Saturday of the Third Week of Lent

Icon: Mother of God, Light of Darkness by William Hart McNichols, also the author of the prayer below.

It would be well to turn our Lenten attention to Mary, Mother of God, Mother of Jesus and Mother of us all. This beautiful prayer expands the simple plea in the Hail Mary: "Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death."

Mother of God,
Light in all darkness,
shelter Christ, our flame of hope,
with your tender hands.
And in our times of dread and nightmares,
let him be our dream of comfort.
And in our times
of physical pain and suffering,
let him be our healer.
And in our times of separation from God
and one another,
let him be our communion.

-William Hart McNichols

This little bundle of joy...

...is my great-nephew, Austin, perched on his grandfather's lap.

Some readers have asked for an update on Austin and I'm happy (as was his grandmother) to provide it. Take a look here to see a "younger" Austin and how he's growing.

Friday of the Third Week of Lent

Head of a Woman by Alexj von Jawlensky

William Stafford wrote this poem in 1987. I believe it offers images that will touch many of us in many ways... As the poet writes, Any wound is real...

Again, we need to name the alienation if we desire or hope for reconciliation...

Scars

They tell us how it was, and how time
came along, and how it happened
again and again. They tell
the slant life takes when it turns
and slashes your face as a friend.

Any wound is real. In church
a woman lets the sun find
her cheek, and we see the lesson:
there are years in that book; there are sorrows
a choir can't reach when they sing.

Rows of children lift their faces of promise,
places where the scars will be.

- William Stafford, in An Oregon Message

On horns, oil and a title

If you've already taken some time to read over the scriptures for this coming Sunday, you've seen this verse in the first lesson:

Then Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand,
anointed David in the presence of his brothers;
and from that day on, the spirit of the Lord rushed upon David.

The "horn of oil" was a ram's horn (below) in which sacred oil was kept for the purpose of anointing.



The image at the top of this post depicts David's anointing with oil flowing from the horn -- and you can tell from the brothers' scowls that they're a bit jealous.

Of related interest for us is that the familiar Christ, by which we often refer to the Lord Jesus, is less a name and more a title and the title means, the Anointed One. Thus, in last week's gospel (John 4:5-42), the Samaritan woman at the well says to Jesus:

I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called the Christ...

and to her neighbors:

Come see a man who told me everything I have done.
Could he possibly be the Christ?

In both cases, the translation might well have read, the Anointed. Jesus is, indeed, the Christ, the Anointed, the One who now gives us the Spirit of the Lord.

-ConcordPastor

Correction!

In spite of my efforts and my statement that there were no typos in my post on the Pew Forum Survey, there was indeed an error in the statistics I provided for the number of Archdiocesan priests! Those numbers now stand corrected in the post.

The incorrect numbers I originally posted presented the total number of priests in the Archdiocese when you add Archdiocesan priests (like yours truly) and religious order priests (Jesuits, Franciscans, Redemptorists, et al.)

H/t to a reader with sharp and informed eyesight!

Mea culpa!

Thursday of the Third Week of Lent

Stranger by Yulia Ackerholt

Lent is a season of reconciliation, a season for reconciliation - of many kinds. I might need to be reconciled with God... I might need to be reconciled with my neighbor... I might need to be reconciled with my church... I might need to be reconciled with myself... I might need to be reconciled with...

If I am serious about reconciliation then I must be serious about naming where there is alienation in my life because that's where I'm in need of reconciliation...

This poem pours out of an alienated heart... perhaps it will lead us to know our own alienation and to seek to be reconciled...

Lost One Soul

I lost my soul in a fit of temper
I threw it at somebody's head
and slammed out
without a second thought

Then I dumped it in a wastebin
along with a love I said I was finished with

I sandpapered my spirit
with a million
bitter barbs
and sent it into orbit
and substituted
guilt instead

My soul went cold
with memories of old friends and kin
who never expected
to be neglected,
and resolutions
I'd eluded

Then one day
I went to feed it
and it was gone
and now I hear it howling
in the wind outside
in the nights
in the hills

and I get the chills inside

and hide
in something that's not important
and it's four in the morning
before I can get warm enough
to weep enough
to fall asleep

- Sandy McIntosh, in Jamaica Woman,
Pamela Mordecai and Mervyn Morris, editors

Pew Forum Survey Report

Although the new Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life survey concerns itself with empty and switched pews, be advised that the "pew" in Pew Forum is the name of the family that set up the trust to fund the forum and has nothing to do with seats in houses of prayer.

I've provided a link to the complete Pew report, U.S. Religious Landscape Survey on the side bar and here's a video interview with Forum director Louis Lugo. On that same page you'll find links to the major media reports on the release of the survey's findings.

Here are some excerpts from the Catholic News Service story on the Pew study:

Drop in number of U.S. Catholics offset by new immigrants, study says

According to a new study on the religious affiliation of U.S. adults, 28 percent of Americans have either changed religious affiliations or claim no formal religion at all.

The study also shows the Catholic Church has been hardest hit by these shifts, but that the influx of Catholic immigrants has offset the loss. So, the percentage of the adult population that identifies itself as Catholic has held fairly steady at around 25 percent, it says.

The 148-page study, "U.S. Religious Landscape Survey," was conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life and based on interviews with 35,000 adults last year.

Its findings, released Feb. 25, show that roughly 10 percent of all Americans are former Catholics. Almost half of these former Catholics joined Protestant denominations, while about half do not have a religious affiliation and a small percentage chose other faiths.

"If everyone raised Catholic stayed (with their religious affiliation), Catholics would be one-third of the population," said John Green, a senior research fellow and a principal author of the study.

...

The Catholic Church was not the only religious affiliation to lose members. Study researchers said they found an overall fluidity of religious affiliation.

Baptists experienced a net loss of 3.7 percent and Methodists lost 2.1 percent. Figures relating to the Catholic Church show that 31.4 percent of adults in the United States said they were raised Catholic while only 23.9 percent of them identify with the Catholic Church today, giving the church a net loss of 7.5 percent.

