Step #16-Serve

“Whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:26-28

Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent (March 11, 2009)

As we continue on our journey, we realize that to follow Jesus we must go against what the world is teaching us. The world teaches us about power, about being number one, about moving up… whether is at work or society in general. Jesus, on the other hand, is telling us that “whoever wishes to be great must serve, whoever wishes to be first must become a slave.” That is quite a contradiction.

Is it bad to be at the top in our work? No it is not, as long as we don’t use our position of power to boss everyone around and as long as we don’t think that our position makes us better than everybody else. Is it wrong to be amongst the rich and wealthy? No it is not, as long as we don’t think that our wealth gives us power over the rest of the world, as long as our ranking in society does not make us feel superior over everyone else.

If we have the privilege to be at the top, whether through hard work or plain luck, we have a big responsibility. Jesus is asking us to serve. Even if we preside over a big organization or a small group of people, our responsibility is to serve, not to command. If we have wealth, our responsibility is to share it with those in need. This does not mean that we need to run and give away everything we own, but Jesus is asking us to soften our hearts and open our eyes to the need around us.

The problem is that most of the time we forget our long-term goal. We forget that we are in this world only for a short time, so we put all our energy in acquiring glory and possessions here on earth. We don’t realize that we need to spend more time working for our long-term goal, and that is the Kingdom of God. What do we gain if we have a lot of material goods here on earth but we lose our soul in the process? What do we gain by having a lot of power if all the power makes us lose heaven?

We need to put our energy and resources into acquiring treasures for the Kingdom of God and there is no better place to start than by serving Jesus here on earth.

Step #15-Be Humble

“The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” Matthew 23:11-12

Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent (March 10, 2009)

We have to be very careful to remain humble in anything we do. When we have been doing something for a long time, it is very easy to think that nobody can do it better than us. We become possessive of our tasks. This can happen at work, at home… but we have to be extra careful when we are serving the Lord. If we help out in our parishes, in the Emmaus retreats, or in any other ministry of the Church, we need to always remember whom we are serving and why we are doing it.

When I was a teenager, a long, long time ago, I was very involved with “Encuentros Juveniles” (Youth Encounters). At one point, I was asked to take over the responsibility of the newspaper. Since I have always enjoyed writing, I was thrilled with the assignment and I jumped in with both feet. The newspaper became my baby. We were a staff of five, but somewhere along the way, I was doing that newspaper all by myself. The dining table at my house, to my mother’s horror, became a permanent workshop. The newspaper became my passion, but in the process, I forgot whom I was truly serving. When it came time to pass the baton to the next person, I had a very hard time letting go. Once I did, I learned a very big lesson in humility.

It is very easy to take ownership of an assignment, especially when we are praised for a job well done. We can wrongly assume that if we let go of our responsibility, someone else will mess up what we have worked so hard to make perfect. When we serve the Lord, He is the one that hands out the assignments. We have to be ready to serve, without expecting recompense, but we also have to be ready to step back when He wants us to move on to something else. This is very hard to do, because we become comfortable within a group, we get to know the persons serving with us, we make friends and the shoe fits just right. There is nothing more humbling than when we join a new task for the first time, especially when we used to be in charge of something else. Now, we need to start from the bottom and we have to allow somebody else to teach us the way.

Our blessed Mother was the perfect model of humility. She was given the greatest task of all, yet she never allowed it to go to her head. She continued living the same life she always led, a very simple life, and she served the Lord without any expectations for reward. She also taught us to let go. How hard it had to be for her to let go of her Son. Yet she knew that He was not for her to keep. Yes, He was her Baby, but He had come to serve all of humanity and she had to release Him. Will we be able to do the same when God asks us to move on to a new task?

Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent (February 27, 2018)

When I did the 48 Steps to Easter nine years ago, I was very involved with the Emmaus retreats at Belen. I had been serving for a few years so the shoe was already fitting me very comfortably. My Emmaus sisters had become more than friends, they were family. Little did I know, that God was going to ask me to move on to a new task, a very difficult one.

My son, Rafi, would be diagnosed with a very serious illness shortly after Easter. I always felt that God had inspired me to write the 48 Steps to Easter because He was preparing me to carry a very heavy cross. Now, as I read them again, I have no doubt that the journey on that Lent gave me the strength to withstand the hurricane that was coming our way.

Difficult times come into our lives when we least expect them. They just show up in our doorstep unannounced. That’s when we need to turn to God. And by allowing Him to lead us through the tornadoes in our life, we also have to be ready to answer His call when He needs our help.

If I had been asked back then, where I would like to serve God, the furthest answer from my mind would have been to help out with the mentally challenged. I could never, in my wildest dreams, have anticipated the turn that my life would take. But that is exactly where God needed me.

