Pope Leo the Great on Lent II (Sermon 40)

Each week of Lent, I will be posting a sermon of Pope St. Leo the Great on Lent, with my meager commentary on the right in smaller blue.

This is Sermon 40 (and here it is in Latin). In this sermon, which refers to the readings from the first Sunday in Lent, Leo makes a doctrinal point (Christ's dual natures: human and divine) while discussing Satan's tempting of our Lord in the desert.

I. Progress and improvement always possible
Although, dearly-beloved, as the Easter festival approaches, the very recurrence of the season points out to us the Lenten fast, yet our words also must add their exhortations which, the Lord helping us, may be not useless to the active nor irksome to the devout. For since the idea of these days demands the increase of all our religious performances, there is no one, I am sure, that does not feel glad at being incited to good works. For though our nature which, so long as we are mortal, will be changeable, is advancing to the highest pursuits of virtue, yet always has the possibility of falling back, so has it always the possibility of advancing. And this is the true justness of the perfect that they should never assume themselves to be perfect, lest flagging in the purpose of their yet unfinished journey, they should fall into the danger of failure, through giving up the desire for progress..	The season of Lent is meant to incite us even more (than the rest of the year) to the performance of good works.  It is the sign of holiness and an indicator that a man is on the way of perfection that he never considers himself having reached perfection, and so no one can justly consider himself freed from the obligations of this holy season.
And, therefore, because none of us, dearly beloved, is so perfect and holy as not to be able to be more perfect and more holy, let us all together, without difference of rank, without distinction of desert, with pious eagerness pursue our race from what we have attained to what we yet aspire to, and make some needful additions to our regular devotions. For he that is not more attentive than usual to religion in these days, is shown at other times to be not attentive enough.	None of us is perfect in virtue, so we should all alike strive to grow in holiness and perfection, rather than consider ourselves good enough.
II. Satan seeks to supply his numerous losses by fresh gains
Hence the reading of the Apostle's proclamation has sounded opportunely in our ears, saying, "Behold now is the accepted time, behold now is the day of salvation." For what is more accepted than this time, what more suitable to salvation than these days, in which war is proclaimed against vices and progress is made in all virtues? You had indeed always to keep watch, O Christian soul, against the enemy of your salvation, lest any spot should be exposed to the tempter's snares: but now greater wariness and keener prudence must be employed by you when that same foe of yours rages with fiercer hatred.	Pope Leo quotes 2 Cor. 6:2, which was the epistle reading for the First Sunday in Lent.  He is saying that the days of Lent are indeed an acceptable time for directing our minds towards salvation and the conquering of vices by virtue.
For now in all the world the power of his ancient sway is taken from him, and the countless vessels of captivity are rescued from his grasp. The people of all nations and of all tongues are breaking away from their cruel plunderer, and now no race of men is found that does not struggle against the tyrant's laws, while through all the borders of the earth many thousands of thousands are being prepared to be reborn in Christ : and as the birth of a new creature draws near, spiritual wickedness is being driven out by those who were possessed by it.	The devil laments this penitential season when men and women are wrested from his grasp and brought into the bosom of the Church in the Paschal sacraments. Whether Leo meant by "now no race of men is found" that he thought the Gospel had truly been preached to the whole world, I do not know. Perhaps he thought it had reached the whole known world.
The blasphemous fury of the despoiled foe frets, therefore, and seeks new gains because it has lost its ancient right. Unwearied and ever wakeful, he snatches at any sheep he finds straying carelessly from the sacred folds, intent on leading them over the steeps of treasure and down the slopes of luxury into the abodes of death. And so he inflames their wrath, feeds their hatreds, whets their desires, mocks at their continence, arouses their gluttony.	Because souls are being freed from Satan's grasp, this penitential season is a cause for him to re-double his efforts as well.
III. The twofold nature of Christ shown at the Temptation
For whom would he not dare to try, who did not keep from his treacherous attempts even on our Lord Jesus Christ? For, as the story of the Gospel has disclosed, when our Saviour, Who was true God, that He might show Himself true Man also, and banish all wicked and erroneous opinions, after the fast of 40 days and nights, had experienced the hunger of human weakness, the devil, rejoicing at having found in Him a sign of possible and mortal nature, in order to test the power which he feared, said, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread." (Matthew 4:3)	Since Satan did not balk at the thought of tempting the Lord, we can be sure he will not be timid in tempting us. Here Leo begins to weave in the theme of the doctrinal importance of this Gospel passage, that Christ is true God and true man.
