Friday

3rd Week of Lent,Friday

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Today’s readings remind us that it is hard to love into a vacuum. Hosea in today’s First Reading encourages Israel to turn back to the Father who has loved them so much and still does. All they have to do is say those simple words that heal so many wounded relationships: “forgive me.” We suffer because of our sins, and we blame God’s punishment for the suffering, but we have to realize that the suffering is self-inflicted. It is no coincidence that the Sacred Heart is depicted as a wounded heart; he wounded at seeing us wound ourselves and each other.

It is achieving a deeper understanding of the love God has for us that enables us to love him with our whole heart, soul, mind and strength, and to truly love our neighbor. Loving is the greatest appreciation we can show to God for his love for us. The scribe in today’s Gospel rightly sees the superiority of love over many other religious practices. In fact, religious practices become exactly that due to the love behind them. When Our Lord encourages the scribe by saying he is not far from the Kingdom of God he is also encouraging us to remember that if we achieve love, often an arduous conquest, we’re one step away from every good thing Our Lord wishes for us and for the world.

Let’s live these last few weeks of Lent with an ardent desire to take up again the arduous conquest of love. God will never disappoint us.

Readings: Hosea 14:2–10; Psalm 81:6c–11b, 14, 17; Mark 12:28–34. See also 9th Week in Ordinary Time, Thursday and 20th Week in Ordinary Time, Friday.

chastity

2nd Week of Lent, Friday

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All Lenten resolutions involve some form of healthy self-detachment: detachment from our preferences and “personal” time (prayer), detachment from the things that tickle our fancy and our appease our appetites (fasting), and detachment from our possessions and time for the sake of others (almsgiving). Today’s readings remind us what happens when we don’t: we forget that everything we have is a gift from a loving Father, we get caught up into a distorted sense of entitlement, and suddenly anyone who may make a move on what we consider “ours” is a threat to be eliminated. This is covetousness and envy: wanting something so much that you see another’s gain almost automatically as your loss, and would rather have it that nobody possesses that good if you can’t have it.

In today’s First Reading little Joseph received a love from his father that his brothers envy. When he falls into their hands the first thing they do is strip him of the very tunic his father bestowed on him as a sign of his affection. Even as they cast it aside and mistreat their brother they don’t think about the fact that the tunic, which represents that special relationship between Israel and his son Joseph, doesn’t “fit” them. They have also received so much from their father, but that doesn’t matter; they want what doesn’t belong to them, so they don’t want Joseph to have it either. This story is a pre-figuration of Christ’s reception when he is sent by the Father. The parable of the wicked tenants in today’s Gospel is a way of teaching the Pharisees that they had fallen into a warped sense of entitlement over something that didn’t belong to them: the People of God. So when the Son comes on behalf of the true “owner” of the People of God they’re going to reject him and kill him thinking that somehow everything will then return to normal. Our Lord today through the parable is prophesying the outcome of their covetousness and envy: everything they thought was theirs will be taken away and given to those who’ll be worthy stewards of God’s gifts.

As we make an extra effort at healthy self-detachment during Lent we feel more deeply the things to which we want to attach: people, pleasures, possessions, positions of power. Take stock of these attachments and ask Our Lord to help you see the blessings and gifts you have received in your life as exactly that, and not focus in an envious way on what he has bestowed on others.

Readings: Genesis 37:3–4, 12–13a, 17b–28a; Psalm 105:16–21; Matthew 21:33–43, 45–46. See also 9th Week in Ordinary Time, Monday.

1st Week of Lent, Friday

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Giving alms in its most traditional form consists of helping the poor and the needy in some way, but in today’s Gospel we’re reminded that our charity toward others can be a Lenten almsgiving that is just as pleasing to Our Lord. Just as we lavish a meal, some clothes, or some other necessity on the poor we can lavish mercy on someone we feel has wronged us. It’s easy to settle for just not physically harming someone who has crossed us, or maintaining an angry distance and silence, but Our Lord warns us that is a very superficial attitude that doesn’t entail reconciliation.

