I- We are to do prayerful fasting: a) by following the example of Jesus before his public ministry, and b) by imitating the king and the people of Nineveh (Jon 3:7), who fasted in sackcloth pleading for mercy from the Lord God; of the Syrian King, Ben Hadad (I Kgs 20:31-34), who did not fast, but wore sackcloth and begged Israel’s King Ahab for his life); of Queen Esther who fasted, put ashes and dirt on her head and wore “garments distress” instead of her royal robes, begging God to save her people(Est 4:16); of the soldiers of Judas Maccabaeus who fasted so greatly they felt too weak to fight (1 Mc 3:17); and of St.  Paul who observed "frequent fastings" (2 Cor 11:27).

ASH WEDNESDAY 1-page Summary for an 8-minute homily

Introduction: Ash Wednesday (dies cinerum), is the Church’s Yom Kippur or the “Day of Atonement.” Its very name comes from the Jewish practice of doing penance wearing “sackcloth and ashes.” The Old Testament tells us how the people of Nineveh, King Ben Hadad of Syria, and Queen Esther fasted, wearing sackcloth and ashes. In the early Church, Christians who had committed serious sins were instructed to do public penance wearing sackcloth and ashes. The Church instructs us to observe Ash Wednesday and Good Friday as days of full fast and abstinence. Fasting is prescribed to reinforce our penitential prayer during the Lenten season. The prophet Joel, in the first reading, insists that we should experience a complete conversion of heart and not simply regret for our sins. Saint Paul, in the second reading, advises us “to become reconciled to God.” Today’s Gospel instructs us to assimilate the true spirit of fasting and prayer.
The blessing of the ashes and the significance of the day: The priest dipping his thumb into ashes (collected from burnt palms of the previous year’s Palm Sunday), marks the forehead of each with the sign of the cross , saying the words, "Remember that you are dust and to dust you will return" or “Repent and believe in the Gospel.” By marking the sign of the cross with ashes on the foreheads of her children, the Church gives us: 1- a firm conviction that a) we are mortal beings, b) our bodies will become dust when buried and ashes if cremated, and c) our life-span is very brief and unpredictable; 2- a strong warning that we will be eternally punished if we do not repent of our sins, become reconciled with God, asking His pardon and forgiveness, and do penance; and 3- a loving invitation to realize and acknowledge our sinful condition and return to our loving and forgiving God with true repentance and a renewal of our life as the prodigal son did.
Ash Wednesday messages: # 1: We need to purify and renew our lives during the period of Lent by repentance, which means expressing sorrow for sins by turning away from occasions of sins and making a right turn to God. We need to express our repentance by becoming reconciled with God daily, by asking for forgiveness from those whom we have offended and by giving unconditional forgiveness to those who have offended us.

2: We need to do prayerful fasting and little acts of penance for our sins, following the example of Jesus before his public ministry. Fasting reduces our “spiritual obesity” or the excessive accumulation of “fat” in our soul in the form of evil tendencies, evil habits and evil addictions. It also gives us additional moral and spiritual strength and encourages us to share our blessings with the needy. L/20

ASH WEDNESDAY Jl 2:12-18; II Cor 5:20---6:2; Mt 6:1-6, 16-18
Introduction: Ash Wednesday (dies cinerum) is the Church’s Yom Kippur or the “Day of Atonement.” Its very name comes from the Jewish practice of doing penance wearing “sackcloth and ashes.” In the early Church, Christians who had committed serious sins were instructed to do public penance wearing sackcloth and ashes. This custom was introduced by Pope Gregory I (served September 3, 590 to March 12, 604; McBrien, Lives of the Popes, p. 96), and it was enacted as a universal practice in all of Western Christendom by the Synod of Benevento in 1091 A.D. Since the 11th century, receiving ashes on the first day of Lent has been a universal Christian practice. Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of full fast and abstinence. Fasting is prescribed to reinforce our penitential prayer during the Lenten season. The prophet Joel, in the first reading, insists that we should experience a complete conversion of heart and not simply regret for our sins. Saint Paul, in the second reading, advises us “to become reconciled to God.” Today’s Gospel instructs us to assimilate the true spirit of fasting and prayer.
The blessing of the ashes and the significance of the day: The priest dipping his thumb into ashes (collected from burnt palms of the previous year’s Palm Sunday), marks the forehead of each with the sign of the cross , saying the words, "Remember that you are dust and to dust you will return" or “Repent and believe in the Gospel.” By marking the sign of the cross with ashes on the foreheads of her children, the Church gives us:
1- a firm conviction that a) we are mortal beings, b) our bodies will become dust when buried and ashes if cremated, and c) our lifespan is very brief and unpredictable;
2- a strong warning that we will be eternally punished if we do not repent of our sins and do penance; and
3- a loving invitation to realize and acknowledge our sinful condition and return to our loving and forgiving God with true repentance as the prodigal son did.
Ash Wednesday message: We are invited to effect a real conversion and renewal of life during the period of Lent by fasting, prayer, almsgiving, penance, and reconciliation. In fasting we sacrifice our love of “Self” so that we can become free to love God and others. In prayer we sacrifice our love of “time” to make time for the love of God. In almsgiving we sacrifice our love of “stuff” to make room for the love of others.
I- We are to do prayerful fasting: a) by following the example of Jesus before his public ministry, and b) by imitating the king and the people of Nineveh (Jon 3:7), who fasted in sackcloth pleading for mercy from the Lord God; of the Syrian King, Ben Hadad (I Kgs 20:31-34), who did not fast, but wore sackcloth and begged Israel’s King Ahab for his life); of Queen Esther who fasted “in garments of distress and mourning” and “covered her head with ashes and dung”, begging God to save her people (Est 4:16); of the soldiers of Judas Maccabaeus who fasted so greatly they felt too weak to fight (1 Mc 3:17); and of St. Paul who observed "frequent fastings" (2 Cor 11:27).
(Historical note: In the past, the Greek Orthodox Christians had 180 days of fasting and the Orthodox as well as Catholic Syrian Christians had 225 to 290 days of fasting every year. The Roman church also had a number of fast days. Technically speaking, fasting is now only required on two days in Lent, namely, Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. In the United States, in addition, abstinence alone is commanded on all Fridays of Lent).
Fasting: True fasting is “tearing one’s heart and returning to God” with true repentance for one’s sins (Jl 2:13). It is “breaking unjust fetters, freeing the oppressed, sharing one’s bread with the hungry, clothing with the naked and home with the homeless, and not turning away from the needy relatives” (Is 58:6-7).
Advantages of fasting: a - It reduces the excessive accumulation of “fat” in our soul in the form of evil tendencies and evil habits (=spiritual obesity).
b - It gives us additional moral and spiritual strength.
c - It offers us more time to be with God in prayer.
d - It encourages us to share our food and goods with the needy.
e - “There is joy in the salutary fasting and abstinence of Christians who eat and drink less in order that their minds may be clearer and more receptive to receive the sacred nourishment of God's word, which the whole Church announces and meditates upon in each day's liturgy throughout Lent” (Thomas Merton).
II - We are to lead a life of penance because:
1 - It is the model given by Jesus.
2 - It was his teaching: “If anyone wishes to follow me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me” and “Try to enter through the narrow gate.”
3 - Theological reasons: a) it removes the weakness left by sin in our souls, b) it pays the temporal debt caused by sin, and c) it makes our prayers more fruitful.
III - We are to enlarge our hearts for reconciliation.
By receiving the ashes, we confess that we are sinners in need of the mercy of God, and we ask forgiveness for the various ways in which we have hurt our brothers and sisters. In the recent past, our Catholic community has experienced acute suffering caused by the scandalous behavior of a few of our spiritual leaders. Lent is a time for forgiveness and reconciliation. Let us allow the spirit of forgiveness to work its healing influence in our parishes and families. God bless you.
Ash Wednesday agenda: By Almsgiving, we highlight others as being more important than ourselves and give ourselves to them as Jesus gave Himself to others. By Prayer, we highlight God as being most important in our life, magnifying Him, humbling ourselves (thus realizing the distance between Him and us), and trying to come to come closer to the Lord. By Fasting, we discover our personal self and see who we really are. Cutting, pruning and disciplining ourselves will be part of this job. Doing all these three things with joyful heart and mind will prepare us to rise with Jesus. (Fr. Raj).
Anecdotes: 1) The Potato Salad Promise: Tony Campolo tells about a Church that one day every year celebrates student recognition day. One year, after several students had spoken quite eloquently, the pastor started his sermon in a striking way: "Young people, you may not think you're going to die, but you are. One of these days, they'll take you to the cemetery, drop you in a hole, throw some dirt on your face and go back to the Church and eat potato salad." We may not like to acknowledge it, but someday, every one of us will have to face the "potato salad promise", that we will all die. "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust….."
2) Kill the Cyclops in you: The Cyclops is that strange monster of Greek mythology with one big eye in the middle of its forehead. We pretend to ignore the truth that, for 325 days of each year, we are all Cyclopes because there is ONE GREAT BIG “I” right in the middle of our heads! If we are skeptical about this assertion, we might watch our words for one day, from morning to night. What’s the first thing we think about each morning? “What am I going to do today? How will I do it? What will happen to me today? How will I feel today?” I, I, I. And all day long, what do we say to people? We say things like, “I think this” and “I think that” and “I agree” and “I disagree” and “I like this” and “I don’t like that” and “I just want to say…” I, I, I. And what’s the last thing that we think about at night? “I wish that so-and-so would stop doing thus-and-such to me” and “I really did a good job today” and “I wonder what I’ll do tomorrow.” The problem with seeing with one eye is that we’re half blind. Everything looks flat and two-dimensional because with only one eye, we have no depth-perception. Consequently, we go wrong in assessing people. In Greek mythology, the Cyclops was killed when Odysseus and four of his men took a spare staff of the Cyclops, hardened its tip in the fire and used that to destroy the monster’s one big eye. It is precisely this that we must do on Ash Wednesday. With two strokes of his thumb smeared with ash on our forehead, the priest will cross that “I” out of our head. By this sacramental ritual we are asked to take that “I” at the front of our mind and cross it out by “self-denial” and “self- mortification.” Doing so will help us to see the beautiful creatures of God all around us and replace “I” with “You." (Condensed from Fr. J. K. Horn).
3) “Do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the sign?” Some of the senior citizens here today can remember a song that was popular exactly 49 years ago this year. In 1971, a group from Canada called the Five Man Electrical Band had a hit called “Signs.” The song is about how signs are always telling us what to do, and the chorus says, “Do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the sign?” Nearly five decades later, the question it poses – “Can’t you read the sign?” — is one we might ask ourselves today. We are going to be signed with ash in the sign of our Faith, the cross. “Can’t you read the sign?” The cross of ashes means that we are making a commitment – that we are undertaking Lent as a season of prayer and penitence, of dying to ourselves. It also describes our human condition: it says that we are broken and need repair; that we are sinners and need redemption. Most importantly, it tells us that, as followers of Jesus Christ, we are to carry our crosses. It also reminds us that we are dust and ashes – mortal human beings carrying an immortal soul. (http://www.patheos.com/blogs/deaconsbench/)

4) A living children’s sermon: The Rev. Timothy J. Kennedy tells a wonderful true story that is perfect for Ash Wednesday. It was told to him by a colleague, Pastor Chris Mietlowski. It concerned a Baptism that Mietlowski once performed on an infant named Eric. During the Baptism, Mietlowski traced the cross of Christ on Eric’s forehead using the oil of catechumens. Following ceremony, Eric’s family celebrated the occasion with a big backyard party. Family and friends ate burgers and chips and played volleyball under a summer sun. Eric, being only six months old, was left to nap in his backyard stroller. When Mom got him up, whoops. Basted on Eric’s forehead was the image of the cross. Mom had forgotten to wash Eric’s forehead following his Baptism, and the oil that the pastor had traced onto his forehead acted the opposite of a sunscreen. The Cross of Christ was imprinted on Eric’s forehead as a sunburn. Eric’s Mom and Dad had to explain the cross to the pediatrician, to the neighbors, to the stranger in the grocery store. For a few weeks, Eric was nothing less than a [living] children’s sermon. It was only a bit of a sunburn to be sure, but [it was] the best basting a child can have to be marked with the cross.

5) Lent then and now: So, we begin another season of Lent. Those of you who are as old as I am will remember Lent as a more severe season than it seems to be today. The fasting required was more challenging; adults had to fast every day of Lent, and fasting included two meatless meals out of the three, with, of course, nothing between meals. Ash Wednesday and Good Friday demanded full abstinence from meat as well as fasting. So, Abstinence from meat was an everyday Lenten thing, not just an Ash Wednesday/all Lenten Fridays practice. We ate a lot of macaroni and cheese in those days! We made personal sacrifices, giving up smoking, candy, alcohol or something else that we really liked. And generally, we practiced self-denial on Sunday, not just on weekdays. We went to Church a lot more, whether to daily Mass or Stations of the Cross or for prayer. Many feel that Lent today is much easier. Encouragement is given to do positive things during Lent, so many don’t give up much anymore. Most people don’t find their life during Lent much different from their life in any other season. Following the Second Vatican Council, the Church decided to take a risk and to risk treating us like adults. While they removed many of the previous rules, they challenged us to observe the season of Lent with all seriousness, to take responsibility for our own spiritual growth. That is a lot harder than just following rules, but it also bears the potential of really making Lent a time to change our lives and truly become more Christlike. (Fr. Lawrence Mick).

6) The ash-cross sign versus swoosh sign: In 1971, an art student at Portland State University named Carolyn Davidson got a job doing some freelance design work for a local sporting goods company. They were looking for a company logo, an emblem. Carolyn Davidson came up with something in just a few hours. Everyone liked what she did and thanked her. For a day’s work, she was paid $35. Little did anyone realize what Carolyn Davidson had created. That design went on to generate billions—and made history. What she came up with is the now-famous Nike swoosh. It may be the most successful, most recognizable, most visible corporate symbol in the world. Anyone in any language knows exactly what it represents. And millions around the world know the phrase that goes with it: “Just do it.” Graphic designers will tell you it’s a symbol without equal in the world. But this morning, to begin the season of Lent, we will bear an emblem even greater, more visible, more powerful: the cross, made of ashes. We will wear it on our foreheads and carry it into the world as a sign of repentance, and sacrifice, and a quiet but purposeful desire to change. And our message—to ourselves and to those around us—is the same as the one from Nike: “Just do it!” (Deacon Greg Kandra)

FASTING AND ABSTINENCE FOR LENT

1. Everyone 14 years of age or older is bound to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and all the Fridays in Lent including GOOD FRIDAY.
2. Everyone 18 years of age and under 60 years of age is bound to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.
3. On these two days of fast and abstinence only one full, meatless meal is allowed. Two other meatless meals, sufficient to maintain strength, may be taken according to each one’s needs, but together they should not equal one full meal. Eating between meals is not permitted on these two days, but liquids, including milk and fruit juices, are allowed. When health or ability to work would be seriously affected, the law does not oblige.
4. To disregard completely the law of fast and abstinence is a serious matter.
5. Going to Mass every Sunday, doing acts of charity, forgiveness, and good deeds of virtue are obligations of daily life of Catholics especially during Lent.

[Prepared by: Fr. Anthony Kadavil, Chaplain, Sacred Heart Residence of the Little Sisters of the Poor, 1655 McGill Ave, Mobile, AL 36604 ]

ASH WEDNESDAY One-page summary of the homily

(L/19)Introduction: Ash Wednesday (dies cinerum) is the Church’s Yom Kippur or the “Day of Atonement.” Its very name comes from the Jewish practice of doing penance wearing “sackcloth and ashes.” The Old Testament tells us how the people of Nineveh (Jonah 3:5), King Ben Hadad of Syria (1 Kg 20:31-34), and Queen Esther (4:16) fasted wearing sackcloth and ashes. In the early Church, Christians who had committed serious sins were instructed to do public penance wearing sackcloth and ashes.  The Church instructs us to observe Ash Wednesday and Good Friday as days of full fast and abstinence. Fasting is prescribed to reinforce our penitential prayer during the Lenten season.  The prophet Joel, in the first reading, insists that we should experience a complete conversion of heart and not simply regret for our sins. In Psalm 51, our Responsorial Psalm today, the Psalmist acknowledges his sin and begs God for His Mercy. Saint Paul, in the second reading, advises us “to become reconciled to God.”  Today’s Gospel instructs us to assimilate the true spirit of fasting and prayer.

The blessing of the ashes and the significance of the day: The priest dipping his thumb into ashes (collected from burnt palms of the previous year’s Palm Sunday), marks the forehead of each with the sign of the cross, saying the words, "Remember that you are dust and to dust you will return" or “Repent and believe in the Gospel.” By marking the sign of the cross with ashes on the foreheads of her children, the Church reminds us a) that our bodies will become dust when buried and ashes if cremated, and b) that our life-span is very brief and unpredictable; 2- a strong warning that we will be eternally punished if we do not repent of our sins, become reconciled with God, asking His pardon and forgiveness, and do penance; and 3- a loving invitation to realize and acknowledge our sinful condition, return to our loving and forgiving God with true repentance as the prodigal son did and ask Him for the renewal of our life.

Ash Wednesday messages: # 1: We need to purify and renew our lives during the period of Lent by repentance, which means expressing sorrow for sins by turning away from occasions of sins and returning to God. We need to express our repentance by being reconciled with God daily, by asking for forgiveness from those whom we have offended and by giving unconditional forgiveness to those who have offended us. # 2: We need to do prayerful fasting and little acts of penance for our sins and share our blessings generously with others, following the example of 40 days of fasting and prayer by Jesus before his public ministry. Fasting reduces our “spiritual obesity” or the excessive accumulation of “fat” in our soul in the form of evil tendencies, evil habits and evil addictions.  It also gives us additional moral and spiritual strength and encourages us to share our blessings with the needy. (L/19)

ASH WEDNESDAY (March 6) Jl 2:12-18; II Cor 5:20---6:2; Mt 6:1-6, 16-18    

Introduction: Ash Wednesday (dies cinerum) is the Church’s Yom Kippur or the “Day of Atonement.” Its very name comes from the Jewish practice of doing penance wearing “sackcloth and ashes.” In the early Church, Christians who had committed serious sins were instructed to do public penance wearing sackcloth and ashes.  This custom was introduced by Pope Gregory I (served September 3, 590 to March 12, 604; McBrien, Lives of the Popes, p. 96), and it was enacted as a universal practice in all of Western Christendom by the Synod of Benevento (AD 1091). Since the 11th century, receiving ashes on the first day of Lent has been a universal Christian practice. It was Pope Urban II who in the 11th century recommended that all Catholics take part in the practice of receiving ashes on Ash Wednesday. In the 12th century it became customary that the ashes used on Ash Wednesday were made by burning the previous year’s palm branches.

Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of full fast and abstinence. Fasting is prescribed to reinforce our penitential prayer during the Lenten season.  The prophet Joel, in the first reading, insists that we should experience a complete conversion of heart and not simply sorrow for our sins. In Psalm 51, our Responsorial Psalm today, the Psalmist begs God for Mercy, acknowledges his sin, expresses his repentance and begs for a “clean heart: and a “steadfast spirit” with which to live a changed life and persevere in it. Saint Paul, in the second reading, advises us “to become reconciled to God.”  Today’s Gospel instructs us to assimilate the true spirit of fasting and prayer. According to the Bible scholar Dr. Watson, it is one of the great ironies of our
Faith that, on this day that seems so negative and so focused on death and sin, more people come to Church than on almost any day of the year, except Christmas and Easter. The reason probably is that today, we are all equally humbled before God, accepting the Lenten message: ‘Repent, believe the Good News, turn away from your sins and turn back to Jesus Christ.’

The blessing of the ashes and the significance of the day: The priest dipping his thumb into ashes (collected from burnt palms of the previous year’s Palm Sunday), marks the forehead of each with the sign of the cross, saying the words, "Remember that you are dust and to dust you will return" or “Repent and believe in the Gospel.” By marking the sign of the cross with ashes on the foreheads of her children, the Church gives us:

1- a firm conviction that a) we are mortal beings, b) our bodies will become dust when buried and ashes if cremated, and c) our life-span is very brief and unpredictable;

2- a strong warning that we will be eternally punished if we do not repent of our sins and do penance; and

3- a loving invitation to realize and acknowledge our sinful condition and return to our loving and forgiving God with true repentance as the prodigal son did.

Ash Wednesday message: We are invited to effect a real conversion and renewal of life during the period of Lent by fasting, penance, reconciliation and generous sharing.

1. We are to spent time in prayer, talking to God and listening to Him.

1. Prayer helps us to turn our attention to God and turn away from what keeps us from God.
2. When we pray, we listen to the Good News God whispers to us in mental prayer or through meditation on the Bible or in the Rosary.
3. By increasing the quality and the quantity of our prayer, we get strength to fight against our temptations and grow in intimacy or relationship with God. Our prayer life can be enhanced during Lent by participating in the daily Mass, by making the Stations of the Cross, and by reading the Holy Bible every day, applying the message to our lives.

II- We are to fast: a) by following the example of Jesus before his public ministry, and b) by imitating the king and the people of Nineveh (Jon 3:7), who fasted in sackcloth pleading for mercy from the Lord God; the Syrian King, Ben Hadad (I Kgs 20:31-34), who did not fast, but wore sackcloth and begged Israel’s King Ahab for his life); Queen Esther who fasted, put ashes and dirt on her head and wore “garments of distress” instead of her royal robes, begging God to save her people (Est 4:16); the soldiers of Judas Maccabaeus who fasted so greatly they felt too weak to fight (1 Mc 3:17); and St.  Paul who observed "frequent fastings" (2 Cor 11:27).

(Historical note: In the past, the Greek Orthodox Christians had 180 days of fasting and the Orthodox as well as Catholic Syrian Christians had 225 to 290 days of fasting every year.  The Roman Church also had a number of fast days. Technically speaking, fasting is now only required on two days, Ash Wednesday and Good Friday in Lent. In the United States, in addition, abstinence alone is commanded on all Fridays of Lent). 

Biblical Fasting:   True fasting is “tearing one’s heart and returning to God” with true repentance for one’s sins (Jl 2:13).  It is “breaking unjust fetters, freeing the oppressed, sharing one’s bread with the hungry, clothing with the naked and home with the homeless, and not turning away from the needy relatives” (Is 58:6-7). Fasting allows us to subordinate our bodily desires and needs to those of our soul. It allows us to control our desires rather than let them control us. By fasting we learn to control a desire that is necessary for survival (eating), and control desires for things that they don’t really need to survive, like drugs, sex or booze. Following the Biblical instruction, let us fast not only from food, but also from foul and dirty language, judging others, gossiping, and verbal negatives.

Advantages of fasting:  i) - It reduces the excessive accumulation of “fat” in our soul in the form of evil tendencies and evil habits (=spiritual obesity).

ii) - It gives us additional moral and spiritual strength.

iii) - It offers us more time to be with God in prayer.

iv)  - It encourages us to share our food and goods with the needy.

   v) - “There is joy in the salutary fasting and abstinence of Christians who eat and drink less in order that their minds may be clearer and more receptive to receive the sacred nourishment of God's word, which the whole Church announces and meditates upon in each day's liturgy throughout Lent” (Thomas Merton).

III - We are to lead a life of penance because:

1 - It is the model given by Jesus.

2 - It was his teaching: “If any one wishes to follow me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me” and “Try to enter through the narrow gate.”

3 - Theological reasons: a) it removes the weakness left by sin in our souls, b) it pays the temporary debt caused by sin, and c) it makes our prayers more fruitful.

IV - We are to enlarge our hearts for reconciliation.

By receiving the ashes, we confess that we are sinners in need of the mercy of God, and we ask forgiveness for the various ways in which we have hurt our brothers and sisters.  In the very recent past, our Catholic community has again experienced acute suffering caused by the scandalous behavior of a few of our spiritual leaders.  Lent is a time for forgiveness and reconciliation. “Now is the acceptable time. Now is the day of salvation!” Let us allow the spirit of forgiveness to work its healing influence in our parishes and families.  