"Everybody in this country is losing members; everybody is gaining members," said Luis Lugo, director of the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, during the teleconference.

"It is a very competitive marketplace and if you rest on your laurels, you're going to be history," he added.

The survey, conducted through phone interviews from May to August 2007, asked respondents more than 40 questions, including what faith they were raised in and what they currently practice. According to the responses, 78.4 percent of Americans are Christians, about 5 percent belong to other faith traditions and 16.1 percent are unaffiliated with any religion, which the survey described as the fastest-growing religious category in America.

The respondents who said they were not affiliated with any particular faith today are more than double the number who said they weren't affiliated with any particular religion as children. Among Americans ages 18-29, one-quarter say they are not currently affiliated with any particular religion.

...

According to the survey, Latinos already account for roughly one in three adult Catholics overall and may account for an even larger share of U.S. Catholics in the future. It said Latinos represent roughly one in eight U.S. Catholics age 70 and older and account for nearly half of all Catholics ages 18-29.

The study also shows that Muslims, roughly two-thirds of whom are immigrants, now account for roughly 0.6 percent of the U.S. adult population; and Hindus, more than eight in 10 of whom are foreign-born, now account for approximately 0.4 percent of the population.

- By Carol Zimmermann

How do these survey results square with our experience in the Archdiocese of Boston? Coincident to the Pew report's release, it was just last week that the Archdiocese published its annual Directory which includes some comparative statistics. Consider these numbers comparing 1998 with 2007:

General Population in the Archdiocese
1998: 3,764,400
2007: 4,070,686

Catholic Population
1998: 2,002,322
2007: 1,855,315

Mass Attendance (average weekend)
1998: 383, 811
2007: 258,019

Parishes
1998: 388
2007: 294

Child Baptisms
1998: 30,110
2007: 17,360

Confirmations
1998: 15,734
2007: 15,060

First Communions
1998: 23,721
2007: 19,437

Marriages
1998: 8,896
2007: 4,213

Deaths
1998: 18,847
2007: 19,437

Priests of the Archdiocese
(as corrected on 2/28)
1998: 971
2007: 785

I've checked the numbers above and there are no typos! In a day or two I'll offer some comment on my take on the shift these statistics represent.

Hey! You're not saying WE'RE blind - are you?

Video by C.L. Productions

The title of this post is the question the Pharisees ask Jesus in the gospel for this coming Sunday's liturgy. The video is a brief one and begins in the dark world of the blind man (nothing wrong with YouTube or your computer!)

Take a look at the video and I hope it might nudge you to look at the readings, too, which you can find here.

Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent

I could use this space to rant and rave about folks who won't turn off their cell phones at Mass... but I won't!

The image above is interesting. It's unfortunate that we usually need to see Jesus in period dress before recognizing him. (I wonder what Mr. Thoreau would have to say about that?) Nevertheless, the image above does get the imagination in gear.

Folks with cell phones tend to keep them closer to hand than their wallets or purses. Only a few years ago we'd go hours or even a whole day without using a phone or wondering who might be trying to reach us. Nowadays, we act as if we're always just a ring away from a phone call of life and death importance. And since we get to listen in on one side of many cell phone conversations, we know that most of them weren't worth the cost of the call.

We stand ever ready to answer someone's call... Have we the same attentiveness to the Caller imaged above this post? Do we expect him to "call?" Do we believe he knows our number? Most folks have him on speed dial for emergencies: how many of us check caller ID and screen him out if we're not in the mood to take his call? There's not a moment of any day or night when he's not trying to get in touch with us... how willing are we to let him interrupt our day? our plans? our schedule? When he does get through to us, do we let call waiting cut into our conversation? Do we put him on hold to take other calls? Or maybe some of us have simply forgotten his number...

Lent is a good time to save the Lord's number on my phone... a time to listen for his calls... a time to make sure I call him at least once a day: just to say hello; just to tell him how my day is going; just to see what he wants of me and what he has to offer me...

Imagine turning to a friend and saying, "Sorry - I have to take this call: it's Someone important!"

Then next time you look for your cell phone, check your cell phone, answer your cell phone, make a call on your cell phone --- just remember who has your number!

-ConcordPastor

Working with the Word for the Weekend

David by Michelangelo; full image here

The first scripture for this coming Sunday's liturgy tells the story of a handsome, ruddy youth chosen to be the King of Israel - his famous face is above. The gospel tells the story of a man marginalized by society because of his blindness and poverty. The second reading identifies our own darkness and our need to see the light.

The fourth Sunday of Lent is also called Laetare Sunday. Laetare is Latin for Rejoice which we do on this day that finds us half way to Easter on the journey we began on Ash Wednesday. A similar Sunday occurs half way through Advent (Gaudete Sunday) and on both days Rose vestments are worn. (Holy Family folks may remember the pink roses that graced our Advent wreath this past Gaudet Sunday.)

Here's a link to the day's scriptures and some background material on the texts. And here's some tips for helping children understand the scriptures before hearing them on the weekend.

Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent

Of dry cleaning, a transcendalist and baptism...

I hope I'm not the only one who has this experience - but isn't there something great about picking up your dry cleaning? No matter how difficult the day has been, if I get to stop by Village Cleaners and pick up my shirts and pants and sweaters - the day gets better right away!

It has something to do with new beginnings. Dry cleaning, returned on hangers or in shirt boxes, makes garments seem new again: clean, starched (medium, please!) and pressed just right. What I dropped off as soiled and wrinkled comes back neat and clean.

Given my work and the season at hand, my imagination wanders from the dry cleaners to images of Easter clothes and neophytes clothed in the white garments of their baptism: outward signs of their new life, birth and dignity through dying and rising with Christ in the waters of the font. The baptismal robe constitutes the original Easter clothes. It's said that the custom of buying new outfits for Easter comes from clothing new Christians at the Easter Vigil.

