"Father, without you we can do nothing. By your Spirit help us to know what is right and to be eager in doing your will." Mass Prayer in Lent
The Holy Spirit helps us on two levels:
Jesus promised that the Father grants our prayers on our needs and even more so when we ask for the Holy Spirit.
"Let my words reach your ears, Lord; listen to my groaning, and hear the cry of my prayer, O my king, my God." (Psalm 5: 2-3)
What is my prayer? What is my groaning and cry to God this Advent?
Greater docility to the Holy Spirit
I have come to recognize that the success of my spiritual journey, the Enterprise is in direct proportion to my openness to the Holy Spirit.
"Father, you never fail to give us the bread of life. May this Eucharist renew our strength and bring us to salvation." Mass Prayer in Lent
Father has blessed me very frequently with the Eucharist since 1996. The Eucharist renews our strength and moves us closer to full redemption. Our life is a journey; a journey from Egypt to the Promised Land. Our destination, that is, salvation cannot be reached in one day or without struggle. The Eucharist is the food that sustains us in this journey. Every thought, word or deed moves us closer to our homeland or away from it.
"This is an evil generation; it is asking for a sign. The only sign it will be given is the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of man be a sign to this generation." (Luke 11: 29 – 30)
The Church is an authentic sign of the existence and presence of God in the world today. During the consistory of November 24, 2007, Pope Benedict said that the gathering of Bishops and people from every part of the world is a sign of the unity and universality of the Catholic Church. It is also a sign that God is with the Church. Such a gathering is not possible by human means.
"A broken, humbled heart, O God, you will not scorn." (Psalm 51: 19)
God's word convicts us of our sins. God will respond with mercy to our brokenness and humility before his word.
"God saw their effort to renounce their evil ways. And God relented about the disaster which he had threatened to bring on them, and did not bring it." (Jonah 3: 10)
When God saw their response to his word, he became merciful and tender.
Preparation is the key to success:
"The word of Yahweh was addressed to Jonah a second time. 'Up' he said, 'Go to Nineveh, the great city, and preach to it as I shall tell you.' Jonah set out and went to Nineveh in obedience to Yahweh." (Jonah 3: 1-3)
The word of Yahweh is addressed to the prophet a second time. To which 'city' is the Lord sending me? What message does he want me to preach?
Father, I will go wherever you send me. I will say exactly what you want me to say. Jonah obeyed the Lord and delivered the message of the Lord. The result was a rich harvest.
"And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast and put on sack cloth, from the greatest to the least." (Jonah 3: 5)
I observe here a principle of apostolic productivity: Cast the net where Jesus asks you to do so.
"Lord, look upon us and hear our prayer. By the good works you inspire, help us to discipline our bodies and to be renewed in spirit…" (Eucharistic Prayer in Lent)
Lent is a time of grace; a favorable time to ask and receive God's favors. When we listen attentively to God's word during Lent, we may be inspired on the good works to undertake during Lent. Just as faith comes through hearing (Romans 10: 17) so too does God's inspiration. When we act on our faith, we are blessed. We pray during Lent that God will help us to act on the inspirations he gives us.
During the Lent of 1988, I got the inspiration to abstain from tobacco for Ash Wednesday. I did and then I got the inspiration to abstain from tobacco for the period of Lent. I acted on this inspiration and was completely freed from the curse of tobacco. In the Lent of 1999, I was inspired to discipline my body through self-control with regard to food.
"Remember your mercies, Lord; your tenderness from ages past. Do not let our enemies triumph over us." (Psalm 25: 6, 3, 22)
Early in 1999, I confided to my journal the reflection below on the scripture above.
"Remembering God's mercies and tenderness from ages past is a bulwark against the inevitable struggles in our desert journey. Today, when I install my Epson 440 Printer, the first file I will print is Voyage So Far. This is a document celebrating God's mercies and tenderness to me dating from SJC63.
The enemies continue to wage pitiless war against us on all fronts. Father, may your mercies and tenderness protect me from every assault of the evil one.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not in your own perception. In everything you do acknowledge him and he will direct your path." (Proverbs 3:5)
God knows the best. He has seen the whole pattern of the weaving with regard to my life's purpose. He is making a strategic match between my:
I trust God to arrange the best.
My purpose and personality are constant. My position is constantly changing. What I need above all is to have a firm faith in God's plan for my life. I like the way Isaiah talked about faith in Isaiah 7:9:
"If you do not stand firm in faith, you shall not stand at all." (NRSV)
"Have firm faith or you shall fail to stand firm." (Revised English Bible)
"Unless your faith is firm you shall not be firm!" (New American Bible)
"If you will not take your stand on me, you will not stand firm." (New Jerusalem Bible)
"You do not believe me? If you want me to protect you, learn to believe what I say." (New Living Translation)
Four of the above translations talk about the quality of faith in terms of firmness. I looked up "firm' in Merriam Webster Dictionary and found the following:
1 a
: securely or solidly fixed in place b
: not weak or uncertain : vigorous c
: having a solid or compact structure that resists stress or pressure
2 a(1) : not subject to change or revision (2) : not subject to price weakness : steady b
: not easily moved or disturbed : steadfast c
: well-founded
"Lord, may we who receive this sacrament restrain our earthly desires and grow in love for the things of heaven…." Opening Prayer in Mass in Lent.
The Eucharist helps us to restrain our earthly desires:
As we decrease in materiality, we increase in spirituality.
