Saturday after Ash Wednesday

Reflection

People often ask me why I am a Catholic. They seem surprised that in this “modern, secular world, an intelligent person like yourself” would adhere to “old-fashioned” or “out-of date” principles and practices in an institution, that like any human enterprise, has sometimes made mistakes. I admit—at times these questions do give me pause; “Why do I follow in God’s truth?” Then I think of this: the way of the Lord is a path that recognizes the value in each of us. How can it be “old-fashioned” to speak with respect to all of our brothers and sisters? How can it be “out-of-date” to care for those around us in need? How can we allow people to be excluded from our community because of our own imperfect perceptions of who we think they are? In this modern world, the way of the Lord gives us time in our busy lives to be still and listen for God. Like He did with Levi, God reaches out to each of us. We have simply to get up and follow Him. When we do, there is a beautiful fellowship awaiting—a banquet in a garden, full of light and peace, where we meet each other in joyful celebration with Him. And so I say to the world, that is why I am a Catholic.

 

Prayer

Give me the strength O Lord to walk in Your truth today. Help me to see the needs for kind words and selfless acts that are all around me. Help me to hear and answer each of Your calls today and every day. Amen.

 

Amy Rock-Wardwell, ’96, Member of the Worshipping Community

 

Scripture

First Reading: Isaiah 58:9b-14

Psalm 86:1-6

Gospel: Luke 5:27-32

Daily Scripture readings can be found online at the USCCB website

Friday after Ash Wednesday

Reflection

The first reading for today is poignant, especially in light of what is being called the “modern era civil rights movement” in our country.  The Lord speaks clearly and directly.  He calls to us and, with no ambiguity or question, lays out what He wishes for our fast.  Release those bound unjustly.  Set free the oppressed.  Share your bread with the hungry.  Clothe the naked.  Do not turn your back on your own.  Our Lord is urging us to fight for change with these beautiful messages and highlights them in direct contrast to our earthly fasts—a day of penance, bowing our heads, donning sackcloth.  We need our own personal, internal conversion and fast, but it cannot stop there.  It must be expressed through mindful action and care of those in need.  Our nation, our world, is crying out for these heavenly fasts just as a newborn cries out for its mother’s life-giving breast milk. 

 

God promises us that if we perform the fasting that He wishes—our wounds will be quickly healed.  In a world that is wounded, we must trust in and work towards this promise.  The wounds of racism, violence, and sexism can and will be healed by our trust in God’s love.  It is only by God’s fast that we come closer to peace; we must drop our earthly desires and pleasures.  “Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer, you shall cry for help, and He will say: Here I am!”  Here we are, Lord.  Your people have made Lenten promises to You …and we are ready to fast.

 

Prayer

Oh Lord our God, help us to hear and understand Your call to fast in our hearts.  Help us to set free the oppressed and not turn our back on our own.  May we look forward to the day when our cries for help are answered.  Here we are, Lord. Amen.

 

Eliza McDonald, ’17

 

Scripture

First Reading: Isaiah 58:1-9a

Psalm 51:3-6a, 18-19

Gospel: Matthew 9:14-15

Daily Scripture readings can be found online at the USCCB website

Thursday after Ash Wednesday

Reflection

As we set out on our Lenten journey from Ash Wednesday to Good Friday and Easter, the Church helps us through today’s readings to be mindful of the infinite significance of our life in the world. “I set before you life or death, blessing or curse. Choose life, then, so that you and your descendants may live in the love of Yahweh your God, obeying his voice, clinging to Him; for in this your life consists…”

 

The Psalmist repeats the Deuteronomic theme: “Happy the man who never follows the advice of the wicked…but finds his pleasure in the Law of Yahweh, and meditates on His Law day and night…He is like a tree that is planted by water streams, yielding its fruit in season; its leaves never fading…”

 

In Luke’s Gospel, this theme is profoundly deepened in the light of the Passion and Resurrection. Christ predicts His rejection by the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem but also that He will be raised up. But again we are given a choice: either to take up our cross every day and follow Christ to find ourselves, or, devote ourselves in a worldly way and lose ourselves.

 

The failure to recognize Jesus by the Jewish elders is striking. But I suspect there is much more than a historical point here about a failure of recognition. Is it always easy to recognize “the cross,” God’s will for us, that we are to pick up each day? Can one be picking it up the wrong way, or carrying it the wrong way, or even trying to carry someone else’s cross? What would be the spiritual, empirical evidence here?  In describing those who take up their cross and follow Christ, Pope Francis observes they are the ones who have experienced God’s loving forgiveness and found true joy. St. Paul insists on this very point to the Galatians: “what the spirit brings is…love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Gal. 5:22-23) Our true cross does lead to our resurrection.

 

Prayer

Lord, please grant us the grace to see with our eyes and hear with our ears Your word in our lives, so that we may learn how to respond to Your love for us with an ever more generous heart.

 

Peter Tumulty, Professor of Philosophy

 

Scripture

First Reading: Deuteronomy 30: 15-20
Psalm 1:1-4, 6
Gospel: Luke 9:22-25

Daily Scripture readings can be found online at the USCCB website

 

Ash Wednesday

Reflection

On Ash Wednesday, we go to Mass and the priest smudges his thumb into the dust of last year’s Palm Sunday leaves. He makes a cross on our foreheads, and we freely choose to wear the ashes for the rest of the day. The phrase “you are dust and to dust you shall return” is said as a reminder of our sinfulness, and as we begin this repentant season of Lent, I pray that as a community we can start to look at Christ’s sacrifice on the cross in a new way—finding a renewed necessity for the gift of eternal life. Then, with awareness of this beautiful reality, we can become entirely ourselves in His image and likeness.