I remember getting new clothes for Easter when I was a child and can still spot children with new clothes on Easter Sunday morning - alongside adults in their newly dry-cleaned Sunday best.

A writer who's pretty well known around these Concord parts had some interesting things to say about new clothes:

A man who has at length found something to do will not need to get a new suit to do it in; for him the old will do, that has lain dusty in the garret for an indeterminate period. Old shoes will serve a hero longer than they have served his valet -- if a hero ever has a valet -- bare feet are older than shoes, and he can make them do. Only they who go to soirees and legislative balls must have new coats, coats to change as often as the man changes in them. But if my jacket and trousers, my hat and shoes, are fit to worship God in, they will do; will they not? Who ever saw his old clothes -- his old coat, actually worn out, resolved into its primitive elements, so that it was not a deed of charity to bestow it on some poor boy, by him perchance to be bestowed on some poorer still, or shall we say richer, who could do with less? I say, beware of all enterprises that require new clothes, and not rather a new wearer of clothes. If there is not a new man, how can the new clothes be made to fit? If you have any enterprise before you, try it in your old clothes. All men want, not something to do with, but something to do, or rather something to be. Perhaps we should never procure a new suit, however ragged or dirty the old, until we have so conducted, so enterprised or sailed in some way, that we feel like new men in the old, and that to retain it would be like keeping new wine in old bottles. Our moulting season, like that of the fowls, must be a crisis in our lives. The loon retires to solitary ponds to spend it. Thus also the snake casts its slough, and the caterpillar its wormy coat, by an internal industry and expansion; for clothes are but our outmost cuticle and mortal coil. Otherwise we shall be found sailing under false colors, and be inevitably cashiered at last by our own opinion, as well as that of mankind.
-Henry David Thoreau in Walden

(Please forgive Thoreau for being born before the age of gender neutral language -- and me for leaving him in his unedited state.)

He makes some very fine points here but I'm particularly taken by the lines:

I say, beware of all enterprises that require new clothes, and not rather a new wearer of clothes. If there is not a new man, how can the new clothes be made to fit?

Unwittingly, Thoreau's message here fits well with the baptismal imagery above. Unless the sacramental dying and rising births a new woman, a new man in Christ, the garments are little more than drop cloths covering old furniture. Beware indeed the enterprise of baptism for it calls to a new life infinitely more gracious and deeply more demanding than the life left behind. (And for the already baptized: beware renewing the promises of baptism at Easter!)

Well, I seem to have left Village Cleaners and made my way to the baptismal font via Walden Pond -- all of which I can actually accomplish here in Concord in a 10 minute drive! But this isn't a tour of historic Concord. These are simply the meanderings of a pastor who knows, among greater joys, the peace that comes of picking up his dry cleaning.

You know what? I'm going to go out and buy a new shirt for Easter! How about some Easter clothes for you?

-ConcordPastor

Monday of the Third Week of Lent

Whose side is Jesus on?

Before you sign up Jesus for your side of a debate, discussion or election, consider the following:

Jesus was not in any sense a reformer championing new orders against the old ones, contesting the latter in order to replace them by the former. He did not range himself and his disciples with any of the existing parties. One of these, and not the worst, was that of the Pharisees. But Jesus did not identify himself with them. Nor did he set up against them an opposing party. He did not represent or defend or champion any program --whether political, economic, moral or religious, whether conservative or progressive. He was equally suspected and disliked by the representatives of all such programs, although he did not particularly attack any of them. Why his existence was so unsettling on every side was that he set all programs and principles in question. And he did this because be enjoyed and displayed, in relation to all the orders positively or negatively contested around him, a remarkable freedom which we can only describe as royal...

Jesus simply revealed the limit and frontier of all things -- the freedom of the kingdom of God. Jesus simply existed in this freedom and summoned to it. He simply made use of this freedom to cut right across all these systems both in his own case and that of his disciples, interpreting and accepting them in his own way and in his own sense, in the light shed upon them all from that frontier.

-Karl Barth in Church Dogmatics, A Selection

Thinking about you, praying for you, last night...

I thought of and prayed for all my readers at Evening Prayer last night. While some of you were actually present, I thought of how much I wished all of you could have joined us in our darkened church, gathered around the Paschal Candle, waiting to hear the Proclamation of Light -- Light of Christ! Thanks be to God! -- pierce the silence...

Would that you could have been there for the lighting of individual tapers and the singing of the ancient evening hymn: O radiant Light, O Sun divine, of God the Father's deathless face. O Image of the light sublime, that fills the heavenly dwelling place.... Would that you had heard the sung Thanksgiving for the light... Would that you had been there to sing Psalm 141 as incense was offered; and the psalm of the day which picked up the thirst so prominent in this morning's scriptures; and the doxology, a delightful, rolling tune of praise... We heard again today's reading from Romans and a brief homily... Then we sang Mary's canticle of praise, the Magnificat, during which the Paschal Candle, the assembly and the Marian icon were honored with incense... Sung and spoken intercessions were gathered up in the Lord's Prayer and a sung blessing sent us on our way home...

Know that you were in my prayer last night... please keep me in yours...

As we begin this third week of Lent, the call to prayer, fasting and almsgiving rings in our ears once more. In moments of quiet prayer, or at the Eucharist, Stations, the Rosary or Evening Prayer, please remember the needs and prayers of all who gather here... Let us pray for one another...

Homily for the Third Sunday of Lent

The Samaritan Woman by Carl Bloch (Click on the image for larger version)

Homily for the Third Sunday of Lent -- February 24, 2008
Exodus 17:3-7
Romans 5:1-2, 5-8
John 4:5-42

Jesus met a woman at the well…

Well... perhaps if St. John had any notion
of how famous this woman would become,
he might have done her the courtesy of including her name.
But he didn’t.
So, rather than simply refer to her as “the woman,”
let’s give her a name: Rachel.

Back in the day, Jesus met Rachel at the well;
today, they might have met at the water cooler;
or at the White Hen, picking up a bottle of Poland Springs;
or Rachel might have be the server at Serafina,
refilling Jesus’ glass with ice water.

