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February 23, 2009
First Sunday of Lent [March 1, 2009]
The Christmas season is complete now and with that we know that the next season will be Lent and Easter. In some sense I think that we are never quite ready for Ash Wednesday or the First Sunday of this season. On the other hand, we welcome these 6 weeks because many issues in our life have probably been building up over the past year and we know in our heart that we need to confront them.
Lent, truly, is a gift for us all: It is a different kind of season, a serious time, a time of reflection and new intent. Would we really get serious and take a broad look at our life if the Church did not offer us this special time? Speaking for myself, probably not. For that reason then we need this special push, this engagement with the reality of our lives. I always look forward to Ash Wednesday and those weeks that follow it because I know that I will come away the better for it. Yes, it’s true, we will all come back to revisit Lent again next year and the year after that, not simply because of liturgical law or a sense of guilt but because, deep down we know that time and the world are hard on us, indeed, our own weak spirit does not help us much either. And so given all that, we feel happy that we have the whole Church supporting us in this huge effort to turn away from sin and follow the gospel once again.
As the old saying has it, on Ash Wednesday and during Lent sin goes to church. We go to Church because we know that we are nor alone in this huge effort of renewal and reconciliation. We will be in Church, among the community of the faithful giving our all to this great effort of discovering who we are and where we belong.
The question, of course, that arises at the Lent’s beginning is, “so, what am I going to do this year?” From past experience we know that the options are overwhelming: We will go to church daily, we will read some special spiritual book we have been putting off, and of course, following the suggestion of the scriptures, we will pray, fast and give alms. I have no argument with any of those, except to ask the question, “Why,” why are we planning to do all these things? In some sense, I suppose, we have the hope that these will change our life, or we will choose to do them for penance sake, to make up for our wrongs. Nonetheless, from my own experience, I can tell you that penances are not magic, they do not solve or eliminate long entrenched habits. But, still and all, we continue to practices because we feel so good afterward. We’ve made the great effort and that in itself seems to be a reward.
For my part, however, I am always brought back to the gospel on the Lent’s first Sunday, the one you just heard, Jesus’ being driven by the spirit into the wilderness where he faced the three universal temptations that we all experience in our own lives.
Here is what happens: Jesus has just recently been baptized in the Jordan by John. Then immediately he goes out into the desert, the quiet places where there will be no distraction and there he will think about his life now and about his future. Will he go the way of other young men of his time and make a name for himself? Or will he listen to that quiet voice deep within and try to figure out what this mysterious call means?
We all know the answer, of course, his choice is still making us wonder today, wonder what the Good News means, what the Kingdom of God means, what justice and peace and concern for the poor means. It was to these issues that Jesus eventually dedicated himself.
All this leads me to say that all the so-called Lenten practices we have “practiced” before are not in vain, but rather that they must be preceded in doing what Jesus did, to think and reflect and ponder about who we are just now, what we are capable of for God’s kingdom.
In other words, Lent, it seems to me is first of all a time for deep interior reflection: Who am I just now? What gives my life meaning, what is my bliss, what continues to keep me from achieving that Christian goal I set for myself each Lent?
Obviously, if we are thinking about Lenten penances, this one will surely prove the most difficult of all because we usually will insist that everything is really okay in our life and promising to do a few penances will make it all perfect.
My own suggestion therefore, is simply to keep quiet during Lent, do some good spiritual reading to deepen our sense of self, spend at least 15 minutes of reflection daily in our own desert. I am not sure whether there will be any noticeable external changes in our life by Holy Thursday, but at least we will have had to face ourselves and ask hard questions. Chances are that we will not notice many spectacular, long term changes in our life-behavior but that’s not the goal. The goal is simply to take a serious look at life as it appears to us just now and let the spirit move us in the right direction.
The scriptures: Genesis 9: 8-15; Peter 3: 18-22; Mark 1: 12-15
Posted by Cindy Lentine at 01:45 PM.
February 16, 2009
Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time [February 22, 2009]
I can’t ever remember pretending to be a sports enthusiast. I do like to watch the Fighting Irish, win or lose, and I have attended several basketball games here at Notre Dame with friends; my ears are still ringing from the noise.
I have found it important, however, to be somewhat conversant with the sporting world inasmuch as all my confreres at the dining table are so well informed in all this. So, I should know beforehand what the Big East is or who the Heisman trophy winner was this year if I am going to carry on any intelligent conversation.
On occasion, I also pick up a copy of Sports Illustrated or I will listen to Frank Deford speak of sports on National Public Radio.
Thumbing through the football stories this fall and the splendid photos that accompanied them, I was struck by the size of the professional players, particularly the size of the shoulders and necks. They are behemoths, these guys: They bump heads, butts and hips with each other when someone makes a good play. (What all that actually means, I have no idea) So, hardened are these men, that I am not surprised that they seldom get hurt.
