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First Sunday of Lent, Year C 

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Be With Me Lord When I Am In Trouble”

These words from Psalm 91 are subtitled “Security Under God’s Protection.” They are solid advice to get us started on the right foot this holy season of Lent.

“Be with us, Lord” through the days and nights that lie ahead.

“Be with us, Lord” to face the struggles that life has in store for us.

“Be with us, Lord” and protect us from all our fears and anxieties.

 

Think about our own experiences when problems arise. We turn to God in our desperation. That’s not unusual. When time are good, we might look up and give God a high five between errands. But when times get tough, we get serious and try to bargains with God.

Bargaining with God

We’ve all done it, sometimes intentionally, other times subconsciously.

“God, if you’ll just…” We bargain with God. Sometimes about small things, and others… a desperate cry for divine help to avoid the consequences of our bad choices to help our loved ones in their time of need. 

God, if you’ll just keep my son safe while his is in the Army, I’ll pray the rosary every day.

God, if you’ll help my dad recover, I’ll volunteer at the soup kitchen. 

God, if you’ll take away this post-super bowl “celebration flu”, I’ll never even look at 

nachos and beer again. 

God, if you’ll just….

The funny part about this is that God doesn’t need our bargaining chip. God is there for us regardless. We just have to ask.

It’s a wise person that asks for help when the going gets tough. The Bible shows us that God answers. In today’s first reading, we have Moses remembering how God saved the people of Israel as the marched through the desert. Jesus sets the tone for this in the example of his life. Throughout his ministry, Jesus relies upon his Father to support and sustain him any time there’s a problem—during his ordeal in the desert as he confronts Satan, during day-to-day life, and even in his last moments of suffering.

Lent is our perfect reset

I encourage all of us to take full advantage of Lent—to really accept it as the gift God intends it to be. Too often, the Lenten greeting is, “What are you giving up?” The things we “give up for lent” are usually things we didn’t need in the first place. Alcohol? Cigarettes? TV? Junk food? These are even things we sometimes use as bargaining chips in our deals with God.

Instead, consider this: Consider using this Lent to deepen our relationship with God, putting our trust in him, that he will “be with us” always. Talk to him. Look around and notice the beauty in his creation—the little things we pass by. In the same way that you call, text, email, or talk to the people we’re closest… give that level of attention to a Lenten relationship reboot with abba, with daddy, the name Jesus called his Father.  

Lent is a very holy time to enrich our spiritual lives. We deepen our relationship with God by spending time developing and strengthening that relationship, as Jesus did. That gives us the confidence to know that God is always present, always willing to help us—during the hard and sorrowful times and the joyful moments, too.

Lent reminds us God is really present, that he really cares for us and loves us more than we love ourselves. It is so often hard for us to believe. Yet, it is true!

May we experience God’s presence as we begin our Lenten journey and be filled with his joy and peace as we pray, “Be with me, Lord” … now and forever.

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

 

Visit my blog www.deacontomwrites.com for previous reflections.

If you haven’t already, try listening to Fr. Mike Schmitz, Bible in a Year Podcast, available on most podcast stations. It is an excellent way to reboot your spirituality while learning scripture.

Also, Fr Martin Laird has some great books on Contemplation. “Into the Silent Land” is a nice way to ease into the practice of contemplative prayer.

Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time_C - The Truth of the Matter_022722

Deacon Tom Writes, 

“The Truth of the Matter” 

Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

 Do you recall the 1963 movie, “It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World? It was a farcical comedy that brought some levity into our relatively simple lives back then. Today it seems that movie title all too accurately describes the world we are now living in: Mad... Mad... Mad. Confirmation of this can be found by putting on the evening news.

We all witness vast corruption and scandal in our world and in our church; we see political divisions and factions in a constant state of tension with both sides yelling and no one listening; we see families in distress because of broken relationships, drug and alcohol addictions, and a new alienation caused by the proliferation of technology that places in our hands the entire spectrum the good, the bad and the ugly for all to peruse and make their choice. We are indeed living in incredible times, the best and the worst as Dickens would say.

Today’s readings direct provide guidance on the choices we face. There is a clear recognition that the world has a different standard by which to measure success than we find in the teachings of Jesus. We all know the standards for success the world embraces... The world is enthralled with power and success with all its entrapments such as, fame, fortune, the display of extravagant wealth and the lifestyle that goes along with it. The world rewards succeed regardless of the costs and no matter what principles or people have to be compromised along the way. Isn’t it interesting how easily the faults of the rich and the famous are overlooked? People with these qualities will rise to the top and stay there. Yes, they are driven individuals who will succeed no matter the cost.