V- We must share our blessings generously and sacrificially with others by almsgiving: Jesus, who gave everything down to his last drop of blood, tells us to follow him, by giving of ourselves, our time, our talents, and our money generously. By Almsgiving, we highlight others as being more important than ourselves and give ourselves to them as Jesus gave Himself to others. Pope Leo XIII said, "Once the demands of necessity and propriety have been met, the rest of your money belongs to the poor." St. John Chrysostom said—and St. Ambrose echoed him—"For the man who has two shirts in his closet, one belongs to him; the other belongs to the man who has no shirt."

Pope Francis (March 2017): Lent, the Holy Father also reminded, is the time for saying no. “No to the spiritual asphyxia born of the pollution caused by indifference, by thinking that other people’s lives are not my concern, and by every attempt to trivialize life, especially the lives of those whose flesh is burdened by so much superficiality. Lent means saying no to the toxic pollution of empty and meaningless words, of harsh and hasty criticism, of simplistic analyses that fail to grasp the complexity of problems, especially the problems of those who suffer the most. “Lent is the time to say no to the asphyxia of a prayer that soothes our conscience, of an almsgiving that leaves us self-satisfied, of a fasting that makes us feel good. Lent is the time to say no to the asphyxia born of relationships that exclude, that try to find God while avoiding the wounds of Christ present in the wounds of his brothers and sisters: in a word, all those forms of spirituality that reduce the faith to a ghetto culture, a culture of exclusion.” Time to Remember:

Lent, he added, is a time for remembering, and asking ourselves what we would be if God had closed his doors to us. “What would we be without his mercy that never tires of forgiving us and always gives us the chance to begin anew? “It is a time to set aside everything that isolates us, encloses us and paralyzes us.” Pope Francis concluded, noting, “Lent is a time of compassion”

Anecdotes: ("Stories have power. They delight, enchant, touch, teach, recall, inspire, motivate, challenge. They help us understand. They imprint a picture on our minds. Consequently, stories often pack more punch than sermons. Want to make a point or raise an issue? Tell a story. Jesus did it. He called his stories ‘parables.'"(Janet Litherland, Storytelling from the Bible). In fact Mark 4:34 says, "he [Jesus] did not speak to them without a parable..."Visit the article: Picturing the Kingdom of God by Fr. Brian Cavanaugh, TOR: http://www.appleseeds.org/picture.htm).

1) “Do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the sign?” Some of the senior citizens here today can remember a song that was popular exactly 48 years ago this year.  In 1971, a group from Canada called the Five Man Electrical Band had a hit called “Signs.” The song is about how signs are always telling us what to do, and the chorus says, “Do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the sign?” Almost five decades later, the question it poses – “Can’t you read the sign?” — is one we might ask ourselves today. We are going to be signed with ash in the sign of our Faith, the cross. “Can’t you read the sign?” The cross of ashes means that we are making a commitment – that we are undertaking Lent as a season of prayer and penitence, of dying to ourselves. It also describes our human condition: it says that we are broken and need repair; that we are sinners and need redemption. Most importantly, it tells us that, as followers of Jesus Christ, we are to carry our crosses. It also reminds us that we are dust and ashes – mortal human beings carrying an immortal soul. (http://www.patheos.com/blogs/deaconsbench/)

2) The Potato Salad Promise: Tony Campolo tells about a Church that one day every year celebrates student recognition day. One year, after several students had spoken quite eloquently, the pastor started his sermon in a striking way: "Young people, you may not think you're going to die, but you are. One of these days, they'll take you to the cemetery, drop you in a hole, throw some dirt on your face and go back to the Church and eat potato salad." We may not like to acknowledge it, but someday, every one of us will have to face the "potato salad promise", that we will all die. "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust....."

3) Kill the Cyclops in you: The Cyclops is that strange monster of Greek mythology with one big eye in the middle of its forehead.  We pretend to ignore the truth that, for 325 days of each year, we are all Cyclopes because there is ONE GREAT BIG “I” right in the middle of our heads!  If we are skeptical about this assertion, we might watch our words for one day, from morning to night.  What’s the first thing we think about each morning? “What am I going to do today?  How will I do it?  What will happen to me today?  How will I feel today?”  I, I, I.  And all day long, what do we say to people?  We say things like, “I think this” and “I think that” and “I agree” and “I disagree” and “I like this” and “I don’t like that” and “I just want to say...”  I, I, I.  And what’s the last thing that we think about at night?  “I wish that so-and-so would stop doing thus-and-such to me” and “I really did a good job today” and “I wonder what I’ll do tomorrow.”  The problem with seeing with one eye is that we’re half blind. Everything looks flat and two-dimensional because with only one eye, we have no depth-perception.  Consequently, we go wrong in assessing people. In Greek mythology, the Cyclops was killed when Odysseus and four of his men took a spare staff of the Cyclops, hardened its tip in the fire and used that to destroy the monster’s one big eye.  It is precisely this that we must do on Ash Wednesday. With two strokes of his thumb smeared with ash on our forehead, the priest will cross that “I” out of our head.  By this sacramental ritual we are asked to take that “I” at the front of our mind and cross it out by “self-denial” and “self- mortification.”  Doing so will help us to see the beautiful creatures of God all around us and replace “I” with “You."  (Condensed from Fr. J. K. Horn)

     Cyclopes     

4) A living children’s sermon: The Rev. Timothy J. Kennedy tells a wonderful true story that is perfect for Ash Wednesday. It was told to him by a colleague, Pastor Chris Mietlowski. It concerned a Baptism that Mietlowski once performed on an infant named Eric. During the Baptism, Mietlowski traced the cross of Christ on Eric’s forehead using the oil of catechumens.  Following ceremony, Eric’s family celebrated the occasion with a big backyard party. Family and friends ate burgers and chips and played volleyball under a summer sun. Eric, being only six months old, was left to nap in his backyard stroller. When Mom got him up, whoops! Basted on Eric’s forehead was the image of the cross. Mom had forgotten to wash Eric’s forehead following his Baptism, and the oil that the pastor had traced onto his forehead acted the opposite of a sun-screen. The Cross of Christ was imprinted on Eric’s forehead as a sunburn. Eric’s Mom and Dad had to explain the cross to the pediatrician, to the neighbors, to the stranger in the grocery store. For a few weeks, Eric was nothing less than a [living] children’s sermon. It was only a bit of a sunburn to be sure, but [it was] the best “basting” a child can have to be marked with the cross.

5) Nail post: As a preparation for Lent, a father wanted his son to really understand the importance of making right choices, of obeying and doing what's right. And so if his son made a bad choice or a wrong decision, he'd give him a hammer and a nail to take out into the backyard and pound into a fence post. Every day the son went through the whole day making good decisions, he'd let the boy go out and take out one of those nails. Until the boy was fifteen, there were always two or three nails in the post, -seemed he'd be nailing new ones as often as he'd pull out others. The youth started to mature and make better decisions and finally one day all the nails were removed from the post. That was when his dad took him back and said, "I want you to notice something about the post." The son looked at the post for a moment and realized that all the nails that once were driven in and then later removed had left small holes in the post. The holes were the remaining effects of the nails. His dad said," I want to tell you something son, about bad choices and decisions. Even though you may be totally forgiven from your bad choices or decisions, and there are no nails visible, there are the remaining effects, the consequences, of those choices or decisions; just like the holes in that fencepost."

6) Find someone in need: Dr. Karl Menninger, the famous psychiatrist, once gave a lecture on mental health, and then answered questions from the audience. "What would you advise a person to do," asked one man, "if that person felt a nervous breakdown was coming on?" Most people expected him to reply, "Consult a psychiatrist." To their disappointment he replied, "Lock your house, go across the railway tracks, find someone in need and do something to help that person." -Don't sit and pout. Get up and do something for others! (Brian Cavanaugh in The Sower's Seeds).

7) Why are you late to return from school?  Ronald Levy, a first grader in Philadelphia, was told to come home directly from school, but he was late almost every day. The difference was as much as 20 minutes. His mother asked him: “Why is it that the schools ends each day at the same time, and you get home so much later?” He replied: “It depends on the cars.” “What do the cars have to do with it?” “Well,” he said, “The Patrol boy was told to stop the cars, so we can cross the road. Sometimes we have to wait for a long time for there to be cars so he can stop them for us!” Lent is the period where God invites us to stop the ‘cars’, so God can get more focus and attention in our lives. 

FASTING AND ABSTINENCE FOR LENT

1. Everyone 14 years of age or older is bound to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and all the Fridays in Lent, including GOOD FRIDAY.

2. Everyone 18 years of age and under 60 years of age is bound to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

3. On these two days of fast and abstinence only one full meatless meal is allowed. Two other meatless meals, sufficient to maintain strength, may be taken according to each one’s needs, but together they should not equal one full meal. Eating between meals is not permitted on these two days, but liquids, including milk and fruit juices, are allowed. When health or ability to work would be seriously affected, the law does not oblige.

4. To disregard completely the law of fast and abstinence is a serious matter. 5. Going to Mass every Sunday, doing acts of charity, forgiveness, and good deeds of virtue are obligations of daily life of Catholics especially during Lent. 

Prepared by: Fr. Anthony Kadavil, Chaplain, Sacred Heart Residence of the Little Sisters of the Poor, 1655 McGill Ave, Mobile, AL 36604.

1. Michael Jordan, 1995. Quits basketball, only to make his first triumphant comeback.   
2. Muhammad Ali, 1974. Seven years after being stripped of his title and his boxing license, defeats George Foreman in Zaire to win back the belt.  
3. Japan and Germany, 1950s. They were the former Axis Powers which rose from the ashes of World War II to become industrial superpowers.   
4. Jesus Christ, 33 A.D. Defies Jewish critics and stuns the Romans with his Resurrection. It was the greatest comeback of all time. And He’s been specializing in comebacks ever since.  

EASTER SUNDAY

(Acts.10:34,37-43, Ps.118:1-2,16-17,22-23, Col.3:1-4 & Jn.20:1-9)

MARY MAGDALENE AND THE EMPTY TOMB

Today is Easter Sunday. The day the entire Christendom gathers to celebrate with great joy JESUS' GLORIOUS RESURRECTION, with a resounding chorus of joy: ALLELUIA! THE LORD HAS RISEN.The Devil has been defeated through JESUS' GLORIOUS RESURRECTION.Therefore, the entire Church, gathers to celebrate this eternal victory of Christ over sin and death.

Nevertheless, it must be observed that, THE VERY FIRST EASTER DAY did not begin on a joyous note for Jesus' Followers. Peter and the ten remaining apostles where hiding in the Upper Room grieving the death of Jesus as they were filled with the fear of what the Jewish religious authority who killed their Master might do to them.

Meanwhile, very early in the morning after the Sabbath, as today's Gospel reading (Jn.20:1-9) relates, MARY MAGDALENE went to the tomb to perform the burial rituals that could not be properly done earlier on Friday because of the Passover and the observance of the Sabbath. Hence, the body of Jesus was hurriedly buried owing to the Sabbath preparations. Therefore, Mary Magdalene wasn't going to the tomb that early morning of the first day of the week, to see the Risen Lord but rather to anoint his body lying in the tomb.

In fact, the main worry of Mary Magdalene was, 'WHO WILL ROLL OFF FOR HER THE BIG STONE FROM THE TOMB?' However, when she arrived at the tomb she discovered that the stone had been removed already and that the tomb was empty. She then ran to tell her story to Peter and the other disciple whom Jesus loved, that, they have stolen away Jesus’ body. On hearing this, Peter in turn hurried to the tomb with the other disciple. The other disciple reached the tomb first but did not enter and when Peter came later, he entered and witnessed the empty tomb and then he understood, what Jesus had told them earlier while with them that, "he had to rise from the dead." The other disciple then entered, saw and believed. This was the moment that their mourning was turned into joy, and they began to proclaim, that THE LORD HAS RISEN!

Obviously, the faith and love of Mary Magdalene is quite remarkable. But first let us get it clear who this Mary Magdalene actually is. Mary Magdalene is often been confused by some scholars with the repentant woman who anointed Jesus' feet and wiped them with her hair and whose name wasn’t recorded in the Gospels.

However, Mary Magdalene is rather the woman, whom Jesus had driven seven demons out of her as recorded in Mk.16:9. Each of these seven demons must have raked the life of woman. Such that, right from the moment she was delivered and healed, Mary Magdalene had remained a prominent disciple of Jesus and never looked back in following the Lord. She was among those who provided for Jesus and his Apostles out of their own resources.

