The key ceremony on Ash Wednesday is the imposition of the
ashes on our forehead. “Remember thou art dust and to dust thou shall return.”
In a sense, this ritual reminds us of our beginning and our end, we are back to
basics. It is meant to give us a right perspective of life. We are dust, we are
finite, we are human, we are creatures, dependent and capable of mistakes. At
times, with all our successes, our possibilities, our capabilities and the
power we try to acquire, we are led to believe we can manage on our own, that
we don’t need anybody, we don’t need God! Lent puts things in proper
perspective. We need God, who does not look down on the dust that we are, our
humanness, our weakness, but renew his covenant to human beings, he breathes
life into the earth and creates us and recreates us.
The first reading from the prophet Joel reminds us
that sometimes God invited the people of Israel to come back to Him through the
great disasters that befell them. It was after one such disaster that the
prophet Joel conveyed to the people the message that God would come to their
rescue. The disaster that befell the Israelites at that time was the invasion
of locusts that came in large numbers from the desert and devoured everything.
The prophet Joel called them to prayer and to penance. He assured them that if
they came back to Yahweh, He would provide them with food they needed. He
reminded them that everyone should do penance, the priests and the laity, the
young and the old, even the children. They needed to ask God’s pardon as a
family, as one community and God would forgive them all.
The Nail Post
A father wanted his son to really understand the
importance of making right choices, of obeying and doing what’s right. So if
his son made a bad choice or a wrong decision, he’s give him a hammer and a
nail to take out into the backyard and pound into a fence post. When the son
went through the whole day making good decisions, he’d let the boy go out and
take out one of those nails. Until the boy was fifteen, there were always two
or three nails in the post, -seemed he’d be nailing new ones as often as he’d
pull out others. The youth started to mature and make better decisions and
finally one day all the nails were removed from the post. That was when his dad
took him back and said, “I want you to notice something about the post.” The
son looked at the post for a moment and realized that all the nails that once
were driven in and then later removed had left small holes in the post. The
holes were the remaining effects of the nails. His dad said, “I want to tell
you something about bad choices and decisions. Even though you may be totally
forgiven from your bad choices or decisions, and there are no nails visible,
there are the remaining effects, the consequences, of those choices or
decisions; just like the holes in that fencepost.” Author Unknown
The Gospel of today speaks to us of three paths that
can lead us back to God: Prayer, Fasting and Alms. Jesus reminds us that these
three practices by themselves will not lead us to God unless we perform them
with a humble heart. Lent is firstly a time for renewing our prayer life. When
we pray, do not pray to be seen or heard by others? Is Jesus against praying in
public with the community or prayer group? What Jesus is speaking about is the
motive of our prayer practices. Are we putting on a performance? Would we do
the same if no one was watching? Our community prayer life needs to be balanced
with private and personal prayer. The second practice recommended is fasting
and abstinence during lent, but we are reminded that how we do it is more
important than what we do. If fasting makes us irritable, if we fast with long
faces and put on a gloomy look and make all around us miserable, there is
something wrong. The heart of fasting is to do without something that we like
and believe we can’t do without, in order to realize that God can supply our
every need. What about a weekly fast from our favourite TV serial? The third
practice of the devout Jew was almsgiving. Again the admonition is the same:
“So when you give alms do not have it trumpeted to win men’s admiration.”
Almsgiving is any kind of help, material or spiritual we give to our neighbour.
We could help our neighbour in need, we could give them good advice or
encouragement, we can help someone in spiritual danger, we can encourage people
to attend to their spiritual needs. Perhaps the help that people need is more
spiritual than material. Are we bringing people to Jesus by our words, our good
example and our deeds?
A Good Lesson
A young man, a student in one of our universities, was one
day taking a walk with a professor, who was commonly called the students'
friend, from his kindness to those who waited on his instructions. As they went
along, they saw lying in the path a pair of old shoes, which they supposed
belonged to a poor man who was employed in a field close by, and who had nearly
finished his day's work. The student turned to the professor, saying: "Let
us play the man a trick: we will hide his shoes, and conceal ourselves behind
those bushes, and wait to see his perplexity when he cannot find them."
