Wednesday 1st. Week of Lent

 The Prayer of King David. Ps. 51

After King David committed adultery and killed Bathsheba’s husband Uriah he repented. 

He prayed that God would wipe out his offense. 

And wash him from his guilt. 

And give him a new heart and a new spirit

And not cast him away from His presence. 

For rather than slaughtering bulls and goats to offer for his sins,

David knew that what God wanted from him was a humble and contrite heart. 

When we sin, We may not sin as seriously as King David,

But hopefully our hearts will be as humble and contrite as David’s  when we do. 

Tuesday 1st Week of Lent

The Lord’s Prayer. Mt. 6:7-15

Jesus tells us not to babble like the pagans who think that their many words will be heard. 

So when we pray the Lord’s Prayer,

Do not Babble!

Pray the prayer slowly. 

Meditate upon the words. 

Put them into practice. 

Seek first the Kingdom of God

Desire to do God’s Will and not your own. 

Forgive as you want others to forgive you. 

Then your Heavenly Father who knows what you need  even before you ask,

Will know that you are praying from your heart and not from you r lips

Monday 1st Week of Lent

 Be Holy!  Lev. 19:1-2,11-18

At every Mass we cry out

Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God of Hosts. 

This is why the Lord told Moses and He also tells us to 

‘BeHoly as the Lord your God is Holy”

So what does it mean to be holy?

It means not to steal or lie or gossip. 

Do not be dishonest and to act justly. 

Do not slander or stand by idly while you neighbor is in need. 

Do not bear hatred for others and take no revenge. 

And never hold a grudge. 

This is the way of the world

And it is not found in Heaven.  

And if we want to enter Heaven then we must not do these things

And be Holy as God is Holy. 

First Sunday of Lent

Repent!  Mk. 1:12-15

Everyone talks about how God is Love.

And God is!

But sometimes they use it as an excuse to do whatever they want. 

And what they do is not loving in the end. 

It is selfish. 

No one however seems to quote Jesus saying,

“Repent!”

But He did!

And why did He tell us to repent?

Just look around. 

Division, anger, war, violence, lust, greed, injustice are everywhere. 

God may be love but we are not!

This is why Jesus tells us that we must Repent!

We may say to ourselves,

“Why do I have to repent?  I am not that bad.”

But Are we really as good as we think we are?

Sin blinds us. 

We do not always see what we do and do not always hear what we say. 

Lent is a time of honestly asking ourselves 

“What have we done and what have we failed to do?”

The Kingdom of God is at hand 

And there is no room for selfishness of any kind. 

No room for greed or lust or jealousy or pride. 

For Only those who repent of these things can enter the Kingdom of God. 

Friday after Ash Wednesday

 Empty prayers and worship Is. 58:1-9

The Israelites fasted and prayed in the temple but God did not answer their prayers. 

Why not?

Because after they prayed, they took advantage of the poor and weak. 

They argued and fought among themselves. 

And lived lives of greed and lust. 

If we want God to hear our prayers and notice our fasting

Then our actions must reflect our words. 

If we pray for Mercy, forgiveness, compassion and help. 

Then we must offfer these same things to others. 

Then the Lord will grant them us when we call out to Him. 

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. 

Who choose death anyway. 

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

Ash Wednesday

Before Lent,

Everyone tries to figure out what they should give up. 

Or what more they can do. 

But before one can make this decision,

One must ask oneself,

What will make me a better Christian?

This is what we must we must ask ourselves BEFORE we choose our Lenten Penance.

Will giving up certain food really make me a better Christian?

Then we must ask ourselves,

Will it endure past Easter?

For what is the point of striving to become a better Christian,

If we go back to our old ways after Easter?

Then everything we will have done during Lent

Will have been in vain.

Maybe the best Lenten resolution we can make. 

Is to resolve to ask ourselves every day of Lent 

What will make me a better 

Christian today?

And then do it!

And every day strive 

To be la little more like Christ

And by being more like Christ

We and the world in which we live will be transformed.