Lent, Day Fifty-Three, Easter Saturday

Lent, Day Fifty-Three, Easter Saturday
Somehow joy is much harder to express than sadness. It seems that we have more words for sickness than for health, more for abnormal conditions than for normal conditions. Does this mean there is less joy in life than sadness? Perhaps. But it is also possible that joy is in fact a deeper, more intimate, more "normal" condition than sadness, and pain and therefore harder to articulate.

For Jesus, joy is clearly a deeper and more truthful state of life than sorrow. He promises joy as the sign of new life...

Jesus connects joy with the promise of seeing him again. In this sense, it is similar to the joy we experience when a dear friend returns after a long absence. But Jesus makes it clear that joy is more than that. It is "his own joy," flowing from the love he shares with his heavenly Father and leading to completion.

Henri J.M. Nouwen
Lifesigns: Intimacy, Fecundity, and Ecstasy in Christian Perspective, pg 109

Scripture:
⁵ “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. ⁷ If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸ This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
⁹ “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. ¹⁰ If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. ¹¹ I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.John 15:5-11

PRAYER
Loving God, our Father, let my life be a witness to your commandments, let me not be as a withered branch that is thrown into the fire and burned. May I pray to you in joy and in times of adversity. Amen.

EASTER ACTION
No greater gift of love could be demonstrated than the death of our Lord on the cross in reparation for our sins. Perhaps then Eastertide is a better occasion for giving gifts than Christmas. In celebration of Christ's resurrection, give small gifts of commemoration.

Lent, Day Fifty-Two, Easter Friday

Lent, Day Fifty-Two, Easter Friday
In prayer, God's presence is never separated from God's absence and God's absence is never separated from God's presence. The presence of God is so much beyond the human experience of being together that it quite easily is perceived as absence. The absence of God, on the other hand, is often so deeply felt that it leads to a new sense of God's presence. This is powerfully expressed in Psalm 22. [My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?]

This prayer not only is the expression of the experience of the people of Israel, but also the culmination of the Christian experience. When Jesus spoke these words on the cross, total aloneness and full acceptance touched each other. In that moment of complete emptiness all was fulfilled. In that hour of darkness new light was seen. While death was witnessed, life was affirmed.

Henri J.M. Nouwen
Reaching Out: The Three Movements of the Spiritual Life, pg 106

Scripture:

¹ My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
    Why are you so far from saving me,
    so far from my cries of anguish?
² My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
    by night, but I find no rest.^[b]

³ Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
    you are the one Israel praises.^[c]
4 In you our ancestors put their trust;
    they trusted and you delivered them.
⁵ To you they cried out and were saved;
    in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

⁶ But I am a worm and not a man,
    scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
⁷ All who see me mock me;
    they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
⁸ “He trusts in the Lord,” they say,
    “let the Lord rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
    since he delights in him.”

¹⁶ Dogs surround me,
    a pack of villains encircles me;
    they pierce^[a] my hands and my feet.
¹⁷ All my bones are on display;
    people stare and gloat over me.
¹⁸ They divide my clothes among them
    and cast lots for my garment.

Psalm 22:1-8, 16-18

PRAYER
God of presence and absence, I know that no matter if I feelyour nearness or remoteness, you have never forsaken me. I, however, have alienated you through sin. Somehow I hope that these sins will not be fruitless, but will be transformed through your forgiveness. Amen.

EASTER ACTION
Collect small stones for each person whom you need to forgive. Keep these stones in your pocket or purse as reminders of your intent to seek and grant forgiveness. Remember an old Welsh proverb: «Love flows out of every act of forgiveness:'

Lent, Day Fifty-One, Easter Thursday

Lent, Day Fifty-One, Easter Thursday
Life is... a short moment of waiting. But life is not empty waiting. It is to wait full of expectation. The knowledge that God will indeed fulfill the promise to renew everything, and will offer us a "new heaven and a new earth," makes the waiting exciting...

The "little while" is a precious time. It is a time of purification and sanctification, a time to be prepared for the great passage to the permanent house of God. What is my task during my "little while"? I want to point to the signs of the Kingdom to come, to speak about the first rays of the day of God, to witness to the many manifestations of the Holy Spirit among us.

