Lenten Reflection – Week 5 – This journey will last a lifetime
As we wind down our Lenten observance,
I wanted to remind you that this journey we are on will last a
lifetime.
And you thought it was going to end
soon. Lent is only 40 days. We are one week away from Palm Sunday and
the start of Holy Week. Soon Easter will be here and we can end the
fast.
Yes, this 40 days is almost over, but
does that really mean we should stop our practices of prayer,
fasting, and alms giving. I propose we should join in the great joy
of our Risen Lord at Easter and that we should continue our journey
toward a deeper faith and experience of God's love for us. If our
Lenten practices just end because lent 2014 is over then we have not
really changed our lives at all. Jesus is calling us to repentance.
To constant, unending change. To a radical conversion. He is calling
us to pick up our cross daily and follow him into eternal life.
This is no easy thing. This is not
something you can do for just 40 days a year and be done with it.
Being a Christian is a 24/7 task. It is unending. It lasts a
lifetime.
The hardest thing that we are called to
as Christians is to Love as the Father has loved you.
Yes, this isn't just a feel good sort
of emotion. This is a deliberate decision we all must make. It is a
decision, that no matter what the cost, we decide to always act in
love. Always putting the other person first. Working with all people,
of all faiths, of all beliefs, and of all denominations. Working with
them and for them. Hoping for their own salvation. Praying with and
for them.
One of the most common experiences of
total self sacrificing love we can experience as humans is the gift
of parenthood. When you are touched with the beauty and awesomeness
of working with God and your spouse and together you create a new
life, you become a parent forever. No matter what the outcome or
circumstances that surround that new life, you are forever after a
parent. No one, or nothing can take that away from you. You can run
from the responsibility. You can try and hide from it. You can
embrace this new life and support it. You could even be in a
situation where you have to watch your child suffer and die while you
still live. Even as painful and difficult as this may be, nothing can
ever change the fact that you are a parent and that child is a gift from God to you.
God is our Father. He has chosen it to
be this way. As he is our Father, we are his children. And we are his
children forever, nothing or no one can change that fact.
“See what love the
Father has given us, that we should be
called children of God,
and so we are.” 1 John 3:1a
God has
adopted us as his children. He will forever be our Father. We can and
often do run from him. We try and hide ourselves and our sinful ways
from him. We move ourselves into the darkness so to escape the light
that pierces all things. But we can't ever take away the fact that
God is our Father. Now and forever more. Even when we sin and
separate ourselves from his love, he is still our Father and is
waiting for us to turn around and come back home to him.
Our
Lenten journey is a 40 day period of reflection and prayer meant to
help us grow in our faith. A period of preparation. Making our hearts
ready to spiritually die with Jesus only to rise again with him at
Easter. This dying to self and rising to new life should remind us of
our baptism. At our baptism we were washed with the life giving
waters and entered into the Christian life. Listen to what St. Paul
says about baptism:
Do you not know that
all of us who have been baptized into Christ
Jesus were baptized
into his death? We were buried therefore with him
by baptism into death,
so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the
glory of the Father, we
too might walk in newness of life. Rom 6:3-4
Do you
walk in newness of life? During this Lenten Journey we are called to
die to our self and give to others. To dive into the water and take a
plunge. To move deeper and deeper into a loving relationship with God
and his creation.
Have
you died to yourself this lent?
If we
have practiced any type of prayer, fasting, and alms giving we can
confidently answer yes to this question. If we have not, there is still time. Start today. There is great wisdom in these Lenten
practices. Within these little acts we are slowly dying to ourselves
and inviting the Lord into our lives. Even in the little things. Each
act is a step into being more and more like Jesus.
Recently
on Relevant Radio I heard a little nugget of wisdom from Fr. Albert
Haase. He said something like this: “On our Lenten journeys we
should not seek for spiritual perfection as if we do, we are setting ourselves
up to fail. But instead we should seek spiritual progress. Every step
moving us closer to union with Christ our Savior.” We are not going
to do everything perfectly, but everything we do in love moves us
closer to being the perfect lovers we are called to be.
Are
you ready to rise into this newness of life?
For most
of us our baptism was many years ago when we were infants. But each
and every time we go to church we should recall our baptism. It is such an important part of our journeys as Christians. As a
Catholic Christian I feel blessed because baptism is so much a part
of every mass. We remember our baptism every time we bless ourselves
with holy water. It is mentioned in the creed we recite every week.
The baptismal font is an ever present fixture in our sanctuaries. At
all Christian services we are called to remember our baptism in
prayer when we pray in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Every
Easter around the world all Christians are called to renew their
baptismal promises. In this brief service within the Easter Liturgy
of the Catholic Church, we are both reminded of our baptismal promises
and called to live them out. Let us all take a moment to reflect on
these promises and recommit to them. The appropriate response to each
invocation is to say 'I do'.
Do
you reject Satan?
And all his works?
And all his empty promises?
Do you believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth?
Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary was crucified, died, and was buried, rose from the dead, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father?
Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting?
God, the all-powerful Father of Jesus Christ has given us a new birth by water and the Holy Spirit, and forgiven all our sins. May he also keep us faithful to our Lord Jesus Christ for ever and ever.
R. Amen.
And all his works?
And all his empty promises?
Do you believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth?
Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary was crucified, died, and was buried, rose from the dead, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father?
Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting?
God, the all-powerful Father of Jesus Christ has given us a new birth by water and the Holy Spirit, and forgiven all our sins. May he also keep us faithful to our Lord Jesus Christ for ever and ever.
R. Amen.
(this baptismal renewal service appears from the site www.catholic.org)
Reflecting
on these things over the past few years while I was sick and unable
to work I have come to the conclusion that in order to rise with
Christ in new life we must also die with him. We must pick up our
cross and carry it. We can't leave it for someone else to carry. We
can't ignore it and think it will go away. We must walk with our
Lord. We must live as he lived or we will experience no life at all.
Just
going through the motions is death. Living in lukewarmness is a
prison sentence. This is no way to live. As a Christian we must be
courageous! We must be bold! We must be different! We must be like
Jesus!
Beloved, we are God's
children now; it does not yet appear what we
shall be, but we know
that when he appears we shall be like him, for we
shall see him as he is.
And every one who thus hopes in him purifies
himself as he is pure.
1 John 3:2-3
We are
God's children!
We shall
be like him!
We shall
see him as he is!
We will
be purified as he is pure!
I could
spend a whole reflection on each of these statements. Think about how
powerful they are. Read each one slowly and pause to think about
them.
The
movie version of the book “Heaven is for Real” will debut in
theaters next week. I have read this powerful book and hope to see
the movie. In this true story, a 5 year old boy dies and goes to heaven.
Then he awakes again on earth and in the years to come tells the
story of his time spent in heaven.
We are
called to put our hope in Christ Jesus and the promises he made to
us. He has promised us a seat in his kingdom at the royal banquet.
His Father has given everything to him and he offers everything he
has to us if we just trust in him. Put your faith in Jesus and his
promises. Heaven is for real because he tells us it is. God is really
our Father because Jesus tells us he is. God really loves us because
Jesus told us he does.
Put your
hope in Jesus! Listen to what he is speaking to you this lent and
carry it with you throughout your entire life. Don't just stop loving
because the 40 days of lent is over. Be the change that you want to
see in the world. Go out and make a difference. Be the best version
of yourself.
Wow!
I'm full of cliches today, too bad I borrowed all these from other
people much more intelligent than myself. Maybe I could coin some
great phrase for myself. How about this one from the first Lenten
post I made back on Ash Wednesday. I'm sure someone else has said
this before but I don't know who. So until I hear otherwise I'll give
the credit to the Holy Spirit who inspires all my writing.
I'm just
a regular guy, who works a regular job, just like most of you. But in
and through
Christ I
am made extraordinary. I hope one day to be a saint and enjoy the
gift that my
God has
prepared for me since the beginning of time. I pray the same for you.
I pray
that this
special season of lent will be enriching and will help you to grow
into the
person
that God created you to be.
All of
us are called to be saints. To live forever in eternal love with our
creator. He gives us everything we need to make this a reality. Put
yourself on the shelf and put your life in his hands.
Be the clay on the potter's wheel. Let him guide you, shape you,
purify you with fire, and then let him show his greatness to the world
through you and your life.
This
lent is just a small step in that process.
- This week I am taking a break from making suggestions on the three pillars of lent. You are on your own to pray and discern what God is calling you to. You could go back and read some of my earlier blogs. You could spend quiet time with the Lord and take the time to listen to him speak to you. Do something small or do something big, just be sure to do it with the extraordinary love that God has given to you. Share yourself and give the gift of life to others.
Let us
end our reflection in prayer:
Lord
Jesus, you are my light in the darkness. Let me never stray
to
far from that light. And if I do let me always have the courage
to
turn around and come back into the light. Your light is love
in
a world that is full of sin and hate. Shine your light in and
through
me so that I can bring you into this world of darkness.
Please
let me finish this lent with increased fervor and
zeal
for spreading the good news of salvation to the world.
Jesus,
I am ready to die with you so as to live in the
newness
of life you promise to me.
Amen
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