I humbly accepted the challenge, and for the past nine years, I have joined forces with a group of parents to serve an organization that helps adults with a serious mental illness lead more meaningful and productive lives.

I don’t know if next month or next year, God will need my services elsewhere. But I know that I will humbly answer Him, “I am your handmaiden. Lead me where You need me.”

Step #14-Seeing Jesus in Our Enemies

“The measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.” Luke 6:38

Monday of the Second Week of Lent (March 9, 2009)

When Jesus taught us how to pray the “Our Father” in step #8, we understood that when we said the words “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us,” we were telling the Father that in order to ask Him for forgiveness, we would be willing to forgive first. Now that we are faced with the challenge that in order to continue our journey and encounter Jesus in the resurrection, we must forgive our enemies, we realize that it is easier said than done.

Jesus tells us “forgive and you will be forgiven.” Does that mean that if we don’t forgive, He will not forgive us? I don’t believe so. I believe that Jesus forgives us no matter what, however, we will never be truly happy unless we learn to forgive. That is why Jesus is so persistent. He wants us to be happy. He knows that unless we learn to forgive, we are going to live a miserable life. As long as we are carrying so much hatred and resentment within our hearts, we are hurting only ourselves. We need to get rid of all those feelings that are poisoning our heart.

Jesus is not asking us to forget what the other person did to us. He is not even asking us to deny that what that person did was wrong. He is just asking us to try to see Jesus in the other person. Yes, the other person is not perfect, but neither are we. Yes, the other person hurt me, but carrying resentment towards that person does not make that person suffer, it only hurts me. Jesus loves that person as much as He loves me and until we can see Jesus in that person, we will not be able to fully encounter Him.

Grab Mary by the hand and talk to Her about one person you are having an awful time forgiving. Tell Her how much you hurt. Ask Her to help you see Jesus in that person. You may not be able to accomplish this in one day, but hopefully, you will be able to do it by Easter. That is why we have Lent.

Step #13-The Transfiguration

“From the shining cloud the Father’s voice is heard: This is my beloved Son, listen to him.” Mark 9:7

Second Sunday of Lent (March 8, 2009)

Today’s gospel reading is about “the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ.” It has become one of my favorite readings since I meditated on it about two and a half years ago. I think it’s because in this time I have experienced a metamorphosis. I always considered myself as having a close relationship with Jesus, but before it used to be more of a one way relationship. I did all the talking but I never took the time to listen. Two and a half years ago, when I attended the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola for the first time, everything changed. Now I still talk a lot to Him, but I also contemplate, meaning I spend time in silence just allowing Him to talk to me in the silence of my heart.

During the “transfiguration”, Jesus changed. Now, He is asking us to change. Sometime along this journey, He wants us to leave behind our old self and become a new person. He wants us to experience His brightness, the same brightness that Peter, James and John experienced during the “transfiguration” twenty centuries ago.

Imagine for a moment that when you started this journey you were a caterpillar. Somewhere along the path, you will undergo a metamorphosis and you will be changed into a butterfly. (If you are a man, and it’s too hard to imagine yourself as a butterfly, then pretend you started as a tadpole and you will be changed into a frog).

You will encounter Jesus in this journey. It is impossible to meet Him, to experience His bright light and leave that encounter unchanged.

Are you ready to be changed? If you are, then just keep walking.

Step #12-Love your Enemy

“Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you.” Matthew 5:44

Saturday of the First Week of Lent (March 7, 2009)

Yesterday, Jesus asked us to reconcile with someone who we do not like very much. Someone who hurt us very deeply. Today, He is taking us one step further. He wants us to love this person.

How can we possibly love this person? It’s hard enough to forgive, now He wants us to love too? He is asking us to “love our enemies.” Wow, that’s a tough one. Loving those that love us is easy, but loving those that are mean to us, those that are not very nice, those that hate us... That is not easy at all.

We may be seriously reconsidering this journey at this point. It all seemed so simple at the beginning. He asked us to do a little sacrifice, to pray a little harder, to give to the needy… He asked us to take up our crosses and bring them with us. He asked us to spread a little love to the people around us (of course, we did not think this also included our enemies). He asked us to spend more time with Him. He asked us to trust Him. All those things do not seem so difficult in comparison to what He is asking of us now. He wants us to forgive, love and pray for our enemies.

Praying for our enemies is easy enough. Father please allow_______to stop being such a bad person. Father please allow_______to convert from his or her evil ways. Father please allow_______to see things our way. We have to be careful how we pray. We cannot pray for the other person to change, we need to pray that we change the way we feel about that person. We have to be careful of becoming so self-centered that we think we are so good and holy, that everybody else needs changing except us.

