Saturday of the Third Week of Lent

Today's Readings

Luke 18:9-14

Those of us who are of a “certain age” may remember the song by Mac Davis: “Hard to be Humble.” Here’s a link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCyYuLQ7_Ws

As funny as this song is, I think the humor is that perhaps there is a wee bit of truth to it. Many of us wrestle with the desire to remain modest and humble, yet also wanting our accomplishments and good deeds honored or acknowledged. In fact, this song isn’t too far from the prayer that we find the Pharisee praying in today’s Gospel, the message of which is often shared as: “Don’t be like the Pharisee, emulate the tax collector!”

I think what often happens when we read parables like this is we find ourselves falling into the trap of dualities. You know what I’m talking about, the scenarios we create deciding that there are two types of people in the world, and we place ourselves (and others) in one or the other. For example: There are the people in the world who wake up and say, “Good morning, God!” And then there are the people who wake up and say, “Good God, it’s morning!” Or those who walk into a room and say, “There you are!” versus those who walk in and say “Here I am!” This particular parable presents us with the duality of having to choose between either the tax collector or the Pharisee.

I often slide down the slippery slope of sizing up the people I encounter and judging some to be like the Pharisee. These are the folks who trust that they themselves are righteous, who are glad that they are not like “other people,” who see themselves as fundamentally better than others. Then I meet people who are like the tax collector, who are so aware of their own failures that they can’t even lift their eyes to heaven, who understand that they need forgiveness, that they feel like garbage, these are the folks who know that they are sinners.

But who am I? Am I like the Pharisee? I sure hope not. Or am I like the tax collector? I wish! In the Franciscan way of looking at the world…am I perhaps BOTH AND? In truth, sometimes I can be like the Pharisee, smug and assured of the wonderful deeds that I do, secure in the confidence that I’m not as sinful, mean, thoughtless or cruel as that co-worker or person (at a socially appropriate distance) on the subway. Other times there are nuances of the tax collector in my behavior and my prayer life, recognizing that it is only with God that all things are possible and NOT me! I can be that individual who knows that every day when I get out of bed, even as I sit here in the solitude of my home working and teaching at a distance, I mess up, I make mistakes, I sin.

When I frame my life in duality it places me in the trap of failing to recognize that there are other options, that one of two choices does not accurately capture the entirety of who I am or who others are. I guess that’s why I hate those theological and philosophical true/false quizzes because the outcomes and issues aren’t always either black or white. There is an enormous area of grey that is just as important to consider.

The other, and perhaps more important issue is that when I look at who I am and who others are through a dualistic lens I fail to recognize the profound truth of what we all share in common: The recognition that ultimately as humans we are more similar than we are different. I read this Gospel as an invitation to look beyond the differences between the Pharisee and the tax collector and remind myself that a central teaching of Jesus (and let’s not forget Francis and Clare!) is unity and not duality. This is at the core of who we are as creatures made in the image and likeness of the Divine. We are far more complex than being just one person or another and we should accept and forgive ourselves for those times when we may behave more like the Pharisee. We should also celebrate the fact that we can be like the tax collector as well. But most days we are a little bit of both, trying our best to respond with humility, charity, mercy and love to the Pharisee and the tax collector in ourselves and everyone we encounter. Because that is what God does with us with every breath that we take and every decision that we make, without exception.

If we are able to keep a clear eye on our ability to sin, it’s not too “hard to be humble.” No one of us “is perfect in every way” and I for one am grateful for my relationship with God, who knows this truth far better than I do. So with all that, embracing the reality that we are unconditionally loved by God, we can just “do the best that we can” as Mac Davis reminds us. 😊

Alexandria M. Egler, PhD

Executive Director of Mission, Ministry & Interfaith Dialogue

Friday of the Third Week of Lent

Today's Readings

This reading teaches us about the Love and Forgiveness of God, our Lord.

How many times are parents disobeyed by their children? The answer is frequently. Love for our children and forgiveness for their actions is a lesson for them in the present and an awakening for the future.

Parents love their children as God, our Lord, loves us despite our mistakes and behavior.

Both Love and Forgiveness are two significant concepts within our Christian tradition. Love and Forgiveness build our humanistic and moral values, which help us become complete citizens.

