2020 lenten meditations...“have mercy on me, o god, according to thy steadfast love… purge me...

2020 Lenten Meditations

BY FR. JOSEPH MARY WOLFE, MFVAEWTN Chaplain

1 | 2020 Lenten Meditations

Wednesday, February 26, 2020 Ash Wednesday

Return to Me with all your Heart!It seems like Christmas was just here with all of its festivities celebrating Jesus’ birth. Now, it’s Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the adventure of Lent when Our Lord, looking at us with great love (Mark 10:21), asks us to return to Him with all our hearts as we prepare for His sacrifice on Calvary.

Each week through Lent, we would like to share a devotional thought and a set of Scripture readings to help you prepare for a transformative celebration of Easter.

Today’s readings are First reading: Joel 2:12-18 Psalm: 51:3-6, 12-14, 17 Second reading: 2 Cor 5:20 – 6:2 Gospel: St. Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

The readings ushering us into this solemn season speak of God’s longing for us and His rich mercy in welcoming all who turn back to him. All of us sin. With the law of our Creator written on our hearts, we experience sorrow when we realize our transgressions and with God’s Grace, regret them. This is the beginning of our healing. The Miserere, one of the seven Penitential Psalms, expresses great hope:

“Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy steadfast love… Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean; wash me and I shall be whiter

than snow.”

Although King David wrote those words nearly 3,000 years ago, they still stir our hearts with the promise of God’s faithfulness. As we journey together toward Easter, let us reflect on our Lord, waiting with open arms, to love, heal and forgive us.

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Sunday, March 1, 2020 First Sunday of Lent

The Temptations of this WorldWouldn’t life be easier without the constant temptations and trials of Satan?

Today’s readings are First reading: Genesis 2:7-9, 3:1-7 Psalm: 51:3-6, 12-13, 17 Second reading: Romans 5:12, 17-19 Gospel: St. Matthew 4:1-11

Sometimes it seems as though the trials and temptations in our lives are punishments of a sort, intruding on our peace and introducing troubles we would rather not consider. God allows us to be tempted, even though He knows that all of us will fall sometime and some of us will fall frequently. It’s easy to get discouraged if we take our eyes off God’s love and mercy for us. A saint is one who falls, but who gets back up in faith.

Today’s Gospel shows that God the Father did not exempt His beloved Son, Jesus, from experiencing the snares of the evil one. Interestingly, the Gospel description of Jesus’ temptation in the desert starts immediately after these words from the Father at Jesus’ Baptism in the Jordan:

“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

Jesus gives us a great example of how to address temptations directly. He delivers a bold, Scriptural, rebuke to each of Satan’s blandishments, not falling for a single one. As we make our way through this penitential season, perhaps we could strive to imitate Christ’s confidence in recognizing and refuting temptations.


Sunday, March 8, 2020 Second Sunday of Lent

Preparation for GloryIn today’s Gospel, for the second time in as many weeks, we hear the Father speak:

“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased;”

But this time, there is a command attached:

“…listen to Him.”

Today’s readings are First reading: Genesis 12:1-4 Psalm: 33:4-5, 18-20, 22 Second reading: 2 Timothy 1:8-10 Gospel: St. Matthew 17:1-9

In last week’s Gospel, the Father spoke at the moment of Jesus’ Baptism – the beginning of Jesus’ public life and His three-year journey toward Calvary. As St. Matthew describes the Transfiguration in today’s Gospel, the Father speaks to Peter, James and John – the Apostles who will also witness Jesus’ agony at Gethsemane.

St. Matthew tells us that Moses (representing the Law) and Elijah (representing the Prophets) are also present and speaking with Jesus on Mt. Tabor. What might they be saying to Him? St. Luke’s account of the Transfiguration tells us: “they spoke of His exodus which He was to accomplish at Jerusalem.”