Today’s gospel lays out a dramatically different standard for Jesus’ disciples. It is a very simple standard. It is one Jesus observed in the beauty of nature. “A good tree does not bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit.” This is pure wisdom by which we can measure the integrity of those attempting to gain influence in our lives.

We are at a critical point in the history of the world. There are many powerful voices seeking to influence our spiritual, political, and economic lives. How do we decide what voices to listen to; how do we know what people to support for political office; what standard can we rely upon to help us navigate the world of commerce upon which we depend for our security, comfort, and quality of life?

The lesson from nature, and Jesus, is simple. Look at the fruit! “You don’t get figs from a thorn bushes, you don’t gather grapes from brambles.” What kind of fruit are we producing?

Enjoy the day!
Deacon Tom

Previous reflections can be found at: www.deacontomwrites.com

Photo- Dalia at Enders Island, Connecticut

Looking for a good read this Lent? Try “Life of the Beloved” by Henri Nouwen. 

Or check out the “Francis Effect Podcast” to keep up with current contemporary conversations happening in our church.

Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time_C - Be the Change_022022

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Be the Change”

 Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

Mahatma Gandhi, one of the great spiritual leaders of the twentieth century, lived and advised others seeking a better world to: “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”

Twenty centuries earlier an itinerant preacher and prophet encouraged his followers to take a different approach to the wickedness of the world. It was a radical approach then... just as it was in Gandhi’s day; it was not just the road less traveled, but rather the road that had been inconceivable until Jesus introduced it. The ancient patterns of behavior of seeking revenge; the old “eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” order of the day mentality needed to give way to a new mindset, a new way of resolving differences. Jesus and Ghandi both understood this. In today’s gospel, Jesus teaches some new and innovative ways on how to rise above the vicious and prevalent injustices of the time with this new teaching... “Offer no resistance to one who is evil” and “turn the other cheek.” Does this mean to yield to evil? Not at all!

Jesus’ radical new prescription to eradicate the plagues of hatred and discrimination is to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Gandhi’s advice is similar. We are to introduce positive changes in the world by the ways in which we engage the world.... through the way of love, by showing compassion to those who are suffering, and forgiveness to those who have hurt us. Of course, this is much easier said than done.

There is a story told about the days following the North’s victory over the South in America’s Civil War. President Abraham Lincoln was being pressured by many of his generals and his politicians to completely destroy the Confederacy, to exact revenge on the enemies of the Union once and for all. Lincoln’s answer was classic. He responded to those calling for the annihilation of the South with these reconciling words: “Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends”? Lincoln understood very well that violence only begets more violence. The cycle never ends. How could it in the absence of a new mindset, a new vision that lifts the victim and the vanquished to a higher level of social and moral consciousness?

Lincoln’s attitude toward reconciliation between the North and the South may have contributed to an attitude that perhaps helped fashion America’s treatment of our enemies in the twentieth century when, after the Second World War, the Marshall Plan sent massive humanitarian aid to Europe in order to lay the foundation for a world able to reconcile differences through mutual respect and an orderly process of dialogue rather than mutual destruction.

Embracing a new way of responding to problems that give rise to the endless cycle of violence that ravages peoples, cultures, and societies is a critical component of our faith. Through the Prophet Moses the Lord told his people to “Be holy, for I, the Lord, your God, am holy.” We are called to be holy as God is holy. Therefore, violence and revenge are not options. There is no better advocate for those who choose to follow in his footsteps than Christ who became a victim for us all and who suffered torture and death at the hands of violent people in order to show us the way of peace, forgiveness and reconciliation.

Let us take Christ’s words to heart and strive to put them into practice by “turning the other cheek” when others choose the way of violence and also by praying for those who do so.

~~~~~~~
I would like to recommend the book, Living Justice, by Thomas Massaro, S.J. as a great Lenten read on Catholic Social Teaching. Watching the News will never be the same!

Also, I highly recommend the Bible in a Year Podcast by Fr. Mike Schmitz. It doesn’t matter when you start! This is an excellent way to start a habit of reading scripture every day that will hopefully go beyond the season of Lent.

Enjoy the day!
Deacon Tom

Image: Flowers in the sand - Sanibel Island