2nd Week of Lent, Monday, Mar 1
Daniel 9:4-10 / Luke 6:36-38
Jesus teaches his disciples; ' 'Stop judging and you will not be judged. "
A young businessman began dating a charming young actress. The relationship developed to the point that the businessman was pondering marriage.
1st Week of Lent, Saturday, Feb 27
Deut 26:16-19 / Matthew 5:43-48
A father and his son were traveling by bus. The father inadvertently violated a minor safety regulation. The bus driver went berserk. He verbally abused the father, humiliating him in front of his little son and the rest of the passengers.
1st Week of Lent, Thursday, Feb 25
Esther 4:10-12,17-19 / Matthew
7:7-12
Jesus talks about prayer; ' 'Ask
and it will be given to you. "
Catherine Marshall recommended keeping a list of your special prayer requests— along with the date of each request. A woman did this and was surprised at the way some requests were answered. For example, one was answered by a change of attitude toward a situation, rather than by a removal of the situation. In other words, many of our prayers are answered in a way totally different from what we had in mind when we made the request.
Feb 22-27: Feb 22 Monday (Chair of St. Peter the Apostle): Mt 16:13-23: USCCB video reflections: http://www.usccb.org/bible/reflections/index.cfm By celebrating the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, we honor the mission of teacher and pastor conferred by Christ on Peter and continued in an unbroken line of his successors down to the present Pope.
1st Week of Lent, Tuesday, Feb 23
Isaiah
55:10-11 / Matthew 6:7-15
Jesus
teaches about prayer; "This is how you are to pray. "
Two men were arguing about religion. As the argument heated up, the one man shouted at the other, "I'll bet five bucks you don't even know the Lord's Prayer." "I'll take that bet," the other shouted.
Stations of the Cross -2
With People Living in Poverty Around the World
This Stations of the Cross takes us on a prayerful journey of transformation in solidarity with people living in poverty around the world. As we walk through the Stations, we also share their journey through a mixture of their stories, scripture and prayer.
Chair of St. Peter, February 22
1 Peter
5:1-4 / Matthew 16:13-19
Peter's Chair; “Who do you say lam?
Mike Moran was flying Navy helicopters in 1982. One day at lunch, he was explaining to his parents the mechanics of his "chopper.”
Saturday after Ash Wednesday, Feb 20
Isaiah 58: 9-14 / Luke 5: 27-32
Jesus talks about his mission: " "I came for
those who need help.
Recently a convict sent a prayer he wrote to a Jesuit
newsletter called Twofold. A portion of it reads:
"Dear heavenly Father, I come to you a bent and broken man. . . I come to you from prison, from a place that's called death row and ask that you take pity, Lord, on a convict's wretched soul.
Friday after Ash Wednesday, Feb 19
Isaiah 58:1-9 / Matthew 9:14-15
Stations of The Cross: For Our Times
AN INTRODUCTION:
We gather on this day as Christians united in prayer. In the midst of our busy lives we pause to pray as we reflect on the suffering journey of Christ.
Thursday after Ash Wednesday, Feb 18
Deuteronomy 30:15-20 / Luke 9:22-25
Jesus talks about the cross: "Pick it up daily and follow me"
6th Week, Tuesday, Feb 16
Genesis 6:5-8; 7:1-5, 10 / Mark 8:14-21
Sin spreads; God was sorry that he made human beings.
In July 1984, James Oliver Huberty took a gun and drove to
McDonald's restaurant in San Ysidro, California. Seventy-eight minutes
later, 21 people lay dead and 19 more were injured in the worst massacre
in our nation's history. In an interview with KFMB-TV of San Diego,
Huberty's wife said her husband got up from the bed he had been sitting
on, put on his pants and shirt, and headed for the door. "Where
are you going, honey?" she asked. "I'm going to hunt humans,"
he answered. This kind of madness helps us appreciate God's words in
today's reading when he says. "1 am sorry that I made them
humans."
