God often allows us to struggle in our doubts. It is a necessary part of the process of  growth, of learning. We need the chastening, purifying effects of uncertainty. If we always knew immediately the next step ahead, we would think the answers came from us; we would become self-satisfied. And so we wait upon God for the answers that will surely come, in sometimes unexpected ways.

St Joseph, pray for us. May we be as open to God’s grace in our lives as you were.May God show us his will in all the circumstances of our lives. Amen.

It is not the suffering that sanctifies or pleases God but the love that informs it. Even Jesus’ own death would have availed nothing had it not been the expression of his love for us. “Greater love than this no one has than to give one’s life for another.” The emphasis is on love, not suffering, not pain. The presence of pain only proves the intensity of the love but in itself it has no worth. “If I give my body to be burned,” St Paul tells us, ” but have not charity, I am as sounding brass or tinkling cymbal.” It avails me – or others – nothing.

We all aspire to greatness; we instinctively understand that we were born for greatness. But we fail to understand where true  greatness lies. James and John thought greatness was synonymous with heroism. And yes, there is heroism in living the Christian life – but not heroism for its own sake or for self-glorification. True Christian greatness is in imitation of the gentle Jesus who gave his all in doing good for others, even to the point of dying on the cross for us.

Clothing is an important part of life. How we dress, what we wear, the colors we choose – all are indications of who we are and often speak volumes. Yet they are not the final word – and cannot be. One cannot always judge a book by its cover.

The same holds true for us who wear a religious habit. We may all look the same – no jewelry or makeup, no colors to distinguish. But we do come in different sizes and with very different personalities and character traits that are not erased when we put on the religious habit. We remain who we are in or out of the habit. And that is where the challenge is. We are all challenged to ‘put on Christ,’ to clothe ourselves in his gentleness and humility, to be transformed by the inner renewal of our minds.

The phylacteries and tassels we choose are grace, being pleasing to God, denial of self and kindness to our neighbor – tassels and phylacteries that others may see and we ourselves be unaware of.

A preview of our program can be viewed by clicking the link below. We are excited about this upcoming event and hope we may see some of you there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Py-cH2PlBmo

Cardinal Ravasi, of the Pontifical Council of Culture, stated, “Indeed this essential encounter of faith and culture creates a continually renewing dialogue in which the treasures and insights of Christian experience purify and take on new shapes and forms in the changing cultural circustances of our times, encouraging society to be centered on the dignity of each and every human person and their potential to flourish.”

The highlight of this year’s Lentfest will be an exhibition of the Stations of the Cross and Resurrection, as well as a traveling production of the Martyrdom of St. John Ogilvie.

We are preparing for our second VISUAL PRAYERS Exhibit which will take place on Sunday, June 3 of this year.  The LENTFEST launched in Glasgow so well expresses what we hope to see realized by our Exhibit:  to give a face to the timeless reality of the beauty of faith in the culture of every age!   Come and visit our  Benincasa Gallery in New Castle and see some  images of  faith created by our Dominican Nuns in the US and Canada.

James asks us where our quarrels and conflicts come from and then answers his own question: “It is our own inner cravings. . . . We desire what another has and so we seek to destroy him in order to have it.” James also tells us that we do not have what we need because we do not ask for it in humble prayer – the emphasis is on ‘humble’ – because “God resists the proud but bestows his favor on the lowly.”

Here, in a nutshell, is our program for Lent: fasting from our evil desires and prayer. Fasting from food is good – but fasting from selfishness runs deeper. Prayer provides the strength. In yesterday’s Gospel Jesus reminds us “This kind [of demon] can only be cast out by  prayer and fasting.”

Today’s Gospel also points the way into our Lenten journey. Jesus was instructing his disciples about his coming sufferings and death. Here is where our attention is fixed in this holy season. The disciples did not want to hear of it so they began arguing among themselves about who was the most important. One can almost hear the strains of James again – quarreling and disputes. Their idea of the Kingdom was very different from the one Jesus was presenting. So Jesus had to correct them by placing a small child in their midst: A child – symbol of our smallness, our dependence on God, our need for help.

Tomorrow, Ash Wednesday, we begin anew. We can “repent and believe in the Gospel.” Happy Lent!

The Gospels have much to say about signs. John, for example,  tells us that everything Jesus did was a sign of God’s Presence among us: water turned into wine, the cure of the blind man, the raising of Lazarus, all tell us that something new is happening; that God is here among us. The synoptics point to the resurrection: “No other sign will be given except the sign of Jonah. As Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” And Paul offers the explanation: “Jews demand signs,” he says. “And Greeks look for wisdom. . . but we preach a Crucified Christ, a stumbling  block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles.”

The Gospel message turns our world upside down. God’s values are not yet our own. We do not yet understand that God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom and God’s weakness greater than our hman strength.

Lord, open our eyes that we may see. Enlighten our minds to understand, we pray.

On the other hand, in the Gospels we see Jesus constantly curing the sick, giving sight to the blind, casting out devils, bringing peace. Those with any ailments whatever flocked to him for healing. Sickness is not from God, Jesus tells us. God’s glory is [man] fully alive. It is for this that I have come – to bring us the fullness of life, and joy, and happiness. Our God is a living God, not a God of the dead, not a God of sickness. He wants to do the same for us.

Our poor world is not beyond repair. We need only come to Jesus. Once we admit our weakness and sinfulness, once we open ourselves to receive God’s grace, grace will be ours, in abundance, overflowing.  “I do will it,” Jesus tells us. “Be made clean.”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus upbraids the pharisees because they offer God mere lip-service but their hearts are far from him. They rely on works of The Law to justify themselves, puffing themselves up with pride and despising everyone else.

We all must labor for God; we all must do our part. But it is not our work that God wants – he wants our hearts; he wants us to fall in love with him. Here is the pearl of great price. When we love, everything we touch turns to gold; without love we are, as St Paul tells us, “a sounding gong, a clanging cymbal;” our works are useless.

And how do we know when we love God? Life itself is the proof: our values, our goals or purpose, our relationships to our neighbor – all these tell us where our hearts are.  St Paul tells us, “Charity (love) is patient and kind…. It does not envy…. It is not self-seeking….. It does not brood over injuries…. It rejoices in the truth.” And we learn from the Old Testament prophet Micah, “This is what the Lord requires of you: Only to act justly, to love faithfully, and to walk humbly with your God” (6:8).

In the end, we shall be judged by how we love, what we love. Love alone endures forever. All else, in the end, falls away.