Manure

 The Gospel for the third Sunday of Lent this year is the parable of the barren fig tree. In short, the message here is repent now, or be cut down like the tree. But the gardener says he will put manure on it and if things don't improve then next year he will cut it down. The gardener is, of course, the Lord, we are the tree. 

So why does God put manure on us? I'm not a gardener so I had to find out what exactly manure does.

For soil to benefit from manure it must be applied properly so it doesn't burn the plants. Manure also helps to condition the soil so that it holds and drains water, supports healthy root and plant growth, and has nutrient holding capacity. 

Can you see the parallels? There are times God allows events to burn off our attachments to sinful things though he never intends to burn us. The soil, or foundation, allows the Living Water to flow through us, which in turn supports our spiritual growth so we become strong and fruitful. 

Some days it does seem like God is piling on the manure as He cultivates us. It stinks! It seems the aroma clings to the inside of your nostrils and the roof of your mouth. You just want to run away  because it is so unpleasant and overpowering. 

During those times remember this parable. Remember that He will not burn you, he is doing something in you that will bring new life, a better life. He is a skillful gardener, tilling and planting and reaping, as He did in Eden, in Gethsemane, and at the empty tomb on Easter morning - remember when Mary Magdalene mistook Jesus for the gardener? He did great things there and He will do great things in you too, but trust will be necessary as He enriches you. I promise you though - He will not let you wither and He does not want to cut you down.

Be Merciful

Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

I don't think there is anything more difficult than forgiveness and mercy. Our self-preservation and our pride prevent us from doing it easily. I don't think it can be done without God's help, grace and healing. 

I am not a fan of Leonard Cohen but a line from one of his songs says "none of us deserving of cruelty or the grace." He's right. We don't deserve to be hurt, abused, mistreated, or assaulted. At the same time we don't deserve grace either. Yet the Lord gives it to us if we ask. 

When you are given this gift open it, use it and share it because it is not meant for you alone. It is meant to build up the Body of Christ. 

Bless your enemies. That doesn't mean condoning what they did. It means you let them go and let God take care of it. 

  

Discovering Night Prayer

My friend asked me how me Lent is going. I shrugged, not out of indifference but maybe more from resignation. It's not really going to plan. To be honest I don't really have a plan. I have a book of Lenten Gospel reflections and I can attend different events and devotions at church throughout the week if I feel led to do that, but so far I haven't gone to anything. 

In a sense Lent began early because I had to fly across the country to look after my grandchildren for 2 weeks as there was a family medical situation. Not that caring for my family is a penance but it was certainly a change of pace from my usual life. A few days after I returned home it was Ash Wednesday but by that time I was off sick from work and going to Mass was out of the question. That was disappointing but I let it go. 

Something did happen a few nights ago that sparked my interest. I discovered Night Prayer. There is an app that is free during Lent so I downloaded it. There are prayers, readings, devotions, talks and music. I've sampled all of them and I really enjoy hearing Jonathan Roumie, who plays Jesus in The Chosen, read the Gospels in character. He also leads Night Prayer. 

I was not unaware of Night Prayer, which is part of the Liturgy of the Hours, but in the past I have found it boring, for lack of a better word. I've only heard it prayed late in the evening on Holy Thursday by a few tired Eucharistic Adorers and an exhausted priest, so not the best presentation. But now I find myself looking forward to bedtime when normally I dread it. I have also slept well since I started praying it. Usually I am up several times a night and often can't get back to sleep for hours so I can't argue with added benefits like restful sleep. 

I don't know if I will ever have the discipline to pray the entire Liturgy of the Hours but I think Night Prayer is here to stay. 

Our Lady of Kyiv

 Our Lady of Kyiv, pray for us.

Amen

Fasting and Praying

Found online today:  Fasting and prayer were very important to me not because I was trying to earn the answer I wanted but because I was very much in need of time with God to deal with the situation, how I felt about it, and how it was affecting my family.

That really struck me. 

Do I fast and pray to earn the answer I want?

Think about it.

Love Thy Neighbour

The daily readings were powerful today. I mean, they are always powerful, but with everything going on in Ukraine they seemed especially relevant. The cycle of readings was chosen long before current events so it is always interesting to see how the lectionary unfolds in relation to that. 

We are not supposed to add to or subtract from the Scriptures, but Psalm 19 had me thinking on the words law, decree, precepts, command, fear and ordinances. (This is the wording in WAU magazine this month which is the American version, your mileage may vary.) I thought, what if we exchanged the word "love" for law, decree, etc. The Lord's system of regulations always come from His affection and attachment to us so I don't think it goes against the essence of what was written.

After I finished the readings I looked over Bp. Barron's Lenten Gospel Reflections (thanks, Lynn!) Bp. Barron says a writer was once speaking with Mother Teresa about the source of her spirituality and mission. She asked him to place his hand on the table. She reached out and as she touched each finger she said, "you did it to me." 

Love your neighbour, friends. Even if they are horrible people, maybe especially if they are. Love conquered sin, Jesus promised good will prevail over evil. When you watch the news pray not only for the refugees, the ones left to fight, the innocent victims, but also for their oppressors. I pray that one day you will be in heaven and they, all of them, will be thanking you for doing that. 

Illumination

 

Thy Daily Word

When I was about 10 years old my parents each received a New Testament when they became Canadian citizens. I am quite sure bibles are not handed out anymore during these ceremonies but I am thankful that in the pre-digital age I had access to the Scriptures. I was the only one in the house that read that bible and I usually stopped reading it by the sixth chapter of Matthew's Gospel. I didn't understand that the bible is not a chapter book or a novel. 

