Reflection on Sunday’s Gospel, Feb. 26, 2012

Gospel Mk 1:12-15

The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert,
and he remained in the desert for forty days,
tempted by Satan.
He was among wild beasts,
and the angels ministered to him.

After John had been arrested,
Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God:
“This is the time of fulfillment.
The kingdom of God is at hand.
Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

I so admire the strength of Jesus.  I know that He is God!  Still the thought of going out into the desert, fasting, experiencing intense temptation, and being triumphant over it all is remarkable.  You know, Jesus could have been victorious over the devil without the help of the angels ministering to Him.  He did not have to fast in order to “win.”  Why the desert?

I think that Jesus, just as in His baptism, was showing us the way – modeling the way to holiness – the way to beating temptation in our own lives.  He shows us that time alone with God – away from the trappings and noise of the world is important.  He shows us that fasting and denying our bodies can help us grow in spiritual fortitude!  These are both great lessons for us to apply during lent.

I’m also intrigued by the length of time noted as 40 days.  Forty is used so many times in the bible – the 40 days and nights it rained when Noah was on the ark; Moses went up the mountain and stayed for forty days and nights when he received the commandments; the Israelites wandered in the desert for forty years before entering the promised land; Jonah warned the Ninevites that God would destroy their city in 40 days if they did not repent and so on.  I read somewhere – and I thought this was interesting to note – that anytime the number 40 is mentioned in the bible, it refers to a period of trial, followed by a time of restoration.

Let us pray that at the end of this period of trial in our lives, that God will restore us  threefold – spiritually, mentally, and physically!

I’m Back

You may not have even noticed, but I’ve been away from the computer for a few days.  I was sick with a migraine headache that lasted for about a day and a half, followed by a general feeling of “ugh!”  My blood pressure was so low that all I felt up to doing was lying around.  I think I’m getting my land legs back! Being down with illness  forced me to take a break from work.  That was a good thing.  Once I get started on something, it is so hard for me to pull myself away.  It also gave me empathy for people who struggle with chronic pain and fatigue on a daily basis. What a difficult cross that must be to bear!

It’s been so gloomy in the South this past week.  At last, the sun has broken through the clouds!  Praise God!

My Plans for Lent

I’ve been giving this a lot of thought – “What should I do to make lent special?”  I don’t want to simply go through the motions over the next forty days and not be any better/different at Easter.  Giving up chocolate, for me, would be a sacrifice, but would it help me to grow in holiness?  Hmmm.

What are some practices/spiritual practices that will make me a better person or help me to grow closer to the Lord?

Brainstorming:

fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays as Mother Mary requested in her Medjugorje messages** reading scripture more often – more prayerfully – meditating upon it**doing more acts of kindness for others**spending more time in adoration or at daily mass**praying the rosary as a family/reading bible stories together**reading a good spiritual book**eating more simply – trying dishes popular in less affluent countries**pinching pennies at the store, and putting the savings in the poor box**visiting my elderly grandmother more often**working on getting my children (and myself) to pick up after themselves better so that our home may be more serene

I think I’m going to type up a checklist for myself and do at least one of these practices a day.  Then, hopefully & prayerfully, I will be a better servant of God after these 40 days have passed!

What are your plans for lent?  I’d love to hear your ideas!

 

“Hope for Healing” Promotion Day

“Hope for Healing” from the effects of childhood sexual abuse will be offered for FREE to Kindle users  tomorrow, February 22nd.   If you own a Kindle, please consider downloading the book.  Upon completion, I would greatly appreciate it, if you would take a moment to write a brief review on Amazon.com, right underneath the picture of the “Hope for Healing” book cover.  Many, many thanks!

The New Orleans Experience in 24 hours!

We went to our hometown of New Orleans yesterday for a Mardi Gras marathon of sorts.  It was a cold, windy, dreary day to start, as we crossed over the longest bridge in the world over the lake into the city.  Here you can see the city in the distance, shrouded in gray clouds, as see from the Causeway bridge.As we approached the city,  I was so excited to see this sign posted by WGNO TV saying “God Bless Louisiana” – a bold statement, I thought, for a news station!

We started our Sunday morning with the Latin Mass at Old St. Patrick’s Church on Camp Street.  The church is so beautiful.  I remember so many Sundays we spent there years ago – all the prayers offered and candles lit.  It felt like HOME!Then we went to meet our family at the hotel in the downtown business district.   The hotel’s facade/shell is an old brick (historic) business.  The inside is totally modernized – pretty cool.After meeting up with everyone, we went to a locally famous restaurant, “Mulates.”  We had great fun at our table for twelve.  There was good cajun music (harmonica, acordian, washboard…), good food (gumbo, and alligator and shrimp po boy sandwiches), and good company!  Warning:  even the lunch menu is pricey!Next, we saw our family “superstars” off, as they climbed atop horses to ride in the Bacchus parade. (I don’t picture family and friends without their consent).  Then we went back to the hotel to rest and watch other family members get all decked out for the fancy ball they were going to attend.  They looked stunning!

After taking their pictures and seeing them safely off, we went down to the street to meet the big parade.  Here, you see my son all dressed up in Mardi Gras apparel awaiting the action.  You’ll see Will Farrel (who played “Elf”) on the King’s float.  The man on the horse in Roman attire is my father- in- law (I think). These guys lead the parade!

One of our favorite things besides catching beads and stuffed animals from the floats were the confetti trucks that would periodically spray the crowds with purple, green and gold bits of paper!The parade ended around 11:30 p.m.  Exhausted we walked back to the hotel with our bag of treasures.  I slept in a “full”-size bed sandwiched between my two youngest children.    There were lots of elbows and knees!  My husband camped out on the floor. 

Waking up exhausted at 8:30a.m., I needed coffee – strong coffee!  The best place to get that in New Orleans is Cafe’ Dumonde.  We sat outside overlooking the Mighty Mississippi River, partaking in powdered beignets (square fried donut batter) and a coffee and chicory beverage with steamed milk.  Yum!
After breakfast, we packed up and headed home.  We thoroughly enjoyed our 24 hour New Orleans – stuff in as much as you can  – trip.  Now we’re headed home to empty our over night bags and take a nap!

Help for Addictions

All of the media attention over the death of Whitney Houston has gotten me thinking.  We’ve probably been praying for her, but what about the nameless, faceless people who die everyday at the hand of drug and alcohol addictions?  Addiction is such a dreadful disease!

If I didn’t have my faith (and I’m not saying that people suffering from addictions don’t have faith), I’d drink too!  This life is tough – really tough – sometimes nearly unbearable!  I think that one of the reasons why AA and NA work is the faith component to the program – that and the support of others struggling with the same issues.

Did you know that St. Maximillian Kolbe is the patron of those suffering from addictions?  He was a priest who got sent to the Nazi concentration camps.  On one occasion, the Nazi guards rounded up a group of men.  Several were going to be killed as retribution for a prison escapee – to make a statement.  One of the men chosen to die was a young father.  Maximillian Kolbe, stepped forward and asked the guard if he could take the young father’s place.  His request was granted, and the father’s life was spared.

Kolbe was sentenced to solitary confinement and starvation.  After two weeks, perhaps because his body was accustomed to fasting, Kolbe was still not dead, so a prison guard gave him an injection of carbolic acid to “finish him off.”   Clearly, he was a courageous and devout man.  We can ask his prayers for ourselves, or those we love suffering from addictions!  St. Maximillian Kolbe, pray for us!

Can anyone possibly believe this is not a human being?

This photo was sent to me via email today – a touching photo of a 12 week “fetus.”  How can anyone on earth possibly not look at this precious little one and not see a human being?