"My young friend," answered the professor, "we should never
amuse ourselves at the expense of the poor. But you are rich, and may give
yourself a much greater pleasure by means of the poor man. Put a coin into each
shoe, and then we will hide ourselves and watch how the discovery affects
him." The student did so, and they both placed themselves behind the
bushes close by. The poor man soon finished his work, and came across the field
to the path where he had left his coat and shoes. While putting on his coat he
slipped his foot into one of his shoes; but feeling something hard, he stooped
down to feel what it was, and found the coin. Astonishment and wonder were seen
upon his countenance. He gazed upon the coin, turned it round, and looked at it
again and again. He then looked around him on all sides, but no person was to
be seen. He now put the money into his pocket, and proceeded to put on the
other shoe; but his surprise was doubled on finding the other coin. His
feelings overcame him; he fell upon his knees, looked up to heaven and uttered
aloud a fervent thanksgiving, in which he spoke of his wife, sick and helpless,
and his children without bread, whom the timely bounty, from some unknown hand,
would save from perishing. The student stood there deeply affected, and his
eyes filled with tears. "Now," said the professor, "are you not
much better pleased than if you had played your intended trick?" The youth
replied, "You have taught me a lesson which I will never forget. I feel
now the truth of those words, which I never understood before: 'It is more
blessed to give than to receive.'" Author unknown, retold by Artin
Tellalian
Minor Irritants of Life
A young man had just hiked across a long, barren stretch of
land. Reporters asked what he found hardest about it. “Was it the loneliness of
the hike?” “No,” he replied. “Was it the hot sun beating down on you?” “No”, he
replied. “Was it the dangerous nights by the roadside?” “No”, he
replied. “Well then, what was it?” “The sand in my shoes,” he said.
That is often the case in everyday life. It is not the big things that get us
down, more often, it’s the tiny irritations! May be, accepting the tiny
irritations with family, friends, colleagues, office workers, that come our way
each day, could be a good way to start our Lent! Anonymous
Renewal
Once, long ago a musician well-known for the beauty and
sweetness of his songs was asked to play for the royal audience. The king was
so pleased with the performance that he made the musician part of the royal
court. His highness loved one particular song so much that he had the musician
play it over and over, several times a day. It went well for the musician who
had everything he needed, and fame and prestige as well. After a time the
musician grew weary of repeating the melody and no longer played with the same
zest and passion as he once did. This disturbed the king, because his favourite
song now lacked much of its original vibrancy. So in order to re-kindle the
musician’s interest in the song, the king ordered someone, who had never heard
the song before, to be brought to the palace everyday. When the musician saw
the new person he was inspired and he played with new vigour. But the king was
getting tired of finding a new person everyday and so he consulted his advisors
who suggested that the musician should be blinded! The musician was drugged
into sleep and his eyes put out so he never knew what had happened, and he
never saw a human form again. From that time on the blind musician would sit
continually before the king. Whenever the king wanted to hear his favourite
melody, he would say. “O musician, here comes someone new, a person who has
never heard you play before.” And the musician would play his song with the
utmost skill and spiritedness, as if for the first time. What is the meaning of
this parable? It is left to you to determine! For in the words of an Eastern
sage: “When you go to the market to buy fruit from the green grocer,
you do not ask him to chew it for you!”Anonymous
Find Someone in Need
Dr. Karl Menninger, the famous psychiatrist, once gave a
lecture on mental health, and then answered questions from the audience. “What
would you advice a person to do,” asked one man, “if that person felt a nervous
breakdown was coming on?” Most people expected him to reply, “Consult a
psychiatrist.” To their disappointment he replied, “Lock your house, go across
the railway tracks, find someone in need and do something to help that person.”
–Don’t sit and pout. Get up and do something for others! Brian Cavanaugh
in ‘The Sower’s Seed’
Ready to Change?