It’s not the place that’s important: it’s the thirst.

Jesus meets Rachel --
not in a temple, not on a holy mountain,
not while she’s praying --
but rather, he meets her in the middle of an ordinary day,
in the midst of her ordinary tasks.

That’s where Jesus meets us, too.
Sure, he meets us here on Sundays for this hour of prayer --
and he packs a lot into this very important hour!
But before we return here next weekend,
Jesus has 167 more hours to seek us out and meet us
the middle of our ordinary days, in the midst of our ordinary tasks.

It’s not the place that’s important: it’s the meeting.

Jesus is thirsty and, having no bucket,
asks Rachel, who has a bucket, for a drink.
Rachel is thirsty, too, and not just for water.
She’s thirsty for love, companionship, a partner, for acceptance --
but even after five husbands
she thirsts for something none of them has offered her.

Jesus knows Rachel’s history
because he knows how much we all thirst for love.
And he knows that like Rachel,
sometimes you and I are so thirsty we’ll drink anything…
But he does not judge Rachel for this -- and he does not judge us.
It’s not our thirst that’s wrong:
it’s how we sometimes quench it that’s a problem.
And Jesus knows that this thirst, deeper than any well,
is one that only God can quench.

Jesus meets Rachel in the middle of her day,
in the midst of her chores,
and in the midst of all her relationships.
He meets you and me
in the same times, the same places, the same ways.

Jesus knows everything that Rachel has ever done --
even what she tries to hide from him --
and still he seeks her out and loves her.
Jesus knows everything that you and I have done --
even what we try to hide from him --
and still he seeks us out and loves us.

It’s not our finding the Lord that’s important:
it’s our recognizing him when he finds us.

Or as one writer has put it:
As acute… as our thirst for God might be,
as exhausting… as our journeys to God might seem,
the yearning… God has for us
and the journey that God has makes into our hearts
surpass it all -- infinitely.
Drink it in!
(John Kavanagh)

There’s the question posed by this story:
when Jesus meets us at the wells of our daily lives
- will we recognize him?
- will we acknowledge that he knows everything we have ever done?
- will we be content with water from a hole in the ground
or will we drink in the life giving waters he promises?

In the past week,
- how many times did Jesus meet us at the well of our daily lives?
- did we hear him ask for a drink? did we respond?
- how often did we recognize him? how often did we miss him?
- what did we try to hide from him this week?
what did he reveal to us in spite of our efforts?
- did we drink from the waters that leave us thirsty?
or did we drink from the waters of his truth and love?

We gather here on Sundays to learn to know
the face, the voice, the word, the love of Jesus
so that when he comes to meet us in the middle of our week and work,
and in the midst of our relationships,
we will recognize him there, too.

We come here, like Rachel, to worship in spirit in truth,
for like her, we have met a man who can tell us
everything we’ve ever done
-- but who seeks us out and loves us still.

-ConcordPastor

Bless me, Father...

There's some interesting back-and-forth in the combox for the post below titled DON'T Go To Confession If...

I'm wondering:

- do readers here frequent the Sacrament of Penance? if so, how often?

- when was the last time you came to confession?

- do those who choose not to frequent this sacrament make that choice for a particular reason?

- if you frequent this sacrament, do you find it helpful? how so?

- what might make you more inclined to celebrate this sacrament?

- do you believe there's any need for the Sacrament of Reconciliation?

- does the sex abuse scandal influence your thinking about this sacrament? how so?

Respond to any or all of the above. And, as with the sacrament itself, the option for anonymity in commenting can be freely chosen!

Simply Living Lent - III

Purple Abstract by Saed Nasser of the studio Creativity Explored, a nonprofit visual arts center where artists with developmental disabilities create, exhibit, and sell art.

Simply Living Lent – Week Three
Each Saturday in Lent you will find here, for the coming week, a prayer for Morning and Night and reminders for fasting and caring for the poor. (Click here for Week One, here for Week Two)

MORNING PRAYER
Dear God,
Sometimes I forget that the people along my path
are as fragile as I can sometimes be.
If I look to my past I remember those who have been hurt or saddened
by my haste, my selfishness, my carelessness.
More often than not, I hadn’t intended any harm
but my neglect and self-interest have bruised and burdened others.
If there are ways for me to make amends here, Lord, show me how
and give me the courage to do what I need to do…
If the time or circumstances for making peace have passed by,
hear my prayer for those whom I have hurt…
Open my eyes and ears, my mind and heart to those around me now
and make me more aware of their presence
and how my life touches theirs.
Nudge me to take the first step towards making peace
in my family, my neighborhood, at work and at school.
Give me a sensitive and forgiving heart.
Help me remember how much and how often,
how fully and how freely you forgive me.
And I have a special favor to ask of you, Lord, here it is…
And allow me to remind you of some folks I know who need your help,
and whose names I lift up to you now…
Lord, in your love and mercy, hear my prayer.

Our Father…

NIGHT PRAYER
As you have been with me all this day, Lord, be with me this night
and be the light that shines through the darkness of my worry and fear.
Guard your children everywhere, Lord,
and send your holy angels to protect us.
Be with those who serve and protect us at home and abroad.
Shelter the poor, the innocent
and those who have been abused in any way.
Give me good sleep, Lord, in the strong arms of your mercy.
Grant me good rest that I might serve you well when I awake.

Hail Mary…

Fasting
•This week, the particular food or beverage I will give up is...
•This week, the particular activity or pleasure I will give up is...
•This week, the old, bad habit I’ll work on is...

Caring for the Poor•This week I’m donating groceries to the local food pantry 1
•This week I’m shopping for my gift for the Easter Giving Tree 1
•This week, I’m making a contribution
to my Lenten offering box or my favorite charity 1
•This week... 1

-ConcordPastor

You might print this post and place it where it will be at hand.
Adapt the options for Caring for the Poor
to your particular circumstances.

