Dad’s Lenten Blog

Thoughts during Lent

Each day during Lent, I’ll try to put some thought for you all to read. Just little nuggets about our faith. I’ll keep them very brief!

  • The greatest yes

    Their are times in your life, many of them just fleeting moments, when you’re asked to do something that is either uncomfortable, inconvenient, or just plain hard. Each of us has a story. At one time or another we had to make a decision. Yes, or no. Sometime today I want you to close your eyes and picture this scene: In a small ancient town, there is a small, nondescript house. Inside, there’s a young girl, maybe 13 or 14 years old. I’d like to believe she’s praying.

    All of a sudden, there’s an intense light. A man appears in the room. She is very frightened. The man kneels at her feet and bows his head. His words, “Hail Mary, full of Grace!“. Just imagine for a second what it would’ve been like for a young girl back then to experience this. Then, on top of this frightening moment, the man tells the young girl that she has been chosen by God to give birth to the savior of the world, the Messiah, the Christ, Jesus.

    Above all else, this young girl must have been so confused and fearful. How could she explain this? What would she tell her fiancé, Joseph??? What thoughts must have been racing through her mind. What would her response be???? I believe all the angels heaven stopped at that moment and were listening and hoping. She had free will to say yes or no. This was the moment that would change everything, forever. Her response: “Behold, I am the handmade of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word“.

    At that moment, heaven must have rejoiced. This young, simple, and innocent girl from a small, poor, insignificant town loved God and trusted Him. Today, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Annunciation. Today we celebrate like the angels did at that moment. Why? Because Mary said Yes.

  • The biggest purchase

    What was your last big purchase? Maybe a trip? The clothes that you wanted? A house? Think about what you had to sacrifice to be able to spend that money. In the end, we all hope it was worth it. It’s called value. And the more valuable something is to us, the more we are willing to sacrifice to obtain it.

    Sometimes, I like to think about Jesus life before He started his ministry at the age of 30. We have to remind ourselves that Jesus always knew his divine nature and therefore knew what came before him, and what was coming in the future. As we get closer to Easter week and the Passion of Our Lord, we can reflect on just how crazy those days were in Jerusalem. After all, Jesus spent three years healing hundreds, raising people from the dead, doing miracles beyond imagination witnessed by thousands.

    And just days after he entered Jerusalem as a great prophet to cheers and rejoicing, he would face the worst possible experience anyone could imagine. And yet, He did it. Of His own free will. You see, He loves us so much that He was willing to give the greatest sacrifice, His life. Sacrifice for what?? It is only by His suffering and dying on the cross that He purchased for each of us the path to heaven and eternal life. That purchase was for the debt of our sins. The price…. His death on the cross. How could any of us ever feel worthy enough for that generosity?? The thing is, we can’t. But it does make me realize just how much he loves me and you. What is the value of a soul? For Jesus it was……. The biggest purchase of all.

  • How did he do it?

    How did he do it? How in the world did he do it? Mary would’ve been about 15 years old when they were engaged. I can only imagine how beautiful she would’ve been. Imagine with the singular grace she received from God, never having sinned in her whole life. When Joseph laid eyes on her for the first time, I can’t imagine what he must’ve felt.

    Sometime during their engagement, Mary conceives Jesus through the Holy Spirit. Immediately following that moment, Mary goes to her cousin Elizabeth to take care of her during the later stages of her pregnancy. I can imagine that Joseph took Mary to Elizabeth to protect her along that journey. So he is working hard and anticipating marrying this beautiful girl. But when she returns three months later, she is noticeably pregnant. What could possibly be going through his mind? I can’t even imagine the anxiety, the questions, the doubt.

    He went from being on top of the world to distressed beyond belief. I like to think that he decided one night to pack up his things and just leave and travel to a far off place never to be heard from again so that Mary’s virtue would be protected. How much did Joseph pray during those trouble moments? How many times he must’ve said to our Lord “what should I do?” And then, Joseph gives us perhaps the greatest example of trusting in God. In a dream, an angel tells Joseph to not be afraid, to take Mary into his home, and that the baby, Jesus, would be the savior of the world. And what does Joseph do? He trusted in God’s will and took Mary as his wife and raised Jesus as his son.

    Each time we hear of Joseph in the Bible, he is undergoing some incredible test. When Mary is nine months pregnant, they must make the journey to Bethlehem. And then, upon arriving, having no place to stay. Joseph must’ve felt like a failure as a protector and provider, especially knowing who Jesus was. When they presented Jesus to the temple, Simieon the priest foretold that Jesus would suffer, as would Mary. Can you imagine Joseph’s reaction? Yet he persevered. Soon after Joseph would have to take Mary and the baby and flee in the middle of the night to Egypt. Joseph had to provide for his family in a strange place, probably without any tools.

