A SPIRITUAL THIRST

Jesus meets a woman at the well in Samaria, (Jn 4:5-42). This Samaritan woman was an outcast and she approaches Jesus asking Him to quench her thirst with the Living Water.

Jesus treats the Samaritan woman with great respect and evangelises her. When her real thirst been quenched, she in turns go out to tell others of her encounter with Jesus.

Jesus wants to give her the “living water” that comes from faith in Him. Living water – water that brings life and water that brings long lasting growth in our lives.

Jesus represents as a Living Water which brings us life and He alone can transcend and heal us. He is the only way to have our thirst satisfied eternally. He offers us living water but it is not going to be satisfying to us unless we confess and repent of our sin and desire for forgiveness.

Living water can be obtained only when we recognise that we are spiritually thirsty. During this Lent, let us look at ourselves as sinners. Let Jesus Christ meet our need for forgiveness, for fulfilment, and for a fresh start in life.

“If today you hear His Voice, harden not your hearts,” (Psalm 95).

https://www.stjosephsentul.org/keeping-our-faith-firm-through-trials-2/

LIVING LENT FAITHFULLY AND FRUITFULLY

Every year, when we begin the season of Lent, we are encouraged to draw closer to God by giving up all our negativity. Just before Ash Wednesday, most of us would have decided to be fully committed during the 40 days of Lent, by getting rid of our bad habits.

When we began Lent this year, our celebrations were dampened with the threat of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). The virus slowed us down and diverted us a little from our focus on Lent. Right now, in Malaysia, new cases are emerging day by day. It is a nationwide threat, so the Churches in Malaysia and Singapore have come out with a few pastoral implications and guidelines to prevent the spreading the COVID-19 virus, by limiting our contact with each other.

On Ash Wednesday, instead of being marked with the blessed ash on our foreheads, it was sprinkled on the crown of our heads. Some may have found it difficult to accept this way of receiving the ash, because they wanted the ashes to be visible to others. Nevertheless, this is how the blessed ashes were also administered in Rome. Apart from that, Holy Water has been removed from all the entrances of the church and Holy Communion is only received by hand. This made a few people feel uncomfortable, as it was different from their traditional practices.

In relation to COVID-19, the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur has also immediately suspended Penitential Services in all churches and Mass centers within the Archdiocese, and the faithful have been advised not to attend Mass if they show signs and symptoms of the virus. Although we have been regularly carrying out our confession these past years during Advent and Lent, this year the changes due to the threat of the virus, has somewhat made it a struggle to find our state of grace. Sin has become habitual and we worry how God is going to free us from sin and lead us into the Paschal Mystery celebration – Jesus’ Passion, Death and Resurrection. If this viral infection prolongs, many might ask the question - will I celebrate Easter worthily and will I receive the mercy of God before the Easter celebration?

I still remember during my first year as a priest, while serving in the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia, the Church faced a similar situation when the SARS-CoV affected many people in 2003. I had encountered an eight-year-old girl who died due to transmission of SARS and I presided at her funeral Mass. SARS was spreading nationwide and it happened during the Lent season too. Even at that time the Church took certain precautions by recommending a few pastoral implications and guidelines. Of course, the older generation was not happy when the Church brought certain restrictions to their traditions and beliefs with regards to not placing Holy Water at the respective church entrances, not shaking hands as the sign of peace, receiving the Holy Communion by hand, etc.

In addition to viruses, we also face a few other challenges in the form of attacks on or criticisms of our faith in the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. There were a few movies, documentaries, books, articles, lectures in colleges/universities, which have distorted our faith in Christ Jesus. I remember all these being released or distributed during the season of Lent. These challenges try to shake our faith in Christ by challenging our belief, and I am sure there will be many more issues and circumstances which will give cause to tarnish, bring about confusion and create obstacles for us to practice our faith in Christ.

However, without all these hindrances, obstacles, difficulties, struggles and challenges, our faith would not make sense. Nothing will ever stop us from growing in our faith. When we persevere in faith, we will become more compassionate and stronger in our believe in Christ Jesus. During this time of Lent, be assured that the Lord goes before us. Trust in Him wholeheartedly and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways submit to Him. He will be with you and make your paths straight (cf. Prov 3: 5 & 6). Let’s live our Lent faithfully and fruitfully!

GROW AND GLOW IN THE SPIRIT

Jesus climbed up a mountain. He took three of His friends – Peter, James and John. They spent time in the presence of God praying. The Apostles received a privileged transfiguration of Jesus’ divinity within His humanity. Jesus’s clothes became dazzlingly white on the top of the Mount of Transfiguration, (Mt 17: 1-9).

