five minutes with theWordLENT 2015

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Five Minutes with the WordPresident: Jeff SmithPublisher: Joseph Difato, Ph.D.Editor: Leo ZanchettinContributing Writers: Ann Bottenhorn, Jill Boughton, Christine Difato, Teresa Ejinaka, Bob French, PM Graham, Theresa Keller, Joel Laton, Lynne May, Fr. Joseph A. Mindling, OFM Cap, Sid O’Neill, Louise Perrotta, Hallie Riedel, Lisa Sharafinski, Fr. Joseph F. Wimmer, OSA, Patty Whelpley, Jonathan WilsonArt Direction: David CrossonCover Design: Andrea AlverezDirector of Operations: Jack DifatoGeneral Manager: John RoederProduction Manager: Nancy Clemens

For sales or customer service, direct all mail to The Word Among Us, 7115 Guilford Dr., STE 100, Frederick, Maryland 21704.

Telephone: 301-874-1700 Fax: 301-874-2190. Our Web address is www.wau.org. e-mail: theresa@wau.org. Made in the U.S.A.Five Minutes with the Word is published from 7115 Guilford Dr., STE 100, Frederick, Maryland 21704. Letters to the editor should be addressed to this location. Canadian Publications Mail Agreement #40031176Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to The Word Among Us, c/o Metanoia Outreach, Box 1107, Station F, Toronto, Ontario M4Y 2T8Copyright ©2015 The Word Among Us.The meditations in this booklet may be reproduced with prior approval of the publisher for use in Bible studies, discussion groups, religion classes, and the like.Excerpts from the New American Bible with Revised New Testament and Psalms Copyright ©1991, 1986, 1970 by the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. Used with permission. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Ever since his election two years ago, Pope Francis has been saying that he wants a Church that is more simple and more

attuned to the needs of the poor. What a wonder-ful theme for us to enbrace during this season of Lent! That’s because one of the best ways that we

can become this kind of church is by taking up the traditional Lenten practices of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving.

St. Augustine once said that almsgiving and fasting are “the wings of prayer.” According to Augustine, if we “give up” and “give away,” we will find ourselves being drawn closer to God. The distractions of everyday life will diminish, enabling us to focus more of our attention on the Lord and his calling on our lives.

Here is a promise from Jesus that you can rely on: if you give up physical food for the sake of receiving spiritual food, if you give to the poor in the hope of receiving spiritual wealth, and if you seek the Lord more intently, you will be rewarded (Matthew 6:4, 6, 18). Mind you, the rewards will be spiritual, not financial, but that makes them even more valuable! You will experience Jesus filling you with peace and love. You will find yourself becoming more forgiving, more generous, and more kind. In short, you will will become more like Christ.

I pray that the daily meditations in this booklet will help you draw closer to Jesus this Lent. As we take up our Lenten practices, may we all follow Pope Francis’ example of simplicity and generos-ity. May we all, in his words, become “a poor Church for the poor.”

Joe DifatoPublisher

The Wings of Prayer

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18 Wednesday, February 18

ASH WEDNESDAY

A meditation based on Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

Your Father who sees in secret will repay you. (Matthew 6:6)

Can you imagine a worm turning into a bird? This is essentially what happens inside the chrysalis of a mon-

arch butterfly. Scientists still don’t understand how, within two weeks, a caterpillar can turn into a completely different creature. Inside that magical chrysalis, the major organs and structures of the caterpillar are all completely dissolved, and new ones are formed. A new heart! New lungs! Wings grow out of nowhere!

It’s no wonder that many parishes use the image of a caterpillar in a cocoon to illustrate the season of Lent. If only we could enter a magical chrysalis and emerge six weeks later as a reflection of God’s beauty and grace!

Of course, we know it’s not magic. It’s a combination of God’s grace and our effort. And while we have no control over the grace, we have a lot of control over our effort. So here are some things we can try to do this season so that we can find our lives changed come Easter Sunday.

First, prayerfully consider what you want to become. What “old organs” do you need to let go of? What kind of “wings” are you looking for?

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Secondly, find a chrys-alis. This doesn’t mean isolating yourself for forty days. Rather, set aside time each day for prayer. Ponder the Mass readings. Talk to the Lord. Use a journal to record your thoughts. Just fifteen minutes every day can make a huge difference.

