No Greater Love

Years ago, I made this video version of the Stations of the Cross using movie clips from The Passion of the Christ and modern music to create a pretty compelling and intense experience of Christ's Passion. I watch it every year during Lent as my own Stations of the Cross practice and I thought I would share it. I hope it inspires you and reminds you how much Jesus loves each one of you. God bless your day. 

https://youtu.be/QRxMT__Zg10

Get Over Yourself | March 2, 2017

March 2, 2017

Have you ever been in the way? For example, when there are way too many people in the kitchen and you are just contributing to the madness and not at all to the cooking or preparation? Or have you ever been the reason for the bottleneck in traffic? Or have you ever refused to admit that you are wrong in an argument? Or have you ever let your pride stand in the way of peace? I have done all of the above and Jesus’ message today is pretty simple: get over yourself!

Most of the times in my life when I have been spiritually destitute, felt far away from God, or unloved in some way have all been a result of my own damn self, my ego, my pride, and my inability to get out of the way and let grace, mercy, and peace flood my soul. This is what picking up my cross means…kill my own pride and independence and replace it with humility and trust in God. Easier said than done, but Lent is really designed to help us get over ourselves and choose the good stuff.

Lastly, Jesus reminds us that we are not meant for THIS world. There are glimpses of heaven all around us if we can just get out of the way to see. Have a blessed day.

Reading 1 DT 30:15-20

Moses said to the people:
"Today I have set before you
life and prosperity, death and doom.
If you obey the commandments of the LORD, your God,
which I enjoin on you today,
loving him, and walking in his ways,
and keeping his commandments, statutes and decrees,
you will live and grow numerous,
and the LORD, your God,
will bless you in the land you are entering to occupy.
If, however, you turn away your hearts and will not listen,
but are led astray and adore and serve other gods,
I tell you now that you will certainly perish;
you will not have a long life
on the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and occupy.
I call heaven and earth today to witness against you:
I have set before you life and death,
the blessing and the curse.
Choose life, then,
that you and your descendants may live, by loving the LORD, your God,
heeding his voice, and holding fast to him.
For that will mean life for you,
a long life for you to live on the land that the LORD swore
he would give to your fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob."

Responsorial Psalm PS 1:1-2, 3, 4 AND 6

R. (40:5a) Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
Blessed the man who follows not
the counsel of the wicked
Nor walks in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the company of the insolent,
But delights in the law of the LORD
and meditates on his law day and night.
R. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
He is like a tree
planted near running water,
That yields its fruit in due season,
and whose leaves never fade.
Whatever he does, prospers.
R. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
Not so the wicked, not so;
they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
For the LORD watches over the way of the just,
but the way of the wicked vanishes.
R. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.

Verse Before The Gospel MT 4:17

Repent, says the Lord;
the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Gospel LK 9:22-25

Jesus said to his disciples:
"The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected
by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed and on the third day be raised."

Then he said to all,
"If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself
and take up his cross daily and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
What profit is there for one to gain the whole world
yet lose or forfeit himself?"

Borrowed Time | March 1, 2017

March 1, 2017

I was thinking about the word “Lent” this morning as the past tense of the verb to lend or loan. I know that our “Lent” comes from “the Anglo-Saxon word lencten, which means spring, and was derived from the Anglo-Saxon word lenctentid (pronounced LENG-ten-teed), which means the time of lengthening and flowering. The entire spring season was called Lenctentid”, but I want to meditate on this idea of a loan. Lent is a small period of time where we are given an invaluable loan: a chance to recommit our lives, an opportunity to reestablish good habits, a time of renewal, a grace period to reconnect to the important, the substantial, and the good stuff.

So borrow some time, some discipline, and a clean slate to reinvent that which makes you the best version of yourself and when each one of us is that which we were meant to be, we will set the world on fire with the good stuff. The best part about this loan is that someone else pays it in full in the end. Just imagine a debt-free life for a minute………..

Now enjoy this time of renewal, this spring of awakening, this lending of the good stuff, and this grace period of reconnection with a God of mercy. Have a blessed day.

Ash Wednesday
Lectionary: 219

Reading 1 JL 2:12-18

Even now, says the LORD,
return to me with your whole heart,
with fasting, and weeping, and mourning;
Rend your hearts, not your garments,
and return to the LORD, your God.
For gracious and merciful is he,
slow to anger, rich in kindness,
and relenting in punishment.
Perhaps he will again relent
and leave behind him a blessing,
Offerings and libations
for the LORD, your God.

Blow the trumpet in Zion!
proclaim a fast,
call an assembly;
Gather the people,
notify the congregation;
Assemble the elders,
gather the children
and the infants at the breast;
Let the bridegroom quit his room
and the bride her chamber.
Between the porch and the altar
let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep,
And say, "Spare, O LORD, your people,
and make not your heritage a reproach,
with the nations ruling over them!
Why should they say among the peoples,
'Where is their God?'"

Then the LORD was stirred to concern for his land
and took pity on his people.