Once, a king was walking through the streets of the capital
city when he came upon a beggar who immediately asked him for money. The king
did not give him any money. Instead he invited him to his palace. The beggar
took up the king’s offer. On the appointed day he made his way to the royal
palace, and was duly ushered into the king’s presence. However as he came into
the king’s presence he was acutely conscious of his rags and felt ashamed of
them. They were an eloquent symbol of the wretchedness of his life. The king an
exceptionally kind man, received him warmly, took pity on him, and among other
things gave him a new suit of clothes. However, a few days later the beggar was
back to begging on the streets, dressed in his old rags. Why did he give up the
new suit? Because he knew that to wear it would mean that he would have to live
a new life. It would mean giving up the life of a beggar. This he was not
prepared to do. It wasn’t that the new life did not appeal to him. It was just
that a change of life would be slow, painful and uncertain. In other words he
was too much steeped in habit to change. Flor McCarthy in ‘New Sunday and
Holy day Liturgies’
May Lent find us ready to change whatever needs to be
changed in our life with God’s help!
From Sermons.com
Nowadays the cost of a dinner and a movie keeps going up,
and a vacation can be especially expensive, but if I really want to go somewhere
I just take the change out of my pocket and lay it on the desk. It's like a
time machine. Each coin has a year stamped on it, and just thinking about the
year helps me travel back in my memory.
1979 is the year my first son was born and the year I started
in ministry. 1981 and 1983 are the years my daughter and second son were born.
1988 is the last time the Dodgers won the pennant. 1990 was when I moved to
Indiana from Los Angeles. 1994 and 2004 were the years I turned forty and
fifty. 2002 was when I moved to Pennsylvania. And it's getting harder to find,
but any coin with 1954 is my birth year.
I enjoy laying out the change in my pocket and just glancing
at the dates. It's nice to carry these little reminders of important events,
good and bad. But they're just one kind of reminder. We carry all sorts of
reminders around. One of the most obvious is our date book, which we use to
remind us of important events that are not in the past but in the future. We
especially need a reminder for Ash Wednesday. It comes in the middle of
nowhere. It's not like Christmas or Independence Day that fall on the same
dates every year. Ash Wednesday is all over the map, from early February to
sometime in March. What usually happens is that we notice someone with a
smudge on their forehead and suddenly realize: was that today? Really, it's not
very convenient. The least Ash Wednesday could do is fall on a
Sunday.
It is an interruption. And it's an unwelcome reminder of an
unpleasant fact. Dust we are and to dust we shall return. The grass withers and
the flower fades....
The Lord's Prayer: A Walking Prayer
Every evening I walk three miles as part of my losing
campaign against high blood pressure and my imperialistic waist line. I
generally don't wear an iPod, because I prefer to take my exercise without
anesthesia. (I enjoy the sounds of nature, and I want to be able to hear the
cars honk before they run me over.) Sometimes I devote the time to prayer, and
I have found that the Lord's Prayer makes a good outline. Here's how I do it:
I address God as my Father by adoption through the grace of
Jesus Christ and give thanks for His salvation.
I pledge to keep His name holy in all my conduct. I remind
Him of ways I have done this in the past, and ask Him forgiveness for all the
ways I have failed to do so as well.
I ask that His will be done, here on earth through me,
as efficiently as it is done by His angels in heaven. I give examples of how I
think I could do that; I ask His guidance and pledge my obedience.
I ask for my material needs for the day, itemizing and
discussing them. I give thanks for specific instances of His providence in the
past.
I ask forgiveness, but only to the degree I am willing to forgive others. If I
have a problem, I discuss it in detail.
If I am facing any particular temptations, I discuss them
and ask God to help me resist them. If I have recently survived any tough
tests, I discuss them and thank God that He gave me the power to overcome
them.
I tell God about the evil things that frighten me, and ask
Him to deliver me from them. I also give thanks for past rescues.
You get the idea. When you pray like this, it's amazing how
time flies! Kenneth W. Collins, Praying
I'm Sorry, Father
A Catholic priest working in an inner city was walking down
an alley one evening on his way home when a young man came down the alley
behind him and poked a knife against his back. "Give me your money,"
the young man said.
The priest opened his jacket and reached into an inner
pocket to remove his wallet, exposing his clerical collar. "Oh, I'm sorry,
Father," said the young man, "I didn't see your collar. I don't want
YOUR money."
Trembling from the scare, the priest removed a cigar from
his shirt pocket and offered it to the young man. "Here," he said.
"Have a cigar."