Henri J.M. Nouwen
The Sabbatical Journey: A Diary of His Final Year, pg 104

Scripture:
¹⁶ Jesus went on to say, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.”
¹⁷ At this, some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” ¹⁸ They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”
²⁰ Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.
²² So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. 
John 16:16-18, 20, 22

PRAYER
Eternal Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, though I am here for "a little while;' keep me ever aware that my earthly weeping and mourning will be replaced by rejoicing when I see you in your heavenly glory. Amen.

EASTER ACTION
Give up nursing grief over past mistakes and instead find a reason to plan and participate in one joyful·celebration.

Lent, Day Fifty, Easter Wednesday

Lent, Day Fifty, Easter Wednesday
To follow Christ means to relate to each other with the mind of Christ; that is, to relate to each other as Christ did to us--in servant-hood and humility. Discipleship is walking together on the same path. While still living wholly in this world, we have discovered each other as fellow travelers on the same path and have formed a new community... We have become a new people with a new mind, a new way of seeing and hearing and a new hope because of our common fellowship with Christ. Compassion, then, can never be separated from community. Compassion always reveals itself in community, in a new way of being together.

Henri J.M. Nouwen, Donald P MacNeil, and Douglas A. Morrison
Compassion: A Reflection of the Christian Life, pg 102

Scripture:
¹³ Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles^[a] from Jerusalem. ¹⁴ They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. ¹⁵ As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; ¹⁶ but they were kept from recognizing him.
²⁸ As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. ²⁹ But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.
³⁰ When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. ³¹ Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. ³² They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”
³³ They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together

Luke 24:13-16, 28-33

PRAYER
Great God of the entire human family, give me the ability to recognize Jesus in all whom I meet. Help me to give up my self-centered blindness and open my eyes so that I can acknowledge that we all are one in you. Amen.

EASTER ACTION
Think back and meditate on when you may have "passed by" our Lord as did the disciples on the road to Emmaus.

Lent, Day Forty-Nine, Easter Tuesday

Lent, Day Forty-Nine, Easter Tuesday
I know that [listening to the Church] isn't a popular bit of advice at a time and in a country where the Church is often seen more as an obstacle in the way than as the way to Jesus. Nevertheless, I'm deeply convinced that the greatest spiritual danger for our times is the seperation of Jesus from the Church. The Church is the body of the Lord. Without Jesus there can be no church; and without the Church we cannot stay united with Jesus. I've yet to meet anyone who has come closer to Jesus by forsaking the Church. To listen to the Church is to listen to the Lord of the Church.

Specifically, this entails taking part in the Church's liturgical life, Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, Ascension, and Pentecost: these seasons and feasts teach you to know Jesus better and better and unit you more and more intimately with the divine life he offers you in the Church.

Henri J.M. Nouwen
Letters to Marc About Jesus, pg 100

Scripture:
³ For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. ⁴ For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, ⁵ so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
Romans 12:3-5

PRAYER
God of all power, you who left me in the freedom of my own human will, let me dispense with what overfills my life and leaves no room for God and his works. Help me to jettison the idolatry of all that I clutch to so tightly: money, family, fame, other people, and so on. Let me roll away the rocks from in front of my own tomb, let me find a world of new possibilities in your joyful resurrection and in the fullness of your love. Amen.

EASTER ACTION
Now is not the time to be dismal. Smile at all those you meet today.

Lent, Day Forty-Eight, Easter Monday

Lent, Day Forty-Eight, Easter Monday
We often wonder what we can do for others... It is not a sign of powerlessness when we say: "We must pray for one another." To pray for one another is, first of all, to acknowledge, in the presence of God, that we belong to each other as children of the same God. Without this acknowledgement of human solidarity, what we do for one another does not flow from who we truely are...

To pray, that is, to listen to the voice of the One who calls us his "Beloved", is to learn that voice excludes no one. Where I dwell, God dwells with me and where God dwells with me I find all my sisters and brothers.

Henri J.M. Nouwen
Here and Now: Living in the Spirit, pg 98

Scripture:
 Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar, ² and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” Then Abimelek king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.
³ But God came to Abimelek in a dream one night and said to him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman.”
⁴ Now Abimelek had not gone near her, so he said, “Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation? ⁵ Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister,’ and didn’t she also say, ‘He is my brother’? I have done this with a clear conscience and clean hands.”
⁶ Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her. ⁷ Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, you may be sure that you and all who belong to you will die.”
Genesis 20:1-7

PRAYER
God of ail, I am on this journey of life which is a cycle of life to life: I am born, I live, I die to be born to eternal life. As I pass through on this journey, let my own sinful self die and a new person rise to the challenges of praising you. I will keep the words of the liturgy ever in mind this Eastertide: "Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again." Amen.

