Dear Friend,
Once again we begin the season of Lent with this Ash Wednesday celebration. Lent as we know is a time for repentance and renewal yet the preface of Lent will call it the joyful season of Lent. We should remind ourselves that originally Lent was a time for preparation for Baptism and for Easter. Later on as the practice of adult Baptisms died out, it became a time of baptismal renewal as well as a time of repentance and a proximate preparation for Easter. As we begin this new season may we find our joy in coming back to the Lord. Have 'prayer-filled' weekend! -Fr. Jude Sunday Reflections: Ash Wednesday Repent and Believe 05-03-2003 Readings: Joel 2: 12-18 2 Corinthians 5: 20 - 6:2 Matthew 6: 1-6, 16-18 The first reading from the prophet Joel reminds us that sometimes God invited the people of Israel to come back to Him through the great disasters that befell them. "Come back to me with all your heart, fasting weeping and mourning." Scriptures tell us that the people of Israel time and again abandoned God and sometimes, in order to bring them back to the right path, God allowed misfortunes to fall upon them. It was after one such disaster that the prophet Joel conveyed to the people the message that God would come to their rescue. The disaster that befell the Israelites at that time was the invasion of locusts, that came in large numbers from the desert and devoured everything. The people were devastated and the prophet Joel called them to prayer and to penance. He assured them that if them came back to Yahweh, Yahweh would provide them with food they needed. He reminded them that every one should do penance, the priests and the laity, the young and the old, even the children. They needed to ask God's pardon as a family, as one community and God would forgive them all. Today, an evil far worse than locusts besets individuals and humankind. This evil is sin. Sin destroys the life we have received from God at our baptism, it destroys the good we have done in our lives by increasing the evil around us; it destroys our community and human family especially the unity that is needed that we might live in peace and harmony. Today we are confronted by the specter of war, of terrorism, of famine and disease. We may not like to admit it but all these are the result of our sin. Every sin, even the most private sin, adds to the suffering and misery in this world, just as the tiniest good deed draws down God's blessings on the whole of humankind and makes us a better people. We have to acknowledge that we are responsible for the world and the sins of our lives have created the fragmented world we live in. We are invited as individuals and as a community to repent and humbly acknowledge our sinfulness. The Nail Post A father wanted his son to really understand the importance of making right choices, of obeying and doing what's right. And so if his son made a bad choice or a wrong decision, he gives him a hammer and a nail to take out into the backyard and pound into a fence post. Every day the son went through the whole day making good decisions, he'd let the boy go out and take out one of those nails. Until the boy was fifteen, there were always two or three nails in the post, -seemed he'd be nailing new ones as often as he'd pull out others. The youth started to mature and make better decisions and finally one day all the nails were removed from the post. That was when his dad took him back and said, "I want you to notice something about the post." The son looked at the post for a moment and realized that all the nails that once were driven in and then later removed had left small holes in the post. The holes were the remaining effects of the nails. His dad said," I want to tell you something son, about bad choices and decisions. Even though you may be totally forgiven from your bad choices or decisions, and there are no nails visible, there are the remaining effects, the consequences, of those choices or decisions; just like the holes in that fencepost." Author Unknown The Gospel of today speaks to us of three paths that can lead us back to God: prayer, fasting and alms. However Jesus reminds us that these three practices by themselves will not lead us to God unless we perform them with a humble heart. We can perform them diligently but from the wrong motives: out of a sense of pride, we are better than the rest; we can do the external routine while our hearts are far from God; we can get involved in them ritualistically so that others may notice our good works. We all know the ulterior motives we can have even when doing the best of good works. Lent is a time for renewing our prayer life. But when we pray, do not pray to be seen or heard by others. We are reminded in today's gospel. "But when you pray, go to your private room and when you have shut the door, pray to your Father, who is in that secret place, and your father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you." Is Jesus against praying in public with the community or prayer group? What Jesus is speaking about is the motive of our prayer practices. Are we putting on a performance to make an impression on others? Would we do the same