But occasionally it does happen as it did during a playoff game several weekends ago. Two men simply crashed into each other head on at full speed. Down they went, but one player did not get up, not for at least 15 minutes. (Lots of advertising time).
Finally the medics were able to stabilize him and place him on a stretcher and hence onto a motorized cart whereby he was taken to a hospital. I never did find out the extent of his injuries. I hope he is okay.
What struck me about the demeanor of these giants, however, is that they all stood close about their fallen comrade, silently watching the procedure before the game was once again called into action. In other words, despite their exterior toughness, these men were sensitive to the occasion and I am sure they themselves would have carried their comrade off the field had the need been clear.
All this came back to mind after I read the interesting and, in some sense, humorous story of the four men who carried a paralyzed companion to the roof of a building where Jesus was preaching. In order to help the man reach the floor below, they tore off the tiles and cement of the roof, dusting up the folks down below listening to Jesus preach.
It does seem humorous in some sense, but it is also a story of passion and compassion: These four friends would stop at nothing to get their companion into a healing position in front of Jesus. Of course, you know the rest of it: Jesus praised the man and his friends for their faith and sent him on his way.
All this tells us about the lengths people will go to support each. Consider these examples: Parents will support their children, even though they sometimes act like idiots. Husbands and wives will support each other through all sorts of difficulties. Business partners do all they can to help someone in the office who has problems. Parents will spend many sleepless nights waiting for a son or daughter to come. They will sit in emergency room waiting area for hours until a son or daughter returns from examinations. We have seen enough of the Iraq war to tell us how closely bonded our soldier are: They will go to any length to help a buddy who’s been wounded, even going so far as to put themselves in mortal harm. We have seen firemen and policemen risking their lives to save someone in a burning house. Indeed, we have seen them carrying people out on stretchers, resembling the gospel story.
All this tells me that this gospel story is an example of simple human compassion, human care of people for one another.
Could all this be called a grace? I’m sure that most of us either have done something similar to the event in the gospel story. Surely, we were not looking for any recompense nor payment. This is the way compassionate, sensitive people care for each other.
By the way, you may have noticed the attitude of the scribes and Pharisees when Jesus healed the man. They were more concerned about working on the Sabbath than about the poor guy who was only looking for a little help. You see where the values differed?
With all that, therefore, I think the message in this gospel is all about support for those who need it: Physical, mental, spiritual, you name it. A stretcher may not even be needed because it’s all about attitude: How far are we willing to go in support of our brothers and sisters?
By the way, I’ve often wondered who paid for the repair of the roof?
The scriptures: Isaiah 43: 18-19, 21-22, 24b-25; 2 Corinthians 1: 18-22; Mark 2: 1-12
Posted by Cindy Lentine at 01:20 PM.
February 09, 2009
Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time [February 15, 2009]
“How is it living with a lot of other priests now that you have left your work in Alaska?” That’s what a lot of folks back in Alaska will often ask me when they write to me or send e-mail messages. “Well, it’s not bad,” I say. “But, it took a little getting used to, having lived and worked by myself for a long time.”
It is true; of course, living in a community of 45 people is different than living by yourself. It does take a different state of mind when you need to fit in and not be able to make your own decisions about most things.
One of the things that is distinctly different is that you live cheek-to-jowl with your neighbor, in chapel, in the dining room, in the library and reading room. So, that means that you are responsible for that other person next to you. You don’t always have your own way in decision-making.
All this became clear to me recently when the director of our house decided that in this season of colds and flu, we would discontinue the reception of Holy Communion from the cup in order to avoid the possibility of passing our “problem germs” on to others. At first, I was disappointed, remembering, of course, Jesus words: “Take this cup all of you and drink of it”, but I was willing to concede my personal rights for the sake of others.
Whether Jesus actually worried about passing germs from one person to another by using the common cup, I am not sure. However, from our reading of the Jewish Testament of the Book of Leviticus it is clear that the Jewish people, as others as well, did worry about communicable diseases, particularly the disease of leprosy. Because of the disease’s external effect on the body, it was feared all the more.
Hence, if an individual was declared unclean and later found to be cured, he was obligated to report it to the temple priest. I suspect, however, that there were few of such reports of healing. True leprosy in Jewish times was considered a disease lasting a lifetime.
Now, here is where the beautiful story of Jesus’ healing the person with leprosy comes into play. Jesus heals the man and, according law, sends him off to report to the temple priests. Jesus knew, of course that such a cure would make him all the more well known; so he commands him to keep it quiet.
Of course, you know what happened. The man couldn’t keep it to himself. He broadcast it publically, to the point where Jesus needed to go off and hide.
Of course, could you blame the poor leper? This is the best thing that ever happened to him; he was cured of a horrible disease.
