Saturday after Ash Wednesday - Follow Me

Today's Readings: Isaiah 58:9b-14; Psalm 86; Luke 5:27-32

We most often associate Lent as the season for ‘giving something up’, but simply giving something up for the sake of it can be an empty practice. Rather we should seek to create through this a space in our lives whereby we can take on, or recognise, something of more importance and greater worth. Sacrifice then, can play a wholly fruitful role in our lives if it is made in charity. Some sacrifices are less laudable. In today’s Gospel we can recognise both sides of the coin.

The Calling of St Matthew by Arnold Houbraken (1660-1719)

Luke recounts to us the calling of Levi, a tax-collector, later more familiar to us as Matthew. He is presumably a man who knows about ‘sacrifice’. To take on such a role effectively meant placing yourself outside of your own community as a despised collaborator of the Roman government. Tax collectors had a poor reputation among the Jews, to say the least. Taxes are never popular but those taxing on trade from their customs posts were doubly despised: their reputation for dishonesty was legendary. After they had a reached the quota demanded by the Roman authorities they could keep whatever else they made; it was a sure way to make money, and lots of it. So being a tax-collector made you wealthy, secure in possessions, but you had to be prepared to sacrifice family, friends, and the whole Jewish cultural-religious system in which you were raised. Men like Levi were prepared to make that sacrifice, and once made, there was no going back.

When Jesus sees this despised figure sitting at his booth He does not shun him. In fact, He does the unthinkable and asks that he follow Him. He gives him an opportunity that no one else can or will. Levi responds by following: “And leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him.” Leaving his post, Levi effectively abandons his old life but without promise of worldly security; his own people do not recognise him and his old post will soon be filled by another. It is a brave decision and his trust in Jesus is remarkable. He once sacrificed everything he had, his very reputation for material wealth, now he makes another choice involving great courage and risks the only thing he has left – his material security – for Christ.

“Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do. I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.” In Jesus’ response to the Pharisees we see that no one is beyond Christ’s mercy, not even the tax-collector. We, however, regardless of the nature of our sins, are called to respond. Inevitably, a response to Christ’s call will involve sacrifice, possibly of a radical nature, but if we make the right choice and listen to Him then He will not abandon us and the rewards will be far greater that those that can be given by earthly powers. Like Levi, we all have a choice – sit in our ‘booths’ or rise and follow Him.

Come and See Weekend at Stone

Friday after Ash Wednesday - Fasting and Abstinence

Today's Readings: Isaiah 58:1-9; Psalm 50:3-6, 18-19, Matthew 9:14-15

The practice of fasting and abstinence is so valued by the Church that she makes it a precept: there are certain days in the year when we must observe fasting and abstinence. However, if we just observe this precept simply because that's what the Church demands, we may miss out on some important spiritual benefits. Isaiah warns us of the sort of fasting that 'will not make your voice to be heard on high' (Is 58:4). Fasting without any regard for the hungry, the homeless and the oppressed is a waste of time.

Another crucial aspect of fasting comes across in today's Gospel. When Jesus was with His disciples, they didn't fast; it was only once Jesus was taken away from them that they fasted. Thus fasting also symbolises a longing to be reunited with Jesus Christ.

So there are two important aspects of fasting, and perhaps by way of analogy, we can see how these two aspects point to the cross. When we make the sign of the cross, we are reminded of how we participate in the life of the Trinity, and the shape of the cross is significant. It is not a horizontal beam or a vertical pole, but it has two dimensions, the horizontal and the vertical. When we participate in the horizontal dimension, we see creation from God's perspective, how His love extends to all humanity. And when we participate in the vertical direction, we are raised up to see how God sees His very self; we share in the inner life of the Trinity.

The horizontal and the vertical should not be separated from each other. Our salvation comes to us through the cross, and so in our fasting and in all our Christian living, we should make visible these two dimensions, the love of neighbour and the love of God.

Thursday after Ash Wednesday - Lent and Prayer

Today's readings: Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Psalm 1; Luke 9:22-25

We are in the middle of the great shift in the liturgical year, as we begin the forty days of Lent. We have enjoyed Shrove Tuesday with a nice meal and pancakes in different flavours. In this way the last day before Lent has been properly marked, and so we have entered Ash Wednesday in silence and prayer. We have been marked with the cross on our forehead, and we have witnessed how the liturgy changes, how the prayers of the Church and the psalmodies lead us in to deeper layers of our faith. And most of us have heard or remember the “golden triangle” through which God invites us to come closer to him, that is by fasting, almsgiving and prayer. Each one of these cornerstones is fundamental in our Christian life, and today I would like to pay attention to the latter, the prayer.

Some days ago, someone gave me advice concerning prayer: “If you wish to pray because you think it will make you feel better - just forget it!” There is a point. Prayer is not a question of “what’s in it for me”. Nevertheless, we may find a positive answer to this question if we twist it a little and ask ourselves, ”what do I get out of it?”. The answer is: myself. Let me explain. Our prayer life is not a remedy to feel better, as if God was a “drug” we take to get in a better mood. The Christian prayer life has a very different objective. To be Christian is to conform ourselves more and more to Christ Jesus. When we confess ourselves as Christians, we confess that we are called to a gradual transformation where we grow closer to Christ himself. That is, to live life as Jesus did, to search for the same relationship with the Father, to see the needs of humanity and to act upon all this in whichever context we may be. We are called to change the focus point in our life, from ourselves towards Christ, and towards our neighbour. In this way, prayer is not a question of what I might get, it is rather a question of getting out of myself, of my inwardness and self centeredness.

