Because the people broke the old covenant, God promised a new covenant, not in the blood of oxen and other animals, but in the blood of the Son, Jesus Christ. This new covenant, foreseen from afar by Jeremiah and the prophets, was not to be engraved on stone, or written on paper, but carved on our hearts, so that we might know God intimately. Not by keeping many laws are we to be saved, but by the love of God, living and real in our hearts through the sacrifice of Christ.
Our Eucharist is the pledge of that indwelling of Christ, and of our response of praise and thanksgiving to God for the mercy, love, and kindness to us in forgiving our sins and cleansing our hearts of everything evil. God issues this invitation to intimacy by offering us the chance to have our sufferings transformed into the perfect love of the Savior, who first loved us.
Over the next week, as we hear of the interior anguish of Jesus, we are led to the Garden of Gethsemane, the scene of a night of suffering, failure, and loss. In Hebrew, the word means “olive press,” and it was an olive grove, although only a few trees remain. Olives can’t be eaten off the trees, they need to be cured: knocked from the trees at harvest time, scooped into a stone basin, and cracked open by a heavy millstone. The crushing stone weight was itself called a “gethsemane,” and once it was lowered onto the olives, oil from the fruit and the inner stone would drip into a groove and flow into jars. The night before his death, Jesus experienced such anguish that scripture says his own blood perspired from him, an image no one who understands olive oil production could miss.
Today, the Mount of Olives is within the city of Jerusalem and the site of the Church of All Nations, also known as the Basilica of the Agony. It was built in 1924, funded by Catholics in twelve different countries. There’s an open-air altar on the grounds that is used by Anglicans on Holy Thursday every year. Nearby is the Russian Church of Mary Magdalene, built by the czar in 1888, its magnificent golden domes a distinctive landmark. There is also another tiny Catholic Church, called Dominus Flevit, or “The Cry of the Lord,” built in a teardrop shape in the mid-1950s. For centuries, the Franciscan order has had the care of the shrines of the Holy Land, and our Good Friday collection helps sustain these precious sites.
Take Five for Faith
SUNDAY, MARCH 29, 2009
FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT
The ultimate give-up
It just seems so unfair that we have to start giving up the things of this life to get the things of eternal life. But that’s the deal. With every life comes one and only one guarantee: that it will end in death. Thus the invitation is to get on board now with the whole business of giving up so that we might leave this world empty-handed, not clinging to what is passing away. It’s the practice of letting go now that will prepare us for the final let-go. The Lord is concerned only with our welfare, our ultimate well-being. And he shows us the way. He is the way.
TODAY'S READINGS: Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 5:7-9; John 12:20-33
"Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life."
DOMINGO, 29 DE MARZO DE 2009
QUINTO DOMINGO DE CUARESMA
Lo último que hay que dejar de hacer
Simplemente parece tan injusto que tengamos que dejar las cosas de esta vida para tener las cosas de la vida eterna. Pero ese es el acuerdo. Con cada vida viene una y solo una garantía: que terminará en muerte. Entonces la invitación es empezar ahora con todo lo que tengamos que dejar de hacer para que podamos dejar este mundo con las manos vacías, sin aferrarnos a lo que muere. Es la práctica de dejar las cosas ahora lo que nos preparará para el abandono final. El señor solo se preocupa por nuestro bien, nuestro bienestar final. Y nos muestra el camino. Él es el camino.
LECTURAS DE HOY: Jeremías 31:31-34; Hebreos 5:7-9; Juan 12:20-33
"Quien quiera que ame su vida la pierde, y quien quiera que odie su vida en este mundo la conservará para la vida eterna."
MONDAY, MARCH 30
LENTEN WEEKDAY
Withhold your judgment
Think of how many times you judge people in a day. Sure, there are places for legitimate criticism of others. But we’re talking here about the kind of things you would never say directly to the person, but to others, behind their backs. The problem with such judgment is that no one’s innocent: We all have our own shortcomings—and they are frequently the ones we see in others. The Jesus-perspective on all this says only those who have no faults can fault others. That means none of us. Leave judging to the one in the best position to do it: God.
TODAY'S READINGS: Daniel 13:1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62; John 8:1-11
"Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her."
