A Big Blogger Thank You

As we begin the Easter season, let me thank the many people who have read my blog during the past week - particularly my post concerning a reflection for Holy Week.  Over 130 pageviews were recorded reaching countries in North America, Europe, Africa and Asia.

It is truly humbling to know that through the wonders of our technological age we can share our thoughts in this way and know that people for whatever reason choose to read them.  I am grateful and I just wish I could thank each reader in person; allow this post, however, to speak my thanks.  My hope is that the words I share may resonate with the readers and that they will have gotten something from my reflections on this most sacred week in our Church.

May God bless you all and may you have a blessed Easter season!

A Holy Week Reflection

We about to enter once again the most sacred week in the Christian calendar - Holy Week - when we commemorate the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Allow me to share a few thoughts about this most important time in our Church year.

Palm Sunday

The sky is bright on this warm day - the first day of the week.  At the entrance to the holy city of Jerusalem near Bethpage on the Mount of Olives a crowd begins to gather.  Soon someone shouts:  "He is coming!"  With a flurry of activity the people begin to tear branches off the nearby trees and spread their cloaks on the road as a man in the company of some friends enters the city astride a donkey.  Cheers erupt:  "Hosanna to the Son of David!"  they shout.  "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"  The crowd is going wild with adulation for this man and when asked by some bystanders who it is they tell them it is the prophet from Nazareth - Jesus by name.  The frenzy of the crowd continues prompting some of the Pharisees to call out to this Jesus that he should rebuke his disciples and tell them to be silent.  His response:  "I tell you, if they keep silent, the very stones will cry out!"

Obviously the crowd is expecting much from this man - the one that some feel is the long awaited Messiah expected by Israel.  This day is a day of triumph; their leader, the one upon whom they pin their hopes for Israel is among them.  Then what does he do?  He enters the precinct of the temple - the most sacred place in Judaism.  He sees moneychangers and others selling goods within the temple precinct and his righteous anger comes forth.  He takes a whip made of cords and begins to overturn the tables of the moneychangers and reminds them of the Scripture passage that says "My house shall be a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of thieves."  He then leaves the city to return the next day to begin to teach the people within the temple precincts.  His authority is challenged by the temple leaders but he proceeds by way of parables to bring God's message to the people.  He issues fiery condemnations to the leaders - the Scribes and Pharisees - whom he calls hypocrites for a number of reasons.  The stage is being set for the climax of the drama by which Jesus will be condemned and finally meet his death.

Dear Jesus, your entry into Jerusalem was a triumphant one.  You were hailed as the Messiah, the Son of David.  The people were placing their hopes in you to bring them out of bondage as Moses had done of old.  But the bondage they wanted freedom from was not the one you came to deliver from - it was rather the bondage of sin, the sin of people down through the ages - those past and those to come.  How many of those who cried out "Hosanna" to you on this Palm Sunday would be among those crying for your blood just a few days hence?   Help us to realize that your gift to us was not one of power but one of love and forgiveness for all the things we had done or failed to do for you and for others.  Help us to be reminded of the gratitude we owe to you for your sacrifice on our behalf.

Holy Thursday

Dusk has come and the shades of night are falling when a group moves toward a building and climbs to its upper floor where they will share - as their ancestors of old - the Passover meal.  The man Jesus who was acclaimed a few days ago by the people as he entered the city now seems to be in a reflective mood as he reclines at table with his disciples to begin the sacred traditional meal.  In the Jewish tradition the youngest at table asks the question about why this night is different from other nights.  Perhaps this task fell to the young disciple, John.  The meal proceeds and Jesus takes the opportunity to speak of many things with his disciples - to help prepare them for what lies ahead.

Then, in a move considered very uncharacteristic of the rabbi or leader, Jesus removes his outer garment and fills a basin with water and begins to wash the feet of his disciples - a task always carried out by a servant or slave.  The disciples are no doubt stunned by this turn of events - why is the Master acting like a servant?  When he comes to Peter, Peter in his characteristic way tells Jesus - as Master he should never wash Peter's feet!  When Jesus tells him he will have no part with him unless he allows this, a typical Petrine response is forthcoming:  "Then not only my feet but my head and hands as well!"  Jesus is the servant and presents to his disciples what kind of role they should play as leaders of the Christian community to come - servant leaders not authoritative leaders.

