Daily Lenten Thoughts - 03/06/2013

Daily Lenten Thoughts: Sometimes we see laws, rules and commands as unnecessary. Sometimes we think they are burdensome. At times we look for ways around them or think, what is the least we need to do to follow them. Take going to mass as an example, people often ask me for what parts of the mass do they need to be there for in order to fulfill their obligation? Well, as I was growing up it was often said you had to be there before the Gospel and stay until Communion was given out. Certainly if you go to church on Sunday you can see the people who observe the law, the rule of going to mass in this way, they show up just before the Gospel and they are out the door at Communion. The letter of the law!

However, I do not think that is what Moses and Jesus are speaking about today. They are talking about living a life of faith, living a relationship with God that does not seek to do the minimum. It seeks to live the maximum. Moses tells the people to live their relationship with God and pass that living on. Jesus tells the people he has come to live his relationship with God, to be an example to the fullest extent of this relationship.

Often people ask what they can do to get their adult children to return to their faith. How can they get them to live a life of faith? My answer to them is to pray for and love their children and grandchildren, but most importantly to live their faith. The best was to make God present to people is by living out our relationship with God as authentically as we can, no short cuts! If we are fully invested, if we live out our relationship with God each day, we become an example; we pass on the gift sometimes not even knowing that we do.

Yes, rules, laws, regulations, commands can be bothersome, they can place us in opposition to culture and society. They can seem hard to live out. They can frustrate us. But in living by the rules, in being faithful to our relationship with God we keep the story alive. We enhance the community of faith. We bring the gift of God's presence to all we meet. We pass on our faith!

Daily Lenten Prayer: Loving God, nourish us with your Word this day. Teach us your statutes and decrees. Enliven our hearts with a spirit of love for you and your presence in our life. Challenge us to be more than people who do just the minimum. Grace us with the strength to do and be our very best selves for you. Make our lives true examples of your loving compassion in the world. Amen!

Runner's Thought: Remember running can be a kind of medicine that helps us to change physically, emotionally and spiritually. Running can be an elixir that enlivens our life with health, hope and the presence of God!

Good morning everyone! I hope this day has started well for you and you will find many blessings as you journey through it! Not much snow here in Bethesda and unless there is a lot more on the way I think the weather people missed this one at least for this area! I am hoping that our mission services will happen today though I think we will probably have less people because of all the hype, but we will celebrate no matter how many are there. It has been a good mission so far with a wonderful community of faith. The schools are closed so I think that will keep people at home. I had hoped the storm would wait until Thursday but it didn’t. Oh the joys of wintertime parish missions!

Again, I hope your day is starting out well. If you are in the midst of the storm celebrate it as a time to take a deep breath and just enjoy where you are and the people you are with. If your day is not disrupted by the storm, lucky you, enjoy! Many blessings on everyone today, especially little Lucy in Shelby, NC who fighting a temperature of 101, may it break and may you feel better! Peace in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul