GROW AS A DISCIPLE — PRAY, STUDY, ENGAGE, SERVE 

GROW: As we begin Holy Week, we hear Matthew’s account of the Passion. We see Jesus’ humanity as he experiences sorrow and distress in the hours before his death. Three times, he asks the Father to “let this cup pass from me, yet, not as I will, but as you will.” In our own human experience, I am guessing many of us have asked the Father to “let this cup pass” – for in addition to life’s joys, we will all experience setbacks, struggles, and suffering. By example, Jesus shows us that we can turn to our Father, trusting in his will for us. Let this be a reminder in this holiest of weeks that we can bring our suffering and our doubts to the Father, knowing that the joy of Easter will come. 

Grow as a Disciple — Pray, Study, Engage, Serve

GROW: In today’s Gospel, we see so clearly the fully human nature of Jesus even in the midst of him revealing his divine nature in raising Lazarus from the dead. On hearing that his friend Lazarus had died, Jesus “wept,” and he became “perturbed and deeply troubled.” We see his love for Martha and Mary, and the freedom he gives them to love him fully in return, and to expect things of him. Each of them confronts Jesus, exasperated: Had you come earlier, our brother would not have died! Yet in the same breath, they express their faith that Jesus is the resurrection and the life. As we continue our Lenten journey, we can rest assured that Jesus is never far from us and that he understands our human longings, struggles and pain. Like Martha and Mary, we can place our faith in Jesus here, now and for eternity.

Grow as a Disciple — Pray, Study, Engage, Serve

GROW: Five days, five minutes of sunshine: That’s how the city where I live greeted 2023. As the month wore on, the gloom seemed unrelenting with only momentary breaks in the clouds. When the sun did return, people posted photos on social media with a combination of joy and relief. That experience hints at the effect Jesus had on St. Paul and the early Christians. As he writes, “You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.” Today, just as then, Jesus brings light and healing to the darkness within us and within our world. Unlike the elusive sun, we can see the light of Jesus every day – in the people we love, the kindness of strangers, moments of prayer, unexpected joys. In turn, St. Paul encourages us to “live as children of light” by being the face of Jesus to others.

Ex 17:3-7
, Rom 5:1-2, 5-8, 
Jn 4:5-42

GROW: Even St. Teresa of Calcutta experienced a period of “spiritual dryness.” We pray, we go to Mass faithfully, we serve others – yet at times God’s presence may seem elusive. Like the Israelites, we may ask, “Is the Lord in our midst or not?” As we enter the third Sunday of Lent, today’s readings assure us that God remains with us even during those times we may feel spiritually parched. In Exodus, water flows from a rock to satisfy the people. In the Gospel, Jesus tells the Samaritan woman at the well: “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman, a sinner and an outcast, recognizes Jesus as Messiah, and it changes her life. Even when we don’t “feel” God’s presence, we can rest assured that Jesus stands beside us. He is our redemption and our Hope, and “Hope does not disappoint.”

GROW: As we enter the second week of Lent, today’s readings encourage us to place our trust in God when we are dealing with hardship or uncertainty. Last week, we heard about how Jesus resisted the devil’s temptations in the desert, trusting in the Father. This week, we follow Peter, James and John up the mountain, where Jesus “was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light.” Jesus had told his followers he would suffer and die. The Transfiguration gave them a foretaste of Christ's glorious coming (CCC 554-56) As we continue on our Lenten journeys, we, too, can place our trust in the Lord. Though we may experience hardships and perhaps even doubts, the Transfiguration reminds us that Jesus has gone before us and prepared a place for us. As Pope Francis reminds us, “by his Transfiguration [Jesus] invites us to gaze at him. And looking at Jesus purifies our eyes and prepares them for eternal life, for the vision of heaven” (Homily, March 2014).

GROW: Superbowl Sunday was two weeks ago, and many of us were more likely interested in the commercials than the actual game. After all, companies pay a ton of money to have their products paraded in front of us, and – in theory at least – take the time to make these particular ads memorable and funny. If we can be convinced that we will be better people, or our social outings greater and filled with more laughter, we will buy what they are selling. It’s the modern version of the words of the serpent in today’s first reading: if you eat this, “you will be like gods”! Today’s readings are a reminder that we are all sinners and burdened by being vulnerable to false promises – but also that we are relieved of this burden through one man: Jesus Christ. If we tend to forget that the most important part of our salvation story is that it is full of more grace and forgiveness than we can comprehend, this first Sunday of Lent is a good time to prayerfully ponder this. If God seems far away or distant, let us recall that he loved us so much that he breathed our very life into us, and then gave his only begotten Son to us that we might have life eternally. All he asks in return is for us to accept this gift and follow in his footsteps. Lent is the time to be mindful of grace-filled opportunities that draw us closer to God.

