“Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted” MT 23:1-12. Humility, one of the greatest virtues. The ability to recognize that there is one bigger than ourselves, God, and to live accordingly. As we reflect upon our own lives this Lent we may notice some darkness, some areas of sinfulness that we need to address. Admitting that we have made mistakes takes humility. Going to confession is a great act of humility, one rewarded 100 fold by the grace of God’s mercy and forgiveness. Many great saints down through the ages have spoken and written about humility and how it is essential to earning our Heavenly reward. Blessed Mother Teresa led a life of humility as she cared for the unwanted, undesired, ill and neglected people through her work with the Missionaries of Charity. Though she wanted no attention or reward for herself, she was sought after the world over by the poor and wealthy, famous and unknown alike. She often spoke about humility and its importance within our daily lives. She gave a list of 15 ways to grow more humble and she made the sisters within her order practice them. Consider these a “Best Practices” from a saint that lived among us and now intercedes for us.
Blessed Mother Teresa’s List
1. Speak as little as possible about yourself.
2. Keep busy with your own affairs and not those of others.
3. Avoid curiosity (as in things that don’t concern you).
4. Do not interfere in the affairs of others.
5. Accept small irritations with good humor.
6. Do not dwell on the faults of others.
7. Accept censures even if unmerited.
8. Give in to the will of others.
9. Accept insults and injuries.
10. Accept contempt, being forgotten and disregarded.
11. Be courteous and delicate even when provoked by someone.
12. Do not seek to be admired and loved.
13. Do not protect yourself behind your own dignity.
14. Give in, in discussions, even when you are right.
15. Choose always the more difficult task.
CHALLENGE: If you find yourself still searching for a Lenten goal, might I suggest trying to live out Blessed Mother Teresa’s road map to humility. If you already are working on a Lenten observance, perhaps you would be willing to supplement with this suggestion. We could all benefit from living a life rooted in humility. Just think what the chain reaction would be if we emphasized the virtue of humility more within our society. How much better our world could be!
Blessings to You and Yours!

Scripture is such a wealth of spiritual goodness! Yesterday’s Gospel selection was no exception. We read from Luke ch. 6 verses 36-38. Jesus is instructing His disciples on the way in which they are to live. He gives them a very brief but morally stout charge; to be merciful, to pass no judgment or condemnation on anyone, and to share their gifts with others. It is in this passage that Jesus says “For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.”
It’s the golden rule, isn’t it? Treat others the way you want to be treated. It’s the greatest commandment, love your neighbor as yourself. If we desire to be forgiven then we must forgive, if we wish to receive mercy then we must be merciful, and if we want to have God shower us with his gifts then we must be willing to share our gifts with others. Is there someone in your life that needs your forgiveness? Are there any blessings in your life that you would be willing to share (time, talent, or treasure)? Have you been able to act with mercy in dealing with personal trials? Jesus reminds us that God keeps score. He is ever vigilant and always rooting for us to do the right thing.
CHALLENGE: Take one of the three key elements in Luke’s Gospel reading (mercy, forgiveness, charity) and find a way to act on them this week. Forgive someone who has wronged you, be merciful toward a family member, coworker or neighbor that seems to always get under your skin, volunteer at a local soup kitchen or hospital. If you are unable, perhaps consider going to confession, where you are assured of experiencing God’s forgiveness and mercy.
Blessings to You and Yours!

