Lent 2015: “Loneliness”

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"Loneliness" Painting: Ronald Raab,csc

“Loneliness”
Painting: Ronald Raab,csc

Tuesday of the First Week of Lent

“I sought the Lord and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears…When the poor one called out, the Lord heard, and from all of his distress he saved him…” (Psalm 34)

The liturgical readings today speak beautifully of our relationship with God and our call to prayer. The gospel unites us with our Heavenly Father in the simple and bold words of the “Lord’s Prayer.” And Psalm 34  expresses what God can do in our longing, in our own poverty if we have the courage to remain in relationship with God.

I want to focus on another aspect of our poverty in our prayer and that is “loneliness”. The greatest need in the world is connection, to belong, to believe that our voices are heard. However, many people do not live in circumstances to believe that people care or certainly that God could care about them. I remember Mother Teresa saying that the greatest killer in the world is loneliness. My years of ministry would certainly back this up, that no amount of possessions or money or social status takes away the human reality of loneliness. Today, we hear of our profound relationship with God and how to pray, but we need to be willing to let people in on this profound reality that God cares for us and our Christian witness to people to take that care into the world.

Click here for an article about how loneliness is a killer.

Click here for another article about how loneliness is a silent killer.

Click here for a spiritual practice to counter loneliness. 

Click here for an article from a Catholic perspective to overcome loneliness.

Monday of the First Week of Lent: Matthew 25:31-46, also the Pope and the new cardinals

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Jesus said to his disciples:

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory,
and all the angels with him,
he will sit upon his glorious throne,
and all the nations will be assembled before him.
And he will separate them one from another,
as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
Then the king will say to those on his right,
‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father.
Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
For I was hungry and you gave me food,
I was thirsty and you gave me drink,
a stranger and you welcomed me,
naked and you clothed me,
ill and you cared for me,
in prison and you visited me.’
Then the righteous will answer him and say,
‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you,
or thirsty and give you drink?
When did we see you a stranger and welcome you,
or naked and clothe you?
When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’
And the king will say to them in reply,
‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did
for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’
Then he will say to those on his left,
‘Depart from me, you accursed,
into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels.
For I was hungry and you gave me no food,
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
a stranger and you gave me no welcome,
naked and you gave me no clothing,
ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’
Then they will answer and say,
‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty
or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison,
and not minister to your needs?’
He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you,
what you did not do for one of these least ones,
you did not do for me.’
And these will go off to eternal punishment,
but the righteous to eternal life.”
(Matthew 25: 31-45)
A priest friend of mine recently asked me to preach at his funeral some day. I hope that day will never come, but he wanted to make sure that I would be willing to preach on this gospel, Matthew 25. This text is the summation of not only his priesthood but our call to put our prayer into practice. This gospel makes sense out of the Eucharist, to live what we believe among people who struggle and are in pain and isolation. This is the classic gospel text that connects prayer and service, the gospel and justice.
If you only spend a few minutes in prayer during this entire Lent, pray with this gospel text. This is our call to extend our lives beyond our own selfishness, our prayer beyond the confines of our own desires. This gospel will change you. I believe there is special grace hidden among the sentences here. This gospel will call you out of your self for the good of all people.
On Sunday February 15, 2015, Pope Francis gave a homily to the new cardinals that I think is the key to his leadership as Pope. I would love to have been a fly on the wall at St. Peter’s watching the reactions of these new cardinals listen to such challenging words from Pope Francis. There has been much written about this homily in the past week. I think today’s gospel goes well with his words about the lepers from last Sunday.
Here are some links to consider:

 Click here for complete text of Pope Francis’ homily from Sunday February 15, 2015

Click here for an article about the homily.

 

How are you being called in this Lenten season to become an instrument of hope for people, a voice of justice?

How do you connect your prayer life to the needs of people around you and for the world?

 

First Sunday of Lent: “Depression Divides”

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Depression Divides Sketch: Ronald Raab, CSC

Depression Divides
Sketch: Ronald Raab, CSC

“The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert and he remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan.” (Mark 1:12-15)

Jesus entered the desert and was tempted by the devil. The image of the desert is still ours today in this Lenten season. We enter the desert but not one in our world, we enter the various forms of deserts within our lives, souls and relationships. We have many forms of deserts in our lives, where despair looms and hope seems lost. One such desert is “depression”. The devil and Jesus in the desert speaks of the combination of darkness and light within our very lives.