Doubtless the Almighty could do this, and it was easy that at the Creator's command a creature of any kind should change into the form that it was commanded: just as when He willed it, in the marriage feast, He changed the water into wine: but here it better agreed with His purposes of salvation that His haughty foe's cunning should be vanquished by the Lord, not in the power of His Godhead, but by the mystery of His humiliation. At length, when the devil had been put to flight and the tempter baffled in all his arts, angels came to the Lord and ministered to Him, that He being true Man and true God, His Manhood might be unsullied by those crafty questions, and His Godhead displayed by those holy ministrations.	Christ conquered Satan in the desert not by virtue of His divinity, but by virtue of His humanity. Then, when the devil left Him, the fact that angels came to minister to Him is seen by Leo as a sign of His divinity.
And so let the sons and disciples of the devil be confounded, who, being filled with the poison of vipers, deceive the simple, denying in Christ the presence of both true natures, while they rob either His Godhead of Manhood, or His Manhood of Godhead, although both falsehoods are destroyed by a twofold and simultaneous proof: for by His bodily hunger His perfect Manhood was shown, and by the attendant angels His perfect Godhead.	I do not know if there was a particular heretical group which Leo had in mind at this time, but he makes it clear that anyone who denies the divinity or humanity of Christ is at odds with this Gospel passage.
IV. The Fast should not end with abstinence from food, but lead to good deeds
Therefore, dearly-beloved, seeing that, as we are taught by our Redeemer's precept, "man lives not in bread alone, but in every word of God," and it is right that Christian people, whatever the amount of their abstinence, should rather desire to satisfy themselves with the "Word of God" than with bodily food, let us with ready devotion and eager faith enter upon the celebration of the solemn fast, not with barren abstinence from food, which is often imposed on us by weakliness of body, or the disease of avarice, but in bountiful benevolence: that in truth we may be of those of whom the very Truth speaks, "blessed are they which hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled." (Matthew 5:6)	Abstaining from food is done for natural reasons, but the purpose of the Lenten fast is supernatural, not merely natural.  Thus our hunger, which comes naturally when we abstain from food, should be directed to the Word of God, that we may be filled by it.
Let works of piety, therefore, be our delight, and let us be filled with those kinds of food which feed us for eternity. Let us rejoice in the replenishment of the poor, whom our bounty has satisfied. Let us delight in the clothing of those whose nakedness we have covered with needful raiment. Let our humaneness be felt by the sick in their illnesses, by the weakly in their infirmities, by the exiles in their hardships, by the orphans in their destitution, and by solitary widows in their sadness: in the helping of whom there is no one that cannot carry out some amount of benevolence.	So our food should be the same as our Lord's:  "My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work." (John 4:34) Pope Leo then lists works of mercy.
For no one's income is small, whose heart is big: and the measure of one's mercy and goodness does not depend on the size of one's means. Wealth of goodwill is never rightly lacking, even in a slender purse. Doubtless the expenditure of the rich is greater, and that of the poor smaller, but there is no difference in the fruit of their works, where the purpose of the workers is the same.	Charity is the great equalizer, for it is an operation of the soul, not of material wealth or power.
V. And still further it should lead to personal amendment and domestic harmony
But, beloved, in this opportunity for the virtues' exercise there are also other notable crowns, to be won by no dispersing abroad of granaries, by no disbursement of money, if wantonness is repelled, if drunkenness is abandoned, and the lusts of the flesh tamed by the laws of chastity: if hatreds pass into affection, if enmities be turned into peace, if meekness extinguishes wrath, if gentleness forgives wrongs, if in fine the conduct of master and of slaves is so well ordered that the rule of the one is milder, and the discipline of the other is more complete.	Our Lenten discipline is not only about increasing our works of charity, but also about decreasing our works against charity.
It is by such observances then, dearly-beloved, that God's mercy will be gained, the charge of sin wiped out, and the adorable Easter festival devoutly kept. And this the pious Emperors of the Roman world have long guarded with holy observance; for in honour of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection they bend their lofty power, and relaxing the severity of their decrees set free many of their prisoners: so that on the days when the world is saved by the Divine mercy, their clemency, which is modelled on the Heavenly goodness, may be zealously followed by us.	The secular example of emperors granting pardon is seen by Leo as the law of God's mercy permeating those in positions of power in the world.
Let Christian peoples then imitate their princes, and be incited to forbearance in their homes by these royal examples. For it is not right that private laws should be severer than public. Let faults be forgiven, let bonds be loosed, offenses wiped out, designs of vengeance fall through, that the holy festival through the Divine and human grace may find all happy, all innocent: through our Lord Jesus Christ Who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns God for endless ages of ages. Amen.	If an emperor can be so merciful, surely we can be too.

Pope Leo the Great on Lent I (Sermon 39)

Each week of Lent, I will be posting a sermon of Pope St. Leo the Great on Lent, with my meager commentary on the right in smaller blue.

