Feb 29, 2012

Read It:
A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
R. A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
R. A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
For you are not pleased with sacrifices;
should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it.
My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
R. A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn

Reflect on It: Although we had the same Psalm just last week, I thought it would be good to reflect on it again, but to reflect on something different this go around. God wants us to have clean hearts. He wants for us to be free from sin and to Love him with all of our heart. Lent is a time marked by reparation and repentance. A humble and contrite heart is what allows us to seek the Lord and to ask him to make us free from our sin. Let this Lent be different from all the rest and get your heart clean in the beginning.

Pray about It: Lord, when we seek you with a humble and contrite heart, you always forgive. Help me to come to you today, abhorring my sin, but knowing that your mercy is ALWAYS greater than sin.

Live It! Challenge: Go to confession tonight. Every Wednesday during Lent every parish in the Diocese of Arlington and the Archdiocese of Washington, DC are open for confession from 6:30 pm-8:00 pm. St. James is having a holy hour and talk in conjunction with confession. Go get your soul cleaned.


Inspired by last year's Lenten Blog, Miguel De Angel,Coordinator of Youth Ministry at Good Shepherd in Alexandria, Va signed onto do sketches throughout the course of Lent for the blog. Perhaps these sketches will allow you to enter in more deeply and in a different way than before.

(C) Copyright Miguel De Angel. 2012

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Feb 28, 2012

Read It:

Jesus said to his disciples:
"In praying, do not babble like the pagans,
who think that they will be heard because of their many words.
Do not be like them.
Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

"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.

"If you forgive men their transgressions,
your heavenly Father will forgive you.
But if you do not forgive men,
neither will your Father forgive your transgressions."

Reflect on It: "Your Father knows what you need before you ask him". God wants to give us the things we need in life. This is a hard concept sometimes, because we feel like our prayers go unanswered. Sometimes what we need and what we want are totally different. The Lord knows what we need and sometimes, He realizes that before we do. Today, let's be thankful for the answered prayers we have received and pray earnestly for the ones we need to have answered, but in a different way than we think.

Pray About It:
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.

Live It! Challenge: Identify five ways in which God has answered your prayers.

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Monday, February 27

Read It:

R. (John 6:63b) Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul.
The decree of the LORD is trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple.
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
The precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart.
The command of the LORD is clear,
enlightening the eye.
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;
The ordinances of the LORD are true,
all of them just.
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
Let the words of my mouth and the thought of my heart
find favor before you,
O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.

Reflect on It: The words of the Lord are Spirit and Life. I picked the Psalm today because it really just spoke to my heart. His word is Living and they are our life! "Let the word of my mouth and the thought of my heart find favor before you". We talk so often every day, we use our words to express how we feel and the things we are thinking. Are the words of our mouth and the thoughts of our heart finding favor with the Lord? Jesus spoke the truth, he spoke words that mattered. Everything he said was thought about and everything he said had a meaning and purpose behind it. If we lived our lives that way, there would be a whole lot less confusion on our world. The best way to know what God is speaking to us, to know his words is through prayer and reading Scripture. Let us spend today, listening to what the Lord is saying.

Pray about It: Lord, help me to hear your voice today and speak ONLY words that glorify you!

Live It! Challenge: Go look this psalm up in the Bible and read it DIRECTLY from Scripture. The Psalm above is: Psalm 19:8,9,10,15.

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Sunday, Feb 26th: The First Sunday of Lent

Read It:
The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert,
and he remained in the desert for forty days,
tempted by Satan.
He was among wild beasts,
and the angels ministered to him.

After John had been arrested,
Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God:
"This is the time of fulfillment.
The kingdom of God is at hand.
Repent, and believe in the gospel."
Reflect on It:
What I love about this gospel is that we see that while Jesus was tempted, the angels ministered to him. He wasn't alone. Sometimes, as we go about our day and are tempted, we dwell on our loneliness. We feel like we are going through something all alone with no help. The angels fled to Christ's side. Each of us has a Guardian Angel to protect us on our way. Do we call on our Guardian Angel to protect or to help us in our temptations? Today, let's be aware that we are not alone and that we can always call on the legions of angels to come to our side.

Pray about It: Angel of God, my Guardian dear, to whom His love commits me here, ever this day (or night) be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen.

Live It! Challenge: Today, call upon your Guardian Angel when you are tempted.

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Feb 25, 2012

Read It:Jesus saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the customs post.
He said to him, "Follow me."
And leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him.
Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house,
and a large crowd of tax collectors
and others were at table with them.
The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples, saying,
"Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?"
Jesus said to them in reply,
"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."
Reflect on It: In today's Gospel, we see that those who are healthy have no need for a physician, but those who are sick do. Those of us who are sinners, we're the sick ones who need Jesus. Today's gospel is not one of comdemnation, but instead one that reminds us who we are: sinners, in need of the healing that only the Lord can provide. Each of us are sinners, each of us have woundedness that perhaps we haven't allowed the Lord to heal. That woundedness is waiting for a Savior. He wants to take our pain and our wounds and make them beautiful. Let him, who is the Divine Healer do just that.