I am begotten by God. You are begotten by God. Everyone here today, and those that have already been called back home, are and were desired by God. I am often awestruck by this reality. Theologians have determined that God exists outside of linear time. With that in mind, imagine God seeing all of eternity in a single moment and deciding that his perfect plan was/is only made so with you and I a part of it. Just let that sink in for a moment……is your mind blown yet? God wants us! We help to complete His plan. He values and loves us so much that he could not image an existence without you or I! And what he desires more than anything is an eternity spent with us. If that doesn’t fill you with hope and confidence even on your worst day, then I don’t know what will. So how do we get there? How do we attain this goal of sharing eternity with the Lord? the first place to start is believing He wants you there. Saying with confidence that you are loved and desired by God and believing it. Think back to our negativity exercise. Satan would have us believe we are worthless and undesirable. God created us for Himself and we are precious and loved by Him. Next, you must desire to get to Heaven and live a life in that pursuit. Lent helps us to fine tune ourselves to make sure we are living out each day to it’s full potential, in a way that will help us stay close to God. Part of that self reflection is an examination of conscience and a penitent heart unafraid to ask for God’s forgiveness. Lastly, we are called to make a renewed commitment to do our best day after day to know, love, and serve the Lord through our actions, words and good works.
CHALLENGE: This week, stand up to Satan. Anytime he begins to whisper into your ear the lie that you are unwanted, unloved, not good enough, or unworthy of God’s mercy and love; be bold, and give praise to God, for every negative thought you may have. God loves you and I beyond comprehension and we are sons and daughters of The King. Find a way to thank the Lord for this inheritance through a good work or continued good work.
Blessings to You and Yours!

“Lord, it is good that we are here.” These are the words Peter speaks to Jesus in our Gospel selection today MT 17:1-9. I wonder, do we feel like we can say the same as Peter? Are we glad to be on this Lenten journey, here and now? Today is a day for examining this question. What are we looking to “get” out of Lent this year? The church sets this season apart as a time for prayer, fasting, and alms giving. It is not to punish us or make us miserable, rather, it is to draw us closer to our Lord in the same manner in which Jesus drew close to God the Father, by means of sacrifice. We read of Jesus’s transfiguration today and realize that this practice of fasting, prayer, and alms giving is an opportunity for us to transform our lives so to then transform our hearts and souls to become that which God desires. Yes, it is good that we are here. It is good that we get the chance to live through another season of Lent, where we get yet another opportunity to make that space for God in our lives by letting go of sin and anything that may weigh us down spiritually. It is good that we have received yet another invitation to receive the forgiveness of our sins in the sacrament of Reconciliation. To cleanse our spirits and transform us by the grace of God. It is good that we are here making the resolution to turn away from anything that stands in the way of us building a relationship with God. It is good that we are here, preparing to celebrate Christ in his resurrected glory, with open hearts ready to receive Him.
CHALLENGE: Take a moment today to thank God for a time when He transformed something in your life (a job promotion, a good medical report, a family member or friend that has returned to God, a deeper love of your faith and more meaningful relationship with God, etc.) Ask him to continue transforming your heart and to conform it to His will in the hopes of one day hearing from God our Father, “Here is my son/daughter in whom I am well pleased.
Blessings to You and Yours!

For this Lent, one of the things I have decided to do is to learn a new language, a love language. Not the usual romance languages of Italy or Spain, but one whose origin goes even further back in human history. I’m talking about the love Jesus spoke of in Matthew 22:37-41. “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Jesus is speaking here of agape love. Putting love of God and neighbor above ourselves. How do you go about implementing love like this in our daily living? What would ‘speaking’ this language look like? I believe it begins with making a resolution to place another’s needs before our own. Family, friends, coworkers, neighbors, those individuals who may be most reluctant to ask for our assistance. While the majority of us will not be called to literally lay down our lives for anyone, as Jesus did, our sacrificial offering of our time, talent, and treasure will be enough.
The next step in learning the lingo would consist of putting away our preconceptions of who we can help and be open to helping those that it may make us uncomfortable to be around, but need our love nonetheless. Those on the outskirts of life, those who we have failed to reconcile with, those who have hurt us. Agape love does not discriminate, and neither must we.
Lastly, we must be open to going wherever God wishes to lead us so that we may meet people where they are. The random phone call at 2 am from a struggling friend, the money you saved for a family vacation being donated to a neighbors Gofundme cancer treatment page, visiting with a sick or shut-in family member on your only off day, playing a game with your children, nieces, or nephews, although you’ll have to stay up late to catch up on work. These simple, real world examples that seem so common place are in fact opportunities that give us a chance to ‘speak the vernacular.’ How could our God who is love give us anything other than the purest of all languages, that of faith in action, Agape!
CHALLENGE: Join me in learning this ‘new’ language this Lenten season. Let us encourage one another in sacrificial, life-giving moments of love. Where we choose to love God by way of caring for His people. “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.” MT 25:31-46.
Blessings to You and Yours!

