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Homilies are posted no later than during the week
prior to the Sunday they are needed |
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1 Lent
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First
Sunday of Lent - Cycle C
Luke 4, 1-13
Someone tells the story of a man who became a Catholic. He was taking
his leave of the priest who had baptized him. He asked him to recommend
a good book on the history of the Church. The priest was curious and so
he asked the reason. The convert replied, "I am anxious, Father, to see
at what century Catholics began to become less and less like Jesus."
The freshly minted Catholic was not smiling. And neither was the priest.
We are all standing in the starting gate. The whistle marking a fresh
Lent has just been blown. And we ourselves must be determined to blow
Satan out of our lives once and for all time. Unlike Faust, we must
wash our hands of the Devil. And to overcome the Devil, who surrounds
us on all sides, we must rush to surrender to the Christ. This is the
same Jesus who we are told in today's Gospel bested His Arch-Enemy
three times out of three. We too must be thinking not of a failed or
mediocre Lent but of one that will be the best in our Catholic lives.
Each of us must become not the vanquished but the victors.
One point that we must learn to convince ourselves of is the reality of
sin. George Will addressed the popular theory that sin does not exist.
He was referring to an especially heinous crime that had shocked the
United States. People were trying to excuse the young perpetrators with
psychobabble. But Mr Will would have none of it. He wrote, "The
attackers did what they did because they were evil. Today the people
respond, `Evil? Such a primitive notion; not at all useful as an
explanation.' But that response is not real sophistication...A
vanishing moral vocabulary is being replaced by academic rubbish..."
Clearly Jesus in Luke's Gospel accepted sin as sin in His dialogue with
the Devil. He was certainly not passing evil off as "alienation,
anomie, boredom, rage, ...peer pressure, inequality, or status
anxiety." Unhappily these words have become all too often the coin of
our daily conversation. We are constantly exposed to these terms or,
perhaps better, excuses.
The wife of a President of the United States publicly whitewashed her
husband's sexual sins with a young woman. She opined that they grew out
of disputes that his mother and grandmother had over him when he was a
child. Unconsciously no doubt we absorb these attitudes into our
spirits. How else can one explain that the most underutilized hours in
our churches are those set aside for the Sacrament of Reconciliation?
When, was the last time that you went to confession yourself?
Please do not answer. I suspect I know. Why not then make it a point to
get to the Sacrament at your earliest opportunity? Be sure to give this
encounter with the Christ top priority as this season of penance opens.
Cease to feel that, like the Mother of God, you were conceived sinless.
Some of us may feel that our sins are so dreadful that God will not
forgive them. A John Ruskin tale may hopefully dispel this belief. A
woman possessed an especially exquisite kerchief. Somehow she stained
it with a large mark. She was disconsolate. Ruskin the artist took that
garment from her. He incorporated that blot into a wonderfully
intricate design with his paints. And the kerchief became even more
exquisite. Surely what John Ruskin did with that babushka God can do
with our spirits if only we allow Him. He can take the rough and crude
cloth of our lives and turn it into silk with only minimal cooperation
from ourselves.
Please do note that each of the three responses the Master made to
Satan come from the Book of Deuteronomy. It can be argued that
Deuteronomy was His favorite book in the Scriptures. Perhaps some time
this week each one of us should steal the time to sit down and read
Deuteronomy. A careful study of its message may do wonders for us. Who
knows? It may even speed us to confession. After death, while we wait
for Jesus to bring up our lives on His computer screen, we might have
good reason to distract Him by asking, "By the way, Master, have you
ever read Deuteronomy?" |
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http://www.st.ignatius.net/pastor.html
1 Lent
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First Lent: The Journey of Lent
and the Journey of Our Lives
This
Sunday’s gospel presents us with the temptations of the Lord as related
in the Gospel of Luke. The Gospel of Luke differs in the order of
the temptations from the order found in the Gospel of Matthew. In
Matthew the final temptation is when the devil led Jesus to the
mountain and offered Him all the Kingdoms of the world if He worshiped
him. In Luke, this temptation is placed second, the final
temptation in Luke is the temptation from the parapet of the Temple in
Jerusalem. Luke does this because beneath the relating of the
teachings and miracles of the Lord, Luke has the theme of the
journey: Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem to suffer and die for the
fulfillment of the will of the Father. This journey is continued
in the next book that St. Luke wrote, the Acts of the Apostles.
