2024 Year B
LIFE A RESURRECTED
DAILY REFLECTIONS FOR LENT
© 2024 Evangelisation Brisbane Archdiocese of Brisbane 194 Charlotte St, Brisbane, Australia Phone: (07) 3324 3440 Email: formation@bne.catholic.net.au Nihil Obstat: Deacon Peter Pellicaan Imprimatur: Archbishop Mark Coleridge Archdiocese of Brisbane, 2024. The Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur are official declarations that a publication is free of doctrinal or moral error. No implication is contained therein that those who have granted ecclesiastical approval agree with the contents, or statements expressed. They do not necessarily signify that the work is approved as a basic text for catechetical instruction. Acknowledgements Published by: Evangelisation Brisbane Author: Shane Dwyer Designed by: Joseph Thorley Printed by: Screen Offset Printing Scripture quotations: From the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA. All rights reserved. Cover: Titian (Tiziano Vecellio), Christ Carrying the Cross, 1565, Oil on Canvas, H: 67 cm × 77 cm. P000438, Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado. All rights reserved. No part of this book and associated resources may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the Publisher.
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Jesus said to him [Thomas], “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” (John 20:29)
14 FEBRUARY
ASH WEDNESDAY ON OR OFF?
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“And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray; go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (Matthew 6:5–6)
CONTEMPLATING THE WORD If you attended Mass today, chances are you have encountered the yearly Catholic dilemma: once you leave Mass, do you wipe the ashes off your forehead or leave them on? Some leave them on because removing them seems somehow disrespectful. Some wipe them off because their purpose in the liturgy has been achieved; they must continue their day. In the end, it is up to you. Some leave them on for their witness value, awaiting the question, ‘What’s all that about?’ Perhaps inspired by the words of the first letter of Peter, they live his instruction to ‘simply proclaim the Lord Jesus Christ holy in your heart, and always have your answer ready for anyone who asks you the reason for the hope that you have’ (1 Peter 3:15).
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Our answer to the inevitable question about the smudge on the forehead need not be complex or complicated. If anyone asks you ‘What’s that?’, simply reply, ‘Today is Ash Wednesday, which begins our days of prayer and fasting as we enter more deeply into the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus.’ It is that response that will lead either to an awkward silence or a meaningful conversation. However, if you are tempted to leave them on so that people will think well of you, wipe them off. The motivation is wrong. If you seek to give glory to God, then leave them on. Confused? PUTTING THE WORD INTO PRACTICE Jesus is not impressed with religious practices that serve simply to attract attention or are done to placate God. God teaches that we never need to attract God’s attention as we have God’s attention always. A significant part of the radical nature of Jesus’ teaching about God concerned where he located God in relation to us. Jesus sought to introduce us to the God who is as close to us as our very breath. As Jesus revealed, you are held in God’s gaze and, in so doing, held in being. God’s gaze is one of intense love, patience and mercy. The ashes that we wear today are, among other things, a symbol of that love. Leave them on or wipe them off—that is up to you. Whatever the case, focus on what is important: throughout this Lent, the One who holds you in being wishes to lead you
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on a journey that will heal and purify you. In many ways, it will be a secret journey—unique to you and God. Perhaps the most significant Lenten observance you could commit to over the next 40 days is finding the time to let God speak to you and lead you. This resource is offered to you to help you do that. PRAYER Jesus, write your wisdom on my heart and empower me to live the joy of the Gospel in our world. Amen.
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15 FEBRUARY
THURSDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY IT IS UP TO YOU
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“See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity … I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him … ” (Deuteronomy 30:15, 19–20)
CONTEMPLATING THE WORD These words of Moses to the people of Israel are as relevant now as ever. As the ‘people of God,’ we are constantly called to re-evaluate ourselves, repent and once again ‘choose life’. There has never been an age where this has not been so. At every stage of the Christian era and in every place, the Church has dealt with a profound and wounding struggle that has never gone away. We see it early on as Jesus seeks to teach and lead his disciples. We see it again in the accounts of the early Christian community. We have observed it repeated in different ways and everywhere, down to our own time. Whether it is the mother of Zebedee’s sons wanting the places of honour for her sons (Matthew 20:20–21) or the factions in the early Church divided over who to listen to (1 Corinthians 3:4), the struggle lives.
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Whether it’s the riots in the early Church after the liturgy was translated into Latin to make it more accessible to the common people (fourth century) or the disagreements and violence exhibited between Christians over the last 500 years, the struggle lives. Whether it’s attempts to juxtapose the ecclesiology of Pope Francis and Pope Benedict XVI, the struggle lives. PUTTING THE WORD INTO PRACTICE For if each of us were living as Jesus Christ in the world, which is the heart of the baptismal vocation, we would not be seeking places of honour, divided over who to listen to, arguing over the language of the Mass or struggling with the call to love all our brothers and sisters in faith. And, most certainly, the vulnerable would never be harmed by any person of faith. The unborn, the sick and the elderly would have our care and protection. No one, no matter their gender, race or whatever other issues they are dealing with, would feel undervalued. The refugee and the stranger would find a welcome, and people without homes would have shelter. This change would come if we lived the baptismal vocation into which we have been reborn. It’s no good waiting for someone else to do it. The thought that ‘someone should do something’ is not one we should entertain. If it does not start with you and me, it begins nowhere. The only person stopping me from living my baptismal vocation is not you; it is me. PRAYER Jesus, write your wisdom on my heart and empower me to live the joy of the Gospel in our world. Amen.
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16 FEBRUARY
FRIDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY WHEN FAITH BECOMES MEANINGLESS
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Then the disciples of John came to Jesus, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?” And Jesus said to them, “The wedding guests cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.” (Matthew 9:14–15)
CONTEMPLATING THE WORD We are on a journey that takes us from our spiritual past through our present and onto our future. Our awareness that Christ has come, is present, yet is still to come, encapsulates what we mean here. We cannot say we have arrived because of this ‘now but not yet’ dimension of our faith. This thought is echoed in the words of Jesus in today’s text: “The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.” Fasting has a symbolic and a literal meaning here. It means that we experience the need to do penance by abstaining from the unnecessary. Symbolically, it indicates all our struggles as we attempt to live our faith. We all live with the tension of being in the in-between times—
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struggling to remain faithful in an age that does not make that an easy thing to do. That these are challenging times is beyond doubt. However, bear in mind as we engage with our current situation, it has never been easy to live the Christian faith fully. Yes, we could argue that there have been times when it has been culturally more acceptable to be Catholic, but that is not the same. The radical nature of the Christian message is such that it calls everyone out of their comfort zone if engaged properly. PUTTING THE WORD INTO PRACTICE We might argue that an age that considered living the life of faith was easy may also be an age where the faith was not fully understood, let alone lived. If you struggle to live your faith in the current environment, it can be helpful to realise that, to different degrees, it has always been thus. Coming to terms with the implications of our baptismal commitment, with all the challenges that come with it, is a beautiful yet challenging process. It involves the profound realisation that our faith is not merely part of what defines us but is the essence of who we are. If I seek to live my faith as if it is a coat that I occasionally wear—to be put on when the weather is bad but otherwise kept at the back of the closet—then the Christian life will remain a mystery to me. A faith that impacts every aspect of my life is in danger of becoming meaningless.
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To engage effectively in the mission entrusted to us, we aspire to become adult Catholics who are spiritually mature and living out our baptismal vocation to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ. PRAYER Jesus, write your wisdom on my heart and empower me to live the joy of the Gospel in our world. Amen.
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