What we see in our Scripture readings this second Sunday of Lent is preparation. By encouraging Peter, James and John with a glimpse of His Glory, Jesus is preparing them to accompany Him in His redemptive suffering. By commanding the Apostles to listen to His Son, God the Father is preparing them to focus


on Jesus in his Passion and beyond. Finally, while the first exodus led the chosen people out of slavery in Egypt to the promised land, Moses and Elijah speak with Jesus in preparation for the new exodus He will accomplish, leading us from the slavery of sin to our true homeland of Heaven through His passion, death and Resurrection.

How is God helping to prepare you to share in His Glory? What are the crosses in your life on the way to Salvation?

Sunday, March 15, 2020 Third Sunday of Lent

Of Water, Love and ProofBy now, we are well into our Lenten journey with Jesus, accompanied along the way by centuries of the People of God whose stories are told in the Scriptures. Over thousands of years of Salvation history, we may find that we are still more like them than not.

Today’s readings are First reading: Exodus 17:3-7 Psalm: 95:1-2, 6-9 Second reading: Romans 5:1-2, 5-8 Gospel: St. John 4:5-42

It is when we are under pressure that we may indeed “put the Lord to the test,” as the Children of Israel do in today’s first reading from the Book of Exodus. Suddenly afraid that Moses is leading them into the parched desert to die, the Israelites question the presence of God, forcing Moses to address their disbelief directly with the Almighty. This breach of faith was so remarkable that Psalm 95, attributed to King David and written nearly 500 years later, specifically mentions Massah and Meribah, the place of their rebellion.

Today’s Gospel from St. John also talks of water as Jesus engages the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well in conversation and offers her the “living water” of salvation. Impressed by Jesus’ loving but firm exposure of her sins, the woman returns to her town telling everyone to come and see Jesus, saying, “Can this be the Christ?” Unlike the people at Massah and Meribah centuries before, the Samaritan woman did not harden her heart under the pressure of her sin and guilt, but rather, opened her heart to the possibility of hope that God is, indeed, with us.

As the Psalmist sings, “If today you hear His voice, harden not your hearts!”


Sunday, March 22, 2020 Fourth Sunday of Lent

Lord, Transform us with Your Light!Today’s readings are all about seeing rightly in the light of Faith, which is to say in the Light of the Word, Jesus Christ.

Our first reading, the identification of David by Samuel as God’s choice of king from among the sons of Jesse, has a simple and clear message:

“… the Lord sees not as man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on

the heart.”

Today’s readings are First reading: 1 Samuel 16:1, 6-7, 10-13 Psalm: 23:1-6 Second reading: Ephesians 5:8-14 Gospel: St. John 9:1-41

John’s Gospel recounts the healing by Jesus of a man born blind. This healing, performed by Jesus on the Sabbath, invites the curiosity and rage of the Pharisees, not only toward Jesus but also toward the healed man himself, whom they cast out of the synagogue.

You may have heard the expression “The eyes are the window to the soul.” The giving of physical sight to a man who had never had it also opened his mind and heart to the truth about Jesus – that He is the Messiah. Not only does the healed man challenge the Pharisees with the simple, clear facts of Jesus’ actions, he acknowledges Jesus by saying, “Lord, I believe.” Then as the Gospel recounts, “he worshipped Him.”

As we fast and pray together this Lent, what is the Lord revealing to you? What are you able to see about Him that you were not able to see before?


Sunday, March 29, 2020 Fifth Sunday of Lent

Though you are Dead, you shall Live!By now, our observance of Lent seems very long. Our Scripture readings increasingly portray the Pharisees as intent on doing away with Jesus, and even those benefitting from His miracles.

In spite of these dark themes, there is tremendous hope in God’s promise of bodily resurrection to the Prophet Ezekiel in today’s first reading, as well as in the great Psalm 130, the De Profundis, a cry out of the depths, that extols God’s steadfast love and plenteous redemption. And St. Paul declares in Romans that the Spirit of God Who raised Jesus will also raise us bodily, if we but let His Spirit dwell in us.