Acts begins in Jerusalem and ends in Rome, the center of the then known
world. Deeper than this, Luke is stating that we Christians are
called to walk with the Lord throughout the journey of our lives, the
journey to complete the will of the Father. The forty days of
Lent reminds us of this journey and invite us to examine how well we
are traveling.
With
this in mind, I would like to begin today with a brief story. A
man had been teaching in an exclusive high school academy for over
twenty years. Every year at Christmas time, the students would
give each of their teachers presents. It was a tradition.
Thank you notes were not expected. Well, after only about three
years, the man began to realize that most of the gifts would be the
same. He could tell what the gift would be just from the size and
shape of the box. That was particularly true for the gift that
was most often repeated: handkerchiefs. The teacher would thank the
students who brought him those long thin boxes and just keep them in
his closet unopened. When he was short on handkerchiefs, he would
just open a new box.
One
day the man opened a box to get a handkerchiefs. To his surprise
in the box he found an expensive antique pocket watch. He
possessed that watch for years and did not even know it.
“We
own a vintage wine cellar, but we never drink from it,” said the
medieval theologian/spiritual writer called Master Eckhart.
“We
have an inner fountain that spreads up into eternal life, but we are so
out of touch with it that we only look to outer wells for water,” to
paraphrase the Lord’s message to the woman at the well and to
us.
We
Christians possess the most valuable treasure in the world. Jesus
Christ is among us and within us. Sometimes we are out of touch,
out of touch with the treasure that we are, and out of touch with the
riches that we already have. Why? Perhaps, we focus
only on some of the external dimensions of our existence and miss that
which really matters. For example, if a man or woman is
highly involved in a particular sport, he or she might identify himself
or herself as a golfer, a football player, a hockey player or a body
builder. Or a person might identify himself or herself with a
physical characteristic. Quite often we identify ourselves with
our work. We might work as a doctor, engineer, mechanic, or
carpenter, plumber or a mechanic, but we are infinitely more than
that. We are Christians. We are tempted to equate or
identity with a physical quality, a mental attribute, a social role, a
significant experience or a personality trait. But we miss
something. We miss that which we have which is the most
significant aspect of our existence. We miss a dimension that
remains hidden like an antique watch in a handkerchief box.
We
are not just physical. We are also spiritual. Each one of
us. At the level of our deepest being, our deepest selves, we are
sons and daughters of the Most High. We are brothers and sisters
of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is within us. We have the
capacity to bring His image to the world. We are the Light
of the World and the Salt of the Earth. We have a vital interior
life that is capable of giving meaning to every situation, every aspect
of our lives.
St.
Paul says that we hold a treasure in earthen vessels. Sadly, we
are often more aware of these vessels than we are of the
treasure. We have an antique pocket watch in a handkerchiefs
box. But we are often more aware of the handkerchiefs box than we
are of the antique watch.
The
journey with the Lord during Lent is a journey of spiritual self
discovery. All of the practices we embrace during Lent, the
additional prayers like Forty Hours, daily Mass, Stations on Fridays,
the fasting to remember the suffering of the Lord, the seeking
forgiveness for our sins, the search for ways that we can serve Christ
in the needy, all of these practices are wonderful ways of
strengthening our spiritual lives. They remind us we each have the
capability of making the Lord present in the world. God can and
will use each of us to transform the world if we just allow the deep
reflection within us to become evident first to ourselves and then to
others.