Word for the Week of February 24

This striking sculpture by Stephen Broadbent is a fountain in the garden at England's Chester Cathedral. The inscription around the base reads: Jesus said, "The water that I shall give will be an inner spring always welling up for eternal life.“ -John 4:14 Broadbent's impressive portfolio is well worth the click on his name to find his site and be sure to click on the image here for a larger version and detail.

In the gospel story the woman has the well's water to offer Jesus and Jesus has living water to offer the woman: an exchange perfectly captured in Broadbent's interpretation. The intimacy of the encounter, implicit in the scripture, is beautifully manifest here in pure simplicity.

The Word for the week: again, just a brief verse to take with us into this third week of Lent.

That Jesus would know everything the Samaritan woman has ever done is not the most remarkable element here for her - nor for us.

What is remarkable is that Jesus, who knows everything we have done, freely approaches us, gently speaks to us and lovingly invites us to worship the Father in spirit and truth.

Or as St. Paul puts it in this Sunday's second scripture: For Christ, while we were still helpless, died at the appointed time for the ungodly... God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. (Romans 5: 6, 8)

To the best of my recollection, there are but two times in the gospel when Jesus asks for a drink: at the well with the Samaritan woman and from the tree of the Cross, at the appointed time...

-ConcordPastor

Saturday of the Second Week of Lent

Compunction: a Lenten pin to inflated egos

"The purpose of the first part of Lent is to bring us to compunction. Compunction is etymologically related to the verb to puncture and suggests the deflation of our inflated egos, a challenge to any self-deceit about the quality of our lives as disciples of Jesus. By hitting us again and again with demands which we not only fail to obey, but which we come to recognize as being quite beyond us, the gospel passages are meant to trouble us, to confront our illusions about ourselves.

"Remember, you are dust... From this perspective, Lenten penance may be more effective if we fail in our resolutions than if we succeed, for its purpose is not to confirm us in our sense of virtue but to bring home to us our radical need of salvation."

-Mark Searle Assembly, vol. 8, no. 3

In other words, perfect penitential practice that feeds the ego has utterly failed, while a failed effort at penance, recognized and humbly acknowledged, has the potential for deeper reliance on God's mercy, which is pure grace.

They went out from the town and came to him...

Christ and the Samaritn Woman by Sébastien Bourdon (Click on image for larger version, detail!)

Have you begun reading, studying and praying over the scriptures for Mass this weekend? The texts, along with background materials, can be found here.

Got kids? Check here for materials to help your youngsters prepare to hear this weekend's readings.

Seasons of Prayer

Regardless of what the image above may lead you to think, ConcordPastor has not lost his liturgical sensibilities!

As Kiwi Nomad has reminded us in the comboxes, those who live south of the equator have a different experience of the liturgical seasons in relation to the four seasons. An article in the November '07 issue of Worship offers instructive commentary on this reality. Carmel Pilcher, RSJ, a liturgical consultant for the diocese of Maitland-Newcastle in Australia, has titled her essay with a clue to its content: Poinsettia: Christmas or Pentecost?

I first learned to associate the poinsettia bush with Pentecost many years ago when I was a small child. At some point in time Australian women began the tradition of decorating the sanctuaries of churches on Pentecost Sunday with arrangements of the vivid red long-stemmed branches of the poinsettia tree. We would arrive at Mass and I would know it was Pentecost Sunday because the sanctuary was a mass of red flowers. The color not only complemented the red of the tabernacle veil and vestments, but the shape of the leaves brought to life for me Luke's image of the "divided tongues of fire" that came upon the disciples (Acts 2:2-3). The poinsettia bush or tree flourishes in parts of Australia and its leaves turn red at the beginning of winter -- just in time for Pentecost...

Australians celebrate Christmas as a summer festival. At Mass the words “Lord our God, with the birth of your Son, your glory breaks on the world” take on a particular meaning when the sun is at its brightest in the southern skies. Christ the sun bursts upon the earth not only to dispel the darkness but to sear and scorch the land with power and might. Ironically and perhaps wistfully in the extreme heat of Australian Christians continue to sing “traditional” Christmas carols that imagine a “silent night” and “winter’s snow!”

In the nation's psyche bush fires have become associated with the beginning of the Lenten seasons. Some years ago, co-incidentally on two successive Ash Wednesdays, fire raged through South Easter Australia, destroying hundreds of homes, and taking many lives. Then another massive and especially devastating fire in the weeks preceding Ash Wednesday killed a number of people and destroyed wild life and properties. The local bishop visited the people most affected by the fire and sent containers of the ash from the area to each of the parishes to be used in the ceremony on the first day of Lent. Australians dread bush fires because of their destructive power, but Australians know that fire is needed to regenerate many of the native flora and vegetation. The signing with ash reminds them that the destruction of fire leads to the transformation of life. The ritual use of ash from the devastating bush fires at the request of the bishop provided a poignant strong bond of solidarity with those who suffered.

Easter marks the season of new life for Australians, not with the characteristics of European spring, but with the coming of a cooler climate and and the hope of refreshing rains. Easter water takes on special significance in a desert land where water is the most precious natural commodity and the inhabitants carefully conserve its use. Water offers solace from the heat, is needed for suvival by all living species, and it also quenches bush fires. The waters of baptism become the strongest reminder of the fragility of life and creation's utter dependence on God. New Christians are welcomed into the community and become the sign of this new life and growth.

The season of Easter continues to reflect sings of new life for the believing assembly. Each Sunday the water of Baptism is sprinkled upon the assembly. Children come to the the table of Eucharist for the first time to complete their initiation as Christians. They mystagogy is a significant time for the whole assembly to join the new Catholics to renew and vitalize their faith. The light of Christ, so powerfully experienced in our celebration of the incarnation, is a guiding light of hope and our promise of everlasting light at a time when Australians are approaching the relative darkness of winter.

Friday of the Second Week of Lent

The assembly of believers, holding lighted tapers, renew their baptismal promises at the Easter Vigil.

Lent: Getting Ready for Easter!

