Sacred Heart Church

Lakewood, New York

Invest just five minutes a day, and your faith will deepen and grow—a day at a time. 

Sunday, March 5, 2006 

1st Sunday of Lent

We journey together

This is a great day for the church. Today from parishes all over, men, women, and children who are preparing to become Catholic will make their way to the cathedral, the mother church of their diocese, and publicly witness to their commitment to journeying with Jesus through Lent and Holy Week to the Easter Vigil when they will join more fully with us in the Catholic Church. Like Jesus in the desert for 40 days, this Lenten season continues to challenge us all to look beyond what tempts us in our relationship with God’s people, knowing that there are angels who will bring us home.

Today’s readings: Genesis 9:8-15; 1 Peter 3:18-22; Mark 1:12-15

“Jesus was in the wilderness 40 days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.” 

Monday, March 6 

Lenten weekday; Orthodox Clean Monday

Good, clean fun

Lent is the season when children’s thoughts turn to . . . kites. At least if you’re Eastern Orthodox Christian, they do. On Clean Monday, the first day of Lent in the Orthodox tradition, kite flying and picnicking are the order of the day. This is to kick off a seven-week period in which no meat or fish are eaten—including milk, cheese, butter, and eggs. (Hence the Easter egg!) Maybe they fly kites to keep their minds off their stomachs. At least we know why they fast: to keep the hunger of the world in mind and our responsibility to answer the need.

Today’s readings: Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18; Matthew 25:31-46

“I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink.” 

Tuesday, March 7 

Lenten weekday

No better prayer

How many times have we prayed the Lord’s Prayer? A thousand? Ten thousand? A million? We’ve certainly spilled out enough Our Fathers to burn a pretty deep path through our brains. Yet, while we can probably recite it backwards with one lip tied behind our backs, the disciples in the gospel story heard it fresh for the first time. Were they surprised that all it asks for is bread? Did they think it should include a statement of righteousness rather than a petition for forgiveness? And what did he mean about the “final test”? This proto-prayer of Christ’s can afford us a fresh look at our relationship with our Father.

Today’s readings: Isaiah 55:10-11; Matthew 6:7-15

“Pray then in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.” 

Wednesday, March 8 

International Women’s Day

Support your local wisewoman

International Women’s Day celebrates the economic, social, cultural, and political achievements of women. It also remembers the contributions of ordinary women to history, and their struggle to participate equally in society. Do you recall the Old Testament story about the Queen of Sheba? When she “heard of the fame of Solomon . . . she came to test him with hard questions” and “observed all the wisdom of Solomon” (1 Kings 10:1, 4). There’s a woman and wisdom-seeker worth celebrating! Think of all you have learned from the women wisdom-figures in your life.

Today’s readings: Jonah 3:1-10; Luke 11:29-32

“The queen of the South . . . came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, and see, something greater than Solomon is here!” 

Thursday, March 9 

Lenten weekday; Feast of Frances of Rome, married woman and religious founder

Ask and receive, search and do

Queen Esther in the Old Testament was a woman in a “traditional” woman’s passive role—praying, beseeching, asking. Subject not only to the king but his male advisors, she wasn’t in a position to be taking bold action. Same goes for Saint Frances of Rome (1384-1440): Wife of a nobleman and mother to three, she was busy with a hundred household duties when a great plague struck Italy, claimed the life of her son, and ravaged the poor. Esther found courage to confront the king and save the Jewish people. And Frances found courage to sell her possessions, turn her home into a hospital, and save many sick. Ask, and you will receive. Just be sure to ask for some boldness, too.

Today’s readings: Esther C:12, 14-16, 23-25; Matthew 7:7-12

“Everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds.” 

Friday, March 10 

Lenten weekday; day of abstinence

Make a compelling case for faith

Theologian Father Bob Barron, who has been assigned the task of jumpstarting efforts to get Chicago Catholics back to church, says evangelization is like introducing a kid to baseball: You start with how beautiful the game is, not the infield fly rule. Few people are persuaded to return to church by dwelling on the minutiae of the faith, he says. “You show the beauty and compelling nature of the faith, which is bigger than bickering over church laws.” That is the message of today’s gospel as well. Our goal is not simply following the rules but wholeheartedly embracing the will of God. What does your faith compel you to do?

Today’s readings: Ezekiel 18:21-28; Matthew 5:20-26

“Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of God.” 

Saturday, March 11 

Lenten weekday

It rains on everybody

Jesus asks us to love people who’ve been hateful and pray for people who are hurting us. Why should we do such a thing? Because it makes us more like God—and after all, we are the children of God. God brings rain down on everybody indiscriminately, and sunshine, too. God does not withhold divine blessings from bad people and give them to good people, though you’d have a hard time getting some folks to believe that. Perfect human justice is merely even-steven. Divine justice, bounded by mercy, goes way beyond just deserts.

Today’s readings: Deuteronomy 26:16-19; Matthew 5:43-48

“But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

©2006 by TrueQuest Communications, L.L.C. Phone: 800-942-2811;
e-mail: mail@takefiveforfaith.com ; website: www.takefiveforfaith.com . Licensed for noncommercial use. All rights reserved. Scripture quotes come from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible.

Contributors: Father Paul Boudreau, Alice Camille, Father Dominic Grassi, Mary Lynn Hendrickson, Joel Schorn, and Patrice J. Tuohy

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