Once we start to pray for our hearts to change, little by little we will be able to release the hatred, the resentment and all the anger we have been carrying in our hearts for so long. Once we begin to release all these feelings, we will be able to love. It may seem impossible, but the opposite of hatred  is love. Once we stop hating, we’ll start loving. Only then, will we be able to make room in our hearts for Jesus.

Step #11-Forgive

“Go first and be reconciled with your brother.” Matthew 5:24

Friday of the First Week of Lent (March 6, 2009)

This journey has not been too difficult so far, but now the road is beginning to get a little rough. Why? I just spotted in the same road that person… I don’t even want to mention the name…

We all have someone in our lives whom we try to avoid. Someone that possibly hurt us very deeply. Someone that we simply dislike. Someone that is not living according to God’s ways or ours. Someone that blasphemed against us. Someone that is not very nice. Yes, we all know who that someone is.

What would you do if you see that person walking just a few steps ahead of you? Will you slow down to try to avoid walking beside him or her? Will you hide behind a tree to make sure that person does not notice you? Will you start walking very rapidly to pass this person and create a huge distance between the two of you? Will you ask Jesus, “What is this person doing in this journey with me? ……… does not deserve to be walking this road because he or she is not a good person.”

Jesus does not want us to continue on this journey until we reconcile with this person. He wants us to stop right now, look within our hearts and seek for forgiveness. He wants us to let go of all past hurts. He wants us to remember a time when we did something that hurt Him deeply. Did He forgive us? Yes, He did. He wants us to do the same. We need to forgive the person that is creating a wall between Jesus and us. Until we do, we cannot go on. We cannot find Jesus as long as we are carrying resentment within our hearts.

If you are having a hard time with this, sit under the tree with Mary, your Mother in Heaven. She understands. She also had a very hard time forgiving the people that crucified Her Son. Once She did, She was able to reunite with Her Son in all His glory. She will help us to find the grace to be able to forgive, so that we can encounter Jesus at the end of this journey.

Step #10-Knock

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8

Thursday of the First Week of Lent (March 5, 2009)

When we began this journey, God knocked at the door of our hearts and we opened it. Today, He is asking us to knock at His door. He is telling us that if we ask Him, He will answer us, if we seek, we will find Him, if we knock, He will open. He is there for us, but we have to take the first step towards Him. We already took the first step. Actually, this is our tenth step, but we may be looking for Him in all the wrong places.

Do you feel sometimes like God does not listen to you? Do you feel like He doesn’t have time for you? Are you constantly praying for a specific thing? You may have been praying for the same thing for years and yet, He still has not answered you.

This morning, I sat with Mary, our blessed Mother, in the bench under the tree. While we were talking, we were surrounded by a multitude of birds and not one, not two, but three squirrels. I began to look at Jesus through Her eyes. I contemplated the Nativity. Can you possibly imagine how Mary most have felt, after God asked Her to be the Mother of His Son, after He entrusted Her with such huge responsibility, and then, She goes into labor, and She cannot even find a decent place to bring this Child into the world? Do you think She felt abandoned? Do you think She felt forgotten? Do you think She had doubts that maybe She made the wrong decision when She answered YES? She had to deliver Her Son, God’s Son, in a manger, and I am sure it was not as pretty as the Nativity scene we place in our homes for Christmas. It smelled awful. It was full of dirty and smelly barn animals (not pretty butterflies or squirrels). The hay where she had to lay was probably very itchy, not like the comfortable beds where most of us delivered our children surrounded by doctors and nurses. Her only companions were the smelly animals and Joseph. Poor Joseph, who was just a simple carpenter, and was probably wondering what in the world He had gotten Himself into. Where was God at that moment? Why didn’t He answer when She knocked at His door? Where was God when She knocked at the door of so many inns and they all turned Her away?

Mary did not question God. She did not doubt Her decision not even for a moment. She placed Her complete trust in God. If He had asked Her, a simple girl from Nazareth to be the Mother of His Son, She knew He would take care of Her and the Baby. We, on the other hand, doubt at every turn of the road. We become impatient when our prayers don’t get answered right away. When things don’t go our way, we get upset and figure that God must be too busy for us. Have you ever stopped to think why God is not answering your prayer? Maybe He has a different plan for you. His plan may be completely different than ours. If we had been in Bethlehem 2000 years ago, we would have wondered, what is the point of bringing His Son into the world in a manger? He is the King of the world, He should be born in a palace, surrounded by servants and the most comfortable luxuries. Now, 2000 years later, we understand His plan. Jesus did not come to be served but to serve. He did not come to live among the rich. He came to live among the poor, the sick, the abandoned, the forgotten, the sinners. He came to serve each and every one of us.

We need to place our full trust in God. If He is not answering as fast as we would like, we need to trust that He has a different plan and He will reveal that plan to us when the time is right. We need patience, because His time is not our time.