Therefore, Mary Magdalene must have been a gracious woman of immense substance. She remained among the very few who followed Jesus with Mary the mother of Jesus to Calvary, when many of His disciples had fled for fear. And being the eve of the Sabbath, Mary Magdalene was not able to embalm the body of Jesus as it should. However, she remarked the tomb and planned to go there very early after the Sabbath. This is love and faith in action.

On this Mary Magdalene was the very first of disciple of Jesus to discover the empty tomb and she announced this to Peter and the other apostles. On this, she is over the years being referred to as THE APOSTLE OF THE APOSTLES. Again, according to the Synoptic Gospel accounts, Mary Magdalene is the one to whom the Risen Lord appeared first and was asked to go and tell his disciples. This explains the reason why Pope Francis in 2016 raised the Memorial of St Mary Magdalene to the dignity of a FEAST, (July 22), the same rank given to the liturgical celebration of the Apostles.

Like Mary Magdalene, we in our own era, are the present apostles of the Risen Lord. WE ARE THEREFORE, CALLED TO RUN WITH JOY TO SHARE AND PROCLAIM TO OTHERS THE RISEN LORD, BY THE WAY WE LIVE AND UPHOLD THE VALUES WHICH JESUS DIED FOR. For us to do this effectively, we have to firstly develop a strong COURAGE, FAITH AND LOVE in the Risen Lord as Mary Magdalene did. We have to accept the Good News of Jesus' Death and Resurrection not with SCEPTICAL DOUBT but with TRUSTING FAITH AND JOYFUL WONDERMENT.

To know the Lord Jesus and experience the power of His resurrection is at the heart of bearing Him befitting witness with our lives, giving Him the first place in our lives and allowing His teaching and values to determine and colour our daily decisions and choices. As we experience the Risen Lord, may we be healed and strengthened all the more to make Him known and loved. HAPPY EASTER TO YOU ALL.

Reflection by
Fr Damian Ikemefuna Ozokwere cssp

1. The word of Forgiveness: “Then said Jesus, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do’" (Luke 23:34). While the crucified convicts would shriek and curse and spit at the spectators, Jesus, innocent of any crime against God or humanity, betrayed, arrested, scourged and condemned, did not. Now, from the cross, Jesus' thoughts reached above his pain and rejection. Instead of being consumed with his own pain and misery, Jesus asked forgiveness for those responsible for the evil done to him - and by extension, for all who ignorantly go the way of sin and death. Jesus prayed for those who condemned Him, mocked at Him and nailed Him to the Cross - and for those who from all the nations and down through the years would crucify him by their sins. Jesus is practicing what He preached - unconditional, forgiving love.  One day Jesus preached on the mountain, "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that spitefully use you and persecute you" (Mt 5:44).  Jesus reminded Peter that there should not be any limit to forgiveness.  He sadly addressed Judas, leading the soldiers to arrest him, as friend.  It is this model which the first Martyr Stephen followed (Acts 7:60).  Archbishop Oscar Romero, the outspoken champion of the oppressed, said the same first word of Jesus from the cross, as he was shot dead at the altar.  St. Cyprian gave gold coins as his farewell gift to his executioner, and St. Thomas More hugged and kissed his executioner.  It was Christ's unconditional forgiveness, with the darkness at noon, the earthquake, and which prompted the centurion in charge of Jesus' crucifixion to proclaim, "Truly he was the Son of God."

CHALLENGE TO CARRY OUR CROSSES (One-page summary)
(A)The cross and the crucifix are meaningful symbols, as the dove
symbolizes peace and the heart symbolizes love. The crucifix and the cross are
the symbols of the loving and sacrificial offering of self for others. 1) It is only in
the cross that we see the face of God’s love. 2) the cross is the symbol of the
remission of our sins: “But he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins,
upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we were
healed.” (Is 53:5). 3) The cross is the symbol of humble self-emptying for others.
4) the cross is the symbol of the risen Christ who promises us a crown of glory as
a reward for our patient bearing of our daily crosses.
(B) The Cross always means pain. But my pain is Christ’s cross 1) When I offer
my suffering with His on the cross for the salvation of all of us. 2) when we share
our blessings sacrificially with others. 3) The pain we suffer in controlling our evil
tendencies 4) It is, as well, the pain and humiliation we suffer by standing with
Jesus, his ideas and ideals.
(C) Our crosses come to us mainly from four sources. Some of our crosses,
like diseases, natural disasters and death, are rise from natural causes. We face
other crosses when we do our duties faithfully. Our friends and enemies supply a
few of our crosses. Finally, we ourselves cause many of our crosses as natural
consequences of careless living and evil habits and addictions.
(D)Carrying the cross means willingly accepting the pain involved in serving
others sacrificially. It also means spending our time, talents, wealth, and health
for others until it hurts us. Cross-bearing is also our sacrificial sharing of God’s
blessings with others. Further, it includes our doing penance to make reparation
for our sins and to grow in self-control. Carrying one’s cross becomes easier and
more meritorious when we accept life’s crosses as loving gifts given by a loving
Father. The comparison of our light crosses with the heavy crosses given to
others should make us grateful. Finally, we should carry our crosses, praying for
Heavenly strength.
(E) Why should we carry our crosses willingly? First, cross-bearing is a
condition for Christian discipleship. Jesus said: "Whoever wishes to come after
me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me” (Mt 16:24). Second, it is
by carrying our crosses that we make reparation for our sins and for the sins of
others related to us. That is why St. Paul said that he was suffering in his body
what is “lacking” in Christ’s suffering. Third, it is by carrying our crosses that we
become imitators of Christ in his suffering for us. St. Paul explains it thus: “I have
been crucified with Christ; yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me.” (Gal 2:
19-20).
Life messages for Good Friday: (1) We should carry our crosses with the
right motives: Not like a lazy donkey, cursing its fate or angry oxen protesting its
load or hired worker working only for his wage. We should carry our crosses like
a loving wife who nurses her paralyzed husband or sick child, with sacrificial love

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and dedicated commitment. The carrying of our crosses becomes easier when
we compare our light crosses with the heavy crosses of terminally ill patients or
patients in emergency wards. We need to draw strength and inspiration from Jesus Who
walks ahead of us carrying his heavier cross, while supporting us in carrying our
crosses. (2) We should plant the cross of Christ in our daily lives: We have to begin
every day with a sign of the cross, asking the blessing and protection of the crucified
Lord in our lives that day. A loving, prayerful touch on the cross we wear on our body
will encourage us to serve others selflessly.
Full text of the homily: Homily starter anecdote: Alzheimer's
patient remembered the cross of Jesus. President Ronald Reagan’s family
watched in pain as he lost different aspects of his brilliant memory due to
Alzheimer's disease. First, he began forgetting ordinary things like how to turn on
the shower or to use a toaster. Soon he could no longer remember people who
were his old friends or close work associates. Then he began to forget even who
his children were and finally his wife. As the Reagan’s life was drawing to an end,
his family gathered around his bed. He knew none of them. Five day’s before his
death his wife Nancy Reagan placed a small cross in his hand. At first he
seemed puzzled, then looked intently and said, “Jesus” and closed his eyes. On
the day he died after 1 p.m., as Nancy Reagan held his hand, Ronald Reagan
opened his eyes, which he hadn‘t opened in five days, looked right at his wife of
52 years. Then he closed his eyes and he had his last breath.
(A)The cross and the crucifix are meaningful symbols, as the dove
symbolizes peace and the heart symbolizes love. The crucifix and the cross are
the symbols of the loving and sacrificial offering of self for others. First, it is only
in the cross that we see the face of God’s love. There is no greater love than that
of a person who is willing to die for another, and the cross tells this love story.
Second, the cross is the symbol of the remission of our sins: The Bible says that
when Jesus died he took all our sins to himself on the cross, and so he
conquered sin and the devil's power forever. Whenever we see the cross we
should realize that Jesus was bruised, crushed and died for our iniquities. “But he
was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins, upon him was the
chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we were healed.” (Is 53:5).
Third, the cross is the symbol of humble self-emptying for others. It is the symbol
of the cross-bearing Christ leading us in our life’s journey of pain and suffering,
carrying his heavier cross and still encouraging us, strengthening us and
supporting us. Fourth, the cross is the symbol of the risen Christ who promises
us a crown of glory as a reward for our patient bearing of our daily crosses.

(B) The Cross always means pain. But the pain I suffer for myself is not
Christ’s cross. The true cross of Christ is the pain I suffer for others. It is the
sanctifying pain involved in sharing our blessings sacrificially with others. It is the
pain involved in controlling our evil tendencies in an attempt to attain a higher
degree of holiness. It is the pain involved in standing with Jesus his ideas and

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ideals and gladly following him even if that means scorn and humiliation from the
rest of the world.
(C) We have our crosses mainly from four sources. Some of our crosses like
diseases, natural disasters, death are given by Mother Nature. We face some
other crosses when we do our duties faithfully. Our friends and enemies supply a
few of our crosses. Finally we ourselves create many of our crosses by careless
living and evil addictions.
(D) On Good Friday we should ask the question: why should we carry our
crosses? First, cross-bearing is a condition for Christian discipleship. Jesus
said: "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross,
and follow me.” Second, it is by carrying our crosses that we make reparation for
our sins and for the sins of others related to us. That is why St. Paul said that he
was suffering in his body what is “lacking” in Christ’s suffering. Third, it is by
carrying our crosses that we become imitators of Christ in his suffering for us. St.
Paul explains it thus: “I have been crucified with Christ; yet I live, no longer I, but
Christ lives in me.” (Gal 2: 19-20).
Life messages: (1) We should carry our crosses with the right motives: It
means that we should not carry our crosses by cursing our fate as does the
donkey carrying its load. Nor should we protest as do the bulls or horses pulling
their carts. Our motive should not be reward by God as the hired workers work
for their wages. We should carry our crosses like a loving wife who nurses her
paralyzed husband or sick child, with sacrificial love and dedicated commitment.
The carrying of our crosses becomes easier when we compare our light crosses
with the heavy crosses of terminally-ill patients or patients in emergency wards.
We need to draw strength and inspiration from Jesus Who walks ahead of us
carrying his heavier cross while supporting us in carrying our crosses.
(2) We should plant the cross of Christ in our daily lives: We have to begin
every day with a sign of the cross, asking the blessing and protection of the
crucified Lord in our lives that day. Our repeated promise of sharing the crucified
Lord’s love with others around us at home and at our place of work, will enable
us to live dynamic Christian lives. A loving, prayerful touch on the cross we wear
on our body will encourage us to serve others selflessly with real commitment.
Such prayer will also open our hearts to receive immunity from a lot of
temptations and an increase of divine strength to fight and defeat stronger
temptations. At the end of the day, we can make an examination of conscience
by reviewing how much or how little we have stayed upon the foundation of
Christ's cross.
(3) We should heal our inner wounds through the cross of Christ: An area
where it is very important for us to apply the cross of Christ in our life concerns
the area of inner healing. We all need healings from those wounds to our
character that we sustained early in life, especially during our first seven years.

