Being the Hands and Feet of Jesus

No one ever said that the Christian walk was an easy one. In fact, many of the great disciples, from St. Paul to Mother Teresa, have reminded us that choosing to follow Jesus can be a difficult path. Thankfully, Holy Scripture gives us a roadmap, plenty of do’s and don’ts to help us navigate our way toward our Savior. Today’s first reading from Leviticus gives us some of the don’ts.  “You shall not steal. You shall not lie or speak falsely to one another. You shall not swear falsely by my name.”  This looks pretty straightforward.  Most of us don’t literally steal, lie or swear by Him.  But what if we remember that everything we have is from Jesus? Are we using the gifts He has loaned us for His glory? If we have extra money and we believe that this is a provision from Him, isn’t squandering it on (insert your luxury of choice) a theft? If we have a skill or talent, and we use our free time watching reality TV, aren’t we stealing that gift from Him?  How often do we say, “I swear to God?” Popular reality starlets proudly proclaim “Bible” instead of “I swear.” It doesn’t seem like much but asking for the clarity to see even the small ways we offend the Lord can draw us closer to Him.

In His mercy, God also gives us suggestions of do’s in today’s Gospel from Matthew. They are not ways to earn His freely given love and grace, but ways that help us become more like Him, and become one with Him.  “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.” Jesus is pretty clear here. Saying “I believe in you” a few times in your life or going to Mass each Sunday aren’t all that He asks of us. We must resist the secular pull toward egocentrism, even self-centeredness.  Richard Sterns writes in his book, The Hole in our Gospel, that today’s Christian might re-read that passage from Matthew 25. It could say

For I was hungry, while you had all you needed. I was thirsty, but you drank bottled water. I was a stranger, and you wanted me deported. I needed clothes, but you needed more clothes. I was sick, and you pointed out the behaviors that led to my sickness. I was in prison, and you said I was getting what I deserved.

The majority of us are good, loving people. But during these 40 days, how can we stretch ourselves from being a “good person” to literally being the hands and feet of Jesus in this broken world?  He needs us to put down the iphone and write a note to our grandmother or call (not text) our mom just to say hi. He needs us to live the scripture we may so readily quote by caring for orphans and frustrating roommates alike. He needs us to spend a few minutes each day praying for people who have no one to pray for them.  By acting out the faith we profess, we walk a path that leads directly into His loving and tender embrace. 

-Keri Ninness

About the Author

Keri Ninness is a native of Savannah. After receiving a Master's degree in social work, she spent four years working in child protective services and then moved to Atlanta to work in an inner city hospital with HIV/AIDS patients. Happily married to Ross, she now uses all those social work skills begging her toddler to stop coloring on walls and convincing her 5 month old that waking at 2 am is simply not okay. In between those hostile negotiations, she works part-time for an au pair agency and blogs about daily life at www.surrealgrace.blogspot.com

Resisting Temptation

       
             Jesus gives us two great strategies for resisting temptation in today’s Gospel. The first, fasting, is the act of denying ourselves something we want so we will have the willpower to resist sin. Since fasting is widespread and well understood, I would like to focus on the second, scripture memorization. This practice allows us to fill our heads with holy thoughts to take the place of unholy thoughts.

            The Spirit led Jesus into the desert to prepare Him for His mission of salvation because it is a place free of distraction—there is no choice but to be alone with our thoughts, so whatever we have filled our minds with is what will keep us company during “desert times.” We all experience desert times, and we need them to come to know ourselves and see the areas in which we need to grow, but we usually try to avoid them at all costs by playing music, surfing the internet, or any number of other distractions. However, no matter how we try to fight it, there will still be desert times—lying in bed waiting to fall asleep at night, after hearing difficult news, or, at the least, when the radio in the car breaks! Let’s take a lesson from Jesus who teaches us to go into the desert to better hear the voice of God. Be warned, listening to God is risky business—he might ask you to DO something!

            If our thoughts are our only companions when we find ourselves in the desert, and if we can’t avoid the desert forever (and shouldn’t try to), we had better purify our thoughts, right? Jews of Jesus’ day would have memorized most or all of their scriptures (the Old Testament). That’s why He was able to recall the passages He used to refute the devil’s temptations. Scripture memorization is a great and powerful tool to force out unholy thoughts by asking God to replace them with holy ones. Wouldn’t it be great if, the next time you were anxious about the future, Jeremiah 29:11 popped into your head? (“For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for woe, so as to give you a future of hope.”) This is what St. Paul is talking about in the second reading today when he says “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart.” We don’t have to memorize the entire Bible, but there are scripture verses in it which deal with every fear, sin, or struggle we’ll ever encounter. A quick internet search will give you a few good ones to help with whatever you struggle with. This strategy is dyn-o-mite for those who struggle with purity!

- Michael LaPointe

About the Author

Michael LaPointe is a Second year FOCUS missionary at Georgia Southern. Originally from Montgomery, AL, he graduated from Auburn University in 2011.