Step #9-The Evil Generation

“Even now, says the Lord, return to me with your whole heart for I am gracious and merciful.” Joel 2:12-13

Wednesday of the First Week of Lent (March 4, 2009)

In today’s gospel reading, Jesus says “This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it…” Luke 11:29

I have been praying to the Holy Spirit to enlighten me so I can understand the message that Jesus is trying to get across with today’s readings. I personally don’t like to be considered part of “this evil generation” that He is referring to, and yet, I know that I am part of it. Every time I don’t do my part to spread His message, I allow the enemy to get stronger. Every time I get angry, I am letting evil feelings take control of my heart. Every time I talk bad about someone, I am very much part of “this evil generation.”

Jesus also says that this generation “seeks a sign.” Yes, He was talking to the crowd 2000 years ago, but this generation is not much different than that generation. We are sign seekers. Do you remember the shadow of the Holy Family that appeared not too long ago in the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament at St. Brendan Catholic Church? It was a shadow reflected in the mantle that held the Blessed Sacrament and indeed, it truly resembled the image of the Holy Family. How many people stood in line for hours to take a peek at the shadow? It was all over the news. Pictures traveled through the Internet, and for a few days, St. Brendan became a very popular church. Unfortunately, most people failed to notice the presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, just a few inches from the shadow. Most of the crowd just wanted to witness the miracle without realizing that the miracle is present there every single day. Where are the people now? The Blessed Sacrament is still there, it’s probably exposed in most of our churches around Miami, and yet, most of us don’t take the time to visit Him, to spend time with Him. I am the first one that rarely spends time with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. It is too much trouble for me to go out of my way to visit a church on a weekday and spend a few minutes with Jesus. However, I will manage to find the time later today to go to Macy’s because I need a dress for a wedding.

As we continue on this journey, Jesus asks each and every one of us to spend more time with Him. We cannot continue through this journey rushing to reach our destination as fast as possible. We need to stop and notice the people around us, the beauty around us... When was the last time you sat outdoors and just listened to the wind, enjoyed the smell of a flower, marveled at the sun coming out behind the clouds? When was the last time you stopped to watch the birds, the butterflies or the squirrels right outside your door? When was the last time you spent a few minutes with Jesus, allowing Him to talk to you in the silence of your heart?

Jesus does not want us to be part of “the evil generation.” He wants us to be part of His Kingdom, share it with others and enjoy precious time with Him in this beautiful world that He gives us as a gift every single day.

Our Blessed Mother is sitting under a tree as we continue on this journey. She is inviting us to sit with Her. She wants to talk to us about Her Son. She wants us to “return to Him with our whole heart.” Let’s accept Her invitation to get to know Jesus through Her eyes. That is the most intimate way to meet Him, through His Mother’s eyes.

Step #8-Our Father

"For prayer is nothing else than being on terms of friendship with God." — St. Teresa of Avila

Tuesday of the First Week of Lent (March 3, 2009)

We have been walking together for one week already and what a journey it has been. First Jesus knocked and we answered yes. Then, our Blessed Mother joined us and began walking with us. We took up our own crosses, and began our walk, slowly but surely. On our way, we began an examination of conscience, praying for help to remain in the path of righteousness. Jesus began to teach us about love and reaching out to those around us.

Today, Jesus teaches us how to pray. "This is how you are to pray: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." (Matthew 6:9-13)

The biggest weapon Jesus left us is prayer and the "Our Father" is the most powerful prayer of all. Mother Teresa of Calcutta once said, "Praying the Our Father and living it will lead us toward saintliness. The Our Father contains everything: God, ourselves, our neighbors...." The problem is that unfortunately we still become like the pagans of 2000 years ago and we just babble the words. If we really pray the "Our Father" stopping to think about every word we say, we will not encounter any problems in our journey.

When we say OUR FATHER we are placing our complete trust in God. We are recognizing Him as "Our Father" in heaven and earth.

When we say "WHO ART IN HEAVEN" we are accepting that He is bigger than the things of this world and that we need to seek Him first in everything we do.

When we say "HALLOWED BE THY NAME" we are opening the door to our heart to allow His holiness to penetrate us.

When we say "THY KINGDOM COME" we are accepting to take His kingdom to our world and to spread His love to those around us.

When we say "THY WILL BE DONE" we are surrendering our lives and our decisions for Him to do with us as He wishes.

When we say "ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN" we are accepting that we cannot live two separate lives, that our spiritual life has to be linked with our earthly life. We cannot serve two different Gods.

When we say "GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD" we are committing to being generous and sharing the blessings He provides for us each and every day.

When we say "FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES" we are acknowledging that we have sinned and we are willing to change.