This is Sermon 39 (and here it is in Latin).

I. The benefits of abstinence shown by the example of the Hebrews
In former days, when the people of the Hebrews and all the tribes of Israel were oppressed for their scandalous sins by the grievous tyranny of the Philistines, in order that they might be able to overcome their enemies, as the sacred story declares, they restored their powers of mind and body by the injunction of a fast.	He is referring to 1 Samuel 4, where the Philistines defeated the Israelites, and then 1 Samuel 7:6, where the Israelites fasted and sacrificed, and then defeated the Philistines.
For they understood that they had deserved that hard and wretched subjection for their neglect of God's commands, and evil ways, and that it was in vain for them to strive with arms unless they had first withstood their sin. Therefore abstaining from food and drink, they applied the discipline of strict correction to themselves, and in order to conquer their foes, first conquered the allurements of the palate in themselves. And thus it came about that their fierce enemies and cruel taskmasters yielded to them when fasting, whom they had held in subjection when full.	It is foolishness to seek a strictly natural solution to a supernatural problem. As the Psalmist says, unless the Lord builds the house, in vain do they labor who build it; so long as the Israelites battled against God because of their sinful conduct, they could not triumph over the Philistines. We must obtain victory in our interior battles if we wish to attain to victory in our exterior battles.
And so we too, dearly beloved, who are set in the midst of many oppositions and conflicts, may be cured by a little carefulness, if only we will use the same means. For our case is almost the same as theirs, seeing that, as they were attacked by foes in the flesh so are we chiefly by spiritual enemies. And if we can conquer them by God's grace enabling us to correct our ways, the strength of our bodily enemies also will give way before us, and by our self-amendment we shall weaken those who were rendered formidable to us, not by their own merits but by our shortcomings.	The physical foes of the Israelites correspond to the spiritual foes of Christians. We are made susceptible to the attacks of the devil and his angels "not by their own merits but by our shortcomings," and so we must implore God for His grace so that we can repent and reform our lives. Pope Leo emphasizes the primary role of God's grace in our self-correction.
II. Use Lent to vanquish the enemy, and be thus preparing for Eastertide
Accordingly, dearly-beloved, that we may be able to overcome all our enemies, let us seek Divine aid by the observance of the heavenly bidding, knowing that we cannot otherwise prevail against our adversaries, unless we prevail against our own selves. For we have many encounters with our own selves: the flesh desires one thing against the spirit, and the spirit another thing against the flesh. And in this disagreement, if the desires of the body be stronger, the mind will disgracefully lose its proper dignity, and it will be most disastrous for that to serve which ought to have ruled.	The struggle of the flesh against the spirit is described by St. Paul in Galatians 5:17 and Romans 6-7.
But if the mind, being subject to its Ruler, and delighting in gifts from above, shall have trampled under foot the allurements of earthly pleasure, and shall not have allowed sin to reign in its mortal body , reason will maintain a well-ordered supremacy, and its strongholds no strategy of spiritual wickednesses will cast down: because man has then only true peace and true freedom when the flesh is ruled by the judgment of the mind, and the mind is directed by the will of God.	In our fallen state, our intellect is darkened and our will is weakened, so our flesh has power over them, such that we do even those things we know we should not. The right ordering of things is that our flesh should be subjected to our minds, and our minds should be subjected to the will of God, so that what He wills, we will, and we do.
And although this state of preparedness, dearly-beloved, should always be maintained that our ever-watchful foes may be overcome by unceasing diligence, yet now it must be the more anxiously sought for and the more zealously cultivated when the designs of our subtle foes themselves are conducted with keener craft than ever. For knowing that the most hallowed days of Lent are now at hand, in the keeping of which all past slothfulnesses are chastised, all negligences alerted for, they direct all the force of their spite on this one thing, that they who intend to celebrate the Lord's holy Passover may be found unclean in some matter, and that cause of offense may arise where propitiation ought to have been obtained.	We are always to be on guard, but particularly so during the season of Lent, because our spiritual enemies seek to make us unworthy to partake in the Eucharist (the Passover of our Lord), so that we receive not mercy but condemnation. (cf. 1 Cor 11:27ff) Our participation in the Paschal feast of redemption, won for us at the price of our Lord's life, must not be an occasion for offending the Lord.
III. Fights are necessary to prove our Faith
As we approach then, dearly-beloved, the beginning of Lent, which is a time for the more careful serving of the Lord, because we are, as it were, entering on a kind of contest in good works, let us prepare our souls for fighting with temptations, and understand that the more zealous we are for our salvation, the more determined must be the assaults of our opponents.	Again, we should serve the Lord with our whole being at all times, but the season of Lent is a lens with which we can better focus our intentions and efforts. Because of the heightened penitence and motivation to charity, we can be sure we will be tempted even more intently.
But stronger is He that is in us than He that is against us (1 John 4:4), and through Him are we powerful in whose strength we rely: because it was for this that the Lord allowed Himself to be tempted by the tempter, that we might be taught by His example as well as fortified by His aid.	Just as the Lord submitted to being baptized by John "to fulfill all righteousness" and set Himself as a model for us, so too He allowed Himself to be tempted so that He could be our supreme example of resistance in the face of temptation. Thus, through the Son, God is able to teach us by His own example how to be obedient to Him, rather than simply to demand it of us.
For He conquered the adversary, as you have heard, by quotations from the law, not by actual strength, that by this very thing He might do greater honour to man, and inflict a greater punishment on the adversary by conquering the enemy of the human race not now as God but as Man. He fought then, therefore, that we too might fight thereafter: He conquered that we too might likewise conquer. For there are no works of power, dearly-beloved, without the trials of temptations, there is no faith without proof, no contest without a foe, no victory without conflict. This life of ours is in the midst of snares, in the midst of battles; if we do not wish to be deceived, we must watch: if we want to overcome, we must fight.	It would appear that the Gospel reading for this day was Matthew 4:1-11, the same as we use on the First Sunday of Lent (Year A). Jesus conquered Satan's temptations with the Word of God, not with miracles, showing that He had the power as man to conquer Satan.