Finally, start living your new life. Rearrange your priori-ties as if you already were that butterfly. Make yourself available to God’s grace through prayer, and you’ll find yourself changing!

If you do your part, you can be confident that God will do his. If he can turn a caterpillar into a butterfly, imagine what he has in store for you!

TODAY’S OTHER READINGS:Joel 2:12-18 Psalm 51:3-6, 12-14, 17 2 Corinthians 5:20–6:2

Pray. . . “Here I am, Lord, ready for your grace. Come and help me become the person you want me to be.”

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19 Thursday, February 19

A meditation based on Luke 9:22-25

. . . and on the third day be raised. (Luke 9:22)

Have you ever received a party invitation with only vague information about the location? You have the

date and time and even the reason for the party, but you aren’t sure how to get there. That’s probably how the apostles felt when Jesus first called them. All he said was, “Follow me.” But in today’s passage, Jesus gives the des-tination as well: “Whoever loses his life for my sake will save it” (Luke 9:24).

Don’t you sometimes feel like the disciples when Jesus first called them, focusing mostly on the call to deny your-self and losing sight of the goal? That’s usually not a great motivator. When we “give up” something for Lent, it’s supposed to be so that we can make more room for Jesus, not just make our lives more challenging! It’s only as we keep our eyes on the goal that we get a more hopeful, inspiring perspective.

So what is the goal? For the disciples, it was the hope of the resurrection. It was the promise that those who follow Jesus will be raised to new life—not just in some far-off heaven but right here, right now. It was the promise of freedom from the burdens of guilt and sin. It was the promise of an ever-deepening experience of God’s love and power in their lives. It was the promise of belonging

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to a community of believ-ers who treat one another with the love and mercy of God.

These promises apply to us just as much as they did to Peter, John, Martha, and all of Jesus’ original followers. Jesus is inviting us to follow him along the road to discipleship this Lent. He is asking us to deny ourselves and take up our crosses, not because he wants to make our lives miserable but because he wants to set us free.

So what are you focusing on? The sacrifices you have decided to make? Or the destination you hope to reach on Easter Sunday? Take a look at your Lenten resolutions today, and ask yourself where they are leading you. If the goal is not too clear, think about readjusting them. Let Jesus set you free this Lent so that you can rejoice with him on Easter!

TODAY’S OTHER READINGS:Deuteronomy 30:15-20 Psalm 1:1-4, 6

Pray. . . “Thank you, Lord, for the promise of the resurrection!”

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20 Friday, February 20

A meditation based on Matthew 9:14-15

Then your light shall break forth like the dawn. (Isaiah 58:8)

A frail, elderly widow living alone was visited by her son, who had been traveling for a long time. Opening the

front door, he was shocked by the disrepair her home had fallen into. Over the years she had accumulated a lot: fur-niture, clothing, books, and toys her children had played with. Since she was no longer able to keep it all tidy, it was piled in every room in boxes and bundles. But worse than the clutter was the darkness. The windows, where he could see them, were covered in layers of dust. So the man set to work. He organized the clutter, storing much of it in the attic. Then he cleaned the windows and aired out the house until it was once more filled with light.

Like the widow’s home, we also house two potential blockages to the light of Christ: clutter and dust. Clutter is what happens when your human treasures—material pos-sessions, habits, hopes and dreams, old memories—take priority over the Lord. They aren’t necessarily bad things, but they need to be reorganized and put in their proper place. The dust is the sin that can build up on the win-dows of our hearts, keeping us in shadows and darkness.

We can consider fasting as a way of dealing with the clutter, and repentance as a way to clean off the dust. By

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fasting, we reorder our lives so that Jesus gets top prior-ity, and in repentance we let his light shine in us—and through us—more brightly. Fasting is like spring clean-ing, as we spruce up our spiritual lives and put away some unnecessary baggage. Often, as we take up the call to fast, we get a better view of the sins that have been blocking the light in the first place.So try to put aside a few things—time on the computer, a favorite food, a fun activity that is swallowing up too much time—so that you can focus better on window washing. Make it your goal to let in as much sunlight as possible. As you do, you’ll discover how much joy there is in choosing a simple, clutter-free life.

TODAY’S OTHER READINGS:Isaiah 58:1-9 Psalm 51:3-6, 18-19

Pray. . . “Lord you are my light! Come and break forth like the dawn in my heart.”