Thursday after Ash Wednesday

Reflection

We live in an era of seemingly unlimited choices.  This means we are confronted with so many decisions. We have decision fatigue as we are bombarded with having to make a multitude of decisions daily.  As we begin Lent, let today be our decision day.

In our reading today, Moses gives us two options: life and death. Surely, all of us would choose life, but what does it mean to choose life or to choose death?  

Life is what is good and death is what is wrong.  

However,  even this answer is too simple.  The answer involves our relationship with God and God’s people.  The verses of todays reading provide a quick summary of how to choose life.  To choose life is to  love God, to walk in god’s ways, and to keep God’s commandments. 

If we choose to be in a love relationship with God,  all of our decisions should be shaped by the one decision.  We will make an effort to identify and cease to worship any gods that may be  affecting our  decisions to choose life.  

Today, there are many things that can become like gods to us: money, image, fame, family, celebrity, alcohol, influence politics and much more.  These things  may  negatively impact are capacity to make godly and wise decision.

Let  us take a look at our life and realize that today and every day we have the choice before us,  to choose life and remember that to choose life is to  love God, to walk in god’s ways, to keep God’s commandments.

Prayer

God, help me to choose life, to love God, to walk in God’s ways, and to keep God’s commandments. Amen.

Chris Pingert
Member of the Worshiping Community

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

In the first reading, we are called to return to the Lord with our whole hearts; and we are told to rend our hearts. The responsorial psalm pleads, “A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me.”  The gospel acclamation says, “If today you hear his voice, harden not your heart.”  What does this mean for us?  Maybe we have become hard-hearted, with hearts closed, walled-off, and barren.  Perhaps we take excessive pride in our gifts, talents, and abilities and we want to control how we use them, rather than let God guide us in their use.  Maybe we cannot feel, respond to, or fully enjoy God’s love for each of us—and we can’t wholeheartedly love God in return.  

What can we do to fix this?  We can break down—rend—the walls that separate us from God and each other, and allow our hearts to be softened and opened.  A soft heart can receive and respond.  A soft heart can be saddened, but it can also know great happiness and joy.  Softened by the rain of God’s grace and warmed by the sun of God’s love, our hearts can be turned from a desert into a garden.  All it takes is the humility to admit our failings and trust in God’s guidance, and a sincere desire to draw closer to God who loves us.  The Season of Lent is “a very acceptable time” to do this.

Prayer

Lord, please give me the grace I need to open my heart fully to you, place my trust in you, and love you as deeply as I can. Amen

Brother Frank Hagerty, S.S.E. ‘73
Spiritual Director and Prison Minister

Scripture

First Reading: Joel 2:12-18

Psalm 51:3-6b, 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

REJOICE! ALLELUIA! CHRIST HAS RISEN! CELEBRATION! These are all words we use to remember Easter each year. We know the story well because we have heard it over and over again. As children we might not have understood the significance but we did have celebrations. 

Maybe an early Easter Sunrise service as well as Mass, a basket of candy or an Egg Hunt or a big meal with family and maybe even new clothes. So clearly the word Celebration was evident. 

And today as adults? Do we understand Easter, the scripture readings and what it was like for Mary Magdalene and Peter and the disciples as they lived through these events? 

We know the on-going story, not just what is shared with us in today’s scripture readings but how each person who was gifted with seeing Jesus through the next day and weeks began to understand and believe all that Jesus had been telling them. They began to realize they had been chosen to teach what Jesus had taught them and that they each had gifts to share with the community. They had been given the ability to keep the message of Jesus alive. And so they did! 

And each of us? Is the message that Easter brings to us really alive in our daily activities? Might these Easter days and weeks give opportunity to see or feel God’s Presence by spending a few moments, each day, asking God to be with us in new ways during this Easter Season? Could it be that we will feel God calling us to new opportunities?

Prayer

Whatever this Easter Season brings to each of us, may we believe that each new day is “a day the Lord has made”.  May “we rejoice and be glad” and share the gifts we have been granted to help to bring Blessings and Peace to all. Happy Easter!

Sr. Lindora Cabral, RSM, Sister of Mercy

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

Daily Scripture readings can be found online at the USCCB website

Holy Saturday (Easter Vigil)

Reflection

Holy Saturday dawns with the Lord lain in his tomb as the Church meditates on his Passion and Death. Indeed, this is one of the few days where the Church does not celebrate Mass at all, with Communion distributed only to those in danger of death. As the sun sets on this day however, the waters of life begin to flow again as the light of Christ is lit during the Easter Vigil. The full course of readings for this solemn celebration represent nothing less than a recapitulation of the whole of Salvation History with seven readings from the Hebrew scriptures giving testimony to the reality that the Lord never abandoned God’s people to the domain of death, but instead offered covenants and prophets to teach the people to look forward to salvation. The story reaches its crescendo when the Church hears from St. Paul that though we share in Christ’s death by facing the struggles and challenges of this world, we shall also live with and rise with him at the end.