As the meal draws to its close, Jesus takes some of the unleavened bread into his hands and offers it to the disciples telling them "This is my body."  He then offers them a cup of wine telling them "This is my blood of the covenant."  He tells them to continue to do this action in memory of him.  They then go forth into the night and the drama of the Passion begins.

Jesus, what great gifts you have given us as we recall this sacred night.  First the example of the type of disciples we should be - servants and not those out to show how important we are.  You - the God-man - got down on your knees to wash the disciples' feet.  We are to wash the feet of others - by our works of charity and by bringing the message of your love to others.  Second the very gift of yourself in the Eucharist to provide us with the nourishment we need to lead good Christian lives.  May we never take your gifts for granted.

Good Friday

After leaving the meal the disciples and Jesus proceed to the Garden of Gethsemane.  Here he begins to fully realize what is in store for him because of the message he has been bringing.  Like the prophets of old who were condemned by the leaders of Israel when the prophets dared to speak God's word - a word the leaders did not want to hear - Jesus would suffer the punishment of daring to speak God's word in his time to those whose hearts were hardened.  Three times he enters into private prayer with his Father begging that the cup of suffering be removed but reconciling himself to the fact that it will come to pass.  Then the drama escalates.

A group of temple guards and others approach the disciples' group in the garden.  One of the chosen twelve - Judas Iscariot - will point out Jesus to them by offering him a kiss - a kiss of betrayal.  Jesus is bound and taken to the high priest and ultimately before the ruling Jewish body - the Sanhedrin.  The high priest will challenge him as to whether he is the Messiah and upon hearing Jesus' response rends his garments signaling what he terms a "blasphemy."

The Jews were not allowed to put anyone to death under Roman rule so the final arbiter in the case had to be the Roman governor - Pontius Pilate.  Pilate tries to find a way to free Jesus but gives away to the rabble who cry for Jesus' crucifixion - the ultimate form of death pronounced on those who were not citizens of Rome.  The walk to Calvary begins but not before Jesus is scourged and a crown of thorns placed upon his head as a form of mockery by the Roman soldiers.

The procession arrives at Calvary - the "Place of the Skull."  Jesus is thrown down upon the cross beam that he has been forced to carry from the Praetorium to this place.  Large nails are hammered into his wrists tearing the flesh and bringing about what must have been excruciating pain.  He is then lifted onto the pole of the cross and his feet are likewise rent with a large nail.  There he must hang - trying to gasp for breath, trying to rise up on his painful feel to catch such a breath and then fall back down pulling the flesh in his wrists and hands.

Standing at the foot of the cross are some of the faithful women disciples (the men all having fled out of fear) including the most perfect disciple - Jesus' own mother, Mary.  What suffering she must have undergone to not only see her Son die but die in this most horrible way.  When Jesus finally "gives up the spirit" he is taken down and placed in the arms of his mother.  How she must have wept as she cleared the blood and sweat from his now dead face and remembering when she held him as an infant and rocked him to sleep.

Once Jesus told those around him that the Son of Man had no place to lay his head.  Even at this moment of death he would have to rely on another to give him a final resting place.  An unused tomb, owned by one of the members of the Sanhedrin (Joseph of Arimathea), is provided and because the Sabbath was beginning the body was laid there to rest and the burial party departs.

Mary, Mother of Sorrows, how painful it must have been for you to witness the death of your Son.  You would weep for his suffering but somehow you would know that God would not forsake him or you.  You were always the model disciple - the one who would carry out God's will as you stated at your Annunciation:  "Be it done unto me accoding to your word."  Help us to realize how our sins have contributed to Jesus' suffering but also help us to know that we are never abandoned by God no matter what we have done or have failed to do.  God, through Jesus' death, has reconciled the world to himself and we are therefore reconciled.  Let us never forget it.

