Photo by Maureen Kennedy Macel
"A Good Life" presents a special Lenten guest blog post by Maureen Kennedy Macel:
This Lent I (Maureen) am trying to observe Lent by following (1) Traci Smith's "Family Lenten Practices Calendar", (2) watching the daily RedeemedOnline #ShareJesus videos, and (3) reading the daily mass readings. What follows are my reflections on it all. Despite being somewhat scared to share my thoughts publicly I have been feeling a nudge to share this with others. So in trusting in God's gentle urging and special thanks to my gracious sister who is letting me post my reflections on her blog -- Here goes... I pray that at least some small amount of what I have written helps you strengthen your relationship with God.
[P] = Prayer, [F] = Fasting, [S] = Almsgiving/Service
Day 1 Wednesday February 18 - [P] Hope
RO: I want to be better because I have Jesus in my life.
Joel 2:12-18
...return to the LORD, your God. For gracious and merciful is he, slow to anger, rich in kindness, and relenting in punishment.
Matthew 6: 1-6, 16-18
Jesus said to his disciples: ...When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
I share the Word of God for God’s sake, not my own. I do not wish the take away to be how I am praying or that I am praying, but rather that through prayer we each are able to learn about how wonderful God is and He is always present. Sometimes we risk forgetting He is always with us (Emmanuel = God With Us) unless we consciously work to bring him into our lives.
When we keep God present in our lives we open ourselves to the opportunities he presents us with every day to bring him into our hearts and share him with others. Where is God today? Right here, with you and in you and working thru you.
My sister randomly opened the Bible today and she was met with the words from the Book of Sirach 17: 7-30 - which includes, “Turn back to the Lord and forsake your sins; pray in his presence and lessen your offense. Return to the Most High and turn away from iniquity, and hate intensely what he hates. How great is the mercy of the Lord, and his forgiveness for those who return to him! “ As we start Lent this scripture is a perfect reminder to repent and keep the Lord ever-present in our lives. My sister sent this reflection on the experience: “It was a nice smile from God telling me that scripture is a place where he does speak to me, and to make time to visit him there.” Be open to God and you will find he is speaking to you in many ways. We do not need to understand how or why, we just need to be open to Him.
The world we live in is filled with many evils which can challenge our faith in God. We must not be discouraged. Let us pray for Hope. For as it says in Isaiah 40:31 “They that hope in the LORD will renew their strength, they will soar on eagles’ wings; They will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint.” There are things we cannot comprehend since we are mere humans. Let us turn our fears, doubts, and distress over to the Lord. Let us pray to Him for strength to remain strong in our faith despite the worldly challenges we face. Let us continue to find Him where he is present and bring Him where he is calling us to go.
Day 2 Thursday February 19 - [F] No TV or screens today
RO: God reveals himself thru the language of Beauty. // We long for more because we are made for more … Lent strips us of our facades ...and it reveals that the core of who we are is that we are made for God. // God satisfies the desires of our heart.
Deuteronomy 30: 15-20
Choose life, then,that you and your descendants may live, by loving the LORD, your God, heeding his voice, and holding fast to him.
Luke 9: 22-25
Then he said to all, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
This reflection was written on 2/20 as the activity for the day was fasting from computer and TV screens. I woodburned a crate I am in the middle of making while listening to a few radio programs. There were a few things I wanted to do on the computer but had to deny myself. As the night went on and I hadn’t succumbed to a screen I felt strengthened to continue to deny myself it - even though my usual habit is to sit down 1-1.5 hours before bed and just relax on the computer and with the TV. For 3 hours I woodburned and stayed in the present moment. There were a few times I wanted to do something on the computer*, but denying myself that instant desire with instant gratification really was a great challenge. Not that it was hard, but that it was different - to pause and just say “That is not important. If it is I will do it tomorrow.” And so this reflection waited to be completed in its due course.
It seems counter to the priest’s message in mass on 2/18 - which was “repent today; do not wait until tomorrow.” But it was actually in the same vein - “Be present so as to be present with God.” If we let ourselves remain distracted by our own wants and desires and always focus on ourselves we fail to make room for God. We need to remember to invite Him in. Slow down. Open up. Listen for how God is speaking to us. If we are mindful of what we are doing and don’t just seek the next distraction from our current one we give God an opportunity to let us hear Him.
*Things I wanted to do: (1) look up something for my sister’s wedding that we could possibly make ourselves instead of buying, (2) work on some logos I am trying to create for a contest, (3) make an image for a new Facebook cover (with Isaiah 40:31 on it); follow-up on this - On 2/20 I did upload a new image (haven’t done that in about 6 months) and it wasn’t even that one that I did end up making (made on 2/20) but instead a pic I took today… which reminds me I looped back to instant gratification because I just selected the new one instead of the one I had been planning on using (for the curious: the new one is a picture of a record with my dad-in-law’s name on it; yes, it is pretty sweet but I really planned on making my cover religious-themed for Lent). (4) Just sit like a lump on couch with computer on lap and DVR’ed show on in background (for the curious: I partially did this on 2/20… writing this while a couch lump, though proud of myself for not having the TV on in the background.)