And therefore the most wise Solomon says, My son in approaching the service of God prepare your soul for temptation (Sirach 2:1). For He being a man full of the wisdom of God, and knowing that the pursuit of religion involves laborious struggles, foreseeing too the danger of the fight, forewarned the intending combatant; lest haply, if the tempter came upon him in his ignorance, he might find him unready and wound him unawares.	The more firmly we dedicate ourselves to the service of God, the more violently Satan will combat us. Pope Leo quotes from the book of Sirach ("Ecclesiasticus"), a deuterocanonical book of the Bible.
IV. The Christian's armour is both for defence and for attack
So, dearly-beloved, let us who instructed in Divine learning come wittingly to the present contest and strife, hear the Apostle when he says, for our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of this dark world, against spiritual wickedness in heavenly things (Ephesians 6:12), and let us not forget that these our enemies feel it is against them all is done that we strive to do for our salvation, and that by the very fact of our seeking after some good thing we are challenging our foes.	Every good deed we perform, and every intention to perform a good deed, is a barb in the side of Satan and a frustration of his attempts to separate us from God.
For this is an old-standing quarrel between us and them fostered by the devil's ill-will, so that they are tortured by our being justified, because they have fallen from those good things to which we, God helping us, are advancing. If, therefore, we are raised, they are prostrated: if we are strengthened, they are weakened. Our cures are their blows, because they are wounded by our wounds' cure.	The wicked spirits cannot stand our good deeds, which flow from the grace of God which we have in Christ Jesus, through the salvation He won for us on the cross. The ultimate cure for our wounds, Christ's torturous Passion, was a torture for Satan as well.
Stand, therefore, dearly-beloved, as the Apostle says, having the loins of your mind girt in truth, and your feet shod in the preparation of the gospel of peace, in all things taking the shield of faith in which you may be able to extinguish all the fiery darts of the evil one, and put on the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God (Ephesians 6:14-17). See, dearly-beloved, with what mighty weapons, with what impregnable defences we are armed by our Leader, who is famous for His many triumphs, the unconquered Master of the Christian warfare.	The spiritual clothing of a Christian is both a weapon and a defense against the "wickedness and snares of the devil."
He has girt our loins with the belt of chastity, He has shod our feet with the bonds of peace: because the unbelted soldier is quickly vanquished by the suggester of immodesty, and he that is unshod is easily bitten by the serpent. He has given the shield of faith for the protection of our whole body; on our head has He set the helmet of salvation; our right hand has He furnished with a sword, that is with the word of Truth: that the spiritual warrior may not only be safe from wounds, but also may have strength to wound his assailant.	Satan is the "suggester of immodesty" and the ancient "serpent" who bites at the heel. But we are protected from his attacks by wearing the spiritual clothing provided by our champion and the "pioneer and perfecter of our faith."
V. Abstinence not only from food but from other evil desires, especially from wrath, is required in Lent
Relying, therefore, dearly-beloved, on these arms, let us enter actively and fearlessly on the contest set before us: so that in this fasting struggle we may not rest satisfied with only this end, that we should think abstinence from food alone desirable. For it is not enough that the substance of our flesh should be reduced, if the strength of the soul be not also developed. When the outer man is somewhat subdued, let the inner man be somewhat refreshed; and when bodily excess is denied to our flesh, let our mind be invigorated by spiritual delights.	We do not fast and abstain simply for physical reasons; our fast is not only from food, as Isaiah reminds us. (cf. Isa. 58) The physical fast we undergo should strengthen us in spirit.
Let every Christian scrutinise himself, and search severely into his inmost heart: let him see that no discord cling there, no wrong desire be harboured. Let chasteness drive incontinence far away; let the light of truth dispel the shades of deception; let the swellings of pride subside; let wrath yield to reason; let the darts of ill-treatment be shattered, and the chidings of the tongue be bridled; let thoughts of revenge fall through, and injuries be given over to oblivion. In fine, let every plant which the heavenly Father has not planted be removed by the roots (Matthew 15:13). For then only are the seeds of virtue well nourished in us, when every foreign germ is uprooted from the field of wheat.	Simply put, we should replace every vice with the virtue it offends. Instead of seeking to separate the wheat from the chaff in the Church (which is for the angels to do at the end of time, cf. Matt. 13:24ff), let us straighten out our own gardens.
If any one, therefore, has been fired by the desire for vengeance against another, so that he has given him up to prison or bound him with chains, let him make haste to forgive not only the innocent, but also one who seems worthy of punishment, that he may with confidence make use of the clause in the Lord's prayer and say, Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors (Matthew 6:12). Which petition the Lord marks with peculiar emphasis, as if the efficacy of the whole rested on this condition, by saying, For if you forgive men their sins, your Father which is in heaven also will forgive you: but if you forgive not men, neither will your Father forgive you your sins (Matthew 6:14-15)	The measure we give will be the measure we receive (cf. Matt. 7:2), and so we must forgive others — the innocent and the guilty alike — if we (who are guilty) wish to receive forgiveness from the Father.
VI. The right use of Lent will lead to a happy participation in Easter
Accordingly, dearly-beloved, being mindful of our weakness, because we easily fall into all kinds of faults, let us by no means neglect this special remedy and most effectual healing of our wounds. Let us remit, that we may have remission: let us grant the pardon which we crave: let us not be eager to be revenged when we pray to be forgiven. Let us not pass over the groans of the poor with deaf ear, but with prompt kindness bestow our mercy on the needy, that we may deserve to find mercy in the judgment.	Our forgiveness of others is fruitful for us, because we do need God's forgiveness, due to our many faults.
And he that, aided by God's grace, shall strain every nerve after this perfection, will keep this holy fast faithfully; free from the leaven of the old wickedness, in the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth (1 Corinthians 5:8), he will reach the blessed Passover, and by newness of life will worthily rejoice in the mystery of man's reformation through Christ our Lord Who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.	God's grace is what enables us to desire to reach that perfection of faith, hope, and charity which finds us welcome in His kingdom; it gives us the power to keep the holy fast of Lent faithfully and so participate worthily in the Paschal banquet on Easter, on earth as it is in heaven.

