Month: February 2020

Conversion Moment

What even is the whole point of Lent? Why do we take 40 days to prepare for Jesus’ Resurrection at Easter? Why do we embrace penance and suffering during this season? As I prepared my high school youth a few weeks ago for this new liturgical season, these are questions I sought to answer – at least, with more than just the pillars of prayer, fasting and almsgiving.

After researching, reading and spending time in prayer, I was surprised by the answers myself. One answer that I felt fairly confident about comes from paragraph 540 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which reads, “By the solemn forty days of Lent the Church unites herself each year to the mystery of Jesus in the desert.” Jesus himself spent 40 days in the desert, fasting and enduring multiple temptations from Satan, so it only makes sense that we would enter into that mystery ourselves.

Then, the words of Ash Wednesday struck me: “Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel.” Here is where the true challenge of Lent lies – why we choose to give something up for 40 days, why we seek out additional prayer opportunities and why we give alms. It’s all about conversion – conversion toward God and conversion toward others.

Conversion runs deep in today’s readings. In the first reading from Isaiah, we hear about what happens when one removes “oppression, false accusation and malicious speech” but also does good works of feeding the hungry and comforting the afflicted. Much is given to these people – the Lord will guide them and refresh them and more. I see quite a parallel to Easter here, where the joyous light of the Resurrection follows our time of conversion during Lent. We also see a reminder about keeping holy the Sabbath, which directly correlates to the conversion of God through prayer during Lent. When we honor the Lord through the Sabbath, through the celebration of Mass on Sunday, we delight in the Lord and He delights in us.

The tax collector Levi experienced a conversion himself in the Gospel reading. It began with a simple invitation from the Lord, “‘Follow me.’” The wealthy tax collector left everything behind to follow Jesus, which, of course, caused controversy among the scribes and Pharisees. When questioned why He spent so much time with tax collectors and prostitutes, Jesus spoke of their great need for a Savior. “I have not called the righteous to repentance but sinners.”

Lent has just started, brothers and sisters. Let us truly embrace this time of conversion and repentance as we turn away from sin and turn toward God.

Contact the author

Erin is a Cleveland native and graduate of the Franciscan University of Steubenville. Following graduation, she began volunteering in youth ministry at her home parish of Holy Family Church. Her first “big girl” job was in collegiate sports information where, after a busy two years in the profession on top of serving the youth, she took a leap of faith and followed the Lord’s call to full-time youth ministry at St. Peter Church. She still hopes to use her communication arts degree as a freelance writer and statistician, though. You can catch her on the Clarence & Peter Podcast on YouTube as well as follow her on Twitter @erinmadden2016.

Saturday after Ash Wednesday

Reading 1 Is 58:9b-14

Thus says the LORD:
If you remove from your midst oppression,
false accusation and malicious speech;
If you bestow your bread on the hungry
and satisfy the afflicted;
Then light shall rise for you in the darkness,
and the gloom shall become for you like midday;
Then the LORD will guide you always
and give you plenty even on the parched land.
He will renew your strength,
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring whose water never fails.
The ancient ruins shall be rebuilt for your sake,
and the foundations from ages past you shall raise up;
“Repairer of the breach,” they shall call you,
“Restorer of ruined homesteads.”

If you hold back your foot on the sabbath
from following your own pursuits on my holy day;
If you call the sabbath a delight,
and the LORD’s holy day honorable;
If you honor it by not following your ways,
seeking your own interests, or speaking with malice–
Then you shall delight in the LORD,
and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth;
I will nourish you with the heritage of Jacob, your father,
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Responsorial Psalm 86:1-2, 3-4, 5-6

R.    (11ab)  Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth.
Incline your ear, O LORD; answer me,
for I am afflicted and poor.
Keep my life, for I am devoted to you;
save your servant who trusts in you.
You are my God.
R.    Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth.
Have mercy on me, O Lord,
for to you I call all the day.
Gladden the soul of your servant,
for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
R.    Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth.
For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
abounding in kindness to all who call upon you.
Hearken, O LORD, to my prayer
and attend to the sound of my pleading.
R.    Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth.

Verse Before the GospelEz 33:11

I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked man, says the Lord,
but rather in his conversion, that he may live.

Gospel Lk 5:27-32

Jesus saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the customs post.
He said to him, “Follow me.”
And leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him.
Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house,
and a large crowd of tax collectors
and others were at table with them.
The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples, saying,
“Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
Jesus said to them in reply,
“Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do.
I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.”

– – –
Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Becoming a Beautiful Bride

Today’s short Gospel is a quick Q & A between the disciples of John and Jesus – one question, with a two-sentence answer. And yet, the answer gives us much to ponder.