GROW: Today is the last Sunday in Ordinary Time before Lent begins. I realize in saying it that way, however, it sounds like a warning (“the bookstore will be closing in five minutes, please bring your purchases to the register!”) rather than an acknowledgement of the celebration that it is. So let me put it another way: Today is the 7^th – of 33 – Sundays in Ordinary Time this year, which means, we’ve only just begun. We are in some of the earliest days of the Church’s “ordered” (ordinary/numbered) approach to helping us mature and grow in faith. We do this by living with and in the life of Christ over the course of a year. At each step we celebrate the life, passion, death, and resurrection of Christ, but we also set aside different seasons to focus on those specific elements. And so it makes sense that as we approach Lent, we hear more about what exactly God asks of us. Lent will be a season of preparation for Christ’s passion; have we prepared our hearts accordingly to receive him? Today’s readings remind us of what sets us back: hatred for others; desire for revenge; grudges; worldly wisdom; all things which are destructive of God’s temple – our souls, as Saint Paul says. Having a heart full of these things means there is no room for love, which means there is no room for Christ. Let us pray for God’s help in ridding ourselves of all that is destructive, and for the strength to grow a heart only for him.

GROW: Just the other day some of my friends agreed on a new way to approach the new year: Select one word, a kind of mantra for 2023. Ironically, even though I am indecisive to a fault, I had no trouble deciding on mine: “Choose.” I often get stuck, whether it’s deciding which online clothing purchases to return, what to order on the menu … and don’t get me started on major life decisions. Today’s reading from Sirach reminds us of the choice that matters most: If we choose to keep the commandments, they will save us. “Before man are life and death, good and evil, whichever he chooses shall be given him.” We are well into 2023, but it bears reminding that each day we have an opportunity to choose anew: To follow God’s law, fulfilled in the words and example of Jesus. He will show us the way. “If you trust in God, you too shall live.”

I recently decided to learn to cook. As I sit at the feet of various YouTube cooking masters, I notice how much of cooking is adding ingredients that don’t provide any more nourishment, like herbs and other seasonings. But man! They make all the difference because they make the meal delightful to eat and share.

Jesus calls his disciples “salt of the world.” No one eats just salt. So, Christians are not meant to replace or do away with the world. They are meant to be agents of preservation and glorification. Notice how often these days the Church seeks to preserve what is threatened: the goodness of marital and family love, the desires of young people for greatness, the value of honest work, healthy economics, and altruistic political engagement, the dignity of the poor and vulnerable. Over and over, we say to a world who wants to throw things out, “It’s worth saving! We’ll preserve it! We’ll show you it’s wonderful.” If we can’t engage the world like that, Jesus says we are the ones who get thrown out, because salt alone is worthless.

In my parents’ bedroom there were on the wall two photos of my mom and dad from their early adulthoods. The photo of my mother entranced me when I was a boy. I loved looking at it, even though I saw her in daily life. Something about that picture captured her perfectly. It was an image of the joy, wisdom, beauty, and strength that enveloped me from the start of my life. It was an icon of the woman who fed, taught, and encouraged me. I felt a deep pride that I came from such beauty. 

When I was a young seminarian, I asked a wise old priest how to pray better. He said simply, “Don’t lie when you pray.” He helped me to see how much energy I waste in trying to appear acceptable to God when I pray. For me, prayer was showing off for God and hiding what was ugly.

When I was a kid, I remember the priest at Mass announcing, “The Lamb of God!” Frankly, it struck me as nonsense. I thought: Why in the world does God have a lamb? And where is this lamb? 

John the Baptist sees Jesus coming toward him and announces, “Behold the lamb of God.” His Jewish listeners knew what he meant. God’s lamb is the thing that is sacrificed at the Jewish Passover and consumed by the participants. For almost a thousand years, lambs were ritually slaughtered and eaten in Jerusalem at Passover. The lamb meant sacrifice, freedom from sin, and communion with God. The Baptist is saying in effect, “This man will be ritually sacrificed and consumed so that God’s people may be free from sin and united to God.” 

A friend of mine is a young priest who teaches high school physics at a Catholic boys’ prep school. Like many today, the boys often think science and religion are enemies. So, he delights in their raised eyebrows when he reminds them his first full-time job as a priest was to be an astrophysicist. He cataloged the size, shape, and matter of distant stars. He tells them, “Science gave me more love for God, not less.” 

We hide ourselves and our secrets from God because we are afraid. Even Mary can seem too perfect to approach. The shepherds find the strength to speak to Mary and Joseph at the moment they see the child in the manger. They open their hearts and share what they’ve experienced. Saint Luke writes of the shepherds, “When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child.”