February, 2018 This month, we prepare for and enter into Lent. The Sunday readings lead us to consider what it means to put our trust in God, and to rely on God’s goodness and mercy, healing and forgiveness. In this month’s issue of Impact, we invite readers to repent of their sins, discern the will of God, and embrace a life of on-going conversion as disciples. We pray that you and all you lead and serve will have a most blessed Lenten season in which to repent, change, and grow in faith.— Leisa Anslinger and Amberly Boerschinger

Homily Connections

February 4: The first readings this month include familiar Biblical characters who show incredible faith in the face of very challenging circumstances. Today, we hear the story of Job, who questions the purpose of his life, suffering, and what gives life meaning. In today’s gospel, Jesus heals Simon’s mother-in-law, prompting the townspeople to bring their ill to him. Following a time of prayer, confirming the shape of his mission, he is ready to move to other villages, where he will preach and heal.

Connecting with everyday life: This is a perfect Sunday to talk about what is really important in life. What needs to change in order to more fully discern God’s will and live our lives with purpose and meaning?Invite your people to search their hearts and ask themselves if they listen to God in prayer, Sacred Scripture, and through their interactions with others, including a spiritual director or mentor, as they make life decisions. Use an example from your own or someone else’s life to illustrate the difference such prayerful discernment can make, and point to the impact of faith in bringing particular meaning to the shape of our lives.

February 11: It is difficult for us to fully grasp the plight of lepers in Biblical times, although there are still places in the world where leprosy exists and where those with Hansen’s disease are quarantined. Today, Jesus heals a leper, who (in spite of Jesus’ instructions to not tell anyone what had happened) is compelled to “publicize the whole matter.” No doubt, he was astounded at his healing and the promise of new life that awaited him as a result.

Connecting with everyday life: Passages such as the one we hear today can be difficult for some, whose experience of physical illness has not been of healing, but of suffering and death. It will be helpful today to remind people that Jesus suffers with us in such times, just as the Lord may work through the healing touch of medical professionals. We also experience other kinds of illness — spiritual, emotional turmoil in which we reach out to God and rely on the care of others to bring about healing. Invite your people to consider how they are called to be persons of healing. Are there situations in which they may be

called to forgive another, to reach out with love to someone who is hurting, to visit someone who is sick, and whose spirits may be lifted through their care?

February 18: Lent begins today, and in today’s readings, we are reminded of God’s covenant love, growing in understanding that Jesus is and brings this love in its fullness. While the first Sunday of Lent always features Jesus’ temptation in the desert, today’s pericope from the Gospel of Mark is brief and does not include the details of other synoptic gospel accounts. The gospel call today is to turn away from temptation, repent, and believe.

Connecting with everyday life: Today is a good day to invite your people to consider what they need to turn away from in order to embrace the life of discipleship more fully. We do not often think about “sin” in our culture, however, Lent is an opportunity to reflect on the ways we miss the mark of God and God’s ways, and to grow in holiness. People often give up something for Lent. This is a great opportunity to encourage your people to adopt a resolution that will have lasting impact on them and the people they touch. Share an example from your own life in which you made the shift from giving up something mundane to resolving to make a lasting change.

February 25: Today features one of the most moving stories in all of Sacred Scripture, Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Isaac. The reading is paired with the account of Jesus’ transfiguration on the mountain, and foreshadows his passion, crucifixion and death on the cross.

Connecting with everyday life: Invite your people to think about the sacrifices they make for the people they love on a daily basis — parents for children, adult children for parents, those who reach out in service and ministry. Help them grasp that we may join these moments of sacrifice with the ultimate sacrifice of Christ. Share an example of how the sacrifice of someone made a difference. When we consider the call to on-going conversion, it is to such a life of self-giving love to which we are called.

At Parish Meetings or in Adult Faith Formation this Month

Opening Prayer

Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth to those who keep your covenant.Your ways, O Lord, make known to me; teach me your paths.Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my savior.Remember that your compassion, O Lord, and your love are from of old. In your kindness remember me, because of your goodness, O Lord.Good and upright is the Lord, thus he shows sinners the way.He guides the humble to justice, and he teaches the humble his way.Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth to those who keep your covenant.(PS 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9)

Listen to Sacred Scripture: MK 1:12-15

Read: Page 1 of the February Impact.

