Blog
Almost all people are carrying a great and secret hurt, even when they don’t know it. When we can make the shift to realize this, it softens the space around our defended hearts. It makes it hard to be cruel to anyone. It somehow makes us one – in a way that easy comfort and entertainment never can.
The Universal Christ, by Richard Rohr
TRANSFORMING WEAKNESS INTO STRENGTH
In the readings of this First Sunday of Lent, we see Jesus led by the Spirit into the desert—alone and tempted by Satan. When we are alone, we too are tempted and sometimes when we least expect it. Upon reflecting on Matthew’s account of Jesus’ three temptations, I imagined Satan’s seductiveness by trying to lure Jesus into what Richard Rohr, renowned spiritual writer calls the 3 P’s—power, possessions and prestige. Are not these 3 P’s our temptations today? Is not Satan’s voice louder than ever in our broken world plagued by violence, poverty and mounting injustice? So, I ask myself, “What role do I play struggling with the demons of power, possessions and prestige?” Where do I get so easily snagged when these temptations arise?”
However, temptations are not all bad. They often give rise to greater awareness and powerful questions that enhance our understanding of what it means to become more fully human. We know today that by accepting human weakness, although uncomfortable, and then working through weakness opens the door of possibility to change and transformation. It is God’s free gift! It comes when there is a deep awareness that the initiative comes from God who in turn awaits human participation.
Praying Psalm 51 in today’s readings, brings home God’s mercy and love that refreshes human weakness. The psalmist sings, “Help me transform weakness into strength”. These profound words connect to Matthew’s gospel because they assert our need for God’s mercy coupled by contemplative action to change our ways from Satan’s lure for acquisition of power, possessions and prestige.
What is unequivocally expressed in today’s readings, is God’s abundant goodness and infinite desire to transform us and the world. We need to see and recognize the power of goodness that lies within each and every human being. It will take a whole world committed to seeing human vulnerability as a strength and not merely a weakness. Therefore, let our choices and our actions continue to move us to claim our collective strength by making visible God’s own vulnerability.
Questions to ponder:
How do I see God transforming my/our weaknesses into strength?
What needs to sink into my heart as I am being drawn into the wilderness?
Sister Linda Parent, csj
Each year, over the years, we have been summoned during the Lenten season to engage more fully in the traditional practices of fasting, praying and almsgiving. How might yours and mine and the lives of others be affected, if during these upcoming forty days of Lent we reframed Lent’s threesome call as an invitation to abstain by becoming more open minded – refraining ourselves from our rash judgements of others, to invoke by becoming more open hearted – creating a more welcoming space for others and to give by becoming more open handed – sharing our gifts and time with others.
-Sister Nancy Wales, csj
She was only a young teen when she took refuge in Egypt, and an apprehensive older teen when she became a landed refugee in Canada. She came alone and doesn’t speak about her family. Her struggle to adjust to a strange culture, learn English, gain her grade 12 High School certificate, and find employment to pay her rent has been all consuming. The loss of family is often overwhelming; her trust in God is her source of hope. She has been supported during her journey by the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada and Toronto. This beautiful young and enthusiastic woman had one goal: becoming a Canadian Citizen.
Her dream came true on Valentine’s Day when she took the oath of allegiance along with 49 other enthusiastic and excited newcomers. Her excitement was infectious and her joy complete at least for that occasion. She now has her sights on becoming an airline hostess. Good luck Addis you deserve it.
-Sister Ann Marshall, csj