    Maybe the one that gets me the most is when Jesus is separated from Joseph and Mary. They searched for Him for three days!!!! Can you even conceive of the stress and anxiety that Joseph must have felt? Joseph was one of us. And he gives us the greatest example of trusting in God’s plan. He had to abandon his will to trust in Gods. That’s how he did it.

  • Front of the line

    Sometime ago I was told the story of a woman who had visions while she was in Mass. She could see all the supernatural things happening as the Mass went on. Well, as you know, this is one persons experience and we do not have to believe it. But something she saw really affected me.

    It was during the Presentation of the Gifts. When the bread and wine and the offerings are brought to the priest. Of course we are usually singing the Offertory Hymn. But it was in this moment that she saw something extraordinary. Directly behind the people who bring up the gifts was a line of many, many angelic figures. It was the Guardian Angel of every person in that church.

    In the front of the line, a handful of these angels were joyful and looking towards the altar. In their hands were golden chalices. In those chalices were gifts of prayers and petitions of those individuals in their care that were in the church that offered them at this Mass. As the passed, the angels placed their chalices at the foot of the altar. In the middle of the line, were another handful of angels walking up to the altar. In their hands were much smaller chalices, likewise containing prayers. Their faces were stern as they looked toward the altar. As they passed, theytoo, placed their small chalices at the foot of the altar.

    In the back of the line is where most of the angels were. Something looked very different about them. They were empty handed. Their heads looked down, with sadness, to the ground as they passed by the altar with nothing to offer. You see, the first Guardian Angels had chalices filled with prayers and petitions to offer Our Lord. The second group with smaller chalices only had a few tokens of prayer and petitions. But at least there was something. Then the last group, the bigger group, they had nothing to offer.

    How did this affect me? It was pretty profound! And I will say that, at almost every Mass now I will always try to tell my Guardian Angel to for offer this to Jesus. First, I thank God for all my blessings, which includes all of you. Second, I try to recall my sins and ask for forgiveness. Third, I pray for or ask for whatever intentions are on my mind. And Fourth, I resolve to do better! And then I ask my Angel to place those on the altar. This just takes a few moments, and it has the effect of settling me into the Mass. Sometimes I’m distracted and forget and then the Offertory starts and I try to do a quick one. (no ones perfect :-). Whether it is truly happening or not, I just love the thought that my Guardian Angel is at the front of that line.

  • Don’t tell anyone

    I have often wondered why after Jesus healed someone, he charged them not to tell anyone. The leper, the blind men, the mute man, the father of the daughter he brought back to life, and even the demons He cast out who knew who he was. Why?

    Many scholars can espouse on this better then me. Why all the miracles and then the command not to let anyone know about it? Wouldn’t that draw people to Him. Wouldn’t that make people believe?

    I think the truth lies in our hearts. What is more important? Jesus the miracle worker or Jesus the Savior. Perhaps the reason was that he wanted His message, His teachings, His mission to be front and center. First and foremost….. faith. If we got what we wanted all the time, every time we asked we would be like spoiled children. His actions always were driven by an increase in faith and sometimes our hearts are so hard that only a miracle can break through. 

    I like to think about this from the perspective of the hemoraging woman who touches His cloak. She is healed. And He says to her,”Your faith has healed you”. This is the point.  His message is clear. He has come to heal, to cure. But not in the way that we think. He came to heal hearts. To show us the path to heaven. 

    All His words, all His teachings, all His parables, all His actions lead us to transform our lives. To believe. To have faith that we are loved and through Him we have a path to heaven. 

    If all people thought about was Jesus working miracles or that Jesus was the Messiah would they hear His message? If they weren’t cured would they walk away disappointed or worse? He taught to love our enemies… wasn’t the Messiah supposed to deliver Israel from the hands of the Romans??

    All His words, His Gospel message lead us to one place. We pray with fervor and hope. And when we do, miracles of all sorts small and large come to us. But it is those personal miracles that only we can see that strengthen our faith. 

    So for three years He performed all kinds of miracles, Turning water into wine, healings, razing people from the dead, feeding thousands, on and on. There is no question in my mind that all of those people absolutely told people. When the blind man who could now see or the paraplegic walks around. People could see and ask how did this happen? Wouldn’t they seek out the man who had done this? 

    Who would have thought in a million years that the man with the message of love, of hope, of forgiveness,  would be tried, tortured and nailed to a cross? The miracle worker could not save Himself. How confused everyone, including the disciples must have been???? How their faith would have been tested. How did those miracles look now with Jesus hanging on the cross?

