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Daily Reflections on the 2018 Lenten Readings for Mass

GodtoDRAW NEAR

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IntroductionWhen Jesus’ disciples were worn out from their ministry and burdened by the cares of their discipleship, Jesus in-vited them to come to him, to go apart from the crowds and the hustle-bustle of their daily lives and to rest and refresh themselves. Lent is our time to do the same. We can take the opportunity during this holy season to draw near once again to Jesus through our prayers, our en-gagement with the Scriptures, our Lenten fasting and abstinence and other practices that draw us closer to Jesus and deepen our commitment to him and his de-sire to build God’s kingdom of justice and peace for all in our world today. As we turn once again to God this Lent, we will be invigorated and empowered through the power of God’s Holy Spirit working in and through us. Now is the time to “draw near to God and God will draw near to us” (James 4:8).

—Steve Mueller, EditorAcknowledgements: Words of Grace & All Saints Press would like to thank all the authors and publishers

for the excerpts of their publications appearing in this booklet.

Richard Valantasis, Centuries of Holiness (Continuum, 2005). Pope St. John XXIII, Journal of a Soul (McGraw-Hill, 1965). Thomas Keating, The Daily Reader for Contemplative Living (Continuum, 2013). Ronald Rolheiser, The Holy Longing (Double-day, 1999). Kathleen Fischer & Thomas Hart, Christian Foundations: An Introduction to Faith in Our Time (Paulist Press, 1995). Thomas Merton, Seeds (Shambhala, 2002). C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses (Macmillan, 1949). St. Mother Teresa, The Love of Christ (Harper & Row, 1982). Henri J.M. Nouwen, The Selfless Way of Christ (Orbis, 2007). Bishop Oscar Romero, The Violence of Love (Orbis Books, 2004). James B. Nelson. Thirst: God and the Alcoholic Experience (Westminster/John Knox Press, 2004). Lucien Deiss. God’s Word and God’s People (Liturgical Press, 1976). Catherine De Hueck Doherty, Essential Writings (Orbis, 2009). Joyce Rupp, Fresh Bread and Other Gifts of Spiritual Nourishment (Ave Maria, 1985). Huston Smith, Tales of Wonder: Adventures Chasing the Divine (HarperOne, 2009). Hans Urs von Balthasar, Christian Meditation (Ignatius, 1989). Madeleine Delbrêl. The Joy of Believing (Éditions Paulines, 1993). Henri J.M. Nouwen, Sabbatical Journey: The Final Year (Crossroad, 1998). Margaret Guenther, The Practice of Prayer (Cowley, 1998). Edward Hays. Pray All Ways: A Book for Daily Worship Using All Your Senses (Forest of Peace Books, 2007). Carlo Carretto, The God Who Comes (Orbis, 1974). N.T. Wright, Simply Good News: Why the Gospel Is News and What Makes It Good (HarperOne, 2015). Jim Wallis, The Soul of Politics (Hough-ton Mifflin Harcourt, 1995). James Martin, SJ, The Jesuit Guide to (Practically) Everything (HarperCollins, 2010). Albert Nolan, Jesus Today: A Spirituality of Freedom (Orbis, 2006). Emilie Griffin, Wonderful and Dark Is This Road: Discovering the Mystic Path (Paraclete Press, 2004). Macrina Scott, OSF, Bible Stories Revisited (Tau Books, 2013). Steve Mueller, So What’s the Good News? The Catechist’s Guide to Reading the Gospels (Faith Alive Books, 2016). Marcus Borg, The Heart of Christianity (HarperCollins, 2003). Julian of Norwich, Showings (Paulist Press, 1978). Benedict J. Groeschel, CFR, Five Figures of the Passion (Mustard Seed, 1989). Jens Soering, The Convict Christ: What the Gospel Says About Criminal Justice (Orbis, 2006). Jean Vanier, The Scandal of Service (Continuum, 1998). Walter F. Burghardt, SJ, Grace on Crutches (Paulist Press, 1986).

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Focusing on the Important Things

Wednesday February 14 Ash Wednesday

Jl 2:12-18 | 2 Cor 5:20—6:2 | Mt 6:1-6, 16-18

The Ash Wednesday service reminds us that we are dust and to dust we shall return. Human mortality need not be something morbid, but a reminder that the time allotted ought to be lived deliberately. Lenten practice encourages acts of mercy, reading of Scripture, meditation, special de-votion and special acts of self-denial. These central Lenten practices function primarily not to limit or to shrink the self but to concentrate effort on important things, and to remember that humans have a short time to live and that they must, therefore, live it well. According to the faith, this means living in the continual remembrance of God, in the pursuit of the divine mandate for justice and peace, and in doing the good things that God has set be-fore God’s people.

—Richard ValantasisCenturies of Holiness

What Lenten practices shall I adopt to come closer to Christ?

Lent (from the Germanic word for Spring) is a period 40 days (excluding Sundays) of preparation for Easter. Recalling Jesus’ 40 days in the wilderness prior to his public ministry, Lent provides a time of spiritual disci-pline and growth for Christians by encouraging conver-sion through prayer, fasting and good deeds.

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More Time for PrayerThursday February 15 Thursday after Ash Wednesday

Dt 30:15-20 | Lk 9:22-25

Do not forget your prayers. These may be short as you wish if you find long prayers too hard, but do not forget them. Even a sign can be a prayer. Meditation is never to be omitted. It may be brief if it cannot be longer, but it must be alert, intelligent and tranquil. The time I give to active work must be in proportion to what I give to the work of God, that is, to prayer. I need prayer to give character to my life. So I must give more time to meditation, and stay longer in the Lord’s company, sometimes reading or saying my prayers aloud or just keeping silent. I want an inner life spent in the search for God in myself and for close union with him.

—Pope St. John XXIIIJournal of a Soul

What will most help me find more time for prayer this Lent?

Abstinence is the voluntary self-denial by a person of meat or of foods prepared with meat on those days pre-scribed by the Church as penitential (Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and all Fridays of Lent) for those 14 years of age and above.

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Fasting & MercyFriday February 16 Friday after Ash Wednesday

Is 58:1-9a | Mt 9:14-15

Fasting is the soul of prayer, mercy is the lifeblood of fasting. They cannot be separated. If you lave only one of them or not all together, you have nothing. So if you pray, fast; if you fast, show mercy; if you want your petition to be heard, then hear the petition of others. If you do not close your ear to others, you open God’s ear to yourself. When you eat, see the fasting of others. If you want God to know that you are hungry, know that another is hungry. If you hope for mercy, show mercy yourself. If you look for kindness, show kindness your-self. If you want to receive, give. If you ask for yourself what you deny to others, your asking is a mockery.

—St. Peter Chysologus

What besides food do I most need to fast from this Lent?

Fasting as explained by the US bishops means partak-ing of only one full meal and two smaller meals that do not equal the main meal. Catholics in good health between the ages of 18 and 59 are obliged to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

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Change Your LifeSaturday February 17 Saturday after Ash Wednesday

Is 58:9b-14 | Lk 5:27-32

When Jesus said, “Repent,” to his first disciples, he was calling for them to change the direction in which they were looking for happiness. “Repent” is an invi-tation to grow up and become a fully mature human being who integrates the biological needs with the ra-tional level of consciousness. The rational level of con-sciousness is the door that swings into higher states—the intuitive and unitive levels of consciousness. They open us to the experience of God’s presence, which re-stores the sense of happiness. We can then take posses-sion of everything that was good in our early life while leaving the distortions behind.

—Thomas KeatingThe Daily Reader for Contemplative Living

How have I decided to change the direction of my life this Lent?

“Going to Confession” is a shorthand way of describ-ing the celebration of the sacrament of Penance or Rec-onciliation because the ritual requires that one tell or “confess” one’s sins to a priest who is authorized to for-give sins in the name of Jesus and the Church.

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Starting Over in ChristSunday February 18 1st Sunday of Lent

Gn 9:8-15 | 1 Pt 3:18-22 | Mk 1:12-15

The discomforting story of Noah can actually give hope to anyone who has been forced to rebuild a life from scratch. After surviving a broken relationship, a failed business, a personal disgrace or a demolished home, Noah’s saga reassures us that new lives and worlds can be salvaged from life’s devastating storms. We often interpret Noah’s story as a testament to hu-man wickedness, but just as prominent in this account is our capacity for beginning again in faith. Perhaps no season is better suited to the grace of starting over than the season of Lent. We begin Lent with the ashes that symbolize human sinfulness, fragility, and loss. We end with the promise of new life in Christ, the Easter rainbow after the Good Friday storm.

—Jerry Welte

What aspects of my life or world am I called to begin anew in Christ?

A covenant is a formal agreement between two persons or parties that spells out the obligations for both parties in their relationship. In the biblical world, the general expectations were modeled on the customs that guided “patron/client” relationships between persons of un-equal honor, status and wealth.

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When Did We See You?Monday February 19 Lenten Weekday

Lv 19:1-2, 11-18 | Mt 25:31-46

Like the Jewish prophets, Jesus too affirms that our standing with God depends upon how we stand in relationship to the weakest members within society. Indeed, Jesus takes this further. He teaches that, in the end, when we stand before God in judgment, we will indeed be judged on the basis of how we treated the poor in this life. He makes the practice of justice the very criterion for salvation. Moreover, he identifies God’s presence with that of the poor. In Jesus’ view, if you wish to find God, go look among the poor. Con-versely, he tells us that there are immense spiritual and psychological dangers in being rich and privileged.

—Ronald Rolheiser The Holy Longing

How will my behavior most need to be changed because Jesus resides in the poor around me?

Holiness describes the unique quality that makes God to be divine and thus wholly other or separate from all created realities. Thus unlike other descriptions of God there is no human counterpart to holiness. We only know what it is not, and must wait on God’s appear-ance in our world to experience it.

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Teach Us to PrayTuesday February 20 Lenten Weekday

Is 55:10-11 | Mt 6:7-15

The Our Father is a prayer for the coming of God’s reign. Jesus prays, and teaches his disciples to pray, that God’s name will truly be praised, that God’s purpose will be accomplished on earth, that people everywhere will have all they need for life, that all sin will be forgiven and all evil overcome. The kingdom or God’s reign is then a way of describing creation’s deepest longings for freedom, love, reconciliation and peace. It is what every Christian works for in following Jesus. It is what women and men of good will everywhere yearn and labor for. God’s reign is also the subject of most of Jesus’ parables. It is worth giving up everything for, as one would for a rare pearl or a treasure found buried in a field.

—Kathleen Fischer & Thomas HartChristian Foundations

Which part of the Lord’s Prayer am I most drawn to today?

Isaiah illustrates the Israelites’ belief that at creation God separated the heavenly waters from those below by creating a dome (sky) to make dry land and keep the waters above the heavens from inundating the earth except through openings through which “the rain and snow come down” to water the earth.

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Matters of the HeartWednesday February 21 Lenten Weekday

Jon 3:1-10 | Lk 11:29-32

“A clean heart create for me, O God, and a stead-fast spirit renew within me.” When we pray these lines from Psalm 51, we recognize that we can never justify ourselves. God needs no sacrifice from us, no candles lit nor candy spurned. All God wants is our heart. But even that is more than we can accomplish on our own. And so we pray that God give us the grace to be open to the divine love. We ask God to fill us with that love so that we will never want to stray. As we deepen that prayer during this Lenten season, we can trust that our hearts will be transformed and humility and joy will mark our days.

—Mary M. McGlone, CSJ

How might I be more open to god’s love for me and for others?

Nineveh was a large Assyrian city located on the east-ern bank of the Tigris River across from the modern city of Mosul in Iraq. From the 11th century on it was the royal residence of the Assyrian kings until its destruc-tion in 612 BC by the conquering Babylonians.

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Who Do You Say I Am?Thursday February 22 The Chair of St. Peter the Apostle

1 Pt 5:1-4 | Mt 16:13-19

It’s important to grasp the geographic setting of where Jesus chose to ask his disciples that fateful question, “Who do you say I am?” It wasn’t in the comfortable Jewish neighborhoods of Jerusalem or the Galilee, but way up north in Caesarea Philippi, where the Romans offered gruesome goat sacrifices to the vicious god Pan. It’s here, in the heart of Roman idol worship, that Jesus asks them to decide who he is. Is he one of a pantheon of gods to be feared? Is he just a Jewish teacher, whose light is dim once he travels into the wider Roman world? And Peter—Petra (Rock)—gets it right for all of us, for all time.

—Kathy McGovern

How do I answer Jesus’ challenging question today?