Holy Saturday

This is a quiet day.  The disciples are reeling with shock over what has happened to their Master.  Mary remains in quiet reflection.  The world, as it were, comes to a standstill as it awaits the next part of the drama - a part foretold by Jesus but still one which the world would not have expected.

Something strange is happening - there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness.  The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep.  The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began.  God has died in the flesh and hell trembles with fear....

For your sake I, your God, became your son; I, the Lord, took the form of a slave; I, whose home is above the heavens, descended to the earth and beneath the earth.  For your sake, for the sake of man, I became like a man without help, free among the dead.  For the sake of you, who left a garden, I was betrayed in a garden, and I was crucified in a garden....

...(T)he eternal dwelling places are prepared, the treasure houses of all good things lie open.  The kingdom of heaven has been prepared for you from all eternity.

(Office of Readings- Holy Saturday Roman Rite)

\

Easter Sunday

The faithful women trudge toward the site of the borrowed tomb.  Because the Sabbath had begun when Jesus was taken down from the cross they were unable to properly prepare the body for burial according to their custom.  A guard had been posted by the tomb at the request of the Jewish leaders who were afraid the body might be stolen and a fabrication started that he had risen from the dead.  The guards allow the women to proceed to the tomb to carry out their ritual.  They wonder, however, who would roll back the heavy stone at the entrance of the tomb since the soliders made no offer to do so.  Then they see that the stone had already been rolled back.  Upon entering the tomb they are met by a young man who asks them why they seek the living among the dead - he tells them that Jesus has risen from the dead.

One of the women - Mary of Magdala - sits weeping near the tomb wondering what really happened.  Then she spies a man she believes is a gardener to ask him where the body might have been taken.  It is then that her eyes are opened and she beholds her Master - "Rabboni" she cries.  He tells her to return to his disciples and tell them that Jesus has been raised and will go before them into Galilee.  The early definition of an "apostle" was "one who had witnessed the Resurrection."  Mary Magdalene then becomes "the apostle to the apostles" and goes forth to tell them the good news.

Alleluia!  He is risen!  Beloved Jesus, the Father rewarded you for your great offering of yourself to save us from our sins.  You now sit at the right hand of the Father and continue to bless your Church and all of us as we struggle to live out our Christian lives.  We will know crosses just as you did; we will know rejection and pain but we also know that we will one day glory in the same way as you now do in erternity with the Father and Holy Spirit.  Lord Jesus, how much we owe you!  In our human weakness we can never truly express the gratitude we should have but we know that you are with us always loving and sustaining us until the day we shall see your face in all its glory.  Amen.

The Woman at the Well

In the Roman ritual for the third, fourth and fifth Sundays of Lent, we read selections from the Gospel of John.  These three readings speak to us about faith and tell stories of those who came to faith through an experience with Jesus.  I had the privilege again this past weekend to share some homiletic reflections on the first of those readings with the good people of St. Matthew's Church in Voorheesville, New York.  Because these readings show the development of faith in the principal characters they are used at any liturgy on these Sundays where adults are present who are awaiting the reception of baptism at the Easter Vigil.  Let me share some thoughts from that homily.

What do we see in this story of the woman at the well?  First of all, she comes to the well at the noon hour.  Now where she lived it was usually quite hot at the middle of the day and most of the women of the town would come to draw water in the early morning hours when the cool of the day was still present.  Yet she comes alone at noon.  Perhaps it was because of the lifestyle she led which might have made her feel unwelcome among the other residents of her town.  Regardless she appears at the noon hour to find a man at the well.

Jesus begins a conversation with her and in so doing throws over two very important conventions of the time.  First he speaks to a Samaritan - one of "those people" with whom the Jews had very little to do.  They considered the Samaritans as heretics because of the way they worshiped and because of their beliefs.  Jesus, nevertheless, begins to converse with this "heretic."  Second he speaks to a woman - something unheard of in his day when it was seen to be inappropriate for a man to speak alone with a woman.  What we see here is the fact that for Jesus there are no barriers - no restrictions regarding with whom he will relate.  He came to bring salvation to all and he would place no obstacles in the way of anyone whom he wished to reach with his message of love and redemption.

As Christian disciples of Jesus, are we as open to others?  Do we place restrictions on our relationships with others because of things like race, color, language, religion or sexual orientation?  If we are to be true disciples then we, too, must break down the barriers that exist between ourselves and others.

Then Jesus throws a statement at the woman from out of the blue.  "Go call your husband and come back," he says to her.  She goes on to tell him that she has no husband and he lets her know that he is aware of her various relationships with the men in her life.  He states the facts but does not condemn her.  This is the way Jesus deals with us as well.  He knows our faults and failings - some small and some large - but he does not condemn us.  Rather he pours out his mercy upon us and lifts us up from whatever dismal place we have found ourselves in.

We begin to see in the story the gradual coming to faith of this woman.  She first wants Jesus to give her the water he promises so that she won't have to come every day to the well - a very basic request to alleviate something burdensome.  After becoming aware that Jesus knows about her she proclaims that he is a prophet.  Then her faith increases to the point where she can realize that he is the Messiah - the one promised to bring salvation.  Finally, she leaves her water jar at the well and becomes a missionary.  She brings the message back to the town where she perhaps is not the most accepted person and tells her townspeople that she has found the Messiah.

This story speaks to us about baptism.  It is through the "living waters" of baptism that we are brought to faith.  Sometimes I wonder if those of us who have been Catholic since our birth are at a disadvantage when it comes to appreciating our baptism unlike those catechumens - those adults preparing to receive baptism at Easter - who have grown in their faith to the point where they can make their own profession of faith in Jesus as Savior.  But our baptism - whenever it has been received - is not something to be taken lightly as just something that happened to us at some point in our life.  It is a call to become missionaries just as the Samaritan woman became.  It is a call to evangelization - to be able to show by our lives and by our words what it means to be a disciple of Christ.  I am reminded of the statement once made: If we were arrested and brought before a judge because we are Christians, would we be convicted?  It is a good thing to think about during this Lenten season.  Let the woman at the well, in the words of the poet Judy Ritter, speak to us:

Time erased

by life giving water,

offered by a man who had no bucket.

Who knew me not, yet knew me well.

My past washed clean

in the spring that I became -

flowing, flowing through me.

God's instrument.

Never again shall I thirst.

Sometimes God Doesn't Listen

I can only remember two times in my life when my father physically disciplined me.  Once was when I refused (as an obstinate ten year old) to play the piano for some guests when we were visiting my grandparents' home.  He told me in a whisper that he would settle up with me when we arrived home.  I hurriedly got into bed upon arrival at my house, but he didn't forget his promise.  The other time was when I disrespectfully talked back to my mother at the dinner table.

I believe I can remember these so vividly not because my father was excessive in his discipline but rather because he rarely used this approach.  It wasn't because I was a model child either, but rather he was a model father - a father I really didn't fully appreciate until much later in life.

My father, I was later able to realize, was a true image of what God our Father is.  In the Book of Chronicles we read:

...All the princes of Judah, the priests and the people added infidelity to infidelity, practicing all the abominations of the nations and polluting the Lord's temple which he had consecrated in Jerusalem.  Early and often did the Lord, the God of their fathers, send his messengers to them, for he had compassion on his people and his dwelling place.  But they mocked the messengers of God, despised his warnings, and scoffed at his prophets....   (2 Chron. 36: 14-16a)

Even after all of their sins, as we know, God brought them back from exile.  John tells us in his Gospel that: God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.  (John 3: 17).

Why do we need to be saved?  It is because of our basic human condition which is one of sin - sin which some writers have referred to as idolatry.

What are our idols?  Is out idol perhaps money?  Are we so caught up in possessing as much of the world's goods that we can amass that we lose sight of more important things?