    But then…….. the Resurrection. He conquered death. He defeated sin. He completed His mission. 2000+ years later, for you and me. His words, His message, His teachings are the most important things. Lasting and unfathomably deep. Certainly miracles are all around us. But it demands from us what He wants the most. Faith. 

  • Waiting

    Something struck me at Mass on Sunday. It was the Transfiguration gospel. It was when at that when at the top of the mountain Elijah and Moses appeared in front of Jesus, they began to speak to each other. We are not told of the conversation.

    Here’s the thing. There were no mortal souls in heaven. Every human being ever born from the beginning of time was waiting for the Resurrection of Jesus to enter to heaven. There is only one way to heaven and that is through Jesus Christ. So all the souls of those who had departed the earth were waiting, anticipating, hoping and I have to believe, praying. So what could’ve been this conversation between Moses and Elijah and Jesus? Neither Moses or Elijah were in heaven. They must’ve known that Jesus’s mission was unfolding. That heavens gate would soon be opened.

    There was a famous visionary named Anne Catherine Emmerick in the 17th century who is had visions of the Passion of Christ. Much of Mel Gibson’s movie was based on those visions. In one story I had read, Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane and, as we all know, in great anguish of about what was going to happen. She described her vision and said, “Jesus, in his great agony, turned and saw the multitude of souls on their knees, praying for Him.” I don’t know why that is always stuck with me when I picture Him there in the garden, but it has. He knew He would be abandoned by his closest friends and followers. The pain and burden about to placed on Him. Maybe that sight fortified Him in some way.

    How many hundreds or thousands of years were those souls anticipating this moment not fully understanding its magnitude. From the simplest of people to the great prophets. Maybe Jesus told Moses and Elijah to go back and tell all the souls to prepare.? Where did Jesus go for three days between His death and Resurrection? We say, in the Creed, that after his death, he descended into hell. But it is not the hell of eternal damnation. It was the dwelling place for those souls. All the souls who had been waiting.

  • Freedom

    I saw a bird the other day. It flew up with a little branch in its beak. It looked around and flew away. It occurred to me that this little bird was  really free. It was free to fly where it wanted and when it wanted in the direction it wanted to go and where it wanted to land. It was free to decide where it wanted to build a nest. But yet, it has instincts. Innate. The instinct to eat to drink and to build a nest to lay eggs. 

    I thought to myself what it doesn’t have is will. What is the difference? We have similar instincts; when we’re hungry, we eat, when we are thirsty, we drink. These are innate  to all of us. But what sticks out is the difference between me and the bird, and that is will. 

    I can decide what I want to do and when I want to do it, I decide to stand up. I decide to sit down. I can decide to go work out. I can decide to do many things. It’s these decisions that make us different from all creatures. Ultimately it is the freedom of Will.

    When God created us, He gave us free will. The ability to choose. We are not robots or slaves. It’s the ultimate act of love. When God created the angels He gave them free will. The free will to choose love, to choose God. It was free will that let Satan and all of the fallen angels to choose pride over God. Likewise for us, He gives us freedom. The freedom to choose. Freedom is not a right it is a gift. The gift of free will.

    When I think of Jesus in the garden, hunched down. Sweating blood from anxiety. It makes me really pause. His whole life on earth had come to this. He knew what He was about to endure. He had the freedom of choice. He had healed the sick, raise people from the dead, walked on water, calm the oceans and storms. Certainly He could choose a different path. But He didn’t. 

    Instead, with full knowledge of what it’s about to happen He united his will with God’s will. He chose to save me. To save all of us. God did not make Him choose. He did not force Him. In the greatest act of love, Jesus willed himself to walk the path to the cross.

    We cannot forget that He was a man. Flesh in blood just like us. What could it be like to take on the sins of all mankind? It’s an unfathomable burden that we can’t even contemplate.When they ripped the flesh from his body, He could have made them stop. When they placed the cross on his shoulders He embraced it. It was his choice. His will.

    And where did He get His strength from?  It came from God’s love for us. He loves us so much that He gave his only Son so that we could be with Him forever. Jesus united His will with His Father.

    The bird can fly where it wants but is driven by instinct. I can decide where I want to go but I am driven by will. If I can just unite my will with God’s will, then I know the path will lead me to heaven. It’s not easy, there are many burdens, many crosses, many temptations. But we can will ourselves to pray, to go to Mass, to go to confession, to offer up our problems and weaknesses. And the more we decide to do those things, we all know, the closer we get to clarity, to peace, to His will for us.

    Just think how precious this gift is. It is the gift of love. It the gift of true freedom.

  • What is that feeling?

    It’s not something you can really describe to someone.