EASTER ACTION
The word liturgy means "work of the people:' Make a list of why the celebration of the Sunday liturgy is the most significant event of the week. You might take this opportunity to write a special thank you to the ministers of your parish.

Lent, Day Forty-Seven, Easter Sunday

Lent, Day Forty-Seven, Easter Sunday
Easter morning. A very simple, quiet Eucharist around the table in Madame Vanier's dining room... A small group of friends happy to be together.

We spoke together about the resurrection. Liz, who works with many anguished people, said, "We have to keep rolling away the large stones that prevent people from coming out of their graves." Elizabeth, who lives with four handicapped people... said "After the resurrection Jesus had breakfast again with his friends and showed them the importance of the small ordinary things of life.: Sue... said, "It is such a comfort to know that Jesus' wounds remain visible in his risen body. Our wounds are not taken away, but become sources of hope to others."

Henri J.M. Nouwen
The Road to Daybreak: A Spiritual Journey, pg 96

Scripture:

³ Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴ We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

⁵ For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. ⁶ For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with,^[a] that we should no longer be slaves to sin— ⁷ because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.
⁸ Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.Romans 6:3-8

PRAYER
God of never-failing light, you who created the bright lights of the sky,you who have no hint of darkness, grant that your flame of hope will renew my intention to serve you and to inflame and purify my actions with your love and mercy. Amen.

EASTER ACTION
Observe this great day with prayers of thanksgiving and with actions symbolizing the significance of our salvation. Wear white on this joyful day in honor of your baptism and in memory of this verse from Revelation: "They stood before the throne and before the Lamb. They wore white robes and held palm branches in their hands-(7:9). Spend some time by candlelight this day in honor of the paschal candle that is lit from the Easter Vigil fire and carried into the church to the words "Christ our Light." Or you may wish to create Easter baskets for the poor and needy.

Lent, Day Forty-Six, Holy Saturday

Lent, Day Forty-Six, Holy Saturday
Most of the day I spent preparing... for the Easter Vigil celebration... After the Gospel reading I reflected on the significance of our faith in the resurrection of the body. As a community of people conscious of our disabilities [at L'Arche Daybreak], we are held together not so much by the Word as by the body... It is the weak bodies of our core members that create community. We wash, shave comb, dress, clean feed, and hold the bodies of those who are entrusted to us and thus build a communal body. As we claim our faith in the resurrection of the body, we come to see that the resurrection is not simply an event after death, but a reality of everyday life. Our care for the body calls us to unity... to intimacy... and to integrity.

Henri J.M. Nouwen
The Sabbatical Journal: The Diary of His Final Year, pg 92

Scripture:
¹¹ In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh^[a] was put off when you were circumcised by^[b] Christ, ¹² having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.
¹³ When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you^[c] alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, ¹⁴ having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.Colossians 2:11-14

PRAYER
God of eternal wisdom, hear my call for help as I keep watch with Christ's disciples at his tomb. Inspire me, as you did Joseph of Arimathea, to find a place of burial for my Lord. I wait in anticipation for the Easter light to deliver me from the darkness of my sins. Amen.

LENTEN ACTION
Mary, the steadfast one, stayed with her Son even through the sorrowful events of the crucifixion. Meditate on the melancholy occurrences of our Mother Mary's life on this day of silent waiting.

Lent, Day Forty-Five, Good Friday

Lent, Day Forty-Five, Good Friday
About a hundred of us walked from the meeting hall to the Dayspring chapel, each carrying a stone to symbolize our burden and our brokenness. We stopped three times to remember how Jesus is condemned to death, Simon of Cyrene is forced to carry the cross when Jesus falls, and Veronica wipes Jesus' face with her towel. Jesus is nailed to the cross.

Michael, Adam's brother, dressed in an alb and with a crown of thorns on his head is Jesus... We sing and listen to reflections on the passion of Jesus. In the cahpel we place our stones on or around the cross... Lorenzo hammers three big nails in the cross, piercing the silence.

Yes, it is goo Friday. In the midst of all the grief and mourning, there is sweet consolation. We are together, and there is love pouring out from our broken hearts and from the pierced heat of God.

