Wednesday, March 31

Wednesday of Holy Week

John Donne, Priest (1631)

Lamentations 2:1-9, 14-17

Psalms 55, 74

2 Corinthians 1:23-2:11

Mark 12:1-11

Mark 12: 1-11

This parable of the vineyard planted by the faithful farmer who expects his servants to work hard and bring in a great harvest of grapes resonates with us because all of us have expectations of how our best-made plans should turn out. God is no different and we are His servants of whom He expects much. In this story, though, the servants turn out, beat and finally kill the farmer's own son in their attempt to take the vineyard for themselves. Jesus says the farmer's wrath will be terrible and that the vineyard will be given to others who will start anew and who will do his will.

This analogy of the old covenant being replaced by the new is clear, but we should not be too quick in thinking it has only to do with what happened two thousand years ago. We must be honest and ask how we are to God's bidding. There must be an assessment of our responsiveness to what Jesus' own example should elicit from us. We are too quick to presume upon grace and too slow in answering the admonishment of God.

Fr. David Puckett

Tuesday, March 30

Tuesday of Holy Week

Lamentations 1:17-22

Psalms 6, 12, 94

2 Corinthians 1:8-22

Mark 11:27-33

The French novelist, Alphonse Karr, is often quoted, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” This is true of people in general. However, throughout the ages, this seems also to be the theme of God’s people. Beginning in the Old Testament in David’s Psalms, to the New Testament in Paul’s writings, through the present day, God’s people seem to have a common theme. We tend to whine and complain (our lamentations) and try to fix things ourselves before we turn to God. This has not worked for us for thousands of years, so why do we keep doing it? Throughout the scripture readings suggested for today it becomes clear that if we Fully Rely On God, he will not reject us. My dear friend Shelley Preston lived this example every day of her life. She called it the F.R.O.G. concept, which seems very simple when you think of it. Whether facing learning disabilities or her final battle with cancer, she never complained and always relied on our God to strengthen and sustain her. No matter what our adversities or hardships, we should always FROG. In Psalm 94 it states that “the Lord has become my fortress, and God the Rock in whom I take refuge.” God should always be the first place where we take refuge. Should you not be the one to change the cycle so things are not the same anymore?

Lori Burney

Monday, March 29

Monday of Holy Week

John Keble, Priest (1866)

Lamentations 1:1-2, 6-12

Psalms 51:1-18, 69:1-23

2 Corinthians 1:1-7

Mark 11:12-25

Mark 11: 12-25

God wants for us to follow him (obviously). He does not want us to be distracted and wants us to worship for him for the right reasons. He does not want us to worship him because our peers are, and he does not want us to follow him because we need guidance at certain moments of our lives. He appreciates us worshipping him in the most random of times, not just in a Sunday church mass. We should not feel obligated to worship him but we should want to glorify him.

Nobody understands why Jesus destroyed the fig tree, but it could possibly be in order to rid everybody of distractions that prevent people from coming to God first for guidance. God is not completely predictable, and we should not expect him to be. We should allow ourselves to put our trust in him because our faith is never consistent, and there is no right or wrong way to worship him, as long as we believe in him. God so badly wants us to come to him when we have issues in our lives, and he desires to help us through our struggles.

God is a mystery to any human. It is crucial to understand that in this life we will not receive all of the answers to all of our questions. He knows our faith. He loves us. He wants to be our best friend.

Connie Gilbert

Sunday, March 28

Palm Sunday

Zechariah 9:9-12 or Zechariah 12:9-11, 13:1, 7-9

Psalms 24, 29, 103

1 Timothy 6:12-16

Luke 19:41-48

Today's readings start with Luke 19:42-48 and Jesus states in verse 46 "my house will be a house of prayer;” but you have made it “a den of robbers.” A contrasting theme continues throughout the readings of God's love, peace and hope vs. Man's greed, violence and vengeance.

How we can use this in our life today? Jesus in Luke is also weeping that a huge opportunity for peace has been missed because many did not recognize God coming to them. This is so true today in 2010. But we do not give up hope because it was lost two thousand years ago. The readings go on to encourage and promise us:

1 Timothy 6:12-12 Fight the good fight of the faith,

Psalm 29:11 The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace, in

Psalm 10:34-5

⁴who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,

⁵who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's

Zech. 9:9-12

¹²Return to your fortress, O prisoners of hope;
even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you.

After everything else, in Zech 13:8-9 is graphically violent yet hopeful: if not struck down, we will be refined. While fire is certainly painful, the refining makes us pure. If we choose to follow Christ, we can be purified. This won't be an easy life; it will be as painful as fire. However, fight to faithfully follow Christ with faith is the best life and to be refined and ready to live with Christ as an eternal reward.

The message of what we can use today in 2010 can be to tie the contrast of a hard life being a refining life and not lose hope. Fight the good fight and go for the refined gold.

from Zech 13: 7-9
I will refine them like silver
and test them like gold.

Eleanor Sheldon

Saturday, March 27

Charles Henry Brent, Bishop of the Philippines, & Western New York (1929)

Exodus 10:21-11:8

Psalms 42, 43, 137:1-6, 144

2 Corinthians 4:13-18

Mark 10:46-52

Psalm 42

“Why are you downcast, O my soul?

Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God,

for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”

Do you ever feel downcast? Not from regret or guilt, but being in an emotional low within your everyday life. You might be in what St. John of the Cross describes as the dark night of the soul.

Our lives are more often than not full and overflowing with activity, busyness, hurry; so there are times we need silence and solitude (the dark night…) to renew us, to center our lives and bring us closer to God. We’re not talking about deep anguish or depression, but a period of time with a feeling of dryness, emptiness, aloneness, maybe even a feeling of loss.

So what do we do? St. John suggests that we should be still, allow all the physical, emotional, psychological, even spiritual senses to be silenced, then to wait, listen, and put our hope in God. It is very tempting to seek release or to blame others for our times of solemnness, but I would suggest that we should be grateful for the opportunity to be at an emotional standstill and hopefully better attuned to let the Lord do his work within us.

To get the most from this journey through the dark night we should be guided by the words of St. John “Oh, then, spiritual soul, when you see your appetites darkened, your inclinations dry and constrained, your faculties incapacitated for any interior exercise, do not be afflicted; think of this as a grace, since God is freeing you from yourself and taking from you your own activity.”

Note: The reference for this meditation and the quotes of St. John of the Cross comes from the book “Celebration of Discipline” by Richard J. Foster.

Travis McDermott