"Be who you truly are, a healthy, vibrant, beautiful you. Declare this truth to yourself and live it!"♥
Don't be a leaf if you can be the tree,
don't be a raindrop if you can be the sea
'Cause a leaf may fall but the tree remains
It may never rain at all but the sea remains
Better to be the tree and the sea, see?♥
~ Snoopy Musical ~
I think I've discovered the secret of life : you just hang around until you get used to it.♥
~ Sally Brown ~
"Remember the marvels of the Lord has done."
Gn 37:3-4, 12-13, 17-28
Jn 3:16
Mt 21:33-43, 45-46
The parable point toward the cross of Christ. On the cross, Jesus looks defeated, but in fact, he is victorious. In the end, Jesus wins. When we feel and experience that we are suffering and evil is winning, Jesus' ultimate victory is our consolation. We are the Body of Christ ; our suffering are his sufferings. When we join our sufferings with his, we are not defeated, but rather share in his victory.
A parable is always speaking about you, not about anything else. Every word in Scripture is speaking about you. This is the way to take it. Love takes everything to heart, but law blames everyone else. Love takes responsibility, law, hardly ever. But if I do not take responsibility, my name is just isn't in the hat! Then I will blame someone else for that too! How boring! A religion of love is far more interesting! This why the psalm urges us to to "remember the marvels the Lord has done."♥
"The Lord is kind and merciful."
Mi 7:14-15, 18-20
Lk 15:1-3, 11-32
From a vision of glory on the mountain of the Transfiguration with another glorious vision, the sublime parable of the prodigal son and the merciful father. We saw Jesus' face shining with glory. We can imagine the face of the father shining with love and mercy as he runs out to embrace his long lost son, and as he pleads with the older son to join the celebration : "You are with me always, and everything I have is yours. But we must celebrate and rejoice!" (What a picture of God the Father has been painted in this parable taught by his Son! Only Jesus, who is one with the Father, could have described him so intimately.)
At the beginning neither the son really knows the father. They do not know how merciful he is. The older son looks better than the younger one because he is hardworking and obedient. But eventually, we learn that he has been living, not like an obedient son at all, but rather like a slave. He is bitter, suspicious and judgmental. With contempt he even judges his father as uncaring and unfair. Interiorly, he is no better off than the younger son, who captures everyone's attention because he makes such a dramatic display of his rebelliousness.
Both sons represent each one of us when we are in sin. whether we are arrogant, demanding, and self-righteous, or whether we are rebellious, wasteful, and worldly, sin leads us away from the Father's house to a "distant land." We follow the illusion that "going away" or "refusing to enter the house" will make us happy. It never works! All sin leads to misery, in this life as well as in the next. Of course, repentance changes everything, because God is merciful. The mercy of God is not a theory or merely something that we learn about in school. It is what we experience personally when we realize how God views us in our sin condition. When we turn to him, even if we are "still a long way off." he runs out to us and embraces us.
This shed light on our journey. We cannot rejoice in the mercy of God unless we acknowledge our sins. If we are convinced that we are fine and that God owes us something, we are still like the older brother. We do not yet really know the Lord. "You want to know who I really am? So do I."
The parable and the whole season of Lent invite us to repent ---- that is, to come to our senses 'at last,' to return to the Father's house and discover his mercy. Mercy is the glory shining on his face.
O Holy Virgin Mary, Blessed Mother of God, lead me in the way of repentance. Teach me to forgive as I have been forgiven.♥
"Happy are they who hope in the Lord."
Jer 17:5-10
Lk 8:15
Lk 16:19-31
"More tortuous than all else is the human heart, beyond remedy ; who can understand it?" . . . . "I, the Lord, alone probe the mind and test the heart, to reward everyone according to his ways, according to the merit of his deeds." We cannot fully understand the territory of the heart, but the Lord understands it and he responds properly to what he finds.
We get a challenging instruction on the ways of the human heart from the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. It is not difficult to imagine the scene because the contrast between the rich and the poor is before us always ---- unless our eyes are closed. It is not a sin to be materially rich, nor does being materially poor guarantee salvation. It does not describe what was going on in the heart of Lazarus while he endured his degrading sufferings. We can conclude that he must have overcome the heart's natural temptation to grow bitter about the injustices committed against him because, after a lifetime of torment, he found consolation. He entered eternal life, symbolized by his resting in the bosom of Abraham ---- a very tender way of describing heaven.
We know more about the rich man. In this life he was entirely, grossly self-absorbed. Lazarus was right at his gate, in a condition of extreme need, and the rich man did not even notice him. While the rich man may have done many good things in his life, he did not do so the will of God in regard to his closest neighbor, Lazarus. He did not love his neighbor. God was not cruelly punishing the rich man. The man dried up his own soul by refusing to love. The rich man failed to learn the most fundamental purpose of life in this world : the universal call to love God and love our neighbor.