Responsorial Psalm PS 51:3-4, 5-6AB, 12-13, 14 AND 17

R. (see 3a) Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
For I acknowledge my offense,
and my sin is before me always:
"Against you only have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight."
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Give me back the joy of your salvation,
and a willing spirit sustain in me.
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

Reading 2 2 COR 5:20—6:2

Brothers and sisters:
We are ambassadors for Christ,
as if God were appealing through us.
We implore you on behalf of Christ,
be reconciled to God.
For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin, 
so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.

Working together, then,
we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain.
For he says:

In an acceptable time I heard you,
and on the day of salvation I helped you.

Behold, now is a very acceptable time;
behold, now is the day of salvation.

Verse Before The Gospel SEE PS 95:8

If today you hear his voice,
harden not your hearts.

Gospel MT 6:1-6, 16-18

Jesus said to his disciples:
"Take care not to perform righteous deeds
in order that people may see them;
otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father.
When you give alms,
do not blow a trumpet before you,
as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets
to win the praise of others.
Amen, I say to you,
they have received their reward.
But when you give alms,
do not let your left hand know what your right is doing,
so that your almsgiving may be secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

"When you pray,
do not be like the hypocrites,
who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners
so that others may see them.
Amen, I say to you,
they have received their reward.
But when you pray, go to your inner room,
close the door, and pray to your Father in secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

"When you fast,
do not look gloomy like the hypocrites.
They neglect their appearance,
so that they may appear to others to be fasting.
Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.
But when you fast,
anoint your head and wash your face,
so that you may not appear to be fasting,
except to your Father who is hidden.
And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you."

Do These Jeans Make Me Look Fat? | February 28, 2017

February 28, 2017

I’m sure we have all either asked the question or have had to answer the dreaded question, “Do these jeans make me look fat?” Today’s gospel is a great set up for Lent and some Fat Tuesday food for thought. Peter points out to Jesus, “We have given up everything and followed you." Raise your hand if you have ever made significant sacrifices (cut the fat) for someone you love; perhaps moved to another state for your spouse, given up annual vacations to send your kids to Catholic school, taken in your ailing parent(s), etc. We have all probably experienced great sacrifice and in the depth of those sacrifices resides the level of intimacy of our love for the other. Peter’s statement, “We have given up everything and followed you” gives us a portrait into the souls of these followers and how intimate their love for Jesus was. They did indeed give up their fat happy lives, their businesses, their livelihood, their family time, and much more to be with Jesus. Little did Peter know that this sentence was also a foreshadowing of when they would also give up their very lives for Christ.

These disciples truly loved Jesus deep down in the core of their being and giving up everything for him was a no brainer. Think of one person in your life that you would without hesitation give ALL for, take a bullet for, do anything to spare their life or make them happy. Jesus wants to be that person AND Jesus is that person for you. Lent is a time when we choose to detach from the things that get in the way of us giving everything to follow Jesus. Lent is a time to “cut the fat” and to live healthier spiritual lives. I encourage each one of us to really pray about our Lenten sacrifice so as to make these next 6 weeks an expression of the depth of our love and intimacy for the one who loves us the most.

Fat Tuesday focuses on all the excess in our lives so that we can trim the fat as an exercise of love. I pray that when we look in the mirror today, our jeans DO make us look fat so that tomorrow we can embark on a new lifestyle of leaving everything to follow Jesus. Have a blessed and super fat day.

Reading 1 SIR 35:1-12

To keep the law is a great oblation,
and he who observes the 
commandments sacrifices a peace offering.
In works of charity one offers fine flour,
and when he gives alms he presents his sacrifice of praise.
To refrain from evil pleases the LORD,
and to avoid injustice is an atonement.
Appear not before the LORD empty-handed,
for all that you offer is in fulfillment of the precepts.
The just one's offering enriches the altar
and rises as a sweet odor before the Most High.
The just one's sacrifice is most pleasing,
nor will it ever be forgotten.
In a generous spirit pay homage to the LORD,
be not sparing of freewill gifts.
With each contribution show a cheerful countenance,
and pay your tithes in a spirit of joy.
Give to the Most High as he has given to you,
generously, according to your means.

For the LORD is one who always repays,
and he will give back to you sevenfold.
But offer no bribes, these he does not accept!
Trust not in sacrifice of the fruits of extortion.
For he is a God of justice,
who knows no favorites.

Responsorial Psalm PS 50:5-6, 7-8, 14 AND 23

R. (23b) To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
"Gather my faithful ones before me,
those who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice."
And the heavens proclaim his justice;
for God himself is the judge.
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
"Hear, my people, and I will speak;
Israel, I will testify against you;
God, your God, am I.
Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you,
for your burnt offerings are before me always."
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
"Offer to God praise as your sacrifice
and fulfill your vows to the Most High.
He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me;
and to him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God."
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.

Alleluia SEE MT 11:25

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth;
you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel MK 10:28-31

Peter began to say to Jesus,
'We have given up everything and followed you."
Jesus said, "Amen, I say to you,
there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters
or mother or father or children or lands
for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel
who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age:
houses and brothers and sisters
and mothers and children and lands,
with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come.
But many that are first will be last, and the last will be first."