When we say "AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US" we understand that in order to ask God to forgive us we must first be willing to forgive those that have hurt us, which means not holding a grudge and letting go of our anger.

When we say "AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION" we agree not to place ourselves in a dangerous position that will make us fall.

When we say "DELIVER US FROM EVIL" we agree to help Him fight evil by serving Him through our actions, our words, and our sacrifices.

Father, guide us in our journey.

Step #7-Expect the Unexpected

"Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me." Matthew 25:40

Monday of the First Week of Lent (March 2, 2009)

It has been a very overwhelming morning so I failed in my commitment to get this meditation to you by 10:00 am. Now I'm rushing because I have to leave to get to tio Chucho’s mass and burial on time, but I did not want to go before sending you today's step.

Our journey may be full of obstacles, we may need to detour and jump barriers along the way, but the important thing is not to lose sight of the goal, and that is Jesus. As long as we keep our eyes on Jesus, no matter how many times we fall, how many detours we need to take, how many mountains we have to climb, we will reach our destination.

Today's reading gives us another clue to help us remain on the road. We need to care for all those around us, but especially for the poor, the weak, the lonely ones, those that are always left out. First, we have to love, then we have to reach out. It is not enough to mail a check to an organization that helps the needy. We need to get out of our comfort zone, stick our hands in the mud and do whatever Jesus asks us to do for his Kingdom.

Today, let's have a talk with Jesus and ask Him, "what do you want from me?" Be ready to listen and expect the unexpected.

Step #6-Love and Truth

"Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth to those who keep your covenant." Psalms 25

First Sunday of Lent (March 1, 2009)

Today is the first Sunday of Lent. In our Christian tradition, every Sunday of the year is a celebration of the resurrection. Because of this, we don't fast on Sundays. My youngest son, Alex, who turned 14 in December, has observed some fasting and abstinence in the past, but this is the first year he is taking it very seriously. He was very happy when he found out about this rule because it means he can eat chocolate on Sundays. He asked me: "Are you going to read your book on Sundays?" I told him that I was planning to abstain from reading the Nora Roberts trilogy even on Sundays. I guess I made him think and he decided that he would eat chocolate just three of the six Sundays preceding Easter.

Every one has to make a personal decision about what they will do on Sundays, but being that on every Sunday we are celebrating a "little Easter," we should consider doing something extra special as a pre-Easter celebration. Today's responsorial psalm gives us a glimpse as to what we should do to remain in the right path all the way to Easter. God teaches us the way by talking about love and truth. What a wonderful way to prepare for Easter by trying every Sunday to spread a little love to the people around us.

Let us celebrate today by spending time with our family, abstaining from arguing, nagging and bickering, and truly enjoying each other's company in an honest-to-goodness Sunday celebration.

First Sunday of Lent (February 18, 2018)

I was very tempted this morning to take a peek at my Facebook. After all, today is Sunday so we get a break from our Lenten penance. But I decided not to give in to my resolution. I will abstain from Facebook until Easter Sunday.

It’s amazing how we are creatures of habit. I have gotten so used to checking Facebook in the mornings that this week I have found myself at a loss. Facebook has become my reminder for birthdays. It is also my gossip column: who’s doing what, who’s traveling, who got engaged, who had a baby, what’s happening this weekend, etc. I also use it to post my meditations, and check who is reading them.

Now, I feel I am in the desert. No clue what’s going on. But sometimes, it’s good to get away from it all to truly spend time with Jesus. So I will continue living out in the wilderness for the next six weeks. And hopefully by Easter, I won’t have the need to check out Facebook on a daily basis.

Happy Sunday!!!

Step #5-Show us The Way

"Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth." Psalms 86:11

Saturday after Ash Wednesday (February 28, 2009)

As we take our 5th step, we ask the Lord to show us the way. He is guiding us, otherwise we would certainly get lost. He has chosen each and every one of us for this walk. We may feel unworthy to walk in His path, but He knows that He made the right choice. He formed us in our mother's womb and He knows the depths of our souls. He created us so in His eyes we are perfect in spite of our imperfections.

We heard His call and we answered YES. He wants us to follow Him even if in our hearts we know we are sinners. In today's gospel reading, the Pharisees ask Jesus why does He eat and drink with sinners. I love His answer: "Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do. I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners." Luke 5: 31-32

He called us to follow Him not because of our good deeds but because of our sins. He wants us to repent. He wants to "teach us His way so that we can walk in the truth." Sometimes, He sends us someone to teach us the way. Think of a person among your family or your friends that truly walks in the truth, in the light of Christ. In our family, we have tio Chucho. When he was a little boy he suffered polio and was left with many ailments. He carried his cross for over 70 years and not once did we ever hear him complaint. He has been at the edge of death multiple times. Nobody can count the number of times he has been hospitalized. His constant companion was an oxygen tank, yet he always had a smile on his face. Everybody loves tio Chucho because being in his presence, you felt peace, you felt love, you felt kindness. He taught all that met him how to carry our own crosses with dignity. Last night, God took him to heaven. A simple cold got complicated and he passed away on the way to the hospital. We found out at midnight and we knew the angels were singing.

