Yesterday, four out of the five Holy Cross deacons who will be ordained priests on Saturday April 27, 2019 at Notre Dame visited Sacred Heart Church, Colorado Springs, CO. Rev. Mr. Brian Kennedy, Rev. Mr. Karl Romkema, Rev. Mr. Bryan Williams and Rev. Mr. Brogan Ryan. I gave them a tour of the restoration of Sacred Heart Church.
Dear Believers in the Christ,
On this Second Sunday of Lent, Luke 9:28B-36 takes us to a mountaintop for the Transfiguration. Our perspective has radically changed from the desert. Here we see a vision of who Jesus is and who he will become. Jesus finds his place among the prophets and he becomes a vision in white for the disciples.
The disciples are overwhelmed at the sight of Jesus’ appearance. They think this might be the end of the road where his work might now be accomplished. However, even more things happen. The Father’s voice from heaven declares Jesus to be his son. The voice of the Father tells the disciples to listen to Jesus because he will lead them far beyond this mountaintop.
In the Transfiguration moment, everything changes. However, the real moment will take place on another mountain, which is Calvary. On that mountain Jesus will die and that act will really transform everything. In this Lenten season, we capture a scene that is also for our lives. In believing in Christ Jesus, we are linked to the Trinity. Jesus has much authority to transfigure our lives as well.
In Lent, through prayer, fasting and almsgiving, our lives are transfigured. We become more in line with Jesus, his words and role as Messiah. We are invited to discover him more intimately; to stay with him as the disciples desired to do when they saw his white clothing. Lent draws us into this love, into his forgiveness and mercy as the Son of the Father.
We all may have many excuses not to follow him. We don’t like change. We are comfortable enough in our faith with only Sunday attendance at Mass. We don’t want to give up control. We hoard power and relish our prestige. We think if we let go of such things we will be left with nothing. Our egos seldom desire such change because we fear being destroyed or annihilated. However in faith, all things are made new and all doubt, discouragement and displeasure shall become filled with forgiveness and grace.
Yet, the disciples show us that real change can happen. When we let go of our control we listen to and hear the voice of the Father and we are challenged to move away from the comfortable into an even more genuine following of Christ Jesus. In order to truly follow Christ, the path to Calvary will be inevitable. The letting go in our Lenten season will show us that God is God and we are not.
There are many things that need to be changed in Lent. We need to be rescued from our inaction toward the poor and pay more attention to the love God has for us all. We shall find our path toward forgiveness even when we are the obstacles. We shall find our lives within the company of the prophets who even know our names. We ultimately become more deeply aware that we are sinners, yet we are also redeemed in the dying and rising of Christ Jesus.
Blessings to you,
Fr. Ron
March 10, 2019
First Sunday of Lent
Let us pray we may enter into this Lenten season with humility and a greater longing for the mercy of Christ Jesus. May this spiritual desert lead us on a path of conversion and trust.
We pray to the Lord.
Let us pray we may overcome our addictions to false power, greed, condemning words, overeating, alcohol abuse, prescription medications addiction, and feelings of superiority. May our temptations be eased with love.
We pray to the Lord.
Let us pray our Church leaders may enter the desert of Lent and manifest leadership that is stripped of pride. May temptations of institutional power be replaced with compassion for the weak and vulnerable.
We pray to the Lord.
Let us pray for catechumens and candidates throughout the world longing for the Easter sacraments. May our communities model forgiveness, care and honesty.
We pray to the Lord.
Let us pray for people weakened by illness and disease. May the desert of Lent lift up our poor in spirit, and those lost in the wilderness of physical and mental illness.
We pray to the Lord.
Let us carry hope in the deserts of our grief and loss on earth. We pray for our loved ones who now live in gardens of joy in heaven. In this Mass we remember…
We pray to the Lord.
Dear Followers of the Christ,
On this First Sunday of Lent, this passage from Luke 4:1- 13, brings us to the desert, an image of these forty days of Lent. In this text, Jesus is confronted by the devil. Jesus overrides all temptations. There is no evil greater than the redemptive love of Christ Jesus. He is the reason we are entering into such a journey in the first place.
During the Lenten season, we come closer to our true identity in Christ. Jesus washes away our sins, doubts and failures. We enter more deeply into prayer, fasting and almsgiving as a way to revitalize our faith and to sustain our commitments in the Church.
How do we enter more deeply into prayer this Lent? The Church invites us to renew our devotional life in Lent. We may attend the Stations of the Cross to understand the deep pattern of letting go and receiving the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus. We may receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation with more intention or frequency. In Lent, we learn self-reflection and the consequences of our actions. We may also read the scriptures more frequently, reflect with people in a group, or attend daily Mass. We may pray with greater intention with our families at home at mealtime or at bedtime.
However we pray more or differently in Lent, the reason for our prayer is twofold. We learn a deeper, more beautiful reliance on God and we learn more about our sin, our failures and the walls that keep us from intimacy with God. Prayer gets us to the truth, both in our hearts and in our actions. Prayer also offers us the truth of God’s mercy, love and redemption. Lent is not a time to slash our self-esteem or to think we are not worthy of God. Lent in fact is just the opposite; it is a time to reflect on our humility, the life that is really ours, to be more open to the intimacy, love and forgiveness that God has for us.