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Someone who has an abusive or withdrawn father or a critical mother will
develop specific character traits in an attempt to respond to the wounding, for
example, a tendency to anger or a tendency to fear and withdrawal. The good
news is that the cross of Christ can heal and undo even these early wounds to
our character because every moment of our life is present to God and hence He
can heal the wounds in our past. Part of this healing involves repenting of the
sinful ways in which we have responded to those wounds. Forgiveness is vital to
such healing. If we do not forgive those who have wounded us we are actually
holding on to the bitterness and hurt in our hearts and this will completely block
healing and transformation. Thus, through the cross of Christ, inner healing is
accomplished in accord with the pattern of dying and rising with Christ.
Additional Anecdotes:1) Powdered Christian. You might remember
comedian Yakov Smirnoff. When he first came to the United States from Russia
he was not prepared for the incredible variety of instant products available in
American grocery stores. He says, "On my first shopping trip, I saw powdered
milk--you just add water, and you get milk. Then I saw powdered orange juice--
you just add water, and you get orange juice. And then I saw baby powder, and
I thought to myself, “What a country!" Smirnoff is joking, but we make these
assumptions about Christian Transformation. We go to church as if we are going
to the grocery store: Powdered Christian. Just add water and disciples are born
not made. Unfortunately, there is no such powder, and disciples of Jesus Christ
are not instantly born. We must understand what it means to be a disciple. Does
this mean denying ourselves? YES. Does this mean that just saying that you
follow Jesus is enough? NO, it is not. We read in Matthew’s gospel, “Whoever
wishes to come after Me must deny himself, take up his cross and follow Me”
(Matthew 16: 24)
2) Anecdote no 2: The Soviet premier’s cross: In 1962, President John F.
Kennedy met USSR's Premier Nikita Khrushchev in Vienna. Their wives were
present. The US State Department warned Mrs. Kennedy to avoid Mrs.
Khrushchev. Mrs. Kennedy did not follow the advice. She gave a silver plate as a
gift. Mrs. Khrushchev was embarrassed, for she had no gift. She searched
through her large handbag. Finally she found a cross. The premier's wife of the
officially Godless USSR gave the cross to Catholic Jacqueline Kennedy. Though
neither spoke each other's language, the cross served as their translator.

Fr. Antony Kadavil

SYNOPSIS OF HOLY THURSDAY MASS OF THE LORD’S SUPPER HOMILY

Introduction: On Holy Thursday we celebrate three anniversaries: 1) the anniversary of the first Holy Mass, 2) the anniversary of the institution of ministerial priesthood in order to perpetuate the Holy Mass, convey God’s forgiveness to repentant sinners and preach the Good News of Salvation, and 3) the anniversary of Jesus’ promulgation of His new commandment of love: “Love one another as I have loved you.” Today we remember how Jesus transformed the Jewish Passover into the New Testament Passover.  The Jewish Passover was, in fact, a joint celebration of two ancient thanksgiving celebrations.  The descendants of Abel, who were shepherds, used to lead their sheep from the winter pastures to the summer pastures after the sacrificial offering of a lamb to God.  They called this celebration the “Pass over."   The farming descendants of Cain, however, held a harvest festival called the Massoth in which they offered unleavened bread to God as an act of thanksgiving.  The Passover feast of the Israelites (Exodus 12:26-37), was a harmonious combination of these two ancient feasts of thanksgiving, commanded by the Lord God and celebrated yearly by all Israelites to thank God for the miraculous liberation of their ancestors from Egyptian slavery, their exodus from Egypt and final arrival in the Promised Land.

Scripture lessons:  In the first reading, God gives the Hebrews two instructions: prepare for the moment of liberation by a ritual meal and make a symbolic mark on your homes to exempt the families within each from the coming slaughter. In the second reading, Paul suggests that the celebration of the Lord's Supper was an unbroken tradition from the very beginning of the Church. By it, Christians reminded themselves of the death and Resurrection of Jesus.  Today’s Gospel describes how Jesus transformed the Jewish Passover into the Eucharistic celebration. After washing the feet of his Apostles and commanding them to do humble service for each other, Jesus concluded the ceremony by giving his Apostles his own body and blood under the appearances of bread and wine as spiritual food and drink, in addition to serving the roasted Paschal lamb.

Life Messages: 1) A challenge for humble service.  Our celebration of the Eucharist requires that we wash one another’s feet, i.e., serve one another, and revere Christ's presence in other persons. In practical terms, that means we are to consider their needs to be as important as our own and to serve their needs, without expecting any reward. 2) A loving invitation for sacrificial sharing and self-giving love.  Let us imitate the self-giving model of Jesus who shares with us his own body and blood and who enriches us with his Real Presence in the Holy Eucharist.  It is by sharing our blessings – our talents, time, health and wealth - with others that we become true disciples of Christ and obey Jesus’ new commandment: “Love one another as I have loved you.”

3) An invitation to become Christ-bearers and Christ-conveyers: "Go forth, the Mass is ended," really means, “Go in peace to love and serve one another.’’ We are to carry Jesus to our homes and places of work, conveying to others around us the love, mercy, forgiveness and spirit of humble service of Christ whom we carry with us. (L/18)

HOLY THURSDAY (March 29): Evening Mass of the LORD’S SUPPER

  (Ex 12:1-8, 11-14; I Cor 11:23-26; Jn 13:1-15)

Anecdotes: 1)  Communion on the moon: The Lord's Supper ensures that we can remember Jesus from any place. Apollo 11 landed on the moon on Sunday, July 20, 1969. Most remember astronaut Neil Armstrong's first words as he stepped onto the moon's surface: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." But few know about the first meal eaten on the moon. Dennis Fisher reports that Buzz Aldrin, the NASA astronaut had taken aboard the spacecraft a tiny pyx provided by his Catholic pastor. (Aldrin was Catholic until his second marriage, when he became a Presbyterian; see the Snopes citation given below).  Aldrin sent a radio broadcast to Earth asking listeners to contemplate the events of the day and give thanks. Then, blacking out the broadcast for privacy, Aldrin read, "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit." Then, silently, he gave thanks for their successful journey to the moon and received Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, surrendering the moon to Jesus. Next, he descended on the moon and walked on it with Neil Armstrong [Dan Gulley, "Communion on the Moon," Our Daily Bread (June/July/August, 2007)]. His actions remind us that in the Lord's Supper, God's children can share the life of Jesus from any place on Earth — and even from the moon. God is everywhere, and our worship should reflect this reality. In Psalm 139 we are told that wherever we go, God is intimately present with us. Buzz Aldrin celebrated that experience on the surface of the moon. Thousands of miles from earth, he took time to commune with the One who created, redeemed, and established fellowship with him. (Dennis Fisher)    ,  

2) "You don't recognize me, do you?” There is an old legend about Leonardo DaVinci's painting of the Last Supper. In all of his paintings, he tried to find someone to pose that fit the face of the particular character he was painting. Out of hundreds of possibilities he chose a 19-year old to portray Jesus. It took him six months to paint the face of Jesus. Seven years later DaVinci started hunting for just the right face for Judas. Where could he find one that would portray that image? He looked high and low. Down in a dark Roman dungeon he found a wretched, unkempt prisoner to strike the perfect pose. The prisoner was released to his care and when the portrait of Judas was complete the prisoner said to the great artist, "You don't recognize me, do you? I am the man you painted seven years ago for the face of Christ. O God, I have fallen so low."

3) The Stole and the Towel is the title of a book, which sums up the message of the Italian bishop, Tony Bello, who died of cancer at the age of 58.  On Maundy Thursday of 1993, while on his deathbed, he dictated a pastoral letter to the priests of his diocese.  He called upon them to be bound by "the stole and the towel."  The stole symbolizes union with Christ in the Eucharist, and the towel symbolizes union with humanity by service.  The priest is called upon to be united with the Lord in the Eucharist and with the people as their servant.  Today we celebrate the institution of both the Eucharist and the priesthood: the feast of "the stole and the towel," the feast of love and service.

4)  We’ve shared food together, so you are free to live.  In John Hampsch’s book, The Healing Power of the Eucharist, there is a true story about a Persian nobleman’s covenantal fidelity. One day, the nobleman was walking in his garden when a man climbed over the wall and approached him. He was fleeing a lynch mob bent on killing him. The nobleman, who had authority to grant amnesty, had pity on this man because he was going to be killed. The nobleman was eating a peach at the time, so he broke off part of the peach and shared it with the man. When the clamoring mob finally came into the garden to pursue the man, the nobleman said, “What did he do?” The people replied, “He just committed a murder and the murder victim was your son.” The man was brokenhearted to learn that his son had been killed and that the culprit was the man with whom he had just shared his peach. But he said, “I’ve shared food with you. I am covenanted with you. We’ve shared food together, so you are free to live. Go in peace.”   The biblical concept of covenant relationship is illustrated in this remarkable Near Eastern story. A meal is expressive of a bond of friendship. To share food with someone is to share the destiny of that person in covenantal fidelity. Against this backdrop, the treachery of Judas (cf. Mk 14:10-11; 17-21; 43-47) is abominable. The nearness and intimacy of Judas to the Divine Master he betrayed made his crime “horrific”. Above all, the details about “eating together” highlighted the enormity of the betrayer’s crime.  (Lectio Divina)

Introduction: On Holy Thursday, we celebrate three anniversaries: 1) the anniversary of the first Holy Mass, 2) the anniversary of the institution of ministerial priesthood in order to perpetuate the Holy Mass, convey God’s forgiveness to repentant sinners and  preach the Good News of salvation, 3) the anniversary of the promulgation of Jesus’ new commandment of love: “Love one another as I have loved you” (Jn 13:34). Today we remember how Jesus transformed the Jewish Passover into the New Testament Passover.  In its origins, the Jewish Passover was, in fact, a joint celebration of two ancient thanksgiving celebrations.  The descendants of Abel, who were shepherds, used to lead their sheep from the winter pastures to the summer pastures after the sacrificial offering to God of a lamb.  They called this celebration the “Pass over."  The descendants of Cain, who were farmers, held a harvest festival called the Massoth in which they offered unleavened bread to God as an act of thanksgiving.  The Passover feast of the Israelites (Exodus 12:26-37), was a harmonious combination of these two ancient feasts of thanksgiving, commanded by the Lord God and celebrated yearly by all Israelites to thank God for the miraculous liberation of their ancestors from Egyptian slavery, their exodus from Egypt and final arrival in the Promised Land.

Scripture lessons: The Jewish Passover was an eight-day celebration during which unleavened bread was eaten.  The Passover meal began with the singing of the first part of the “Hallel” Psalms (Ps 113

Lent I [A] 1-page summary for an 8-minute homily (L-20)
Introduction: Lent is primarily the time of intense spiritual preparation for conquering our temptations, using the means Jesus used during his forty days of preparation in the desert for his public life. It is also the time for renewing our lives for the celebration of Easter with our Risen Lord who conquered sin and death by his suffering, death and Resurrection. Today’s readings teach us that we are always tempted by the devil, by the world and by our own selfish interests. So, we need to cooperate actively with God’s grace to conquer our temptations. (A homily starter anecdote may be added)
Scripture lessons: The first reading, taken from the book of Genesis describes the “Original Temptation" – “You will be like gods, knowing what is good and what is evil." Adam and Eve were given the possibility of making a choice to live for God, dependent upon and obedient to His will, or to say no to God. The temptation to evil led Adam and Eve to an act of faithlessness and sin. In contrast, today’s Gospel from St. Matthew shows us how Jesus Christ conquered temptation by relying on Faith in God's Word and authority. In the second reading, St. Paul describes how the disobedience of Adam, who fell to Satan’s Original Temptation, brought him and us sin, death, and a broken relationship with God. Paul explains that Christ regained for us the right relationship with God by his perfect obedience to God his Father. Today’s Gospel teaches us how the "desert experience" of fasting, praying, and soul-strengthening enabled Jesus to confront his temptations successfully and then to preach the Good News of salvation. The tempter urges Jesus to turn stones into loaves of bread. But Jesus rejects that temptation to mistrust His Father by satisfying his own immediate, temporal needs and thus reducing His Divine mission to self-satisfaction The tempter then suggests that Jesus prove that he is really the Son of God by jumping off the parapet of the temple. Jesus rejects this as a temptation to act as God’s superior and demand He prove His Trustworthiness! Finally, Jesus rejects the temptation to idolatry, even if worshipping Satan would enrich and empower Jesus with all kingdoms of the world.
Life messages: 1) We are to confront and conquer temptations as Jesus did, using the means he employed. Every one of us is tempted to seek sinful pleasures, easy wealth and a position of authority, power and glory, and to use any means, even unjust or sinful ones, to gain these things. Jesus serves as a model for us in conquering temptations by strengthening himself through prayer, penance and the effective use of the Word of God. Hence, during this Lent, let us confront our evil tendencies with prayer (especially by participating in the Holy Mass), with penance and with meditative reading of the Bible. 2) We are to grow in holiness by prayer, reconciliation and sharing during Lent: a) by finding time to be with God every day of Lent, speaking to Him in fervent prayer and listening to Him through the meditative reading of the Bible; b) by being reconciled with God through the Sacrament of Reconciliation and reconciled with others by asking their forgiveness for our offenses against them; c) by sharing our love with others through selfless and humble service, almsgiving and helping those in need.

