Vatican II said that this world is to be renewed through the Paschal Mystery. What role are we willing to take up in the "passion play" taking place every day in our midst?

Pat Anglin - Amityville
Mary Ann Collins - Blauvelt
Alice McCoy - Caldwell
Nancy Garson - Elkins Park
Maureen Sullivan - Hope
Kathy Logan - Sparkill

Naaman is a wonderful instructor on our Lenten Journey, at least for me. At the beginning of the reading, he seems to be doing everything right. He is successful as an army commander, even though "the man was a leper." He wasn't letting a disease, which could make him an outcast, keep him from accomplishing his work.

He seems very familiar- he can do things on his own. He can overcome obstacles- he is independent and respected. When the servant girl tells him about a possible cure, he is open to having others help him. Good, I think- he is not so controlling that he isn't open to other's help. He even gets the support of the king to send him on his way. Yet, when the cure appears too simple- "Go and wash seven times in the Jordan, and the flesh will heal, and you will be clean"- he is back to his controlling self- trying to tell Elisha how it should be done.

How many of us started Lent with a spiritual "goal" to accomplish by Easter? Do we already "know" how it should be done? Are we telling God how we need to get there? Are we frustrated that we are not there yet? Maybe the "cure" is in the simple things we are doing everyday, maybe seven times a day. We don't need to do something "extraordinary" but we have to be willing to listen to those servants in our life who are there making things clear. We don't need a life changing event to be reconciled and healed, it is in the simple things we do everyday that we find God. Thanks, Naaman.

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Matters of the Heart

She walked slowly up the path to my office, using her cane for support. I hadn't seen her since I visited her in the hospital when she suffered severe complications after surgery.

"I think my spiritual life is deepening because of my challenges." she began.

She explained that her son and daughter-in-law had not forgiven her for the years of her drinking. She reached out to them, but they did not come to see her during this time of life-threatening illness.

She has stood in the purifying fires of recovery for years now; she has acknowledged her failings and tried to make amends. Like Azariah, she wants to follow God with her whole heart.

"I've forgiven them." she says.

I see the pain in her eyes. Forgiveness does not erase grief. Other family members want her to denounce her son and daughter-in-law. She is no longer calling them and experiencing repeated rejections, but she is firm that she will welcome them if they want reconciliation.

"I've forgiven them from my heart. I'm beginning to know a new freedom and peace."

To a passerby, this woman would appear to be frail and elderly. To me, in that moment, she was a graced woman, wrapped in God's mercy, enfleshing the heart of Matthew's gospel message. She knows herself to be a forgiven daughter of God. She offers that forgiveness to others.

How is your heart?

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Both readings today address the need to be observant of the law and to teach the law to others. Faithfulness to the law carries rewards: evidence of one's wisdom, being honored as a great nation, taking possession of the land given by God, and being called greatest in the Kingdom of God.

One cannot help but compare our own nation to that of ancient Israel. We are a nation whose Constitution and laws were founded upon Judaeo/Christian principles. We have been a nation "truly wise and intelligent," admired by many…whose borders have been long sought after by people from other lands.

Today we live in a "post-Christian" era and we seem to have forgotten about respect for law. Examples abound of our abuse of the law - often carried out in the name of the economy and national security.

Lent calls us to conversion and to a change of heart. Let us repent of any way in which we, unwittingly or otherwise, fail in our observance of God's laws. Let us resolve to do some non-violent, peaceful action that will accrue to the benefit of all of God's people.

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"All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God"

I am still filled with the wonder of Christmas and Epiphany; I have gazed at the light of truth and have felt the saving power of God. We know how quickly life can change. One day things are great and the next day, I've hurt my hand; my friend is in hospice; and we've gone from 70% to 26%. So now, we're asked to move from Christmas joy to Lenten penance.

I absolutely love Jesus - he has such wonderful insight. Praying the words inspired in Jeremiah, we hear God's frustration over His wonderful people. God has set them free from abusive power and offered them friendship, leadership, freedom from worry, and a plan for happiness. All we are asked to do is accept this gift. The story in Luke describes this situation by telling of a person bound up by that demon I'll call "Fear." Jesus drives the demon out and the man experiences freedom, joy, and love. All the things he couldn't do or wouldn't do, he can now do. He is free.

Jesus said "Be not afraid" 252 times in scripture…..one for each day of the year. I watch my brother-in-law who was a brilliant doctor and researcher who is now bound up by Alzheimer's. He has lost mobility and can no longer communicate verbally. But he is not fearful and brings love and simple joy to all of us. Somehow Jesus has set him free, not of the disease but of the fear for himself.

We have seen the wonderful power of God……not an abusive power binding us in limitations but in the power and grace of exorcism. Satan's power has been broken….we are free and have the power to build the Kingdom. We are not given freedom from suffering, sickness and death, but we are invited to experience a new freedom that comes through suffering, in sickness and in the face of death.

Nelson Mandela's 1994 Inaugural Speech

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate…
our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our Light, not our darkness that frightens us.

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Hosea, one of the Hebrew prophets, might be particularly appreciated in our "day and age." His work can be divided into three parts.

In the first section, Hosea portrays Israel as a faithless bride whose Divine Lover remains true to her despite her infidelities, and even urges her to repent. The second part is the faithful Lover's reproach and cry for vengeance. The closing chapters recall God's blessings on his people; repeats the exhortation to repentance, and promises salvation.

Today's first reading, the last chapter, may be read as the Divine Lover's ultimate pledge - God's promise of unconditional love - for his people, all and each. It may be helpful to choose a line that draws you and listen deeply to the words spoken to you personally. For example: "I will be like the dew for Israel; who shall blossom like the lily," becomes: "I will be dew for you; you shall blossom like the lily." The Lover lavishes the beloved with tenderness.

In the Gospel passage Jesus reveals the tender response that God longs for: "Love the Lord, your God with all your heart …soul …mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself."

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"Love and knowledge of God, humility and exaltation" are the basis of the messages in Hosea and Luke---messages for all seasons, but particularly for Lent, a time of more profound inner reflection that should influence our external actions.

Fasting and abstinence during Lent can take different forms. In Hosea we are asked to abstain from empty ritual, from going through the motions of sacrifice if they are not accompanied by "steadfast love and the knowledge of God". We should fast from performing the ritual for its own sake if we are not doing it with meaning, a meaning founded in God's unconditional love for us and our return of that love to God, self, and others.

From Luke, we learn to abstain from bragging about our goodness and showing contempt for those whom we see as less deserving of God's favor, lest our places be reversed. The Pharisee who exalted himself will be humbled in the sight of God and the tax collector who humbly prayed for God's mercy will be exalted by God's favor and forgiveness. We must be careful to fast from judging the behavior of others, for we are also being judged.

May our prayers and Lenten rituals be sincere and pleasing to our loving God.

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"Neither this man nor his parents sinned, But this happened so
that the work of God might be displayed in his life."
"As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me.
Night is coming, when no one can work…"

We all get blinded sometimes. Addiction, indifference, self-centeredness, materialism, a desire for power, all keep us in the dark.

As we see in John's gospel, in the dark no work can be done. It is only when we turn to the light, that God can work through us. No matter how long we have lived in darkness, the light of Christ can change our lives. Just a simple act of willingness is all that is required.

Like the blind man, all we need to do is approach God with our affliction. Then the work of God can begin within us and we can bring the miracle into the world.

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