Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent - The Royal Official’s Request for a Miracle

At that time Jesus left Samaria for Galilee. For Jesus himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his native place. When he came into Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, since they had seen all he had done in Jerusalem at the feast; for they themselves had gone to the feast. Then he returned to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. 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. While he was on his way back, his slaves met him and told him that his boy would live. He asked them when he began to recover. They told him, “The fever left him yesterday, about one in the afternoon.” The father realized that just at that time Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live,” and he and his whole household came to believe. Now this was the second sign Jesus did when he came to Galilee from Judea.

Introductory Prayer: Father, I come before you with faith, hope and love. I will give my best effort to be attentive to your grace and inspiration during this time of prayer.

Petition: Lord, help me to have greater fortitude and faith.

1. No Prophet Has Honor in His Native Place: Pay careful attention to how St. John the Evangelist introduced this saying of Jesus. “At that time Jesus left Samaria for Galilee. For Jesus himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his native place.” If Jesus knew there were no honors awaiting him in Galilee, why not go somewhere where the reception would be better? Jesus is trying to give us an example: he is not interested in “honor”, but rather in carrying out the mission. He is the Prophet par excellence. He himself is the message the Father has for humanity, and personal considerations will not keep him from his appointed task. We must be committed in our own personal mission, whether or not we can expect to be honored, or even appreciated. Our purity of intention is a good thermometer for following Christ.

2. Signs and Wonders: Jesus does the miracle, but not without reminding everyone that true faith cannot simply be based on “signs and wonders.” Why is this? Perhaps what Jesus is criticizing is the jaded religious outlook that can experience the presence of the divine only in the spectacular, while failing to perceive it in the quiet and small ways that God makes his presence known. With deeper faith, we can see God all around us. That beautiful sunset – isn’t it a masterpiece of God’s creative power on display? The unexpected apology – wasn’t that the working of grace? That helping hand stretched out to us just when we needed it – wasn’t that Christ in our midst? The person whose faith doesn’t need “signs and wonders” is precisely the person who sees so many more signs and wonders – the everyday, loving presence of the Lord.

3. “He and His Whole Household Came to Believe.” No grace given is strictly personal, just between “me and Jesus.” Everything is meant to radiate beyond the individual to build up the entire body of Christ. The royal official received the miracle he requested, but afterwards it wasn’t simply a return to business as usual, now that his son was back in action. Indeed, the healing was the occasion for something far bigger: “His whole household came to believe.” This grace has borne abundant fruit. At the outset, our Lord had remarked about the lack of honor given to the native son-prophet. This entire family and household coming to faith is the confirmation that sacrificing honor is more than compensated by saving souls.

Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, what joy this family’s conversion must have given to your heart! Their faith was a marvelous sign of the efficacy of your grace. Help me to have greater faith, to see you present in the small and big things of life, and to draw others closer to you.

Resolution: Like the royal official, I want to help my family to have a deeper faith. I will bring up a spiritual topic at family dinner and try to encourage a more faith-filled perspective.

Saturday of the Second Week of Lent - The Prodigal Father

Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to him, but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So to them he addressed this parable. Then he said, “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.”‘ So he got up and went back to his father. While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him. His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.’ But his father ordered his servants, ‘Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.’ Then the celebration began. Now the older son had been out in the field and, on his way back, as he neared the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing. He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean. The servant said to him, ‘Your brother has returned and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ He became angry, and when he refused to enter the house, his father came out and pleaded with him. He said to his father in reply, ‘Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders; yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends. But when your son returns who swallowed up your property with prostitutes, for him you slaughter the fattened calf.’ He said to him, ‘My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours. But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.'”

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 hope to love you more each day.

Petition: Jesus, guide me to a complete rejection of sin in my life.

1. Love: The Double-Edged Sword –  Place yourself in the father’s shoes. He loves his sons, sacrifices himself for them, and has tremendous hope and fatherly pride in them. He intensely wants them to be happy and seeks what’s best for them. Above all, he wants them to respond to his love for them with the same generosity, the same intensity of self-giving. There is nothing more painful for a lover than unanswered, ignored or scorned love. Imagine how much God loves us: he sends his only begotten Son into the world, to become man––with all the limitations and suffering this entails––to die on a cross, in our place, because of our sins.

2. Forgetting to Count Your Blessings: The minute the son begins to think about himself and turn his attention away from the father’s love is the minute he begins to have problems that will lead to spiritual and material bankruptcy. Asking for his inheritance was tantamount to wishing his father’s death, since an inheritance is bestowed only after the death of one’s parents. How many times have I asked God to die by choosing my own will over his? Self-centeredness leads to ingratitude: forgetting that I have received everything from God through no merit of my own and that it will all return to him. Self-centeredness also leads to trying to find happiness anywhere except the one place it truly is found: God.

