Reflection for Friday, March 13, 2015

Friday of the Third Week of Lent
HOS 14: 2-10
PS 81: 6C-8A, 8BC-9, 10-11AB, 14 AND 17
MK 12: 28-34

The first is this:
Hear, O Israel!
The Lord our God is Lord alone!
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul,
with all your mind,
and with all your strength.
The second is this:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
There is no other commandment greater than these.”

This is at the core of what it means to live as a Christian and what we are called to reflect upon every day of year.

As we are approaching the second half of the Lenten season, this gospel reading is an important reminder of what our Lenten promises are calling us to. Often our Lenten promises become something of a personal challenge or struggle. But is this really the purpose of Lent?

I ask myself, how can I love the Lord with ALL my heart, soul, mind, and strength? How would God ask me to love him?

Secondly, how do I love my neighbors as myself?

God is our constant companion, always beside us walking along the way. One of the greatest gifts is just to be and be present. Just by opening our eyes and ears to see God and hear God, we are invited into a loving relationship with him. Time and presence are the greatest gifts. They also allow us to hear his will for us. God desires our happiness and freedom. By listening and understanding, we can enter into God’s love more fully and take on his will.

Our personal relationship with God is something so important and sacred but through its nurturing we discover God calls us to bigger and greater love that cannot possibly end in ourselves.

God is not only our constant companion, God is open, present, and real in everyone we meet. As we hear in the responsorial psalm, Do we dare to hear God’s voice in one another?  In a way, by loving one another, we love God even more.  We are called to accompany one another along the way, just as God is with us.

So as we enter the second half of the Lenten season, I ask myself these questions:

Are my Lenten practices allowing me to find God in myself and others?

Can I let go of perfection and completion of my Lenten practice and remember the real importance of Lent?

How can I better love the God within myself and others with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength?

Nicole McCoy is a Senior in the College of Arts & Sciences.

Reflection for Thursday, March 12, 2015

Thursday of the Third Week of Lent

JER 7: 23-28

PS 95: 1-2, 6-7, 8-9

LK 11: 14-23

In today’s passage, Jeremiah 7:23-28, God commands His people to be humble, listen to His voice and do what He says, and they will prosper. Yet, the people don’t listen, they are unwilling to change, and they don’t obey.  Why is it so hard for us to hear God’s words and give Him control of our lives?

Over the last couple of years I have experienced several difficult and painful life situations.  Things that I thought were lifelong and secure crumbled at my feet.  At the beginning, I struggled with feeling God’s presence in my life.  I read my daily devotional that assured me of God’s love and hope for the future. Yet, I still felt alone. I resisted letting go of my anxieties and fears and giving them to God because I thought I could handle them myself.  I wasn’t going to be weak.  However, as time went on, I realized that my weakness wasn’t in letting go, but in holding on.  I slowly began to give my fears and worries to God.  The more I trusted, the more I became aware of the many blessings around me: the giggles of my grandchildren; the text from an old friend that just said hi, I’m thinking about you; or the chance for me to bring joy to someone else’s day.  I have learned that God’s grace and peace come in all shapes and sizes and at the most unexpected times if you only open your heart and listen to His words.

The Lenten season is a time of prayer, refection and fasting that brings us closer to God. In Joel 2:12-13, the Lord tells us to return to Him with our whole heart for He is gracious, compassionate and abounding in love.  As we prepare for Easter Sunday, I encourage you to humble yourself in God’s grace, reflect on the meaning of this season in your life and remember his promise.

                    Hymn of Promise

In the bulb there is a flower; in the seed, an apple tree;
In cocoons, a hidden promise: butterflies will soon be free!
In the cold and snow of winter, there’s a spring that waits to be,
Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.

There’s a song in every silence, seeking word and melody;
There’s a dawn in every darkness, bringing hope to you and me.
From the past will come the future; what it holds, a mystery,
Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.

In our end is our beginning; in our time, infinity;
In our doubt there is believing; in our life, eternity,
In our death, a resurrection; at the last, a victory,
Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.

Natalie A. Sleeth, 1986

Jami Curley is an Associate Professor and Director of Field Education in the School of Social Work.

Reflection for Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent
DT 4: 1, 5-9
PS 147: 12-13, 15-16, 19-20
MT 5: 17-19

Reflection for Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent
DN 3: 25, 34-43
PS 25: 4-5AB, 6 AND 7BC, 8-9
MT 18: 21-35

“Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?”

The Gospel for today focuses on forgiveness. It is human nature to sin. Sometimes, we do not even realize we are sinning. We are faced with decisions to sin or not every single day. Think of your sins that have accumulated today, this year, and over your entire life. It is impossible to count because we do not keep a journal of them. Although we are not keeping track, God remembers every single moment we said yes to sin, yet He forgives us anyway. 

