Saturday of the Third Week of Lent - March 30, 2019

-

Hosea 6:1-6  Luke 18:9-14

My New Year’s resolution in 2019 is to read the bible from cover to cover.  As I was reading the Noah’s Ark story in Genesis, I wondered about our own fate in these current times when devastating weather anomalies beset us, political issues divide the country and senseless mass shootings happen on a regular basis.  Are we any different from those people in Noah’s time that were killed in the flood?  Then, I think about the conversation between God and Abraham, when Abraham asks God if he will destroy Sodom even if there are 50, 45, 40, 30, 20, or 10 righteous people left there.  God responds that, even for the sake of just ten righteous people, He will not destroy it.

Let us return to the Lord. (Hosea 6:1)
Like the Israelites in Hosea’s time who sought material possessions, worshiped idols and moved farther away from God, we too can become spiritually apathetic.  I think Lent is about returning to the Lord with our heart rather than our deeds. God gives us SO much. We need to be grateful for everything with which God has blessed us, even the challenges.

When you awake in the morning, put your feet on the floor and thank God for the beautiful day ahead – for the body he has given you, for the food in your kitchen, for the job that supports you, for the family that greets you and the thousand other things God gives us. Thank Him from your heart for the love he bestows on us.

For it is love that I desire, not sacrifice, and knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. (Hosea 6:6)
All God asks in return is to love Him; really love Him, above all else, and to love and treat each other with dignity and respect. This is the first and greatest commandment that Jesus proclaims in today’s gospel. I pray that we all come to know and love our Father God through our Lenten activities and that we experience His love forever.

Q:  How have/will I show my love for God and others today?


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Monday of the First Week of Lent - March 11, 2019

-
Leviticus19:1-2, 11-18  Matthew 25:31-46 As I read my assignment for today, I felt relief. I knew these readings; I could relate to them. I had heard them multiple times and thought that I understood them well. The first reading from Leviticus tells me to love my neighbor as myself and to judge my neighbor justly. I know this! I believe this in my head! I often find it difficult to carry out, but I do believe it. Today’s gospel, Matthew 25, many of us know well through readings, songs, and social concerns committees, "Whatever you do for one of the least of …mine, you do to me." Feed the hungry; give drink to the thirsty; welcome the stranger; clothe the naked; comfort the sick; visit the prisoner. We try to do these things in our life. I decided to read our parish book, Stranger God by Richard Beck, to see how it could expand my understanding of Matthew 25 – and expand it did! After I read the book, I realized that I had been reading Matthew 25 literally. ...
Read more

Fifth Sunday of Lent - March 26, 2023

-
Isaiah 43:16-21 Philippians 3:8-14 John 8:1-11 Unfortunately, I am able to easily say that death is the most significant image that is present in my life at this time. My wife of 50+ years died approximately 2½ years ago. My wife was a seriously  committed Catholic and she was able to accept her death after an illness of less than 2 years. She said, “Jim, I am ready.” I think a lot about what “ready” means and what it meant to Kathy! Clearly, Kathy thought that she had accomplished a full life of being a mother to our children, being a loving and faithful wife to me, and being an active and meaningful friend to the people she met and the organizations she assisted and contributed to. She was at her best when assisting “others.” Probably the biggest contribution Kathy made to me and our children was that she has made it easy for us to face our own deaths because she was “at peace” with her imminent death; and yet she showed us a graceful way to handle the process and demonstrate tha...
Read more

Annunciation of the Lord - March 25, 2021

-
Isaiah 7:10-14; 8:10 Psalm 40:7-8a,8b-9,10,11 Hebrews 10:4-10 Luke 1:26-38 In the Responsorial Psalm, I hear these words, “Here I am Lord, I come to do your will,” and I immediately begin to hum the song we hear so often during mass: “Here I am Lord, here I am, I come to do your will.“ As I begin each day at my kitchen table reading the daily scriptures, a reflective app on my phone, and the daily devotional Jesus Calling, I sit in joyful hope, waiting to hear what God has to say to me. Although I don’t believe I will ever hear the enormous call that our mother Mary heard in the Annunciation of our Lord, I do try every day to listen and hear what God is calling me to do as a humble daughter, sister, wife, mother, and friend. I feel all are called according to God’s plan in small and large ways; the trick is recognizing the signs when God is calling us. It is easy to get lost in all the “have to-dos of the day” in our crazy busy world. Today, let us start by asking Him to guide us to re...
Read more