On this Second Sunday of Lent, we should begin to reflect God’s Glory. Jesus’ holiness and His divinity radiated from within Him. He didn’t keep secret His glory. He let it shine. Through His glory He gave His Apostles new understandings of Him as God.

It is really worth it to take time regularly to be with God. After years of spending time in God’s presence – praying, going to Church for Mass, being involved in various ministries in the Church, and with all our spiritual experiences, now is the time that they should have effects on us.

May this Lent we able to see the glory of God and all our spiritual experiences in our mission works so that His glory will glow and grow inwardly and outwardly.

“LORD, let Your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in You” (PS 33).

OPEN OUR HEARTS AND RECONCILE TO GOD

Pope Francis’ message for Lent this year, which was announced on 24 February 2020, is themed – “We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God,” (2 Cor 5:20). He invites everyone to embrace the Mystery of Jesus’ Passion, Death and Resurrection (the Paschal Mystery) – as the basis for conversion. The season of Lent is a time of preparation for the Paschal Mystery of Jesus, urging us to grow in our relationship with God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, so that we are able “to see and touch with faith, the flesh of Christ in those who suffer.”

God is always engaged in a “dialogue of salvation with us” desiring to save us, despite our weaknesses and short comings. As we have begun this holiest season on Ash Wednesday, 26 February 2020, the Holy Father speaks about the “urgency of conversion” as individuals and as a community. Pope Francis wants us to keep our eyes fixed on the outstretched arms of Christ crucified, who was sinless, yet took on “the weight of our sins.” At this time of grace and on this day of salvation, you should not allow His grace to pass by in vain, but “let yourself be saved over and over again” and “let yourself be cleansed” as you firmly believe in His mercy.

He also speaks about the importance of prayer during Lent – that prayer is “more than a duty” as it is an expression of responding to God’s love “which always precedes and sustains us.” At this favourable time, we take every opportunity “to stop sleeping and wake up” (Roman 13:11) and enter into “a dialogue of heart with God” through prayer. We should always have a set time and place, to pray and contemplate Jesus’ Paschal Mystery, so that we may grow in true maturity in faith and have a sincere conversion of heart.

During Lent, the Holy Father wants us to place the Paschal Mystery at the “centre of our lives and feel compassion towards the wounds of the crucified Christ present in many innocent victims” from various forms of attack, violence, war, trafficking, ecological calamities and imbalanced distribution of natural resources. Lent is a time for us to grow in deeper dialogue with God through “renewed gratitude for God’s mercy and for increased compassion towards people whose lives are under attack.”

Every individual should participate in the building of a better world through almsgiving, fasting and prayer. These three traditional pillars of Lenten observances make us more human. We should be generous in sharing our goodwill, our richness and gifts from God, with those in most need, in order to make the world a better place for everyone, rather than just keeping these to ourselves. Lent is a time for us to purify our hearts again and again, rather than indulge in the spirit of the world, because worldliness is “the enemy of God.” (cf. James 4:4).

At the end of the Lenten message, the Holy Father urges for the intercession of Mother Mary “to pray that our Lenten celebration will open our hearts to hear God’s word to be reconciled to himself, to fix our gaze on the Paschal Mystery, and to be converted to an open and sincere dialogue with him.” May Our Mother encourage us to deny ourselves and we say “yes” to the Love of God by serving one another with generous and sincere hearts.

My best wishes and prayers that we, as a community will be resurrected to a new life, a new level of holiness and a new closeness with the Risen Lord this Easter.

RENEWING OUR COMMITMENTS

Lent 2020 has begun! How are we going to do this Lent? Is it going to be better than the last year Lent. Of course, each time we would like to renew our commitments to do Lent better!

The Gospel (Matt 4:1-11) presents with temptation stories. The three temptations are to turn stones into bread, to throw himself down from the top of the temple and to worship the Satan. In these three temptations, the Satan was trying to distort God’s salvation plan through Jesus.

The temptations are always interesting but they are obstacles for us to live fulfil the plan of God. The forty days of fasting, prayer and almsgiving prepare us to be entirely focused on being God’s plan and walk in His way.

Temptations are all around us, all the time. In all temptations we should make our choice in line with the plan of God and to fulfil it. Making a free decision to love God is part of what it means to be “fully human, fully alive.”

During this time of spiritual renewal, let us renew our commitment to live out our calling in the fullest possible way and testify our Catholic identity.

“Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.” (Ps 51).