Maybe our idol is sex and sexual gratification.  Do we exploit other human beings in our attempt to satisfy our own urges, or do we respect the sexuality of others?  Is our idol power?  Do we enjoy lording it over others and having the ability to make people do just what we want without concern for their feelings?  Or perhaps our idol is righteousness.  We can really do no wrong; it's only "those" people who are always to blame for whatever isn't right.

God calls us to repentance, something we should think more about during this season of Lent.  All he asks of us is to allow him to be what he wants to be in our lives.  The Chronicler understood God's mercy.  John reminds us that "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son" to be our salvation.

 

One of my favorite Scripture stories is the parable of the Prodigal Son.  A few years ago I cam across a poem by someone entitled Sometimes God Doesn't Listen.  I cannot give the proper credit for it, but I think it well describes how our God acts toward us:

The Prodigal prepared a speech:

How awful he felt about himself; what awful things he'd done.

Then he planned to start it:  "I don't deserve to be your son."

But his father threw his arms around him, interrupted him.

"You're back!  Let's throw a party!

Thank goodness sometimes God doesn't listen.

Is the World Coming to an End?

In the thirteenth chapter of the Gospel of Mark, we read the following:

Peter, James, John  and Andrew asked him privately,  "Tell us...what sign will there be when all these things are about to come to an end?  Jesus began to say to them,  "...When you hear of wars and reports of wars do not be alarmed, such things must happen, but it will not yet be the end.  Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom.  There will be earthquakes from place to place and there will be famines.  These are the beginnings of the labor pains....But in those days...the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not gives its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.  (Mk. 13:3b-5a; 7-8; 24-25)

Given the events of these past few months with one of the hardest winters that we have experienced in some time, with floods and snow and ice storms, and with the serious devastation caused just a week ago today by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan followed by problems with the nuclear power plants in that nation, can we expect some to wonder if these things are harbingers of the coming of the end of the world?  We know in the past that such events or an event like the ushering in of a new millennium have triggered speculation and even strong belief on the part of some that the world's days are numbered.  No one really knows when the world will come to an end - even Jesus himself stated that he did not know the time (as we read later in the same chapter of Mark):  But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.  (Mk. 13:32)

I certainly don't know when the end will come but I don't believe it is anytime soon.  We have yet to see the sun and moon lose their light or the stars falling from the sky.  But perhaps this is a good time to ask a question:  What kind of world are we leaving for our children and grandchildren?

We hear a lot of talk about the environment and what should be done to correct situations affecting our earth - the earth about whom St. Francis of Assisi (the patron of ecology) said:  Be praised, my Lord, through our sister Mother Earth, who feeds us and rules us, and produces various fruits with colored flowers and herbs.

How long will Mother Earth be able to sustain us if we continue to abuse the resources God has given us in the earth?  We hear about "climate change" and some still hold out the belief that it really has little significance.  How they can still feel this way is beyond me after we have witnessed the shrinking of the polar ice cap and the results of this in the wide variety of weather we have so recently experienced.

We need to educate our people and our children as to how the resources of the earth are finite and need our constant attention and concern.  In 2002, a declaration on the environment was signed by His Holiness Pope John  Paul II and Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople.  It would be well to heed some of the statements made in that declaration:

We are...concerned about the negative consequences for humanity and for all creation resulting from the degradation of some basic natural resources such as water, air and land, brought about by an economic and technological progress which does not recognize and take into accounts its limits....

If we examine carefully the social and environmental crisis which the world community is facing, we must conclude that we are still betraying the mandate God has given us: to be stewards called to collaborate with God in watching over creation in holiness and wisdom....The problem is not simply economic and technological; it is moral and spiritual.  A solution at the economic and technological level can be found only if we undergo, in the most radical way, an inner change of heart, which can lead to a change in lifestyle and of unsustainable patterns of consumption and production.

Similar concerns were echoed by the bishops' conference of England and Wales when they said:

Now...life-sustaining mechanisms are breaking down through pollution and abuse.  In many places fresh water once teeming with life is dead, beautiful coasts have been turned into sewers, fertile soil lies barren or has turned into desert.  Forests, often described as the lungs of the earth, are reduced to wasteland, and cities are choked with smog.  Emissions of "greenhouse gases" continue to affect the atmosphere in ways that threaten the balance of life on the planet.

