This Lent, Live as if Jesus Christ is Indeed Lord of Your Life

February 28th, 2009 by Archbishop Charles Chaput

Seventy years ago the great French Catholic writer Georges Bernanos published a little essay called “Sermon of an Agnostic on the Feast of St. Théresè.” Bernanos deeply loved the Church, but he could also be brutally candid when it came to himself and his fellow believers. Above all, he had a piercing sense of irony about the comfortable, the self-satisfied and the lukewarm who postured themselves as Catholic—whether they were laypeople or clergy.

In his essay he imagined “what any decent agnostic of average intelligence might say, if by some impossible chance the (pastor) were to let him stand awhile in the pulpit (on) the day consecrated to St. Théresè of Lisieux.”

“Dear brothers,” says the agnostic from the pulpit, “many unbelievers are not as hardened as you imagine. … (But when) we seek (Christ) now, in this world, it is you we find, and only you. … It is you Christians who participate in divinity, as your liturgy proclaims; it is you ‘divine men’ who ever since (Christ’s) ascension have been his representatives on earth. … You are the salt of the earth. (So if) the world loses its flavor, who is it I should blame? … The New Testament is eternally young. It is you who are so old. … Because you do not live your faith, your faith has ceased to be a living thing.”

Bernanos had little use for the learned, the proud or the superficially religious. He believed instead in the little flowers—the Thérèses of Lisieux—that sustain the Church and convert the world by the purity, simplicity, innocence and zeal of their faith. That kind of innocent faith is a gift. But it’s a gift each of us can ask for, and each of us will receive, if we just have the courage to choose it and then act on it. The only people who ever really change the world are saints. Each of us can be one of them. But we need to want sainthood, and then we need to follow the path that comes with it.

Bernanos once wrote that the optimism of the modern world, including its “politics of hope,” is like whistling past a graveyard. It’s a cheap substitute for real hope and “a sly form of selfishness, a method of isolating (ourselves) from the unhappiness of others” by thinking happy or progressive thoughts. Real hope “must be won. (We) can only attain hope through truth, at the cost of great effort and long patience. … Hope is a virtue, virtus, strength; an heroic determination of the soul. (And) the highest form of hope is despair overcome.”

We can only attain hope through truth. And what that means is this: From the moment Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life,” the most important public statement anyone can make is “Jesus Christ is Lord.”

This Wednesday—Ash Wednesday—marks the beginning of Lent. For Catholics, this is a time to be honest; to take an unblinking look at the truth of our lives. Every year God offers us this great season of humility as a chance to remember who we are as believers, reflect soberly on our actions and refocus ourselves on the source of our hope, the only real hope of a bloody and despairing world: Jesus Christ. We do this through prayer, silence, the sacrament of penance, seeking out and reconciling with those whom we’ve hurt, forgiving those who’ve hurt us, generosity to the poor, and—as Pope Benedict reminds us in a special way this year—fasting, not just from food, but from all those many things that distract us from the God who made and loves us.

If we call ourselves Christians, then let’s live like we mean it—beginning today, with this Lenten season; so that people who look upon us will see the presence of Jesus Christ instead.

"Is it a grave matter to eat meat, knowingly and without necessity, on a Friday in Lent?"

This is more related to moral theology than liturgy. There are sins in which the matter may be grave or not grave according to other circumstances. For example, stealing even a small sum would be grave matter if the thief knows the victim to be desperately poor and needy. It would not necessarily be grave matter, although still a sin, if it represented a slight loss.

Considering this, I would say that the act of eating meat on a Friday of Lent could be grave or venial according to other circumstances. If this act is carried out knowingly, without necessity in such a way that the Church's laws are openly despised and denigrated, then it would be grave matter and should be confessed as such.

Ash Wednesday

I am very excited to begin Lent this year. When you begin to clean out a closet you feel good about it. Now is the time to clean out the closet. Get rid of the garbage. God wants to give us great gifts at Easter, but he can't do it if we are filled with junk.

Isaiah 58 - read the whole chapter.

Here is a blog that I find entertaining and insightful.

I think you will like it.

movies

Go here to take a catholic movie quiz.

http://blog.catholic-convert.com/?p=3274

Psalm 32

Happy the sinner whose fault is removed, whose sin is forgiven. Happy those to whom the LORD imputes no guilt, in whose spirit is no deceit. As long as I kept silent, my bones wasted away; I groaned all the day. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength withered as in dry summer heat. Then I declared my sin to you; my guilt I did not hide. I said, "I confess my faults to the LORD," and you took away the guilt of my sin. Thus should all your faithful pray in time of distress. Though flood waters threaten, they will never reach them. You are my shelter; from distress you keep me; with safety you ring me round. I will instruct you and show you the way you should walk, give you counsel and watch over you. Do not be senseless like horses or mules; with bit and bridle their temper is curbed, else they will not come to you. Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but love surrounds those who trust in the LORD. Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you just; exult, all you upright of heart.