We
conclude Lent with the celebration of the Paschal Triduum, the Passion,
Death and Resurrection of the Lord. The goal of the journey of
our lives is making the Life of Christ relevant to the world in
our own unique ways. He calls us to carry our
crosses, to embrace suffering for others. The journey from Ash
Wednesday to Easter travels through Good Friday. We are called to
a deeper understanding of our personal passions, the suffering we
willingly embrace because others deserve to be loved with a sacrificial
love. For our young families, this suffering might mean being
tired all the time because the baby and little children take so much
out of you. For those with older children the suffering might be
the continual battle against the forces of immorality attacking the
children. For our seniors the suffering might mean not having the
time to do the things you dreamed of doing in retirement because it is
far more important to care for your sick spouse. Everyone can add
their own difficulties and suffering in life. Suffering that
results from sacrificial love is the way we have been called to join
the Lord in his Passion. The Christian journey gives meaning to
our own deaths. We need to die well, in union with the one
who is Lord of Life. Our funeral Masses are Masses of the
Resurrection. We pray for union with the Lord in the eternal life
of Easter.
Jesus journeyed to Jerusalem to radically transform the world. He
invites us to join Him on the journey during this Lent. May our
Lent be for each of us a journey of discovery, the
discovery of the Life of Christ. That is the valuable gift we so
often ignore, the antique watch in the box we thought was just
handkerchiefs.
From
today’s second reading: “The word is near to us, on our lips and in our
hearts.”
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* available in Spanish - see
Spanish homilies
1 Lent
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Who
Is Like God?
(February 21, 2010)
Bottom line: When temptations come, Jesus shows us what to do: Exalt
God.
On this First sunday of Lent we hear about Jesus' temptations. Before
addressing his temptations, I'd like to speak about temptations you and
I know more about: our own.
The St. Mary Hispanic community put on a play that gives some insights
into human tempations. The play has a fairly straightforward plot. It
depicts a shepherd girl trying to get to Bethlehem. The devil wants to
prevent her from worshipping Jesus. So what he does, he sends seven
tempations.*
The devil begins with the deadly sin that seems most powerful: lust.
Lust says to her, "I can get men to fall at your feet." Avarice (or
greed) follows up: "I can help you get lots of money." Envy and anger
then join forces: "You can show all those stuck-up girls a thing or
two." Gluttony, with bags of junk food, say: "You can eat anything
want." Best of all, laziness says: "You won't have to work no more."
Each temptation seems overpowering, especially the root temptation:
pride or arrogance. The shepherd girl appears helpless. But then God
sends aid: St. Michael the Archangel arrives to do battle with Satan.
She watches as the two combat. In the end, Michael overcomes Satan -
and he disappears, along with the temptations. She is alone with
Michael. His name means, "Who is like God?"
Who is like God? The devil had told her she could be a little goddess,
doing whatever she pleased. But of course Satan did not want to give
her freedom, but to make her a slave. God, on the other hand, does
require a certain measure of self-sacrifice, but in the end he gives
true freedom: the freedom of sons and daughters. Who is like God?
That's how Jesus responds to the devil's temptations - as we see today.
You must understand that even though Jesus is by nature God, he has
humbled himself and became one of us. In his humanity, he experienced
the full force of temptation.
To each temptation, he responds by exalting God: One does not live by
bread alone - but by God's word. God alone shall you worship and serve.
Do not put God to the test. That is, don't behave recklessly thinking
no matter what you do, you have God in your pocket. No. God is God. He
holds you in his hands, not vica versa. He is not your wind-up toy. God
is further above you (and me) than archangel above an earthworm. Who is
like God?
When temptations come, Jesus shows us what to do: Exalt God. The devil
cannot stand it when we exalt God. Like an immature Hollywood star, he
hates it if someone praises his rival. When the devil tempts you, do
not speak directly to him. Unlike Jesus, you will not win an argument
with the evil one. Make the sign of the cross. Say the holy names:
Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Praise God and the devil will flee. Who is like
God?