Reflecting on the current global financial crisis, we can see it differently in light of this parable. People are worried about what they will have to suffer in this life because their money is gone. The parable reminds us that having money is not the essential thing. Would the rich man in the parable not have been better off if he had been humbled? God in his mercy is humbling the world., so that we will open our eyes to the needs of one another and our hearts to love. God does not want anyone to end up in torment ; he wants everyone to "rest in the bosom of Abraham." When we die, we will undergo a "financial crisis." We will lose our money. The parable helps us to evaluate our life in this world in light of life in the next.
Since "the human heart is more tortuous than all else," in this Lent we continue to present our own tortuous human hearts to the Lord, so that he can show us our need for repentance and our call to enter ever more deeply in to the way of love , forgiving ---- forgiven where the first cut is the deepest.♥
May Mary, Our Loving Mother of God, will hold me in her heart as the Lord enlightens me and I face the poverty of my love.♥
The dream of the planet is the collective dream of billions of smaller, personal dreams, which together create a dream of a family, a dream of a community, a dream of a city, a dream of a country, and finally a dream of the whole humanity. The dream of the planet includes all of society's rules, its beliefs, its laws, its religions, its different cultures and ways to be, its governments, schools, social events, and holidays . . . the humans who live before us teach us how to dream the way society dreams.
Our life stories can evolve as we grow throughout the life span. The capacity to integrate the past, present, and future allows us to move into more coherent levels of self-knowledge. If we believe it’s going to rain, then we walk and act differently even in the midst of a drought.There can be peace in the unknown. It is the known, or what we perceive as the known, that causes conflict. Whoever said that : "Reality is only a concept." The key fits, that's real. Is there a missing piece? Who can tell . . . .♥
"Save me, O Lord, in your steadfast love."
Jer 18:18-20
Jn 8:12
Mt 20:17-28
Lent is a time to look with greater precision into our hearts. It is a rather intimidating work because we do not always like what we see, 'more blessing to those who keep on giving likable and lovely to see about' and we are afraid of what we might have to face if we look too deep. Our fears are unfounded, however. Although God is not intent on condemning us ; he is intent on saving us. It is with this solid conviction that we allow him to lead us into greater self-knowledge, and a deeper examination of our inner life. The word of God, sharper that any two-edged sword (Hb 4:12), slices very finely and deeply to depict two problems that can lurk within our hearts : bitter resentment and prideful ambition.
We do not come up with a way to God by ourselves. We follow the One who knows "the way" : "Anyone among you who aspires to greatness must serve the rest, and whoever wants to rank first among you, must serve the needs of all. Such is the case of the Son of Man who has come, not to be served, by others but to serve, to give his own life as a ransom for the many." Pray that we empty our hearts of selfish ambition, resentment, and envy, and allow the Lord to fill them with self-emptying love, in loving the love to somebody.♥
"Happy are they who follow the law of the Lord."
Dt 26:16-19
Mt 5:43-48
If your love is a calculation, it is not love at all ; if you are measuring it out, it is not really worth giving, because it will create guilt and obligation and dependency ; if there is ego in it, it is diseased and you had better keep it yourself . . . . Jesus asks us to do the impossible. Love is not something that can be organized ; it is a gift given in freedom, and freedom is its mark. If it were a calculation, it would be given only to those who deserved it. But like God's grace, it flows out freely on good and bad alike.
The choice we are asked to make is not whether or not we can love like this. In our human strength it is impossible. The choice is whether or not we will open ourselves to allow God to change our hearts so that we can love like this. God is one who makes it possible for us to "be perfect," because nothing is impossible for God.
The choice, trusting that he can transform our hearts. Then we will know the joy of being "a people peculiarly his own." "Happy are they . . . . who seek him with all their heart!"♥
"Your words, Lord, are spirit and life."
Lv 19:1-2, 11-18
Mk 25:31-46
Can you put the whole human race in two categories : the good and the bad? Surely there are shades of goodness and badness. But that is not the point of the parable. A parable makes only one point, but we often read parables as if they were allegories, that is, stories whose every single element points some moral. No, the single point today's parable is there can be no love of God without love of other people. We make this examination so that we can be more aware of how we fail in our love for our brothers and sisters.♥
Impartial observers from other planets would consider ours an utterly bizarre enclave if it were populated by birds, defined as flying animals, that nevertheless rarely or never actually flew. They would also be perplexed if they encountered in our seas, lakes, rivers, and ponds, creatures defined as swimmers that never did any swimming. But they would be even more surprised to encounter a species defined as a thinking animal if, in fact, the creature very rarely indulged in actual thinking.♥
~ Steve Allen ~
Development is now regarded less as a linear sequence of stages, in which a mature version of self replaces an infantile version of self, than as an accretion of new experiences which are additions to rather than replacements for earlier experiences . . . . Human experience is constructed out of many experiential dimensions, perceptions, memories, imagination, available cultural images and mythologies, bodily sensations, and so on, all operation as psychic building materials. Each of those dimensions of our experience impose constraints upon the range of what can be constructed, but none of them determines the result in a direct casual fashion.♥
~ Stephen Mitchell ~
Men are disturbed not by things, but of the view which they take of them.♥
~ Epictetus ~
"No matter the beauty perceived in your appearance, know that the loveliest aspect of you is found deep within you . . . . your heart and your soul. Some says these beauties cannot be seen, cannot be photographed, and cannot be painted, but, you're wearing it all along ---- in your physical being - You."♥
George Herbert, Thou who hast given so much to me, give me one more thing ---- a grateful heart!♥
We are born into a vast room whose walls consist of a thousand doors of possibility. Each door is flung open to the world outside, and the room is filled with light and noise. We close some of the doors deliberately, sometimes with fear, sometimes with calm certainty. Others seem to close by themselves, some so quietly that we do not even notice.♥
~ Terry Teachout ~
Life is as fleeting as a rainbow, a flash of lighting, a star at dawn. Knowing this, how can you quarrel? At the end of life, our questions are very simple : Did I live fully? Did I love well?♥
~ Jack Kornfield ~
We seek a love which will make us whole ; Such a burden we place upon those we love. So I work to become whole in myself, Hoping the lightness in my being, Leaves no burden for others to carry.♥
"Happy are they who hope in the Lord."