3. A Rude Awakening: Anytime we turn away from the love and grace of God and turn to sin, we lose our senses and leave God for a “distant country.” God’s will is our home, even if on the surface it may seem unpleasant. Sin blinds the intellect and weakens the will. Its every moment is a point of departure. But—every saint has a past and every sinner has a future. We can turn back to God right now. He is with us right here, right now, pouring out his grace. He ardently longs for us to respond to him, just as the father in the parable must have longed for the return of his son. I can stand up. I can return to my Father. I can bury my past in Christ. I can go to him for forgiveness.

Conversation with Christ: Heavenly Father, I clearly see the many times I have said “No” to you and chosen myself. I give thanks for having such a patient and forgiving father as you. I am sorry for my lack of love for you. Now I reject sin once more and turn back to you, confident of your mercy and forgiveness.

Resolution: I will say a heartfelt act of contrition, relishing God’s love and mercy for me.

Saturday of the Third Week of Lent - Into the Abyss of Our Unworthiness

Jesus addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else. “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.’ I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Introductory Prayer: Lord, I believe in you. I believe that you have created me and redeemed me from sin. I believe that everything that is good in my life comes from you : my existence, my faith, my education, what virtues I have. I come to you today in prayer to place my life before you. I know that you are the source of all goodness in me. So often I wonder if I really know how to pray. I wonder how fruitful my prayer is. In the face of my misery I offer you the one thing I know I can offer: my humility before your majesty.

Petition: Lord, help me to be humble when I approach you in prayer

1. Parallel Monologues, Not Conversation: The Pharisee went up to the Temple to pray. We can assume that his intention was to talk with God. As he stood there in the Temple, he thought he was praying: he was in the right place, he was facing the right direction, he seemed to be doing the right thing. But his prayer was contorted. In fact, it was not prayer at all; it was a self-righteous discourse. If a friend were to ask him the next day if he had said his prayers, he would have said, “Yes.” Is my own prayer sometimes a false prayer like the Pharisee’s? Do I think I am praying, doing all of the right things, but in reality, not praying at all and only justifying myself?

2. The Bare Minimum Does Not Satisfy: The poor Pharisee gets painted as the “bad guy” in this parable. However, he is not an outwardly evil person. He does not commit grave sins. He is honest, faithful to his wife, generous in his giving. But his pride blinds him to a much deeper relationship with God. He lives his religion as the bare minimum of not committing grave sins. His prayer is sterile. I must examine myself to make sure I am not doing the same, thinking I am doing all the right things but in reality, barely living my faith. God does not ask us simply to avoid evil. He invites us to do good. True generosity is what brings peace and fulfillment to our lives.

3. Humility: An Essential Element of Prayer: The tax collector is justified not because he has done all of the right things, but because he has the humility to recognize his own sinfulness. Perhaps he even heard what the Pharisee was saying and it moved him all the more to plead for God’s mercy. One of the most important characteristics of our prayer is that it be humble. When we go to pray we must approach God recognizing our sinfulness and weakness and the fact that we have received everything good that we have from him. This is what makes our prayer fruitful. God loves a humble, contrite heart.

Conversation with Christ: Dear Lord, grant me a humble, contrite heart. You know my misery. I offer you the misery of my sinfulness so that you can purify it and do with it as you will. I do not want to live my life merely avoiding the big sins. I want to have a deep and intimate relationship with you founded on substantial humility.

Resolution: I will always make an act of humility at the beginning of my prayer.

Friday of the Third Week of Lent - Discussions With Lawyers

One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” Jesus replied, “the first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.” 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 soul, with all your mind, and 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.” And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Introductory Prayer: Lord, as I prepare during this Lent to celebrate the great mystery of your resurrection, I come before you in prayer so that you can form me and direct me. I long for the sinfulness of my life to be burned away so that I can glorify you with a pure and contrite heart. You know my sinfulness. You know my pride and sensuality. I offer you my prayer today as a small token of my love. My hope is that from the little I am able to love, you will teach me to love with a magnanimous heart. I want to be part of your Kingdom. I do not want to be on the fringes but to plunge myself into the depths of your love.

Petition: Lord, teach me to love you with my whole heart, soul and mind and with all my strength.

1. The Proper Hierarchy of Laws: The question concerning the first of the commandments was debated much by the scribes and Pharisees. There is a human desire to know what is first and what is second: to be able to put things in order. We are often attracted to the promise made by this or that guru about the one secret that will make us happy, healthy, or successful in business. So, our natural curiosity is attracted to know what the first commandment is, what we must do above all. We want to say, “Just tell me plain and simple what I must do, and I will do it.” Here Jesus lays out, plain and simple, how we must live our lives: loving God with everything we are and loving our neighbor as ourselves. Does his command resonate in my heart and actions?

