4th Sunday of Lent

What does God look for in a person? 1 Sam. 16:1-13

God was looking for a king to replace Saul. 

So He sent Samuel to Bethlehem to the house of Jesse. 

Now Jesse had 8 sons. 

Some were handsome;

Some were intelligent;

Some were popular;

But he chose none of them. 

God chose David;

David was the youngest;

He Had not learned life’s lessons yet. 

David was a shepherd;

Powerful, rich and successful people did not herd sheep. 

David was naive. 

He thought he could kill Goliath. 

David was an adulterer. 

He had relations with Bathsheba 

David was a murderer 

He killed Uriah the husband of Bathsheba. 

In spite of all of his shortcomings and sins,

Why did God choose David?

Because David loved the Lord. 

Despite his flaws David had a sincere and contrite heart. 

And as St. Peter said,

“love covers a multitude of sins.” 1Pt. 4:8

The world may not notice us;

Or think we are important or valuable. 

And we may have sinned;

But If we love God;

We are exactly what God is looking for!

3rd Sunday of Lent

Empty Buckets. Jn. 4:5-42

Every morning the woman came to the well with an empty bucket to fill it up

And at the end of the day it was empty;

So the next morning she would get up and take her empty bucket back to the well and fill it up again. 

Day after day;

Week after week;

Month after month. 

Until Jesus came and offered to fill it to overflowing for her. 

At first she did not understand. 

She thought that Jesus was going to fill the bucket in her hand with water

So that she would not have to keep coming back. 

But Jesus was offering to fill the emptiness of her heart. 

We get up every morning and take our bucket and off to work we go to fill it 

Only to find it empty the next morning. 

And so day after day;

Week after week;

Month after month;

We get up every morning and fill our empty buckets. 

But do we ever feel satisfied. 

Are the bucket of our hearts ever filled with what makes life worth living and working for?

Only Jesus has that kind of water. 

Ask Him for the life giving water;

And He will fill the bucket of our souls to overflowing. 

First Sunday of Lent

Sell your soul!

For What would you sell your soul ?

Most people would say that they would not sell their soul for anything. 

But is that true?

Would you sell your soul for a cure for cancer?

Would you sell your soul to end poverty?

Would you sell your soul to end all wars?

This is what the devil offered Jesus;

“Just sell me your soul, Jesus

And I will end world hunger;

I will make you King so that you can end all wars;

I will make you Lord of all so that you would not have to serve anyone but yourself.”

Jesus however knew that selling His soul for these things was not worth it. 

Because everything in this world is passing away and the soul is Eternal. 

The devil often does not ask us to sell our souls. 

He usually just wants pieces of it. 

So he offers us pleasure and power and money and other things. 

And slowly piece by piece he gains our souls. 

And so slowly we die, little by little so that we do not even notice it. 

Do not give in to the temptation as appealing as it may sound. 

It is fools gold,

And not worth our soul!

Thursday after Ash Wednesday

Choose Deut. 30:15-20

Moses told the Israelites to Choose!

Choose either to follow the Lord or not. 

To keep His commandments or not. 

Ultimately it is a choice between life and death. 

Because when we choose to follow someone other than the Lord they always lead us down the wrong path. 

When we choose not to keep the commandments of the Lord

We become slaves to our choices 

The choice is ours. 

To follow the Lord and keep His commandments and live

Or not and eventually die. 

It is amazing how many people choose not to follow God and His commandments 

Who choose death anyway. 

And then they wonder why their lives have turned out the way they did. 

Ash Wednesday

The ashes of our sins

Sometimes we don't notice our sins

We do not notice our pride, our anger, our selfishness, or how we treat other people

And our ashes are a visible reminder of those sins

The ash of pride

The ash of anger

The ash of selfishness

When we receive the ashes on our forehead;

They are a visible reminder of our sins. 

The sins that we do not always notice. 

And while we sometimes like to see how long they last;

We need to remember why we are receiving them;

And get rid of them as fast as possible. 

Homily for Tuesday 6th week of Ordinary Time

 Mardi Gras

Today is Mardi Gras, also known as Fat Tuesday. 

It is a day in which we consume as much as we can before we start the season of Lent. 

At first it seems to make a lot of sense, because Lent is a time of prayer and fasting;

A time of self denial. 

The only problem is for many people in the United States and other countries, everyday is Mardi Gras. 

We have become a consumer society 24/7. 

People consume everything from food to fashion to gadgets. 

What we fail to realize is that the consumer is the one really being consumed. 

Our cravings  are consuming us!

Lent is a time of physical, emotional and spiritual freedom. 

Through Prayer, Fasting and Self Denial we take back control of our life and are no longer consumed by our cravings, addictions and desires. 

No longer consumed by our anger, our selfishness or our past. 

This Lent  we should try and consume as much Prayer, Fasting and Self Denial as we can and so that at Easter we will be free to  experience our own resurrection. 

Monday 6th Week of Ordinary Time

The Testing of Faith James 1:2

Every teacher tests the knowledge of their students. 

Every coach tests the skill of their athletes. 

And so God tests our Faith!

For by the testing of our Faith

Our Faith is revealed and strengthened. 

And God tests our Faith by various trials. 

Are we up to the challenge?

How do we prepare for these tests of our Faith?

Through daily prayer and following the example of the saints who passed these tests and trials of their Faith with flying colors and who won the crown of victory.