“As for me and my house we will serve the Lord” Joshua 25:15. Service, a word we are very familiar with, and I daresay find so commonplace that we may not think much about it’s meaning. The Oxford English dictionary defines service as “the action of helping or doing work for someone.” In the scriptural passage from Joshua, he was referring to the later portion of the definition, ‘doing work for someone.’ Of course the work he did was evangelical as he spread the message of God to all the people. Joshua was one of MANY such individuals all throughout scripture who heard God’s call to a life of service and bravely answered that call. Scripture is often referred to as the ‘living’ word of God, meaning the lessons, messages, affirmations, and truths spoken and recorded long ago are still viable today. The message of Jesus is meant for our ears to hear, our eyes to read, and our Spirits to receive just as the holy man and women received these truths long ago. Our ‘great commission’ is to go out into the world sharing the Gospel message by way of our lives. That our words and actions may be an example to others and label us as followers of Christ. Such a calling is not easy. There will be much sacrifice and discipline required. As followers of Christ we are called to a life of service to others. Putting others needs before our own. After all Jesus was our greatest example of this as he performed his duties, according to the Father, serving Him above all others. It is this same service we are called to. To serve the Father through the daily works of our hands, hearts, and minds.
CHALLENGE: Look for ways you can be of greater service this day. Is there someone at work who could really use some help (encouragement, prayer, share in the burden of a laborious task)? Maybe someone within your family is struggling to get things done (bills paid, help around the house, assistance with daily tasks) and could benefit from a helping hand, etc. Would you be able to answer God’s invitation to serve Him by helping one of these in need? Charitable acts never go unnoticed by God and each time we make one we grow closer to the reality of becoming the person God created us to be. May the actions of our daily lives echo the words of Joshua, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Blessings to You and Yours!

Forgiveness. There’s nothing quite like it. It can soothe the soul giving wings to a heavy heart, and yet it can be one of the most challenging things to do. We know how important it is to forgive one another. It’s so important Jesus made sure to speak of it often in the Gospels. Take MT 6: 7-15 for example. Jesus tells the disciples to forgive others that offend them either in word or deed. He goes on to state the importance of this practice as it relates to God. “If you forgive men their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.” God expects us to pass the olive branch to our neighbors and forgive them as many times as we can. God the Father will reward us for this by means of forgiving our own shortcomings and failures. Even when it seems impossible we must try. Who among us can say with full conviction that we do not need the merciful forgiveness of God? Let us not forget to forgive ourselves too. Often times we dwell on past events where we behaved or acted less than favorably. Let it go. Allow yourself to bathe in the balm of forgiveness because unless you are open to receiving it you cannot share it with others.
CHALLENGE: Make an effort to reconcile with someone this week/season. Free yourself of the burden of hurt and enjoy the transformative healing of forgiveness. For those of us who are Catholic, the Sacrament of Reconciliation will be made available several times from now until Easter. If you haven’t received this sacrament in a while I encourage you to revisit it. The graces you will receive are innumerable and will bless you with the peace of God that transcends our own understanding. May the healing power of the Father’s forgiveness touch your life this season.
Blessings to You and Yours!