2. Love Goes Beyond Formalism: The scribe comments that these laws are greater than any burnt offering or sacrifice. A sacrifice or burnt offering without love is empty. It is love for God and neighbor that gives all of our sacrifices, trials and good works their value. Love is at the heart of our perfection, and when we are keeping this greatest of the laws – to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength – then all of the lesser things in life will fall into place. Does my life give evidence to this hierarchy of values? If not, what specifically do I need to do to bring about the proper order?

3. Longing for the Experience of God’s Love: Jesus congratulates the scribe for his understanding and tells him that he is not far from the Kingdom of God. It gives us occasion to ask ourselves, “How far am I from the Kingdom of God?” This scribe’s knowledge was not merely book knowledge, for it is not in simply knowing a certain number of truths that we obtain the Kingdom of God. Rather it was an intimate knowledge of love – knowing in a practical way how to give one’s heart, soul, mind and strength to God. Is drawing closer to the Kingdom of God my biggest priority? What do I need to do to get or stay on track? Have I humbly, confidently and fervently asked Our Lord for the grace to help me? Do I ponder on and recognize every day God’s loving presence and providence in my life? Do I realize and thank God for his love?

Conversation with Christ: Lord, help me to keep in mind your commandment of love and to live it with all my strength. I do not want to live my faith with a mere intellectual knowledge of your commandments; I want to live it with a deep intimate knowledge that bears fruits of true holiness.

Resolution: Before beginning each activity of the day I will stop and ask myself how I can live it with love.

Thursday of the Third Week of Lent - Jesus or Satan

Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute, and when the demon had gone out, the mute person spoke and the crowds were amazed. Some of them said, “By the power of Beelzebub, the prince of demons, he drives out demons.” Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven. But he knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house. And if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that it is by Beelzebub that I drive out demons. If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your own people drive them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you. 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.”

Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus, as I prepare for Easter during this Lenten season, I turn to you once again in prayer. I wish to see you with the eyes of faith. I wish to welcome the salvation you came to give me and to accept it with a humble heart. Now, during this time of prayer, I want to give everything over to you so that your love and truth may direct my life.

Petition: Lord, help me to accept with simple faith the reality of who you are.

1. All for God’s Glory: When Christ works this simple miracle, the crowds are amazed. They are amazed at what Christ has done, but surely they were also amazed at what the mute person said. We do not know what was said, but it is likely that they were words that glorified God in thanksgiving for his miracle. Christ bestows freedom by loosening the tongue of the mute person so that he can glorify God his creator. When Jesus frees the mute person from Satan – who does not want God to be glorified and who wants to keep mankind in the chains of sin, it is so that God will be glorified. In my life, do I seek to glorify God for the wonders of his creation and all the good things he has done for me?

2. Truth or Lies: Jesus’ enemies could not deny the miracle he had just worked, but instead of accepting his power to drive out evil spirits, they came up with an accusation that it was Beelzebub who caused the miracle. Their envy gets the best of their common sense. Envy always tries to find a way around the truth. It asks for a sign or proposes a false accusation. Jesus counters envy’s contorted reasoning with simple straightforward logic: “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house.” It cannot be by the Beelzebub’s power that he drives out demons because that would mean Beelzebub is driving out his own demons. Simple logic shows that this is not so. Does my own faith help me to differentiate between lies that I hear and the truth?

3. Jesus Challenges Satan’s Reign: The strong man that Jesus speaks of is the devil. He has kept mankind under his control since Adam and Eve’s fall. He has had nothing to worry about up to now because he has been the strong man able to defend from all comers his prize of corrupted human nature. But Jesus is stronger, and he has come to attack the devil and win back from him what he has taken. He takes away his armor of evil, hate, anger, lust and egoism. He redeems mankind from the clutches of the evil one. Can I truly say that I set my faith in God and that he truly brings about good despite the natural calamities or bad intentions and actions of others, including the devil himself?

Conversation with Christ: Lord, help me to accept your miracles in my life so that my life will give you glory in my actions, words and thoughts. Do not let me be blind to the force of your love in the world. I know you are stronger than Satan. I want to be in your camp. I want to be rescued from the clutches of sin by the omnipotence of your love.

Resolution: When I am faced with a temptation, I will call to mind that Jesus is stronger than Satan and he can give me the strength to reject the temptation.

Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent - To Keep or To Abolish…

Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place. 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.”

Introductory Prayer: Lord, as I journey through Lent I have a great desire to be close to you. I know that I am your creature and that I owe you all glory and homage. I want to glorify you by following your teaching. I need you to help me see clearly the truth of your teaching and to love you in return. Here I am Lord, hungry for you alone. I know that you will not turn me away empty-handed.