TUESDAY, MARCH 31
LENTEN WEEKDAY
Help is at hand
Most of us do not approach God with God-sized requests. We almost always ask for too little, which is another way of saying we think a problem is so big that it’s too much even for God. But just because we cannot in our wildest dreams imagine the solution to the problem we are currently experiencing doesn’t mean there isn’t one. Nothing is too much for God to handle or rectify or resolve. Ask God to help you find a job, or for guidance on how to help a friend, or for a solution to whatever your problem is. Then let God do God’s thing, which is to surprise and delight us with his mighty works.
TODAY'S READINGS: Numbers 21:4-9; John 8:21-30
"We have sinned in complaining against the Lord and you. Pray the Lord to take the serpents from us."
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1
LENTEN WEEKDAY; APRIL FOOL’S DAY
Blessed insurance
When Jesus said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free,” he was vigorously rejected by those who believed themselves to be free already. “Whaddya mean ‘will be’ free?” After all, they were among God’s chosen. How could they “become” what they already were? It’s called assumption, and as teachers like to demonstrate on the blackboard, to assume “makes an ASS out of U and ME.” Why? Because in assuming that we have God down pat, we close ourselves off from the possibility of growing, of being surprised by God. Jesus’ opponents could not abide his message because it did not fit with what they assumed about God, the Messiah, or how to live. One who is not willing—every day—to allow God to “make all things new” is a fool, on April 1 or any other day.
TODAY'S READINGS: Daniel 3:14-20, 91-92, 95; John 8:31-42
"If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and am here."
THURSDAY, APRIL 2
FEAST OF FRANCIS OF PAOLA, HERMIT
Playing with fire
Fire makes life possible. From the fire of the sun to the fires that keep homes warm, we would certainly be out in the cold without it. As we know, though, fire can also destroy. A legend about Saint Francis of Paola (1416-1507), sometimes known as “The Fire-Handler,” says he could handle fire without harm to himself. He didn’t flaunt this gift like a magic trick but put it to the use of the people in his village: walking into a burning kiln to fix it, reaching into a forge to retrieve a piece of red-hot iron for a blacksmith. Each of us has the choice to use our abilities and powers to help or harm. Which way will your fires burn?
TODAY'S READINGS: Genesis 17:3-9; John 8:51-59
"As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations."
FRIDAY, APRIL 3
LENTEN WEEKDAY
Put poverty reduction on your to-do list
In 2000 leaders from 189 nations, including the United States, signed on to eight Millennium Development Goals, designed to significantly reduce global poverty and disease by 2015. Despite some significant success, particularly in the area of debt cancellation, 1 billion people around the world still live on less than a dollar a day, and one person in seven goes to bed hungry. We must hold ourselves and our governments accountable for working toward the reduction of poverty. For Christians the mission is even more critical because bringing good news to the poor is a specific imperative of discipleship. For more information on the Millennium Development Goals, go to www.endpoverty2015.org.
TODAY'S READINGS: Hosea 14:2-10; Mark 12:28-34
"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength."
SATURDAY, APRIL 4
LENTEN WEEKDAY
Homecomings
Think of all the leaving and returning people do. Every day you probably leave home for some reason and come home at some point. Young people leave to start lives of their own. Relatives gather for holidays and other celebrations. Babies arrive in the world while other folks depart it. In scripture’s story of the people of God, there’s a lot of leaving and coming back as well. The Israelites scatter only to regather on a number of occasions. Even Jesus splits the scene a few times when the opposition to him heats up. We are entering the last days of Lent, a season of returning to God. Whatever you have done or not done, it’s never too late to come back to your true home.
TODAY'S READINGS: Ezekiel 37:21-28; John 11:45-56
"My dwelling shall be with them; I will be their God, and they shall be my people."
Contributors: Father Paul Boudreau, Alice Camille, Daniel Grippo, Father Larry Janowski, Ann O'Connor, Sean Reynolds, Joel Schorn, and Patrice J. Tuohy
©2009 by TrueQuest Communications, L.L.C. PHONE: 800-942-2811; E-MAIL: mail@takefiveforfaith.com; WEBSITE: www.takefiveforfaith.com. Licensed for noncommercial use. All rights reserved. Scripture quotes come from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible.