"Oh, no, I can't do that," the young man replied,
"I gave them up for Lent."
Let Us Play
My dear friends, let us play. Yes, you heard me correctly.
Now is a time for play. In fact, today the church begins that time of the year
when we do our most serious playing.
And playing is a serious business, you know. Ask any teacher
of children. Better still, watch children at play. No wonder they are tired at
the end of the day. They work hard at playing. They take it seriously.
Play is the child's laboratory for learning about life.
Children who have never played at being grown-up tend to be handicapped in some
way when they have to confront the actual experience. Boys who have never been
allowed to play with dolls can hardly be expected to hold their own infants
with ease and loving confidence. It has to be a later learning if it is ever
learned at all. Play may be a more valuable tool for learning than all the
educational resources manufactured by the professionals.
That is why, on this Ash Wednesday, the church summons us to
a season of play. Our Lord has told us, if we are to enter the kingdom of
heaven, we must become as little children. And one of childhood's most
important occupations is play.
Am I wrong in my impression, however, that most of us do not
come to church to play, that play is the furthest thing from our minds? Play
seems foreign to our understanding of religion, and if it is to be found in
church at all, it is best restricted to the nursery and the carefully
supervised activities of the youth groups. H.L. Mencken defined a puritan as a
person with the haunting fear that someone, somewhere, might be happy. I know
the puritan still comes to church with me from time to time. What about
you?
Kendall K. McCabe and Michael L. Sherer
Recharging Your Batteries
An Italian newspaper recently carried a story about a young
couple in Milan who seemed particularly devoted in their worship. The priest at
a cathedral there reported that the pair spent an hour or more on a regular
basis sitting before a statue of the Virgin Mary. Naturally, he assumed they
were praying.
Turns out, this young couple was recharging their cell
phone. They had noticed a stray electric cable sticking out of the wall behind
the statue of the Virgin Mary. Whenever their phone's power supply dwindled,
the young couple came to the church and re-charged it from the cable behind the
Virgin Mary. The priest states that the young couple is welcome to use his
church for this purpose.
We talk about coming to church to "re-charge our
batteries," but this is ridiculous. What looked to the unobservant eye
like an act of piety was actually a self-serving ploy to save money. This young
couple was using the church for their own needs. And we're shocked, shocked, I
tell you--until we realize that we may be guilty of the same mistake. King
Duncan
A Walking Children's Sermon
The Rev. Timothy J. Kennedy tells a wonderful true story
that is perfect for Ash Wednesday. It was told to him by a colleague, Pastor
Chris Mietlowski. It concerned a baptism that Mietlowski once performed on an
infant named Eric. Mietlowski took Eric in his arms and traced the cross of
Christ on Eric's forehead using a special anointing oil.
Following worship, Eric's family celebrated with a big
backyard party. Family and friends ate burgers and chips and played volleyball
under a summer sun. Eric, being only six months old, was left to nap in his
backyard stroller. When Mom got him up, whoops. Basted on Eric's forehead was
the image of the cross. Mom had forgotten to wash Eric's face following his
baptism, and the oil that the pastor had traced onto his forehead acted the
opposite of a sun screen. The Cross of Christ was imprinted on Eric's forehead.
"For several weeks until it completely disappeared," says Rev. Kennedy,
"that cross was a wonderful reminder as to the meaning of Baptism and a
reminder that the Cross of Jesus was 'written' upon Eric's
forehead."
And what a powerful witness it was, says Rev. Kennedy.
"Eric's Mom and Dad had to explain the cross to the pediatrician, to the
neighbors, to the stranger in the grocery store. For a few weeks, Eric was
nothing less than a [living] children's sermon. It was only a bit of a sunburn
to be sure, but [it was] the best basting a child can have to be marked with
the cross of Christ! And why not? That cross is to be the foundation of that
child's life."
If I read the little book of Joel right, God's desire is not
that we wear a cross on our forehead, but that it be basted on our hearts.
"Rend your heart and not your garments," says Joel 2:23. That's much
harder to do, isn't it? It's much easier to rend your clothes than to rend your
heart. It's much easier to wear a cross around your neck than it is to bear it
daily in everything you do.
