law of the lord
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Law of the Lord is Perfect

The other night friends and I were enjoying dinner and lively conversation.  The topic turned to sharing stories about the childhood antics of our children who are now all young adults.  There was a healthy dose of nostalgia at the table as we recounted stories from their toddler and grade school years.  It was such a joy to share those memories while appreciating the fine people our children are today.

On this first Monday of Lent both readings focus on the rules God calls us to live by.  While these rules are easy to agree with it, it can be a challenge to live each of them out every moment of every day.  My daily Examen prayer gives me insights to when I live as God has called me to live and when I have failed.  Looking at missed opportunities or times I was neglectful or retributive can leave me overwhelmed and unsure of what to do to live the life God asks of us.

As I pray with today’s readings I am thinking back to my children’s preschool days about which my friends and I had been reminiscing.  When my daughters were in preschool they were taught a program called HALO, Healthy Alternatives for Little Ones.  All of the lessons focused on people making healthy choices rather than harmful choices.  Wearing a helmet when riding a bike is a healthy choice.  Smoking a cigarette is a harmful choice.  That model helped them, and our family for that matter, view behavior with compassion and always strive to make the better choice.

Today’s Psalm helps give me encouragement to revisit what God is asking of me:
The Law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul
The decree of the Lord is trustworthy, giving wisdom to the simple
The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart
The command of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eye

Rather than worry if I am going to be judged as a goat or a sheep, I can pray for the wisdom and insight the Psalm assures me is there in the Law the Lord. When I open my heart and realize I am a loved sinner I can much more easily live as God is asking me to live.  Engaging from a place of compassion for myself and others sets a foundation for loving my neighbor as myself.  Richard Rohr in Falling Upward has helped me appreciate how my failings are helping me grow in my “second half” of my life.

This Lent I will dig deeper with my Examen prayer to appreciate the bright spots and to search for what I can learn from my sin.  Now that seems like a healthy choice.

Mary Lee Brock joined the faculty of Creighton University’s Werner Institute as Clinical Program Chair in 2009.  For the ten years before coming to Creighton she was the founding executive director of Concord Center, a non-profit mediation and facilitation center serving the Omaha area. 

The Midwest has always been home for her.  After living in St. Louis and Minneapolis she moved back to Omaha about 20 years ago.  Becoming an active member of St John’s parish was one of the first things she did when she got to town and her life has been so much richer for it;she is grateful for the friends and the faith developed at St John’s. She’s also blessed with loving family and loyal friends and the occasional rough patch to keep it real.  Membership in two book clubs and long walks on the Field Club trail add to enjoyment in life.

1 day
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Sharing Our Lenten Journey: ODB Films

We’re always looking for great Catholic content to share with you. “Great” certainly describes ODB Films; they take the Faith seriously, but also believe that art is very important. They’ve created a film series, “A Lenten Journey,” that is unique and, we believe, well worth your time. It’s great for discussions from teens through adults, families, small groups or individuals. (If you’d like to follow the entire journey, may we suggest that you go to ODB Films and become a Partner? It’s free.)

On the first Friday of Lent 2017, we are happy to present, That 1 Day. (After you’ve watched this, one of the questions ODB asks us to reflect on is this:  Do you know Christ’s life, His sufferings, and what He did for you out of total love?)

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Allow Yourself To Be Changed This Lent

[During Lent, Diocesan Publications offers daily Lenten reflections from a variety of guest bloggers. To receive these in your mailbox, please fill out the “Subscribe” box below the post. May you have a blessed Lent! – Editor]

 

Here we are one day into Lent! Some of us really know how to conquer Lent and don’t have a problem with it, while the rest of us lowly individuals probably forgot yesterday that bacon does in fact count as meat. I place myself in that final category.

I have always struggled with Lent, but I think that’s because I grew up with a misunderstanding about what Lent really is. I grew up thinking that Lent was a time to suffer, to give up the things we love, and to be miserable for the sake of being miserable. I think anyone with a brain would detest this idea of Lent and while Lent may include suffering and sacrifice, it is really about change.

Just as we have seasons throughout the year we also have seasons in the Church. I know that every year I get excited for fall. The leaves change, it gets a little colder, there are more bonfires, and I love Halloween and Thanksgiving. But the thing I love most is the changing color of the leaves. Every season brings with it some sort of change and whether we like that change or not, it helps bring us to the next season.

For example, I am not a huge fan of winter, but winter has to come in order for us to get to spring. It has to freeze so that eventually it can thaw and allow the trees to bud and bring about beautiful fruit. Sometimes we have to go through something that may not be ideal in order to get to the things that really make us joyful.

It is the same with Lent. Some of us may not be particularly fond of the sacrifice and struggle that comes with Lent, but the more we allow ourselves to change throughout this season, the more fruitful we will be in our daily lives.

Although sacrifice may sometimes hurt, it ultimately makes us stronger and brings us to greater joy. Instead of going into Lent with a negative attitude about sacrifice, let’s all look to the sacrifice of the cross and be thankful that Christ was willing to give the ultimate sacrifice in order that we might be changed.

“Jesus Christ has taken the lead on the way of the cross. He has suffered first. He does not drive us toward suffering but shares it with us, wanting us to have life and to have it in abundance.” ~St. John Paul II

“If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” ~Luke 9:23

 

 

Change LentTommy Schultz is a full time speaker who was most recently the Director of youth and young adult ministries for the Diocese of Baker, OR. As an experienced speaker on all things Catholic, he has addressed thousands of teens and young adults on topics such as the Sacraments, chastity, and boldly living the Catholic faith. He has given many talks and hosted retreats across the nation. Driven by his passion for Theology of the Body, Tommy studied at the Theology of the Body Institute and has spoken at numerous Theology of the Body conferences. From 2012-2013, he served as a missionary of purity, speaking to over 20 thousand youth about the message of purity across the state of Pennsylvania. He is also a founder of the Corpus Christi Theology of the Body campus organization at Franciscan University. To book Tommy for an event or for further information please visit www.tommy-shultz.com.

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Now Is The Acceptable Time

[Beginning today, Diocesan Publications offers daily Lenten reflections from a variety of guest bloggers. To receive these in your mailbox, please fill out the “Subscribe” box below the post. May you have a blessed Lent! – Editor]

 

“Even now, says the Lord, “return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning; Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the Lord, your God.” These words from the prophet Joel in today’s first reading stood out during my morning meditation, more specifically, the word, ‘heart.’

Clearly, the Lord wants us to surrender our “whole heart” to bring about radical conversion during our Lenten journey. Conversion happens individually, in community, and through the Sacraments. On Ash Wednesday “we assemble the elders and gather the children and infants.”  With hungry hearts we come together and acknowledge our sinfulness, “a clean heart create for me, O God and a steadfast spirit renew within me.”

Renewal, reconciliation and gratitude are essential elements in our relationship with Jesus and one another. As we sit with gratitude at the feet of the Master, His peace “will guard our hearts and minds” from the chaos of the world around us. At times, that chaos is even inside of us, yet our Father is always near calling to us, “harden not your heart.” During Lent, we are once again invited to go deeper into the silence of our hearts.

St. John of the Cross once said, “The Father spoke one Word, which was His Son, and this Word He always speaks in eternal silence and in silence it must be heard by the soul.” (Maxims on Love, in Collected Works) It takes great courage to enter into silence and ask the Holy Spirit to shine His light on the darkness in our heart; the darkness where temptation, brokenness and selfish desires reside.

“Do not be afraid, for I am with you,” says the Lord. So, we take one moment at a time, for this moment is all we really have. Our Lady will help undo the knots that bind us and lead us to deeper freedom through her Son Jesus.  

In today’s gospel, Christ shows us the way. “When you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.”  

He repays with mercy that allows us moments of rejoicing, even as painful renewal may be stretching us to our human limits. His strength brings forth beautiful graces. For me, this has happened while kneeling before the Blessed Sacrament preparing for the Sacrament of Confession. The Holy Spirit opened my eyes to see how my sinful behavior had caused friction in a family relationship. With great love, my Father revealed this to me, so healing could begin. When we take the time to humble ourselves and listen, God is there not with condemnation, but love to celebrate each step, understanding that change takes time and requires patience – with Him and with ourselves.

We are a new creation in Christ, not defined by our sin, but by His love. Will we step outside our comfort zone to share our testimony so that others, too, may turn their hearts to Jesus and be set free?

Today and throughout this Lenten season, each one of us is being called to “Trust in Jesus even more,” as the late Father George Kosicki, CSB, wrote on a 3×5 note card for me years ago, on a spiritual retreat. Our Father stands daily at the door of our hearts, inviting us to enter into a deeper relationship with Him through Jesus’ Divine Mercy.