LENT I [A] Gen 2:7-9, 3:1-7; Rom 5:12-19; Mt 4:1-11
Homily starter anecdotes # 1: Alluring music of the Sirens: The story of sirens in Greek mythology describes the negative and positive ways of fighting temptations. The Sirens are creatures with the heads of beautiful women and the bodies of attractive birds. They lived on an island (Sirenum scopuli- a group of three small rocky islands). With the irresistible charm of their song, they lured mariners to their destruction on the rocks surrounding their island (Homer’s Odyssey XII, 39-54, 158-200; Virgil’s Aeneid V, 42-44; Ovid’s Metamorphoses XIV, 88-89). They sang so sweetly that all who sailed near their home in the sea were fascinated and drawn to the shore only to be destroyed. When Odysseus, the hero of the Odyssey, passed that enchanted spot he escaped the temptation from sirens by ordering himself to be tied to the mast and ordering his sailor comrades to put wax in the ears, so that they might not hear the luring and bewitching strains. But King Tharsius chose a better and positive way of conquering Sirens’ temptations. He took the great Greek singer and lyrist Orpheus along with him. Orpheus took out his lyre and sang a song so clear and ringing that it drowned the sound of those lovely, fatal voices of the Sirens. Today’s readings advise us that the best way to break the charm of this world’s alluring voices during Lent is not trying to shut out the music by plugging our ears, but to have our hearts and lives filled with the sweeter music of prayer, penance, the word of God, self-control, and acts of charity. Then temptations will have no power over us (RH).

2: Temptation to keep large carnivores as pets: Antoine Yates lived in New York City and for some inexplicable reason brought home a 2-month-old tiger cub “Ming” and later an alligator, “Al”. It’s not clear where he found them. But they were with him for two years — in his apartment. What was a little tiger cub, became a 500-pound Bengal tiger monstrosity and a mini alligator a three-foot monster! It was inevitable. The police got a call about a “dog” bite and when they got to the 19-story public housing apartment building, they discovered Yates in the lobby with injuries to his right arm and leg. Someone alerted them of the possibility of a “wild animal” at his apartment. A fourth-floor resident complained that urine had seeped through her ceiling from Yates’ apartment. When they arrived, the police peered through a hole and saw the huge cat prowling around in the apartment. To make a long story short, it took a contingent of officers at the door, and some rappelling from the roof to use a dart gun to bring this animal under control. When they entered the apartment, they found the big cat lying atop some newspapers. The alligator was nearby. Both animals were relocated to shelters. As for Yates, he missed his tiger and alligator, demonstrating that it’s possible to be in love with the very things that can kill you. That is what happens to those who entertain temptations in the form of evil thoughts and desires, evil habits and addictions. (http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/Northeast/10/04/nyc.tiger/) For more details, visit : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ming_of_Harlem

3: “On the ninth trip around the block, there it was!" A comical, but illustrative, story shows us how adept we are at rationalizing our actions: A very overweight man decided that it was time to shed a few pounds. He went on a new diet and took it seriously. He even changed his usual driving route to the office in order to avoid his favorite bakery. One morning, however, he arrived at the office carrying a large, sugar-coated coffee cake. His office mates roundly chided him, but he only smiled, shrugged his shoulders and said, "What could I do? This is a very special cake. This morning, from force of habit, I accidentally drove by my favorite bakery. There in the window were trays of the most delicious goodies. I felt that it was no accident that I happened to pass by, so I prayed, 'Lord, if you really want me to have one of these delicious coffee cakes, let me find a parking place in front of the bakery.' Sure enough, on the ninth trip around the block, there it was!" Temptation is strong, but we must be stronger. We should not tempt fate and we should not rationalize our actions.

Introduction: Ours is a vibrant culture, always in pursuit of happiness. Death is an obscenity, hidden by cascades of flowers and relegated to remote burial lawns on the edge of town. Sin is denied, camouflaged, psychoanalyzed, and repressed—not confessed. We don’t really sin. We make mistakes of judgment. If a popular politician lies, he or she is only being human. Lent is a time to look at such temptations, sin and the consequences. It is a time that reminds us of the human journey of fall and redemption. Like Adam and Eve, and Jesus, we all face temptations. Originally, Lent was the season when those about to be baptized repented of their sins and sought to know the Lord Jesus more intimately. Then it became a season for the baptized to do the same. We are challenged to die to sin so that we may rise again to the new life in Christ. Since the Church begins the season with a reflection on the origins of sin among us, the main themes in today’s readings are temptation, sin, guilt, and forgiveness. We are told of the temptations offered to our Lord, submission to which would have destroyed his mission. Today’s readings give us the notion that testing comes to us by an agency apart from and in opposition to God. But the truth is that, while testing comes from the outside, temptation comes from within us. However, the good news is that, though we are tempted and often succumb, God’s grace provides the way of salvation for us. The ultimate temptations in life are NOT those that only push us to “do” things we aren’t supposed to “do”; rather they are the ones that push us to “be” persons we weren’t made to “be.” Let us then during this Lenten season very earnestly pray, as Jesus has taught us to pray to Our Father in heaven – “Lead us not into temptation [that is, ”put us not to the test”] but deliver us from evil.”
The first reading from the book of Genesis (Gen 2:7-9, 3:1-7) describes the “Original Temptation" – "You will be like gods, knowing what is good and what is evil." This is the story of the first sin, symbolized by the eating of the forbidden fruit. It tells us that Adam and Eve were given the possibility of making a choice. The fundamental choice was to live for God, dependent upon and obedient to His will, or to say no to God. Like Adam and Eve, we are all tempted to put ourselves in God's place. Consequently, we resent every limit on our freedom, and we don't want to be held responsible for the consequences of our choices. In Genesis, we witness how temptation to evil led Adam and Eve to an act of faithlessness and sin. In contrast, today’s Gospel from St. Matthew shows us how Jesus Christ conquered temptation by relying on Faith in God's Word and authority. Are we tempted to serve the gods of our inordinate desires instead of serving our loving and providing God? Today’s Responsorial Psalm (Ps 51) presents our contrition or acknowledgment of guilt before God: “Against thee, thee only, have I sinned.”

The second reading (Rom 5:12-19) explained: St. Paul describes how the disobedience of Adam who fell to Satan’s Original Temptation brought him and us death and a broken relationship with God. He presents Adam who did not resist temptation with its evil consequences for humanity, and Christ, who did resist temptation and so gave humanity the promise of new Life. Paul reminds us of the social consequences of sin. Sin is never a private affair, affecting only myself. When we sin, all our relationships are affected: our relationship with our inner self, our relationships with our brothers and sisters, our relationship with our God and our relationship with nature and the world in which we live. Paul says that just as sin and death came through Adam, salvation and life come through Christ. Paul compares human sin and its consequences to Christ’s saving action and its restorative effects on humankind. Christ regained for us the right relationship with God that Paul calls justification, which comes to us as undeserved grace. Thus, Paul’s words to the Romans describe humanity’s rehabilitation by grace. The first Adam brought disobedience, sin, condemnation and death. The new Adam has brought obedience, righteousness, justification and eternal life. (St. Paul uses what theologians call typology to help us understand exactly what Jesus has done for us and how he established for us a new life, overcoming what Adam and Eve wrought for us. He sees Adam as a type or foreshadowing of Christ).

Today’s Gospel (Matthew 4:1-11) teaches us how the "desert experience" of fasting, praying, and soul-strengthening was a kind of spiritual “training camp” for Jesus which enabled him to confront his temptations successfully and then to preach the Good News of salvation. The Gospel also prescribes a dual action plan for Lent: (1) We should confront our temptations and conquer them as Jesus did, by fasting, prayer and the Word of God. (2) We should renew our lives by true repentance and live the Good News of God’s love, mercy and forgiveness.

Gospel exegesis: (A) Forty days of fasting and prayer in the desert: The Holy Spirit led Jesus into the huge fifteen-by-thirty-five mile desert between the mountain of Jerusalem and the Dead Sea so that he could pray to the Father about the public ministry that he was about to commence. “Forty days” was a Hebrew expression meaning a considerable period of time, as seen in various incidents in Jewish history: a) the 40 days of rain in Noah’s time which Noah spent in the ark in prayer; b) the 40 days which Moses spent on the mountain with God (Ex. 24:18); c) the 40 days the prophet Elijah traveled on the strength of the meal which the angel had given him (II Kg. 19:8).
(B) The temptations. The graphic descriptions of the temptations of Jesus given in Matthew and Luke are sometimes interpreted as the dramatic presentation of a single temptation Jesus experienced throughout his public life. The devil was trying to entice Jesus away from his mission so that he could become, instead, a political messiah of power and fame according to the Jewish expectation, while using His Divine power to avoid suffering and death. In this account, we are given a glimpse of the inner struggle of Jesus as he faced the question of how to accomplish his mission. Matthew presents Jesus as conquering the tempter and beginning his preaching in Galilee. We always encounter temptation in its three major forms: power, prestige, and prosperity with two qualifying terms: “more” and “control.” We want “more” of everything and “control” of our destiny, feeling that only we know what is best for ourselves. Jesus’ temptations remind us of the temptations Israel experienced in the desert. The first temptation recalled God’s gift of manna to Israel in the desert (Exodus 16:4-8) and tested him in his capacity as the Son of God. The second temptation was a test of Jesus’ authentic sonship and it recalled the wilderness incidents wherein Israel complained against God and demanded Him to show His power by providing for their needs. Then in the third test, Jesus is offered a vision of all the world’s kingdoms in their splendor, to be entirely his for his worship of Satan. Jesus was shown those kingdoms, just as Moses atop Mt. Nebo surveyed the promised land (Deuteronomy 34:1-4), and as the Responsorial Psalm (Ps 2:6-8) describes God giving his messiah-son-king the nations of the earth as an inheritance. The first temptation has to do with Jesus’ own need for food. The second temptation involves a wider circle in Jerusalem and the Temple. Finally, the third temptation takes in the whole world. Matthew saw the sequence of the three temptations as significant in that they moved to greater heights, from stones on ground level, to the pinnacle of the temple in Jerusalem, and finally to a mountain top from which all the kingdoms of the earth could be surveyed. The progression was also greater in intensity and scope, from personal food to power in Israel and then to rule over the whole world.
The gradation in temptations: The three temptations - turn stones into bread (4:3); jump off the Temple pinnacle (4:6); worship Satan (4:9) - demonstrate three kinds of control: material, spiritual and civil. They correspond to three wrong evaluations: 1) those who have material resources are blessed by God; 2) those who have spiritual powers are blessed by God; 3) those who have national power are blessed by God. These, in turn, correspond to three human-divine bargains: 1) I will worship You if you make me rich; 2) I will worship You if You endow me with magical powers; and 3) I will worship You if You give me political power. These temptations of Jesus are traditionally treated as archetypes of the temptations we experience: the temptation to satisfy personal needs by material possessions, the temptation to perform miraculous deeds by spiritual power, and the temptation to seek political power and social influence by evil means. But Jesus dismisses all three temptations using the Word of God. He quotes the Law from Scripture itself: “One does not live by bread alone” (Deuteronomy 8:3); “Do not put the Lord your God to the test” (6:16); “Worship the Lord, your God” (6:13). Each time the devil tempts him Jesus responds with a quote from the Book of Deuteronomy which describes the experience of Israel during her forty years in the desert.