I am not good enough. I am not smart enough. I am too fat. I am ugly. I will never be as successful as they are. I am unlovable. God doesn’t care about me, etc., etc. Has the Devil ever spoken one of these lies to you? Did you believe him? My guess is that at one time or another you did. I have. Maybe you are dwelling on one of these falsehoods right now. I’m here to invite you to let go of these lies this lent. While we are busy fasting from other things (chocolate, television, sugar, fast food, etc.) let us also fast from these self-destructive lies that seek to destroy us from the inside out.
CHALLENGE: As Dr. Popcak, of Catholic family counseling reknown put it, let us safeguard our “Lental Health” this year. Each time the Devil whispers a falsehood into your ear, take the necessary precautions to protect your Spirit and your mental health. For each lie impressed upon your soul, counteract it with a positive affirmation. Write it down. Instead of the lie, “God doesn’t love me,” write down an example of something positive in your life that has been a blessing from God. It could be a promotion at work, an unexpected bill that you somehow had the money to pay, or simply for a day without rain! Then thank God for the gift of his love. Proof of God’s love for us is all around us everyday, we only need to open our eyes and be made aware. Feel free to share your positive affirmations with friends and family using
#fastingfromfalsehood
Blessings to You and Yours!

Free play, free time, free parking. Generally anything beginning with the word ‘free’ gets people excited. Just 2 days ago, we received a ‘free day’ in the way of an additional day added to the month of February. Every 4 years we are gifted this additional day (Leap Year) to ensure our calendar days align with the seasons of the year, i.e. Spring. How did you spend your extra day this year? What did you do? Was it time well spent? Time seems to be the one thing we never have enough of and yet can be so careless with. How many of us find ourselves over-extended by all our commitments? Between jobs, kids, school, athletics, extra curriculars, fundraisers, charity events, family/social gatherings, church or small group, there is often more activity at the end of the day then the actual TIME needed to do them in. In a day and age where staying at home is simply impossible, what are we to do? Enter the season of Lent. The church gives us this TIME to stop and take rest, to breath and slow down, to break away from life’s maddening speed and walk beside the Lord in slow but steady strides. God reaches out to us in moments of stillness if we only make the TIME.
CHALLENGE: Choose 1 activity this week that you can get assistance with or shuffle around to get done at a later date. That being the following day, week, or an hour or two later that day. With the TIME you free up, do something for yourself or someone you love to renew your/their spirit. Just as we prepare to rid our souls of sinful stain, we need to make the room to accept God and his many graces. Giving ourselves or another the opportunity to be openly ready for receiving the miracle of the Resurrection, at the end of our Lenten journey, is TIME well spent.
Blessings to You and Yours!

First Sunday of Lent. Today our gospel selection tells the story of Jesus being tempted by the devil. Jesus dismissed each of the three temptations and was able to refute the devil by using direct quotations from the scriptures. This encounter between Jesus and the devil culminates with the famous line uttered by Jesus, “Get behind me Satan.” There is so much to be observed in this gospel. Jesus had been in the desert, fasting and praying for 40 days. As He was in the midst of a personal retreat, spending time in prayer, when He receives his visit from the devil. How often do we find ourselves dealing with great temptations just as we begin to make space for God in our lives? Jesus was able to thwart the devil at each temptation by quoting the Scriptures. Here He becomes our example, modeling for us the way to steer ourselves from temptation. Contemplating God’s word is a powerful way to refocus our attentions on what truly matters and to keep our demons at bay. Whether it is reading from Scripture, reflecting on the word of God, reciting a beloved prayer, or simply spending a few moments in quiet contemplation, those practices, which shift our focus to that of Jesus, will be all we need to keep our behaviors ‘in check’ and help us to steer clear of temptation.
CHALLENGE: As we near our first full week of Lent, continue to reflect inward to identify the root of your biggest temptation. Make a promise to yourself that you will choose to turn toward the Lord and ask his help to turn you from those things which keep you from being the best version of yourself. Gather strength from those words of Jesus, “Get behind me Satan.” The Lord will be your strength and will be glad to come to your aide, all you need is to ask.
Blessings to You and Yours!