As Christians, we should never forget to love even when circumstances or people fail us. Love is the path to modify wrongdoing, to understand that there are open doors and that is a step to finding justice and peace. God loves us unconditionally and He always forgives us, regardless of our sins as it is expressed in this reading:

"I will heal their defection, says the LORD,

I will love them freely..."

The Love of God is a way to grow and blossom as a human being. Thus, we should love like God does with an open heart, without question and we should be prepared to forgive.

Forgiveness brings people together in harmony and peace. Why? Because to Forgive is to reflect on another’s wrong behavior, all the while giving us an opportunity to accept, change, and free ourselves into the Love of God.

During this period of reflection and awakening, it is important to think about how we can demonstrate our love for each other, how we should love without expecting anything in return and how to be open to the lessons that love teaches us.

Dr. Sintia Molina
Professor of Foreign Languages

Solemnity of Saint Joseph, Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Today's Reading

It is interesting that today’s scripture calls Joseph, the husband of Mary, a righteous person. In those troublesome times, the world needed a reflective person - one who was called by God, did God’s will, and saw the world from God’s perspective for the sake of others. Joseph becomes an interesting point for God’s love for others. Listening to an angel and clearly demonstrating a powerful act of faith, Joseph takes his wife into his home to take care of her and assist in raising the child, Jesus. His strong faith allowed God’s plan to live out the role of Jesus in our salvation.

In today’s world, we live in an age of anxiety and turbulence. On this feast of the Solemnity of St. Joseph, let us be people who give ourselves over to God’s call and exist in solidarity with all in the Franciscan tradition.

Bro. Leonard Conway, O.S.F. '71

Member, SFC Board of Trustees

Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent

Today's Reading 

Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9

As we are halfway through the third week of Lent, we see that the first reading for today speaks about obedience and keeping God’s Laws.

In verse 2, we see Moses relaying the commands from God, “You must add nothing to what I command you, and take nothing from it - but keep the commandments of Yahweh your God just as I lay them down for you.” At times we feel as if we control the narrative of our lives and we seek out other methods of living our lives because people tend to feel as if God is a rigid and unjust God, but God’s laws signifies being whole and completeness, and sometimes it’s not about what we want, it’s about living the most Christ-like life we can live and living in a way that’s according to God’s laws so we can all be reunited with him in the afterlife.

In verses 5 and 6 we read about if we keep God’s commandments, “other peoples will admire your wisdom and prudence.” I think during this Lenten season we can try to practice humility. We often feel if we praise and worship the loudest or pray the loudest and publicize the good deeds that God will love us more. It’s often said that if you have to brag about something, you’re either not good at it or it’s not true. People should be drawn to you and know that you’re a Christian by your demeanor, by the way, you carry yourself.

 If we say that we’re living a Christ-like life, we should BE like Christ. Be as humble as he was, be as obedient as he was. Think about this, if Jesus was not obedient to his Father’s orders, would we be alive today? What would our world be like if Christ did not die for our sins?

As we go about the rest of this week and the rest of this Lenten season, Lord we humbly come before you and ask for your forgiveness for all of the times we went against you and we were not as humble as we ought to have been. You said if my people would humble themselves and turn from their wicked ways you will heal their land, Lord we humble ourselves as we ask for a fresh anointing on our lives, our friends and families’ lives and in our country. Amen.

Chelsea Flemming '24

Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent

Today's Readings

Lockdown

Yes there is fear.

Yes there is isolation.

Yes there is panic buying.

Yes there is sickness.

Yes there is even death.

But,

they say that in Wuhan after so many years of noise

You can hear the birds again.

They say that after just a few weeks of quiet

The sky is no longer thick with fumes

But blue and grey and clear.

They say that in the streets of Assisi

People are singing to each other

across the empty squares,

keeping their windows open

so that those who are alone

may hear the sounds of family around them.

They say that a hotel in the West of Ireland

Is offering free meals and delivery to the housebound.

Today a young woman I know

is busy spreading fliers with her number

through the neighbourhood

So that the elders may have someone to call on.

Today Churches, Synagogues, Mosques and Temples

are preparing to welcome

and shelter the homeless, the sick, the weary

All over the world people are slowing down and reflecting

All over the world people are looking at their neighbours in a new way

All over the world people are waking up to a new reality

To how big we really are.

To how little control we really have.