Every minute of the day, humans around the world experience suffering due to harm that others inflict on them. Many live for years holding onto hatred toward people for hurting them or their loved ones. We sometimes hold on exhaustingly tight, that forgiveness seems out of reach. I visualize the act of forgiveness being a glass wall separating me from freedom, life, and growth. The longer I hold onto my grudge, anger, and frustration toward another, the further my sadness and hurt grows. Then, I remember that I have the power to break through the glass wall, to overcome my grudge, and to move forward. Forgiveness is a choice. We have a choice to remain in the difficulty of “unforgiveness” or to conquer it.

Many of us forget that forgiveness does not mean we are okay with what is wrong. Forgiveness is knowing people sinned and caused us harm, but saying, “You were wrong and it hurt, but I sin too, and I forgive you.” As we know, this is not as easy as it sounds. God expects us to forgive others seven times seventy times, because He is able to forgive us, even for the darkest of sins. C.S. Lewis states it simply, “To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.”

Who do we need to forgive this Lent? Break through the wall that is separating you from a happier version of you. Find the beauty in being able to forgive. God is giving us permission to let go. Let’s reduce the debt of sin in the world by simply being kind to others just as God is kind to us. Be thankful for your teachers and the hard work they put forth as they facilitate our growth; be patient with the slow driver in front of you; be aware of people around you, keeping in mind that we have the potential to influence one’s happiness; and forgive others, remembering that each of us is imperfect, but worthy of mercy. 

What can we let go of today that will help us feel free when we wake up on Easter Sunday? 

Kaitlyn Vokaty is a senior studying Occupational Therapy. She is a Publicity co-chair and a Facilitator in Christian Life Communities. 

Reflection for Monday, March 9, 2015

Monday of the Third Week of Lent
2 KGS 5: 1-15AB
PS 42: 2, 3; 43: 3, 4
LK 4: 24-30

Reflection for Sunday, March 8, 2015

Third Sunday of Lent
EX 20: 1-17
PS 19: 8, 9, 10, 11
1 Cor 1: 22-25
JN 2: 13-25

The Gospel today presents a side of Jesus that isn’t very attractive.  It stands in stark contrast to the popular and familiar view of Jesus' character.  Isn’t Jesus supposed to be gentle and soft-spoken?  Didn’t he preach turning the other cheek, loving your enemies, and praying for those who persecute you? But here, Jesus appears with his sleeves rolled up, ready for a fight. His aggressive behavior doesn't show him to be the loving teacher, healer, and shepherd whom we find attractive. 

It’s true, Jesus was a nice guy, but we can also conveniently forget that he had an edge.  During his public ministry, he is constantly disrupting things and calling into question the status quo. Remember the time he entered a house to eat with some Pharisees but refused to wash before dinner? Before the food was even served, Jesus called his hosts hypocrites and pronounced woe upon them. We belong to one disruptive Lord—bent on overturning anything that hinders us from appropriate devotion and service to God and to one another. Jesus continues to stir the pot to make us clean, whole, and faithful. 

Dietrich Bonheoffer, a theologian and martyr during WWII, wrote The Cost of Discipleship in which he says that Christians today are living by cheap grace instead of costly grace. Cheap grace is the attempt to lower standards of the gospel by ignoring cost of the cross and down-playing the need for repentance and change. It embraces an easy discipleship that requires little commitment. It assumes you can live in God's sanctuary, where Jesus fulfills the law, but you can remain independent of the commands and desires of Jesus.  When Jesus forgave the woman caught in adultery, he said, "Go now and leave your life of sin." His grace was freely given, but it included an expectation that her life would radically change. Costly grace means we must change our habits, thoughts, behaviors, attitudes, and relationships according to the will of Jesus. Nothing can remain the same because we are no longer the same.

During this season of Lent, will we let ourselves be disrupted?

Fr. John Vowells, S.J. is the Campus Minister for the School of Law.

Reflection for Saturday, March 7, 2015

Saturday of the Second Week of Lent
MI 7: 14-15, 18-20
PS 103: 1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12
LK 15: 1-3, 11-32

“Your brother was dead has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.”

Ah, the prodigal son parable.  I toss the word “prodigal” around in my daily life fairly loosely. My “prodigal roommate” will return to our room after long expanses of time in the library, or my “prodigal Nalgene” always seems to find its way back to me no matter how many times I’ve left it in the biology labs.

The two words used to describe the prodigal son that particularly resonate with me are “lost” and “dead.” We all know how it feels to be lost – I chronically have no idea where I’m going, but I also often lose sight of things that are important. I am the prodigal son as he demands his inheritance when I take my gifts, talents, and passions and use them exclusively for self-promotion and personal gain. I am the prodigal son as he squanders his money when I over-invest myself in clubs and organizations with the intention building my resume. I am the prodigal son as he longs to eat from the pig trough when I allow myself to prioritize earthly pleasures and successes over the deep joy found in genuine fellowship and friendship.

And “dead.” How often do we find ourselves dormant in our faith? In our relationships? In our lives? I see the Lenten season as a challenge for action. So let us come ALIVE this Lenten season. Let us turn that love, compassion, and humility the father has for his sons to our own brothers and sisters. Our father is waiting with open arms. He celebrates our return.

“My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.” – Thomas Merton

Meg Buckley is a junior in the College of Public Health and Social Justice.