Henri J.M. Nouwen
The Sabbatical Journey, pg 90

Scripture:
⁴⁵ From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. ⁴⁶ About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli,^[a] lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).^[b]
47 When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”
⁴⁸ Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. ⁴⁹ The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”
⁵⁰ And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.
⁵¹ At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split ⁵² and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life.
Matthew 27:45-52

PRAYER
God of all beginnings and endings, whose Son is your blessed image and who was nailed to the cross and crucified this day,let me nail my sins to your cross so that they may die with you. Like the Good Thief, let me pray: "Jesus, Son of God, remember me when you come into your kingdom." Amen.

LENTEN ACTION
Observe Good Friday, or Great Friday, as those in the Eastern churches refer to it, by preparing and eating Hot Cross Buns. Alternately, or in addition, prepare a soup with cabbage, lentils, and vinegar for Good Friday supper in honor of the sponge tinged with gall offered to Jesus on the cross.

Lent, Day Forty-Four, Holy Thursday

Lent, Day Forty-Four, Holy Thursday
The Lord is at the center of all things and yet in such a quiet, unobtrusive, elusive way. He lives with us, even physically, but not in the same physical way that other elements are present to us. This transcendent physical presence is what characterizes the Eucharist. It is already the other world presence in this one. In the celebration of the Eucharist we are given an enclave in our world of space and time. God in Christ is really here, and yet his physical presence is not characterized by the same limitation of space and time that we know...

Contemplative life is a human response to the fundamental fact that the central things in life, although spiritually perceptible, remain invisible in large measure and can very easily be overlooked... The contemplative looks not so much around things but through them into their center. Through their center he discovers the world of spiritual beauty that is more real, has more density, more mass, more energy, and greater intensity than physical matter.

Henri J.M. Nouwen
The Genesee Diary: Report From A Trappist Monastery, pg 88

Scripture:
¹⁴ When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. ¹⁵ And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. ¹⁶ For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.”
¹⁷ After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you. ¹⁸ For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
¹⁹ And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
²⁰ In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.Luke 22:14-20

PRAYER
God of all grace, let the Eucharist, the Bread of Life, always remind me of the breaking of Christ's body and the pouring out of his blood for me and the forgiveness of my sins. Let me shed the false demeanor of Judas, let me always remember his kiss of evil, and never fail to acknowledge my part in this betrayal. Amen. 

LENTEN ACTION
Plan and celebrate a Seder, or Passover meal, today. Make it an ecumenical observance of reconciliation and unity.

Lent, Day Forty-Three, Wednesday of Passion Week

Lent, Day Forty-Three, Wednesday of Passion Week
To say with all that we have, think, feel and are, "God exists." is the most world-shattering statement that a human-being can make... Because when God exists, all that is flows from God... However, as soon as I say, "God exists," my experience no longer remains the center, because the essence of the knowledge of God reveals my own existence as deriving its total being from God's... I no longer let the knowledge of my existence be the center from which I derive, project, deduct, or intuit the existence of God; I suddenly or slowly find my own existence revealed to me in and through the knowledge of God. Then it becomes real for me that I can love myself and my neighbor only because God has loved me first.

Henri J.M. Nouwen
Gracias!: A Latin American Journal, pg_

Scripture:
⁴ By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.
⁵ By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.”^[a] For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. ⁶ And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Hebrews 11:4-6

PRAYER
Most high God, you who accepted the gifts of Enoch and Abel, accept also my gift of faith offered always and especially during this Holy Week. I believe with my whole being that you exist and have done so from before the beginning of time. Send me a realization of the magnitude of this belief and make this act of faith a life-changing experience. Let my life be rooted in you. Amen.

LENTEN ACTION
Today recite, renew, and meditate on your baptismal vows or the Nicene Creed.

Lent, Day Forty-Two, Tuesday of Passion Week

Lent, Day Forty-Two, Tuesday of Passion Week
Jesus, in whom the fullness of God dwells, has become our home. By making his home in us he allows us to make our home in him. By entering into the intimacy of our innermost self he offers us the opportunity to enter into his own intimacy with God. By choosing us as his preferred dwelling place he invites us to choose him as as our preferred dwelling place. This is the mystery of the incarnation. It is beautifully expressed during the Eucharist when the priest pours a little water into the wine, saying: "By the mingling of this water and wine may we come to share in the divinity of him who humbled himself to share in our humanity."

Henri J.M. Nouwen
Intimacy, Fecundity, and Ectasy in Christian Perspective, pg_

Scripture:
¹ The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
²     He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
³     he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
    for his name’s sake.