But to “get out of myself” in this sense is not a self-denial as if we rejected our own person. Prayer leads us towards our God-given humanity and dignity. Prayer opens our hearts for the Holy Spirit, for an open relation with our God. Prayer won’t necessarily make me feel better. But it may make me feel more whole as a person, as it leads me towards a deeper understanding of the meaning of my existence. Let us then enter the daily life of Lent with faith and confidence in our God, sustained by prayer and silence.

Ash Wednesday

Readings: Joel 2:12-18; Ps 50; 2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2; Matthew 6:1-6,16-18

The threefold asceticism of Lent, which is the threefold asceticism of the Christian life at any time, consists of almsgiving, prayer and fasting (Matt 6:1-18). Notice that the three corners of a Christian 'triangle' are addressed in these practices: almsgiving concerns others, prayer concerns God, and fasting concerns myself. Notice that we can also align these practices with a threefold structure of temptation identified in the Bible. The attractions of transgression are the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life (1 Jn 2:16), what is good to eat, pleasing to the eye and promises wisdom (Gen 3: 6). These things are not in themselves our enemies but they are the things that most easily turn against us when we pursue them disproportionately.

How are the classical ascetical practices the antidote to temptation? Fasting and other disciplines of self-denial help us to manage the desires of the flesh in ways that are appropriate to our true needs as well as to our commitments and relationships. Almsgiving and other practices of charity and justice-making help us to manage our relationships with others, our standing in the world and our evaluation of what is important in regard to possessions, reputation and achievement. Prayer and other acts of the virtue of religion – adoration, devotion and sacrifice – sustain our relationship with God and help us appreciate that it is in God we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28).

In Lent we practise these practices in the hope that the benefits they bring will take deeper root in our hearts and lives. It is important that we observe all three, for only then are we living within the reality identified by Jesus in the great commandment: you must love the Lord your God, and your neighbour as yourself.

Books for Lent

The Godzdogz team recommend the following spiritual reading for Lent

The Praktikos and Chapters on Prayer by Evagrius Ponticus
The writings of this 4th-century monk and desert father, who was ordained a deacon, seems appropriate for Lent. Evagrius' works on monastic spirituality and asceticism are deeply influential. For example, Evagrius speaks of the eight passionate thoughts, which are then taken on by Cassian and, as the seven deadly sins, they become a feature of Catholic spirituality. It seemed to me a worthwhile exercise to draw from his wisdom during Lent, which applies to all Christians, and not just monks and religious. For example, he says: "If you know how to practice patience you shall ever pray with joy".


Praying with Confidence by Paul Murray OP
St Thomas was not just a great speculative theologian. This book which draws together the most important reflections of St Thomas on the Lord's Prayer shows him also to be an impressive master and guide in the spiritual life.


Counsels of Discernment (also called Table Talks of Instruction) by Meister Eckhart
Eckhart explains how to get established and make progress in the spiritual life. He speaks about surrendering ourselves to God, living in the Divine Presence, trusting in the providence and will of God, cultivating spiritual childhood - and more besides, and all in less than 50 pages. 
(Available in various collections including Meister Eckhart: the Essential Sermons, Commentaries, Treatises and Defence edited by Edmund Colledge and Bernard McGinn, and in Meister Eckhart: Selected Writings translated by Oliver Davies)

The Appalling Strangeness of the Mercy of God: The Story of Ruth Pakaluk, Convert, Mother and Pro-Life Activist edited by Michael Pakaluk (Ignatius Press, 2011)
In the autumn of 1980 Ruth and Michael Pakaluk knocked on the door of the University Chaplaincy in Edinburgh and asked to be received into the Church. Back in Massachusetts with a growing family and Michael lecturing in philosophy, Ruth became one of the best-known speakers on pro-life issues. Her unshakeable faith, and down to earth spirituality, make her 'ordinary' life story inspiring and encouraging. The tragedy of losing a child as well as Ruth's death from cancer at the age of 41 explain 'appalling strangeness' but these events served only to strengthen Ruth's faith in God's mercy.

The Signs of the New Covenant by A.-G. Martimort
An inspiring read, this exploration of the Sacraments provides much food for thought on the signs by which the Church in all ages participates both in Christ's Paschal Mystery and in its final consummation.  Not your typical spiritual reading, perhaps, but very apt for Lent, as we prepare ourselves (alongside those approaching the Sacraments for the first time at Easter) to celebrate the central mystery of our faith.


Pseudo-Macarius: The Fifty Spiritual Homilies edited by George A. Maloney S.J.
The fifty spiritual homilies have been traditionally attributed to Marcarius the Egyptian  but their author has not, as of yet, been identified.  Writing to ascetics in Syria, the author evokes numerous evocative and colourful images to present what he considers the three main stages of the Christian life: The life of evil; the spiritual struggle; and the casting out of sin.  This basic structure helps one to reflect not only upon one's own faith journey but on Salvation History as a whole.  The author's striking unified anthropology is firmly holistic and his rejection of dualism gives the work a fresh and relevant feeling.

Godzdogz Lenten Retreat

Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness ...

During Lent Godzdogz will offer a reflection based on each day's Mass readings. We hope that many of you will be able to check in with us daily so that together we can make good use of this time of grace. In the 5th week of Lent we will offer reflections on the Seven Last Words of Jesus. In Holy Week, as in previous years, there will be homilies on the Stations of the Cross, followed by reflections on the days of the Triduum. We wish you a fruitful observance of this season of penance and preparation. Please remember us in your prayers.