The bishop’s chair (Greek, cathedra) was the official seat from which the bishop taught authoritatively and presided over the community liturgy. Ex Cathedra (Lat-in, “from the chair”) is a theological term identifying authoritative teaching and is more particularly applied to the dogmatic definitions promulgated by the pope.

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Be Reconciled!Friday February 23 Lenten Weekday

Ez 18:21-28 | Mt 5:20-26

Lent is a time when we focus on the transformation of our lives, when we recommit ourselves to conversion, to living our Christian lives more intensely. It is a time to let go of those things that keep us from being true disciples of Jesus. Today’s reading from the Sermon on the Mount reminds us that following Jesus isn’t just about external actions. The gospel calls us to inner conversion, a conversion from the depths of our hearts. Jesus speaks not just of murder, but of anger and rec-onciliation—the feelings that precede it. That hurtful anger that doesn’t lead to reconciliation, but smolders, is unforgiving and destructive. Jesus calls us to release that anger and move on to reconciliation.

—Angeline Hubert

Where am I in need of reconciliation? How can I begin that reconciliation today?

Located west and south of Jerusalem, Gehenna (He-brew, valley of Hinnom) had been used for idolatrous human sacrifices and so incurred God’s wrath. Jeremiah cursed it and called it a place of death and destruction. It became a synonym for the place of God’s punishment of the wicked after death—hell.

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Love Your EnemiesSaturday February 24 Lenten Weekday

Dt 26:16-19 | Mt 5:43-48

Do not be too quick to assume your enemy is a sav-age just because he is your enemy. Perhaps he is your enemy because he thinks you are savage. Or perhaps he is afraid of you because he feels that you are afraid of him. And perhaps if he believed you were capable of loving him he would no longer be your enemy. Do not be too quick to assume that your enemy is an en-emy of God just because he is your enemy. Perhaps he is your enemy precisely because he can find nothing in you that gives glory to God. Perhaps he fears you because he can find nothing in you of God’s love and God’s kindness and God’s patience and mercy and un-derstanding of the weaknesses of men.

—Thomas MertonSeeds

Which enemies do I need to be more loving toward today?

The idea of God as “perfect” does not appear in the Old Testament and in any case is rather abstract. The con-nection might be to God’s holiness, which has no coun-terpart in our earthly experience. The word for “perfect” refers to the wholeness of God who cares for all people.

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Our Transfiguration Too

Sunday February 25 2nd Sunday of Lent

Gn 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18 | Rom 8:31b-34Mk 9:2-10

It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strong-ly tempted to worship. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses. If he is your Christian neighbor, he is holy in almost the same way, for in him also Christ vere latitat [truly hides]—the glorifier and the glorified, Glory Himself is truly hidden.

—C.S. LewisThe Weight of Glory and Other Addresses

If I notice the holiness in others around me, how will this change my behavior?

Although the Greek word here (metamorphosis) com-monly described a change in form or appearance that a god might make to appear to humans, the gospel writ-ers suggest a completely new meaning. Jesus’ transfigu-ration is a glimpse of God’s glory breaking forth from Jesus’ human form.

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Be Merciful as God IsMonday February 26 Lenten Weekday

Dn 9:4b-10 | Lk 6:36-38

In my own life, I have seen so many people find the courage to enter the wounds of Jesus by saying to him: Lord, I am here, accept my poverty, hide my sin in your wounds, wash it away with your blood. And I have always seen that God did just this—accepted them, consoled them, cleansed them, loved them. Let us be enveloped by God’s mercy and trust in God’s pa-tience, which always gives us more time. Let us find the courage to return to God’s house, to dwell in God’s lov-ing wounds, allowing ourselves be loved by God and to encounter God’s mercy in the sacraments. We will feel God’s wonderful tenderness, God’s embrace, and we too will become more capable of mercy, patience, forgiveness and love.

—Pope FrancisHomily

How am I growing in my awareness of God’s great mercy and love?

God’s mercy identifies a complex Hebrew idea that describes God’s special covenant love. God’s attitude of love or attachment to the covenant people includes aspects of loyalty, dependability, trustworthiness and an eagerness to help when situations turn bad.

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Christ’s Love Transforms Everything

Tuesday February 27 Lenten Weekday

Is 1:10, 16-20 | Mt 23:1-12

Are we convinced of Christ’s love for us and of our love for him? This conviction is the rock on which holiness is built by serving Christ’s poor and lavishing on them what we would love to do for him in person. If we follow this way, our faith will grow, our conviction will grow, and the striving for holiness will become our daily task. God loves those to whom God can give the most, those who expect the most from God, who are most open to God, those who have most need of God and count on God for everything. The love of Christ should be a liv-ing bond between all of us. Then the world will know that we are true missionaries of charity.

—St. Mother TeresaThe Love of Christ

What can I do for another today that I would like to do for Christ?

In biblical times, only about 5% of the people could read, and 1% could write. Those who could write were called scribes (Latin, scribere, to write). The Jewish scribes were often biblical scholars (often called rabbi or teacher) who were experts especially in interpreting the meaning of the Law (Torah).

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Serving in Our Powerlessness

Wednesday February 28 Lenten Weekday

Jer 18:18-20 | Mt 20:17-28

Surrounded by so much power, it is very difficult to avoid surrendering to the temptation to seek power like everyone else. But the mystery of our ministry is that we are called to serve not with our power but with our powerlessness. Through powerlessness we can enter into solidarity with our fellow human beings, form a community with the weak, and thus reveal the healing, guiding, and sustaining mercy of God. We are called to speak to people not where they have it together but where they are aware of their pain, not where they are in control but where they are trembling and insecure, not where they are self-assured and assertive but where they dare to doubt and raise hard questions and face their broken, mortal, and fragile humanity.

—Henri J.M. NouwenThe Selfless Way of Christ

Over what am I most powerless in my life? Why?

Over the centuries, the chalice (Latin, calyx, a cup) has become much more ornate than the simple cup that Jesus probably used. When Jesus asks the disciples whether they can drink his chalice, he means can they share in his por-tion of suffering instead of just expecting rewards and glory.

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The Rich Man’s NeglectThursday March 1 Lenten Weekday

Jer 17:5-10 | Lk 16:19-31

The rich man, in purple splendor, is not accused of being greedy or of carrying off another’s property, or of committing adultery, or, in fact, of any wrongdoing. The only evil he is guilty of is pride. When you see a fellow human lying there outside at your gate, have you no compassion? If God’s laws mean nothing to you, at least take pity on your own situation and be in fear, for perhaps you might become like him. Give what you waste to your own fellow human. I am not telling you to throw away your wealth. What you throw out, the crumbs from your table, offer as alms. Lazarus’s name means “one who has been helped.” He is not a helper but one who has been helped.