To what really matters.

To Love.

So we pray and we remember that

Yes there is fear.

But there does not have to be hate.

Yes there is isolation.

But there does not have to be loneliness.

Yes there is panic buying.

But there does not have to be meanness.

Yes there is sickness.

But there does not have to be disease of the soul

Yes there is even death.

But there can always be a rebirth of love.

Wake to the choices you make as to how to live now.

Today, breathe.

Listen, behind the factory noises of your panic

The birds are singing again

The sky is clearing,

Spring is coming,

And we are always encompassed by Love.

Open the windows of your soul

And though you may not be able

to touch across the empty square,

Sing.

-from Richard Hendrick (Brother Richard) in Ireland

March 13th, 2020

Monday of the Third Week of Lent

Today's Readings

2 Kings 5:1-15AB

During this third week of Lent, as I reflect on the first reading, I am reminded of how gullible, yet vulnerable we are as human beings, especially when we are confronted and tested with difficult situations. We find ourselves to be the most desperate, and we want to believe in just about anything or anyone, so as to get what we want. Naaman, the army commander of the king of Aram, went to Israel in pursuit of healing powers by the King of Israel. He was desperate and wanted to believe that this great and powerful man had the power to cure his leprosy. He thought he could buy his way by presenting amazing gifts to the King, such as silver, gold and festive garments. Naturally, when we are at our most vulnerable, we tend to become desperate, and we think we can “buy” through monetary gifts, in exchange for what we are seeking. Yet this reading once again teaches us that this isn’t the case, that not everything can be bought, and that we cannot let our beliefs be tainted or smeared by false images. And so Elisha, the man of God, hears that the King of Israel has become furious because he thinks he is being made fun of, by Naaman, and asks the King to send Naaman to him instead. The prophet Elisha does not come out to greet Naaman, and he does not try to impress Naaman with his “healing powers” or even seek monetary gifts. Instead he sends him the message to go and wash seven times in the river Jordan and his flesh will be healed of his leprosy. Of course Naaman becomes angry, and begins to question the prophet Elisha, because he had imagined the prophet would come out and astonish him with his healing powers, as he moved his hand over the spot, where the leprosy was. Why should he listen to such a simple man; shouldn’t this man have come out and shown his greatness? Instead the instructions were simple, nothing extraordinary. Naaman went to the river Jordan, washed seven times, and he was cured of his illness. When he returned, he understood that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel.

What I take away from this passage is that each and every one of us will go through our journey in life, and it is understood that there will be times of great pain and suffering along with times of happiness. But it is in these times of pain that I trust and look to my faith, and I pray that false images will not fill my heart. This passage also reminds me that loving God is easier when I think of all the blessings I have received.

Yadira Moran-Ulrich '02

Associate Director of Human Resources

Third Sunday of Lent

Today's Readings

“Oh, freedom, Oh, freedom
Oh freedom over me
And before I'd be a slave
I'd be buried in my grave
And go home to my Lord and be free.”

So goes the post-Civil War African American freedom song. Over the course of human history, so many people have been enslaved both from outside forces and at times from their own decisions.

The people of Israel had yearned for freedom from their slavery in Egypt. They desired to be freed of the yoke of forced labor, degradation and brutality under which they survived. As God acted on their behalf, they followed Moses, God’s mouth-piece into the desert. But the freedom from the Egyptians came at a cost.  Fear set in and they “grumbled against Moses”, indeed against God too. 

For all of us, freedom comes as a gift, an invitation to enter into the possibilities of life, sometimes with ease, other times with a premium that demands acts of courage and risk, even when we think it should go more easily for us. Eric Fromm, a German psychologist, discussed in his book, Escape from Freedom, two types of freedom: freedom from and freedom for. For each of us and for our communities and societies, considering these two freedoms is essential. The believer is called to live, work and pray to be free from evil, oppression, self-interest and all that demeans our common humanity. At the same time we should consider what we are free for: what do we do with our freedom that lifts human dignity, promotes goodness, brings joy to the world?

In our Lenten journey through the wilderness, we are reminded by the scriptures that there is no easy road to freedom, but that God is always with us calling us to embrace the fullness of freedom in the grace of faith in Jesus Christ. 

Rev. Michael Callaghan, c.o.

Pastor

The Oratory Parish of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary