Lent can sure be slippery sometimes

SECOND WEEK OF LENT

March 5

SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT

Gn 12: 1-4a

Ps 33: 4-5, 18-20, 22

2 Tm 1: 8b-10

Mt 17: 1-9

March 6

Monday

Dn 9: 4b-10

Ps 79: 8-9, 11, 13

Lk 6: 36-38

March 7

Perpetua and Felicity, martyrs

Is 1: 10, 16-20

Ps 50: 8-9, 16bc-17, 21, 23

Mt 23: 1-12

March 8

John of God, religious

Jer 18: 18-20

Ps 31: 5-6, 14-16

Mt 20: 17-28

March 9

Frances of Rome, religious

Jer 17: 5-10

Ps 1: 1-4, 6

Lk 16: 19-31

March 10

Friday

Gn 37: 3-4, 12-13a, 17b-28a

Ps 105: 16-21

Mt 21: 33-43, 45-46

March 11

Saturday

Mi 7: 14-15, 18-20

Ps 103: 1-4, 9-12

Lk 15: 1-3, 11-32

Odilia

died c. 720

This patroness of Alsace, according to legend, was the daughter of Frankish nobleman Adalric, who hated her for being born blind and banished her. They later reconciled, when her sight was miraculously restored. She was baptized Odilia, or “daughter of light,” but had to flee her home to avoid marrying. She returned only when Adalric promised her his castle at Hohenburg, in the Vosges Mountains, for a monastery. Her shrine at Mont-SainteOdile became a famous pilgrimage site; Charlemagne and other emperors were among the pilgrims.

Iwas there and then I wasn’t.

Come with me to last Friday evening, the first Lenten fish fry at the parish. As I left home about 5:45, I was surprised to see some slush on my windshield. By the time I got to the parish center, the slush was becoming slick on the sidewalks.

I popped into the kitchen to ask the Knights to sprinkle down ice melt. They looked at me like I was crazy, since they’d just put some out a few minutes before. Apparently, it had been covered over by another layer of the slush. They rushed to re-apply the ice melt.

I sat down to enjoy a delicious fish dinner and conversation with some parishioners. (Just for the record, I don’t count meatless Fridays as part of my Lenten penance, since eating seafood, grilled

Father Mark Goldasich

Father Mark is the pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Tonganoxie. He has been editor of The Leaven since 1989.

cheese sandwiches or eggs is never a burden.)

After the meal, I led Stations of the Cross and then headed back out to my car. The sidewalks were nicely salted as was the parking lot. Unfortunately, the windows of my car were caked with stubborn ice. I cracked open

Mark My Words

the door, got comfortable in the seat and put on the defroster full blast.

I started to feel guilty, though, when I heard one of the Knights across the parking lot scraping windows. I said to myself, “Mark, you lazy cow! Get out there and scrape your windows. Don’t let the poor defroster do all the work.”

I cleared the driver’s side of the windshield and headed to do the same on the passenger side. I remember standing on the curb . . . and then I wasn’t. My right foot bent at an unnatural angle, and I landed on my right knee on the asphalt.

I got up as quickly as I could and checked — not to see if I’d injured anything, but to make sure that nobody saw me fall! Sure, my pants were ripped at the knee, but I could move all my toes and put pressure on that right foot, so things could have been much worse. A few minutes later, that lone Knight noticed me and came over to scrape my windows. He’d not seen me fall and I was too proud to ‘fess up to it.

As I hobbled through the weekend Masses, it reminded me of my first few days of this Lenten season. Sadly, I’ve limped through them, doing a poor job on the resolutions that I’d set out to accomplish.

But Lent has been do- ing its job in revealing my heart to me. It’s not that my Lenten resolutions are too numerous or too difficult.

No, even though I know they’re good for me, I found myself simply not wanting to do them. And it’s that stubborn will of mine that the Lord wants to work on. As I slowly heal physically, I’m confident that the Lord will patiently lead me to grow spiritually healthier as well.

One of my parishioners approached me after Mass and said, “Gosh, Father, I want to feel sorry for you, but you know, Patrick Mahomes played with an injured ankle and still won a Super Bowl!”

I answered, “Yup, but I don’t have his $500 million salary!”

And besides, I still have more than a “second half” of Lent to show what I can do!

Don’t let yourself give in to the things you gave up

So, how is your Lent going?

As we start the second week, maybe the fervor is starting to fade. What seemed so promising and possible only two Wednesdays ago has gone down the drain along with the ashes.

We long to give in to the things we gave up.

But in the middle of all that we encounter a miracle. This Sunday’s Gospel gives us an event, the Transfiguration, that Thomas Aquinas called “the greatest miracle,” because it gives us a tantalizing glimpse of heaven.

Coming right now, we might consider it a Lenten booster shot. This reminds us of what will come — Jesus’ own glorious resurrection — and it hints

Deacon Greg Kandra

at a glory we too can witness. It is a foretaste of paradise. Lent can help lead us there. If we let it.

Small wonder that

Peter sums it up succinctly: “Lord, it is good for us to be here.”

Yes. It is good for all of us to be here. It is good, right about now, to pause and look up, to wonder at the mystery of the Incarnation and tremble at the miracle of a God who took on our flesh.

But there is more. It is also good for us to remember what this season is about.

We can easily be caught up in the weariness and stubbornness of Lent. We can get lost in the rigors of prayer, sacrifice and fasting. These weeks can be hard, as we struggle to confront our weaknesses and limitations and work to follow more closely in the footsteps of Jesus.

So right about now, we need this Gospel to startle us, refocus us and, maybe, leave us shocked.

Lent is a season of journeying, of going forth. It’s about getting ready for another journey, to Calvary. But what comes after that? Where do we want Lent to take us? How deeply do our hearts burn for what the apostles saw on that mountaintop?

Pondering the Transfiguration, we ponder the glory of the Lord, and ponder, as well, our own unworthiness. The greatest miracle should make each of us want to go forth — to grow, to change, to deepen our love for Christ as we move deeper into this season of prayer.

Of course, Lent is also a season of perseverance. It can be daunting. We make mistakes. We backslide. Our resolve can prove weak. We realize we screw up.

Sometimes, the best thing we can do is to be merciful with ourselves and just continue on, one day at a time. Among other things, Lent is about renewal and restoration, and understanding, in our fallibility, that we are all works in progress.

The first words of the Scripture readings this Sunday can rouse us; but the consoling words of Jesus near the end of the Gospel offer comfort and hope. This may be another message we need right about now.

“Rise,” Jesus says, “and do not be afraid.”