At the Easter Vigil and at Mass on Easter Sunday, we renew the promises of baptism when we are asked:
- Do you reject sin so as to live in the freedom of God’s children?
- Do you reject the glamor of evil and refuse to be mastered by sin?
- Do you reject Satan, and all his works and empty promises?
- Do you believe in God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth...?
- Do you believe in Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God...?
- Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life...?
- Do you believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic church? Do you believe in the forgiveness of sins?
- Do you look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come?

And we respond: I do, I do, I do!

Do we? Is this what we believe? Is this what we live?
Do we even understand the questions?

For some help in looking at those creedal questions and our response to them, spend some time at this site, offered by Creighton University.

Lent is a good time for us to study these questions so that we can be prepared to answer them with a strong, I do! at Easter. Fr. Bill Reiser, SJ has proposed some additional questions to ponder as we prepare in Lent to renew our baptismal promises at Easter. Perhaps his questions will be food for prayer, fasting and almsgiving this Lent in preparation for Easter:

- Do you accept Jesus as your teacher, as the example whom you will always imitate and as the one in whom the mystery of God’s love for the world has fully been revealed?

- Do you dedicate yourself to seeking the kingdom of God and God’s justice, to praying daily, to meditating on the Gospels and to celebrating the Eucharist faithfully and devoutly?

- Do you commit yourself to that spirit of poverty and detachment that Jesus enjoined on his disciples, and to resisting the spirit of consumerism and materialism that is so strong in our culture?

- Do you accept responsibility for building community, for being a person of compassion and reconciliation, for being mindful of the poor and the oppressed, and for truly forgiving those who have offended you?

- Will you try to thank and praise God by your works and by your actions, in times of prosperity as well as in moments of suffering, giving loyal witness to the risen Jesus by your faith, by your hope, and by the style of your living?

- Do you surrender your life to God as a disciple and companion of Jesus? Do you believe that God is the Lord of history, sovereign over nations and peoples, and that God’s promise to redeem all of creation from its bondage to death and decay will one day be accomplished?

All of these questions, the traditional and the new ones, are offered here for your Lenten reflection, prayer and action. Soon we’ll be renewing our baptismal promises and professing our faith in God. Let us pray for one another that this Lenten season of preparation will find us ready to answer “I do!” with voices and hearts filled with faith.

(You might find it helpful to print this post and keep the questions above at hand for prayer and reflection...)

Palm Sunday and the Wearing O' the Green

Rocco covered this yesterday while the Boston Globe article here gives the local scoop. It's a shame that the parade organizers fail, altogether, to understand the context that Holy Week provides for the lives of Christians and especially for Catholic Christians who honor St. Patrick among the canon of saints. For most, the daily business of work, school and family life go on as usual in this sacred time but it is certainly to be hoped that Holy Week might color our activities in its own shades of prayer, fasting, ritual and custom. That something as movable as the parade will stubbornly march down the streets of cities as believers are fresh from their hearing the gospel of Christ's suffering and death is indeed regrettable. Before the words of the Passion stop echoing in the hearts of believers they will be drowned out by sounds of marching bands and parties.

In our own parish we discovered a while ago that we had scheduled a St. Patrick's Day dinner for Saturday, March 15 - right after the first Mass of Palm Sunday. We have rescheduled that dinner for the week before out of respect for calendar of our prayer.

St. Pat's Day vs. Holy Week
by John C. Drake, Globe Staff
February 21, 2008

The 2008 calendar presents a rare clash between St. Patrick's Day and Holy Week, with parade organizers across the country and in some Massachusetts communities yielding to the Catholic Church.

But the fiercely independent South Boston organizers of one of the nation's largest St. Patrick's Day parades say the parade will roll on during the afternoon of March 16, Palm Sunday.

Chicago and Philadelphia have pushed their parades up to March 9, a week ahead of the start of Holy Week, which begins on Palm Sunday and ends a week later with Easter celebrations.

Organizers in Worcester and Holyoke also preferred not to hand Catholics a conflict, scheduling their parades for March 9 and March 29, respectively.

But not so in Boston.

"We aren't scared to do things that aren't fitting to, say, 'peace on earth' and all that," said John "Wacko" Hurley, who organizes the parade for the Allied War Veterans of South Boston. "We all want peace, but our obligation is supporting the armed forces. So, nope, we don't have any problems with that."

...

This is the first year since 1940 that St. Patrick's Day will fall during Holy Week, and it won't happen again until 2160.

Because of Holy Week observances, no Mass in honor of St. Patrick can be held on Monday, March 17, according to the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. But Roman Catholic leaders in Savannah, Ga., and Columbus, Ohio, have urged their cities to keep parades and festivals out of Holy Week altogether.

Savannah moved its festival to Friday, March 14. Columbus parade organizers are sticking with their celebration on Monday, March 17.

Asked about the timing, the Archdiocese of Boston released a statement that kept the focus on the religious observances, avoiding the nettlesome issue.

"The archdiocese invites all of the faithful to participate in the liturgical celebrations of Holy Week, beginning with Palm Sunday on Sunday, March 16, and leading up to and including the Easter Sunday celebration," said Terrence C. Donilon, the archdiocesan spokesman.

Boston's parade has been surrounded by controversy before. Parade organizers won a unanimous US Supreme Court ruling in 1995 that allowed it to exclude an Irish-American gay and lesbian group from marching. Mayor Thomas M. Menino refuses to march in the parade because of the organizers' exclusion of the gay group.

Through a spokeswoman, Menino, who is Catholic, declined to comment on the parade's timing.

State Representative Brian Wallace said that since the parade is the centerpiece of what has become a month -long celebration, it is too late to consider changing the date.

"It would just throw everything completely off," Wallace said.

Not that Hurley would have given it any thought.

"We won't be dictated to," Hurley said.

Thursday of the Second Week of Lent

These open hands image well the three ancient exercises of Lent: prayer, fasting and almsgiving.