Now more than ever, the world needs Christ’s love within us. The Church gives us this special season to bring us back into right relationship with Him so we can go out to serve one another. “For he says: ‘In an acceptable time I heard you, and on the day of salvation I helped you. Now is a very acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” Lent is the time for our hearts to be made clean so that we can freely meet Jesus and others with greater love and less judgement. May we unite together in the Heart of Jesus, with renewed spirit and be ready for radical transformation on the journey ahead.

 

Amy Oatley is a wife, mother, and Secular Franciscan (OFS), passionate about social justice, advocating for the dignity of every human life. She encounters Christ through Prison and Jail Ministry in the Diocese of Grand Rapids and as a Sidewalk Advocate for Life. A journalist for the past thirty years, she is currently a freelance writer for FAITH Magazine and works at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish. Her home parish is Our Lady of Consolation in Rockford, Michigan.

a clean heart
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“Create In Me A Clean Heart:” 4 Ways To Do Just That

Just as any athlete trains for a big event, or a performer for a big show, we prepare for Lent. We know it is, as they say, a marathon and not a sprint. We want to start and finish strong.

We want to become more and more like Christ: a clean heart, a forgiving heart, a compassionate heart, a joyful heart.

With Ash Wednesday nearly upon us, how do we set about this task? We begin by pondering, prayerfully, the readings for Ash Wednesday Mass. They are a treasure-trove; how blessed we are to have this gift! Now, let’s look at four ways we can set about, with steadfast reliance on God, being open to having a clean heart.

  1. In the first reading (from the book of the prophet Joel), we have our first instruction. God says: “Return to me with your whole heart.” Don’t hold back this Lent. God loves you so much! There is nothing He won’t do for you. Yes, you’ve sinned. Yes, you’ve strayed. But God is waiting to embrace you. All you need to do is turn to Him, heart in hand, and say, “Here. Here I am.” If you think that God is not madly in love with you, pray over that first reading from Joel. Ask God to show you His mercy.
  2. Confess your sins. The responsorial psalm (from Psalm 51) calls out to us to beg God for forgiveness. (If you’re not sure why confessing our sins in the Sacrament of Confession is important and necessary, check out this short video from Bishop Robert Barron.) It is amazing that we serve a God who is not vindictive or mean-spirited or miserly. No, God is generous and merciful, willing and able to pour out His Spirit upon us.
  3. In the second reading for Ash Wednesday, St. Paul implores us to be “ambassadors for Christ.” What a worthy goal for Lent! Where and when can we share the love of Christ during the Lenten season? Who are the people in our lives that we have injured through our sinfulness? Those are the people we need to reach out to this Lent. Ask for forgiveness. And if someone in our lives reaches out to us, meet that gesture with the love that Christ has given to us, “as if God were appealing through us.”
  4. Pray, fast, give alms. Of course, these are the cornerstones of Lenten practices. Christ Himself gives us this directive in the Gospel of Matthew. Many of us plan a way to do each of these during Lent. However, look for those places when you can spontaneously add to this. For instance, if you’ve given up something (like coffee) for Lent, whenever that craving hits, add a prayer to that moment. If you’ve given up coffee, maybe one day a week you add to that fast by drinking only water. Turn off the radio during your commute, and use that time to pray. Add a formal prayer, such as the rosary, during Lent. Be generous with  your time: offer to babysit for a young mother or finish a project your spouse has been wanting done. Get down on the floor and play with the kids after dinner. Remember, if we want God to work the miracle of a clean heart in us, we must become more and more like Him.

“Create in me a clean heart, O Lord!” Let us pray that, this Lent, we are truly open to the mercy of God. This Lent, let us strive to cause fewer and fewer offenses to God and to others. This Lent, let the joy of salvation and a willing spirit be ours, through the compassion of God.

EH headshotElise Hilton is an author, blogger and speaker. She has worked in parish faith formation and Catholic education for over 25 years. A passionate student of theology, Elise enjoys sharing her thoughts on parish communication, the role of social media in the Church, Franciscan spirituality and Catholic parenting. To enquire about booking her as a speaker, please contact her at ehilton@diocesan.com.

 

Lent2017
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Lent 2017: Guest Bloggers Will Arrive!

Here at Diocesan Publications, we are thrilled to be able to offer great guest blogging during Lent 2017. Some of our best friends – clergy, religious and lay – are gracious enough to lend their voices for great Lenten features. Please plan on joining us for Lent 2017!

(If you’d like to make sure you receive these daily reflections, please fill out the subscription box below. Your patronage is important to us; we never share/sell your information.)