Dt 30:15-20
Lk 9:22-25
To walk in God's ways is to love, because God is love. Love means to choose the good of the other over our own preferences. However, because of the distorted perspective of our fallen human nature, this choice 'seems' like a choice for death to us, not a choice for life! And so we tend to turn our hearts away from love, that is, away from God, and seek other "gods" that will give us life. We turn to ---- anything that seems to promise "life" to us. But we have learned by now that these things are all "false gods". They do not fill us with life, only emptiness and despair.
We take the Lord at his word. What good does it do to us if we gain the whole world and destroy ourselves in the process? Rather, let us abandon our lives to him, and so live with him eternally. Let us make the choice for life! We have a choice to make : "Today I have set before you life and prosperity, death and doom." The choice is most serious, with eternal consequences : life or death, prosperity or doom. Given a choice, which of us would not choose life and prosperity?♥
"Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned."
Jl 2:12-118
2 Cor 5:20 , 6:2
Mt 6:1-6, 16-18
It is the first day of the holy season of Lent. We see gain the purple vestments and linens in the churches, reminding us that this is a season for repentance and conversion. Today we publicly admit that we are all sinners, as we have our foreheads marked with ashes in the form of the cross as part of our traditional Lenten practices.
The ashes are sign of our mortality : our time on earth is limited ; someday we will die, and everything in life will come to an end. We also fast and abstain from eating meat today. These practices give us an opportunity to set aside what is of limited value and focus on what is of supreme importance to us, our eternal life with God. These are two admonitions which may be said to us as we receive the mark of ashes. One refers specifically to the shes : "Remember, man, you are dust and dust you will return" (Gen 3:19). The other refers to the call to repentance and conversion, : "Turn away from sin and be faithful to the gospel" (Mk 1:15)
This is a special opportunity for us to open our hearts to the Holy Spirit, who helps us become more aware of how we have offended the greatness of God, and fills us with the grace of repentance. Our hearts are heavy and burdened with sins, but if we humble ourselves and turn back to God, he will console us with is gift of mercy and the joy of salvation. This takes place in a special way through the sacrament of Confession. Every Catholic who is serious about his faith will not let Lent go by without making a good Confession.
Almsgiving, Fasting, and Prayer.
In almsgiving, we consider the need of our neighbors in a practical way. We stretched beyond concern for ourselves and our own families and open our hearts to the needs of the sick, the suffering, and the poverty-stricken. We give according to our ability, and we can even further our almsgiving by combining it with fasting ---- for example, giving up some luxury or denying ourselves some comfort so as to use the money for the good of a person in need.
There are many ways to deepen our prayer during this season. We can make an effort to get daily Mass if possible. We can spend time in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament, reflect quietly on the scripture readings of each day's Mass, pray the Rosary, participate in the Stations of the Cross, or say the chaplet of Divine Mercy. The purpose of our prayers is not to fulfill an expectation or to prove to ourselves (or anyone else!) that we are serious about Lent. "Be on guard against performing religious acts for people to see>" The essence of prayer is in the "secret room" of the heart. There is where we enter into conversation with the Father, "who sees what no man sees."
Fasting is a way for us to empty ourselves so that God can fill us. We fast not only from food but from anything that may draw us away from the Lord.
The ashes, almsgiving, prayer and fasting are worthless if they are reduced to mere outward show. They are to be expressions of a repentant heart, moved by grace to respond to the merciful love of God who loves us first. Conversion is a change that takes place from inside out. Our inner repentance urges us to take on more outward acts of love and penance in reparation for sins : acts done for the love of God and not for any human praise, entitlement or worldly return. Our heavenly Father sees all our actions, and will reward abundantly.
St. Paul : "Now is the acceptable time! Now is the the day of salvation!"♥