Lifting our open hands in prayer is a sign of praise while simply sitting with open hands, palms up, is a sign of our openness to receiving what God has to offer us in our prayer...

Hands empty of food and drink are the hands of those who fast, hands emptied of physical nourishment in hopes of feeding hungers deeper in the soul...

Hands reaching out are helping hands, ready to serve the needs of neighbors, particularly the needs of the poor...

Empty, open, outstretched hands are also the hands of a beggar, one who acknowledges those needs that only God can fill and satisfy: before our God, we are all beggars...

Lent is a time for empty hands, lifted in prayer, emptied to be filled, reaching out to help...

Are these our hands this Lent?

Are these the hands of our prayer, fasting and almsgiving?

-ConcordPastor

DON'T go to Confession if...

Not every parish provides a Portofess service like the one above provided by Joey Skaggs!

Lent is a season when we are encouraged to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation. For some, this is not an easy thing to consider. So, to help you in this regard, I'm pleased to offer you:

A Dozen Reasons NOT to Go to Confession:

1) Your natural tendency to love God in all things and to love your neighbor as yourself causes you to walk about an inch off the ground on an invisible cloud of holiness.

2) Your husband/your wife never tires of telling you what a perfect spouse you are.

3) Your faithfulness in getting yourself and your family to Sunday Mass is often mentioned by your pastor as a model for all Catholics.

4) You have been so faithful in honoring your mother and father that they’ve asked you to loosen up a little and enjoy yourself once in a while.

5) You have been so generous in helping the poor that you no longer can afford transportation to get to church for confession.

6) You speak to God in prayer so often that he sometimes asks if he can put you on hold for a few minutes.

7) You are so well known at school as an honest, hardworking and friendly student that you are often called to the Principal’s Office to offer your advice on school policy.

8) Your purity in thought, word and deed has been awarded a Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval.

9) You are so honest that you once felt guilty about stealing second base.

10) You are so completely content with what God has given you that winning the lottery would be a moral dilemma prompting you to ask that another number be drawn.

11) Your efforts for justice and peace have won you a nomination for the Nobel Prize.

12) You already come to the Sacrament of Reconciliation so often that your presence would needlessly lengthen the line of others waiting to go to confession.

-ConcordPastor

Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent

A prayer to begin my prayer...

Lord Jesus:
you are here now,
always
and only
because you want me
and want to be with me.

Lord Jesus:
I am here now,
again
and only
because I want you
and want to be with you.

Lord Jesus,
help me surrender
to your love,
your mercy
and your arms...

-ConcordPastor

Preparing to hear the Word on Sunday

Time to begin reading, studying and praying over the scriptures for Eucharist on the Third Sunday of Lent which, along with background materials, you can find here.

Got kids? Check here for materials to help your youngsters prepare to hear this weekend's readings.

The icon above is an image of Jesus with the Samaritan woman at the well, the subject of this Sunday's gospel. To understand where this scripture leads us, consider the shape of the well in the icon and remember back to this January post...

Sun and moon, praise the Lord!

A total lunar eclipse occurs when a full moon passes through the earth's shadow during its orbit. When the sun, Earth and moon are perfectly aligned, the Earth blocks the sun's light. But the most spectacular view of the night is the moon's eerie red and orange glow -- caused by the sun's indirect light being filtered through Earth's atmosphere, trying to reach the moon.

Todd's blog, Catholic Sensibility, is regularly a fine source of beautiful astronomical images. See his post for a heads-up on a lunar eclipse coming this Wednesday night, February 20. Follow Todd's link to Sky and Telescope to determine the time of the eclipse in your part of the world. And more information here.

Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent

This image comes from Hungry Planet: What the World Eats by Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio. The book offers images of families around the world, their week's food supply - and its cost. A photograph like this might be an icon for prayer as we consider fasting and what we might be giving up for Lent.

This photo introduces us to the Aboubakar family of six of Breidjing Camp in Chad. Their week's food expenditure is 685 CFA Francs or $1.23. The family tells us that their favorite food is soup with fresh sheep meat.

We will meet more of these families as we make our way through Lent.

Sing a NEW song!

It's amazing what a few pieces of purple cloth and a change in repertoire can make in the prayer of a parish moving through the season of Lent. Believing that less is more, my parish has simply scaled back for Lent and brought out a few pieces of well placed purple to mark the sanctuary for this holy season. A little more than half of our sung prayer for Lent is a cappella which makes for a very different experience.

Several months ago I wrote about a particularly prayerful celebration of the Sunday Eucharist in my parish. This morning's 7:30 Mass was another instance of the same. The ambiance; the entrance/penitential rite based on Haugen's Shepherd Me, O God; the strong proclamation of the scriptures; a solid homily; the Eucharistic Prayer for Reconciliation; the a cappella singing: all this contributed to a beautiful, prayerful liturgy.

And something inspiring happened at the Lamb of God. This piece, along with all of the acclamations, was to be sung a cappella so the pianist gave our cantor a pitch note. Then four amazing things happened. First, the cantor (accustomed to accompaniment) lost her sense of the melody for the Isele setting but sang out a rather nice line with a minor, Lenten feel for the first trope. Second, she remembered what she had sung and sang it again, perfectly, for the second trope. Third, the assembly, who had never heard this melody before, chimed right in on "Have mercy on us" as if they'd been singing it for years. Fourth, at the end of the third trope, the assembly sang "Grant us peace" even though the cantor was singing it for the first time!

That's what happens when your musician's excellence succeeds even in the face of a mistake.
That's what happens when your assembly's trust in their own singing and sound is very strong.
That's what happens at the 7:30 Sunday Mass when sung prayer has been part of the assembly's weekly worship for over three years.

We have recording capabilities in our sound system and, fortunately, a CD captured this event so perhaps next year we'll sing our cantor's on-the-spot Lamb of God for the whole season of Lent.

Praise God from whom all inspired compositions and blessings flow!

Homily for the Second Sunday of Lent

Transfiguration by Jason Jenicke

Homily for February 17, 2008
Genesis 12:1-4
2 Timothy 1:8-10
Matthew 17: 1-9

So: has anyone here ever lived through some hard times?

