The one underlying theme that has really stood out to me and in a way even "shocked" me has been God's love for me/us and how strongly He desires for me/us to return to Him with my/our whole heart, mind, body and soul. My favorite scripture passage comes from the book of Deuteronomy in the Old Testament. God is speaking to His chosen people of the house of Israel and has just given the 10 commandments to Moses. After telling them what they are to do, he reinforces His central point in Dt 6:4 when he says, "Hear of Israel, the Lord is our God the Lord alone. You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength." When I read this passage, I am always amazed at how much God loves me, but I usually only look at it from God's point of view. However, with the readings in the Lenten liturgy, I have been called to go deeper in this reflection. It is not enough to only sit at this stage in my reflection, thinking about how God loves me. Rather, I must be inspired by God's love for me and respond to His generous gift of love! The only fitting response to his great gift is nothing other than my entire life. I must return His gift of love with all of my heart, all of my soul and all of my strength, in one word, I must give him all of my LOVE! Here are a few of the readings that have helped me to gain this insight.
"As I live says the Lord, I do not wish for the sinner to die, but to return to me and to live" ~ Antiphon for Midday Prayer
"Turn and be converted from all your crimes, that they may be no cause of guilt for you. Cast away from you all the crimes you have committed , and make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why should you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies, says the Lord God. Return and live!" ~ Ezekiel 18:30b-32
Though the readings of the season are geared towards this message, I think there is something else that has prepared me to accept this message. Over the past year or so, I have had this intense desire to despise sin. I have prayed that God would give me a hatred for sin and for anything that does not lead me to Him. Thinking back on St. Therese of Lisieux's autobiography, Story of a Soul, I remember how disappointed she would get just thinking about things that offended God. How was she able to have this mentality and, as confirmed by her spiritual director, to never commit a mortal sin during her entire life? The only answer is that St. Therese had an extrodinary love for God. When one is in love, they never want to hurt their beloved. Rather, they seek every opportunity to sacrifice their own will for that of their beloved. I do not suggest that I am even close to the holiness of St. Therese, however, I do feel like God has allowed me to grow in my love for Him. This can only come about by gaining a greater awareness of His love for me. What a beautiful cycle of love. We must first experience the love of the Father and, once we experience it, our natural response is to love in return. The more we love and open ourselves up to be loved, the more we can experience love.
I pray that all of you are having a blessed Lent so far. If you are struggling in doing your penances let me offer you (and myself) a little advice. I read today that the goodness of an act does not depend on the difficulty of the act, but on the happiness (true happiness) that comes from it. What does this mean? Choose sacrifices, or extra practices that will draw you closer to our Lord. One that I might suggest if you are looking for something extra to do would be to meditate on Sacred Scripture each day. It does not have to be much, even 15 minutes each day is a great start, but allow yourself to be submersed in God's word and you will be amazed at how he moves in you. One suggestion for what to focus on is the passion narratives from the Gospels. This will be great things to meditate on, especially as we approach the celebration of the suffering, death and resurrection of our Lord.
Know of my love and prayers for all of you.
In Christ,
Patrick
March 25, 2011 - Solemnity of the Annunciation
