generously. I know I need you yet I get lost in the business of my day and you are often forgotten. Have mercy on me and grant me the strength to always say yes to your sweet voice, Amen.

Saturday of the First Week in Lent

"You have heard that it was said, ´You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.´ But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:43-48)

Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus, you became a man in order to show me, in your own flesh and blood, the way to holiness. In every word and deed of yours recorded in the Gospel, you teach and reveal to me the secret of a life worthy of eternity. I believe that you are with me now, and that you will use these moments of prayer to increase my faith, hope and love. Here I am, Lord, to know, love and serve you with all my heart. Amen.

Petition: Lord, help me to seek holiness out of love for you and others. Amen.

1. “Be Perfect.” Who is telling us to be perfect? Christ the Word, he through whom all things were made, through whom we came into being: our Lord, our Creator, who from all eternity longs to see each one of us be made perfect in love. This is not a suggestion; it is a command. He says it to his disciples with energy, even knowing that for them alone it is impossible. For God, though, nothing is impossible. We are reminded today that our saintliness is a possibility; it is God’s plan. Miracles happen when we believe. God is not through with any one of us yet. All God asks is that we be perfect – not a whole life in one fell swoop – but, rather, every present moment, one at a time. That is what I have – this present moment. This is what I have to perfect.

2. Why Does God Command Us to Become Perfect? God’s demand that we seek and strive after the perfection of holiness becomes more understandable when we contemplate the increasingly dire situation of our world. That world, so gravely in need of Christ’s salvation, is the starkest and most palpable reason why any one of us should pursue holiness. What is the value of Christian holiness in the world? One early Christian apologist put it in these terms:

To sum up all in one word –– what the soul is in the body, that are Christians in the world. The flesh hates the soul, and wars against it, though itself suffering no injury, because it is prevented from enjoying pleasures; the world also hates the Christians, though in nowise injured, because they abjure pleasures. The soul loves the flesh that hates it, and [loves also] the members; Christians likewise love those that hate them” (From the Letter to Diognetus).

3. Seeking Holiness is a Labor of Love: In a world of shifting sands, we can offer solid ground; in a world of blind forces of spiritual and material violence, we can offer the persuasive power of Christian goodness. Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta was heard to say that holiness is not the privilege of a few, but the obligation of all. When with simple and profound faith, we delve into that link between our striving for holiness and the salvation of souls, we can discover a new impetus and a new strength. The challenge of seeking holiness can become a labor of love, driven by a heart aflame with zeal for the salvation of all our brothers and sisters.

Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, the world needs men and women of God; the world needs saints. I know this. I know you call me in a personal, urgent and insistent way to seek my holiness. For the sake of my brothers and sisters, for their salvation, Lord, make me holy. Amen. 

Resolution: I will dedicate some time today to pray to Our Lady and entrust to her, with living faith and childlike simplicity, the entire project of my personal sanctification.

Friday of the First Week in Lent

"I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven. You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, ´You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.´ But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, ´Raqa,´ will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, ´You fool,´ will be liable to fiery Gehenna. Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny." (Matthew 5:20-26)

Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for this time I can now spend with you. You constantly fill my life with so many blessings. How ungrateful I am at times! I wish to collaborate more perfectly in establishing your Kingdom on earth. I love you Lord, and with the help of your grace I will strive to become someone to whom any soul can come in order to discover your truth, your life, your love. Take my life, take this day and make it yours. Amen.

Petition: Father, help me to shun hypocrisy and seek true holiness.

1. Subjective Impressions: How much righteousness would it take to surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees? Not much, we suspect. Theirs was holiness in appearance only, which is to say no holiness. And what would one discover on the “inside” of such a soul? Plenty of self-deception; plenty of self-indulgent complacency in a subjective impression of holiness; a repugnant holier-than-thou demeanor. It’s easy enough for us to read the Gospel and wrinkle our noses at those bad ol’ Pharisees. In fact, it’s about as easy as telling ourselves that we could never come under the spell of our own subjective impression of holiness. That is why we must always be ready to examine ourselves, before Christ and with an acute awareness of our misery and limitations. Do I live my life engaged in a genuine pursuit of holiness or in a genuine pursuit of my own vanity and self-glorification?