There is nothing that keeps us from God’s love, nothing at all. Prayer in Lent is meant to lead us into a deeper silence and awareness that forgiveness and mercy are real and forever gifts from God. We don’t change God’s mind in Lent. We allow God to change our hearts for the good in Lent. I invite you to spend time in silence and prayer during Lent. Be aware of God in your heart. Learn to settle into God’s love and do not be afraid.
Lent leads well beyond the desert. It is a journey for us into prayer to be captivated by God once again. We know we belong to God through baptism. Lent is a time to renew our baptismal call and commitment. If everyone during the Lenten season could renew his or her life in Christ, the Church would be a very different place. We shall rejoice at Easter from our prayer that life in the desert gives way to forgiveness and peace.
Lenten peace,
Fr. Ron
March 6, 2019 Prayers of the Faithful
Ash Wednesday
Let us pray to seek Christ Jesus in prayer, fasting and almsgiving during our Lenten journey. We pray to receive our rewards from a life self-giving.
We pray to the Lord.
Let us not blare a trumpet for our own skills and talents to be noticed, but let us listen to the subtle voice of Jesus calling us into integrity and peace.
We pray to the Lord.
Let us become hungry for self-awareness and to serve the needs and hungers for others. May we create tables of welcome for the stranger and tables of honest conversations for our families.
We pray to the Lord.
Let us work diligently for justice in our communities, to generate honest work for those in need of a daily wage, to create homes for people living outside, and to share with our children a passion for all that is good and loving.
We pray to the Lord.
Let us pray for a Lenten season of integrity for all who lead the Church, for all who are lost in faith, for all who do not know how to pray, and for all who wait to find the love of Christ Jesus.
We pray to the Lord.
Let us pray for our friends and family members who have died, that their journey may now end viewing the face of Jesus Christ in heaven. In this Mass…
We pray to the Lord
Sunday March 3, 2019
Prayers of the Faithful
Let us pray to remove the beam in our own eyes, so we may perceive our path to virtue and integrity. May our eyes glimpse the beauty of faith.
We pray to the Lord.
Let us pray to lift people up when they are bowed down by hopelessness, when hatred fractures our society, when loneliness bends our shoulders and when discouragement shadows our days.
We pray to the Lord.
Let us pray to encourage faith among our children, hope among our families, and kindness among neighborhoods. We pray wisdom may bear fruit among us and shade our restlessness.
We pray to the Lord.
Let us pray for our brothers and sisters who are ill and wrestling with horrific questions about their future. We pray we may extend our lives to all the sick in service and prayer.
We pray to the Lord.
Let us pray that we may know the protection of God for all human life in every generation and time. We pray love may sprout from despair and hope may bloom with honesty.
We pray to the Lord.
Let us pray for our loved ones who have died. We pray our grief may seek forgiveness, connection to our families, and faith in Christ Jesus. In this Mass…
We pray to the Lord
Dear Followers of Jesus,
Luke 6:39-45, today’s gospel, challenges us once again. We take on a greater responsibility in our own lives of faith listening to Jesus’ words. We recognize our own blindness. We know that we are not always faithful leaders; we know firsthand that our blindness gets in the way. The wooden beams in our eyes keep us from seeing the truth of life and the dignity of our sister or brother. We must see the splinters in other people’s eyes carefully. Other people can become a threat to us when we only see the things we disagree with.
Hypocrisy is never easy to deal with. Our own blindness keeps us from living a moral life. We tend to view others lives much more easily than our own. We are faced with much hypocrisy in our day and age.
This weekend is the last in Ordinary Time before the Lenten Season. This gospel becomes a good preparation for Ash Wednesday, March 6. Here is a litany from today’s gospel, Luke 6:39-45, that will help spiritually prepare for this season of repentance and enlightenment.
Response: Open my eyes, O Lord.
Open my eyes to your presence when I am blind…
Open my eyes to your love when I am lost in selfishness…
Open my eyes to your kindness when I put others down…
Open my eyes to your guidance when I am too self-reliant….
Open my eyes to your beauty when I am stuck in gloomy self -destruction…
Remove the beam in my eye when I am arrogant and aloof…
Remove the beam in my eye when I convey only gloom…
Remove the beam in my eye when I live for only my selfish needs…
Remove the beam in my eye when I am quick to judge and slow to change…
Remove the beam in my eye when I see only negative aspects of others…
Produce good fruit in me when I am a complete hypocrite…
Produce good fruit in me when I give up on self-care…
Produce good fruit in me when discouragement wilts my attitude…
Produce good fruit in me when my tongue is forked and insincere…
Produce good fruit in me when I cannot trust myself for good…
Allow light to heal my life when I sit in my own darkness…
Allow light to heal my life when I cast shadows of disgust toward others…
Allow light to heal my life when I allow hatred to fill my day…
Allow light to heal my life when I speak only fear…
Allow light to heal my life when I am afraid to grow and change…
Blessings to you,
Fr. Ron
Broken But Not Divided 