************
*For a powerful presentation on the capital sins, see: Seven Deadly
Sins, Seven Lively Virtues by Fr. Robert Barron. I received my copy
through Lighthouse Catholic Media.
Intercessions for First Sunday of Lent (from Priests for Life)
Spanish Version |
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http://www.agreeley.com/homilies.html
1 Lent
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February
21st, 2010 AD
Background:
The trouble with ridiculing and attacking other people, whether
it be a referee at a basketball game (they zebras are patently blind!)
or a rival or a public official is that the very bitterness of our
attacks makes us hate the other person even more.
If one considers, let us say, Northern Ireland and Israel, one
understands that the bitter rhetoric of attack in both places is often
more the cause of conflict than merely its effect.
The advise Jesus is giving is not merely sound spirituality, it
is also wise psychology.
Story:
Juliette Binoche, the wondrous French actress, was being interviewed on
the Jay Leno show about her film “Chocolat” – a marvelously Catholic
film in which chocolate is a sacrament of the goodness and love which
animates the universe.
Mr. Leno, as is his custom, was making fun of President Clinton. Ms.
Binoche was not amused. You Americans, she informed Leno, do not have
enough respect for your leaders. You should respect them more. Leno was
nonplused.
None of his guests had ever said anything like that. He tried to laugh
it off. Ms. Binoche would have none of it. I am serious she said, if
you don’t respect your leaders, then you wont respect your country.
Leno tried to change the subject. The woman was trying to deprive him
of his comedy sthick.
Yet which of the two was following more closely the description of
Christian behavior in today’s Gospel? |
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http://www.saintvincentarchabbey.org/homilies/index.lasso
1 Lent
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Feb, 21, 2010
Luke 4:1-13
Campion P. Gavaler, O.S.B.
First Sunday of Lent
Gospel Summary
Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus is led by the Spirit into the desert
to be tempted by the devil. Recall that this event comes immediately
after Jesus' baptism in the Jordan. After his baptism Jesus was praying
when the Holy Spirit descended upon him, and a voice came from heaven
saying, "You are my beloved Son." The devil now says to Jesus, "If you
are Son of God, command this stone to become bread." Then the devil
promises all of the kingdoms of the world if Jesus would worship him.
Finally the devil challenges Jesus to throw himself from the parapet of
the temple to prove that since he is God's Son, he would not be
injured. Jesus triumphs over each temptation.
Life Implications
The writers of the gospels clearly affirm the humanity of Jesus.
However, it is unlikely that they would have dared to say that Jesus
was tempted by the devil--with the implication of the possibility of
failure--unless Jesus himself had spoken of the trials he was
undergoing. The Letter to the Hebrews expresses the tradition that
Jesus initiated: "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to
sympathize with our weakness, but one who was tempted in every way that
we are, yet never sinned' (4:15). In the dramatic confrontation between
the devil and Jesus, Luke indicates that until the day Jesus died, the
devil attempted to entice him from fidelity to his Father's will and to
his mission.
Luke explains the meaning of the temptations Jesus underwent by using
the Book of Deuteronomy description of the temptations that Israel
underwent in the desert wilderness. The key to interpretation lies in
the text known in Hebrew as the Shema: "Hear, O Israel: the Lord is our
God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your
heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might" (Dt 6:4-5). The
Dominican bible scholar Jerome Murphy-O'Connor explains how the Shema
was understood in Jesus' time (Bible Review, August 1999).
"With all your heart" means with a heart undivided by a contrary
desire. In the desert wilderness the people's craving for food divided
their hearts from trust in God's care for them. Jesus, however, would
not allow his craving for food to divide his heart from complete trust
in his Father's care. "With all your soul" means trust in God even if
you should lose your life. In the wilderness the people were afraid
they were going to die of thirst, and demanded evidence of God's
presence: "The Israelites quarreled and tested the Lord, saying 'Is the
Lord among us or not?'"(Ex 17:7). Jesus, however, would not ask God to
prove his presence by saving him if he jumped off the temple parapet.
(Luke places this temptation last in his sequence because his whole
gospel is a narrative of Jesus' journey to Jerusalem. There he will
choose fidelity to his Father's will and mission over the desire to
save his own life.) "With all your might" means with all your wealth.
After the Israelites reached the Promised Land, they are warned that
their wealth would cause them to forget the Lord, and to worship false
gods and demons. The devil, understanding the allure of wealth,
promises to give Jesus all the kingdoms of the world if he would forget
God, and worship him. Jesus said to the devil in reply, "It is written:
'You shall worship the Lord, your God, and him alone shall you serve'"
(Dt 6:13).
The temptations of Jesus point back to the temptations of Israel in the
past, and point forward to the trials that the Church in all its
members will undergo in the future. It is now we who are in the
wilderness, with no lasting city, on a journey to the Promised Land.
Each trial that life brings even to our dying day is a crisis, but is
also an opportunity to trust more completely that the Lord is with us,
and that we do love God with all our heart, and with all our soul, and
with all our might. We are confident that we will triumph in our trials
of faith, not because of our own strength, but because Jesus has given
us his holy Spirit. Thus sharing the fidelity of his undivided heart,
we can pray with confidence: Our Father, do not let us be defeated by
temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
Campion P. Gavaler, OSB
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http://www.christusrex.org/www1/mcitl/lowhome.html Meeting Christ in the Liturgy
1 Lent
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First
Sunday
Deuteronomy 26, 4-10; Psalm 91; Romans 10, 8-13; St. Luke 4, 1-13
Why do we undertake this forty day period of abstinence from meat on
Ash Wednesday and all the Fridays of Lent? Why do we fast on Ash
Wednesday and Good Friday?
The Gospels speak of a time of solitude for Jesus in the desert
immediately after his baptism by John. Driven by the Spirit into the
desert, Jesus remains there for forty days without eating; he lives
among wild beasts, and angels minister to him. (Cf. Mk 1:12-13.) At the
end of this time Satan tempts him three times, seeking to compromise
his filial attitude toward God. Jesus rebuffs these attacks, which
recapitulate the temptations of Adam in Paradise and of Israel in the
desert, and the devil leaves him "until an opportune time." (Lk 4:13)
(CCC 538)
We recollect and meditate, by these forty days of fast, abstinence and
prayer, upon Christ's victory over temptation. We grow in our faith
that, by the graces of the sacramental life, our intellect and will is
strengthened so that we may keep God's commandments in love for Him as
Christ first did.
The evangelists indicate the salvific meaning of this mysterious event:
Jesus is the new Adam who remained faithful just where the first Adam
had given in to temptation. Jesus fulfills Israel's' vocation
perfectly: in contrast to those who had once provoked God during forty
years in the desert, Christ reveals himself as God's Servant, totally
obedient to the divine will. In this, Jesus is the devil's conqueror:
he "binds the strong man" to take back his plunder. (Cf. Ps 95:10; Mk
3:27) Jesus' victory over the tempter in the desert anticipates victory
at the Passion, the supreme act of obedience of his filial love for the
Father. (CCC 539)
In Christ's temptations are summed up every temptation which we might
face. "Scripture would not have said", according to St. Thomas Aquinas,
"that once all the temptation ended the devil departed from him, unless
the matter of all sins were included in the three temptations already
related. For the causes of temptation are the causes of desires --
namely, lust of the flesh, hope of glory, eagerness for power" (Summa
theologiae, III, q. 41, a. 4 ad 4).