I have learned a great deal about faith and God’s revealing love from people who suffer depression. I learn that I cannot blame people for their diseases and cannot control or fix their suffering. I can listen to the depths of loss, grief and self-loathing. I can be part of the solution on the journey with people who face the unknown deserts in life. The desert will lead us all more clearly to the joy and love of Easter.

However you can learn more about depression, please do so. Here are some articles and resources to get you started. Please consider learning more during these Lenten Days.

 

Click here for some statistics about depression. 

Click here for an article on being Catholic and suffering depression. 

Click here for National Association of Mental Illness (NAMI) in Colorado Springs

 

 

 

On The Margins – First Sunday of Lent, Mark 1:12-15

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fr_ron_and_kbvm_readingBWListen to  “On the Margins”. This broadcast comes from KBVM 88.3, Catholic Broadcasting Northwest. We begin Lent in the desert. The deserts within are even more brutal than on the earth. Lent is springtime, where we offer our lives, our choices back to God.  First Sunday of Lent, February 22, 2015.

Listen now: [audio https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/75239779/On%20The%20Margins/On%20The%20Margins%20Feb%2022%202015%20LENT.mp3]

Stream live On The Margins on KBVM 88.3FM on Saturdays at 8am and Sundays at 8am.

Lent 2015: Friday, Fasting, Food Insecurity

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Gospel for Friday after Ash Wednesday:

Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.” ( Matthew 9: 14-15) 

On this Friday of Lent, we reflect on fasting as a way of prayer. Click here to an article from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops on the spirituality of fasting. 

Also, please reflect prayerfully on the fact of food insecurity in the world. So often going without food is not an option for so many people even here in the United States. Please learn more about how hungry people really are in our own day and age. Click here to learn the connection of Catholic Social Teaching and Food from Catholic Relief Services. 

Click here to learn more about food insecurity in the United States.

Click here for some facts about hunger in Colorado.

Click here to learn more about Marian House Soup Kitchen from our local Catholic Charities in Colorado Springs

I hope you will pray for people who need food and take that awareness into your Lenten journey of fasting and realizing the importance of what is needed for all people to survive.

The Faces of Friday

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I hope you will take time during the Lenten season to listen to and pray with these Stations of the Cross. Andrew Noethe and I produced this set of stations a few years ago. Each station is a separate video. Andy’s brilliant photography speaks beautifully of people struggling to connect their story with the larger story of Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection. My prayer will be with you as you journey through these stations as we begin Lent tomorrow.

Ronald Patrick Raab, C.S.C.'s avatarBroken But Not Divided

The stations of the cross are a traditionally practiced prayer and meditation by which to view all human suffering. This version, The Faces of Friday, articulates the raw suffering we encounter daily at our parish here in Portland, Oregon.

Before viewing, you are invited to read an introduction to The Faces of Friday from an article in Celebrate! Magazine.

You can also read an article in today’s Catholic Sentinel about The Faces of Friday.

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Battles and Weapons

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This article is based on the Collect (Opening Prayer) for Ash Wednesday. I wrote this for Ministry and Liturgy Magazine in 2012. I hope it will offer you some moments of reflection and prayer as we prepare for the Lenten Season this week. Let me know what you think.

Ronald Patrick Raab, C.S.C.'s avatarBroken But Not Divided

Originally published by Ministry & Liturgy Magazine, November 2012
– PDF version –

Ash Wednesday
Grant, O Lord, that we may begin with holy fasting the campaign of Christian service, so that as we take up battle against spiritual evils, we may be armed with weapons of self-restraint. through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Our parish opens our daily hospitality center by first gathering staff and volunteers around a large table. We gather so people can introduce themselves, to learn names and basic information of other volunteers. We strive to build community with people who offer their presence to others in the morning. A staff member invites someone to read out loud the gospel passage for the upcoming Sunday. He invites people into silence and offers that silence in peace for the community who are still waiting…

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At-Home Lenten Retreat 2015

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(Here is a little help preparing for the Lenten season and allowing the message of the gospels to rest in your heart. This retreat text was first published in 2006 in Portland, OR)

At-Home Retreat

Lent 2015

Rev. Ronald Patrick Raab, CSC

INTRODUCTION:

 Lent is a time to take seriously the love our God has for each and every one of us. It is a time to strip away the distractions that keep us from acknowledging love, to fast from the things that keep us numb and our real hunger suppressed, and to give of our real selves and not just out of obligation or rule keeping. This Lenten journey leads us to a revitalized understanding that Christ’s death and resurrection continues to give genuine life to us. Continue reading →