Ebb and Flow

Ebb and Flow

"The one who drinks of the water I will give will never be thirsty"

Gospel for the Third Sunday of Lent: John 4.5-42

Today we heard the encounter of Jesus with the Samaritan woman. Please click on the link above and prayerfully read the passage from John's Gospel. 

For me, this is encounter reveals the depth of God's mercy made flesh in Jesus Christ. All barriers that were prominent in Jesus' time were broken by that mercy:

• the cultural barrier of a man in conversation with a woman alone;
• A Jew speaking to a Samaritan;
• the religious barrier of where one must worship

What is striking about the conversation is that it is the Samaritan woman who brings up the barriers, but Jesus continues to move the dialogue deeper. "Living water" is beyond culture, religious ritual or gender inequality.

Jesus is offering her living water. He offers her new life.

And in the ebb and flow of the conversation Jesus doesn't give up. Even when she doesn't get it. ("Sir give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty, or have to keep coming to draw water...)

Finally, the woman admits to faith that the Messiah is coming, one who "will proclaim all things to us". At that moment, Jesus reveals to her that he is the Messiah.
She drops everything and runs home to proclaim the news, news that she herself does not fully understand. ("He can't be the Messiah, can he?") 

This is the ebb and flow of conversion.
Like the Samaritan woman, we put up our barriers, mostly ones that are propped up by selfishness and ego, that keeps us from freely submitting to God's mercy.
Maybe we feel we don't deserve the living water that is life in Christ. Maybe we feel we are too far gone.
But God, in his infinite love, knows the ebb and flow of our hearts. And he is there for us, waiting for us to return again to him.

And that is why, as Catholics, we celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation, especially at this time during Lent. In the Archdiocese of Edmonton, we had a day of Confession last Tuesday. And there will be celebrations of Reconciliation is all the parishes in the coming weeks as well. Take time to celebrate this sacrament.
Consider the ebb and flow of your spiritual life during Lent. And prepare to drink of the living water, a new life in Christ, this Easter!
 
  

Mountain View

Mountain View

"This is my Son, the Beloved, with him I am well pleased; listen to him!"

Gospel for the Second Sunday of Lent: Matthew 17.1-9

Some of my most memorable holidays have been in our beautiful mountain parks. As a casual hiker, there is nothing more spectacular than gaining a little altitude and admiring a scenic vista atop a mountain. The air is crisp, and you breathe deeply, taking in the scent of cedar and pine. High up, there is the sound of the wind through the valleys; or perhaps a wondrous silence. You look to the horizon, and like Peter in today's Gospel you can help but say, 

 "It is good to be here" 

Sometimes we can experience the "mountain view" in our spiritual lives as well. I'm thinking now of friends and former colleagues who are just returning from the Religious Education Conference in Anaheim, California. I have attended that conference five times, and every time I would come away feeling alive in faith and spiritual wholeness. And the people- over 35,000 Catholics praying, attending workshops, and sharing their faith! It's the "mountain view", the same one we can experience attending a World Youth Day, or a parish retreat, a 50th wedding anniversary or an Easter Vigil. Your soul says

 "It is good to be here" 

But there's a problem.

We have to get off the mountain sometime. 

We come back to "reality".

This is something of what happens to Peter, James and John, when they get a "mountain view" to end all mountain views- Jesus- "his face shone like the sun and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him"  Their appearance reminds us of the pillars of the Old Covenant - the Law and the Prophets-basking in the glory of the New Covenant, Jesus. Peter clearly doesn't get what is being revealed, all he knows is what he feels- that this is what heaven must be like...

And he doesn't want it to end...

He decides that they will stay on the mountain, who knows for how long???

"While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said ' This is my Son, the Beloved, with him I am well pleased; listen to him!'"

NOW, Peter, James and John are "overcome with fear". But seeing Moses, Elijah, and a transfigured Jesus didn't frighten them???? 

Was it the sound of God's voice? Certainly. Moses himself had the same reaction when he encountered the Lord on Mount Sinai.

But I think there was more to it than that.

The Father has told the disciples to listen to Jesus. What does that mean???

It means "take up your cross and follow me." 

It means "give up your possessions and follow me." It means "lose your life to save it."  

It means " Eat this bread, drink this cup, and do this remembrance of me."

It means "Come, let us go to Jerusalem"

For us as disciples, when we truly listen to Jesus, we may be overcome with fear!!

 But Jesus tells them on the mountain, as he would tell them after the Resurrection,

Be not afraid

Every "mountain view" in our spiritual journey will ultimately lead us to hear the call to conversion, which is at the heart of our Lenten journey to Easter.

And conversion is not easy. In fact, it's scary.

 With open hearts, we can hear another call, another voice.

The voice of Jesus who says

"Be not afraid"

And we can go down from the mountain, with a new view.

A view of ourselves as a new creation. 

 

Lead us not into temptation....

Lead us not into Temptation...

Gospel for the First Sunday of Lent: Matthew 4. 1-11

As Christians, our core prayer for over two thousand years has been the "Our Father", the prayer Jesus himself taught us. Yet have you ever thought deeply about the petition, "lead us not into temptation"? Does it seem strange that we should be asking God to keep temptation away? Wouldn't God do this out of his love for us? 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains that the Greek verb is a little tricky to translate- the Greek means both "do not allow us to enter into temptation", and "do not let us yield to temptation". The Catechism goes on to say that "we ask him not to allow us to take the way that leads to sin. We are engaged in a battle 'between flesh and spirit'; this petition implores the Spirit of discernment and strength".