The disciples of John want to know why Jesus’ followers do not follow the typical Jewish cycle of fasting. Jesus gives a somewhat cryptic answer: “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.”

The questioners must have been wondering what this meant.
First, by the “bridegroom,” Jesus is clearly referring to himself. For the listeners, this would have brought to mind the prophetic words of the Old Testament, in which the relationship between the Chosen People and God is often referred to as a betrothal. It is a way of revealing the kind of love that God has for His people: personal, passionate, faithful, and fruitful love, like a young fiancé for his beautiful bride. God’s love for us is deep and intense and steadfast!

But a “bridegroom” is a step beyond a “betrothed.” Jesus is expressing that the betrothal is ending and that – in him – the marriage is now imminent! God has come in Christ, and Jesus IS the bridegroom, come to wed his spouse, the Chosen People, the Church, by saving her from sin. This is why we refer to the Church as the “Bride of Christ.”

In ancient Israel, the guests – family and friends – spent the week-long wedding celebration sharing the joy of the new couple. Here we see Jesus declare himself the bridegroom, and his disciples are the “wedding guests,” invited to share his joy as he takes the Church as his bride. He wants all of his disciples throughout time (even you and me) to do the same! He longs for each of us to remain near him so that the overflowing joy of his Heart can flow into our lives as well until we are fully one with him in the Heavenly Kingdom.

One more thing: Notice Jesus does not say that the bridegroom will leave; he says that the bridegroom will be taken away. He is forcibly and violently removed, but he does not want to leave us alone! Before “the bridegroom is taken away,” he reveals a way he can remain with us always: at the Last Supper, he institutes the Eucharist.
Until the total fulfillment of the Kingdom is revealed, while we “wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior,” we fast and pray and grow in love in order to be more fully conformed to his image, just as his disciples did.

This Lent, let’s open ourselves fully to all that the Church suggests – praying, fasting, giving – so that we are of one heart and mind as we focus our attention on all that Christ, the Bridegroom, has given for us, his bride.

Contact the author

Kathryn Mulderink, MA, is married to Robert, Station Manager for Holy Family Radio. Together they have seven children (including newly ordained Father Rob and seminarian Luke ;-), and two grandchildren. She is a Secular Discalced Carmelite and has published five books and many articles. Over the last 25 years, she has worked as a teacher, headmistress, catechist, Pastoral Associate, and DRE. Currently, she serves the Church as a writer and voice talent for Catholic Radio, by publishing and speaking, and by collaborating with the diocesan Office of Catechesis, various parishes, and other ministries to lead others to encounter Christ and engage their faith. Her website is https://www.kathryntherese.com/.

Friday after Ash Wednesday

Reading 1 Is 58:1-9a

Thus says the Lord GOD:
Cry out full-throated and unsparingly,
lift up your voice like a trumpet blast;
Tell my people their wickedness,
and the house of Jacob their sins.
They seek me day after day,
and desire to know my ways,
Like a nation that has done what is just
and not abandoned the law of their God;
They ask me to declare what is due them,
pleased to gain access to God.
“Why do we fast, and you do not see it?
afflict ourselves, and you take no note of it?”

Lo, on your fast day you carry out your own pursuits,
and drive all your laborers.
Yes, your fast ends in quarreling and fighting,
striking with wicked claw.
Would that today you might fast
so as to make your voice heard on high!
Is this the manner of fasting I wish,
of keeping a day of penance:
That a man bow his head like a reed
and lie in sackcloth and ashes?
Do you call this a fast,
a day acceptable to the LORD?
This, rather, is the fasting that I wish:
releasing those bound unjustly,
untying the thongs of the yoke;
Setting free the oppressed,
breaking every yoke;
Sharing your bread with the hungry,
sheltering the oppressed and the homeless;
Clothing the naked when you see them,
and not turning your back on your own.
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your wound shall quickly be healed;
Your vindication shall go before you,
and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer,
you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am!

Responsorial Psalm 51:3-4, 5-6ab, 18-19

R.    (19b) A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
R.    A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
For I acknowledge my offense,
and my sin is before me always:
“Against you only have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight.”
R.    A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
For you are not pleased with sacrifices;
should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it.
My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
R.    A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.

Verse Before the GospelAm 5:14

Seek good and not evil so that you may live,
and the Lord will be with you.

Gospel Mt 9:14-15

The disciples of John approached Jesus and said,
“Why do we and the Pharisees fast much,
but your disciples do not fast?”
Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn
as long as the bridegroom is with them?
The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them,
and then they will fast.”

– – –
Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.