Day 3 Friday February 20 - [S] Make a card for someone who needs it
RO: Evaluate our lives and see how we may have drifted away from God. // Repent // You are created for more; turn back to the Truth. // Stop trying to live by my own rules, and learn what are the rules of God and what are the ways He wants me to live. // The way we treat each other is also the way we tend to treat God. // Turn back to Him in humility.
Isaiah 58: 1-9A
This, rather, is the fasting that I wish: releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; Setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke; Sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; Clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own.
I spent all day not actually knowing what the activity for the day was. When I sat down at night, after a full day of working and being with Nora I regretted having not read it sooner. “Make a card for someone who needs it.” Reason 1: There are plenty of people I am sure would love to receive a card, but I should take time to reflect on who that one recipient will be - who is it that really needs one? Reason 2: Nora could have helped make the card, but now she is asleep. Reason 3: I need time to prepare to write a card. Once I figure out who it is for, that is.
When I saw this one originally on the calendar I thought a few things. Thought 1: What a nice idea! Thought 2: I shouldn’t need a calendar to tell me to write a card for someone. This is something I could do any time. Thought 3: How sad it is to know that the only time I will do this is now (because let’s be honest). And sad because a calendar told me to and not that I thought of doing it myself.
Even though it will be a day late in the making I will make that card and Nora and I will mail it tomorrow.
Who needs a card? Well this is limited by people whose addresses I have or could otherwise courier it through. … I think I have it: Best college-friend’s sister and her baby. Or maybe Nora’s Great-Grandma. Or maybe my boss and her family. Or maybe my sister who is at college. Or maybe my uncle who lives in California. ...ok so maybe I don’t have it quite yet.
As I was trying to think of someone I remembered a thought I once had but never did -- perhaps this will inspire me to do it (eh, let’s be honest, probably not). The thought: Message each one of my friends on Facebook - pick a few each week/each month and write them a personal note. Reconnect. A few reasons why this likely won’t happen. Reason 1: I haven’t yet gotten around to it yet despite having thought of it months ago. Reason 2: I have been trying (and succeeding) at staying off of Facebook for longer than 5 minutes at a time every few days. Better not risk regression. Reason 3: I would likely need to spend a paragraph explaining why I was messaging them - and that thought makes me sad. Because if we are really truly friends I should be able to just send them a note without explaining why I was doing it.
...Speaking of turning back to things, sorry, I appear to have gotten a touch off track there. So let’s get at least one good reflection in on Isaiah 58 and the message from RedeemedOnline. What God wants from us is clearly listed, in plain text, right in front of our faces. So why is it so hard to do what he wants us to do? “Share your bread with the hungry.” - I could do more of this. I am thankful later on this Lent the calendar has me getting a few things together for a food pantry. But that loops me back to feeling sad - (1) I put off things to tomorrow that should be done today, (2) I could do more for others but just don’t, (3) Even when someone tells me how to live for the Lord I still fail. What a great opportunity for me - I need to learn how to turn back to Him in humility.
(There is so much “I” in this. Which is a flaw of mine. I do focus on me way too much (what’s that again about me not being the center of everything but He being it?)...
Day 4 Saturday February 21 - [P] Giving
RO: [Jesus] doesn’t just come to celebrate with us on the mountaintops of life. He comes to be with us in the deserts of our experiences. When it seems like we are all alone… We are never alone. // We have a Savior who knows what we are going through because He’s been there.
Isaiah 58: 9B-14
He will renew your strength, and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring whose water never fails. …
Luke 5: 27-31
...And leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him. ...I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.
Lord, you are always giving to me in so many ways. May I remember to give to you, not just when I feel like doing so but always. And may I recognize that which you give to me - to see it, appreciate it, and let it guide my life. Help me recognize what gifts you have given me and lead me to share those gifts with others.
Day 5 Sunday February 22 - [F] No snacks between meals today
RO: When a person has a “Why” they can almost do anything. Jesus, we know his “What” - he fasted, he prayed, he battled Satan. But what was His “Why”? God revealed this - Jesus’ “Why” was actually a “Who”. And His “Who” is you. // Do you have a “Why? And is your “Why” not just a motivation, not just a reason, but is it a person. Is it a “Who”? Is the reason why you’re going to enter into this Lent with everything you’ve got because of the person Jesus Christ who went into the wilderness with everything He had?
Genesis 9: 8-15
“This is the sign that I am giving for all ages to come, of the covenant between me and you and every living creature with you: I set my bow in the clouds to serve as a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.
1 Peter 3: 18-22
Beloved: Christ suffered for sins once, the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous, that he might lead you to God.
Mark 1: 12-15
Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
Self-Denial from food. Man that’s a tough one. I wasn’t sure if I was even going to try this. But my day made it easy for me. Unlike a typical day my day started with brunch at my parent’s house followed by a baby shower where I over ate. Followed by a nap and then playing for so long with Nora that I made it until 8:30pm without eating dinner thus resulting in dinner plus what I would have snacked on but lumped into “dinner” because I ate it so late at night.
