Fourth Sunday of Lent
Jason McKean, Board Member
It’s the fourth Sunday of Lent, which means we are just over halfway through the season. Maybe the season has begun to feel like a bit of a slog. Happily, the Church puts before us the story of the Prodigal Son this Sunday, in which the father celebrates his son’s return: Fresh clothes! A ring on the finger! A feast! And music! And dancing! It’s good to be reminded that for all the challenges of the season, its closure will bring joy (and feasting!) greater even than the parable’s father figure.

I’d like share a reflection, though, that while this story may remind us of the closing celebration, we can find other ones along the way when we pay attention. I am sponsoring my nephew for his confirmation next month, and we were asked to meet to talk with each other about our experiences of our Catholic faith. There were two pages of single-spaced questions to answer. At first a bit annoyed by this task, as we went along I realized: I’d not previously understood the depth of his faith, and was impressed – and humbled. I saw a question that I needed to answer: am I living up to what Lent, and Jesus, is asking of me?

The answer, perhaps unsurprisingly at this point in the essay, was “erm, not really.” In many mentoring relationships, the mentor learns as much and maybe more than the mentee.​

As we kept talking, we began to plan out additional ways to connect over our faith. We’ll be reading a book together (Seven Last Words by Fr. James Martin), and he and I are choosing a method of praying that we’ll do together (maybe a Rosary, or a lectio divina session…TBD). I’m sure those will benefit him as a confirmand, but they are also going to benefit my Lent, and my relationship with Jesus. And so, this Prodigal Son both looks forward to concluding Lent with Easter’s risen Christ and also appreciates the gift of conversion on the way there. My prayer is that you find yours along the way, too.

Since January 1st, 74 people have been killed in Chicago. In January, Southern California dealt with devastating wildfires that killed at least twenty-nine people and left thousands homeless. Recent tornadoes and other storms in March across six states killed forty-two people and blew several homes away. Ukraine is entering the third year of its war with Russia, and the cease-fire between Hamas and Israel has ended, leaving continued death and destruction in the Gaza Strip. One may cry out where God is in all this loss and devastation. Was their misfortune Karma? Did they deserve what happened to them? What about the innocent victims? Who is to blame?

​In the readings, God introduces Godself to Moses and invites him to lead the Israelites out of four hundred years of being enslaved to the Egyptians. God has heard the people’s cries and is ready to keep the promise made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Paul tells the Corinthians that while God is merciful and patient, we must do our part, repent, and strive to live sinless lives. In the gospel, Jesus reminds us of natural tragedies and accidents that kill or hurt people at random. It is not due to the guilt or innocence of the victims. Others, like wars, are due to the hardness of the hearts of those who started them. Both the righteous and the unrighteous are affected.

The important lesson is to ensure your heart is right with God. Conversion of the heart is key, so when these tragedies occur, we are prepared to stand in victory despite it. We hope that when God calls us home, we are ready. God invites us to be in a relationship with him and one another. The Psalmist tells us, “He pardons all your iniquities; He heals all your ills. He redeems your life from destruction; He crowns you with kindness and compassion. Merciful and gracious is the Lord, slow to anger and abounding in kindness.”  Use this time to recommit to your relationship with God and experience God's mercy and love for you.

Second Sunday of Lent Reflection
Sister Belinda Monahan, OSB, Spiritual Advisor and Board Member

​What is your mountaintop experience?
               
Many of us has an experience similar to the one recounted in today’s Gospel.  It may not have been on a literal mountaintop, it may not have involved the sudden appearance of Moses and Elijah.  Nevertheless, we have encountered Jesus in a new way—in a way that brings us closer to the reality of who Jesus is.  We are awakened from the dullness of our daily lives into a more complete experience of Jesus. 
               
This awakening is the invitation extended to us in this season of Lent.  We often think of Lent as a trip into the desert.  And it’s true that we are—as Jesus was last Sunday—invited into the desert for prayer, fasting, and generosity.  These practices lead us, as they lead Jesus and his disciples this week, to mountaintop experiences; to a deeper recognition of who Jesus is:  the chosen Son to whom God’s voice reminds us to listen. 
               
And when we do listen? When we come down from the mountaintop?  When we have classes to attend, and work to do, and errands to run, and friends to talk to?  How do we bring that mountaintop experience back down into our everyday lives? 
               
Abram in the first reading chooses to believe in God’s promises, even when they seem to be completely outside of the realm of possibility.  Paul urges us to—as he has—stand firm in the Lord.  The disciples in today’s Gospel at first remain silent and fail to tell anyone, but must later have recounted it.
               
Because once we encounter God in his fullness, we are changed.  And even as we travel down the mountain, we carry with us the light of that encounter and share it with others. 
               
​What is your mountaintop experience?  

Ash Wednesday
Lisa Boris, Chief Finance and Operations Officer

Growing up, I always looked forward to Ash Wednesday because we got to sing my (then) favorite hymn, Hosea. "Come back to me with all your heart. Don’t let fear keep us apart. Trees do bend, though straight and tall; so must we to others’ call.  Long have I waited for your coming home to me and living deeply our new life."

The first lines of the song Hosea beautifully capture the meaning of Ash Wednesday. Yesterday, we began the liturgical season of Lent, our forty-day journey of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, with a reminder: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” 

Ash Wednesday is not a Holy Day of Obligation, but rather a Holy Day of Invitation. We receive an invitation to, as we hear in today’s first reading “return to” God with our “whole hearts”.

We do this through the practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. These Lenten practices are invitations and opportunities to rid ourselves of distractions and examine our hearts so we can be people of greater love, mercy, and integrity. Amid the division, injustice, and noise of the world today, Lent calls us to true conversion and change of heart. 

The song Hosea is based on the biblical prophet Hosea. The book of Hosea uses the imagery of an unfaithful wife to remind the Israelites that God’s love for his people never fails. God did not abandon the Israelites even when they turned to idolatry and injustice, instead he longed to bring them back to into a loving relationship with Him. The same holds true for us today. God never stops calling us back even when we often fall short. We can always repent and journey back to God. 

The song continues: "the wilderness will lead you to your heart where I will speak. Integrity and justice with tenderness you shall know."

This Lent, spend some time in prayer listening to God speaking in your heart. Give generously to those in need and work to bring more love and empathy into the world through your almsgiving. Fast from selfishness, indifference, hopelessness, and judging others and focus on integrity, justice, and tenderness. 

May the ashes you received yesterday be more than just a mark on our foreheads. Let them be marks on our hearts as we begin the grace-filled, transformative journey towards Easter. ​