****
What are we doing about sin in our lives? What are we doing
about sin in our world in general? What can we do about it? "Adam ate the
apple, and our teeth still ache." Hungarian proverb
****
The memory of big inundations was strong in the lands and
cultures of Asia Minor. The Bible ascribes them to God’s punishment of the
growing evil in the world. Yet at the same time he spares the innocent.
The theme of yesterday is continued in today’s reading. We should not ask for extraordinary signs but learn to see God’s presence and saving action in the events of life. The apostles have seen the signs Jesus worked among them. We, too, should open our eyes and ears to the good things God does among us.
****
When the phone rings, we can do two things. We can either take the call, or we can just ignore the call. But one thing for sure, and that is, we know that there was a call. The call to repentance and conversion is constantly given by God. He calls out to us to turn away from our sinfulness and to come back to Him.
The 1st reading might have sounded harsh and may have given us the impression
of a vengeful and punishing God. But when we read the whole story of Noah and
the flood, we will see that God had issued call after call, warning after
warning, to His people.
If punishment comes, it was not because God was vengeful and wanted to wipe out
His creation. It was because His creatures did not remember Him. They forgot
who was Creator and who was creature. They did not heed His call and it was
their own sins that punished them.
Hence the important factor for repentance and conversion is
always this remembering. Remembering that God is our Creator and provider. Remembering,
that God is merciful and compassionate and forgiving. Remembering that He fed
the thousands when they were hungry. Remembering that it is only when we hunger
and thirst for Him alone, then He will fill us with His saving love.
***
Encountering Christ:
Bad Leaven: It does not take much yeast to get dough to rise. That leavening permeates the starch of the dough, which makes it grow and expand. It is an image Jesus uses here to illustrate what can happen when the leaven of unbelief is deposited in our souls. It grows. It expands. It corrupts—that is the leaven of the Pharisees and Herodians. We need to examine ourselves for any of this incipient malignancy.
Spiritual Senses: Jesus was offering his disciples some suggestions for combating this negative interior growth. He talked about eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear. If the spiritual senses are unengaged, then the bad leaven will continue to grow unchecked. But by the simple act of opening our spiritual eyes and ears, we can welcome new graces to help us begin to see things that we missed before. When we can start seeing how active the Lord is in our lives, the negative leaven will lose its power to corrupt.
Salvific Remembrance: After Jesus’s instruction, it seemed that the disciples were still struggling to understand. Another way to combat the bad leaven and activate the spiritual senses is to remember the blessings that our Lord has sent us: “Do you not remember, when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand?” Salvific remembrance is an important aspect of the Judeo-Christian outlook. Looking back to creation through salvation history gives the Catholic the macro view that combats the bad leaven. It is imperative, though, to bring this understanding to a personal level—to remember how many times God came to our rescue, gave us a light, opened a door, extinguished a danger. When we keep remembering, the bad leaven is contained and left sterile.
Conversing with Christ: Lord, how much bad leaven is in my soul? Help me to recognize that growing doubts are a sign of my tuning out and forgetting your marvelous deeds in my life. Permeate my soul with the leaven of spiritual insight and constant remembrance of the goodness of your gifts.
Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will take a closer look at the negative leavening of a growing frustration in my life. I will take a few minutes to try to engage my spiritual vision and salvific remembrance. Does that help my perspective?
For Further Reflection: “I will recall the deeds of the Lord; yes, recall your wonders of old. I will ponder all your works; on your exploits I will meditate” (Psalms 77:12).
***
Prayer
Lord our God, when we do not see clearly in life, when
suffering comes our way, we tend to blame you or people. Help us to realize
clearly how much of the evil around us comes from within ourselves, from our
greed for riches and power, from our self-complacency and selfishness. Speak to
us your word of forgiveness and change us from a silent majority of evil into
solidarity of love, by the grace of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen
6th Week, Monday, Feb 15
Genesis 4:1-15, 25 / Mark
8:11-13
God banishes Cain; God put a mark on Cain.
5th Week, Saturday, Feb 13
Genesis 3:9-24 / Mark 8:1-10
You ate
the forbidden fruit; “In pain you shall bear children.”
