Archive for March, 2011

Second Sunday of Lent

Thursday, March 17th, 2011

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Genesis 12:1-4a             2 Timothy 1:8-10            Matthew 17:1-9

The readings for the Second Sunday of Lent highlight a tension between how we connect to God and to the world.  The Gospel reading is the story of the Transfiguration and in it Jesus brings disciples Peter, James, and John to Mt. Tabor.  The path to the summit of Mt. Tabor was steep and rugged; it was a dangerous journey.  As usual, when there is reference to a mountaintop in Scripture, it indicates a place to contact God, since mountains were seen as places where earth touches heaven.  At the summit Peter, James, and John are amazed by what they see.  Jesus is “transfigured”– he appears as a dazzling figure as radiant as the sun.  In addition, Moses and Elijah also appear and talk with Jesus.  Peter wants to maintain the special connection they experience by staying on the mountaintop and building shrines to what he witnessed.  Instead Jesus brings them away from the dazzling visions back down to everyday life where the sick and outcast were seeking healing.

This tension continues today.  Some prefer to stay focused on a one-way relationship with God in order to maintain a dazzling connection.  Jesus isn’t calling us to stay on a mountaintop or in shrines surrounded by like-minded people; Jesus teaches that our connection with God leads us to change the world.

Joan Chittister invites us to note with whom Jesus speaks at the summit of Mt. Tabor–Moses and Elijah.  They are not kings or other “powerful” people recognized in that culture.  Instead they are people who sided with the oppressed and the poor.  Moses led the Israelites out of slavery from Egypt and Elijah was known as a “troublemaker” prophet because he advocated for the poor.  As Chittister writes, “Real religion is not about building temples and keeping shrines.  Real religion is about healing hurts, speaking for and being with the poor, the helpless, the voiceless, and the forgotten who are at the silent bottom of every pinnacle…”

St. Marguerite d’Youville realized this in her ministry.  She advocated for the poor and the voiceless of Montreal and she and the Sisters of Charity have a legacy of healing hurts through healthcare ministry.  One of the beautiful images of her in our main lobby has this inscription: “She dared to build her dreams of mercy into deeds of love.”  We have the opportunity to do this every day in our healing ministry at St. Mary’s.  These works of mercy and the ability to act out of irrational love in caring for the sick and suffering are ways that we too can change the world and help build the kingdom of God.

-Elizabeth Keene
Mission Effectiveness

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First Sunday of Lent

Monday, March 14th, 2011

Sunday, March 13

Genesis 2:7-9; 3:1-7                           Romans 5:12-19                                 Matthew 4: 1-11

Temptation!

Have you ever been tempted?  Of course you and I have! Tempted to sneak a peek at a wrapped gift? Tempted to have an extra piece of double chocolate cake? Tempted to tell a lie when your assignment isn’t done?  Tempted to look at someone’s diary?  Tempted to lie about your age? Tempted to keep the change (10 cents, $1.00) that isn’t due you? Tempted to buy something you can’t afford?  Tempted to cheat on a test?  The list goes on and on.

In the first reading this week featuring the temptation of Adam and Eve, we see their lusting for food and power, which resulted in their disobedience to God. They could not resist temptation and the false promises of the serpent (Satan), so they fell into sin.  Do we disobey God in our daily lives?  Do we desire (lust for) money, things, relationships more than we desire God? When we fall to temptation, are we strong enough to ask for forgiveness?

The gospel this week also takes a look at the temptation of Jesus. We forget how very human Jesus was while on earth. When he had been fasting in the desert for 40 days and nights, he was very hungry!  Satan tempted Jesus to turn stones into loaves of bread to satisfy his hunger. He resisted, however.  Jesus also resisted the temptation of having to prove who he was/is. In the final temptation, Jesus resisted false power and adoring a false god.  Do we have false gods that we adore (money, possessions, etc.)?

The readings this week raise many questions. Some of those questions are unsettling, and they should be. As we enter the Lenten season, we are being asked to take stock of our lives – to really look at what is important. Are we willing to put aside our own selfish desires for God? During Lent, can we examine one area of our lives in which temptation takes hold of us and say NO to it?  Not just for the 40 days of Lent, but for good?  We are continuously being called to be a better people of God.

Dan Doyon
Pastoral Care

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Ash Wednesday and the Season of Lent

Monday, March 7th, 2011

March 9, 2011 is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of the Lenten season, our 6-week journey to Easter.  For most Christians it is a time of reflection about our lives and the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. It is a wonderful opportunity for spiritual growth and a change of heart.  During Lent the Church calls us to prayer, penance, and almsgiving as a way of making changes in our life and in our world.  May this Lenten season be a time during which you experience God’s steadfast love and grace each day.

“Ashes” are a symbol of our need and desire to make change in our life.  Many Christian denominations are familiar with this symbol. Ashes will be distributed during the 9:30 am Mass in the St. Mary’s Residence / d’Youville Chapel on March 9.  Additionally, Chaplains will distribute ashes to patients, residents, and staff who desire it on all the units both at the hospital and at d’Youville Pavilion.

During Lent, some common practices are fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday and abstinence from meat on those days and all the Fridays of Lent. Why would someone do this? The ancient practice of fasting, eating less than usual, has a purpose not only of penance but of becoming more aware of our need and hunger for God and spirituality.  The feeling of physical hunger and emptiness can remind us to be more open and ready to make room for God in our busy lives. Abstinence from meat is meant to be a form of penance as well. However, eating simply is the idea and the money saved from not eating meat or even expensive seafood could be given as alms to the poor or our local food pantry or soup kitchen.  It can be about sharing our wealth so that others may have what they need.

Last year I remember someone asking me: “What are you giving up for Lent?” I would like to address that tradition of “giving up.”  We do not give something up just for the sake of doing it and being proud of ourselves at the end of Lent.

We may need to ask ourselves the question: “What needs letting go?”

  • A particular negative attitude?
  • A type of addictive behavior?
  • A debilitating fear?
  • A lingering hurt or recurring sore point in my life to which I have been clinging for too long?

Or if we are to give up a material thing such as snacks, it could be for the purpose of saving money to give to the poor or for our own better health.  Giving up some TV time, for example, could allow someone to spend more time with a spouse or children or to take time to visit an elder, lonely, or sick person.  If we are to give up a good thing, it would be for an even greater good.

May you have a prayerful and productive Lenten Season by improving your life and the life of those around you.

Sr. Suzanne Beaudoin
Director of Pastoral Care

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