Jesus' temptation reveals the way in which the Son of God is Messiah,
contrary to the way Satan proposes to him and the way men wish to
attribute to him. (Cf. Mt 16:21-23) This is why Christ vanquished the
Tempter for us: "For we have not a high priest who is unable to
sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been
tested as we are, yet without sinning." (Heb 4:15) By the solemn forty
days of Lent the Church unites herself each year to the mystery of
Jesus in the desert. (CCC 540)
St. Ambrose teaches that Christ battled temptation in his human nature
to show us how, by the grace of his divine nature, our human nature is
strengthened for victory in the same battle. "He did not act as God,
bringing his power into play: if he had done so, how could we have
availed of his example?; rather, as man he made use of the resources
which he has in common with us" (St. Ambrose, Expositio Evangelii sec.
Lucam, in loc.)
Let's pray for each other until, together next week, we "meet Christ in
the liturgy", Father Cusick
(See also nos. 538, 695, 2096, 2119, 2855 in the Catechism of the
Catholic Church.) (Publish with permission.)
http://www.christusrex.org/www1/mcitl/
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http://www.ctk-thornbury.org.uk/
1 Lent
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First
Sunday of Lent, Year C
We are now in the liturgical season of Lent, preparing for Easter, at
this time three things are traditionally recommended to us: Prayer,
Fasting & Almsgiving.
Lent is a time of sober reflection, reassessment and rededication of
our lives to God. We review our lives, seek forgiveness, do penance and
recommit ourselves to Christ. This is all done within the context of
the Passion of the Lord, which we are constantly reminded of during
Lent as we build up to the solemn re-enactment of the passion and
resurrection of Christ at Easter.
It could be asked—why are we so sorry for our sins during Lent
particularly, surely this should be the case all the time? Yes, but
perhaps it is because during Lent we are made specially aware of the
sufferings of Christ, particularly through such devotions as the
Stations of the Cross.
We quickly see the connection between our sins and Christ’s sufferings
and we are sorry and seek to make amends. This is a very natural and
human thing to do; but we realise that nothing will be sufficient to
make up for our sins—yet we do feel a strong need to do something to
make amends and so we do penance even if we realise that this is a mere
drop in the ocean.
We do penance because we are sorry for our sins, sorry for the pain
they have inflicted on Christ and on others, even though we know it is
only token and can't ever make up for it. But because we do penance
which is an ecclesial and sacramental activity it unites us with Christ
himself in his passion. It becomes not a merely individual activity but
something of cosmic proportions, it makes us part of Christ’s
redemptive work.
But what about prayer fasting and almsgiving, the three ways the Church
has given us for penance particularly during Lent.
These three things almost sound trite after what I've been saying about
participating in the passion and being part of something of cosmic
proportions. Surely this can't be brought about by merely rattling off
a Hail Mary, giving up sugar or putting a few coppers in the poor box.
If we are really serious about Lent and are prepared to undertake the
task of re-conversion to Christ, of becoming more and more conformed to
his image and living out in our lives the implications of his passion,
then we will also take seriously the means the Church gives us. We will
want to get below the surface and find out what they really mean.
Now I'm sorry if I disappoint you but I am only going to give you one
way of looking at these three forms of penance; but perhaps it will be
of some help and may get us beneath the surface, St John tells us that
God is love and he who lives in love, lives God and God lives in him.
Love then is God's basic attitude towards us and love, as you know,
always requires a response—even being ignored is a response, albeit a
negative one.
So if what we are dealing with is a relationship then I'd like to look
at prayer, fasting and almsgiving as aspects of our relationship with
God.
Under the heading of prayer I mean my personal attitude to God. What
are the channels of communication between us like? Are they open? If
they are open, just what state are they in? Is it just a one-way link,
me telling God what he should do, or is it like the so-called
'hot-line' between the super-powers, only for emergencies? Or is it
like my grandmother with the telephone, she knew quite well how to work
it but didn't ever use it because she was afraid of it? I'm sure
there's an analogy to fit your own particular situation.