    The moment you receive Absolution from the priest in confession. When he says ” and your sins are forgiven, in the name of the Father and the Son and Holy Spirit, Amen ” Something changes inside of you. Is it a lightness? A feeling of gratefulness maybe? A sense of peace? But whatever it is, it is very real.

    We call it a “Signal Grace”, because it is a clear and present sign of Christ in our lives. It’s not a physical sign, no, but every bit as much real. We confess our sins.

    But it is not the “Sacrament of Confession”. It is the Sacrament of Reconciliation. I love that notion. It is our choice to sin, the things we have done or failed to do. And sin separates us from God. We all know that feeling. When your prayer life is low, when you just can’t seem to say a prayer. You go through the motions.

    That’s why I love the beauty of reconciliation. By seeking out the confessional we are the ones who are trying to reconcile our lives with Him. Isn’t it amazing that He is always waiting for us, with open arms, with joy that we returned.

    I think that is why we have that feeling afterwards, we can feel His joy. One of my greatest memories is watching each of you go to confession and come out, one by one “with souls as white as snow” !! Smiles all around.

  • Now that is a sacrifice

    I have always wondered about St Peter. Being a husband, a father and a provider I have always questioned how he could do it. The real sacrifice he had to make. I have always struggled, admired, contemplated and reflected on Saint Peter’s decision. So without quoting scripture, the story goes that he was out fishing all night and caught nothing. We fisherman know how that feels. And so he brings his boat ashore and is most likely putting up all of his equipment. And then Jesus walks up, looks at him and tells him to put out a little and put your nets in. If I was Peter, I would be like “I’m exhausted, there is no bite, I wanna go home and sleep!” But of course, Jesus must’ve been very convincing.

    So Peter obeyed him and put his nets back out. You know the story, the nets filled with so many fish that it almost sunk the boat. But it’s what happens next. Saint Peter recognizes that Jesus is something beyond words, something truly holy. “Depart from me Lord, for I am a sinful man.” These were Peter’s words. Jesus didn’t choose a highly exalted righteous educated man. He chose this working man, more than likely, rough around the edges.

    “Come, follow me…. and I will make you a fisher of men.” And so Peter left his boat and nets and everything behind and followed him. Wait a minute…… what???

    He left everything he worked for his whole life, he left his wife and maybe his children??? His friends?? His home?? Now that is a big decision. I can’t imagine the sacrifice. Not just for him but also his family.

    But I always come back to this. That sacrifice beared so much fruit. That “Yes, I will follow you”, though it must have been so hard, resulted in the foundation for Christ’s church on earth. 

    So in your lives remember that even the smallest sacrifices will bear fruit whether you see it or not! St Peter, Pray for Us!!

  • Lent and me

    I was sitting in Mass today after receiving ashes and thinking “what is Lent?”

    Lent actually means “spring”, which is kind of interesting. Coming out of winter to the rebirth of life all around us…. The analogy to the Jesus’s death and His Resurrection on Easter is clear.

    We all know that Lent is a time for Prayer, Fasting and giving Alms. We give up things or try to add good things to our lives. All good and important stuff.

    But then I started thinking deeper. What is Lent to me? Why do I feel called to make this a different time?

    I was staring at the Crucifix high up on the alter when it occurred to me.  Jesus suffered the worst kind of death, torture, humiliation, abandonment, unimaginable pain.  Not just for all of us… but for me.

    Some piece of that suffering belongs to me. Why? Because He loves me so much that He wants me to be with Him. He has given me a chance. He loves me so much that He took on all my sins, everything that I have done and will ever do. All He asks in return is that I ask for forgiveness.    How is that even remotely fair?  He gave His life and that is  what he wants in return?

    And then I started thinking. If I really believe that, then when was the last time I thanked him for it. When was the last time we sat down and had a real heart to heart. Sure, I pray a lot, but most of my prayers have something to do with asking for something. I’m talking about a real two way conversation in prayer.

    That’s when it occurred to me that maybe this was supposed to be the meaning of Lent.  He is calling me into a deeper relationship with Him. And how do I get there? Through two way prayers, listening in silence and quieting my mind. Listening for his voice. Opening my heart to the Holy Spirit. And doing active things, like- Reading  snippets of Scripture and the many assorted books and writings all around me; Contemplating the Saints I love; Really attending Mass. Not just being there. We are called to fast at certain times but I want to skip a meal or meals to feel that hunger pain, not to be exalted in some way, but as I reminder of His sacrifice.

    What is Lent —-  All focusing on one thing. Putting Jesus at the forefront of my life. Making Him my best friend, my Savior. And somewhere in each day of this Lent … remember the sacrifice He made for me.