⁵ You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
⁶ Surely your goodness and love will follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever.

Psalm 23:1-3, 5-6

PRAYER
Everlasting God, you have offered me an intimate place that I can call "home" where I can rest and be healed. Help me accept this true home, where feelings and emotions can be expressed without censorship. Let this home be a place where it is good to be; a house where love is always present. Amen.

LENTEN ACTION
Remember that the fronds waved in joy by those welcoming Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday become the ashes of death and dust: the source of the marks that are put on our foreheads at the beginning of Lent. Use this day to examine your own feelings about death. During this week in which Christ faced his death, you may wish to examine your own mortality.

Lent, Day Forty-One, Monday of Passion Week

Lent, Day Forty-One, Monday of Passion Week
We know that it is important to spend time in solitude. We even start looking forward to this strange period of uselessness. This desire for solitude is often the first sign of prayer, the first indication that the presence of God's Spirit no longer remains unnoticed. As we empty ourselves of our many worries, we come to know not only with our mind but also with our heart that we never were really alone, that God's Spirit was with us all along... The pains and struggles we encounter in our solitude thus become a way to hope, because our hope is not based on something that will happen after sufferings are over, but on the real presence of God's healing Spirit in the midst of these sufferings.

Henri J.M. Nouwen
Making All Things New: An Invitation To The Spiritual Life, pg 82

Scripture:

5 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we^[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we^[b] boast in the hope of the glory of God. ³ Not only so, but we^[c] also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

Romans 5:1-5

PRAYER
God of glory, I pray that you will help me build that inner solitude, that secret place of peace, apart from the world, apart from life's pain and struggles. Grant me the spiritual strength to wear the outer world as a loose garment, one that can be quickly shed If my inner life is strong, if it is lived with you, nothing in the world will seriously upset me. As I practice finding this place of silence, let me cherish it as a place to hear your Word and from which to face the world. Amen.

LENTEN ACTION
This day is the time to actively enter into the Passion of Christ. Jesus did not expect his life on earth to go smoothly just because his Father loved him. Just the opposite occurred, out of the Father's great love he sent his only-begotten Son to an ignominious death on the cross for our benefit. Then we must acknowledge that love is not free of pain, hurt, humiliation, and death. Inventory your sins and find true sorrow for the deeds that brought Jesus to this place of crucifixion.

Lent, Day Forty, Passion Sunday

Lent, Day Forty, Passion Sunday
We spend a lot of energy wondering who can be blamed for our own or other people's tragedies--our parents, ourselves, the immigrants, the Jews, the gays, the blacks, the fundamentalists, the Catholics, ...
But Jesus doesn't allow us to solve our own or other people's problems through blame. The challenge he poses is to discern in the midst of our darkness the light of God. In Jesus' vision everything, even the greatest tragedy, can become an occasion in which God's works can be revealed.
How radically new my life would be if I were willing to move beyond blaming to proclaiming the works of God... All humans beings have their tragedies... We seldom have much control over them. But do we choose to live them as occasions to blame, or as occasions to see God at work?

Henri J.M. Nouwen
The Sabbatical Journey, pg 80

Scripture:
As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. ² His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
³ “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. ⁴ As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. ⁵ While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
John 9:1-5

PRAYER
My God and my refuge, strip away my habit of blaming either others or myself-for any big or little tragedies in my life. Challenge me to move beyond the "blame game" and to understand that these misfortunes and setbacks are not under my control. Teach me instead to live through these events and see them as fruitful opportunities for faith and love. Amen.

LENTEN ACTION
Review past episodes of your life when you were determined to blame others for destructive events. Did you finally acknowledge that blaming is a way to avoid seeing God's hand at work in your life? Are you still relying on blame as a "way out" today? If so, in what way?Are there community "scapegoats" who are blamed for disastrous occurrences? How can those whom we set up as scapegoats be exonerated? You may also want to observe the tradition of eating figs on Palm Sunday and decorating your home with pussy willows. Or you may wish to select and address Easter cards.

======

The Donkey

By G. K. Chesterton

When fishes flew and forests walked   

   And figs grew upon thorn,   

Some moment when the moon was blood   

   Then surely I was born.

With monstrous head and sickening cry

   And ears like errant wings,   

The devil’s walking parody   

   On all four-footed things.