The point I want to make is that prayer is the actual content of your
relationship with God. And what the church is saying is: get those
channels of communication open and in frequent use, don't allow
anything to obstruct them. And if you don't seem to be getting much
response don't worry because in a way this too is a response, hang on
in there and wait for God; make your prayer a listening and not a
telling.
So prayer focuses on our direct relationship with God and not merely on
the saying of prayers. During Lent then we don't just pray more we
think about the whole pattern of prayer in our life. And we ask what
does it mean? Where is it going? Have we developed or are we still at
the primary school stage? Is our prayer just an example of obsessive
activity? Or is it a major stimulus like a high-powered fertilizer
forcing us to grow as persons, forcing us to be more fully human and
therefore closer to God?
As regards fasting, I see this as shifting the focus to self. It is
about me and how I see myself as a human being situated in the material
world. It is about my priorities and the value I place on material
things, how I occupy myself and how I measure my worth.
For example, how can I be a God-centred person and yet judge my success
in life by the standards of the consumer society?
By the simple heading of fasting the Church is trying to indicate a
whole attitude towards life, an attitude towards self and material
things. The values and attitudes of someone who sees the need for
fasting and actually does fast are worth acquiring and they ultimately
lead one to God. Yes, the material world and material pleasures are
good and wonderful in themselves, but they are created things and in
ultimate terms the creator is much more important than what he creates.
To absorb ourselves then, merely with material things and to see no
need for sacrifice is to devalue ourselves. We who are made in the
image of God cannot ultimately be satisfied with anything less than God
himself.
Lent is for reviewing, let us then review our lives and ask the
question, how does a redeemed child of God actually live in the world
of material things? And having answered the question for ourselves then
make a serious attempt to swing the balance a bit, and maybe we will
see the need for something a little extreme like a real fast with the
idea that the pendulum will swing back to a position of right
relationship with the world. Not rejecting it in favour of some pious
nirvana where we exist on communion hosts and holy water, but neither
wallowing in ostentatious wealth like some twentieth century Dives.
Just as I have done with the other two Lenten priorities I'd like to
broaden almsgiving out a bit and not restrict it to charitable
handouts. I see almsgiving as a symbol of our relationship with other
people and the key word here is giving. Becoming a 'giving' person.
I have related prayer as a symbol of our relationship with God and
fasting as a symbol of our relationship with the material world, the
other part of the equation is other people and I think that this is at
the root of almsgiving.
I think it is all summed up in the use and misuse of the word
'charity'. Charity means 'love', but society has misused it and it now
means money doled out by those trying to salve their consciences. No
wonder no one wants charity! Love then is the keynote and in our Lenten
review of life we ask ourselves whether love is in fact what
characterises our relationships? Are we turned in on ourselves or
turned out to others seeing in them other Christ’s, each in the process
of dying on their own cross?
If that's how we did see others then we certainly would be moved. Which
one of us doesn't have the cross in his or her own life, which one of
us doesn't expect other people to make allowances for us? If this is so
then why are we so hard hearted?
Almsgiving isn’t doling out money to the vagrant sitting in a Broadmead
shopping street with dreadlocks, a can of cider and a big dog.
Almsgiving is giving our whole lives to others in the name of the man
who died to redeem the whole world. And yes, it will involve putting
our hand in our pockets now and again, but it will never be out of
distain or disgust or merely out from duty or embarrassment.
We will be keen to maintain other peoples self respect and be willing
to put up with other people’s idiosyncrasies in the knowledge that its
surely much harder for them to put up with us.
These have just been a few thoughts on the subject; it’s been a bit
long but there is, after all, an awful lot to be said ...or rather an
awful lot to be done.
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Father Bonar will not be posting homilies for Cycle B to allow himself
time for other projects. His collection of homilies (including homilies
for Cycle B) is available at www.clydebonar.com.
1 Lent |
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These
homilies may be copied and adapted for your own use;
however, they may not be commercially published without permission of
the author. |
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