Timothy J. Kennedy
Pancake Day
Every once in a while a whimsical story makes the news. Some
years ago, the Associated Press carried a story about a woman in Olney,
England, named Dawn Gallyot who defied snow and a biting wind to beat seven
other women to the finish line in the annual Shrove Tuesday pancake race. In
her first race, the 38-year-old schoolteacher made the 415-yard dash from a pub
in the market square to the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul with a pancake and
a frying pan in her hand in 73 seconds. That was 9.5 seconds slower than the
previous year's pace. Each woman must flip a pancake in the frying pan at the
start and at the finish of the race. The record is 58 seconds. Mrs. Gallyot
reportedly wore a traditional headscarf and apron, but opted for modern running
shoes.
Shrove Tuesday, known in England as Pancake Day, is
traditionally the last day for merrymaking before the start of Lent. Pancakes
are thought to be a good way to get in the eggs and fat that faithful church
people were supposed to give up for Lent. Legend has it that the Olney race
started in 1445 when a housewife, dashing to get to church on time, arrived at
the service clutching in her hand a frying pan with a pancake still in it.
The pancake race is but one of many traditions that have
grown up around the season of Lent. New Orleans' Mardi Gras is another - one
last blowout before a season of denial...
Fr. Tony Kadavil:
1) The Potato Salad Promise: Tony Campolo tells
about a Church that one day every year celebrates student recognition day. One
year, after several students had spoken quite eloquently, the pastor started
his sermon in a striking way: “Young people, you may not think you’re going to
die, but you are. One of these days, they’ll take you to the cemetery, drop you
in a hole, throw some dirt on your face and go back to the Church and eat
potato salad.” We may not like to acknowledge it, but someday, every one of us
will have to face the “potato salad promise”, that we will all die. “Ashes to
ashes, dust to dust…..”
2) Kill the Cyclops in you: The
Cyclops is that strange monster of Greek mythology with one big eye in the
middle of its forehead. We pretend to ignore the truth that, for 325 days of
each year, we are all Cyclopes because there is ONE GREAT BIG “I” right in
the middle of our heads! If we are skeptical about this assertion, we might
watch our words for one day, from morning to night. What’s the first thing we
think about each morning? “What am I going to do today? How
will I do it? What will happen to me today?
How will I feel today?” I, I, I. And all day long,
what do we say to people? We say things like, “I think this” and “I think
that” and “I agree” and “I disagree” and “I like
this” and “I don’t like that” and “I just want to
say…” I, I, I. And what’s the last thing that we think about
at night? “I wish that so-and-so would stop doing thus-and-such
to me” and “I really did a good job today” and “I wonder
what I’ll do tomorrow.” The problem with seeing with one eye
is that we’re half blind. Everything looks flat and two-dimensional because
with only one eye, we have no depth-perception. Consequently, we go wrong in
assessing people. In Greek mythology, the Cyclops was killed when Odysseus and
four of his men took a spare staff of the Cyclops, hardened its tip in the fire
and used that to destroy the monster’s one big eye. It is precisely this that
we must do on Ash Wednesday. With two strokes of his thumb
smeared with ash on our forehead, the priest will cross that “I” out
of our head. By this sacramental ritual we are asked to take that “I” at
the front of our mind and cross it out by “self-denial” and “self-
mortification.” Doing so will help us to see the beautiful creatures of God all
around us and replace “I” with “You.” (Condensed
from Fr. J. K. Horn).
