Come Away By Yourselves

The story of the prodigal son's older brother is a cautionary tale for committed Christians.  

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Jesus' parable of Lazarus and the rich man warns us of the danger of indifference.  Greed, gluttony, and vanity can all make us miss out on seeing the needs of others.

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Shortly before his death on Calvary Jesus is transfigured in glory on Mount Thabor.   Our spiritual lives have similar peaks and valleys.  This is no accident but an important part of God's will for us.  Learning how to use the peaks to navigate the valleys is a lesson we can learn from Jesus and the apostles' experience on Thabor and on Calvary.  

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Today we commemorate the establishment of the Papacy, the moment when Jesus appointed Peter as the rock upon which the Church is built giving him great authority.  During Lent, this is a reminder to pray for the Pope by offering some of our Lenten sacrifices for him.  

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Before he begins his public life of preaching, Jesus spends forty days fasting in the desert.   After this time of fasting, he is tempted by the Devil.   In Lent, we imitate Our Lord's forty days of prayer and fasting in the desert solitude.  The desert is a place free of distractions, where we come face to face with ourselves and with God.   Jesus' undergoing temptation reveals to us the hidden value of our own trials and temptations. 

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Lent is an excellent opportunity for conversion.  Turning away from our selfishness and disciplining the needs of our bodies, our souls and our spirits receive a new strength and vitality.   Our ability to focus in prayer and in life can be revitalized especially by limiting our tendency to curiosity, distraction and excessive entertainment. 

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Mystically united in the Body of Christ, Christians have the great consolation of depending on the intercession of the Saints.  The Communion of the Saints is also a call to responsibility.  Since we are all spiritually connected, our individual effort to live the Faith well supports all other members of Christ's Body. 

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In the Gospel of St. John, Jesus says, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work."  In the Christian life, the central attitudes of Jesus become more and more our own.  At the core of Jesus's personality, we find his love for doing his Father's will.  This makes him a beloved son, in whom the Father "is well pleased."  Our union with Jesus leads us to seek out and accomplish God's will for us day by day. 

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The great commandment is to love God "with all of your mind, with all of your heart, with all of your soul, and with all of your strength."  Adoration is how we love God most directly as God.  This humble recognition of God's holiness, transcendence, and radical goodness is essential for our lives as Christians.  Like most things, however, we have to learn to adore God by practicing it.  We need to enter into the presence of God in our prayer, be still, and "know that he is God."

During the stressful and uncertain moments of Holy Thursday, Jesus tells his disciples to trust in God and in Him.  This is the solution to having a troubled heart: a heart dominated by fear, worry and anxiety.  Our trust in God involves trusting in his Providence.  Providence is God's governance of the world and his guiding it to a good end.  Four key principles of our faith reveal to us that it is impossible to trust in God's Providence too much.