Lenten Homily

Jesus Meek and Humble of Heart, make our hearts like unto Thine.

The Spirit of Advent is the Spirit of Hope in expectation of the Coming of Our Lord.

The Spirit of Christmas is the Spirit of Joy as we celebrate His Arrival.

The Spirit of Lent is the Spirit of Repentance as we turn our hearts back to God.

The Spirit of Easter is the Spirit of Praise of His Glorious victory of Sin and Death.

Those who are not hoping for Our Lord’s arrival will not be ready to welcome Him and celebrate His arrival.

Those who do not repented of their sins will not share in His Glorious victory over sin.

Penance

Lent, as you know, is the preparation for the celebration of Easter. Hearts and minds made pure through penance, that rejection of sin, all that displeases God and by abstaining from worldly pleasures, we are transformed in grace and filled with supernatural life.

The Modern world rejects penance, just as the ancient world did. But those of God freely and generously give themselves to God showing their love by sacrificing the things which may try to rival Him, like the pleasures of this world. And so there is a battle between the spirit and the flesh; a battle between doing things which please God vs doing the things which please me (my flesh).

Ga 5:16–26 I say then: Walk in the spirit: and you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the spirit: and the spirit against the flesh: For these are contrary one to another: so that you do not the things that you would.  But if you are led by the spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest: which are fornication, uncleanness, immodesty, luxury, Idolatry, witchcrafts, enmities, contentions, emulations, wraths, quarrels, dissensions, sects, envies, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like. Of the which I foretell you, as I have foretold to you, that they who do such things shall not obtain the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is, charity, joy, peace, patience, benignity, goodness, longanimity, mildness, faith, modesty, continency, chastity. Against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified their flesh, with the vices and concupiscences. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be made desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

Rom 8:5–11 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, indeed it cannot; and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

But you are not in the flesh, you are in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Any one who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although your bodies are dead because of sin, your spirits are alive because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit who dwells in you.

Importance of Faith

Sometimes we may think that the only thing important is that we be good people, it doesn’t matter what they believe. In today’s Gospel we see how the Samaritan woman grows in faith to the point of recognising Jesus at the Messiah, the Saviour.

First she call Jesus “a Jew”, then “Sir” (a man), then “a prophet” (something more than just a man, then “the messiah”, then “the Saviour of the world.” Faith is very important:

Hb 11:6; And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who approaches Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.

Jn 3:6; That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Jn 3:18; Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son

Jn 5:24; Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not come under judgement. Indeed, he has crossed over from death to life.

Hb 3:12-19; See to it, brothers, that none of you has a wicked heart of unbelief that turns away from the living God. But exhort one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.

We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly to the end the assurance we had at first. As it has been said:

“Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as you did in the rebellion.”

For who were the ones who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? And with whom was God angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would never enter His rest? Was it not to those who disobeyed? So we see that it was because of their unbelief that they were unable to enter.

Traditional Catholic Lenten Practices

On Ash Wednesday, all over the world, Catholics are going to be praying and fasting. It is a powerful day to ask for God’s forgiveness and for the salvations of Souls.

Confession: Do a very humble and sorrowful confession. Take the time to go over a very good examination of conscience and write down your sins so as to not forget them. Often we get nervous in the confessional and can forget them. Stating how many times and when was the last time you committed the sins. This helps the confessor to give you the right penance and to help you root out these vices. Never ever conceal sins because of shame. Especially be sorrowful for sacrilegious sins like having received Holy Communion with a mortal sin on your soul.

Daily Mass: It takes a lot of discipline to get up early to go to Holy Mass, but the fruits are well worth it. There is no greater prayer than the prayer of Jesus to the Father through the Holy Spirit in the Holy Mass in which we participate.

Pray the Holy Rosary. Meditate prayerfully on the Passion of Jesus (Sorrowful Mysteries) everyday during lent. It would be even more effective, if the whole family prays it together. The Rosary is the prayer which the Blessed Virgin has asked for on numerous occasions.

Read the Bible: Read and meditate on all that led up to the passion and crucifixion of Jesus. Each Gospel depicts the passion and crucifixion a little differently.

Pray the Stations of the Cross Slowly: Take yourself back in time to the Holy Land, retracing the steps of Jesus on His way to Calvary. Search for a good traditional pamphlet on the Stations and use it. This is usually done on Friday, but it would also be good to do every day of lent.

Read a good Catholic book: Like the “Imitation of Christ” or “The Secret of the Rosary“. Any book that will encourage and inspire you to be happier and holier.

Make time for heartfelt prayer: Talk heart to heart with the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. This is best done in front of the Blessed Sacrament. If for some reason you cannot go to a church, pray at home facing wherever the closest Tabernacle is in a nearby church. Then have faith that God has heard your prayers.

Disconnect from social media and News: Fast from Facebook, blogs and use your Cell Phone, computer, to the absolute minimum. I want to really emphasize this. We need to be connected to God instead, not the internet and the cell phone.

Fast by eating healthy and as a family: Make a firm promise to absolutely not buy any fast food. Sacrifice time to make healthy homemade meals that everyone can enjoy. Stay away from desserts and sodas. Set the table and enjoy each other's company.

Forgive and Pray for those who have hurt you: Forgive everything from the past, once and forever. Holding on to pain from our childhood, our parish, our spouses, does more harm to our spiritual life than you can imagine. “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us”, “Love your enemy”, “Pray for those who persecute you”, Jesus. Pray for all those who are destroying Catholic doctrine and liturgy too.