The first temptation: Is it possible to fast forty days and live to tell the tale? The New York Times says the average person can go for thirty days without eating. Gandhi and the Irish prisoners in British jails in Belfast fasted even longer. Mitch Snyder, the US advocate for the homeless, fasted fifty-one days. The first temptation could not have been better timed. Jesus had been fasting for forty days. He was entitled to eat. Even Israel in the Old Testament was miraculously fed with manna. Why not the Son of God? "Turn these stones into loaves of bread. Use your power to satisfy your physical need. You are entitled to food after a forty-day fast." The temptation was that Jesus use the miraculous powers God had given Him to use for His mission to provide for himself. This first temptation of Jesus was not merely the urge to satisfy his hunger by some miraculous deed. It also had implications as to how Jesus would respond to the physical needs of others, especially their need for food. Matthew tells us, for example, that Jesus miraculously fed a multitude of people (14:13-21 and 15:32-39). Jesus would be seen as the Messiah who provided for their pressing needs.
The very seat of religious life, namely, the sacred precincts of the Temple itself became the scene of the second temptation. The devil was suggesting that, on the basis of Scripture, Jesus must believe in and insist on Divine protection: if He were the Son of God, He had the right to expect safety and protection from His heavenly Father. Here Jesus is pressured either to identify Himself as God’s Son and Messiah, or to discredit His mission by apparently either denying His trust in God, the truth of Scripture or His own right to speak in God's Name. An additional temptation for Jesus was to use his miraculous powers to amaze people and thereby attract followers.
In the third temptation, the devil wanted Jesus to enter the world of political power to establish his kingdom of God instead of choosing the path that would lead to suffering, humiliation and death. It was a temptation to do the right thing using the wrong means. Jesus was being tempted to win the world by worshipping the devil. Why not compromise a bit? Why not strike a deal with the evil powers? Spirit-filled, sanctified, spiritually vibrant Christians are still subject to the same temptation. We need companionship, acceptance, the approval of others, love and appreciation. We are tempted to fulfill these legitimate needs using the wrong means.
(C) The preaching: The Greek word used for preaching is kerussein meaning a herald’s proclamation of his king’s message. Jesus’ preaching bore the note of authority, certainty and reliability – as coming from God his Father.

(D) Call to repentance: Metánoia the Greek word used in Matthew for repentance, meant a change of mind which included being sorry for sin and its consequences, and turning away from sinful thoughts, words and deeds, thus reversing our life-direction from ourselves to God.

(E) The message: believe in the Good News: “Believe” meant accept Jesus’ words as truth, based on his authority as the Son of God. The content of Jesus’ message was called Good News because it corrected the incorrect Jewish belief (and the bad news), that God was an angry, demanding and punishing judge, and taught the Good News that God is a loving, merciful and forgiving Father who wants to save everyone from the bondage of sin through His Son. Hence, St. Paul calls it Good News of hope (Col.1: 23), peace (Eph.6: 15), promise (Eph.3: 6), immortality (Tim.1: 10) and salvation (Eph.1: 13).

Life messages: 1) We are to confront and conquer temptations as Jesus did, using the means he employed. Every one of us is tempted to seek sinful pleasures, easy wealth and a position of authority, power and glory, and to use any means, even unjust or sinful ones, to gain these things. Jesus serves as a model for us in conquering temptations by strengthening himself through prayer, penance and the active use of the Word of God. Temptations make us more powerful warriors of God by strengthening our minds and hearts. By constantly struggling against temptations, we become stronger. Each time one is tempted to do evil but does good, one becomes stronger. Further, we are never tempted beyond our power. In his first letter, St. John assures us: “Greater is the One Who is in us, than the one who is in the world (1 John 4: 4). We may be strengthened by St. Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 10:13: "No testing has overtaken you, that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and [God] will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing [God] will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it." Hence, during this Lent, let us confront our evil tendencies by prayer (especially by participating in the Holy Mass), by penance and by meditative reading of the Bible.

2) We are to grow in holiness by prayer, reconciliation and sharing during Lent: a) by finding time to be with God every day of Lent, speaking to Him in fervent prayer and listening to Him through the meditative reading of the Bible; b) by repenting of our sins daily and asking God’s forgiveness every night at bedtime; c) by being reconciled with God through the Sacrament of Reconciliation; d) by being reconciled with others, forgiving them the hurts they have caused us and asking their pardon for the hurts we have inflicted on them; e) by sharing our love with others through selfless and humble service, almsgiving and helping those in need; f) by living the Gospel or the Good News of God’s love, mercy and forgiveness in our lives, thus bearing true Christian witness.

3) Lent is the time for the desert experience. We can set aside a place and time to be alone daily with God, a time to distance ourselves from the many noises that bombard our lives every day, a time to hear God’s word, a time to rediscover who we are before God and a time to say yes to God and no to Satan as Jesus did.
("Our generation has had no Great War, no Great Depression. Our war is spiritual. Our depression is our lives." Chuck Palahniuk).

JOKE OF THE WEEK "I gave them up for Lent.” A Catholic priest working in an inner city was walking down an alley one evening on his way home when a young man came down the alley behind him and poked a knife against his back. "Give me your money," the young man said. The priest opened his jacket and reached into an inner pocket to remove his wallet, exposing his clerical collar. "Oh, I'm sorry, Father," said the young man, "I didn't see your collar. I don't want YOUR money." Trembling from the scare, the priest removed a cigar from his shirt pocket and offered it to the young man. "Here," he said. "Have a cigar." "Oh, no, I can't do that," the young man replied, "I gave them up for Lent."
Making peace with his penance: A priest spied a parishioner enjoying some tasty smoked sausage on Friday during Lent -- a strict no-no in the Church. The priest, being a pragmatic soul, told the man for his penance he was to bring a load of lumber to the church to help repair the roof. The man grumbled but went off to do his penance. He arrived at the church on the next Friday and proceeded to dump a huge load of sawdust into the parking lot. "What's this?" the priest wanted to know. "I told you your penance was a load of lumber, not sawdust." The man replied cooley, "Well, if that sausage I ate was meat, then this sawdust is lumber."
Just have a beer: A man took his young son to a baseball game. While they were sitting there, he asked the boy what he was going to give up for Lent. The boy replied, "I don't know, Dad. What are you going to give up?"
His father said, "I've thought about this a lot and decided to give up liquor."
Later in the game, the beer man came by, and the man ordered a beer. His son objected, "Hey, I thought you were giving up liquor!" His dad answered, "Hard liquor, son. I'm giving up hard liquor. This is just a beer." To which the boy replied, "Well then, I'm giving up hard candy."
Fish 'n' chips: It is February 22, the third Friday of Lent, and the faithful parishioner stumbles through pouring rain past hamburger huts and steak houses into the monastery at Mount Angel and requests shelter. He's just in time for dinner and is treated to the best fish and chips he's ever had.
After dinner, he goes into the kitchen to thank the chefs. He's met by two brothers, "Hello, I'm Brother Michael, and this is Brother Francis." "I'm very pleased to meet you. I just wanted to thank you for a wonderful dinner. The fish and chips were the best I've ever tasted. Out of curiosity, who cooked what?" Brother Michael replies, "Well, I'm the fish friar." The man turns to the other brother and says, "Then you must be . . ." "Yes, I'm afraid I'm the chip monk."

“I, myself, have decided to give up drinking for Lent.” A bartender notices that every evening, without fail, one of his patrons orders three beers. After several weeks of noticing this pattern, the bartender asks the man why he always orders three beers. The man says, “I have two brothers who have moved away to different countries. We promised each other that we would always order an extra two beers whenever we drank as a way of keeping up the family bond.” Several weeks later, noticing that the man only ordered two beers, the bartender said, “Please accept my condolences on the death of one of your brothers. You know, the two beers and all…” The man replied, “You’ll be happy to hear that my two brothers are alive and well… It’s just that I, myself, have decided to give up drinking for Lent.”

[Prepared by: Fr. Anthony Kadavil, Chaplain, Sacred Heart Residence of the Little Sisters of the Poor, 1655 McGill Ave, Mobile, AL 36604 ]

“Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion” Mk 11:1-10; Mk 14:1--15:47

Introduction: The Church celebrates today as both Palm Sunday and Passion Sunday. Today’s liturgy combines contrasting moments of glory and suffering – the royal welcome given to Jesus by his followers and the unjust drama of his trial culminating in his crucifixion. Holy Week challenges us to remember and relive the events which brought about our redemption and salvation, to appreciate gratefully the price Jesus paid for our salvation, and to return God’s love for us (expressed through the suffering and death of Jesus), by loving others. The meditation on these Paschal mysteries should enable us to do our own dying to sin and rising with Jesus, which will result in our healing, reconciliation, and redemption.  Proper participation in the Holy Week liturgy will also deepen our relationship with God, increase our Faith and strengthen our lives as disciples of Jesus.

Scripture lessons: Today's first reading, found in the prophecy of Isaiah, is called the third Servant Song. Jesus saw aspects of his own life and mission foreshadowed in the Servant Songs. The second reading, taken from Paul’s letter to the is an ancient Christian hymn representing a very early Christian understanding of who Jesus is, and of how his mission saves us from sin and death.

The first part of today’s Gospel describes the royal reception which Jesus received from his admirers. They paraded with him for a distance of two miles:  from the Mount of Olives to the city of Jerusalem.

In the second part of today’s Gospel, we listen to the Passion of Christ according to Mark.  We are challenged to examine our own lives in the light of some of the characters in the story like Peter who denied Jesus, Judas who betrayed Jesus, Pilate who acted against his conscience and condemned Jesus to death on the cross, Herod who ridiculed Jesus and the leaders of the people who preserved their positions by getting rid of Jesus.

Life messages: Let us try to answer five questions today: 1) Does Jesus weep over my sinful soul as he wept over Jerusalem at the beginning of his Palm Sunday procession? 2) Am I a barren fig tree?  God expects me to produce fruits of holiness, purity, justice, humility, obedience, charity, and forgiveness.  Do I?   Or do I continue to produce bitter fruits of impurity, injustice, pride, hatred, jealousy and selfishness? 3) Will Jesus have to cleanse my heart with his whip?  Jesus cannot tolerate the desecration of the temple of his Holy Spirit in me by my addiction to uncharitable, unjust and impure thoughts words and deeds; neither does Jesus approve of my calculation of loss and gain in my relationship with God.  4) Do I welcome Jesus into my heart?  Am I ready to surrender my life to him during this Holy Week and welcome him into all areas of my life as my Lord and Savior? The palms should remind us that Christ is our King and the true answer to our quest for happiness and meaning in life. 5) Are we like the humble donkey that carried Jesus? Let us carry and radiate Jesus’ universal love, unconditional forgiveness and sacrificial service to our families, and communities.

“Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion” Is 50:4-7; Phil 2:6-11; Mk 11:1-10; Mk 14: 1--15:47

Anecdotes #1: Zechariah foresaw it. Jesus fulfilled it. The Greek author Plutarch describes how Kings are supposed to enter a city. He tells about one Roman general, Aemilius Paulus, who won a decisive victory over the Macedonians. When Aemilius returned to Rome, his triumphant procession lasted three days. The first day was dedicated to displaying all the artwork that Aemilius and his army had plundered. The second day was devoted to all the weapons of the Macedonians they had captured. The third day began with the rest of the plunder borne by 250 oxen, whose horns were covered in gold. This included more than 17,000 pounds of gold coins. Then came the captured and humiliated king of Macedonia and his extended family. Finally, Aemilius himself entered Rome, riding in a magnificent chariot. Aemilius wore a purple robe, interwoven with gold. He carried his laurels in his right hand. He was accompanied by a large choir singing hymns, praising the military accomplishments of the great Aemilius. () That, my friends, is how a King enters a city. But the King of Kings? He entered riding on a lowly donkey. Zechariah envisioned the King of Kings, the Messiah, coming not on a great stallion, but riding on a humble donkey. Zechariah foresaw it (Zec 9: 9). Jesus fulfilled it. ()

#2: Welcome to the triumph and the tragedy of Holy Week: On Palm Sunday, April 9, 1865, Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant, General of the Union Army, at the McLean house in Appomattox, Virginia. This surrender ended the bloodiest war ever fought on American soil. State against state, brother against brother, it was a conflict that literally tore the nation apart. Five days later, on Good Friday, April 14, 1865, America’s most revered president, Abraham Lincoln, was shot and mortally wounded by John Wilkes Booth in Ford’s Theatre. It was Lincoln who wrote the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation that ended slavery in the U.S. forever. It was Lincoln who wrote and gave The Gettysburg Address. Lincoln hated war, but he was drawn into this one because he believed it was the only way to save the nation. On Palm Sunday the war ended. Triumph. On Good Friday, Abraham Lincoln became the first U.S. president to be assassinated. Tragedy. Welcome to Holy Week. Welcome to the triumph and the tragedy of the six days preceding Easter. (Surrender location corrected by Fr. Richard W. Frank, )

#3: “Either give up Christ or give up your jobs.” Constantine the Great was the first Christian Roman emperor. His father Constantius I, who succeeded Diocletian as emperor in AD 305, was a pagan with a soft heart for Christians. When he ascended the throne, he discovered that many Christians held important jobs in the government and in the court.  So, he issued an executive order to all those Christians: “Either give up Christ or give up your jobs.” The great majority of Christians gave up their jobs rather than disowning Christ. Only a few cowards gave up their religion rather than lose their jobs. The emperor was pleased with the majority who showed the courage of their convictions and gave their jobs back to them saying: "If you will not be true to your God you will not be true to me either.” Today we join the Palm Sunday crowd in spirit to declare our loyalty to Christ and fidelity to His teachings by actively participating in the Palm Sunday liturgy. As we carry the palm leaves to our homes, we are declaring our choice to accept Jesus as the King and ruler of our lives and our families. Let us express our gratitude to Jesus for redeeming us by His suffering and death through our active participation in the Holy Week liturgy and our reconciliation with God and His Church by repenting of our sins and receiving God's pardon and forgiveness from Jesus through his Church. (21 Additional anecdotes are uploaded in our parish website  under Sunday homilies).

