Friday, February 16, 2018

February 16 - Thursday after Ash Wednesday

­­+ Today on this third day of Lent we again get preliminary instructions on how to proceed through this powerful yet simple Season. In preparing to get a newer depth of meaning for this year’s Holy Week Services of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus, as we live through our days with many Passions, Deaths and Resurrections in full drama, or smaller ones, the Church asks us to focus as soon as possible on spiritual realities: and so she recommends “fasting” as a way to zero in our GPS’s.

When we deny ourselves of food and drink, for example, the intensity of the lack, makes us more away of what truly matters in life, and we begin to sort out what kinds of “food” and “drink” are really important to us: both the kind we can see and consume, but also the kind that is to nurture us spiritually.

And so we “give up” stuff – probably stuff that we don’t really need to be consuming so voraciously anyway.

But what the Church really has in mind is found in the first reading from God’s self-revelation to us, the Scriptures, from the Prophet Isaiah: God’s spokesman: fast with a pure heart and conscience, give up cheating and stealing and lying and other acts of uncharity, but also then DO SOMETHING RIGHT GOOD AND JUST AND MERCIFUL: “break unjust fetters, especially the kind that we ourselves have imposed, share your bread in many and sundry ways with the hungry of mind, body, spirit, shelter the homeless who are wandering around like sheep without a shepherd: and this is more than the man at the intersection of our busy urban stop lights, clothe the naked, physically and spiritually, and for God’s sake DON’T TURN YOUR BACK ON YOUR OWN – for this is a most grievous offense in the sight of God, and the Holy Family in heaven.

Then, our inner lights shall begin to glow – our heart-light – and we will find healing, and joy and a real purpose in our own lives – our integrity will become solid and when we call out in desperation to the Lord: he will say “I AM HERE” what do you need? how can I help you?


With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption!

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