Today, the Gospel of Matthew says, “Your Father who sees in secret will repay you.” So what’s the point in outwardly exposing our weakness by wearing these ashes? We wear them as a sign of repentance. To “repent” means to make the conscious choice to turn away from sin and turn toward God. We are actively growing in humility by expressing our need for God, and as Lent begins, we can further grow as disciples in spreading the good news to all people.

By doing this, we also invite others to understand the beautiful reality of our faith: that sometimes we are broken, lost, and confused, but Christ’s love breaks down a multitude of barriers that we put on our hearts. So during this Lenten season of redemption, self-denial, and love, let’s meditate on the words of Pope Francis, “I am a sinner, but I trust in the infinite mercy and patience of our Lord Jesus Christ, and I accept it in a spirit of penance.”

Prayer

Holy Spirit come, come now, and come as You wish. Amen.

Kaitlyn Callahan, ’18

Scripture

First Reading: Joel 2:12-18
Psalm 51:3-6a, 12-14, 17
Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2

Gospel: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

Daily Scripture readings can be found online at the USCCB website

 

Join us on a Lenten Journey…

Lent is an incredible gift to us.Some of us receive it with eagerness as a time of healing and growth; others receive it with trepidation of the challenges and sacrifices that Lent can pose; still others receive it with indifference.And yet regardless of where we are in our spiritual journeys, we are all given an opportunity during these 40 days to turn our hearts back towards God and deepen our relationship with God and others in a special way.It offers a chance to take time to reflect on our lives and renew our commitment to open our hearts to God through prayer.

With this in mind, the students, faculty, staff, and members of the Saint Michael’s College worshipping community have come together to offer their reflections on the daily Scripture readings and what they are saying to us in our lives today...how they challenge and encourage us to feel God’s presence, love, and forgiveness each day during this sacred time. Each day of Lent, there will be a new reflection on this blog, based on the Scripture readings of the day, from Ash Wednesday through Easter. We encourage you to join us on a Lenten journey of reflecting and praying with us through this site.

We hope that these reflections are ones that inspire and help you grow deeper in your prayer life during the journey of Lent as we prepare for the Resurrection of Christ Jesus!May we be inspired to open our eyes and see God’s deep, unconditional love present in our lives.

Please note that these reflections are not intended to represent theological views or statements by Edmundite Campus Ministry or Saint Michael’s College, but rather are a compilation of reflections as written by members of the campus and wider community of worshippers.

Easter Sunday

Reflection

This is my favorite Easter story, which I never mind retelling: “A journalist who wrote about the bombing of London during the Second World War said that the picture which remained most vividly impressed on his mind came early one morning. He was out looking around after a night of heavy bombing. He came to a small house. Its windows had been blown out by bomb blast, the torn curtains were fluttering in the breeze; the tiny front garden was littered with roof tiles. At the door was a young woman with a baby in her arms. She stood there with all the devastation around her. The journalist stopped at the gate. ‘A terrible night,’ he said. ‘Yes, but what a wonderful morning,’ was her magnificent reply.”

“Easter is the wonderful morning after the terrible night of the cross.” (Experiencing Jesus, Gerald O’Collins, S.J., p. 108)

 

A key theme of the Easter Season is joy, joy even in the midst of devastation. Easter is “the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad!” We rejoice that Jesus can now say, “Once I was dead, but now I am alive forever and ever,” and we rejoice that we can share in Jesus’s victory over death and confidently look forward to life and happiness without end, after our own earthly death.

 

So, rejoice! Christ is alive and well, and He is with us!

 

Prayer

Thank You, Lord Jesus, for Your victory over sin and death, and making it possible for us to share in Your triumph. Alleluia!

 

Fr. Raymond Doherty, S.S.E. ‘51, Campus Minister

 

Scripture

First Reading: Acts 10:34a, 37-43

Psalm 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23

Second Reading: Colossians 3:1-4 or 1 Corinthians 5:6b-8

Gospel: John 20:1-9 or Luke 24:1-12 or Luke 24:13-35

Daily Scripture readings can be found online at the USCCB website

Holy Saturday (Easter Vigil)

Reflection

It is often difficult to see the workings of God in our lives.  Even those who walked and talked with Jesus had trouble recognizing him.  Perhaps they were looking for someone or something else at the time.  When the women returned from the tomb with their witness, the Apostles thought "their story seemed like nonsense."

 

Often it is helpful to look back and, hopefully, come to realize that the Lord was with us all along.   During this Holy Night, we retell the biblical stories of the mystery of God in creation, in the lives of the people of Israel, and in the hearts of the first disciples.

 

We are reminded that God is ever present in our lives, and in our Church.  May this Easter season help us to open our eyes, our ears, and our hearts to the Risen Lord Jesus who promises that He will never leave us. 

 

Happy Easter.

 

Prayer

God our Father,

by raising Christ Your Son,

You conquered the power of death

and opened for us the way to eternal life.

Let this Easter raise us up

and renew our lives that we may recognize the Spirit within us.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.  Amen.

 

Very Rev. Michael Cronogue, S.S.E., Superior General of the Society of Saint Edmund

 

Daily Scripture readings can be found online at the USCCB website