Our gospel reading for these last three Sundays before Lent this year comes from Chapter 6 of Luke’s Gospel, known as the Sermon on the Plain. Just like in Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount, Jesus lays out the basic Christian ethic. Much of what we hear Jesus say in these passages is going to be challenging; it may even prick our consciences. I encourage everyone to really take to heart what we hear and to continue to reflect upon it as Ash Wednesday approaches. Let these challenging words of the Lord serve as a pre-Lenten examination of conscience so that the grace of the coming Lenten Season may fashion our hearts and minds to be ever more faithful disciples.
I remember one of the priests at my home parish when I was a kid who used to issue the same admonition every year on Ash Wednesday: “Live this Lent as though it were your last.” Some of us used to roll our eyes when we heard it; others found it a bit morbid. However, over my years as a priest, I must confess that this sentiment pops into my mind every year around this time. Not in a morbid sense but as a reminder of the importance of being open to grace of the season. Time passes quickly so we must make the most of the days God gives us. In that spirit, as we begin our preparations for the coming Lenten Spring, I share this passage for your reflection from the U.S. Bishops’ 1992 Pastoral Letter, Stewardship: A Disciple’s Response: “A true understanding of stewardship begins with taking care of and sharing the gift of time. Stewardship of time involves the realization that none of us ‘owns’ time. Each of us is given only so much of it, and planning a careful schedule in order to have the time to work, to rest, to play, and to pray is vital in the stewardship of physical, emotional, spiritual, and intellectual lives. In a busy society like ours, time is one of the most precious possessions we have. How we spend our time is perhaps the clearest indication of our progress in a life of Christian discipleship.”
According to doctors and our local hospitals, we are at the peak of this year’s flu season. It’s a good time to call to mind three common-sense suggestions from the Diocesan Office for Worship: 1) When you’re seriously sick, stay home. Return to church when you have recovered. Since the obligation to attend Mass is a serious one, absenting oneself from Mass must therefore correspond to an equally serious reason for doing so. 2) If you’re coughing, wheezing, or sneezing, don’t drink from the Cup of Precious Blood. Christian charity demands that we do nothing that would discourage others from partaking of Holy Communion. 3) You may exchange the sign of peace in a manner that minimizes physical contact. As Ben Franklin so famously said: “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
On Saturday the Church celebrates the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter the Apostle. The gospel reading for this feast is taken from Chapter 16 of Matthew’s Gospel; when Jesus puts the question directly to his disciples: “But who do you say that I am?”, Peter confesses Jesus as the Christ. Jesus attributes this profound statement of faith as a gift of grace and proclaims him to be “rock” and further declares that he will give Peter “the keys to the king of heaven”, thus signifying Peter’s authoritative leadership of the Church. This is the focus of this feast, which can be traced to least the fourth century and has its roots in the ancient Roman commemoration of dead relatives and friends, or Parentalia, celebrated each year from February 13-22, where a chair, or cathedra, was left empty for particular deceased persons. Since the date of St. Peter’s death is not known, it came to be commemorated on February 22, eventually becoming a celebration of his taking pastoral responsibility of the Church of Rome. Our feast, then, is not a celebration of a piece of furniture but a reminder that the office is greater than the man who fills it. [2013 Sourcebook for Sundays, Seasons, and Weekdays, LTP, p. 107]
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