So what did this teach me today? It seems like it was more of finding a way around it than just committing to the sacrifice of doing it. Basically I avoided the sacrifice. But isn’t that how life goes sometimes? We are so good at justifying what we want so that we can do what we want as a means to ignore the hard stuff. God shouldn’t be hard stuff. He constantly invites us in and gives us opportunities to encounter Him. And what do we do? Try our hardest to keep ourselves first. But we are so wrong! God needs to be our number one priority. God is above all things. If we live for Him and not for ourselves what we do, what we don’t do, and what we deny is a sacrifice, but one done for the right reasons. Instead of thinking of it as “this is so hard for me” we should think of it as “I am doing this for the Lord.” When we fast it is not about us. It is about God and bringing us closer to Him.
A temporary fasting from what we take for granted and what controls us reminds us that we are not the center of the universe. We need to get beyond our own egos and treat God how He should be treated. We should do all things for Him, for He does all things for us.
Day 6 Monday February 23 - [S] Do something kind for a neighbor
RO: Jesus chooses a bunch of nobodys. They were mess-ups. He chooses them anyways because He sees in them something and He believes that despite the fact they mess up… He knows they have what it takes to follow after Him. The hope of being called, of Jesus calling nobodys… it is really hopeful. // Jesus looks at you and He sees your value and your worth and it is not tied to what you’ve done or what you could do. // What does it mean to be chosen? Jesus chooses us when we’re nobodys. // What would it mean if Jesus asked you to come and follow?
Leviticus 19: 1-2, 11-18
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Matthew 25: 31-46
For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me. // Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me. // Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.
“Do something kind for a neighbor.” Hmm. This shouldn’t be so hard, should it? It is not that I wouldn’t want to help my neighbor if they needed help. But rather it is a challenge because I don’t know my neighbors well enough to know what they need. Pitiful.
I thought “Too bad it didn’t snow today. I could have shoveled someone’s sidewalk.” That would have been “the easy way out”. Sure, it’s a nice thing to do. They would have appreciated it. But that was the least I could have done.
Nevermind, the least I could have done is what I did do - nothing. Pitiful.
Now I do know four of my neighbors. I know their names. We occasionally chat. We have helped each other in a few small ways. But to sit down on some random day (today) and do something kind for them - Well that is a struggle. Do I know what they need? No. Do I know if they would want something simple like cookies? No. (Because perhaps they gave up cookies for Lent or are diabetic or on a diet; any limited number of reasons someone would not want a cookie.)
I asked my husband if my kind thing could be to just talk to them. But did I then make an effort to even do this small thing? No. I did not. It was below zero degrees outside, I got busy taking care of Nora, and stayed self-centered in my own little world. Also, it seems disingenuous to force an act of kindness. See - It is so easy to justify not doing the right thing.
So I have pledged to myself that this act will occur. Maybe not today (definitely not today), probably not tomorrow, but some time in the coming months when I see that opportunity to do something for them I will be doing it to fulfill this Lenten service. It’s the least I should do.
God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
Part 2: What is a “neighbor” anyways? A neighbor is anyone in need. There are plenty of people in need every day, all around us. We should be vigilant to “Do something kind for a neighbor” at every opportunity. For every opportunity is an invitation from God for us to share in His love. Why would we ever not do the thing that calls us to serve Him? Let us be strong enough to say “Yes” to the opportunities God gives us to show Him we love Him and want to be with Him.
To show God how much we love Him let us love our neighbor as we love ourselves.
Part 3: The one thing I did today was to call the Operation Safety Net office to find out if the winter clothes they need could be bought at Goodwill and what their drop-off hours are. I didn’t yet ‘do’ the thing of buying the clothes. But I at least did step one to set me on the path, which sometimes is all God is asking of us -- be open to Him, let Him in, let Him work in us and let Him guide us to where He would love for us to go.
Day 7 Tuesday February 24 - [P] Gratitude
RO: It wasn’t until I had a sincere encounter with Christ that I was transformed. // In life there are moments of transformation. // Christ makes us new again. // Transformation calls us to action. Transformation is not just something that we say or a relationship we say we have with Jesus Christ, but it is reflected out in our very lives. What we choose to do, how we choose to spend time in our day, and who we spend time with should be a reflection of that transformation in Christ. How have you been transformed by Christ? And since that transformation how has your life changed? And what are you doing now because of that transformation?
Isaiah 55: 10-11
Just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down And do not return there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, Giving seed to the one who sows and bread to the one who eats, So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; It shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it.
Matthew 6: 7-15
Jesus said to his disciples: “In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”
I meant to reflect throughout the day on all the things that I am grateful for and then write a very long list of the things that make me feel grateful. Things like: I am thankful for my blessed life, for my family, ...for so many things.
And then I realized the most important thing I could be grateful for which includes all things: I am grateful to have a loving God who loves me despite my flaws, despite my failings, despite the fact that I so often get in the way of me doing what He wants me to do. I am grateful for the many chances He gives to me to return to Him. I am grateful that He doesn’t just do this for me, but for everyone. God is great! He is merciful. He is just. He loves us and wants us to be with Him. Let us show Him our Gratitude by following where He leads instead of trying to find our own way in the darkness. He is the light. Let us let Him shine in us!
