Month: February 2021

Today the Church begins its annual 40-Day journey through Lent which calls us as Christians to step back from our normal routines and focus a little more closely on the life of Christ. Traditionally three Lenten practices are encouraged to be undertaken throughout this season, namely, Fasting, Prayer and Almsgiving.

The practice of fasting is an age-old exercise in voluntarily going without food (or any other regularly enjoyed, good gift from God). It is markedly counter-cultural in our consumerist society. This ancient practice of self-sacrifice is one that is highlighted many times in scripture and was utilized by Jesus himself when he went into the desert for 40 days to pray. The early Desert Fathers and Mothers of our church likewise made this ritual a regular practice which was passed down through the ages to both monastic life and eventually as common practices for all church goers. It is not necessary about refraining just from food, but more about the offering of the sacrifice and our attitude.

Abba Isidore, one of the early Desert Fathers expressed it this way when he said, “If you fast regularly, do not be inflated with pride; if you think highly of yourself because of it, then you had better eat meat. It is better for a man to eat meat than to be inflated with pride and glorify himself.”

May the small sacrifice the we might make and fast from this Lent allow us to greater appreciate the many gifts we are so richly blessed with in our lives as well as lead us to reflect more on the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus made for each one of us.

Finding more quality time for prayer and reflection on the life of Jesus during this season is essential to anyone who hopes to benefit from the graces offered by these sacred days. The old proverb, “You’ll never repent a Lent well-spent!”, continues to be wise advice for the interior life of any Christian. There are countless worthy and insightful daily Lenten prayer resources easily available to us if we simply commit the needed time to allow our prayer lives to be deepened during these days. 

Finally the ritual of Almsgiving is a valuable treasure not only to the recipients of such good deeds, but most importantly to the person making the sacrifice of helping another through some voluntary good deed or action. One does not need to look too far in today’s world to find a stranger in need of help. In addition to making a possible donation to one of our many needed charities of choice, maybe this year an opportunity might arise to allow us to look into the eyes of a stranger in need and see their gratitude for our treating them with dignity, respect and love. A good friend of mine never gives money to any of the countless homeless folks on our streets. He instead will take that opportunity to buy that person a cup of coffee, a sandwich or something to eat. He will also spend a minute or two with them and come to know their name. I have often heard my friend pray for some of those same names. Almsgiving truly should allow us to come to appreciate the words of St. Francis of Assisi, who said, “For it is in giving that we receive.”

Blessings on your Lenten Journey. May these days that you travel with Jesus allow you to hear His voice speaking to your heart!

Today our Church celebrates the Feast of our Lady of Lourdes.

When I was about seven years of age, my parents took me on my first pilgrimage that really involved major travelling. Our family pilgrimage trip to Lourdes occurred during a February school break. We flew from JFK in NY to Barcelona in Spain and then quickly boarded a train and travelled for what seemed like an eternity from Barcelona across the Pyrenees to the French town of Lourdes. The trip itself was almost a full twenty-four hours of traveling from the time we left our house to our arrival at our hotel in Lourdes.

I remember it being bitterly cold during our days there, especially when my mom insisted that we all take part in the Spiritual Blessing of being submerged into the Holy Waters of Lourdes at their famous “Baths.” It was the single coldest moment of my life. At the time, I did not appreciate or comprehend any of the symbolism of this ritual in which pilgrims ask for a spiritual healing before entering the Baths. I think I only prayed for survival and not to die from the flu, which was as much as my seven-year-old mind or spirituality could muster at that moment.

What I do remember most and still cherish from that pilgrimage was attending one of the nighty processions to the Grotto of Lourdes.  Thousands of Pilgrims sung Ave Maria as we each carried candles and made our way to the famed Grotto. I was amazed by countless crutches left by previous pilgrims who had received a miraculous cure or healing at this sacred Shine. As we sang songs and recited the rosary, I can still recall a deep and profound sense of peace and tranquility that made the long trip there and the freezing water of the Baths seem all worth it. Looking back, it was the first time I really experienced a deep sense of prayer and the presence of God.

Later during my college years, I volunteered on a few occasions to assist a number of folks confined to wheelchairs on their pilgrimages to Lourdes. Each of these occasions were a gift and blessing in my life. I’m proud to say that the St. Marcellin Champagnat Service program from Archbishop Molloy, my Alma Mater, frequently travel to Lourdes to likewise volunteer to assist many disabled pilgrims.

The story of Lourdes occurred in 1858 and was made famous in the 1943 hit movie, the Song of Bernadette. There were 18 actual apparitions at Lourdes. The young girl to who Mary appeared was canonized, St. Bernadette in 1933.

Today in Punxsutawney, PA, the annual Groundhog Day festivities, made famous in the 1993 Bill Murray movie of the same name will take place. Some believe this local annual winter forecasting determined by whether a certain Groundhog sees his shadow or not. I have never been too interested in this weather forecasting system, but at times over the past year have felt that the movie was symbolic of the year we all have endured and continue to experience in many ways. 

The plot of the movie basically traps the Bill Murray character into reliving Groundhog day over and over again until the spell is eventually lifted. He must endure the same mundane characters and events repeated daily.

Thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, our entire world has experienced some version of this movie. Normal life has stopped, and it seems like every day is just a repeat of the previous day with the number of cases and deaths from this terrible plague continuing to grow.

We like the main character of this movie cannot make this repeat cycle go any faster or end any quicker, but hopefully we like this character might also use this period of “stopped time” to grow and become our true best selves. I pray that when we all wake up to a new day after Covid-19 is finally lifted that we may still embrace and live some of the life lessons, we hopefully have learned during this time. 

Maybe we will cherish our families and loved ones a little deeper and never again take for granted the gift of being able to gather as one. Maybe we will continue to realize that many of the most important heroes in our world are the ordinary people who day after day simply show up to work and provide basic but essential work for all of us. Maybe we will treasure more deeply what we have and stop longing for all that we really don’t need.

Our world’s Groundhog Day movie will hopefully end soon. How will you be changed for the better when this long-suffering spell is finally lifted?