Monthly Archives: March 2015

March 15, 2015

5th Sunday of Lent – A Second Chance Revisited (Year A)

By Fr. Andrew Ricci

 

Second Chance

Pastoral Note: The 3rd, 4th, and 5th Sundays of Lent provide an option for using the “Year A” readings at Mass for the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) process.  At the Cathedral this year, we will be using Year A during these weeks for this very reason, and the reflection is offered below for all who will be hearing these readings in solidarity with those in RCIA who are joining the Church this year.

Study:  Reflect on a time when you were given a second chance.  How did you feel?  How did you respond?

Pray:  Is there something in your past that has held you back from growing?  Ask the Lord for the grace to begin again.

Serve:  Is there someone you know who could use a second chance?  How can you help them to start over?

5th Sunday of Lent Readings

Fr. Andrew’s Homily Podcast (from Lent 2014)

Anyone who plays games knows about second chances.  They happen in board games when we get to “roll again”, and they happen in sporting events when one team gets a break through a change in the action.  They are part of the game, and they usually bring plenty of excitement and interest.

A second chance usually gives the player new opportunities and hope.  When a second chance is offered, it provides for the possibility to correct past mistakes.  Second chances can revitalize a player’s efforts.  Simply put, they can breathe new life into the game.

In the Gospel today we hear how Jesus calls Lazarus back from the dead.  Lazarus, who had been in the tomb four days, was loved by family and friends alike.  This love is witnessed in Jesus, whose tears reveal the depth of his concern.

I have always wondered how the story of Lazarus continued after this miracle.  What did people say every time they saw him?  Did people point to him as an example of the power of Jesus?  Did he wake up each day thanking God for another opportunity to love the people around him?

This miracle shows us a fundamental truth about God:  the Lord grants us second chances. Through the miracle of Jesus, Lazarus has been given back the gift of life.  This miracle provides the possibility for him to look back on the past and make a break with it.  In other words, his new life is an opportunity to begin again.

The story of Lazarus inspires us with hope.  God gives us second chances, too!  There are times when we may reflect on our lives, and we know that there is something that needs to change.  We need to let it “die” so that God can call us back to life.

Perhaps we have acted or spoken in a way that has been harmful to another.  Perhaps we have abused our bodies or put ourselves or others at risk through unwise choices.  Or maybe an event or decision in the past has kept us from living our lives in the present.

Whatever it is, God gives us a second chance.  Through his journey from Good Friday to Easter Sunday, Jesus makes it possible for us to break from sin and live in the light of God’s grace.  We can start again, living with the faith, hope, and love that can only come from Jesus Christ.

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March 15, 2015

5th Sunday of Lent – A Grain of Wheat

By Fr. Andrew Ricci

wheat sheaves

Study: When in my life have I had to let go of something, someone, so that growth could happen?

Pray: Am I struggling right now to let go?  Ask God for help – wisdom and strength – to do it.

Serve:  Is there someone in my life that needs help letting go of a past mistake or hurt?  How can I help them?

Pastoral Note: The 3rd, 4th, and 5th Sundays of Lent provide an option for using the “Year A” readings at Mass for the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) process.  At the Cathedral this year, we will be using Year A during these weeks for this very reason – but for those who follow the usual cycle the reflection is offered below.

5th Sunday of Lent Readings – Year B

Fr. Andrew’s Homily Podcast – Year B

The Gospel of John today offers an image that contains the central idea of the Christian faith:

Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies,
it remains just a grain of wheat;
but if it dies, it produces much fruit.
John 12:24

Picture a grain of wheat in your hand.  It is a tiny, lifeless thing; alone it can be crushed for flour.  Yet if that grain is allowed to fall to the ground two things will happen.

First, the grain will die to itself.  That is, it will cease to be a GRAIN of wheat.  Its hull will be broken down and disintegrate, the kernel will lose its appearance, and it will no longer be able to be used for flour!

Second, the grain will become something new.  The grain will be transformed into a new and living creation, full of life and possibilities.  It will not resemble the grain – it will be vastly larger, living, able to grow, and full of new potential.

Simply put, as the grain of wheat “died” to its old self, a new life was able to burst forth.  The old passed away, making new hope and opportunity available.  This is the Paschal Mystery – a journey from death to life.

Like the grain of wheat, Jesus will also make this journey; from Good Friday to Easter Sunday, his life will be a process of transformation, change, and new life.  Through his death, he will not only be raised to life, but he will become the instrument by which God saves us as well.

What does this mystery mean for us?  If this journey from death to life is our own, how do we live it out?  How do we experience the Paschal Mystery in our lives?  Here are four ideas for reflection:

1.  Death – we no longer need to be afraid!
2.  Life – we let go of our selfishness – to grow!
3.  Sin – we “die” to our faults; God’s grace fills us.
4.  We become like Christ – if he did it, so can we!

The Paschal Mystery makes sense, because we encounter the process of death to life in so many everyday experiences.  It is not an easy journey, but when we open our hearts to this mystery, we allow God’s transforming grace to work within us, remaking us into a new creation, alive in Christ!

*****

Landscape with wheat sheaves and rising moon, Vincent van Gogh; 1889, oil on canvas, 72 cm x 92 cm,  Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo, Netherlands.

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March 8, 2015

4th Sunday of Lent – For God So Loved the World

By Fr. Andrew Ricci

Image converted using ifftoany

Study:  When have I experienced a profound moment of love?  How did that moment change my life?

Pray:  Ask for the grace to embrace and share God’s love with others.   Today.