God wants to heal us

I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners. – Luke 5:32

What a hopeful and comforting statement from our Savior in the gospel reading of today! To think that God actually wants to heal us and love us after we have betrayed Him by choosing sin. God loves us so much that no matter how full of sinful sickness we are, He will continually call us back to Himself.

The gospel story today focuses on Levi (otherwise known as Matthew). Levi was a tax collector. Tax collectors were considered outcasts by their fellow Jews because they conspired with the Romans to collect the tax money and often collected more than what was demanded to satisfy their own greed. They lived a life of selfish pursuits and comfort. So needless to say, when Jesus was seen with Levi, many of His followers and those who were suspicious of Him were very indignant.  All we are told is that when Jesus saw Levi, He called out and said “Follow me.” Then Levi does something amazing.  The Scriptures say “And leaving everything behind, he got up and followed Him.”[1] How did Levi do it? How could he leave everything behind so quickly and so seemingly unattached? Essentially Levi must have been looking for a change and when he was given the chance, he immediately responded. He repented, followed Jesus, and began life anew.

Levi was responding to the longing that God has placed in all our hearts from the very beginning; a longing to know, love, and serve Him to the best of our ability.  Like Levi, we frequently seek happiness in the things of this world but this only brings us emptiness. We will only experience true freedom and happiness when we turn from a life of selfish pursuits and follow Christ. This is echoed in the first reading for today in Isaiah. God promises that we will delight in Him and experience joy if we live a life of virtue and follow His statutes.

Levi found this joy when Jesus called him. Indeed he even gave a big banquet to celebrate! We too can find this joy if we repent of our sinfulness and follow the call He has placed on our hearts to love Him first. He will heal us from the wounds of the past and allow us to begin a new life.

What are one or two things that are keeping you from following God more closely? Place those at the foot of the cross and ask God to help you make a change. Prayerfully consider how you will make that change so you can love God more deeply today. Trust in His infinite love and mercy and know that He desires to bring you great joy when you follow Him.

 ~ Helen Almeter

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[1] Luke5:28 

About the Author

Helen Almeter is the Director of Religious Education and Stewardship for St.Matthew Catholic Church in Statesboro, GA. She has spent 6 years in campus ministry: 3 years with FOCUS and 3 for the Diocese of Savannah. She loves being Catholic and living life to the full with family and friends!

First Friday of the Lenten Season

There’s no doubt that Fridays are the most solemn days of the week during Lent. On this, the first Friday of the Lenten season, we foreshadow the sorrow to come on Good Friday, the day of our Lord’s passion and death, just as we do each Friday during this penitential season.  Today, we specifically attempt to join in our Lord’s suffering by abstaining from meat.  Why do we do this, though?  What significance does meat have?  Why don’t we abstain from vegetables or bread?  There have been many explanations as to why we do this.

First, abstaining from anything allows us to grow in discipline, both physically and spiritually.  If we can resist something in the physical world, we grow in our concept and practice of discipline, which carries over into our spiritual lives.  Also, in Latin, the word for what we call “meat” is “caro”, which literally translates into “flesh”.  So we actually are abstaining from “flesh”.  Since Christ gave His own flesh on the cross for our sins, we remember Him on Fridays by abstaining from the flesh in our foods.  In addition to Christ’s flesh, what comes to mind when you think of how Saint Paul describes the “flesh” in the New Testament?  St. Paul also might metaphorically suggest sinful desires, when he says "flesh". All of God's creation, in any case, is good--very good.  By abstaining from meat on Fridays, however, we are remembering that we should also abstain from and reject our sinful desires, which Christ gave His own perfect and unblemished flesh for on the cross so that those sins could be forgiven.

To better remember Jesus’s sacrifice and offer our sinful desires to Him on the cross, there are a few things we can do today.  First, wecan pray the Stations of the Cross, which allows us to vividly experience the Passion and be with our Lord as we remember how He gave Himself for us.  Try to pick one Station that speaks to you the most and meditate on that one and what it means to you throughout the week.  Which person struck your attention?  What about that person do you like or dislike?  Does this station apply to your life right now somehow?  What is happening to Jesus?  How does He act?  How can you act more like Him in the situations of your life right now?  The Stations of the Cross will be prayed at St. Matthews today at 11:30am and 5:00pm or you can find them here to pray on your own: http://www.catholic.org/prayers/station.php

Another thing we can do is join in the sorrow of our Blessed Mother Mary by praying the Sorrowful Mysteries of the rosary. Take a few moments of silence before you start each decade of “Hail Marys” to meditate on the mystery you just read.  Ask Mary to allow you to share in her sorrow at the cross and be convicted towards Christ all the more.  Ask her to help you lay down your sins and sufferings at the foot of the cross. For instructions on how to pray the rosary and a list of the Sorrowful Mysteries, go here: http://www.catholic.org/prayers/mystery.php?id=2


Other than that, continue to persevere in whatever you are giving up or adding this Lent, and know that you have a community of faithful Catholics here right by your side sacrificing and praying along with you.  

God bless!  - Stephanie Shipley