2nd Sunday of Lent

     This first week of Lent has been a good start, including 1^st Wednesday (dedicated to St. Joseph), 1^st Friday (dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus), and 1^st Saturday (dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and, also, Ember Saturday this year).  Thus, thoroughly blessed and backed up by so great a pair of intercessors, we find ourselves well-enough fortified for the journey ahead of us.

     I received a letter from Bishop Callahan this week regarding concerns surrounding the Corona Virus.  Concerns in some corners about the Corona Virus has caused him to ask that we be sure to wash our hand thoroughly before distributing Holy Communion (we already do that), to consider suspending Communion by the cup (we do that all through Lent and Advent already), and to remind people that there is no sin in staying home from holy Mass when one is sick so as to be contagious (I should hope that we know that one already as well), and to set aside the “Sign of Peace”, or to at least do so without touching one another.  This last request we will put into practice immediately until such time as the fear of contracting this virus has passed.

     I would point out that we are in the middle of a really tough flu season.  We have seen two different school districts close down for a day because of influenza (flu); and Sacred Heart School had a week and a half of significant numbers of students out because of the flu which we finally saw end (we hope) this past week.

     It is important that we recognize that the imminent threat is the flu, and that this and the Corona Virus are both avoided in generally the same way: wash your hands (a lot!), keep your hands away from your face, cough into your elbow, and stay home if you are feeling ill. 

As we continue our time-out for Lent I’d like to briefly discuss free will.  Most people see free-will as our ability to decide what we want to do.  While that is partly true, it is only partly true.  God did not give us the gift of free-will so that we could choose between good and evil.  He gave us free will so that we could freely choose to do the good.  It amazes me how many people, upon hearing this definition of free-will immediately doubt it or even outright reject it.  And yet, it is the truth.  God has helped us to see this through the scriptures, through the saints and doctors of the Church, and through the Church’s teaching ministry – her magisterium.

When we deliberately use our free-will to choose evil we have, in fact, mis-used our gift of free-will.  And thus, like Adam & Eve in the Garden of Eden, we find ourselves not merely doing something wrong, we find ourselves lost, and our relationship with God and with one another damaged if not in total ruin, even if we remain oblivious to that damage or ruin.

And so, let us become more conscious of engaging our gift of free-will as we approach the decisions that must be made in our lives – great or small.  And as we become more aware let us also become more aware of discerning what God’s will is for us in that moment and then freely choosing to marry our will to God’s divine will.  Things will happen!

   1.   How conscious am I of using the gift of free-will in my every-day life?

   2.   Do I actively seek to know or discern God’s will in the decisions that confront me?

   3.   Do I trust God enough to allow my will to be freely married to His?

Challenge:  Over the next week, stop and look at the decisions which confront you on a daily basis.  Bring them to prayer (and study where necessary) and seek to know God’s will in that situation; recognize what resistance to doing His will appears in your mind and heart; and then freely marry your will to His divine will.