Petition: Lord, teach me what it means to fulfill the law.

1. The Spirit Fulfills the Mere Letter: We can speak of fulfilling the law in two ways: by doing everything that is asked or by completing that which is missing. Jesus completes the law of the Old Testament with the new law of love – to love one another as he has loved us. Jesus fulfills the law not by simply fulfilling each of the many precepts, but by showing where all of the precepts have their end: in loving God above all things. When we obey the law of love we are fulfilling all of the laws – we are bringing them to their natural end.

2. The All-Encompassing New Law: The law of love reaches to the ends of the earth. There is no created being in the universe that is outside the law of love that Jesus has come to teach us. There is no being, not even the smallest, that escapes the demand of this law. When Jesus uses the metaphor, “the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter,” he is showing us the completeness of this law. Love and its demands reach to the farthest ends of the universe, to the smallest created being, and to the end of time. Am I convinced in my heart and in my actions that the law of love asks me to love all people – not just my family, friends and those who rub me the right way?

3. Seeking Perfection: The commandments of the old law as exemplified in the Ten Commandments (e.g. Thou shall not kill; Thou shall not commit adultery; etc.) are grave transgressions but easy to define, referring as they do to external actions.  Christ’s commandments (e.g. to not show anger; to not lust in the heart; to forgive our enemies; etc.) have more subtle expressions, and because of this often times they are more difficult to obey. Living these commandments with the proper motivation and a considerate, dedicated attitude is what makes a person great. Having love as the motivation of all of our actions not only helps us make it to heaven, but also will win us a greater share in God’s happiness and glory there.

Conversation with Christ: Thank you, Lord, for this time of prayer. Do not let me be content simply to do the minimum that my faith asks of me. Do not let me be content simply with avoiding grave sin. Help me to live the fullness of the law of charity. I want this Lent to be a time of growth in love.

Resolution: When I am obeying the laws of the Church I will stop to reflect how they fit into the greater law of love.

Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent - Forgiveness from the Heart

Peter approached Jesus and asked him, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times. 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. When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a much smaller amount. He seized him and started to choke him, demanding, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ But he refused. Instead, he had him put in prison until he paid back the debt. Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master and reported the whole affair. His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to. Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?’ Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt. So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart.”

Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus, as I prepare for the coming of Easter during this Lenten season, I turn to you in prayer. You have been merciful to me. Many times you have pardoned the great debt I owe. I trust in your merciful love and wish to transmit your love to many others faithfully. Here I am, Lord, ready to learn from your tender heart.

Petition: Lord, enlighten me to your gift of mercy.

1. An Unpayable Debt: Peter asks Jesus how many times he should forgive his brother. Jesus gives a short answer, telling a parable to make sure his answer is understood. In the parable God is the king, and we are all the servants who owe the king a huge amount. We are all in debt to God. He created us and keeps us in existence and gives us every good thing we have, every talent and virtue. We owe God everything. He owes us nothing. Do my daily thoughts and actions reflect this truth?

2. The Forgiving King: The servant, not being able to pay, falls to his knees and begs for more time so that he can pay back the debt. The king offers him more than just time – he pardons the entire debt. God is generous. When we turn to him and ask for forgiveness, he offers us much more than we could hope for – he pardons our entire debt. Then why, we might ask, does the king settle accounts with his servant if he is so generous? Why not pardon the debt from the beginning instead of ordering him along with his wife and children to be sold? He calls the servant to account so that the servant will realize how much he owes and in realizing this, he might imitate God when dealing with his fellow-worker. God does not want us to be punished for our sins. He desires to forgive us the great debt we owe him, but he calls us to account for our sins in the hope that we will recognize how much we have both received from him and owe to him and thus will ask for forgiveness.

3. Unequal Treatment and Abuse of Freedom: After being pardoned, the servant does not treat his debtor in the same merciful manner. He sends him to prison. He had every right to do so. In justice, his fellow servant owed him money; but in doing so he abuses the liberty that he has just been given. He does not stop to reflect that in this moment he himself should rightly be in slavery, sold along with his wife and children in order to pay his debt. He does not reflect that he is able to confront his fellow servant only because the king has had pity on him in the first place, giving him liberty. The offenses we suffer from our fellow men are real offenses, but before we demand justice we must stop and reflect that it is only because God has forgiven us our sins that we have the liberty to demand reparation from our fellow men. That reflection must lead us to have the same mercy with our fellow men that God has had with us.

Conversation with Christ: Lord thank you for this time of prayer. I must recognize that you have been merciful with me and forgiven me the great debt I owe. Thank you for the many times you have given me a second chance. During this time of Lent, help me to practice mercy toward those who owe or offend me.

Resolution: I will think of someone who has offended me and say a prayer asking God to help me forgive them.