Introduction: The Church celebrates today as both Palm Sunday and Passion Sunday.  It is on Palm Sunday that we enter Holy Week, and welcome Jesus into our lives, asking him to allow us a share in his suffering, death and Resurrection. This is also the time we remember and relive the events which brought about our redemption and salvation.  That is why the Holy Week liturgy presents us with the actual events of the dying and rising of Jesus.  The liturgy also enables us to experience vicariously, here and now, what Jesus went through then.  In other words, we commemorate and relive during this week our own dying to sin and selfishness and rising in Jesus, which result in our healing, reconciliation, and redemption. No wonder Greek Orthodox Christians greet each other with the words, "Kali Anastasi" (Good Resurrection), not on Easter Sunday but on Good Friday. They anticipate the Resurrection.  Just as Jesus did, we, too, must lay down our lives freely by actively participating in the Holy Week liturgies.  In doing so, we are allowing Jesus to forgive us our sins, to heal the wounds in us caused by our sins and the sins of others and to transform us more completely into the image and likeness of God.  Thus, we shall be able to live more fully the Divine life we received at Baptism.  Proper participation in the Holy Week liturgy will also deepen our relationship with God, increase our Faith and strengthen our lives as disciples of Jesus.  But let us remember that Holy Week can become "holy” for us only if we actively and consciously take part in the liturgies of this week. This is also the week when we should lighten the burden of Christ’s passion as daily experienced by the hungry, the poor, the sick, the homeless, the lonely and the outcast through our corporal and spiritual works of mercy.  The Palm/Passion Sunday liturgy combines contrasting moments, one of glory, the other of suffering: the welcome of Jesus into Jerusalem and the drama of his unjust trial and suffering, culminating in his crucifixion and death.

First reading: Isaiah 50:4-7: In the middle section, chapters 40-55, of the book of the prophet Isaiah, there are four short passages which scholars have called the Songs of the Suffering Servant.  Today's first reading is the third Servant Song. These four songs are about a mysterious figure whose suffering brings about a benefit for the people.  In the original author's mind, the servant was probably a figure for the people of Israel, or for a faithful remnant within the people. However, Jesus saw aspects of his own life and mission foreshadowed in the Servant Songs, and the Church refers to them in this time of solemn meditation on the climax of Jesus' life.  In today’s Responsorial Psalm (Ps 22), the psalmist feels abandoned but puts his trust in Yahweh for deliverance and salvation.  The context of this day's worship also conveys Jesus’ confidence in God’s protection in the midst of his trial and crucifixion.

Second Reading: Philippians 2:6-11:  is an ancient Christian hymn representing a very early Christian understanding of who Jesus is, and of how his mission saves us from sin and death.  It is a message that Paul received from those who had been converted to Christ.  “Jesus was Divine from all eternity.  But he didn't cling to that. Rather he emptied himself and became human.  He accepted further humbling by obeying the human condition even unto death by crucifixion.  So, God highly exalted him, giving him the highest title in the universe.”  Christians reading this passage today are joined with the first people who ever pondered the meaning of Jesus' life and mission.  We're singing their song, reciting their creed, during this special time of the year when we remember the most important things Our Lord did.

The first part of today’s Gospel describes the royal reception which Jesus received from his admirers. They paraded with him for a distance of two miles:  from the Mount of Olives to the city of Jerusalem.  Two-and-a-half million people were normally present to celebrate the Jewish feast of the Passover.  Jesus permitted such a royal procession for two reasons: 1) to reveal to the general public that he was the promised Messiah, and 2) to fulfill the prophecies of Zechariah (9:9) and Zephaniah (3:16-19): “Rejoice heart and soul, daughter of Zion…. see now your King comes to you; he is victorious, triumphant, humble and riding on a donkey…” (Zech. 9:9).  (The traditional “Palm Sunday Procession” at Jerusalem began in the fourth century AD when the Bishop of Jerusalem led the procession from the Mount of Olives to the Church of the Ascension).  In the second part of today’s Gospel, we listen to the Passion of Christ according to Mark.  We are challenged to examine our own lives in the light of some of the characters in the story like Peter who denied Jesus, Judas who betrayed Jesus, Pilate who acted against his conscience, Herod who ridiculed Jesus, and the leaders of the people who preserved their position by getting rid of Jesus.

Gospel Exegesis: Notes on Palm Sunday events: 1) Jesus rides on a lowly donkey:  Doesn't it seem odd that Jesus would walk 90 miles from the Galilee to Bethany and then secure a donkey for the final two miles to Jerusalem? In those days, Kings used to travel in such processions on horseback during wartime but preferred to ride a donkey in times of peace.  I Kings 1:38-41 describes how Prince Solomon used his father David’s royal donkey for the ceremonial procession on the day of his coronation.  Jesus entered the Holy City as a King of Peace, fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah.  The Gospel specifically mentions that the colt Jesus selected for the procession was one that   had not been ridden before, reminding us of a stipulation given in I Samuel 6:7 concerning the animal that was to carry the Ark of the Covenant.  

2) The mode of reception given: Jesus was given a royal reception usually reserved for a king or military commander.  I Maccabees 13:51ff describes such a reception given to the Jewish military leader Simon Maccabaeus in 171 BC.  II Maccabees 10:6-8 refers to a similar reception given to another military general, Judas Maccabaeus, who led the struggle against the Greek Seleucid Emperor, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, and liberated the Temple from pagan control in 163 BC.

3) The slogans used: The participants sang the “Hallel” psalm (Psalm 118), and shouted the words of Psalms 25 and 26.  The Greek word “hosiana” originally meant "save us now" (II Samuel 14:4).  The people sang the entire Psalm 118 on the Feast of the Tabernacles when they marched seven times around the Altar of the Burnt Offering.  On Palm Sunday, however, the people used the prayer “Hosanna” as a slogan of greeting.  It meant “God save the king of Israel.”

4) The symbolic meaning of the Palm Sunday procession: Nearly 25,000 lambs were sacrificed during the feast of the "Pass Over," but the lamb which was sacrificed by the High Priest was taken to the Temple in a procession, four days before the main feast day.  On Palm Sunday, Jesus, the true Paschal Lamb, was also taken to the Temple in a large procession.

5) Reaction of Jesus:  Before the beginning of the procession, Jesus wept over Jerusalem (Lk 19:41-42), and when the procession was over, he cleansed the Temple (Lk 19:45-46).  On the following day, he cursed a barren fig tree. Jesus cursed a fig tree for lying with its leaves. It looked good from the outside, but there was nothing there. Surely he must have intended a reference to the Temple. The religious folk of his day were impotent and infertile. They had taken a good thing, religion, and made it into a sham.

Life Messages: 1) Does Jesus weep over me?  There is a Jewish saying, “Heaven rejoices over a repentant sinner and sheds tears over a non-repentant, hardhearted one."   Are we ready to imitate the prodigal son and return to God, our loving Father through the Sacrament of Reconciliation during this last week of Lent and participate fully in the joy of Christ’s Resurrection?

2) Am I a barren fig tree?  God expects me to produce fruits of holiness, purity, justice, humility, obedience, charity, and forgiveness.  Am I a barren fig tree?  Or do I continue to produce bitter fruits of impurity, injustice, pride, hatred, jealousy and selfishness?

3) Do I expect Jesus to cleanse my heart with His whip?  Jesus cannot tolerate the desecration of the temple of the Holy Spirit in me by my addiction to uncharitable, unjust and impure thoughts words and deeds; neither does He approve of my calculation of loss and gain in my relationship with God.

4) Do I welcome Jesus into my heart?  Am I ready to surrender my life to Him during this Holy Week and welcome Him into all areas of my life as my Lord and Savior, singing “Hosanna”?  Today, we receive palm branches at the Divine Liturgy.  Let us take them to our homes and put them some place where we can always see them.  Let the palms remind us that Christ is the King of our families, that Christ is the King of our hearts and that Christ is the only true answer to our quest for happiness and meaning in our lives.  And if we do proclaim Christ as our King, let us try to make time for Him in our daily life; let us be reminded that He is the One with Whom we will be spending eternity.  Let us be reminded further that our careers, our education, our finances, our homes, all of the basic material needs in our lives are only temporary.  Let us prioritize and place Christ the King as the primary concern in our lives.  It is only when we have done this that we will find true peace and happiness in our confused and complex world.

5) Are we ready to become like the humble donkey that carried Jesus?   As we "carry Jesus" to the world, we can expect to receive the same welcome that Jesus received on Palm Sunday, but we must also expect to meet the same opposition, crosses and trials later.  Like the donkey, we are called upon to carry Christ to a world that does not know Him.  Let us always remember that a Christian without Christ is a contradiction in terms.  Such a one betrays the Christian message.  Hence, let us become transparent Christians during this Holy Week, enabling others to see in us Jesus’ universal love, unconditional forgiveness and sacrificial service.

6) Can we face these questions on Palm Sunday? Are we willing to follow Jesus, not just to Church but in our daily life?  Are we willing to entrust ourselves to Him even when the future is frightening or confusing, believing God has a plan? Are we willing to serve Him until that day when His plan for us on earth is fulfilled? These are the questions of Palm Sunday.  Let us take a fresh look at this familiar event.  We might be surprised at what we see.  It could change us forever.

7) We need to rejoice and weep: Palm Sunday and Passion Sunday are two sides of the same coin because we have to rejoice and sing as we receive Jesus into our lives as our Lord and Savior and we have to weep and mourn as his death confronts us with our sin. Yes, we were there in the crowd on both days, shouting “Hosanna!” and later “Crucify Him!” Because of what Jesus has done for us and our Faith in him, one day we will be in that great crowd gathered around the throne of God, and there everyone will shout words of praise, heavenly hosannas, that will ring through all eternity, "To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!" Rev (5:13).

Joke of the week: 1) O Susanna: A little girl came home from worship. It was Palm Sunday. Her father asked what she had learned that day. She told him she learned all about the crowd waving their palm branches and singing a song to Jesus. The father was pleased that she had learned so much. He asked, “What was the song they were singing to Jesus?” The little girl paused, then said, “I think it was O Susanna.”

2) "Why do you have that palm branch, dad?"  Little Johnny was sick on Palm Sunday and stayed home from Church with his mother.  His father returned from Church holding a palm branch.  The little boy was curious and asked why. His father explained, "You see, when Jesus came into town, everyone waved palm branches to honor him; so we got palm branches today."  "Aw, shucks,” grumbled Little Johnny.  "The one Sunday I can't go to Church, and Jesus shows up!"

3) The angry Jesus: Winston Churchill once listened to a hot-tempered raving, ranting tirade directed at him by an opponent whose mouth worked faster than his mind. At the end of it, Churchill said, in his own Churchillian way, "Our honorable colleague should, by now, have trained himself not to generate more indignation than he has the capacity to hold." A lot of people are like that. (Donald B. Strobe, Dynamic Preaching).

4) The danger of the familiar:  An Episcopal priest was preaching in an unfamiliar church on Palm Sunday. As he stood in the pulpit to begin the service, he tapped the microphone to make sure that it was on. He heard nothing, even though the microphone was working fine. So, he leaned closer to the microphone and said to himself; "There is something wrong with this thing." The congregation, being well-trained church people immediately responded, "And also with you.”