Share: your thoughts, using these questions to guide your reflection:

Recall a particularly fruitful Lent in the past. What made the season especially meaningful?

From what do you need to turn away at this time? (Share only what is comfortable)

What way of connecting faith to life do you need to embrace?

Commit: Take time to prayerfully discern the resolutions to which you will commit this Lent.

Offer one another a sign of Christ’s peace.

IT’S TIME FOR A CHANGE

Lent is a season in which to repent and change and grow.

Let’s be honest. None of us is perfect. We all have areas in our lives that need to change. We may be too focused on ourselves, personal pleasure, or the drive to accumulate material things. We often ignore the needs of the poor, fail to reach out in love and service, or shun those who are different from ourselves. Or, we may simply be so caught up in the daily swirl of activities that we do not take time for God or consider how we might act or grow as a follower of Jesus.

Growing as a disciple is all about change. It’s about looking at where we are in relationship to God and discerning what steps to take to get closer to Jesus’ way of love. Being a disciple is about conversion — becoming more like Christ, day-by-day, decision-by-decision.

This month, we begin the season of Lent, our annual time of spiritual spring cleaning. Lent is a season in which we renew our commitment to living and growing as Christians. Lent is also a time in which we admit that we sin — the word “sin” actually means to “miss the mark” where God and God’s ways are concerned. During Lent, we more intentionally turn away from sin, those times we miss the mark, and turn toward God and all that is true, good, and beautiful. We repent of our sins, and resolve to do better in the future. We look to Jesus as our Savior and model.

We do not do this alone. We are assured of God’s constant love and the Holy Spirit’s presence. We draw on the grace of the sacrament of Reconciliation, embracing Christ’s mercy and forgiveness. We are formed and nourished in the Eucharist. We find strength in the company of other Christians within the faith community. Let us make this Lenten season the time for change, for the better.

© Catholic Life and Faith, 2018

“Constantly, Christians must beg God for the grace of conversion: the grace to know who they are, to whom they belong, how they are to live—the grace to repent and change andgrow, the grace to become good disciples and stewards.

God’s love is always there. The Spirit of wisdom and courage helps people seek pardon and be mindful, in the face of all their forgetting, that the most important work of their lives is to be Jesus’ disciples.

Thus, the stewardship of disciples is not reducible only to one task or another. It involves embracing, cultivating, enjoying, sharing—and sometimes also giving up— the goods of human life. “ (SDR, p.28)

BRING FAITH TO LIFESometimes it is difficult to think about God’s will. Our fierce human independence balks at the idea of someone else’s will being important, even if it is God whose will we are considering. Yet each of us has moments in which we sense what we are called to do: dreams of making a contribution in the life of another; a simple act of kindness that could make a real difference; a sense of purpose or fruitfulness in which we may find meaning in life; a desire to show compassion, share mercy, forgive another, or give of ourselves in a new and substantial way. St. John XXIII understood these interior promptings that are glimmers of the will of God: “Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do.” © Catholic Life and Faith, 2018

MORE OR LESSWe might think of Lent as a season of less and more. Less focus on stuff; more on giving of time or attention. Less time absorbed in self; more in prayer and serving the needs of others. Less of unnecessary things; more on the most important ones, which usually aren't things at all. We often think of Lent as a time to "give up" something, which leads us to less of a favored food or activity, and which ideally gives us more of an experience of sacrifice, and more time or money for another. Will your Lenten practice this year lead you to be less distracted, more prayerful, less stressed, and more trusting in God's goodness? May this Lent be a season of "less is more": as you free yourself from whatever keeps you from following Jesus, may you find more of all that you truly need: grace, forgiveness, mercy, compassion. And may you share these gifts with others. As you do so, you will surely also discover the grace of the Spirit of God within you, empowering you to act as a person of Christ in the world. This Lent, let us make "less is more" our motto as we repent and change and grow in faith. © ️Catholic Life and Faith, 2018

IMPACT THIS MONTH

Take time this month to reflect on the ways you are and are not living as a faithful follower of Jesus. Resolve to turn away from sin and toward God. Embrace the Lenten practices of prayer, fasting, and giving as you repent, change, and grow as a disciple and steward.