Jesus grew up in the very small village of Nazareth. Most of those who lived there were from Jesus’ extended family. When Jesus left, people in His own town began to hear things about Him—that He worked miracles, that He taught large groups of people, that He was fearless in confronting the religious leaders.
Joseph was his father’s favorite. Dad had given him a beautiful coat, and his brothers were jealous of him. They wanted to kill him. But one of them said, “Don’t kill him. Just throw him in a dry well.” Joseph was sold to the Egyptians for 20 pieces of silver and then became Pharaoh’s favorite.
Today the readings point us in the direction of trusting in God and being in union with the presence of God. Jeremiah compares those who put all their trust in the things of this world to a barren bush in the desert.
In the Scriptures today we’re faced with the conflict between good and evil. News in recent years has given us almost daily accounts of the triumph of evil in many parts of the world, especially the lands where Jeremiah and Jesus walked.
About 750 years before Jesus’ birth, the prophet Isaiah preaches a return to faith, promising that God will take care of a troubled people struggling to survive against the Assyrian Empire and an unfaithful king.
Peter was headstrong and impetuous—but loyal to the core. He loved Jesus, and Jesus loved him. He was the first of the disciples to recognize Him for who He was: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” This insight was not of his own making but a gift of God given to Peter—and to us—to build up His body, the Church.
Today Jesus leads us up Mount Tabor with Peter, James, and John. In the Bible a mountain was often the place to meet God. Both Moses and Elijah encountered God on mountains: Moses on Mount Sinai and Elijah on Mount Carmel.
People who have been hurt badly say how difficult it is to forgive. Today’s Gospel gives us the secret of how God changes our hearts. Jesus says: “You have heard it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” That is the secret.
Lent is the season we Christians focus on the mystery and power of reconciliation unleashed upon creation through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Since it is also the season of final preparation for those soon to be baptized or to profess faith in our Tradition, Lent sharply highlights that to follow the Christ is to follow the path of “holy communion.” So great is God’s hunger for all to live together in this holy communion that He is willing to enter into the very bowels of all the evil that divides us from ourselves, from one another, and yes, from all creatures and creation.
Esther didn’t know God. But when she was in need, she remembered something she had heard about Him, and this made all the difference. A young soldier once told an Army chaplain, “Sometimes I’m scared, and then suddenly a quiet calm comes over me.” The chaplain said, “It’s then that your mother is praying for you.” The soldier might not have known God, but he had experienced the power of prayer.
One of the most amazing things about human beings is that we would prefer someone else do the things that are not so pleasing rather than do them ourselves. Why don’t we go tell the neighbors their music is too loud?
The major theme of today’s Mass is found in the responsorial psalm: “From all their distress, God rescues the just.” The psalmist invites us to join him in glorifying God as he recalls the many ways God has saved and delivered him from the upsets of life.
Our first Scripture reading this first Monday of Lent tells us: “Be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.” We are then given a list of actions that are to be avoided. The list sounds very much like the Ten Commandments.
“Everybody’s got a hungry heart,” Bruce Springsteen groaned. Alfred Lord Tennyson identified the same affliction in “Ulysses,” a man “for always roaming with a hungry heart.” Satan tempts Jesus to fill His heart with the things of this world: food, luxury, and power.
Fasting has long been a traditional spiritual practice, along with prayer and almsgiving, especially during Lent. People speak about “fasting from” or “giving up” a favorite food or drink or pastime.
In 1916, during World War I at the horrendous Battle of the Somme in France, a German soldier wrote back to his parish priest, saying: “In my breast pocket I carry a picture of the Crucified. As Christ suffered, so must we.
These days many of us use a GPS system to guide us when we travel. If we leave our chosen direction, the GPS voice calls out “recalculating” to help us get back on track. Our spiritual journey also has a way to check our direction and to recalculate.
We always begin Lent with vigorous fervor. Then February ends and March rolls in. Easter arrives, and we all feel guilty because another Lent has come and gone, and we can’t even remember our Ash Wednesday resolutions.
The 20th annual World Day for Consecrated Life is being celebrated Tuesday, February 2, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. It will be celebrated in parishes on February 7. On February 1 Pope Francis met in Rome with about 5,000 men and women who were present to mark the closing of the Year for Consecrated Life, which began Nov. 30, 2014, and ends February 2.