Lent is coming! Lent is coming!

In addition to the five sermons of Pope St. Leo the Great on Lent (which I will be posting in their entirety, with my commentary, on the first five Sundays of Lent), I recommend reading this introduction to Lent at New Advent:

Origin of the customSome of the Fathers as early as the fifth century supported the view that this forty days' fast was of Apostolic institution. For example, St. Leo (d. 461) exhorts his hearers to abstain that they may "fulfill with their fasts the Apostolic institution of the forty days" — ut apostolica institutio quadraginta dierum jejuniis impleatur (P.L., LIV, 633), and the historian Socrates (d. 433) and St. Jerome (d. 420) use similar language (P.G., LXVII, 633; P.L., XXII, 475).

But the best modern scholars are almost unanimous in rejecting this view, for in the existing remains of the first three centuries we find both considerable diversity of practice regarding the fast before Easter and also a gradual process of development in the matter of its duration. The passage of primary importance is one quoted by Eusebius (Church History V.24) from a letter of St. Irenaeus to Pope Victor in connection with the Easter controversy. There Irenaeus says that there is not only a controversy about the time of keeping Easter but also regarding the preliminary fast. "For", he continues, "some think they ought to fast for one day, others for two days, and others even for several, while others reckon forty hours both of day and night to their fast". He also urges that this variety of usage is of ancient date, which implies that there could have been no Apostolic tradition on the subject. Rufinus, who translated Eusebius into Latin towards the close of the fourth century, seems so to have punctuated this passage as to make Irenaeus say that some people fasted for forty days. Formerly some difference of opinion existed as to the proper reading, but modern criticism (e.g., in the edition of Schwartz commissioned by the Berlin Academy) pronounces strongly in favor of the text translated above. We may then fairly conclude that Irenaeus about the year 190 knew nothing of any Easter fast of forty days.