What can each of us do to create a healthier environment?  We can begin with simple things like recycling instead of just tossing everything we no longer use into the garbage to be taken to landfills that are bursting.  We can encourage our government officials at the state and national levels to put into place laws and practices that will help make our environment a healthier place for all of us.  We can move toward, in the words of our present Holy Father, Benedict XVI:  ...more sober lifestyles and a rediscovery of the "moral dimension" of development.  He states that this development must be ...founded on the dignity of the human person and oriented toward the common good.

We need to take a new look at the environment and how we need to help it continue to sustain a good life on this planet.  We owe this to our children and grandchildren who will inherit what we leave behind.  But even as witness the devastation that has recently engulfed Japan, we can be heartened by the words of one who has lived through it and has shared some of her thoughts with family and friends.  She says:  ...Somehow as I experience the events happening now in Japan, I can feel my heart opening very wide.  My brother asked me if I felt so small because of all that is happening.  I don't.  Rather, I feel as part of something happening that is much larger than myself.  This wave of birthing (worldwide) is hard, and yet magnificent.

When he hear an expression of hope such as this coming from within great devastation, we can be heartened that there can still be a future for this wonderful world - this gift of Mother Earth from our Creator.  Perhaps we can send prayers to God through the intercessions of the patrons of ecology - Francis of Assisi and Kateri Tekakwitha.  Let us pray that our children and grandchildren will know a better and cleaner and healthier world in the future.

The Breadth of a Blog and a CMT Update

Today's post covers two areas: how far and wide a blog can reach and an update on CMT (Charcot-Marie-Tooth Syndrome).  They are not necessarily connected but since I wanted to say something about each I figured I'd just use one post.

First - the breadth of a blog.  When I began my blog in September of 2010 I had no idea of the extent to which it would reach.  Since that time people have logged on to one or another of my blogs over 950 times but the places the blog has reached has truly astounded me.

It is humbling to know that my words have reached four continents and over a dozen countries.  The blog has been read not only in the U.S. and Canada but has reached as far as China, South Korea and the Philippines.  It has also been seen in Germany, the U.K, Italy, Israel, Zimbabwe, and Russia among others.  I hope that the readers have found something of either interest or help in the thoughts that I have shared.  I welcome all of those readers into my "family" and hope they will continue their interest in my blog.

Second - one of my earliest blogs had to do with CMT (September 22, 2010).  CMT is a degenerative neurological muscular disorder affecting over 150,000 persons in the U.S. and many beyond its borders.  One of those who lives with this disorder is my younger daughter.  It is a disorder that is not always diagnosed (in fact it took almost twelve years before someone diagnosed my daughter as having CMT).  There is currently a drive on to have September named as CMT Awareness Month in the U.S.  Last year they had a week dedicated to awareness and the national CMT association wants to expand this so that more can be learned about the disorder and further research can be done to hopefully find medications that will assist the afflicted and God willing an eventual cure.  My early blog is still receiving attention - only today someone logged on to learn more about CMT.

For a more thorough discussion of CMT and to see how one person lives with it and tries to maintain a positive attitude in life, I highly recommend my daughter's blog - Grace Lines.  It can accessed by going to: atticusmom1.blogspot.com.  My daughter has been living with the effects of this disorder for almost the past 27 years yet she continues to amaze us with her upbeat spirit and wonderful sense of humor (so evident in the various posts she has made to her blog).  Give it a read; I invite my readers from all those far-flung places in the world to read her work.

If you have been blessed with good health, remember those who daily struggle with all forms of diseases and disorders both mental and physical.  And perhaps in September (and even any other time) you may think of those dealing with CMT and offer a prayer for them.  God bless.

Lent 2011 - What's In It For Us?