The tattered outlaw of the earth,

   Of ancient crooked will;

Starve, scourge, deride me: I am dumb,   

   I keep my secret still.

Fools! For I also had my hour;

   One far fierce hour and sweet:   

There was a shout about my ears,

   And palms before my feet. 

Lent, Day Thirty-Nine, Fifth Saturday of Lent

Lent, Day Thirty-Nine,  Fifth Saturday of Lent
Prayer requires that we stand in God's presence with open hands, naked and vulnerable, proclaiming to ourselves and to others that without God we can do nothing. This is difficult in a climate where the predominant counsel is, "Do your best and God will do the rest." When life is divided into "our best" and "God's rest," we have turned prayer into a last resort to be used only when all our own resources are depleted. Then even the Lord has become the victim of our impatience. Discipleship does not mean to use God when we can no longer function ourselves. On the contrary, it means to recognize that we can do nothing at all, but that God can do everything through us.

Henri J.M. Nouwen, DOnald P MacNeil, and DOuglas A. Morrison
Compassion: A Reflection on the Christian Life, pg 78

Scripture:
⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:4-7

PRAYER
Three-personed God, it truly frightens me to recognize that I am totally dependent on you. I know that my life is not my own, though I arrogantly act as if I am in control On the contrary, it is you who determines my destiny. Ease my worries over my dependency on you, soften my impatience with your plans for me, and help me to acknowledge that you can do all things through me. Amen.

LENTEN ACTION
Place a bowl of water on the dining room table or somewhere else accessible.Before or after meals, or when entering or leavingthe premises, each member of the household can dip a hand in the water in memory of his or her baptism in Christ.

Lent, Day Thirty-Eight, Fifth Friday of Lent

Lent, Day Thirty-Eight, Fifth Friday of Lent
When your life is more and more becoming a prayer, you notice that you are always busy converting yourself and gaining an ever-deeper understanding of your fellow [human beings]. You notice, too, that prayer is the pulse of the world you live-in. If you are really praying, you can't help but have critical questions about the great problems the world is grappling with, and you can't get rid of the idea that a conversion is not only necessary for yourself and your neighbor, but for the entire human community. This conversion of the world means a "turning around" a revolution which can lead to renewal.

Henri J.M. Nouwen
With Open Hands, pg 76

Scripture:
⁸ But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. ⁹ Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices ¹⁰ and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. ¹¹ Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
Colossians 3:8-11

PRAYER
God forever glorious, grant me the grace to be counted among your chosen ones, those who are beloved by you. Do this for me in spite of my tendency to cling to my old and sinful practices. Help me to turn my life into an ongoing prayer that smoothes the way not only for my own transformation but also for the renewal of the whole human community. Amen.

LENTEN ACTION
Find stories of true personal transformation that also spill over into a conversion for others. Perhaps these stories might come from the lives of the saints, from the history of humanitarian efforts, or from personal witness. Record these stories for your own inspiration and add to them periodically.

Lent, Day Thirty-Seven, Fifth Thursday of Lent

Lent, Day Thirty-Seven, Fifth Thursday of Lent
How do I open my closed hands? Certainly not by violence. Not by a compulsive decision. Perhaps you can find a way to prayer in the words of the angel to the frightened shepherds--Don' be afraid of him who wants to enter your space where you live or to let him see what you are clinging to so anxiously. Don't be afraid to show the clammy coin which will buy so little anyway. Don't be afraid to offer your hate, bitterness, disappointment to him who reveals himself as love. Even if you have little to show, don't be afraid to let it be seen. You keep catching yourself wanting to deceive the other by putting on a semblance of beauty, by holding back everything dirty and spoiled, by clearing a little path that looks very proper. But that is compulsive, forced and artificial.

Henri J.M. Nouwen
With Open Hands, pg 74

Scripture:
¹² I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, ¹³ and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man,^[a] dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest.
¹⁷ When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. ¹⁸ I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
Revelation 1:12-13, 17-18

PRAYER
God of openness and truth, when I make a clenched hand, let me see it as a symbol of violence and anger. Make my hands open as promises of friendship and love. Open my heart as well so that it is transparent and honest. Let me reveal myself in love and let me no longer rely on the pretense of perfection. Instead, let my sins reveal my humanity. Amen.

LENTEN ACTION
Instead of focusing on the faults of others (which may be mirrors of one's own failings), make a humble assessment of your own acts of greed, selfishness, and unkindness. Make amends to those you have hurt.