—St. Jerome

Who most needs my help today and what can I do for them?

In today’s reading one indication of the rich man’s wealth is his clothes. Purple cloth was a great luxury because the costly dye was obtained from a sea mol-lusk (murex).

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A Challenging MessageFriday March 2 Lenten Weekday

Gn 37:3-4, 12-13a, 17b-28a | Mt 21:33-43, 45-46

What starts conflicts and persecutions, what marks the genuine church, is the word that, burning like the word of the prophets, proclaims and accuses: proclaims to the people God’s wonders to be believed and vener-ated, and accuses of sin those who oppose God’s reign, so that they may tear that sin out of their hearts, out of their societies, out of their laws—out of the structures that oppress, that imprison, that violate the rights of God and of humanity. This is the hard service of the word. But God’s Spirit goes with the prophet, with the preacher, for he is Christ, who keeps on proclaiming his reign to the people of all times.

—Bishop Oscar RomeroThe Violence of Love

How have I experienced God’s word proclaiming justice and accusing me this Lent?

For biblical people, dreams were important because they served as an avenue of communication between heaven and earth during sleep when the borders be-tween these worlds were more porous. Since dreams were often highly symbolic and needed interpretation, those like Joseph who had the gift and skill of interpre-tation become “master dreamers.”

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The Father’s Prodigal Grace

Saturday March 3 Lenten Weekday

Mi 7:14-15, 18-20 | Lk 15:1-3, 11-32

In today’s memorable Gospel parable, grace is “prodigal-ity,” in a twofold sense of that word. First it is the prodi-gality of recklessness, carelessness, and wastefulness. It is the prodigal son who ran off, squandered his money, binged out, hit bottom living among the pigs (an anath-ema to Jews), then “came to himself” and began the jour-ney home. Now comes the second meaning. Even before the son could make apologies, his father came running to meet him with a prodigality of love—extravagant, exuber-ant, lavish. He did not condemn or demand an explana-tion. There was simply a long, wordless embrace and then a call for celebration. “For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!” (Luke 15:24).

—James B. NelsonThirst: God and the Alcoholic Experience

How have I experienced both the prodigality of waste and the prodigality of love?

Reconciliation is a common Christian image for the experience of salvation in which God overcomes the breakdown in our relationship caused by sin and makes the relationship right. Reconciliation presumes that an existing relationship has broken down, and describes the process by which it is restored or made right again.

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God’s Words of LifeSunday March 4 3rd Sunday of Lent

Ex 20:1-17 or 20:1-3, 7-8, 12-17 1 Cor 1:22-25 | Jn 2:13-25

or, for Year A, Ex 17:3-7 | Rom 5:1-2, 5-8 | Jn 4:5-42

Israel never thought of the Decalogue as a set of ten “commandments,” that is, an anonymous collection of prohibitions and taboos, but rather as “words of God,” or, better still, as “the ten words of the covenant” in the covenant dialogue that God enters into with his people. It is as if God were saying to this people: “If you want to enter upon the covenant, here are the words for your dialogue with me. By keeping them you will become my people and I shall remain your God.” Consequently, when Israel thinks of “the ten words of the covenant,” it does not start sighing as though it were contemplating a burden, or groaning as though it were weighed down by them; its attitude is one of gratitude and praise.

—Lucien DeissGod’s Word and God’s People

Is my attitude toward God’s commandments positiveor negative? How does it have to change?

In the Old Testament, commandments refers to the 10 basic “words” (Decalogue) that God speaks directly to Moses on Mount Sinai (Exodus 20:1-17). Then the people are afraid and ask that in the future God not speak to them directly but only through Moses. These teachings are called statutes and decrees.

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The Mystery of RejectionMonday March 5 Lenten Weekday

2 Kgs 5:1-15b | Lk 4:24-30

Rejection is an immense mystery, one of the many that God places before us. Like all the other mysteries, there is a door and there is a handle. In due time, we are invited to open that door and enter into that mys-tery. Sometimes it takes many years before someone faces rejection. It may come in childhood. Sometimes it comes in very early years or during adolescence. It may come in middle age or in old age. The door must be opened, and we must cross its threshold. It is Christ’s grace alone that allows us to open that door, to cross the threshold, and to face rejection side by side with Christ.

—Catherine De Hueck DohertyEssential Writings

How has Christ’s rejection enabled me to better understand my own?

A silver talent was a very large sum of money—50 to 75 pounds of silver. Having one would be an unheard of amount for poorer people (roughly 15 year’s of the daily wage, a denarius) but a wealthy army commander might easily have ten to take on his journey.

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Forgive & Be ReconciledTuesday March 6 Lenten Weekday

Dn 3:25, 34-43 | Mt 18:21-35

It is so easy to lose what we value. We may truly be-lieve in the need to forgive and to be reconciled, to start anew in relationships that have sharp edges or dull pain, but we allow little, hard spots in our hearts to build up into a wall that forgiveness cannot pen-etrate. Eventually we end up losing that warm spot in our heart for a person we once loved. We can so simply let the days and months go by without ever searching for our lost pearls of great price. The church is wise in offering us the season of Lent so that our lives can once again reflect the gospel which Jesus encouraged us to live. Lent can be the means for renewed direction and perspective.

—Joyce RuppFresh Bread and Other Gifts of Spiritual Nourishment

What new direction or perspective have I gained this Lent?

Absolution (from the Latin to set free or to acquit) is the act by which the priest, acting for Christ, grants forgive-ness for sins confessed by the penitent in the sacrament of reconciliation (penance).

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What Good Can I Do?Wednesday March 7 Lenten Weekday

Dt 4:1, 5-9 | Mt 5:17-19

What does Christianity mean to a ninety-year-old—to this ninety-year-old? Last year I left my lovely home and companion of sixty-five years and moved into an assisted-living residence. Such a transition no one will imagine as easy. Yet purpose is still woven into the very fabric of my days. I think continually of what good I can do for my fellow residents, even if it’s only moving a chair from the path of an oncoming walker. Where is Christianity in my life today? Consciously or not, it’s everywhere. At times, the spirit of Christianity be-comes almost palpable, a zone of safety and nonfear around me. Twenty times a day, in my room or in the hallway, under my breath I say, “Jesus Christ, have mercy upon me.” Better than any pill.

