5th Sunday of Lent

If Only.       Jn. 11

Tuesday

“If only!"

Who has not said these two simple words at some time or another in life?

And if you haven’t, you will!

If only I had not said that. 

If only I had not done that. 

If only things had turned out differently. 

If only I could do it over.  

Martha had her "if onlys" too. 

Her brother, Lazarus had just died. 

“If only I had noticed how sick Lazarus was. 

If only I had not waited?

"If only Jesus had been here." She said to herself. 

She had seen His other miracles. 

She saw Him raise up the daughter of Jairus. 

She saw the blind see and the deaf hear and the lame walk. 

So when Jesus came down the road, she ran up to Him and said,

"If only you had been here, my brother would not have died."

So Jesus looked at Martha and told her that her brother would live again. 

And he did!

Because Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life. 

And Martha's "if only" disappeared as she placed her trust in Jesus. 

We can spend our lives saying "if only." 

Haunted by the past and what we could and should have done to make things different. 

Or like Martha we can bring our "If Onlys" to The Lord. 

And let Jesus take care of our "if onlys!"

And if we do..........

Then one day all of our "if onlys" will disappear in the light of Him Who is the Resurrection and The Life.  

Friday 4th Week of Lent

The Innocent are Condemned Wis. 2:12-22

In our legal system we believe that the innocent are set free and the guilty are condemned. 

Is this always true?

Jesus was innocent but condemned to death. 

So Do not be surprised when the innocent are 

tested, treated unfairly and condemned. 

For this is the way of the world and godless. 

When Jesus was unjustly condemned. 

He entrusted Himself to His Father

For God is the Just Judge Who will set things straight

And will vindicate the Innocent and condemn the guilty. 

St. Joseph

So many of us want to know what God can do for us. 
But all St. Joseph wanted to know was
What he could do for Mary and Jesus?

Joseph reminds us that true fulfillment is not in getting but in giving. 

Joseph was a father to Jesus;

Guiding and teaching Jesus in His youth. 

Joseph was a Provider

For Mary and Jesus. 

Joseph was a Carpenter who labored and put a house over the head of Jesus 

And Joseph was Protector;

from the persecution of Herod. 

And Joseph is the Patron of a Happy Death, 

For as Mary and Jesus gathered around his death bed, 

Jesus whispered in his ear;

“Do not worry, I am the Resurrection and the Life.”

When our day comes;

Joseph will visit us on our deathbed

And whisper in our ear,

“Do not worry,

My Son is the Resurrection and the Life.”

Wednesday 4th Week of Lent

 My Father is at work. Jn. 5:17-30

Jesus tells us that His Father is at work. 

And what is His work?

God the Father's work is never done. 

He is always creating. 

Creating new life from the smallest creature to the infant in the womb. 

Creating new planets, stars and galaxies. 

Creating plants and flowers and trees; 

Creating rain in the heavens to water them. 

It is a lot of work to keep the earth going let alone the universe!

God the Father is constantly watching and working. 

He watches over His children. 

He works daily at creating a world for them to live in and explore and grow. 

God the Father is actually very busy at work. 

And all He does is for us, His children!

Thursday Second Week of Lent

Feast of St. Patrick

When People think of St. Patrick they think of shamrocks, green beer, parades and snakes. 

But the real St. Patrick 

Was a slave captured by Irish raiders;

And became a shepherd on a cold and windswept hill in Ireland. 

How does one go from being a slave who herds sheep;

On a forgotten hill,

On an island

On the farthest edge of the known world,

To one of the most famous people on the planet?

Well when the God who took the form of a slave,

And died on a hill

In the backwaters of the Roman Empire 

Calls you in a dream to come. 

Anything is possible. 

Patrick faced slavery;

Cold and isolation;

Betrayal by his best friend;

Went back to the land of his slavery;

And Risked imprisonment and death;

And converted an entire country. 

How did he do it?

Because he had Christ. 

As he wrote:

Christ was on his left and on his right. 

Christ was above him and below him. 

Christ was within him and all around him. 

Christ was in the face of every person he met. 

Christ was his Shield. 

He was surrounded by Christ. 

And when we surround ourselves with Christ

There is nothing we can’t do!

Monday 4th Week of Lent

Signs or Faith ? Jn. 4:43-54

There are those who seek signs

And then there are those who do not,

Because they have Faith.  

Those who seek signs are never satisfied. 

They are always seeking after another. 

Filled with doubts about the sign they saw. 

Wondering 4th week of lentWhether it was real or not. 

The royal official had Faith. 

And because he did, Jesus healed his son who was dying. 

Signs are like the weather always changing;

But Faith can weather any storm. 

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.