Pray about It: Lord, I want you to heal my wounds! I know and believe that you can. Heal the wound today that I most need healed and help me to grow in that grace.

Live It! Challenge: Pray for the grace to no longer be held down by your woundedness.

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Friday, February 24, 2012

Read It: (Today's reading is the Psalm)

A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
R. A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
For I acknowledge my offense,
and my sin is before me always:
"Against you only have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight."
R. A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
For you are not pleased with sacrifices;
should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it.
My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
R. A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn

Reflect On It: A humble and contrite heart is never spurned. In today's Psalm, we see that the Lord is asking us to give him our hearts. Humility is a hard virtue. We are made little and small, to decrease so that the Lord can increase.

Pray About It: Holy Spirit, when we come to you with a Humble heart, we are never turned away. Help my heart to be humble today.

Live It! Challenge: Pray the Litany of Humility (This is a grace bomb and when you pray it, you should mean it, so be ready to be humbled...)

O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, Hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being loved...Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being extolled ...Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being honored ...Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being praised ...Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being preferred to others...Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being consulted ...Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being approved ...Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being humiliated ...Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being despised...Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of suffering rebukes ...Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being calumniated ...Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being forgotten ...Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being ridiculed ...Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being wronged ...Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being suspected ...Deliver me, Jesus.

That others may be loved more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be esteemed more than I ...Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That, in the opinion of the world,
others may increase and I may decrease ...Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be chosen and I set aside ...Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be praised and I unnoticed ...Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be preferred to me in everything...Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should…Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

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February 23, 2012

Read It:
Jesus said to his disciples:
"The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected
by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed and on the third day be raised."

Then he said to all,
"If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself
and take up his cross daily and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
What profit is there for one to gain the whole world
yet lose or forfeit himself?"

Reflect on It: Often as Christians, we hear that we must take up our Cross and follow Christ. The apostles were quick to do just that. They LEFT their entire lives behind to follow him. They left family and friends and jobs and trusted Jesus. Each of us carries a different cross. This summer while the pilgrims from the Diocese of Arlington, walked the Camino de Santiago (the way of St. James) while in Madrid, Spain for World Youth Day, we were asked to focus on our crosses. Each one of us carries a cross that is specifically fashioned for us. While others might believe it to be too heavy or too light, it is the cross that is fashioned for us. As I walked along my 9 mile route, I walked with a friend of mine. As we walked we talked about our crosses. I was astonished by hers and the fact that she carried it with great dignity and poise. I would have never guessed that that was what she struggled with. And likewise, in turn, she was surprised by my cross. We laughed and we cried and we processed and for a while, she was my Simon, helping me to carry the heavy burden. While the Lord is good enough to give us Simons, at the end of the day, the cross was mine and mine alone to carry. What crosses are you being asked to carry? Are you carrying them with great joy? I think that if we really stopped and looked at the fact that each one of us is carrying a cross, we'd be a lot kinder to each other.


Pray about It: Father, you made your son's cross heavy, but our burden is light. Help us to pick up our cross and carry it with joy and while giving you the glory! Amen.

Live It! Challenge: Put a rosary in your pocket today and whenever you reach your hand in your pocket and are reminded of your cross, thank the Lord his love and strength to carry yours.

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Ash Wednesday, Feb 22, 2012

Every day of Lent this year, you will find one of the Readings of the day, a reflection on the reading, a prayer and a challenge so that you can journey through Lent in a more real way this year.
Read It:
Even now, says the LORD,
return to me with your whole heart,
with fasting, and weeping, and mourning;
Rend your hearts, not your garments,
and return to the LORD, your God.
For gracious and merciful is he,
slow to anger, rich in kindness,
and relenting in punishment.
Perhaps he will again relent
and leave behind him a blessing,
Offerings and libations
for the LORD, your God.

Blow the trumpet in Zion!
proclaim a fast,
call an assembly;
Gather the people,
notify the congregation;
Assemble the elders,
gather the children
and the infants at the breast;
Let the bridegroom quit his room
and the bride her chamber.
Between the porch and the altar
let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep,
And say, "Spare, O LORD, your people,
and make not your heritage a reproach,
with the nations ruling over them!
Why should they say among the peoples,
'Where is their God?'"

Then the LORD was stirred to concern for his land
and took pity on his people.
Reflect on It: This is the first reading that we hear on Ash Wednesday. It kicks off Lent for us. It was chosen to be on this blog because it speaks to both our call during Lent and the goodness of the Lord.  Returning to the Lord with our whole heart is hard sometimes. There seems to be so much that weighs us down. What things are keeping us from returning to the Lord with our whole heart? I know that for me, fear is often paralyzing. I'm worried about what the Lord might ask me to do if I stop and listen. Perhaps that fear is what I need to work past to return to the Lord with my whole heart. Here, in this reading as well, we see the goodness of the Lord. We see that he's slow to anger and merciful. His mercy is prevalent during Lent. May we see that his anger is slow and his mercy all encompassing this Lent.

Pray about It: Sweet Jesus, I want to come back to you with my whole heart this Lent. Help me to journey with you and to be able to see the things that hinder my relationship with you. I love you! Amen.

Live It! Challenge: Today, identify one thing that you believes hinder your relationship with God and offer that as a sacrifice this Lent.

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