—Huston SmithTales of Wonder

What good acts might I do for those whom I meet today?

The kingdom of heaven is Matthew’s characteristic de-scription of the kingdom of God. Since out of reverence Jews often substituted another word instead of saying God’s name, this might be one more indication that Matthew had a previous Jewish background.

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Listen to My VoiceThursday March 8 Lenten Weekday

Jer 7:23-28 | Lk 11:14-23

If we want to hear something we must prepare our-selves to perceive by being still. If we ourselves are talk-ing, or if our own thoughts, wishes and concerns are speaking within us, the noise they make will render us unable to hear. Hence directions for meditating always begin by requiring us to create inner stillness and emptiness as a means of making room for what is to be received. Mention is made of “turning off,” of “concentrating” the scattered consciousness, of enter-ing upon the “mysterious path inward” and so forth. But these negative efforts really only prepare for the positive readiness to listen that distinguishes Christian meditation from other kinds in which this readiness is superfluous because no Word comes from God.

—Hans Urs von Balthasar Christian Meditation

How can I dispose myself to be more ready to listen to God in my prayer?

Driving out evil spirits was not something that Jesus claimed to do on his own power but only through a greater power given by God. He explains that the real meaning of his exorcisms is related to the cosmic strug-gle of God against the powers of evil affecting our world.

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Prayer Reveals Christ in Our Neighbor

Friday March 9 Lenten Weekday

Hos 14:2-10 | Mk 12:28-34

Love of God is the first commandment; but the sec-ond is like it, that is to say it is only through love of other people that we can return the love with which God loves us. We will not be able to love others if we separate love from faith and hope. Faith and hope are given to us in prayer. So without prayer we will not be able to love. It is in prayer—and only in prayer—that the Christ who is in each person is revealed to us through a faith that becomes increasingly more sharply focused and clear-sighted. The love of God is insepa-rable from the love of human beings. The love of our neighbor is not a means of loving God.

—Madeleine Delbrêl The Joy of Believing

How can I use my prayer to better love those I encounter each day?

At Mass the Collect (Latin collecta, a gathering or sum-ming up) is a short prayer at the end of the Introductory Rites that “collects” all of the people’s individual, pri-vate prayers into one single formal prayer spoken aloud to God in their name by the priest.

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I’m Glad I’m Not Like HimSaturday March 10 Lenten Weekday

Hos 6:1-6 | Lk 18:9-14

The Pharisee’s prayer is one we often pray. “I’m glad I’m not like him, her, or them. I am lucky not to be-long to that family, that country, or that race.” We are always comparing ourselves with others, trying to con-vince ourselves that we are better off than they are. But this is a very dangerous prayer. It leads from compas-sion to competition, from competition to rivalry, from rivalry to violence, from violence to war, from war to destruction. It is a prayer that lies all the time, because we are not the difference we try so hard to find. No, our deepest identity is rooted where we are like other people—weak, broken, sinful, but sons and daughters of God.

—Henri J.M. NouwenSabbatical Journey: The Final Year

What can I do to stop comparing myself with others and be more accepting of them?

Ephraim was the second son of Joseph, but he received the firstborn’s blessing (Genesis 48:17-20) instead of Manasseh. As Joseph’s primary heir, Ephraim became synonymous with the northern kingdom of Israel (com-prised of 10 of the 12 tribes of Israel) as in today’s first reading.

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Come to the LightSunday March 11 4th Sunday of Lent

2 Chr 36:14-16, 19-23 | Eph 2:4-10 | Jn 3:14-21 or, for Year A, 1 Sm 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a

Eph 5:8-14 | Jn 9:1-41

Nicodemus came to Jesus at night, in the darkness. He was fearful and his faith was weak. Jesus, the light of the world, invited Nicodemus to come into the light and to believe so that he “might not perish but might have eternal life.” Jesus shared with Nicodemus the great love that God has for the world and called him to live in the truth. As we travel through this Lenten season, we too are invited to live in the light, to deepen our faith, and to open ourselves to God’s only Son, Jesus, sent into the world for our salvation.

—Angeline Hubert

What fears keep me remaining in the darkness and not seeking the light of Christ?

Today is called Laetare Sunday, from the Latin word for rejoice, which is the first word of the Entrance Anti-phon of the Mass, “Rejoice, Jerusalem” (Isaiah 66:10). It reminds us that the rigors of lent are now over half completed and encourages our anticipation for Easter.

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Filling the Cracks with Prayer

Monday March 12 Lenten Weekday

Is 65:17-21 | Jn 4:43-54

There are so many cracks in the day that can be filled with prayer. These might be prayers of intercession. We can carry a sick or dying friend with us through the day, gently letting the prayer lie just below the surface of our consciousness, ready to emerge in the “empty” moments. Our daily prayer in the cracks might be trig-gered by the morning news report of conflict, catas-trophe, and suffering. The big story this morning is a plane crash. I will let those people be with me to-day—the travelers who died, the few who survived, their families who are flying to the scene, the rescue teams sifting through the wreckage. They will fill the cracks today. —Margaret Guenther

The Practice of Prayer

How can I fill the empty moments of my day today with prayers?

The prayer of intercession—asking for favors on be-half of another—has been characteristic of Christian prayer through the ages. It is an expression of belief in the communion of saints. In intercession, the one who prays looks not only to personal interests, but also to the interests of others.

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Rebuilding What Is Broken

Tuesday March 13 Lenten Weekday

Ez 47:1-9, 12 | Jn 5:1-16

We can learn a lesson from the little spider. Watch a spider as she patiently rebuilds her web each time it is broken or removed. Seldom will she move its location but chooses to rebuild it with patience. She reweaves its broken strands each time they are broken. She waits, in patience, for dinner to come into her white cosmos of tiny threads. Like the spider, we must return again and again to rebuild our webs by bringing together the threads of our lives and uniting them to the divine center within. Without such work, our lives become disconnected, unpeaceful and broken. Perhaps the next time we see a spider’s web, we can see it as a spiritual classroom and not simply something to be swept away.

—Edward Hays Pray All Ways

What have I most had to rebuild during this Lenten time?

A temple (Lat: templum, a consecrated space) was the place where heaven and earth met. It was God’s house (the sanctuary) where gifts (sacrifices) were offered and God was worshipped. Ezekiel imagines God’s bountiful presence like a spring bubbling from under the altar giving life to everything around.