You all know someone like tio Chucho. Take time this weekend to call or visit your tio Chucho.

Let's ask Mary, our blessed Mother, to continue helping us stay in the path of righteousness.

Step #4-Fasting

"Seek good and not evil so that you may live, and the Lord will be with you." Amos 5:14

Friday after Ash Wednesday (February 27, 2009)

As I was meditating last night on today's reading, I was thinking about the question that John the Baptist's disciples asked Jesus: "Why do we and the Pharisees fast much, but your disciples do not fast?" The first thing that came into my mind was, if the disciples did not fast, why do we have to fast?

I believe that to Jesus the most important thing is our conversion. If we abstain from food but we do not improve our way of living, then we might as well eat. What good will it do to us or to anyone, if we go hungry as a sacrifice for Lent but we are in a bad mood and we snap every time someone tries to talk to us?

We fast in Lent to cleanse our souls and our hearts to prepare them for our Lord's resurrection. The fasting needs to purify us so that we are ready to receive Jesus in our hearts on Easter Sunday. If we continue to sin and we do not try to change our sinful ways, then we are fasting in vain.

Today is the first Friday of Lent. We are asked to abstain from eating meat. I always think that those that do not like meat should abstain from eating something else, because it really would not be a sacrifice to give up something that is not enjoyable in the first place. Whatever we decide to give up, let us offer that sacrifice to improve one thing in our life that needs a holy makeover. Let us place it at the foot of the cross.

Our blessed Mother, as she stood by the cross, wept and cried upon seeing her Son suffering because of our sins. Forgive me, Mother, for the tears you have shed because of me.

We need to spend some quiet time with Jesus asking Him forgiveness for that one thing that is keeping us from getting closer to Him.

Step #3-Carrying our cross DAILY

"If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross DAILY and follow me." Luke 9:23

Thursday after Ash Wednesday (February 26, 2009)

When Jesus extended His invitation to each of us to follow Him on this journey, He never told us that it would be easy. All of us have a cross. It may be a sickness that we are fighting. It may be problems in our relationship with a loved one. It may be our job. It may be dealing with the ailments of someone we love. It may be our kids or our parents or our spouse or someone we deeply care for. Whatever that cross is, Jesus wants each of us to take it with us on this journey. He doesn't want us to drop it for a while and pick it up in a few days. No, He wants us to carry it "DAILY."

The choice we made to follow Jesus was a free choice. Yes, He extended the invitation, but He is not forcing us. Every step on this journey we are going to come upon a fork on the road. We can choose to continue on the path that will lead us to Him or we can choose to take the other way, leave the journey and take the easy road. The easy road seems more exciting. It promises us the pleasures that this world has to offer: materialism, possessions, thinking only of me, no sacrifices for anyone else, partying all the time, the joys of the flesh... However, this easy road leads nowhere. Eventually, these pleasures will die and we will feel completely empty inside.

If we choose to stay on the journey, it will be difficult, there are times when we will fall and we will have a very hard time getting up. But Jesus is not asking of us anything that He has not already experienced. He has walked this journey already, 2000 years ago. He also had a choice. He knew what was going to happen to Him. He could have run away, but He chose to stay because He loved us so much that He took all our sins upon His cross and He carried them all the way to the crucifixion.

I know in my heart that even the person on this journey that is carrying the heaviest cross, is not even a fraction of the weight of the cross that Jesus carried for each and every one of us. The cross that He continues to carry because whether we believe it or not, He is helping each one of us to carry our cross.

Even though He cannot promise that our journey will be easy because we will be fighting against the current of the world every step of the way, He promises that when we reach our destination we will reach such level of pleasure that we cannot even imagine it because we have never experienced it here on earth.

Our blessed Mother is walking with us every step of the way. She also carried a very heavy cross because she suffered in her heart and in her soul everything that her Son endured because of us. She is offering to help us in our journey, she is offering to sit by our side when we need to take a break, she is offering to console us when we fall, to wipe away our tears like she did to her Son when He felt on His walk. Talk to her today, tell her what is troubling you, she understands and she will listen to you. Share your cross with her and she will help you make your load so much lighter.