Today’s readings are First reading: Ezekiel 37:12-14 Psalm: 130:1-8 Second reading: Romans 8:8-11 Gospel: St. John 11:1-45

I find the story of the raising of Lazarus in today’s Gospel not only touching, in its portrayal of Jesus’ friendship with Martha, Mary and Lazarus, but extremely encouraging. This passage contains the shortest verse in Scripture: “Jesus wept.” In His human nature, Jesus was just as saddened by death as any of us. Yet, He raises Lazarus not to assuage His own grief or even that of Martha and Mary. Jesus indicates that His act of raising Lazarus is to increase the faith of His Apostles and followers – to demonstrate that He, indeed, is “the Way, the Truth and the Life.”

We might ask ourselves, do we in our heart of hearts truly take Jesus at His word, that He, indeed, is “the Way” for my life, “the Truth” to guide me, and “the Life” that is abundance?



Sunday, April 5, 2020 Palm Sunday

The Hidden Joy of Christ’s PassionAs we read repeatedly in the Scriptures during Lent, God’s love is steadfast and faithful, extending not just to the righteous, but, in an astounding act of self-emptying and sacrifice, bending down to us sinners. This startling contrast, illustrating that God’s ways are above human ways, is exemplified by the crowd we see today on Palm Sunday, also called Passion Sunday for the reading of the Passion account.

Today’s readings are First reading: Isaiah 50:4-7 Psalm: 22:8-9, 17-20, 23-24 Second reading: Philippians 2:6-11 Gospel: St. Matthew 26:14 – 27:66

Today’s readings emphasize Christ’s willingness to enter into His suffering for the sake of our redemption. From the Suffering Servant in Isaiah, who does not shield his face from blows, to the faith-filled, afflicted one portrayed in Psalm 22 and from St. Paul’s description of Christ’s self-emptying to the institution of the Holy Eucharist recounted in today’s Gospel, we see our God willing to do what we are so often not willing to do – embrace suffering for the sake of love.

As the Eucharistic prayer says, “On the night He was betrayed and entered willingly into His Passion, He took bread in His holy and venerable hands…” God is with us, now and forever because He loves His creation and longs to be with us, sinners and betrayers though we are. The hidden joy of Christ’s Passion is His perfect freedom in choosing the Will of the Father, which is to say, choosing Love, come what may.

As you observe Holy Week and place yourself in the scenes of Christ’s Passion, where will you stand and what would you say to Him who will die for love of you?

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Sunday, April 12, 2020 Easter Sunday

Christ is Risen – Indeed, He is Risen!Happy Easter, Family!

It is hard to contain my joy at being able to celebrate this Easter with you, our EWTN Family.

This sacred day, may God give us a new appreciation for our salvation, purchased by the life, death and Resurrection of His only begotten Son, Jesus.

Today’s readings are First reading: Acts 10:34, 37-43 Psalm: 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23 Second reading: Colossians 3:1-4 or 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 Gospel: St. John 20:1-9

It is challenging to consider the pivotal event of Easter, Christ’s Resurrection, from our human perspective. What really happened in His tomb that Easter morning?

Scientists have theorized that Christ rose in a burst of radiation that created the three dimensional image on the Shroud of Turin, which many believe to be Jesus’ burial cloth. Scripture tells us that those closest to Jesus didn’t immediately recognize Him in His glorified body. Jesus ate fish in front of the disciples to prove his physicality, even as He was able to enter the Upper Room by going through locked doors. His glorified body had new abilities, but He was not a disembodied ghost as some of the disciples feared.

For all the value of scientific inquiry and speculation, the meaning of Easter is far more real and personal than theoretical. Scripture is clear – Christ rose and since Christ rose, we, too, have the opportunity for eternal life. It is as simple, and as complex, as that.



The Troparion of Pascha – a traditional, sacred refrain sung at the Easter Liturgy in Byzantine Rite Catholic Churches, celebrates the awesome truth of the Resurrection:

“Christ is risen from the dead! By death He trampled death

and to those in the tombs He granted life!”

We pray that each of you experiences all of the Graces and Blessings of Easter!

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Alleluia

Image: Cristo con la cruz a cuestas / Sebastiano del Piombo / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

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2020 lenten meditations...“have mercy on me, o god, according to thy steadfast love… purge me...

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