Another Lent is upon us.  On Ash Wednesday we go to church and receive the ashes on our foreheads as a reminder of our mortality and our sinfulness.  We are again asked to use this holy season to evaluate our lives and see what course corrections may be needed.  As a youngster I didn't like Lent.  It was always a time when we were asked to "give something up."  And it was usually something we liked to do or have very much (candy, movies, etc.).  As I have grown, however, I have come to realize the gift that the season of Lent is for us - a chance to make a "40 day retreat" with the Lord in preparation for remembering the great events of his passion, death and resurrection.

This past weekend's Scripture readings (the 9th Sunday of Ordinary Time) had to do with building our spiritual life and journey on a solid rock foundation.  In the homily delivered at my parish, my longtime friend, Fr. Jim Mackey, spoke to us about building this foundation and reminded us that as Lent was coming in a few days we could use that holy season to stablize that foundation in three ways: almsgiving, prayer and fasting.  I would just like to share a few thoughts about each of these.

Almsgiving:  I don't know about you but I receive almost daily requests for donations for a variety of charities - many or most of them very worthy.  It is not possible to give to all and we all make certain decisions regarding what charities we will support.  In these difficult economic times, however, if we are able to give from our bounty we should consider giving to those who are most in need in our society - the poor, those with varying degrees of mental and physical disabilities who find it hard to find work, victims of oppression and abuse, etc.  This list can be exhaustive but if we can take some of our fortune (if we have been blessed with it) to help others, it is a good way to enter into the spirit of the season and give something of ourselves.  One of the most traditional ways we have in our Church is through Operation Rice Bowl which sees to the needs of the hungry and poor throughout the world.  Rice bowls can be obtained at any of our parishes during this season.

Prayer:  We are encouraged to "pray always" and not just at this time of the year.  But Lent does give us the opportunity to perhaps strengthen our prayer life.  There are so many ways in which we can enter into this spirit of prayer during Lent:  more frequent attendance at Mass (during the week when possible), reading the Scriptures of the day, finding daily reflections on the various websites that can be found on the Internet among others.  There are also many things to pray for: certainly peace in the world particularly in those areas affected by war and turmoil, for freedom from oppression for those people living in countries where freedom is abridged, for the safety of the men and women in our armed forces, for our families and for good health.  Each of us can find those areas for which prayer is needed and this season gives us the chance to increase our prayer life for whatever intentions we have.

Fasting:  The Church asks us to abstain from meat on two important days in Lent - Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.  Many dioceses also request their members to continue the age-old practice of abstaining from meat on the other Fridays in Lent.  As I was growing up meatless Fridays were the norm not to be changed until the Second Vatican Council when we were asked to voluntarily practice fasting and abstinence instead of feeling compelled by the notion of sin if we did not.  Obviously abstaining from meat does not become a hardship if one enjoys in its place a fine lobster dinner (unless you are seriously allergic to shell fish).  Then it is not really a sacrifice - the abstaining from meat is just a reminder that our Lord gave of himself wholeheartedly by going to the cross for our salvation.

It is interesting what can happen even economically by this practice of abstinence.  I am reminded of a story told by a priest friend of what happened one Ash Wednesday in Washington when he was a seminarian.  A group of seminarians went to McDonald's for lunch and, of course, ordered the fish sandwich.  They were told to go to a special line which took up a good part of the restaurant.  His comment was:  "That day we brought McDonald's to their knees."  I'm sure that places like McDonald's realize that they had better stock up with more fish at this time of the year.

Fasting or limiting our food intake is asked of people between certain ages (not the very young or very old).  While it may be good for our health and help us slim down, the primary reason for asking for this sacrifice is to remind us again of what God has done for us and how we can benefit from giving up something and not becoming too attached to any one thing.  Other ways of fasting, of course, can include giving up things we like very much (certain types of entertainment, smoking, etc.).  We can also consider giving up some habits which may have become a part of us - do we tend to gossip;  do we tend to put ourselves forward rather than giving way to others, etc.  All of these are ways we can use this holy season to prepare ourselves for the great celebration of Easter.

May we then use this sacred time to come closer to our God and rejoice in the salvation won for us by our savior Jesus Christ.  May God grant you a blessed Lent!