The question, of course, is this: Wouldn’t we do the same? Think, for instance of the following examples: A man struggling with alcoholism goes to Guest House and three months later he comes home a recovering alcoholic. He tells anyone who wants to listen, of his joy. A young man or woman goes on a rampage of drinking and drugs. They are finally incarcerated and a year later they come home free. They can’t keep from telling others of their problem and how they were cured. Many will even insist that their recovery was God’s great gift and will go from school to school giving talks on recovery from addiction. How can they possibly keep their mouths shut?
It is the most natural thing in the world to proclaim the good news of a cure, whether physical, spiritual or psychological. What outsider can possibly understand or explain what such a cured person is feeling.
Perhaps it might also be true to say that each of us, at certain times in our life, finds himself cured of some personal problem. It would not seem too much for us to “go public” and let the “world” know how we feel, how God has entered into our lives. I don’t think it would be necessary for us go report to the priests, as in the case of the man with leprosy. But it would seem important to let others know that, through the grace of God, we are cured and ready to begin a new life. All of us find ourselves cured in small ways every day. It would be a gift to others to let them know the good news about how all this happened. Don’t we all love to hear about cures?
The scriptures: Leviticus 13: 1-2, 44-46; 1 Corinthians 10: 31-11:1;
Mark 1: 40-55
Posted by Cindy Lentine at 10:46 AM.
February 02, 2009
Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time [February 8, 2009]
Anyone who has read the news this past year or watched evening television can tell you that the one topic that has dominated life around the world is the economy, whatever it is that makes our country, and countries around the world run. The folks who have lost their jobs, their homes, their investments (remember the famous Bernie Madof?), will tell you that human life and stability around the world is in jeopardy.
Of course, the smooth working of economic life, depends in great part on our work, whether you have a job and a salary with which you pay your rent, your insurance policy, buy groceries, secure medical care et. cetera. In other words, most folks in this world need to do some human task in order sustain their lives and the lives of others.
Obviously, I am not an economist and, at the moment, as a retired person, I do not even have a salary, but I can easily understand the situations of people who need to hold two jobs just to get along.
However, as a philosophical and theological observer, I often try to offer some of my insights about life in this world, hoping that this will also give others an opportunity to observe it from a deeper perspective. Yes, I know these thoughts of mine will not pay bills, but it is often worth our while just to think about ordinary things and how they impact our life.
Take work, for instance: From a rather superficial perspective, I often like to divide workers between those who like their work and those who hate it. My suspicion is that there are more people who dislike what they do, but continue to do it simply because it is the only way they can sustain their lives. However, if they had the opportunity and the wherewithal they might wish to sit on a pleasant beach somewhere and drink something refreshing. Alas, that is not possible for most folks, so they will find it necessary to work at some task, whether they like it or not.
There is an interesting little scenario on life and work in our scriptures for this Sunday: The Book of Job and the gospel of Mark. As most bible readers know, Job was one miserable person. He had suffered indescribable tragedies. For him, life and work were unbearable, a complete drudgery: He needs to wait for his wages, his days are without hope, his life is like the wind and he predicts that he will never see happiness again. So, he is one unhappy guy, all because he has no control over his future. His work gives him no happiness or satisfaction.
But then we also have the example of Jesus of Nazareth. Now, obviously, did not seem to have had a steady job with a salary, nor the need to support a family. He was never paid for his preaching but at the same time, you never hear him complaining like Job even though he often took the heat from the civil and religious authorities. He experienced life’s problems like everyone else. We know, of course, for all his efforts to bring people closer to their God, he suffered and died for his efforts.
One thing that is very clear from reading about Jesus life in the gospels: He was most certainly a happy person. He was ready to go to work at a moment’s notice. Peter’s mother-in-law was sick and Jesus healed her immediately. He went up into the mountains to take some rest, but shortly afterward came back down and invited his disciples to go back to work. Here you surely have a happy man. He was inspired with his work, never a discouraging word from him.
So, what should all that mean to us, whether we enjoy our work or not? Obviously, as is often the case, there is not much we can do about the work we do except to turn in our resignation and quit. But often that is not an option either. We need to make a living.
Part of the answer, I think, is with attitude. No job, no work is perfect and often there is not much we can do to change that. So, part of the answer is our attitude: If we choose to be sour and miserable about life, that will only make it worse, but if we can find something good something creative and rewarding in whatever we do, and if we choose to offer up our efforts to God and for the good of our neighbor, that should do good things for our dreary attitude. It probably will not change the realities of life, but it will surely make them more bearable. That in itself has to be a plus in a world where life is, at best, is always kind of “iffy.”
The scriptures: Job 78:1-4, 6-7, 1 Corinthians 9: 16-19, 22-23, Mark 1: 29-30
Posted by Cindy Lentine at 03:53 PM.