3) “Do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the
sign?” Some of the senior citizens here today can remember a song
that was popular exactly 49 years ago this year. In 1971, a group from
Canada called the Five Man Electrical Band had a hit
called “Signs.” The
song is about how signs are always telling us what to do, and the chorus
says, “Do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the sign?” Nearly
five decades later, the question it poses – “Can’t you read the sign?” — is one
we might ask ourselves today. We are going to be signed with ash in the sign of
our Faith, the cross. “Can’t you read the sign?” The cross of ashes means that
we are making a commitment – that we are undertaking Lent as a season of prayer
and penitence, of dying to ourselves. It also describes our human condition: it
says that we are broken and need repair; that we are sinners and need
redemption. Most importantly, it tells us that, as followers of Jesus Christ,
we are to carry our crosses. It also reminds us that we are dust and ashes –
mortal human beings carrying an immortal soul. (http://www.patheos.com/blogs/deaconsbench/)
4) A living children’s sermon: The Rev. Timothy
J. Kennedy tells a wonderful true story that is perfect for Ash Wednesday. It
was told to him by a colleague, Pastor Chris Mietlowski. It concerned a Baptism
that Mietlowski once performed on an infant named Eric. During the Baptism,
Mietlowski traced the cross of Christ on Eric’s forehead using the oil of
catechumens. Following ceremony, Eric’s family celebrated the occasion with a
big backyard party. Family and friends ate burgers and chips and played
volleyball under a summer sun. Eric, being only six months old, was left to nap
in his backyard stroller. When Mom got him up, whoops. Basted on Eric’s
forehead was the image of the cross. Mom had forgotten to wash Eric’s forehead
following his Baptism, and the oil that the pastor had traced onto his forehead
acted the opposite of a sunscreen. The Cross of Christ was imprinted on Eric’s
forehead as a sunburn. Eric’s Mom and Dad had to explain the cross to the
pediatrician, to the neighbors, to the stranger in the grocery store. For a few
weeks, Eric was nothing less than a [living] children’s sermon. It was only a
bit of a sunburn to be sure, but [it was] the best basting a child can have to
be marked with the cross.
5) Lent then and now: So, we begin another
season of Lent. Those of you who are as old as I am will remember Lent as a
more severe season than it seems to be today. The fasting required was
more challenging; adults had to fast every day of Lent, and fasting included
two meatless meals out of the three, with, of course, nothing between meals.
Ash Wednesday and Good Friday demanded full abstinence from meat as well as
fasting. So, Abstinence from meat was an everyday Lenten thing, not just an Ash
Wednesday/all Lenten Fridays practice. We ate a lot of macaroni and cheese in
those days! We made personal sacrifices, giving up smoking, candy,
alcohol or something else that we really liked. And generally, we practiced
self-denial on Sunday, not just on weekdays. We went to Church a lot more,
whether to daily Mass or Stations of the Cross or for prayer. Many feel that
Lent today is much easier. Encouragement is given to do positive things during
Lent, so many don’t give up much anymore. Most people don’t find their life
during Lent much different from their life in any other season. Following the
Second Vatican Council, the Church decided to take a risk and to risk treating
us like adults. While they removed many of the previous rules, they challenged
us to observe the season of Lent with all seriousness, to take responsibility
for our own spiritual growth. That is a lot harder than just following rules,
but it also bears the potential of really making Lent a time to change our
lives and truly become more Christlike. (Fr. Lawrence
Mick).
6) The ash-cross sign versus swoosh sign: In
1971, an art student at Portland State University named Carolyn Davidson got a
job doing some freelance design work for a local sporting goods company. They
were looking for a company logo, an emblem. Carolyn Davidson came up with
something in just a few hours. Everyone liked what she did and thanked her. For
a day’s work, she was paid $35. Little did anyone realize what Carolyn Davidson
had created. That design went on to generate billions—and made history. What
she came up with is the now-famous Nike swoosh. It may be the most successful,
most recognizable, most visible corporate symbol in the world. Anyone in any
language knows exactly what it represents. And millions around the world know
the phrase that goes with it: “Just do it.” Graphic designers will tell you
it’s a symbol without equal in the world. But this morning, to begin the season
of Lent, we will bear an emblem even greater, more visible, more powerful: the
cross, made of ashes. We will wear it on our foreheads and carry it into the
world as a sign of repentance, and sacrifice, and a quiet but purposeful desire
to change. And our message—to ourselves and to those around us—is the same as
the one from Nike: “Just do it!” (Deacon
Greg Kandra)
FASTING AND ABSTINENCE FOR LENT
1. Everyone 14 years of age or older is bound to
abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and all the Fridays in Lent including GOOD
FRIDAY.
2. Everyone 18 years of age and under 60 years
of age is bound to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.
3. On these two days of fast and abstinence only
one full, meatless meal is allowed. Two other meatless meals, sufficient to
maintain strength, may be taken according to each one’s needs, but together
they should not equal one full meal. Eating between meals is not permitted on
these two days, but liquids, including milk and fruit juices, are allowed. When
health or ability to work would be seriously affected, the law does not oblige.
