3rd Sunday of Lent

Complaining Ex. 17:3-7

What is it about human nature that likes to complain?

We complain about the weather.

We complain about waiting in line.

We complain about the traffic.

And I am not even going to mention how we complain about the Bishop or the President!!!

And yet with all of this complaining,

Does the weather change?

Does the line move faster?

Does the traffic flow better?

Complaining really does absolutely nothing,

Except……..Get ourselves worked up.

But What if Michael Jordan complained that practice was too hard?

What if Albert Einstein complained that school was boring?

What if Jesus complained that the cross was too heavy?

The Israelites complained that there was no water in the desert.

They had forgotten how God set them free from slavery.

How God split the Red Sea for them

How God gave them Manna in the desert to eat.

Instead they complained that the God who had done all these great things

And Who was leading them to a land flowing with Milk and Honey

Was going to leave them to die of thirst in the desert!

Rather than remember all that God had done for them and was going to do,

They chose to complain there was no water

And all that complaining only made their mouths drier!!

I too have been known to complain at times.

But I find when I complain too much or too loudly

I can’t hear what God is trying to tell me.

I have found that Trusting in God gets me a lot farther than Complaining.

Sometimes the weather is not what I want.

And the line is too long and the traffic is not moving

But when I remember all that God has done for me.

And all that God will do;

And I complain a little less

And Trust a little more.

And that is all I need to get by.

Friday 2nd Week of Lent

 

Let us kill him Gen. 373-28

Joseph’s brother were jealous of him;

Jealous of the love his father showed him;

Jealous of his multi colored coat;

Jealous of his dreams.

So they wanted to kill.

This is what jealousy does.

It seeks to kill anything anyone who has more

Than we do.

Who is different than us.

One cannot kill jealousy.

It only comes back to life bigger and stronger than ever.

Rather than being envious about what another person has,

Rejoice in that God has made you a totally unique individual.

And no matter what another person has.

They will never be like you!

Thursday 2nd Week of Lent

 

The Chasm Lk. 16:19-31

There is a chasm in the world today.

Just look at our world today…………

the political divide in politics and religion.

And the chasm between us just grows wider and wider.

In the Gospel we see the chasm between the rich man and Lazarus.

A chasm between the table where the rich man ate,

And the floor where Lazarus begged.

What chasms exist in our life?

In our families, our church, our society?

Where do we need to reach out to others?

With a helping hand or kind word.

The rich man only had to reach down from the table to give Lazarus some food,

And we may only need to reach out a helping hand or say a kind word to bridge the chasm in our world.

Or else like the rich man we may find ourselves sitting on the wrong side of the chasm wishing that we had reached out when we had the chance.

Wednesday 2nd week of Lent

 

Waiting to catch him. Jer. 18:18-20

The chief priests we waiting to catch Jeremiah in his speech,

So that they could condemn him.

Waiting for anytime he might accidentally misspeak

Are we like Jeremiah the prophet and try to share the word of God with others,

Or are we like the chief priest waiting to catch others in their speech when they make a mistake?

Nowadays chief priest are everywhere

Waiting to catch people when they make a mistake in their speech in politics, social issues or religion.

Only the devil lays snare in which to catch others,

While it is God who sets us free from the snare of the hunter.

Tuesday 2nd Week of Lent

 

Practice what you preach. Mt. 23:1-12

Everyone has heard the phrase practice what you preach.

Therefore we must ask ourselves what is it that we preach?

Do we preach mercy,

Then we must practice mercy.

Do we preach forgiveness

Then we must practice forgiveness

Do we preach God is love,

Then we must practice love of neighbor.

Do we tell others what to do,

Then we must practice doing it ourselves first.

Do we preach about sin,

Then we must practice to be holy.

Before ever a word is on our lips;

We must first put it into practice in our own lives first.

Monday 2nd Week of Lent

 

Stop Judging; Stop Condemning Lk. 6:36-8

Anyone can point out the faults and sins of another.

It does not take a rocket scientist to do that.

But to stop judging and to stop condemning

It takes a saint to do that.

Because Saints understand no one is perfect.

Saints understand everyone struggles in one way or another.

And saints understand that when we are merciful,

is when we are most like God.

That is why Jesus said,

Be Merciful as your Heavenly Father merciful. Lk. 636

2nd Sunday of Lent

 

The Transfiguration

We are made up of Body and Spirit.

So let’s take a look at how we care for each side of ourself.

First our body.

We often eat three times a day with snacks in between.

How many pairs of shoes do we have?

How many pairs of pants? Shirts?

People color their hair and whiten their teeth.

They exercise and diet to make themselves healthier.

People now not only play sports but there is Xtreme sports to push their bodies.

They wear Make up and jewelry to make themselves more attractive.

Tanning booths, spas and gyms to pamper the body.

People eat and drink and do all sorts of things to indulge their bodies.

Taking care of our bodies is a multi billion dollar industry

And takes up much of our time.

Now let’s look at how we care for our spiritual side.

Less than one third of all Catholics go to church for 45 minutes once a week.

Some people say Grace before meals.

How many people pray every morning and evening?

How many say a rosary daily or once a week?

Is our physical side and our spiritual side out of balance?

Jesus was Transfigured on Mount Tabor.

He let His spiritual side shine through.

That was where His true glory and beauty was.

And He shone like the sun!

If we let our spiritual side shine through for all to see.

What would it look like?

Lent is a time to shift our focus

From the physical to the spiritual.

It is only 5 weeks;

Most people will go back to focusing on the physical the other 47 weeks of the year.

But the physical will fade like the grass of the field

And turn to dust one day.

It is our spiritual side that will remain.

Will it shine like the sun for all eternity?

Or be barely noticeable?