(You can raise your hand – you won’t be alone.)

Just what I thought: you look like a hard luck crowd!

But every crowd looks like a hard luck crowd
because every one lives through hard times.
That’s part of life and no one escapes that.

St. Paul writing to Timothy and to us says,
Beloved: Bear your share of hardship for the gospel
with the strength that comes from God.

Hardship. Hard times.
But Paul writes here of a particular kind of hardship:
hardship for the gospel:
hard times that come from faithfulness
to the gospel of Christ.
Everybody has difficulties,
whether you believe in the gospel or not,
whether you believe in God or not, everyone has hard times.
But only Christians can possibly have
hardship for the gospel.

Nor should we mistake the sacrifices of Lent
as hardship for the sake of the gospel.
When we get to heaven’s door and Jesus asks,
“Did you suffer for being faithful to my word?”
And if our best answer is,
“Well, there was that one year, Lord,
when I tried to give up desserts for Lent...”
I don’t think that’s going to impress him very much
and I don’t think that’s what St. Paul had in mind.

But Lent is an excellent time for us to ponder this hard question.
What might hardship for the gospel look like?

Well, the gospel calls us to love one another as God has loved us...
That’s a tall order.
So, who are the persons in my life
who would occasion hardship for me
if I truly made the effort to love them?
Not just to endure them, or put up with them,
but to love them…

And the gospel calls us to sell what we have and give to the poor...
What would I need to give, how much would I need to give,
what would I need to give up, what would I need to let go of
such that it would be a hardship
for me to be that faithful to the gospel?

And the gospel calls us to be people of truth...
What lies would I need to let go of, make right,
such that my honesty would be a hardship for me to bear
for the sake of fidelity to the Lord?

Those questions make giving up desserts for Lent
look like, well: a piece o’ cake!
Actually, we might find it a hardship
simply to consider those questions…

But that’s exactly what Paul encourages Timothy and us to do

Jesus took his friends up the mountain
and he was transfigured before them.
They fell down before Jesus in awe and fear.
Jesus did this to give them a glimpse of his glory
so that they would be prepared for witnessing
the hardship he would bear, his suffering and death,
for the gospel he preached.

And that’s the real question in the scriptures today
and in this Lenten season:
what part of me will I allow to die
so that I might live the gospel more faithfully?

These questions are big
but will only be answered in our day-to-day lives:
Who do I need to learn to love?
What in my life consumes me
and what do I need to let go of?
What lies do I live, day to day,
and what truth do I need to make my own?

Plenty of work there for Lent – indeed, a lifetime of work!
But as St. Paul promised,
God gives us the strength to tackle these questions
beginning here, at the altar,
this table where Jesus nourishes and strengthens us
with the Body and Blood
of the hardship he bore for the gospel
in the bread and cup of the Eucharist.
And he invites us:
Beloved: come to the table
and eat and drink this holy food
given to make you strong
that you might bear your share of hardship
for the gospel.

-ConcordPastor

Second Sunday of Lent

Too often we look at Lent as a time when we should be very busy about many things in order to become better, holier, more faithful people. At best, that's only half true. We should be busy about things that render us docile to the Lord's Word, malleable in his hand, open to his healing touch. If prayer, fasting and almsgiving help us to sit still with and before the Lord, then we just might find ourselves in a time and place where the LORD can do what he wants to do, with us and for us, in this holy season.

Thus, the truth of the sign above: God wants to mend our broken hearts but needs all the pieces to work with - even the ones we'd rather hide or ignore. The funny thing is that no piece of my heart is hidden from God; after all, God knows all things, even the secret broken pieces of my soul. We don't need for God to find all the pieces - he knows where they are. What is needed is for us to acknowledge before the Lord all the pieces we have to offer him for healing.

-ConcordPastor

Simply Living Lent - II

Cross window in Finland's Tampere Cathedral

Simply Living Lent - Week TwoEach Saturday in Lent you will find here, for the coming week, a prayer for Morning and Night and reminders for fasting and caring for the poor. (Click here for Week One)

Morning PrayerDear God,
They say you have a plan for the world
but I’m not sure that things are going “according to plan.”
And they say you have a plan for each one of us
but sometimes I have trouble figuring out your plan for me
and I know that sometimes what I plan may not be what you plan…
Maybe this week you could help me understand your plan for me
just a little better.
Help me to see your plan, your hand, your direction
in my busyness and in my loneliness,
in my confusion and my insights, in my joys and sorrows,
in my strengths and fears, in my work, in my home, in my heart -
in the jumble my life often seems to be.
Plan some time for us to meet today, Lord (just you and me)
- and help me plan to show up for that meeting!
Oh, and I have a favor to ask of you, Lord, and here it is…
And there are some folks I know who need your help:
you know their names already, but let me mention them now…
Lord, in your love and mercy, hear my prayer…

Our Father...
Night PrayerAnother day is done, Lord!
I’m grateful that you stayed by my side
even when I followed my own plan and not yours.
Help me to follow more faithfully tomorrow!
Give me good rest, I pray,
and bring an end to the nightmare that is war in our world.
Send your angel of peace to shelter my family and friends,
and your children everywhere,
especially the poor, the innocent, and those who have been abused.
As I sleep this night, Lord,
fill me with the grace and strength I will need
to walk the path you have planned for me tomorrow…

Hail Mary...
Fasting
•This week, the particular food or beverage I will give up is...
•This week, the particular activity or pleasure I will give up is...
•This week, the old, bad habit I’ll work on is...

Caring for the Poor
•This week I’m donating groceries to the local food pantry 1
•This week I’m shopping for my gift for the Easter Giving Tree 1
•This week, I’m making a contribution 1
to my Lenten offering box or my favorite charity 1
•This week... 1

-ConcordPastor

You might print this post and place it where it will be at hand.
Adapt the options for Caring for the Poor
to your particular circumstances.