4. To disregard completely the law of fast and
abstinence is a serious matter.
5. Going to Mass every Sunday, doing acts of
charity, forgiveness, and good deeds of virtue are obligations of daily life of
Catholics especially during Lent.
Give Up
GIVE UP grumbling! Instead, “In everything give thanks.”
Constructive criticism is OK, but “moaning, groaning, and complaining” are not
Christian disciplines.
GIVE UP 10 to 15 minutes in bed! Instead, use that time in
prayer, Bible study and personal devotion.
GIVE UP looking at other people’s worst points. Instead
concentrate on their best points. We all have faults. It is a lot easier to
have people overlook our shortcomings when we overlook theirs first.
GIVE UP speaking unkindly. Instead, let your speech be
generous and understanding. It costs so little to say something kind and
uplifting. Why not check that sharp tongue at the door?
GIVE UP your hatred of anyone or anything! Instead, learn
the discipline of love. “Love covers a multitude of sins.”
GIVE UP your worries and anxieties! Instead, trust God with
them. Anxiety is spending emotional energy on something we can do nothing
about: like tomorrow! Live today and let God’s grace be sufficient.
GIVE UP TV one evening a week! Instead, visit some lonely or
sick person. There are those who are isolated by illness or age. Why isolate
yourself in front of the “tube?” Give someone a precious gift: your time!
GIVE UP buying anything but essentials for yourself!
Instead, give the money to God. The money you would spend on the luxuries could
help someone meet basic needs. We are called to be stewards of God’s riches,
not consumers.
GIVE UP judging by appearances and by the standard of the
world! Instead, learn to give up yourself to God. There is only one who has the
right to judge, Jesus Christ. (Craig Gates, Jackson, MS, “What to Give up for
Lent”)
Joke of the week
“You are a dummy: The Church was packed with the
faithful eager to receive ashes on Ash Wednesday. Pat, Father Kelly’s janitor,
offered to help. “OK,” said Father, “now these are the words you say:
‘Remember, man, you are dust, and unto dust you shall return.” Pat prepared to
start at the opposite end of the communion rail. (This was in the old days, as
you can realize.) But Pat came hurrying over to Father: “Father, what are those
words again?” Father told him, Pat went back to his station, but in a moment,
he was back, asking for the words, which Father repeated. When Pat came back
the third time Father exploded: “You are a dummy and you’ll always be a dummy.”
Pat didn’t come back but when the padre and the janitor came close to each other
at the middle the priest was dumbfounded to hear the words Pat was saying: “You
are a dummy and you’ll always be a dummy” Msgr. Arthur Tonne – Jokes
Priest Can Tell
Human beings with no God experience: In an
ancient temple, a number of pigeons lived happily on roof top. When the
renovation of the temple began for the annual temple feast the pigeons
relocated themselves to a Church nearby. The existing pigeons in the
Church accommodated the newcomers very well. Christmas was nearing and the Church
was given a facelift. All the pigeons had to move out and look for another
place. They were fortunate to find a place in a Mosque nearby. The pigeons
in the Mosque welcomed them happily. It was Ramadan time and the Mosque
was repainted. All the pigeons now came to the same ancient temple. One
day the pigeons on top found some communal clashes below in a market
square. The baby pigeon asked the mother pigeon “Who are these
people? The mother replied, they are “Human beings”. The baby asked, “But
why are they fighting with each other…?” The mother said, “These human beings
going to temple are called ‘Hindus’ and the people going to Church are called
‘Christians’ and the people going to Mosque are called ‘Muslims’. The Baby
pigeon asked, “Why is it so? When we were in the temple, we were called
Pigeons, when we were in the Church, we were called Pigeons and when we were in
the Mosque, we were called Pigeons. Shouldn’t they all be called
just ‘Human beings’ wherever they go”? The mother Pigeon said,
“You and I and our Pigeon friends have experienced God, and that’s why we are
living here in a highly elevated place peacefully. These people have yet
to experience God. Hence, they are living below us and fighting and killing
each other.”