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Finding God Wednesday March 14 Lenten Weekday

Is 49:8-15 | Jn 5:17-30

I feel I must give the lie to anyone who says, “I’m look-ing for God, but I can’t find God!” Let that person try to do everything in the truth, free from the demon of pride and the suffocating density of egoism. Let ev-ery trace of racism be rooted out, let everyone be wel-comed as a brother or sister, and you will see, you will see! Live love. Act truth. Honor life. And it will be the God beyond you whom you live, act and honor. God will not come to you because you have become “good.” God was already there. God has always been coming and always is coming. But now you see God because you have purified your eyes, softened your heart and stooped down.

—Carlo Carretto The God Who Comes

How can I prepare myself to “see” God already present in my life?

For John, eternal life is our future destiny—a permanent and undying existence in God’s presence forever. It is qualitatively different from natural life for death cannot destroy it. It begins now in us by our association with Jesus and our participation in God’s Holy Spirit.

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God’s WrathThursday March 15 Lenten Weekday

Ex 32:7-14 | Jn 5:31-47

God’s wrath is the result of humans distorting his good creation—including human nature. God’s wrath is simply the shadow side of God’s love for his wonder-ful creation and his amazing human creatures. God’s implacable rejection of evil is the natural outflowing of his creative love. God’s anger against evil is itself the determination to put things right, to get rid of the cor-rupt attitudes and behaviors that have spoiled his world and his human creatures. Because God loves the glori-ous world he has made and is utterly determined to put everything right, God is utterly opposed to everything that spoils or destroys that creation, especially the hu-man creatures who were supposed to be the linchpins of his plan for how that creation would flourish.

—N.T. WrightSimply Good News

How might I help God put things right in myself and my life today?

In the gospels, the word Scriptures means only the Jew-ish writings (our Old Testament), which could also be summarized using the three general categories of Jew-ish sacred texts: the Law (Hebrew Torah, instruction), the Prophets (Nevi’im) and the Writings (Ketuvim).

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Let Me Live Worthy of You

Friday March 16 Lenten Weekday

Wis 2:1a, 12-22 | Jn 7:1-2, 10, 25-30

O God, my spiritual and corporal existence is yours since you are my creator. But my will is mine because you have created it as free and want it to remain such. However, I am free to offer it in homage to you and to make it a sacrifice of praise and honor to you. Hence, I give my will entirely to you, so that it no longer be-longs to me. Henceforth, I must be careful to let noth-ing proceed from my heart that would be unworthy of you. I must exert constant vigilance over my will to avoid taking away from you what is not truly yours.

—St. Louise de Marillac

How can I dedicate myself more fully to following God’s ways today?

The Jewish feast of Tabernacles (Latin, tent, Hebrew su-kot) also called the feast of Ingathering or Booths was a major seven day spring harvest festival at the beginning of their new year. People lived in the fields in temporary dwellings (tents) commemorating the exodus and gift of the land.

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Listening for Prophetic Voices

Saturday March 17 Lenten Weekday

Jer 11:18-20 | Jn 7:40-53

In Jesus’ day, since Jerusalem was the center of religious tradition, one who came from Galilee would have been a suspect leader. Was Jesus an authentic prophet? Was Jesus a revered rabbi? The crowds followed Jesus be-cause they had never before heard anyone who spoke like him. This implies that the religious leaders were not giving the people the spiritual teaching they need-ed. What does that say to us about hearing the truth from God? Where do we get that truth and how do we hear it? Like those who condemned Jeremiah, do we condemn the prophets in our midst? Today we might be called to listen to new voices in our midst and pray for the gift of discernment to decide what is true and what is false. —Dorothy Jonaitis

What voice do I need to hear today that I might have been ignoring?

“O Christ, come and waken us from the grayness of our apathy and renew in us your gift of hope. Bring me into your presence, that I may listen to your voice, which is the source of all wisdom, and see your face for ever.”

—St. Bede the Venerable

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A New Covenant for Today

Sunday March 18 5th Sunday of Lent

Jer 31:31-34 | Heb 5:7-9 | Jn 12:20-33 or, for Year A, Ez 37:12-14 | Rom 8:8-11 | Jn 11:1-45

A prophetic politics rooted in moral principles could again spark people’s imagination and involvement. We need a personal ethic of moral responsibility, a social vi-sion based on bringing people together, a commitment to justice with the capacity for reconciliation, an eco-nomic approach governed by the ethics of community and sustainability, a restored sense of our covenant with the abandoned poor and the damaged earth, a reminder of shared values that calls forth the very best in us, and a renewal of citizen politics to fashion a new political future. But to shape a new future we must first find the moral foundations and resources for a new social vision.

—Jim Wallis The Soul of Politics

How has my growing relation to Jesus made me more aware of my responsibilities toward others?

In Jesus’ time, Greek was not a national identity (there was no Greek nation) but a status marker identifying one as “civilized” by adopting Greek language and cus-toms. Jews were Israelites living in Judea (Judeans) and Greeks were Israelites or gentiles living in the Greek speaking cities of the Roman Mediterranean.

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God Sees Our WorkMonday March 19 St. Joseph, Husband of Mary

2 Sm 7:4-5a, 12-14a, 16 | Rom 4:13, 16-18, 22 Mt 1:16, 18-21, 24a or Lk 2:41-51a

God sees the fruit of our labor, even if others cannot. Think of Joseph, the carpenter who taught Jesus his craft, a man given no lines to say in the New Testament and whose life remains almost completely hidden. His work was of supreme importance—even though oth-ers may not have seen this at the time. How similar this is to the many millions of people who do hidden work today: spending long hours working to put their kids through school; taking on an extra job to save money to care for an elderly parent or relative; working to exhaustion scrubbing floors, doing multiple loads of laundry, and spending hours over a stove for their families. Even if their efforts are hidden from others, they are seen by the One whose gaze matters most.

—James Martin, SJ The Jesuit Guide to (Practically) Everything

How can I notice and express gratitude for the humble work of those around me?

Betrothal (from the Middle English troth, a pledge or commitment) was similar to a marriage engagement, which would intensify relations between the 2 families. To discover that one’s finacée was pregnant by another man would be a major reason for ending the engage-ment and sending her back to her family in shame.