The battle is very real; and we can look to Christ Jesus as the model for resisting temptation. And by looking at today's readings, we can deepen our resolve to avoid sin and turn to God.

With the Genesis account of the fall of Adam and Eve, (Genesis 2. 7-9, 16-18, 25; 3.1-7) we are witnesses to the first temptation- to be like God and be without Him. We recognize this sin of origin to be one that is inherently lacking in trust of a loving and faithful Creator. The union was breached, and sin entered the world.

The second reading from Paul's letter to the Romans (5.12-19) beautifully unites the story of the Fall with the story of our Redemption in Jesus Christ: "For just as one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous." 

 And so we come to the account of Jesus' fast in the wilderness. He has come, remember, right after his baptism in the Jordan, and is now preparing for his mission. Satan arrives and offers three temptations. There have been countless interpretations of the meaning of these three, and one of the best I've come across is by Richard Rohr, OFM, in a Lenten Anthology God For Us.  Fr. Rohr explains them this way:
The three temptations here in Matthew are the universal temptations to three abuses of power:
1) the misuse of social or cultural power (turning stones into bread in a way that would be spectacular and draw attention to himself);
2) the misuse of religious power (to stand on the parapet of the temple and to quote scripture for his own purposes);
3) the misuse of political or dominative power (looking down at all the kingdoms of this world from a high mountain position)
Throughout the temptations, Jesus reveals himself as the "new Adam", obedient to the Father's will. He comes out of the wilderness, abiding in this Love.

 For us... The temptations of Jesus are our temptations as well. To abuse whatever power we have: as spouses, parents, teachers, managers, workers, religious... whatever our vocation, we can misuse our power, or throw our power away (another misuse!). If we allow our egos and desires to get in the way, we fall into the great temptation of being our own god. During this Lent, take time to reflect on how you may be tempted to misuse the power and gifts given to you. And pray fervently to the Father that He will
... lead us not into temptation.

Lent: "Spring Training"

Lent: "Spring Training"

Gospel Reading for Ash Wednesday: Matthew 6.1-6; 16-18

When I was at the ACSTA's Symposium on Catholic education two weekends ago, I had the privilege of being at a table with Bishop Fred Henry of Calgary. Before the sessions started we were chatting about how can we best bring the Good News to people of today. Bishop Henry told me about an interview he had with a reporter, who didn't get why we "do Lent" (as an aside, the reporter told Bishop Henry that he was a Catholic!).

Bishop Henry said something like this:

"Look at it this way. It's just like spring training. Every year, the ball teams go down to the Southern USA with a few extra pounds, some rusty skills and some bad habits. Spring training gets them ready to be the best they can be for the season ahead.

That's what Lent does- by following the disciplines of Lent, we become better prepared disciples to celebrate the glory of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus. It gives our bodies, minds and souls a "spring training"

What a great metaphor for Lent! Thank you Bishop Henry!

So what are these "disciplines" of Lent?

There are a lot of excellent resources that explain why them. I suggest you read this article that I found from the National Catholic Register. It gets at the heart of the three disciplines: Praying, Fasting, and Giving Alms.

The three disciplines have been around way before the time of Jesus, and simply put, they help remind us of our own weaknesses and sinfulness. By fasting, we are reminded that we are not controlled by our own desires, and we have the capacity to give up a "good" for a "greater good"- life in God. We intensify or increase our prayer time, reminding us that to live in God's love, we need to listen to His voice. Finally we decrease our material wealth, and our egoism, by giving of our time, talent and treasure to those less fortunate than we. We are stewards of our wealth, not owners- giving reminds us of that.

In the Ash Wednesday Gospel, the "kick-off" to our spring training (oops, I mixed sports metaphors here!!), Jesus gives us an important warning- the disciplines are meant to put a hold on our pride and ego, not intensify it. Unlike spring training camp, where the sports media watch every move, the Lenten disciplines are a call to humility- to be loud and proud about the disciplines is, as Jesus says, what the hypocrites do. 

It is a delicate balance- on the one hand, you should explain what you are doing during Lent to children and other seekers as a way of sharing your faith, but on the other hand you don't want to trumpet your efforts. So be "pure and humble of heart" and you can't go wrong.

Some considerations as you begin your lenten journey:

Here are some tips to think about for a great spring training:

1. If you pray only in the morning, or at night, do both.

2. Pray, out loud, a blessing before each meal. Here are some great prayers before meals.

3. If you give something up for Lent, and "break" your promise, don't give up! Start again the next day

4. Find a book on spirituality, prayer, the life of a saint etc. and read from it every day.

5. Read the Gospel reading of the day during Lent. At this site, you can get it e-mailed every day.

6. If you have ab I-pod, I phone etc., try "Pray as You Go."

7. Go to confession. This year, the Archdiocese of Edmonton's Day of Confessions is March 18th. Check you local parish for the times

8. Also check your parish for extra prayer events. At my parish we'll be having the Stations of the Cross every Friday, followed by a Fish Fry put on by the Knights of Columbus. Prayer and Fellowship- doesn't get better than that!

9. Besides giving up food, why not try to "fast" from impatience? Gossip? Worry? These are tough, but the three disciplines will help.

10. Above all, journey this Lent with a joyful and humble heart.

Happy Spring Training!