In many cases in which we estrange ourselves from God, we estrange ourselves from others. Two effects of the sacrament of Reconciliation are reconciliation with God and reconciliation with the Church. Our Lord reminds us today that this reconciliation is a two-way street: we can ask ourselves how reconciled we are with God if we haven’t reconciled with others. This provides food for thought when we have that moment of silence in the Penitential Rite at the start of every celebration of the Eucharist: do we need to reconcile with someone, whether as the guilty party or as the victim? This isn’t necessarily “feeling it”: if someone hurt us, or we hurt someone else, the wounds remain, and the pain continues even after they’ve begun to heal. Sometimes it is impossible to even find the other person again to try and reconcile. Rather than a feeling, it is a question having a firm spiritual resolve and attitude, despite adverse sentiments, to forgive or to make amends whenever possible.

Lent is an apt time for taking stock of whether we need to reconcile with anyone. Our Lord came and suffered the Passion to reconcile us with Our Father and with others. Let’s welcome his mediation in any disputes or feuds we’ve had by working and praying for the grace of truly forgiving and seeking forgiveness from those with whom we’ve been at enmity.

Readings: Ezekiel 18:21–28; Psalm 130:1–8; Matthew 5:20–26. See also 10th Week in Ordinary Time, Thursday.

4th Week in Ordinary Time, Friday

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In today’s Gospel we’re reminded that it is pointless to kill the messenger once the message has already been delivered. As Herod starts to hear about Our Lord he sees the message he’d first heard on the lips of St. John the Baptist coming back to haunt him, so much so that he thinks Jesus is John himself returned from the dead. Mark felt obliged to explain why Herod was so interested in Jesus, probably because Herod usually didn’t show must interest in anyone.

Herod’s “wife” also thought that by killing the messenger she could erase the message. As Herod himself learned, once something is said, it’s hard to ignore or retract. He made a foolish promise in front of all the powerful people who mattered to him, and Herodias trapped him and got what she wanted. John didn’t return from the dead after his martyrdom, but his message never died. In fact, it lived on, because it was the truth and the truth can never be erased. People try to forget the truth at times, but it doesn’t take long for something to arise and remind them of it.

Let’s not be shy about communicating hard truths, because we know the truth not only sets us free, but can liberate others as well.

Readings: Sirach 47:2–11; Psalm 18:31, 47, 50–51; Mark 6:14–29. See also 17th Week in Ordinary Time, Saturday, Passion of St. John the Baptist, and 25th Week in Ordinary Time, Thursday.

3rd Week in Ordinary Time, Friday

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Today’s First Reading reminds us that if, as we saw yesterday, we’re expected to shine before Our Lord, sin makes us want to keep things in the dark, but our conscience keeps a blazing spotlight on the wrong we have done. David should have been out on the military campaign with his troops, but instead he stays back and fools around with another man’s wife. Maybe he thought it would just stay as a one time fling, but she becomes pregnant. He tries to cover it up by making her husband Uriah go visit home when Israel is at arms, but Uriah doesn’t go. So instead of coming clean and bringing things to the light, he has Uriah killed in combat as another way to cover up what he has done.

Uriah, without saying a word or knowing anything about what happened, filled David with shame. Uriah had been faithful to his wife and his king. He had gone out in campaign when Israel had needed it, and he did not think of himself when visiting home. He wanted to show David his loyalty and fidelity by not going home to be with his wife when David and Israel needed him ready for battle. He probably did it also out of solidarity with all his brother soldiers who didn’t have an opportunity to be with their loved ones. His noble example screamed at David showing him everything he was supposed to be as king. Uriah’s reward was being murdered.

We’ve all had moments when our conscience has tried to be our guide, but we have ignored it. We’ve all had moments when someone’s good example has reminded us of how bad we’ve been. When we sin we betray our conscience, and it reminds us as we keep sinning that we’re only digging a deeper hole for ourselves until we come clean. Ask Our Lord for the grace to come clean and seek his mercy in the sacrament of Confession and your shame turn into peace of soul.

Readings: 2 Samuel 11:1–4a, 5–10a, 13–17; Psalm 51:3–7, 10–11; Mark 4:26–34. See also 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B and 30th Week in Ordinary Time, Tuesday.