Step #2-Almsgiving

"When you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, so that your almsgiving may be secret." Matthew 6:3-4

Ash Wednesday (February 25, 2009)

I am so happy that you have chosen to accompany me on this journey. I am very excited because last night someone very special decided to join us. She wants to walk with us, guide us, and help us find her son Jesus during this journey. Our Blessed Mother is going to be taking these steps with us, next to us, side by side. She has always been a source of inspiration and comfort in my life, yet many times, I forget to invite her to be part of my dreams... I am glad, though, that she is never offended when I forget to send her an invitation, and she shows up anyway. I once again forgot to invite her to this special journey, but I was not surprised at all when she knocked at the door of my heart sometime during the night and told me she wanted to be part of it.

Today is Ash Wednesday so the season of Lent has officially started. I meditated on today's readings last night before I went to sleep. I continued meditating this morning, while I walked with Rafael, and afterwards, while I attended mass and listened to the homily. The part of the reading that kept touching my heart was: "When you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, so that your almsgiving may be secret." Matthew 6:3-4

We live in a society that encourages us to make our almsgiving public. If our children attend a catholic school, we need to place our contributions in an envelope in the collection basket so the school may know that they attended mass on Sunday. If we donate to the ABCD, most likely our names will be printed in the church bulletin. If we make a substantial donation, our names will be part of a brick on a sidewalk, in a door, bench or on a building itself. Even the IRS wants us to make our almsgiving public so we can have a receipt to be able to deduct our contributions as a tax deduction.

As I meditated about this and I shared my thoughts with Rafael this morning, we reached the conclusion that what is important to God is our intention. We can fool the world, but we cannot fool God, since He knows all the secrets of our hearts. If we give with the sole purpose of getting public recognition, "we have received our reward" here on earth. However, if we give from the heart and happen to see our name later plastered on a wall, printed in the church bulletin or anywhere else, we accept this recognition with a humble heart, knowing full well that was not our intention at all.

You may have heard on the news about Leonard Abess, Jr, the Miami banker who quietly gave $60 million of his own money to his loyal staff. His intention was to do this in secret. He did it from his heart. Of course, when the local newspaper found out, it was all over the news. However, he has accepted all this media attention humbly by simply saying: "I didn't feel right getting all the money for myself. Those people who joined me and stayed with me at the bank with no promise of equity - I always thought some day I'm going to surprise them." Last night, he was invited by President Obama to his first presidential address. Abess said that "he felt humbled and more than a little nervous about all the attention he is getting."

During this Lent, let's give from our heart, let's find time to pray in silence, let's fast in secret. However, if anybody finds out and approaches us about it, let's accept the recognition with a humble heart. We can use Mother Theresa as our guide. She was always in the news, received many awards for her service, yet she accepted it all with a humble heart and never lost sight of her goal.

Our goal during this journey is to find Jesus. Our blessed Mother will help us to keep our eyes on Jesus. Let's keep our hearts humble and let us not lose sight of our goal.

Thank you, Mother, for joining us in our journey. We know that with you by our side, we will be able to keep our focus on your Son.

Step #1-Commitment

This year, I have been sharing my unfinished project, a book that I started writing a decade ago and never finished. I have already shared the first six chapters here on this blog. Now comes the hard part, writing the next chapters. I promise to keep writing during Lent, and will post what I wrote after Easter.

In the meantime, I would like to share a set of meditations that I wrote nine years ago during Lent: “48 Steps to Easter.” I hope they will help you on your own Lenten Journey. Sometimes, I may add some current comments. Other days, I will just share what I wrote back in 2009 because it still applies today.

I am giving up Facebook this Lent, though, so this will be the last day that I share my blog through Facebook. If you want to walk the Easter Journey with me, you will need to go directly to my blog:

christysmeditations.blogspot.com

You can also sign up to receive the meditations by email by inputting your email address on my blog homepage and hitting “submit.”

Fat Tuesday (February 24, 2009)

This morning, I had what I would call "holy inspiration." Rafael and I have gotten into the habit of walking first thing in the morning and while we walk, we pray and meditate the daily gospel reading. I call it our daily walk with the Lord. These past two days we have been thinking about what to give up for Lent. In the past, it has been pretty simple. One year, I gave up ice cream (which I used to eat twice a day). It was hard at first, but now, I don't crave ice cream as much as I used to. Another year, I gave up chocolate chip muffins (my daily healthy breakfast). This year, however, both of us have been on a diet, so giving up food would be hypocritical since we pretty much have given up all the good things. What are we going to give up, salads? Not much sacrifice there. Anyway, I told Rafael, “I'll pray about it.” I'm sure God will come up with something good.