Read the rest at New Advent.

Can you understand what the prayer is saying?

I would like to carry out a simple experiment.  Please listen to the sound clip below (which comes from a prayer on Monday of the 5th Week of Lent) and follow its instructions, providing your response as a comment to this post.



I have turned comment moderation on so that no comments will appear until I've closed the experiment.

Powerful Lenten Reading

If you've read C.S. Lewis's The Screwtape Letters, I strongly recommend that you buy a copy of Fr. Dwight Longenecker's The Gargoyle Code and read it this Lent.  The book is written in the style and genre of Screwtape, in the form of letters from a senior tempter to a junior.  There is a letter for every day of Lent, so it makes for simply daily "devotional" reading.

You will not be disappointed... in the book.  It may make you disappointed in yourself, as you see the book slowly revealing how Satan might be influencing you — rather than just the fictional (?) persons whom Slubgrip and Dogwart seek to ruin — in parts of your life.  (I made it to the bottom of page 7 before I was convicted.)  But don't let that disappointment get you down; instead, turn to the Lord and seek His grace, without which there is no overcoming these temptations which the Devil so craftily prepares for us.  Now is a most acceptable time, now is the day of salvation!

Bible Study: 3rd Sunday of Easter

1 John 2:1-5a
Jesus is the expiation for our sins
Et in hoc cognoscimus quoniam novimus eum: si mandata eius servemus.
Download this study [MS Word, 46 k, 2pp]

Today's Scripture quote

I just stumbled across this. Powerful words from Sacred Scripture as we approach Good Friday.

"For even in the beginning, when arrogant giants were perishing, the hope of the world took refuge on a raft, and guided by thy hand left to the world the seed of a new generation. For blessed is the wood by which righteousness comes." (Wis. 14:6-7)

The Power of the Cross: Third Week of Lent, Friday - The Cross of Christ Transforms Our Priorities

Ask — How does the cross fit into my stance toward God?

Seek — Acknowledge God's priority in your life, over your heart (all of your emotions), over your understanding (all of your thoughts), and over all of your strength (all of your actions).

Knock — Meditate on 1 John 4:10-12. How does John define "love"? What does the death of Jesus on the cross teach us about God's love? How do we find God's love in all the human suffering that we witness? How can we concretely love one another?

Transform Your Life — Will yourself to love God and everyone else with whom you come into contact today and every day. Think about what it means to truly love other people. Seek to be a sacrificial lover first when it comes to the way you love other people and God.

(The Power of the Cross: Applying the Passion of Christ to Your Life, p. 119.)

The Power of the Cross: Third Week of Lent, Thursday - The Cross of Christ Transforms Our Lives

Ask — Do I trust God?

Seek — Frequently call upon the Lord for his help throughout the day. Life was not intended to be a solitary venture; recognize that God is always present, and is there for us when we call upon him.

Knock — Meditate on Romans 10:11-13. What strikes you in the passage? Dwell on that part and let it enrich your faith in Jesus Christ.

Transform Your Life — Pay attention to the way you think and act throughout the day. What do your actions and thoughts say about what you really trust in? When given choices between what you know God wants for you and what others are asking of you, who wins out? Radically commit to trusting in God and watch your life be transformed in ways that you can't even imagine at this moment.

(The Power of the Cross: Applying the Passion of Christ to Your Life, p. 115.)

The Power of the Cross: Third Week of Lent, Wednesday - The Cross of Christ Transforms Law and Love

Ask — How much do I love God?

Seek — God's love for us and his plans for us are greater than our minds can conceive. Starting today, acknowledge these realities by undertaking acts of trust in God throughout the day. Ask God to fill you with his love. Share God's love with everyone.

Knock — Meditate on Romans 13:8-10. Think about the love you owe to others. Jesus often present the kingdom of God in terms of parables that speak of a king leaving his servants with talents to share with others. Are you giving of yourself in a way that builds up the kingdom of God?

Transform Your Life — Imitate Christ or one of your favorite saints as you go about your daily activities. Plead with God to enable you to show charity to all you meet. Listen intently to those who speak to you, asking yourself what God might be saying to you through them. Give them, including yourself and God, the benefit of the doubt.

(The Power of the Cross: Applying the Passion of Christ to Your Life, pp. 109-110.)

The Power of the Cross: Third Week of Lent, Tuesday - The Cross of Christ Transforms How We Forgive

Ask — Do I still harbor past sins for which I have not accepted God's forgiveness?

Seek — Go to confession regularly. As part of your examination of conscience, review how you have accepted God's forgiveness for past sins in your life, and review how well you have forgiven others in God's name.

Knock — Meditate on Ephesians 4:32—5:2. St. Paul speaks of us as "beloved children" of God. What does being a child of God require of you? How does it affect the way you treat others, who are also God's children?

Transform Your Life — Let your life be marked by being a forgiver. Realize that when you hold on to something you are making a "god" of it, which close God out of that part of your life.

(The Power of the Cross: Applying the Passion of Christ to Your Life, p. 105.)

The Power of the Cross: Third Week of Lent, Monday - The Cross of Christ Transforms How We See Jesus

Ask — Am I overly familiar (i.e. too casual) with Christ?

Seek — Read the Gospels every day. Encounter Christ as he is presented and try to imagine him in the world today, doing the same acts, confronting unbelief in the modern world.

Knock — Meditate on 1 Peter 2:4-5. Rocks are inanimate objects. It is because they don't move that they make good building blocks. Why, then, does Peter talk about "living stones"? Think about this metaphor and your faith life. In what way does your faith in Christ make you a living stone? Think also about the life of St. Peter; what about his experience of Christ might have led him to come up with this image?

Transform Your Life — There is nothing that exists that can transform our lives more than a relationship with Jesus Christ as he really is — give your life to Christ. Believe, placing all of your trust in his powerful being, and embrace his power in your weakness.

(The Power of the Cross: Applying the Passion of Christ to Your Life, pp. 99-100.)

The Power of the Cross: Third Week of Lent, Sunday - The Cross of Christ Transforms How We Worship

Ask — What do I do with the life God has "breathed" into me?

Seek — From a prayer posture, concentrate on your breathing. As you inhale, ask God to fill you with the Holy Spirit, to animate your every action to do his will. As you exhale, breathe the name from the core of your being: Jesus. Continue to meditate on him.

Knock — Meditate on Galatians 6:7-9. Reflect on the difference between a living person and a corpse. Are most of your actions, actions of sowing in the flesh or sowing to the spirit? Ask God for patience that you might endure in all things by sowing to the spirit.

Transform Your Life — Make it a habit to pray the prayer of Jesus from the cross whenever you find yourself tempted to do something that you know is not of God: "Father, into your hands I commend my Spirit." This prayer that Jesus has given us is the key to moving from sowing in the flesh to sowing to the spirit.

(The Power of the Cross: Applying the Passion of Christ to Your Life, p. 95.)

The Power of the Cross: Second Week of Lent, Saturday - The Cross of Christ Unites God's Mercy and Love

Ask — Have I judged someone wrongly?

Seek — Do you need to be reconciled to someone in your life? It might be someone in your family, a former friend, an enemy, or even God. Go to confession; through the grace of absolution, seek to trust in God more and more.

Knock — Meditate on 2 Corinthians 5:16-18. What does it mean to be a new creation? If you are a new creation, how are you different from those in the world who are not "in Christ"? How do you view others?

Transform Your Life — See the temptation to judge others or even yourself as a personal invitation to take up your cross and to trust in Christ, the friend of sinners. Pray that God will bless both you and those you might judge. Be quick to show the mercy that God shows to you to others.

(The Power of the Cross: Applying the Passion of Christ to Your Life, p. 87.)

The Power of the Cross: Second Week of Lent, Friday - The Cross of Christ Unites Us in the Work We Have to Do

Ask — How can dying to myself help me to know God's purpose?

Seek — Ask others to describe what your gifts are, and where they see you as being the most authentic in your life. Resolve to see everyone who crosses your path as the servants that God sends to obtain fruit from the harvest.

Knock — Meditate on Revelation 22:1-2. How was your Baptism changed the curse of original sin in your life into the blessing of the mission that God gives you in Christ? When you receive the Eucharist, imagine that Christ is grafting you to himself, so that his life, his healing, his strength flow through you.

Transform Your Life — Ask our Lord to reveal to you any areas of your life where you might be serving false gods. Ask him to help you to abandon yourself to God's will in your life in the same way that he did in the Garden of Gethsemane. Believe in God's providential care for you, no matter what has happened in your life in the past or present.

(The Power of the Cross: Applying the Passion of Christ to Your Life, p. 82.)

Lenten Laments in English: Parce, Domine

Here is my attempt at a decent translation of Parce, Domine which retains the melody of the Latin chant.

R. Spare Thy people, Lord; spare us, Lord, we kneel here before Thee: lest Thy anger stay upon us forever.

1. To our knees we fall before Thy wrath, weeping tears of true contrition; crying out in supplication, we call to Thee with sorrowful hearts.

2. By our sins we have offended Thee, transgressing upon Thy mercy; pour down upon us from on high Thy gracious pardon, merciful One.