if no one was watching? Sometimes, in the name of God, we could be talking to ourselves or bouncing messages to others -satellite prayers! Our common prayer should be done with humility, sincerity and with love. Our community prayer life needs to be balanced with private and personal prayer. The second practice recommended is fasting and abstinence during lent and again we are reminded that how we do it is more important than what we do. If fasting makes us irritable, if we fast with long faces and put on a gloomy look and make all around us miserable, there is something wrong with that kind of fasting. The heart of fasting is to do without something that we like and believe we can't do without, in order to realize that God can supply our every need. Sometimes people feel so guilty about eating meat on a day of abstinence and yet have no qualms about enjoying a delicious sea-food meal. We may have observed the letter of the law but have missed out on its spirit. What about a weekly fast from our favourite TV serial? The third practice of the devout Jew was almsgiving. Again the admonition is the same: "So when you give alms do not have it trumpeted before you to win men's admiration. .. your left hand must not know what your right hand is doing, your alms giving must be secret and your father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you." Giving alms is any kind of help, material or spiritual that we give to our neighbour. We could help our neighbour in need, we could give them good advice or encouragement, we can appreciate the goodness in others, we can help someone in spiritual danger, we can encourage people to attend to their spiritual needs. Perhaps the help that people need is more spiritual than material. Are we bringing people to Jesus by our words, our good example and our deeds? A Good Lesson A young man, a student in one of our universities, was one day taking a walk with a professor, who was commonly called the students' friend, from his kindness to those who waited on his instructions. As they went along, they saw lying in the path a pair of old shoes, which they supposed to belong to a poor man who was employed in a field close by, and who had nearly finished his day's work. The student turned to the professor, saying: "Let us play the man a trick: we will hide his shoes, and conceal ourselves behind those bushes, and wait to see his perplexity when he cannot find them." "My young friend," answered the professor, "we should never amuse ourselves at the expense of the poor. But you are rich, and may give yourself a much greater pleasure by means of the poor man. Put a coin into each shoe, and then we will hide ourselves and watch how the discovery affects him." The student did so, and they both placed themselves behind the bushes close by. The poor man soon finished his work, and came across the field to the path where he had left his coat and shoes. While putting on his coat he slipped his foot into one of his shoes; but feeling something hard, he stooped down to feel what it was, and found the coin. Astonishment and wonder were seen upon his countenance. He gazed upon the coin, turned it round, and looked at it again and again. He then looked around him on all sides, but no person was to be seen. He now put the money into his pocket, and proceeded to put on the other shoe; but his surprise was doubled on finding the other coin. His feelings overcame him; he fell upon his knees, looked up to heaven and uttered aloud a fervent thanksgiving, in which he spoke of his wife, sick and helpless, and his children without bread, whom the timely bounty, from some unknown hand, would save from perishing. The student stood there deeply affected, and his eyes filled with tears. "Now," said the professor, "are you not much better pleased than if you had played your intended trick?" The youth replied, "You have taught me a lesson which I will never forget. I feel now the truth of those words, which I never understood before: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" Author unknown, retold by Artin Tellalian May we enjoy this season of Lent! Fr. Jude Botelho www.netforlife.net PS. The stories, incidents and anecdotes used in the reflections have been collected over the years from books as well as from sources over the net and from e-mails received. Every effort is made to acknowledge authors whenever possible. If you send in stories or illustrations I would be grateful if you could quote the source as well so that they can be acknowledged if used in these reflections. These reflections are also available on my web site www.netforlife.net Thank you. =============================================================================== This mail is generated from JOYnet, a Jesus Youth mailing list. For more info on the list visit http://www.jesusyouth.org/joynet To unsubscribe from the list send a mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe to the list visit http://www.jesusyouth.org/joynet/join In case of any issue related to the mailing list contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] ===============================================================================