Little did I know, He was going to ask of me what I consider a huge sacrifice. You see, I love to read, and even though I read what I call my good dose of inspirational reading, I also love what I call my "unwind" literature. I particularly seem to get hooked on this type of reading during tax season, when I'm exhausted at the end of the day, and I just want to unwind before I go to sleep with a good book. One of my favorite authors is Nora Roberts, and currently, I am reading her latest trilogy "Blood Brothers." I was commenting to Rafael this morning that it's really not the most appropriate book to be reading during Lent since it has to do with the devil, and some other very intense and intimate relationships. However, I'm only half way through the first book and it's soooo good, that I was not willing to give it up... that is, until about an hour ago.

This past Sunday, after mass, they were giving out in St. Louis this little black book. I glanced at it on my way home, and I noticed they were six-minute reflections on the Weekly Gospels of Lent. I was very excited, so this morning, I grabbed the book and brought it with me to the office, where I like to pray and meditate before I start my day. The six-minute reflections actually began on Sunday, so I read the three before Ash Wednesday today. The one for Monday, titled "A good beginning" talked about "using the six minutes to ask God's help in making some course corrections in our lives." It talked about the fact that "we all have a file of resolutions in the back of our mind." As I was reading this, I was thinking about the resolutions I made for this year that I have not followed. Maybe I should pick one of those to commit to during Lent... But I kept reading, and it said "maybe we'd do better to put those aside for a moment and find out what God has in mind. It may be something we've never thought of, something that surprises us." As I meditated and pondered on this thought, I prayed to God to tell me what He wanted me to do or give up for Lent. Boy, did He surprise me. I can tell you that never, not even during the Spiritual Exercises that I have attended twice, have I heard His voice more clearly. I heard Him loud within my heart: "Give up Nora Roberts. Stop reading those books." (I would like to think that He also said "just for Lent.” And since today is “Fat Tuesday” or “Mardi Gras,” today I will read, read, and read) :) :).

However, He also went further, and this is the part that I call "holy inspiration." He asked me to use the time I would normally spend reading Nora Roberts to get ready for Easter, one step at a time, and not to do it alone, but to do it in community. Of course, at this point, I fought Him. "Oh no, You cannot ask this of me now. Don't forget, this is tax season. I can't stretch myself any further. I will meditate, journal, write... do all those things on my own, before I go to sleep... but in community? Are You out of your mind? What do You want me to do, start a prayer group? No way, I can't do that, ask somebody else." His answer, though, once again, came loud and clear: "email, Christy, email." As you can see, I've had a very busy mental hour with our Lord, until we finally reached a compromise and here it is:

Every night, before I go to sleep, instead of reading Nora Roberts, I will read the little black book. I will open up my heart to allow Him to talk to me through the "six-minute reflection". I will sleep on it and the following morning, when I get to the office, I will "journal" in the form of an email whatever God moves me to write. I will keep it to "five-minutes" and send it to those of you that are interested in walking these 48 steps to Easter with our Lord. The only thing that I ask of you is that you pray about this, and join this walk only if God moved you to do so.

I look forward to sharing this journey with you, and I am very excited, because I know in my heart that it will be much more rewarding for me than reaching the conclusion of "Blood Brothers."

God bless you and your family during this Lent and always.

The Project is Going on Retreat

This year, I have been sharing through my blog, a project that I started ten years ago but never finished. I call it my unfinished project. It’s basically a book that I felt inspired to write when I attended the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola at the end of 2007. I call it “The Project” because it’s still untitled. I figure the name will come to me as I write it, or maybe one of you will be the one who baptizes it. But I won’t worry about the title until the unfinished project is finished.

I have shared with you, thus far, six chapters. The first five were easy because they were already written, therefore, all I had to do was edit them. I also had to update some of the information, since a lot has changed in a decade. But overall, I was able to share one chapter per week.

The sixth chapter was a bit more difficult because it was incomplete. However, I had written part of it, so it was just a matter of getting my thoughts organized, and I was able to complete it last weekend.

But now I have reached the difficult part of the project. The remaining chapters are a blank canvas. I have the skeleton, or the index, in my mind, but I have not written a single word. Therefore, I have decided to go on retreat during Lent, so I can write without the pressure of having to post what I write within a certain timetable. At the end of Lent, I will share the chapter or hopefully chapters, that I was inspired to write during these forty days of Lent.

In the meantime, I’m going to share a Lenten Journey that I wrote back in 2009, “48 Steps to Easter.” However, I have decided to give up Facebook for Lent. Therefore, if you would like to accompany me on my journey to Easter, you will need to log in directly into my blog, or you can sign up to receive the meditations by email by going to my blog home page at:

christysmeditations.blogspot.com

On the right side you will see a window that says: “Receive new posts by email” where you can input your email address and hit “submit.” See picture below:

I hope you all have a fruitful and spiritual Lent, and please keep me in your prayers that the Holy Spirit rains upon me so “The Project” can resume after Easter.

The “48 Steps to Easter” will begin tomorrow, on Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras.

God bless you and your families during this Lent and always.