3. Cleanse the off'ring of our hearts, O Lord, in our tears and Thy charity: now is the day of salvation, now is a most acceptable time.

4. O benign Creator hear our prayers, bend Thine ear to our lamentations, in this season of penitence, this holy Lent of forty days.

5. O, beloved searcher of the heart, Thou Who knowest ev'ry weakness; grant Thy grace of forgiveness to those returning unto Thee.

The Power of the Cross: Second Week of Lent, Thursday - The Cross of Christ Unites Those Who Suffer for Justice

Ask — What does God ask me to do for those who suffer?

Seek — Look for opportunities to help someone who needs it (and who cannot help you back). Stand up for someone who is being brought low.

Knock — Meditate on Romans 8:18. As members of the body of Christ, if one member suffers the entire body suffers. How can you make that suffering redemptive?

Transform Your Life — Read the accounts of the martyrs, those who gave the supreme witness to the gospel with their lives. Many monastic communities read about the lives of the martyrs every day, to inspire those seeking to grow in the Christian life.

(The Power of the Cross: Applying the Passion of Christ to Your Life, p. 77.)

The Power of the Cross: Second Week of Lent, Wednesday - The Cross of Christ Unites in Liberty

Ask — What continues to enslave me?

Seek — Ask God to point out areas of slavery that still exist in your life. As you go through your day, catch yourself not being true to who you really are, and ask yourself: Who are you serving now?

Knock — Meditate on Romans 7:22-25. Paul talks about delighting in the law of God but finding himself at war with other parts of himself. Spend time reflecting on what delights you about God's law. Ask Christ to save you.

Transform Your Life — Thomas Merton wrote about what he called a person's True Self. Prayer, Merton argued, helps us to discover our True Self: the person God created us to be, totally free from the expectations and demands of others. By contrast, the False Self is enslaved; he cannot be himself, but only what he thinks others want him to be. Starting today, ask God to redeem you from the slavery of the False Self.

(The Power of the Cross: Applying the Passion of Christ to Your Life, p. 73.)

The Power of the Cross: Second Week of Lent, Tuesday - The Cross of Christ Unites in Humility

Ask — In what areas of my life do I have the most trouble with pride?

Seek — Say the litany of Cardinal Merry del Val (below). What parts of the litany do you find it most difficult to say? Take concrete steps to defer to others throughout the day, to die to yourself in little things.

Knock — Meditate on Philippians 2:5-11 and pray that God will give you the mind of Christ. Try to imagine what it was like for Jesus to take upon himself our humanity, with all its limitations. What must it have been like for him to suffer the humiliations of the cross? Now think about your own situation. Are you more like Christ, or our first parents, seeking to "be like God"?

Transform Your Life — Jesus tells his disciples that those who humble themselves will be exalted! Humility is the surest path to real success in the kingdom of God. Pray for humility throughout every day.

(The Power of the Cross: Applying the Passion of Christ to Your Life, p. 68.)

The Litany of Humility (by Rafael Cardinal Merry de Val (1865-1930), Secretary of State for Pope St. Pius X)

O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, Hear me.

From the desire of being esteemed, deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being loved ...
From the desire of being extolled ...
From the desire of being honored ...
From the desire of being praised ...
From the desire of being preferred to others ...
From the desire of being consulted ...
From the desire of being approved ...

From the fear of being humiliated, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being despised ...
From the fear of suffering rebukes ...
From the fear of being calumniated ...
From the fear of being forgotten ...
From the fear of being ridiculed ...
From the fear of being wronged ...
From the fear of being suspected ...

That others may be loved more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be esteemed more than I ...
That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease ...
That others may be chosen and I set aside ...
That others may be praised and I unnoticed ...
That others may be preferred to me in everything ...
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should ...

The Power of the Cross: Second Week of Lent, Monday - The Cross of Christ Unites Those Divided by Sin

Ask — Whom do I treat as an outsider in God's kingdom?

Seek — As you go about your daily activities, think about how often you see someone else as "one of them" rather than "one of us". Of course, people are all unique and different. However, the gospel calls us to break down artificial barriers that prevent us from expressing the unity God desires.

Knock — Meditate on 1 Peter 2:21-24 while holding a crucifix in your hands. Think of the example of Jesus on the cross. How might you concretely imitate and model your life on Jesus?

Transform Your Life — Make discernment rather than judgment the goal of your life's decisions. Ask yourself, "What does God want me to do at this moment?" and, "What is God trying to teach me through this?" Strive to be open to his guiding presence. Learn from all whom you meet this day and every day.

(The Power of the Cross: Applying the Passion of Christ to Your Life, pp. 61-62.)