Francis Thompson was a famous British poet in the late 19th century. One of his poems, called “Daisy,” reads: “Nothing begins and nothing ends That is not paid with moan; For we are born in other’s pain, and perish in our own.” Today’s reading portrays pain as being the offspring of sin. Many people, however, blame God, not the human race, for sin.
Reconciler-in-chief
12th February is the birthday of Abraham Lincoln, sixteenth and — most historians and scholars consider — our greatest President of America.
Genesis 3:1-8 / Mark 7:31-37
A recent study on vandalism in USA dramatizes the price we pay for sin— in monetary terms alone. The study estimated that vandalism costs us over a billion dollars a year. Consider a few examples.
Several youths opened an aqueduct valve in Newark, New Jersey, causing a loss of 50 million gallons of water and costing the city $2.5 million for repairs and the purchase of water. Broken windows, slashed seats, and graffiti cost the New York Subway System $7 million a year. Finally, schools spend $600 million yearly to repair damage caused by vandals. The monetary price of sin is high. Higher yet is the spiritual price we pay.
Genesis 2:18-25 / Mark 7:24-30
In the early 1980s, syndicated columnist Bob Greene cited a study by an attorney, Michael Minton, on the monetary value of a wife’s services. He began by listing the functions that almost every good mother performs. Here are just a few that we rarely consider: chauffeur, family counselor, dietician, public relations hostess, budget manager, interior decorator.
5th Week, Wednesday, Feb 10
Genesis 2:4-9, 15-17 / Mark 7:14-23
As yet
there were no humans; So, God formed a man.
In one of his books, Dr. James Dobson cites an essay written by a third-grader. Called “What Is a Grandmother?” it makes delightful reading. Here are three excerpts from it. “Grandmothers don’t have to be smart, only answer questions like, ‘Why isn’t God married?’ and ‘How come dogs chase cats?’”
5th Week, Tuesday, Feb 9
Genesis 1:20 - 2:4 / Mark 7:1-13
Let birds fly across the sky; And God made all kinds of winged birds.
The Manx shearwater, a seagull-like bird, makes its home in tiny holes in a cliff on an island off the coast of Wales. One day a researcher caught one of these birds, put a band on its leg, and had it flown 3,000 miles to Boston.
Genesis 1:1-19 / Mark 6:53-56
Let there be lights in the sky; And
God made the stars.
Author Arthur Gordon tells how one night his father woke him and took him outside. As they looked up at the sky together, little Arthur saw a star dart across the sky.
4th Week, Saturday, Feb 6
Hebrews 13:15-17, 20-21 / Mark 6:30-34
To Christ be glory forever: He brings out in you what is pleasing.
Shortly after Mikhail Baryshnikov defected from the Soviet Union, he completed a two-week run at the Kennedy Center. At the end of the two weeks, a critic wrote: “As the two weeks went by I realized something more amazing than the dancing of Baryshnikov was happening. A young woman, Gelsey Kirkland ...had been chosen by Baryshnikov to be his partner....“She sparkled; she was radiant; she was full of life.
Hebrews 13:1-8 / Mark 6:14-29
Imitate your forefathers; Love
your fellow Hebrews.
One Sunday morning a pastor began his homily by holding up a huge triangle. Then he said, “My homily this morning is like this triangle. It too has three points.
4th Week, Thursday, Feb 4
Hebrews 12:18-19, 21-24 / Mark 6:7-13
The new covenant; The blood of Jesus changed our lives.
Bishop Sheen used to compare the Old Testament to radio and the New Testament to television. The Old Testament lets you hear God’s word. But the New Testament not only lets you hear God’s word but also lets you see the God who utters it.
4th Week, Wednesday, Feb 3
Hebrews 12:4-7, 11-15 / Mark 6:1-6
A new clergyman gave a great first sermon to his new congregation. The following Sunday, his new congregation returned with great anticipation and high expectation. To their surprise, the pastor repeated the same sermon. He did the same thing the next two Sundays.