Lent, Day Thirty-Six, Fifth Wednesday of Lent-

Lent, Day Thirty-Six, Fifth Wednesday of Lent-
You are Christian only
   so long as you look forward to a new world,
   so long as you constantly pose critical questions to the society you live in,
   so long as you emphasize the need of conversion both for yourself and for the world,
   so long as you in no way let yourself become established in a situation of seeming calm,
   so long as you stay unsatisfied with the status quo and keep saying that a new world is yet to come. 
You are Christian only when you believe that you have a role to play in the realization of this new kingdom, and when you urge everyone you meet with a holy unrest to make haste so that the promise might soon be fulfilled.

Henri J.M. Nouwen
With Open hands, pg 72

Scripture:
 ²² News of this reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. ²³ When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. ²⁴ He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.
²⁵ Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, ²⁶ and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.
Acts 11:22-26

PRAYER
Giving and forgiving God, I have called myself your disciple but perhaps this title is truly undeserved. I want to live in comfort even though a life of sacrifice is needed for the world's renewal. I too easily turn a blind eye to injustice and put the oppressed and forgotten into the category of "someday."I hide behind the presumed safety of the status quo, even though you have asked that I work for a new kingdom. Even so, I ask your help to be converted from a member of the present secular society to a willing worker for a new order, and new life, and a new truth. Amen.

LENTEN ACTION
In preparation for Easter, plan to celebrate the sacrament of reconciliation.

Lent, Day Thirty-Five, Fifth Tuesday of Lent

Lent, Day Thirty-Five, Fifth Tuesday of Lent
This all-pervasive competition, which reaches into the smallest corners of our relationships. prevents us from entering into full solidarity with each other, and stands in the way of our being compassionate. We prefer to keep compassion on the periphery of our competitive lives. Being compassionate would require giving up dividing lines and relinquishing differences and distinctions. And that would mean losing our identities. This makes it clear why the call to be compassionate is so frightening and evokes such deep resistance.

Henri J.M. Nouwen, Donald P McNeil, Douglas A. Morrison
Compassion: A Reflection on Christian Life, pg_

Scripture:
³⁵ Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”
³⁶ “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
³⁷ They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”
³⁸ “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”
⁴¹ When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. ⁴² Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. ⁴³ Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, ⁴⁴ and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.

Mark 10:35-38, 41-44

PRAYER
Guardian God, I am often caught up in competitive games-who is better, who is richer, who is nicer, who is more attractive. This competition keeps me separate from others, making me a loner rather than a comrade and a person in solidarity with others. Help me to live a life where distinctions fade away and differences are downplayed, where I become a lover of all rather than a lover of self.Amen.

LENTEN ACTION
Show compassion by choosing to practice one of the spiritual works of mercy. They are as follows: To admonish the sinner, to instruct the ignorant, to counsel the doubtful, to comfort the sorrowful, to bear wrongs patiently, to forgive all injuries, to pray for the living and the dead.

 

Lent, Day Thirty-Four, Fifth Monday of Lent

Lent, Day Thirty-Four, Fifth Monday of Lent
Let me retain innocence and simplicity in the midst of this complex world. I realize that I have to be informed, that I have to study, the many problems facing the world, and that I have to try to understand as well as possible the dynamics of our contemporary society. But what really counts is that all this information, knowledge and insight allow me to speak more clearly and unambiguously your truthful word. Do not allow evil powers to seduce me with the complexities of the world's problems, but give the strength to think clearly, speak freely, and act boldly in your service.

Henri J.M. Nouwen
A Cry For Mercy: Prayers From the Genesee, pg 68

Scripture:
¹⁶ “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. ¹⁷ Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. ¹⁸ On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. ¹⁹ But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, ²⁰ for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
Matthew 10:16-20

PRAYER
Holy God, I sometimes lack the courage to live out my Christian convictions, especially as I confront a world in which knowledge is often corrupted and information is twisted to fit the circumstances. All these complexities can overshadow the Good News of the Gospels and manipulate this world of ours toward disaster. Grant me the courage to show the dove of innocence and simplicity in a world so full of serpents. Give me strength to remain detached from the world's destructiveness and 'help me to proclaim the goodness of God with boldness and assurance. Amen.

LENTEN ACTION
Pray the rosary today, meditating on the sorrowful mysteries If possible, give a rosary to someone as a gift, along with instructions on how to pray it, if necessary.