"As long as I kept silent, my bones wasted away." This is why we go to confession.

"Christ's faithful have the right, indeed at times the duty, in keeping with their knowledge, competence and position, to manifest to the sacred Pastors their views on matters which concern the good of the Church. They have the right also to make their views known to others of Christ's faithful, but in doing so they must always respect the integrity of faith and morals, show due reverence to the Pastors and take into account both the common good and the dignity of individuals."
Canon 212

Home

I returned home on Thursday after a few quiet days at the lake.
I missed speaking to you about Lourdes. i am especially mindful of everyone;s need for healing in their souls. It is very difficult to let go of our own sins and the injuries we have received from others.
Our Lady of Grace . . . pray for us

Lourdes miracle

I just found this story; now I am off the computer for a week.
Follow this link for some good news.

http://fathersforgood.typepad.com/fathersforgood/

Retreat

I am going on retreat for a few days. You won't see anything new until next Saturday or Sunday.
Later!

New Find!

I recent;y discovered this website. it is a great place to find the Church's teaching on various subjects.

http://www.papalencyclicals.net/

Words to live by

Hebrews 13:1-8Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect hospitality, for through it some have unknowingly entertained angels. Be mindful of prisoners as if sharing their imprisonment, and of the ill-treated as of yourselves, for you also are in the body.
Let marriage be honored among alland the marriage bed be kept undefiled, for God will judge the immoral and adulterers. Let your life be free from love of moneybut be content with what you have, for he has said, I will never forsake you or abandon you. Thus we may say with confidence: The Lord is my helper, and I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?
Remember your leaders who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

more on penance

1432
The human heart is heavy and hardened. God must give man a new heart. Conversion is first of all a work of the grace of God who makes our hearts return to him: "Restore us to thyself, O LORD, that we may be restored!" God gives us the strength to begin anew. It is in discovering the greatness of God's love that our heart is shaken by the horror and weight of sin and begins to fear offending God by sin and being separated from him. The human heart is converted by looking upon him whom our sins have pierced:
Let us fix our eyes on Christ's blood and understand how precious it is to his Father, for, poured out for our salvation, it has brought to the whole world the grace of repentance.
1433
Since Easter, the Holy Spirit has proved "the world wrong about sin,"i.e., proved that the world has not believed in him whom the Father has sent. But this same Spirit who brings sin to light is also the Consoler who gives the human heart grace for repentance and conversion.

Feast of the Presentation of our Lord
FORTY days after we joyfully celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ, we observe today the Feast of the Presentation of our Lord. This solemn feast recalls the event narrated in the Holy Scriptures.
In obedience to the Mosaic Law that every firstborn male be consecrated to the Lord, Mary and Joseph brought the infant Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem forty days after His birth to complete Mary’s purification after childbirth, and to perform the redemption of the firstborn (cf. Luke 2:22-40).
At the temple, they encountered the old man named Simeon, who, according to the Gospel of Luke, had been promised by the Lord that he would not die until he had seen the promised Messiah. Upon seeing the child Jesus at the temple, he immediately acclaimed, "Lord, let your servant go in peace, for my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared before the face of all people, a light to enlighten the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel." (Luke 2:29-32).
Today, the universal Church uses this canticle, now popularly known as the Nunc Dimmittis, as the gospel canticle for the night prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours. The liturgy begins with the ancient rite of blessing of the candles – a practice that can be traced back to the middle of the fifth century. This is done near the entrance of the Church. Then the procession to the Church begins.
The lighted candle symbolizes Jesus Christ who is the "light of revelation to all nations." But it also calls to mind Jesus’ challenge to us in the Gospels that we too are meant to be the light of the world. The procession to the Church signifies that we, too, are called to meet the Lord and follow Him.
All of us can be a light of Christ if only we will remain faithful to the teachings of Jesus. By choosing to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ not only through words but by our own witnessing to love, truth, justice, and peace, we can make known to all the magnitude of God’s love for humanity.
In a world faced with fear and hopelessness because of the crises we are experiencing, may we radiate the light of hope that comes from Jesus. May our lives serve as a candle that shares the light of hope that comes from Jesus Christ to others.
And as we put our hope in him, may we all experience his consoling presence in our midst. We are sure that like Simeon who finally saw the fulfillment of God’s promise, we, too, will experience the warmth of the love of Jesus, our only hope.

penance continued

1431
Interior repentance is a radical reorientation of our whole life, a return, a conversion to God with all our heart, an end of sin, a turning away from evil, with repugnance toward the evil actions we have committed. At the same time it entails the desire and resolution to change one's life, with hope in God's mercy and trust in the help of his grace. This conversion of heart is accompanied by a salutary pain and sadness which the Fathers called animi cruciatus (affliction of spirit) and compunctio cordis (repentance of heart). Fr. Weldon adds, "Also known as compunction. Without compunction a person feels no need to repent."