Lent 1

On this First Sunday of Lent we are called to follow the rainbow. “I set my bow in the clouds to serve as a sign of the covenant between me and the earth” (Genesis 9:13). The rare and beautiful event of a rainbow usually lasts only a short while, but its colors and soaring form make a lasting impression. It follows storms as if to show the incredible beauty and peace of creation after a demonstration of its awesome power. In Hebrew scripture the rainbow symbolizes God’s promise to Noah never to destroy the earth and all its creatures again with water, but just as important it was a sign of the wonderful re-creation of the world after the destruction of the biblical flood. The season of Lent offers a unique opportunity to make a course correction on the path toward God. The goal is clear: the new life of Easter, fixed before your eyes like a glorious rainbow.

Every year on the first Sunday of Lent we hear the Gospel of Jesus being tempted in the desert. The Church always begins Lent with Jesus’ victory over temptation to inspire us to claim our share in his victory. What “inner beasts” do we have to tame this Lent and how could we accomplish that? What are the “outer beasts” we face and how do we transform those relationships? Who are the “angels” for whom we’re grateful and to whom could we become “angels” ourselves?

Have you ever felt like W. C. Fields, who once said, “Begin each day with a smile – and get it over with?” If so, you might be having a bad day, a “no” kind of day. We all have them – it's called life! The beauty of our Lenten walk is that even when people throw us all of those “can’t do’s” and “no way’s” and “shame on you’s,” the Lord continues to bring us to faith with his “yes, you can’s" and “way to go’s” and “wow, you did it’s.” How does he turn the “Nos” of life into his “Yes” of life? By being that big "yes" as he comes to live and suffer and die and be raised for us! Look at the cross each day of your journey. It’s in the form of a "yes!"

Our Responsorial Psalm this weekend, "Your ways O Lord, are love and truth to those who keep your covenant, reminds us to embrace God’s plan as it unfolds in our lives."

Ordinary Time 7

Today is the final Sunday of Winter Ordinary Time. Wednesday we begin the season of Lent. Lent already? Yes, another season of opportunity to grow in faith. Today, as we make our final preparations for Lent, the prophet Isaiah promises that God will wash away our offenses and remember our sins no more. Paul asserts that God has sealed us with the gift of the life-giving Spirit. Jesus, in forgiving the sins of the paralyzed man, bids us all “rise and walk” in newness of life. Looking forward to the “Lenten Spring” that will flower in the joy of Easter, may we humbly receive today both the challenge of God’s Word and the comfort of God’s generous pardon.

Preparation is crucial for a meaningful celebration. Advent prepares us for Christmas, Lent prepares us for Easter, and Mardi Gras prepares us for Lent. These alternating seasons of quiet and celebration help us notice and appreciate the fact that God is found not only in austerity and prayer but also in music and celebration. As a result, we experience the sustaining presence of God in every aspect of our lives. A good Mardi Gras will help us have a good Lent. A good Lent, in turn, ensures a spiritually rich Easter, which is the ultimate goal. So go ahead and celebrate Mardi Gras these days. Gather with your friends, enjoy some good food, for Wednesday we enter the desert.

Lent is an opportunity to grow in our faith. Spend some time in prayer with the insert in today’s bulletin to see where God may be calling you to participate through acts of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Make Lent 2012 one of your best!

Dear Lord, as I make my Lenten journey with You, send me your Spirit, help me to give of myself, help me to turn away from sin, and help me to fast and pray, so that I may know You and serve You better. Let me be renewed through my journey to share your grace with the world. Amen.

Our Responsorial Psalm this week, "Lord, heal my soul, for I have sinned against you," reminds us that the Lord is generous to those who are humble.

Ordinary Time 6

February 12 is not only the 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time, but it is also the birthday of President Lincoln. The Word of God we hear proclaimed this Sunday and the events of Lincoln’s life remind us that God’s ways are mysterious indeed. President Abraham Lincoln knew a thing of two about grief and the struggle to find God with the mystery of seemingly senseless loss. The year 1862 saw the death of his son Willie at the age of 11 of typhoid fever while the Civil War raged, bringing death and destruction to a divided nation. Lincoln struggled to find a divine purpose behind it all. Of the war he wrote: God “could have either saved or destroyed the Union without a human contest. Yet the contest began. And having begun He could give the final victory to either side any day. Yet the contest proceeds.” There may be no final, satisfactory answer to the mystery of suffering, but there is a response: compassion. Practice some toward everyone you meet.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Parish Appreciation Tailgate Party Committee for a job well done this past Sunday! A good time was had by all who attended!

Today is World Marriage Day. Let us pray that all husbands may have the wisdom and courage to help their wives grow and develop their talents to become all God wants them to be and that all wives may have the knowledge and the will to encourage their husbands to grow and fulfill all the rich potential that lies within them.

Tuesday is Saint Valentine’s Day, my mother’s 88th birthday. Happy birthday, Mom! On this day when we celebrate love, let us pray from Saint Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians: Love is patient, love is kind, it bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things, Love never fails.

Our Responsorial Psalm this week, "Lord, you fill me with the joy of salvation," reminds us to rejoice in thanksgiving for God’s gift of salvation.

Ordinary Time 5

Today is World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life. Today we pray for and give thanks to the men and women who publicly profess to live the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. Monks, hermits, contemplatives and religious priests, sisters and brothers represent the diversity of consecrated life recognized by the church. Those who choose this life are committed to imitating Christ, engaging in his ministries of spreading the Good News, and showing that “the world can be transfigured with the spirit of the Beatitudes” (CCC #932). Their witness reminds all of us that our lives have purpose and meaning beyond this age, so we’d better choose how we live our present days wisely.

Today we also give thanks to all of you for your dedication to Holy Cross Church, as we celebrate our 2nd Annual Parish Appreciation Tailgate Party. In particular, I thank so many of you who nominated the following for the Father Straub Service Award: Margie Altschaffl, Phil Ball, Jack Ciampaini, Georgie Gamberoni, Bill Gasper, Eleanor Hamrock, Rose McCaskie, Mike Repasky, Jeanie Savisky, John Zombar. The Pastoral and Finance Council choose Eleanor Hamrock as the awardee. Eleanor will receive the Fr. Straub Service Award at the Parish Appreciation Tailgate Party Sunday afternoon. One of the nomination forms said “Eleanor Hamrock: in my opinion, no one more exemplifies the unselfish spirit of service to our parish as sacristan and president of the Women's Guild.” We are extremely grateful for her service to Holy Cross!

Our readings today present us with a contrast between Jesus’ peaceful balance and Job’s bleak experience of life as an endless cycle of frenetic activity and troubled rest. With Lent drawing nearer, what does the balance look like in my life? How may I have to change if Lent, and discipleship, is to bear fruit in me and in my service to others?

Our Responsorial Psalm this week, "Praise the Lord, who heals the brokenhearted," proclaims goodness of the God who reaches out to heal us in our pain and sorrows.