Second Sunday of Lent_C - The Enemy Within_031322

Deacon Tom Writes,

“The Enemy Within”

Second Sunday of Lent, Year C

Today’s readings give us food for thought as we begin another Lenten season. Our first reading recalls the promise (covenant) God made with Abram, that he would be the father of many nations and that “his children would outnumber the stars….”

 

Imagine this for a second--Abram holding back a little chuckle as God reveals his plan. Imagine further if Abram could see the heavens through the eyes of the Hubble Telescope and know for certain it’s impossible to count the “number of stars in the heavens”! God’s promise was simply beyond Abraham’s imagination.

 

That didn’t make it less possible for God to fulfill.

 

Lent is a time to reflect on the promises God has made and fulfilled.

 

God made good on his promise to redeem the world from the darkness of sin and death. He sent his Son, Jesus, whose obedience and sacrifice redeemed the world. Like Abram, we might struggle to understand what God has done for us. But if we begin to see—even in the slightest—then we realize what a great gift we’ve received. We’ve been given the gift of Eternal Life, the chance to live with God forever.

 

This is the gift that Christ’s death and resurrection has secured for us.

Lent is a time to reflect on transformation.

 

Another theme in today’s readings that guides us on our Lenten journey is that of Jesus’ transformation. Peter, James, and John witnessed Jesus in the fullness of his glory and were overwhelmed. This sneak peek at the Divine Jesus helps us realize that we too must be transformed into the mystical Body of Christ.

 

St. Paul spoke about our need to experience this metamorphosis when he wrote to the Galatians… “I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me” (Gal 2:20). We always seek to follow in Christ’s footsteps so we can pick up our crosses and follow the rocky road of our lives. It’s not an easy thing to do.

 

We “let go and let God” in baby steps, learning to surrender ourselves to God’s will as we overcome our trials and frustrations in life. It’s our transformation.

 

It’s not easy.

 

St. Paul confronted some early followers of Jesus who called themselves Christians, but were, he said, “…enemies of the cross of Christ.” St. Paul’s words are important to all followers of Christ—especially today. Paul asked the Philippians to, “join with others in being imitators of me.” This is an invitation from a man who himself experienced a powerful transformation, and as a follower of Christ imitated him in every way.

 

St. Paul is an excellent example for us on our Lenten Journey. He knew what it took to transform into a true follower of Christ. He put in the work. He knew how to subdue the enemy within – by constant prayer, fasting, and charitable works. These are good activities for us to take part in this Lenten season as we work to quell our own “enemies within” so we can experience the type of transformation Jesus and St. Paul modeled for us.

 

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

 

Recommendations

 

Book: Fr. Thomas Massaro, S.J., "Living Justice,” Catholic Social Teaching in Action.

 

Fr. Massaro’s work is a classic, teaching about the history and building blocks of social justice through the lens of our Catholic faith. This updated edition is an important read, even if you’ve read the older editions before. Fr. Massaro discusses the impact of Pope Francis on the subject of Catholic social justice.

 

Podcast: Fr. Mike Schmitz: “Bible in a Year.”

 

We read the Bible at Mass, and you may read it at home, too—but you haven’t read it like this. In the “Bible in a Year” podcast, Fr. Mike uses “The Great Adventure Timeline” to divide the Bible into twelve periods, bringing in experts to discuss the important elements and background to the readings through the year.

 

This is a great way to begin our Lenten Journey. Here is Episode 1, updated for 2022.

Second Sunday of Lent_A - Renewal of the Mind_030820

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Renewal Of the Mind”

Second Sunday of Lent, Year A

In his letter to the Ephesians St Paul instructed them: “You should put away the old self of your former way of life, corrupted through deceitful desires, and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new self, created in God's way in righteousness and holiness of truth.” (Eph 4:22)

When Peter, James and John see Jesus in the fullness of his glory, they, quite naturally, want to hang on to the moment. In an effort to hold on to this moment they want to erect three tents perhaps so that Moses, Elijah, and Jesus can stay with them for a while. But that was not to be. The vision doesn’t last. Before you know it, it’s all over and the time comes to return to the ordinary, routine affairs of daily life.

Hold on to the vision, Christ tells them. Keep this all to yourself until the Son of Man has been raised from the Dead! What an impossible task! Yet there can be no doubt that these men were deeply affected by what they saw. Seeing Christ in the fullness of His glory affected their thinking, their behavior, and their attitudes. Does what we hear today do the same for us?

If we so desire, the words of our Gospel today can have a great impact on our life. We too can be renewed in the spirit of our minds and be given a new mindset, one that will transform every aspect of our lives, renew and enliven our inner beings, empower us to do the difficult interior work that will allow us to grow more spiritually mature. St. Paul describes this process, “So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come (2 Cor 5:17). It is being renewed from the inside out.

Peter, James and John were fortunate to have been given this glimpse of the divine Jesus. We are somewhat more challenged today since we will not experience this until our life’s end. But now that the story has been told, we have this vision implanted in our heads AND hearts. It is a vision that beckons us to begin the difficult, life-long work of crafting our new selves created in God’s way, a work that will come to completion only when we become one with him in what we refer to as, “the life to come.”

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

The Enemy Within

Deacon Tom Writes,

“The Enemy Within”

Second Sunday of Lent, Year C

Today’s readings give us food for thought as we begin another Lenten season. Our first reading recalls the promise or covenant God made with Abram, that he will be the father of many nations, that his children will outnumber the stars….Imagine that! You couldn’t blame Abram for holding back a little chuckle when God revealed his plan. Imagine if he was able to see the heavens through the eyes of the Hubble Telescope and realize how impossible it would be to count the number of stars in the heavens!!! Lent is a time to reflect on the promises God has made and also fulfilled for our benefit. God made good on his promise to redeem the world from the darkness of sin and death through the sacrifice and obedience of his Son, Jesus, Son of God, and Son of Mary. If we understand in the slightest what God has done for us then we realize what a great gift we have received, for we have been given the gift of Eternal Life, the chance to live with him forever. This is the gift that Christ’s death and resurrection has secured for us.

Another theme flowing from our readings today to guide us on our Lenten journey is that of transformation. Peter, James, and John witness Jesus in the fullness of his glory and they are overwhelmed. This sneak preview of the Divine Jesus helps us realize that we too must be transformed into the mystical Body of Christ. St. Paul spoke directly about our need to experience this metamorphosis when he wrote to the Galatians… “I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me”  (Gal 2:20). A mature Christian mindset is one that is always seeking to follow in Christ’s footsteps, that is, to conform our hearts and minds to that of Christ so that we too can pick up our crosses and follow him daily. Not an easy thing to do, and so we take baby steps to learn to “let go and let God” so we can learn to surrender ourselves to God’s Will in the face of our trials and frustrations in life.

Finally, St. Paul gives us a dose of harsh reality, apparently something he witnessed among the early followers of Jesus. Believe it or not, some of those who called themselves Christians were, “…enemies of the cross of Christ”. Wow! Right from the beginning, people were professing to be followers of Jesus, when in fact they were living their old ways. Paul recognized this duplicity and confronts it directly. He admonishes the Philippians to, “join with others in being imitators of me”. What a powerful invitation into the life of Christ from a man who imitated Christ in every way. St. Paul is a model for us on our Lenten Journey. He knows very well how to subdue the enemy within – by constant prayer, fasting, and charitable works. Good activities to occupy us this Lenten season as we too try to quell our own “enemies within”.

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom