Leaving everything behind - Saturday, March 12th

Readings of the Day

Gospel: Luke 5: 27-32
Jesus saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” And leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him. Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were at table with them. The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus said to them in reply, “Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do. I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.”

• follow: to engage in as a calling or way of life; to be or act in accordance with; to accept as authority; to copy after (imitate); to go after or along with as companion; to keep up with an understand.
• What, or whom, do I follow?  Do I view my following of Christ as an obligation, a "list-checking" exercise?  Or do I see myself as His companion, going along with Him at my side, and me at His?
• leave: (bequeath), to allow to remain in the same place or condition; to fail to take along; to permit to be or remain subject to another's action or control; to go away from; to terminate association from (desert, abandon).
• What things have I already left behind to follow Jesus?  How often do I thank God, and others, for the grace to leave behind other, un-godly ways of thinking and being?
• behind: in the place or situation that is being or has been departed from; in a secondary or inferior position.
• How closely does my past, and my past sins, follow me?  What can I do to, on a daily basis, leave everything behind and make the everything farther behind and in a more inferior position of influence in my life?

Definitions from http://www.merriman-webster.com/ and http://www.dictionary.com/.

Pharasaical Phasting - Friday, March 11th

Readings of the Day

Gospel: Matthew 9: 14-15
The disciples of John approached Jesus and said, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast much, but your disciples do not fast?” Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.”

• disciple: a person who is a pupil or an adherent of the doctrines of another; any follower of Christ; one who accepts and assists in spreading the doctrines of another; a convinced adherent of a school or individual.
• What doctrines am I a student of?  What would someone say my convictions are based on observing my actions?
• mourn: to feel or express grief or sorrow; to grieve or lament for the dead; to show the conventional signs of sorrow over a person's death.
• When I look at Christ nailed to the cross, do I feel mournful?  For Him?  For the souls that don't believe or reject Him?  What does Mary mourn for at the foot of the cross?
• take: to seize or capture, to carry off without permission; to remove by death; to get into one's hands, control
• Very few of us actually intend to be separated from Christ.  What habits, thought processes, distractions, etc. take Him away from me?  What can I do to reduce how often this happens?

Definitions from http://www.merriman-webster.com/ and http://www.dictionary.com/.

Profits & Gains - Thursday, March 10th

Readings of the Day

Gospel: Luke 9: 22-25
Jesus said to his disciples: “The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.” Then he said to all, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself?”

• lose: to come to be without something in one's possession or care, through accident, theft, etc. so that there is little or no prospect of recovery; to suffer the deprivation of; to bring to destruction or ruin; to let oneself go astray; to allow oneself to become absorbed or engrossed in something and oblivious to all else.
• What absorbs most of my time?  What causes me to lose "possession" of my self?  What engrosses my mind?
• save: to deliver from sin; to rescue or deliver from danger or harm; to preserve or guard from injury, destruction or loss (maintain, preserve); safeguard; to avoid the spending, consumption, or waste of.
• If I am not losing my life for Christ and His Kingdom, what am I preserving it for?  Do I truly believe He has, and can, save me?  Do I ask Him to?
• profit: returns, proceeds, or revenue, as from property or investments; the excess of returns over expenditure in a transaction or series of transactions.
• When the day is over, and I can say I truly carried my cross and followed Christ, what profit remains?  Has denying myself ever left me in the red?  How do I feel after a day I've saved my life and denied my cross?

Definitions from http://www.merriman-webster.com/ and http://www.dictionary.com/.

Almsgiving, Prayer & Fasting - Ash Wednesday, March 9th

Readings for the Day

Gospel: Matthew 6: 1-6, 16-18
Jesus said to his disciples: “Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father.

When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

“When you pray,do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But 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.

“When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.”

• alms: anything given as charity, something (as money or food) given freely to relieve the poor; money, food or other donations given to the poor or needy.
• Who do I see as they poor?  What do I have that can be freely giving to relieve their needs?
• secret: kept from knowledge or view; marked by the habits of discretion, not acknowledged.
• What are the intentions behind my good deeds?  Who am I hoping to have acknowledge them?
• hidden: being out of sight or not readily apparent (concealed); obscure, unexplained, undisclosed.
• Something hidden, or private, creates intimacy with whomever we do share it.  Who, or with what, do I share my hidden self?  God, my spouse, sinful habits I'm embarrassed to ask for help remedying?

Definitions from http://www.merriman-webster.com/ and http://www.dictionary.com/.

2011 Lenten Connection

I'm sure I'm not the only one who struggles sometimes to pray using the Gospels.  We've heard and read the stories, parables and passages countless times; so many that it can be challenging to find new light and spiritual food.  I try to read the daily readings for Mass, but often find I've forgotton the passage before I've even gotten up from the chair.  Often, there are so many other thoughts swimming in my head, that it's hard to to focus and meditate.

As a personal project this Lent, I will be attempting to use a new "tool" for Gospel reflection.  I'm also looking to friends and family, and their friends and family to open my own horizons; while at the same time hoping to provide an opportunity for "give and take" enrichment  - spread the wealth, right?  

Daily I will be posting the Gospel from that day's Mass; Included will also be a link for all the readings if one has, and wants to, take more time.

At the end of each passage will be definitions for three selected words.  The idea is to read the defitions and then go back and read the Gospel a second, third or even fourth time.  Try to see what new reflection or light you find by focusing on specific elements that jump out at you.  I've found that focusing on a few key words/ideas, it gives new life and light to the whole reading. 

The whole purpose of the Gospel is to bring us into a relationship with God, and learn from Him. Hopefully this format will aid us individually, and as a collective whole.

The key elements are (1) seeking renewed reflections on revisted Bible passages and (2) to sharing and building on reflections with each other by posting a comment.  You never know when your inspiration is meant for more than just yourself - share it and let the Spirit work through you. 

Let's keep each other in prayer as we prepare to journey together this Lent.