The Resurrection moment arrives with the proclamation of Matthew’s Gospel account. The stone of the tomb is rolled away, as all the stones of death are banished by the light and joy of Christ. The two Marys, representing the Church on earth, run to proclaim this Good News to all, while Christ himself appears to exhort us to not be afraid. This moment of Easter triumph is the core of the Christian experience, this celebration of life is the foundation that underpins all that we do.

Prayer

Pour out on us, O Lord, the Spirit of your love, and in your kindness make those you have nourished by this paschal Sacrament one in mind and heart. Amen.

Fr. Michael R. Carter, S.S.E., ’12

Scripture

First Reading: Genesis 1:1-2:2 or 1:1, 26-31a

Psalm 104:1-2, 5-6, 10, 12-14, 24, 35 or Psalm 33:4-7, 12-13, 20, 22
Second Reading: Genesis 22:1-18 or 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18
Psalm 16:5, 8-11
Third Reading: Exodus 14:15—15:1
(Psalm) Exodus 15:1-6, 17-18
Fourth Reading: Isaiah 54:5-14
Psalm 30:2, 4-6, 11-13
Fifth Reading: Isaiah 55:1-11
(Psalm) Isaiah 12:2-6
Sixth Reading: Baruch 3:9-15, 32—4:4
Psalm 19:8-11
Seventh Reading: Ezekiel 36:16-17a, 18-28
Psalm 42:3, 5; 43:3-4
Eighth Reading: Romans 6:3-11
Psalm 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23
Gospel: Matthew 28:1-10

Daily Scripture readings can be found online at the USCCB website

Good Friday

Reflection

The Good Friday readings overwhelm us with images and contradictions.

Isaiah paints the desolation of the suffering servant: spurned, tortured, cast out. A submissive lamb who “opened not his mouth.” Glorified because he bears the guilt of the many. 

The psalmist’s tone too is forlorn: forgotten like the unremembered dead; a dish that is broken. But repeatedly, hope breaks through: you will redeem me O Lord, O faithful God … my trust is in you.

Paul’s image is of Jesus the high priest, but one who knows compassion through his own suffering. 

The final image that grips us is Jesus hanging on the cross. I do not want to look at the cross or dwell on His suffering, but I must ask: what does it mean when we say “Christ died to save us from our sins”? Isaiah’s image of a scapegoat who takes on the sins of others no longer satisfies. The Franciscan view, that the crucifixion is Jesus’ freely chosen manifestation of His love for us, is compelling, but makes the cruelty of the cross no less painful. Why should we contemplate the Cross?  In The Universal Christ, Richard Rohr suggests that “we are invited to gaze upon the image of the crucified Jesus to soften our hearts to all suffering, to help us see how we ourselves have been `bitten’ by hatred and violence, and to know that God’s heart has always been softened toward us.” This enables us to “gain compassion toward ourselves and all others who suffer.” The cross is for the transformation of our hearts. And wherever such transformation breaks through, Jesus assures us of hope: “This day you shall be with me in paradise."

Prayer

O Lord Jesus, help us to know who we are, so that when we pass through times of darkness and suffering we can draw on the deep faith that we will share in the resurrection. Help us to see, through your suffering, the suffering of all people especially those oppressed or treated unjustly. Transform our hearts so we can live and act with true compassion. Amen.

Zsuzsanna Kadas, P’13, Professor of Mathematics Emeritus

Scripture

First Reading: Isaiah 52:13-53:12
Psalm 31:2, 6, 12-13, 15-17, 25
Second Reading: Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9
Gospel: John 18:1—19:42

Daily Scripture readings can be found online at the USCCB website

Holy Thursday

Reflection

John's gospel account of the Last Supper is both puzzling and revealing.  It's puzzling because John doesn't include the words of consecration in Paul or the Synoptic gospels.  In John's narrative, Jesus washes his disciples' feet.  Jesus gives his body and pours out his blood for us through his action and service.  By his action, Jesus says, here I am as your servant, do this in my memory.  So, what are we to do in Jesus' memory?  Serve one another; love one another.

Jesus shows the extent of his love by washing his disciples' feet.  A household's lowliest servant usually performed this act of cleansing, service, and intimacy.  Jesus does not focus on Judas, his betrayer.  Instead, his focus is on loving his friends.

Holy Thursday, sometimes called Maundy Thursday, comes from the Latin word mandatum, meaning mandate or commandment.  Jesus' ritual gives us a mandate.  "Love one another as I have loved you." Jesus poured out his life in unselfish, sacrificial love throughout John's gospel.  Now, he calls us to pour out our lives in unselfish, sacrificial love for others.

Prayer

As you, O Lord, gave your Body and Blood by washing the disciples’ feet, lead and guide us in ways that fulfill your mandate to love one another.  Help us to pour out our lives in unselfish, sacrificial love.  Amen.

Fr. Richard M. Myhalyk, S.S.E., ‘66

Scripture

First Reading: Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14

Psalm 116:12-13, 15-16bc, 17-18

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

Gospel: John 13:1-15

Daily Scripture readings can be found online at the USCCB website