It is mercy I desire, not sacrifice

Dear sisters & brothers in Christ,

I pray that you are blessed. We were saddened to see Fr. Joe leave this week. He certainly made an impression in his brief time here at St. Alphonsus. He will be missed. I am sure he will enjoy his new assignment, especially since the residence at our retreat house in Oconomowoc sits on a lake and he’ll be able to fish from his back porch. ;-) May the Lord’s blessings go with him.

As we begin this season of Lent, our minds turn toward “prayer, fasting & almsgiving.” We also need to keep in mind a favorite verse of Jesus, “It is mercy I desire, not sacrifice.” These Lenten practices are not done simply to make ourselves miserable. The whole point is to make ourselves better Christians, better disciples of Christ; as we make a deliberate attempt to “turn away from sin, and be (more) faithful to the Gospel.” While it’s true that fasting and sacrifice can be good for the soul, as well as, showing God the level of our love & commitment, it is also important to ask ourselves how these things are going to make us a better Christian?

In deciding what you are going to do for Lent, I also like to make one other recommendation. Instead of just giving up, or doing something just for these forty days, consider doing it permanently. An act of sacrifice or a commitment to pray for forty days is fine, and it is what we are asked to do, but if you choose to give up something like gossip or anger, you certainly don’t want to start doing it again at Easter! The idea is that if you can truly stop doing it for forty days, hopefully you can make a much longer commitment. Or, you can at least keep trying.

Giving up chocolate or caffeine or broccoli might be a good sacrifice and act of personal discipline, giving up something like gossip or anger might make you a better Christian. Going to mass every Tuesday of Lent might be a way to spend more time with God during this season, but in committing yourself to praying at least five minutes every morning you might find that your entire day is more peaceful and Christ centered.

One final thought about our Lenten practices. Lent is not a forty-day diet program, so you can lose a few pounds before Spring. Our focus should be on improving our “spiritual” lives, and any benefit to our “physical” lives should be more accidental, rather than intentional. If you are still not sure what you should do for Lent try spending a bit of quiet time with God, I am sure your Lord will have a few suggestions.

In the Redeemer, Fr. Rick

P.S. I hope to see you at our “Jesus Mission,” which runs from March 15-18. The evening session will be at 7:00 pm, and we will have a morning session on Monday, Tuesday, & Wednesday, which will be after the 9:00am mass. It will be a reflection on the night before, but if you cannot make the evening session you will still benefit from the morning ones.