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A Visitor from Another World

Tuesday March 20 Lenten Weekday

Nm 21:4-9 | Jn 8:21-30

The soap opera Another World, which ran for 35 years, began with a mystical assertion: “We do not live in this world alone, but in a thousand other worlds.” We re-alize that we live in many different worlds when we hear a millionaire athlete complain about being under-paid or see a roadside beggar holding a sign that says “anything helps.” Jesus comes from the “other world” of God’s kingdom to teach us that God’s ways are not our ways. In the world of Jesus, the least are the great-est, the servant is the master, the child is the grownup, and the rich are the poor. Jesus is crucified because his world represents a threat to the established world order, an invitation to enter God’s brave new world of love.—Jerry Welte

How can I respond more generously to Jesus’ invitation to turn my world upside-down?

In John’s gospel the world (Greek, cosmos, an ordered universe) usually refers to the forces that we often ex-perience resisting God’s ordering power and opposing Jesus. Though the world is hostile to God, God is not hostile to the world but sends Jesus to save it.

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Joining Prayer & ActionWednesday March 21 Lenten Weekday

Dn 3:14-20, 91-92, 95 | Jn 8:31-42

Not so long ago there was a tendency to separate the spiritual from the political, prayer from work for jus-tice, mysticism from prophetic action. But prophecy and mysticism form an inseparable whole in the life and spirituality of Jesus. Traditionally, at least in the Ju-deo-Christian tradition, there was no such division or antagonism. Prophets were mystics and mystics were prophets. Any idea that one could be a prophet calling for justice and social change without some experience of union with God was unthinkable. Equally unthink-able was any idea that one could be a perfectly good mystic without becoming critically outspoken about the injustices of one’s time. These were people who took Jesus seriously and, like Jesus himself, they were rooted in a mystico-prophetic spirituality.

—Albert NolanJesus Today: A Spirituality of Freedom

How has prayer encouraged me to act on behalf of justice?

King Nebuchadnezar II was an historical figure who ruled Babylon from 605-562 BC. He conquered Judah, destroyed the temple and exiled the Jews (597, 587) and thus became synonymous with an evil king. In the book of Daniel, it is not this historic figure but rather the symbolic figure that is described.

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Mystics Hidden among Us

Thursday March 22 Lenten Weekday

Gn 17:3-9 | Jn 8:51-59

I believe that we are meeting mystics every day, but we do not recognize them. Their humility and modesty is such that they pass into the crowd like Jesus in today’s gospel. Perhaps we could spot them by their spiritual disciplines: prayer, meditation, fasting, study, simplic-ity, solitude, submission, service, confession, worship, guidance and celebration. It is possible, but not likely. For real mystics practice their deep love and service to God in ways that may fly below the radar, unobtrusive-ly, transforming the lives of others in ways that seem sublimely plain spoken and level-headed. Except when they receive extraordinary mystical gifts (not everyone does) it is hard to pick them out in a crowd.

—Emilie GriffinWonderful & Dark Is This Road

Who has most exemplified Christ’s ways for me in my life?

The “I AM” (put in capital letters in the translation) is God’s sacred personal name (4 consonant letters YHWH, pronounced Yahweh in English, see Exodus 3:14) which was closely related to the verb “I am.” Lord in small capital letters is now used in most Bible transla-tions to indicate this personal divine name.

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Living with LonelinessFriday March 23 Lenten Weekday

Jer 20:10-13 | Jn 10:31-42

Jeremiah did not just speak his message but expressed it in his life. God is a good teacher who knows that humans are more impressed by what they see than by what they hear. But he suffered terribly from the isola-tion of his life with no wife or children. He had to go contrary to popular opinion and offended many by the shocking things he said. His neighbors plotted against him. So he often pours out the anguish of his lonely life to God. It may be the very loneliness of his life that led Jeremiah to the most intense and intimate relation-ship with God in the Old Testament. He offers a model to those deprived of the joys of family life, and to all of us in our times of loneliness.

—Macrina Scott, OSFBible Stories Revisited

How has my loneliness affected my prayer and relation to God?

In the biblical world, to blaspheme meant to dishonor God or something holy by speech, for example by call-ing God abusive names or telling lies (slander) or, as in this reading, by claiming for oneself the honor and status due to God alone. It was punishable by stoning (Lv 24:16).

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Better One Man Die Saturday March 24 Lenten Weekday

Ez 37:21-28 | Jn 11:45-56

Although resuscitating Lazarus caused many to be-lieve in and follow Jesus, it also intensified the hostility of the Judean authorities, who come from the wealthy priestly families and represent the highest ranks of Judean society, for they now feared Rome’s possible in-volvement. Their hostility clearly indicates that Jesus’ kingdom message and agenda for an alternative orga-nization of society is so great a threat to them and to the privileges and entitlements they enjoy both from controlling the Temple and from their Roman imperial patronage, that they decide to find a way to arrest and kill Jesus using the power of the state to do it for them (Jn 11:50). But God will use Jesus’ death to draw many people to him for healing. —Steve Mueller

So What’s the Good News?

When have I decide to hurt others out of fear of losing something for myself?

Ezekiel says that for people to end their sinful behav-ior they must abandon their “idols, abominations and transgressions.” The strange word abominations refers to things and especially behaviors that are really dis-gusting to God and thus the Jews ought also separate themselves from them.

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Jesus’ Passion for JusticeSunday March 25 Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion

Is 50:4-7 I Phil 2:6-11 | Mk 14:1—15:47

Jesus was killed. This is one of those facts that ev-erybody knows, but whose significance is often over-looked. He didn’t simply die; he was executed. We as Christians participate in the only major religious tra-dition whose founder was executed by established au-thority. And if we ask the historical question, “Why was he killed?” the historical answer is because he was a social prophet and movement initiator, a passionate advocate of God’s justice, and radical critic of the dom-ination system who had attracted a following. If Jesus had been only a mystic, healer and wisdom teacher, he almost certainly would not have been executed. Rather, he was killed because of his politics—because of his passion for God’s justice. —Marcus Borg

The Heart of Christianity

How can I imitate Jesus’ passion for justice today in my family and work situations?

Blessed palms are sacramentals (material objects, things or actions set apart or blessed) and thus are to be treated with reverence. They are blessed and distributed today in commemoration of the triumphant entrance of Christ into Jerusalem. Some of these are burned to make the ashes for Ash Wednesday.