2. Humility is the True Test of Holiness: Pride and personal holiness mix about as well as oil and water. Where our ego is, little if any room is left for God. What does it mean to be a disciple of Christ but to be someone who fills himself totally with God in order to bring him within the reach of everyone. But what union, grace or friendship with God can there be in a proud soul? What fervor, what degree of holiness? There is no possible compromise between God and a proud soul – either the soul would have to let go of itself, or God would have to stop being God.

3. Integrity is the Heart of the Matter: At the heart of genuine holiness is the virtue of integrity, a virtue rich in nuances and meaning. Integrity means being a person with only one face, a person who is the same on the inside and on the outside: “what you see is what you get”. Indeed, integrity is foundational for holiness, because it constitutes the very essence of personal honesty and sincerity, which are fundamental for the moral life and the seedbeds for a host of other virtues. In our pursuit of holiness, we should never tolerate duplicity of any kind in our behavior. We should avoid like the plague the least hint of ambivalence in our motivations, or incongruity between our thoughts, judgments, choices and actions. There can be no holiness without integrity. In fact, there can be no genuine human happiness unless it lies on the bedrock virtue of integrity.

Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, I want you to be the meaning and center of my entire life. Let me disappear and you appear more and more in my life so that, with a holiness that is genuine, humble and true, I will always be an instrument for the salvation of all people. Amen.

Resolution: I will take a hard look at my life to identify the areas where duplicity manifests itself and take a concrete step toward living with more integrity.

Thursday in the First Week of Lent

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asks for a loaf of bread, or a snake when he asks for a fish? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him. Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 7:7-12)

Introductory Prayer: Heavenly Father, I take these moments to adore you and to enter into your loving presence. I dare to tell you I believe in you, although you know how weak my faith is. You are the reason for all my hope in life. Lord, I count on you as I strive to love you more totally and to attain the holiness of life to which you have called me. Amen.

Petition: Lord, teach me how to pray.

1. The Shortcut to Holiness: As Pope John Paul II reminds us, “The royal and indispensable way to advance on the path of holiness is prayer: being with the Lord, we become friends of the Lord, his attitude gradually becomes our attitude and his heart our heart” (Address to the Priests of the Diocese of Rome, March 6, 2003). Again we are confronted with that fundamental principle of our sanctification: “He must increase, and I must decrease” (Cf. John 3:30). Christ must become more and more in us. That’s what genuine prayer accomplishes, if that prayer consists of a one-on-one conversation with the Savior that engages heart, mind and will. Could it be the case that I am seeking holiness without having firmly decided to anchor each day, indeed my entire life, in prayer?

2. Trust Like Little Children: Why is it that the prospect of our personal holiness seems so outlandish to us? Why are we so inwardly reluctant to believe that God, the almighty, the all-powerful, who created us from nothing, can also sanctify us? Maybe the part that discourages us is our unwillingness to jump headlong into that part of our sanctification that depends on us. But even here, Christ urges us to pray with confidence: “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11). Is it too much to believe and trust that God will strengthen our will in the pursuit of holiness? Will his grace fail us if we ask for holiness with complete trust and childlike confidence?

3. What a Combination! Prayer, holiness and apostolic fruitfulness are intrinsically linked. If we, as lay apostles, wish to see fruit in all our apostolic endeavors, we know it will depend in large part on our degree of holiness: our degree of real union with God, the degree to which his divine life flows through us. That divine life, given to us in baptism and increased through our sacramental life, can be enhanced every day in personal prayer where our thirst for God is not quenched, but rather greatly increased. We should pray always, so that prayer will be the secret of our holiness and apostolic fruitfulness. Prayer continues to be the greatest power on earth. It must be at the very center of our quest for holiness.

Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, thank you for this time of prayer. Thank you for teaching me interiorly, little by little every day, how to pray more perfectly. For the sake of those men and women, my brothers and sisters, whose own salvation is somehow mysteriously linked to my life and to my fidelity to you, give me holiness! Amen.

Resolution: I will renew my determination to make a daily prayer time, and make sure that this becomes, or continues to be, a part of my daily routine.