"My God of justice, you answer my cry; you come to my help when I am in trouble. Take pity on me, Lord, and hear my prayer." (Psalm 4:2)
This is our faith: God is our Father. He is an utterly just God. He is the guardian of my rights. He comes to my help when I am in trouble. Mother M. Angelica says: "Doubts increase our Faith when we act according to our beliefs rather than our reasoning."
I will act as if God is with me in every step and every moment of this day.
"The people stood by and watched; the rulers, meanwhile, sneered at him and said, 'He saved others, let him save himself if he is the chosen one, the Messiah of God.' Even the soldiers jeered at him. As they approached to offer him wine they called out, 'If you are King of the Jews, save yourself.' Above him there was an inscription that read, 'This is the King of the Jews.' Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, 'Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us." (Luke 23: 35 – 39)
The above scripture is taken from the Gospel on the Solemnity of Christ the King, November 25, 2007. I watched the Mass of the Rings in St. Peter's Square in Rome carried by the EWTN. At this Mass, Pope Benedict gave rings to the new cardinals created in the Consistory of yesterday, November 24. Commenting on the above scripture he said that the enemies of Christ challenged him to come down from the cross in order to prove that he is the Messiah. But instead, Christ showed his regal power by choosing to remain on the cross.
The saints show the power of God by accepting suffering and death. Pope John Paul II showed the power of God through his patience during his long illness. Mother Theresa showed the power of God through her life of poverty and complete dedication to the service of the poor and the sick.
"In your prayers do not babble as the gentiles do, for they think that by using many words they will make themselves heard. Do not be like them; your Father knows what you need before you ask him." (Matthew 6: 6-7)
Why do the pagans babble when they pray? They pray according to their knowledge and belief about their gods. Their gods are local, not omnipotent or omniscient. Their gods are not omnipresent or all-loving. The pagan prays to convince his god to act for him.
But our God is a Father who knows what we need even before we ask him. He has a loving and provident plan for our life. Jesus wants us to know God as a loving Father. He wants us to come to him not just begging for what we need, which will be provided anyway but to come to him in praise and thanksgiving. Animals have the instinct to care for their young ones. The human being who is created in the image of God has an elevated instinct when it comes to protecting and providing for his young ones. Now consider who God is. Jesus describes God as a Good Shepherd who provides all that we need.
"For, as the rain and the snow come down from the sky and do not return before having watered the earth, fertilizing it and making it germinate to provide seed for the sower and food to eat, so it is with the word that goes forth from my mouth: it will not return to me unfilled or before having carried out my good pleasure and having achieved what it was sent to do." (Isaiah 55: 10-11)
I pray that God's word will be fruitful in my life. How can I prepare my heart and mind to be good soil to receive the seed of the sower? I will use the tools of prayer and study. I believe that God will complete what his word has started in my life.
"Father, look on us, your children. Through the discipline of Lent help us to grow in our desire for you ….. " (Opening prayer in Mass in the season of Lent)
God is our Father. He gave us the holy season of Lent as a time of favor to grow to know him more, to love him more and to serve him more. We grow through decreasing our dependence on the following:
As we decrease in our materiality, we grow in our spirituality.
"Peter said, 'You are the Christ, the son of the living God.' Jesus answered: 'You are Peter, the rock on which I will build my Church." (Matthew 16: 16, 18)
It is Christ's will that the papacy be the rock on which the indestructible foundation of the Church is built. Matthew 16: 16, 18 is the foundation scripture. Word and experience, theory and practice have confirmed this in 2000 years of Church history. The enemies of the Church had never been able to destroy the papacy. There had been many serious attempts in the past. There will continue to be attempts to do so till the end of time. But we know from the word of God that they will not succeed. Jesus Christ keeps his pledge come what may.
"Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side with your rod and your staff that give me courage." (Psalm 23: 4)
Christ was at my side when I walked the dark valley of:
What lessons have I learned from the above?
Dark valleys will be regular occurrences in the journey of life.
As Christ was faithful in the first dark valley, so will he be till the last.
As Christ was with me in the dark valley protecting and encouraging me, so will I be with my flock when they walk the dark valleys of the lives.
"When the chief shepherd appears, you will be given the unfading crown of glory." (1 Peter 5: 4)
Jesus Christ is the Chief Shepherd. What are the qualities of Christ, the Shepherd?
"The Lord is my shepherd; I have no want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
Besides restful waters he leads me;
He refreshes my soul." (Psalm 23)
Christ the Shepherd provides all that we need for life and protects us from all dangers.
I am also a shepherd of the flock that the Lord has entrusted to me. In Psalm 23, Jesus proposes himself as a model. I am to shepherd my flock as Jesus Christ himself shepherds me. I will take the needs of my flock to the Chief Shepherd who has the resources to satisfy all living things.
"In due season, he gives food to all living things. When he opens his hand all are satisfied."
"Give a shepherd's care to the flock of God entrusted to you: watch over it, not simply as a duty but gladly as God wants; not for sordid money, but because you are eager to do it." (1 Peter 5:2)
Strengthen the faith of your flock as Christ has strengthened your faith.
Pray for your flock as Christ has prayed for you.
We may not be bishops but each of us is entrusted with a flock. Who is my flock? Who is my neighbor?
I prayed for compound faith in order to exercise my ministry. Today, I ask Jesus to grant me a compound knowledge of his word so that I can be effective in serving the flock that he has entrusted to me. Through daily reading and reflection on Sacred Scripture, I hope to gain the faith and knowledge I need to serve Christ in the ministry that he is calling me.