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Discovering God’s Goodness in the Cross

Monday March 26 Monday of Holy Week

Is 42:1-7 | Jn 12:1-11

We pray to God to know Christ’s passion, death and resurrection—which come from the goodness of God. We pray to God for the strength that comes from his Cross—which also comes from the goodness of God. We pray to God with all the help of the saints who have gone before us—which, again, comes from the good-ness of God. All of the strength that may come through prayer comes from the goodness of God, for he is the goodness of everything. For the highest form of prayer is to the goodness of God. It comes down to us to meet our humblest needs. It gives life to our souls and makes them live and grow in grace and virtue. It is near in nature and swift in grace, for it is the same grace which our souls seek and always will.

—Julian of NorwichShowings

Where and how is God’s goodness being revealed in suffering in today’s world?

Nard (Greek, nardos) is a perfume derived from a plant native to India. (The English word spikenard describes a perfume made from the spikes of this plant.) Thus it would have been an extremely costly ointment and used for only very important occasions.

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The Judas in MeTuesday March 27 Tuesday of Holy Week

Is 49:1-6 | Jn 13:21-33, 36-38

The most tragic figure in the Passion is Judas. Tragi-cally, the event that never took place—as far as we know—was the conversion of Judas. Can you picture it? Judas would have knelt down at the cross, at the feet of Jesus, and he would have said, “Forgive me, forgive me!” Would he have been forgiven? O yes! I have al-ways felt sorry for Judas. I’ve always prayed—I pray to this day—that in those final moments before he took his life, Judas converted. Yes, I pray for that. Absolute-ly. And I suppose I have a very good reason for praying for that. I know that without God’s grace, I would do the same thing. If God took his grace away today, I would betray him before the sunrise.

—Benedict J. Groeschel, CFR Five Figures of the Passion

What most tempts me to betray Jesus today?

In the biblical world where honor was very highly val-ued, betrayal by a friend is the most shameful of actions because friends commit themselves fully to one another by their word of honor and would be expected even to give their lives for the other if necessary.

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Jesus the Condemned Criminal

Wednesday March 28 Wednesday of Holy Week

Is 50:4-9a | Mt 26:14-25

When God chose to take on human flesh, he did not become a priest or a monk, a king or a general, a poet or a philosopher. Instead, he became a death row pris-oner, a condemned criminal executed alongside two thieves. Nothing else would do: the living image of the invisible deity could take no truer form than a “dead man walking,” the lowest of the low. Yet we somehow manage to overlook this central fact of our faith. We prefer to think of Jesus as the beautiful baby in Mary’s arms, the miracle worker, the eloquent preacher, or the resurrected Son. Christ is indeed all of those—but he saved us by submitting himself to a capital punishment as a convicted felon. His most important work was to die as a common criminal. —Jens Soering

The Convict Christ

How might the image of Jesus as a condemned criminal change my thinking about him?

The most ancient and always the central event of the li-turgical year is the Easter triduum (Latin, three days) cel-ebrating the passion, death and resurrection of Christ. The sacred three days (Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday) are a liturgical season in themselves and not strictly part of Lent.

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The Sign of Loving Service

Thursday March 29 Holy Thursday

Mass of the Lord’s Supper: Ex 12:1-8, 11-14 | 1 Cor 11:23-26 | Jn 13:1-15

Jesus washing the disciples’ feet shows us how God loves and how his disciples, then as now, are called to love and to love “to the very end.” The washing of the feet is finally a mystery, like so many of Jesus’ acts. We enter into this mys-tery gradually, through events in which we suffer loss and are stripped more and more of all we possess. Jesus invites his friends to lay down the garments that give them a special status, to remove the masks that hide their real selves, and to present themselves to others humbly, vulnerably, with all their poverty. To become humble and small requires a lov-ing heart, purified of its fears and human security, ready to love to the end, in order to give life to others.

—Jean VanierThe Scandal of Service

What humble service can I perform today for those around me?

At the Chrism Mass on Holy Thursday morning the bishop blesses the 3 holy oils for the coming year: (1) the oil of catechumens used at baptism; (2) the oil of the sick for anointing the sick; and (3) chrism, for use at baptism, confirmation, ordination and the dedication of churches and altars.

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Was There No Other Way?Friday March 30 Good Friday

Is 52:13—53:12 | Heb 4:14-16; 5:7-9Jn 18:1—19:42

Could not the divine imagination have discovered a different redemption, less difficult than death on Cal-vary? Couldn’t God have simply forgiven us. If his Fa-ther wanted him to die—good God, couldn’t he have died with dignity? Frankly, I do not know the answer. I suspect no one knows save the God who invented the Passion. But one fact rings loud and clear from Calvary: Where God’s love is concerned, we mortals are terribly dense, dreadfully uncomprehending. Calvary cries more clearly than any theology textbook: We do not know our God. We cannot see that God was not content with some sort of legal redemption. He wanted to experience our earth-bound existence, to live our human condition.

—Walter F. Burghardt, SJ Grace on Crutches

How might I respond more completely to God’s love for me?

In many parishes between noon and 3 pm there is re-flection focused on the Seven Last Words of Christ, a collection of the words spoken by Jesus on the cross gathered from the 4 gospels. They are Luke 23:34; John 19:26-27; John 19:28; Luke 23:43; Mark 15:34; John 19:30; Luke 23:46.

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New Life in ChristSaturday March 31 Holy Saturday

Gn 1:1—2:2 | Gn 22:1-18 | Ex 14:15—15:1 Is 54:5-14 | Is 55:1-11 | Bar 3:9-15, 32—4:4

Ez 36:16-17a, 18-28 | Rom 6:3-11 Mk 16:1-7

Christ has fully triumphed over evil once and for all, but we must welcome this victory into our life and into the situations of history and society. The grace contained in the sacraments of Easter is an enormous potential for the renewal of our personal existence, of family life, of social relations. However everything passes through the human heart: if I let myself be touched by the grace of the risen Christ, if I let him change me in all that is not good and can hurt me and others, I allow Christ’s victory to be affirmed in my life and to broaden its beneficial action. This is the power of grace! Without grace we can do nothing. And with grace I can become an instrument of God’s mercy.

—Pope Francis

How can I let God’s grace transform my heart this Easter?

The Easter Vigil echoes the early Christian ritual that lasted through the night to celebrate the eucharist at dawn. Its 4 parts are: lighting the Easter candle, the scripture readings of the story of salvation, the initia-tion of new converts culminating in the eucharistic celebration.