Author: The Anchorite

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Our Father

Tuesday of the First Week of Lent: Matthew 6:7-15

“I should be glad, if I could flatter myself that I came as near the central idea of the occasion in two hours, as you did in two minutes.” – Edward Everett to Abraham Lincoln, on the occasion of the Gettysburg Address, 1863

In the Gospel reading for Ash Wednesday, Jesus tells us how we ought to approach almsgiving, prayer and fasting. Lent began with this because, in the experience of the Church, Lent is the time par excellence when we go back to these fundamentals and renew our commitment to them. In fact, today’s Gospel, where Jesus teaches us the Our Father in Matthew’s Gospel, actually comes right after his words on almsgiving and prayer, and precedes his words on fasting. The Our Father, then, is offered to us as one of the fundamentals of Christian life. It is a prayer taught us by Jesus himself. But it also teaches us how to pray and how to live our Christian life in general. Many of the saints of the Church, such as St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, viewed the Our Father as a very dense summary of the whole of Christian faith. Contemporary authors, like Scott Hahn and Tom Wright, write of the Our Father in the same way.  Continue reading “Our Father”

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Humanity or People?

Monday of the First Week of Lent: Matthew 25:31-46

One day, on the Peanuts comic strip, Linus and Charlie Brown were having a discussion. Linus was telling Charlie Brown about someone else he didn’t like. Charlie Brown replied that God wants us to love humanity. Linus retorted, “I love humanity! It’s people I can’t stand!”

Sound familiar?

It’s very easy for us to proclaim our love for humanity, or the Church, in our heads. It’s easy to feel this love as long as ‘humanity’ or ‘Church’ is only a concept, an idea. The proof comes when we are with real people – people who have their wonderful gifts, and who also have their rough edges, their less appealing traits. People who annoy us in some way.  Continue reading “Humanity or People?”

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Passing the Test

First Sunday of Lent (A): Matthew 4:1-11

We usually think of this Gospel story as an account of the temptations that Jesus faced while he was fasting in the wilderness: three ways in which Satan tries to drive a wedge between Jesus and the Father and pull him away from his mission. That is true, as far as it goes. But it misses the bigger picture – a picture which may seem puzzling, even troubling to us at first glance. But it is by taking in the bigger picture that we get a glimpse of how this Gospel story shines a bright light on a very important aspect of our own following of Christ.

We catch this bigger picture in the very first line: “At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil” (Matthew 4:1). The word that is translated “tempted” is better translated “tested”. Although the devil may be doing the tempting, this is something that follows the Holy Spirit’s lead. In other words, this is part of the Father’s will. We can go further, and say that the Father is hereby testing Jesus in the wilderness.  Continue reading “Passing the Test”

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Fundamentals

Ash Wednesday: Matthew 6:1-6; 16-18

Last summer, we admired the grace and skill of the athletes who competed in the Olympics in Rio. More recently, New England football fans could rejoice in the success of the Patriots – and marvel at the grace and skill of Tom Brady, even at the (relatively) old age of 39! Whether we look to professional or amateur sports of all kinds, we see men and women athletes who impress us with their skills, and who also show a certain joy at competing and reaching their goals. But what enables them to succeed? What frees and empowers them to attain their goals?

It’s something we don’t see during games or at meets. It’s practice. It’s work on fundamentals. It’s the daily grind and sacrifice and commitment that athletes go through to train themselves physically and mentally. By that constant work on the fundamentals, they get their bodies in the best possible shape, hone their skills, and reach the point where they intuitively know what to do and how to do it. They are freed from being overly self-conscious and are enabled to just do their sport or event for the sheer joy of it. And the path to this freedom and joy? Doing the fundamentals, every day.  Continue reading “Fundamentals”

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Preparing for Lent

Here we are. Mardi Gras. Shrove Tuesday. The eve of Lent, so to speak.

The question may arise: “What shall I do for Lent?” Typically, it becomes a question of what enjoyable thing we will give up, or what worthy thing we will add to our lives during Lent. Giving something up, or adding something on, can be a very good thing to do. It reminds us that there is something different about this season, something which calls forth a change from within us.

But what change? What is the goal of Lent? What is its purpose? What can help us live this season fruitfully?

There are many helpful resources out there that can assist us in living Lent well. Most parishes will offer one or more of these resources, or recommend others. Many of us have our own Lenten traditions in place. But what is Lent all about? Getting a clearer sense of this can assist us in choosing traditions and practices that will help us live in harmony with the season, and open ourselves to what the Holy Spirit wishes to do in us and through us during this time.  Continue reading “Preparing for Lent”