The Friar Podcasts - preaching prayer and spiritual reflections

It is said that nature abhors a vacuum, and that was certainly the case in France in the sixteenth century. A long civil war led to a chaotic society. The emptiness of the age led both the king and the Church to seek to fill this emptiness with money and power.

Going Behind the word discusses how the first reading is an example of the steps of a covenant in the biblical world.

When I reflected on the reading for today, the Gospel spoke about denying yourself to take up the cross and follow God. Lent is about focusing on others rather than yourself and repenting for your wrongdoings. Selflessness is a virtue that I have been working on throughout my life. It is something that my mother is proficient in. As I reflected on this gospel, it gave me the idea of something my parents preach to me, which is that life will humble every person.

Today's homily discusses what would seem to be an obvious choice. We can choose life and prosperity or death and doom. Who wouldn't choose life? We do not choose life when we fail to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Jesus.

The homily today contrasts the fleeting aspects of life we put a lot of energy into succeeding at, with our faith which often does not elicit as much effort or discipline from us. In Going Behind the Word, we offer a quick refresher on the meaning of the Season of Lent.

Numerous times a day the introduction is the same. "Let us remember we are in the holy presence of God." Every prayer begins this way. And is seems more and more needed in the world today. Things are not as they should be. That is obvious.

What is also obvious, if we are willing to admit it, is that much of the messiness in the world is the result of our brokenness. We sin, and the effects of that sin reverberate around the world. Too bad it is not the case we could have a reset button.

The homily today is about the challenge to live a disciplined pray life. Going behind the Word unpacks what it means to live soberly.

What does it mean to live soberly? The American Heritage Dictionary offers one definition for the word sober. "Straightforward and serious; not exaggerated, emotional, or silly." What does this mean when applied to faith, or the way we live?

Let's look at other biblical verses to see if they offer any clue to what Saint Peter is suggesting in the first reading. Later in his letter, he writes this: "Be free, yet without using freedom as a pretext for evil, but as slaves of God." One aspect then may be seeing our actions for the faith in the context for that freedom that allows us to become what it is we are meant to be.

Sacrificing for the One You Love. While it may sound almost like a cliché, love requires sacrifice. And we really do know deeply that there is something very true about this. What good parent would not sacrifice for the sons and daughters? What good friend would not sacrifice for another friend?

And yet sometimes it can be difficult to think about our need to sacrifice for God. After all, what could God possibly need from us? The truth is nothing. God lacks nothing. Fasting is not done for God, but rather fasting is to help us to become more aware of our absolute and total need for God in our lives.

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The homily today addresses the two most difficult challenges outlined by Saint Thomas Aquinas concerning God. One is the problem of evil. The other is those who believe humans will come to know everything there is to know. A brief look at the world today indicates the second is still a long ways off. But that same look at the world indicates we need to account for evil in the world.