When I came back to the Church I still didn't read the bible much because I found it hard to understand. I much preferred apologetics. Then I discovered commentaries and study guides and that helped a bit. But it wasn't until I made a healing retreat in 2014 and was baptized in the Holy Spirit that my love of scripture came alive. All of a sudden I had a real desire to read the bible and I began to understand it in a different way. This wasn't a history book anymore but a living document, full of people who weren't much different than I was. I also learned that the answers to the current issues we face today are also in the Scriptures.

To enhance my daily bible reading I employ the following method. Perhaps it will work for you too. 

• Make an appointment with God every day, at the same time if possible. If your space is quiet that is a bonus. Put your phone away - use an actual bible, not an app.

• Ask the Holy Spirit to come to you. 

• Read the daily readings. Which word or phrase sticks out for me? Sit with that word for 5 minutes and ask God to tell me about it. Journal to ask the question and listen for God's answer. 

At first this might seem awkward but daily practice will help. Also, going to confession to "clear the clogs" always helps everything.  It's also tempting to read a commentary or meditation on the readings but the point is to ask God what He wants to tell you. Sometimes I will look up a word when I am unsure of the meaning but that is not the same as reading someone else's take on it. 

Remember that this is not a reading exercise, there is no right or wrong way to do this, the results are not going to be judged or measured. This is your time to read God's love letter to you and to listen to His answer. 

Happy reading!

Forgiveness

During Lent we are not only called to pray, fast and give alms, but to forgive. While doing the daily readings this morning I was struck by a passage from the psalm. 

Blessed the man who...delights in the law of the Lord. Psalm 1

What is the Law of the Lord? Love. Love of others, love of self. That includes forgiving ourselves, which can be even more difficult than forgiving others. But as with any form of forgiveness we can only do it with, and through, the grace of the Lord. I have often resented my weaknesses but I've also come to learn that I can give these weaknesses to Jesus and He can transform them. Why would He do this? Love. 

There can be shame involved when thinking of things we have done, acts we have committed, but shame is a boundary experience and can help us to refrain from repeating these actions. We do need to ensure we don't get stuck in that emotion, though. Remember that feelings are like visitors, we let them in for a time and then we see them out. 

How will you let the Lord love you today?

Ash Wednesday

The three pillars of Lent are praying, fasting, and almsgiving.  Sounds simple, right? 

I struggle with prayer because I'd much rather be distracting myself with banal entertainment so I don't have to face the demands of God. Prayer also takes effort. I tell myself I will pray when I have some quiet time or when hubby goes to bed or when I am laying in be...ZZZzzzzz. Yeah, that never works. If I take the time to make a date with a friend, to make sure I meet them on time, to put my phone away when we are together, why don't I make this same effort for God?

I hate fasting. I don't eat three meals a day, I like to graze, so the whole notion of only eating at set times makes me uncomfortable. It's 9:25 pm on Ash Wednesday as I write this and all I can think about is eating a cookie. Or a piece of toast, I'll even skip the butter. OK, half a bowl of cereal with more milk than solids. It's usually a day I white knuckle through and I've been known to stay up to 12:01 AM to eat something before bed. But that defeats the purpose of fasting, of being in solidarity with those that cannot have anything, no matter what time of day it is. Fasting also helps our spiritual perception and discernment, and strengthens intercession. This is why the Holy Father has asked us to offer up our fasting and mortifications today for Ukraine. The Lord will act without our efforts but more grace will be poured on those that need it when we offer Him our little sacrifices. 

Almsgiving is pretty easy. Just write a cheque or e-transfer the money and presto, I did something good! I think a better way to do it is to have a jar on the table or counter and with each sacrifice put cash in the jar. Or at least use beans to represent dollars and then redeem the beans later. I like the idea of thinking about the person each time I am donating and praying for them as well, to be conscious of the big picture.

All that being said, don't tie yourself in knots trying to pray 10 rosaries a day, live on crusts of bread and water, and drain your pension fund to donate to charity. In all things there needs to be balance. God isn't trying to crush us, He is giving us this season so that we can return to Him and He can fill us with His goodness, mercy and love. 

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it. ~ Isaiah 55

The Great Circle of Being

For most of Lent I plan on writing reflections on the daily readings, or thoughts inspired by devotions such as Stations of the Cross, or the rosary. But today I want to talk about the Great Circle of Being.

We start Lent full of promise, with lists of books to read, devotions to practice, vegetarian meals to consume. By Day 10 the novelty has worn off, the rocks in our shoes hurt, the dinner of 3 prunes and 12 peas is no longer sustainable, sleeping only 4 hours a night has made us useless to our employers. So try not to think of Lent as a race, or a linear event. Think of it as a circle.

St. Thomas Aquinas wrote, "Issuing from the Primary Principle, creatures accomplish a sort of circuit, a gyratory movement, such that all things when they tend to their proper end are returning to the Principle whence they came forth ... We were created by the Son and by the Holy Spirit; and hence it is by them that we are brought back to our end." 

St. Maximilian Kolbe wrote, "Everywhere in this world we notice action...departure and return; going away and coming back; separation and reunion. The separation always looks forward to union, which is creative. All this is simply an image of the Blessed Trinity in the activity of creatures."

Think of Lent as returning to your Maker. It's about letting God do things in you, healing you, renewing you, bringing you full circle back to Him. 💕

And so we begin...

I was texting with a friend yesterday and we were talking about Lent. I thought it would be good to resurrect this blog and maybe post some brief thoughts every day. When I signed in I was shocked to see it has been nearly a year since I last posted! So here we are, on the eve of Lent, about to start our journey through the desert. Put your hand in the Lord's and we will go together. 

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. ~ 1 Peter 5:6-7