Serve:  How might I put my love into action for another?  How might I show someone the love I have in my heart?

Pastoral Note: The 3rd, 4th, and 5th Sundays of Lent provide an option for using the “Year A” readings at Mass for the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) process.  At the Cathedral this year, we will be using Year A during these weeks for this very reason – but for those who follow the usual cycle the reflection is offered below.

4th Sunday of Lent Readings – Year B

Fr. Andrew’s Homily Podcast – Year B

Do you ever wonder just how great God’s love really is?  How amazing?  How awesome?  I keep thinking about different analogies that show the reality of divine love when compared to human understanding.

For example:  If my entire awareness of God’s love could be viewed, it would be like a drop of water – compared to the Pacific Ocean of God’s love.  Or a grain of sand – compared to the Sahara Desert.  Or a single blade of grass – compared to the Midwest Prairie.

The fact is, there is no comparison that can truly show the height, depth, power, or magnitude of the love of God.  No analogy, no image, no description can do it justice…yet we can use our limited language to give us a hint:

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.  (John 3:16-17)

This is God’s demonstration of love.  Look at a Cross; listen to the Stations; read the Passion.  The love of God is not words or clever thoughts.  The love of God is manifest through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ – out of love for us.

The question is – Do we believe it?  Do we accept in our hearts that this love is for us?  Do we live with the conviction that God values us, cherishes us, treasures us, forgives us, and loves us with this sort of intensity?

If we do believe, then our lives are forever changed.  If we receive these words and open our hearts, then God will come and transform us.  The Lord’s power is that great; once we say “Yes” to Christ we begin a process that will draw us steadily closer to God and one another.

We have heard these words so often that we can take them for granted.  We can overlook their meaning and miss the point.  Lent gives us time to search into our hearts and recognize this love for what it is – God’s way of calling us home.

May we be ready to respond!

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March 3, 2015

3rd Sunday of Lent – Cleaning House

By Fr. Andrew Ricci

garage

Study:  What needs to be cleaned up in your life?  What “messes” require care and attention?

Pray: Invite the Lord into your heart and ask him for the grace and strength to cast out what does not belong.

Serve:  How can you help someone clean up a part of their life?

Pastoral Note: The 3rd, 4th, and 5th Sundays of Lent provide an option for using the “Year A” readings at Mass for the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) process.  At the Cathedral this year, we will be using Year A during these weeks for this very reason – but for those who follow the usual cycle (this year it is “Year B”) the reflection is offered below.

3rd Sunday of Lent Readings – Year B

Fr. Andrew’s Homily Podcast – Year B

About this time of year I start getting the itch to dig and clean out old items around the house. I start in those areas where things usually pile up, namely – CLOSETS! (You know, those places where we throw things that we are not sure if we need…)

I pull them out and ask a simple question, “Have I touched this in the last two years? Have I needed it, used it, thought about it? Or can I get rid of it?”
Sometimes we hold on to items (clothes for example) that we simply do not need. We do not use them, and they occupy and clutter space that takes away from other things. Since I am not generally a pack rat, I find this time of year refreshing; it is a way that I can simplify my life and focus on what I think is important.

In John’s Gospel we see Jesus doing his sort of house cleaning. Entering into the temple with a whip of cords, he systematically drives out those who are treating the temple like a marketplace. It is a rare glimpse of the Lord’s anger, and it reminds us of his passion and zeal for the House of God.

Yet we are reminded that buildings are not the only temples where God resides. St. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 3:16 “Do you not know that you are God’s temple, and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” If the Lord was willing to drive out inappropriate behavior from the temple in Jerusalem, what will he drive out when he enters the temple of our hearts?

To help us, God provided the Commandments – that we might avoid the very things that harm us.  The first reading today proclaims these commandments, reminding us that God has provided a path to help us on our journey through life.  What’s more, these commandments reveal with swift clarity what is does not belong; they point out the very sins that can keep us from the Lord and one another.

In our moments of honesty we know that there are elements that need to be cast out. Sin is a part of our human condition, and all of us have fallen short of God’s grace in our thoughts, words, and deeds. We know that if the Lord were to come into our hearts he would discover secrets and fears that keep us from God and one another.

The point, however, is that God has come! The Lord Jesus, through his death and resurrection, comes through the Holy Spirit into our world. His victory over sin and death give us hope that we may have eternal life. We need not fear the darkness in our hearts; we can offer it to the light of Christ.

The Scriptures tell us that we are a temple. Experience tells us that within this temple there is sin. Yet faith tells us that not only will Jesus come driving out evil, but he will make a place to dwell there within our hearts. You see, it’s his house, too.

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March 1, 2015

Christian in a Changing World – Living each Day – Catholic Inspiration

By Fr. Andrew Ricci

Three Great Things

“Christian in a Changing World” is a 3 night Parish Mission that was offered February 22-24, 2015 at Cathedral of Christ the King.  The presentations help us understand how we walk our spiritual journey through the ups and downs of life.

3rd Night – Living in a Changing World Podcast (44 minutes)

The third presentation discusses how we navigate change and challenge in the course of our lives.  How do we face trials and struggles?  How do we live – reacting to events, engaging them, or passively drifting along?  Four words are used to guide this presentation:

  • Attitude
  • Habit
  • Team
  • God

When we bring these different aspects together, we find that we live the gift of our lives with joy – not that life will be easy – but that we are attuned to bring our best effort to the Lord, who in turn will touch our lives with the grace we need.

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