Thursday, February 26, 2015

Second Sunday of Lent, year B

The assurance of faith

Reading I: Genesis 22:1–2, 9, 10–13, 15–18 (the testing of Abraham)
Reading II: Romans 8:31–34 (God’s love for humanity)
Gospel: Mark 9:2–10 (Jesus transfigured)

Key Passage
: Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” (Mark 9:5)

Adult: How deeply do you believe that since God is for you, no one can destroy you?
Child: What would you like to ask God to do for you and your family?
(from PastoralPlanning.com)

Friday, February 20, 2015

Forty Days and Forty Nights

The title of this post sounds like a poor movie title doesn’t it? Yet the number 40 shows great significance in the Bible. Forty is seen as denoting a period of trial and testing. Remember the time Jesus spent in the desert in Matthew 4:1-11 and also in Luke 4:1-13 when the devil tested him? From these two Bible readings we can see how Lent has taken on the 40 days symbolism.

We begin Lent with Ash Wednesday, which we all know and a majority of us took advantage of receiving ashes to start off Lent prayerfully. But, did you know that the 40 days does not start until the 1st Sunday of Lent? If you count the days until Holy Thursday it will be exactly 40. And on Holy Thursday we begin the Triduum which lasts until Easter Sunday.

Maybe you could think of a fun way to keep track of those 40 days. In Spain it is the custom to make a paper scorpion with 40 legs. The paper scorpion represents the “sting of death” that St. Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 15:50-58. He tells us “The sting of death is sin…” Each day during Lent (in Spain) one of the scorpion’s legs is torn off and then on Easter the legless creature is tossed into the bonfire. This represents that “in Christ, death itself dies.” Of course we wouldn’t harm a real scorpion, but the symbolism is what we see with this idea.

If you are crafty you could have a special place with a green cloth where you could add a cotton ball sheep each day until you have a flock of 40 sheep. Maybe you like creating paper birds using the origami technique, you could fold one bird per day and add them to the green cloth until you have a flock of 40 birds or bring a bare tree branch in and put it in a vase and hang the birds from the smaller branches.

Remember one of the other areas we see the number 40 in the Bible is the in the story of Noah’s Ark, Genesis 6:5 – 8:22. There were 40 days of rain while Noah was on the Ark with his family and the animals which he had brought in by pairs. Make a cardboard ark and add 2 animals each day and by the end of the 40 days you will have an ark full of 80 animals or 40 pairs.

On your dining table you could place a cloth with a bowl on it and add 40 prayer intentions to the bowl. Each night at dinner you could take a prayer intention from the bowl and the family could pray for that intention. Leave the prayer intention on the cloth so by Holy Thursday your bowl will be empty surrounded by all those things your family prayed for as a family during Lent. Then on Easter you could take a container to church and fill it with Holy Water from the newly blessed water and then take it home and pour it into the empty prayer bowl. As you eat your Easter meal everyone can bless themselves with the Holy Water before your say our meal prayer.

What other ways can you think of to count the 40 days and 40 nights?

Thursday, February 19, 2015

First Sunday of Lent, Year B

A change of heart

Reading I: Genesis 9:8–15 (covenant with Noah)
Reading II: 1 Peter 3:18–22 (the purpose of Christ’s suffering)
Gospel: Mark 1:12–15 (Jesus’ temptation; the call to conversion)

Key Passage: For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. (1 Peter 3:18)

Adult: When or how could you step away from your daily responsibilities to renew yourself, so that you can do a better job of following in the footsteps of Jesus?
Child: What good habit could you work on during Lent so you could grow closer to God?
(from PastoralPlanning.com)

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Lent 2015

Here we are again at Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. This journey happens every year around this time and yet some of us are surprised that it has arrived so quickly. This is the day we receive ashes to remind us that we need to turn away from sin and live the Gospel, or that we were dust and unto dust we shall return. This morning at Mass Father talked about the three things we need to be aware of during our Lenten journey, prayer, fasting and almsgiving. When I was trying to decide what to post today for this 1st day of Lent I found some information on those 3 subjects and decided to add a few thoughts on them.

The first thing I discovered was that Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving are called the “three pillars” of not only a Catholic life but of a Christian life. All three of these help us have a full and healthy life. Lent is the time we need to step back and look at how we are doing with these “pillars” can we do better are we spending more time on one and neglecting the others? By following these three disciplines we become stronger and better disciples of Jesus.

Prayer is having a conversation with God. We should be doing this daily, yet I can say that is a very hard thing to “fit” into the rest of the busyness of life. But, if we stop and think about it we can talk with God as we are getting out of bed each morning and as we lay down to sleep each night. If we do this the busyness in between will seem less hectic and our days will be filled with the joy of God rather than the temptations of the devil.

Fasting is denying ourselves of something, traditionally food. I can hear you now (yes I can) fasting is for crazy people it doesn’t have any relevance for the everyday life. Stop and think about it. Jesus fasted for 40 days in the wilderness to prepare himself for his life’s work. There are healthy ways to fast from not only food but other things that take over our lives and separate us from those we love. We can fast from unhealthy foods during Lent, as a child I gave up candy. That may seem a bit trite now, but if I look at what I eat on a daily basis there are things I could manage without and in their place eat more fresh fruits and vegetables. Or maybe you are a healthy eater what else in your life might take you away from your family or friends? Too much time spent on social media, so connected to work through your smart phone you can’t leave it alone to have dinner with your children and/or spouse? Does the television or radio have to be on constantly for background noise? If you turned off the TV or radio for a half hour before bed you would have a perfect time to have those conversations with God.

Then there is the almsgiving, which means “sharing compassion.” This means we don’t just give things away we don’t need any longer but giving away things that we still may use if someone else is in need of it. A lot of time it means giving until it hurts. Giving until it hurts might not necessarily mean monetary giving, it could mean giving of precious time that we are all short of. By helping at Sojournor House or Beacon House when they need volunteers we would be taking away time spent on personal things and giving to those in need.

“St. Augustine said that fasting and almsgiving are the two ‘wings’ that help our prayers ‘fly to heaven’.” These three go together, they are the ways we ask God to help us get rid of the selfishness in our lives and help Christians live a full life.

(Take Me Home, Too ©1997, LTP)

Friday, February 13, 2015

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary, Year B

Time Models of Christ

Reading I: Leviticus 13:1–2, 44–46 (on leprosy)
Reading II: 1 Corinthians 10:31—11:1 (imitation of Christ)
Gospel: Mark 1:40–45 (healing of a leper)

Key Passage
: Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. (1 Corinthians 11:1)

Adult: Would you have the courage to tell others to do as you do in order to be a Christian? Why or why not?
Child: What can you do this week to be an example to others?
(from PastoralPlanning.com)