A Few Thoughts For the First Friday of Lent

                I hope you all had a blessed Ash Wednesday.  The First Friday of Lent, as well as of March, takes me back to the devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  We can recall this devotion of reparation and petition for the sins of the world. 

                But I also wanted to share with you a phrase from the Lord’s Prayer: Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.  Yes, we want to be forgiven, but can we forgive others to the same degree? 

                I was reading in Bishop Robert Barron’s reflection for Ash Wednesday that, “…according to Jesus’ model, you have to pray with forgiveness.”  I found this call to forgiveness especially meaningful when I opened up my Magnificat subscription for March and read in a reflection that   “Forgiveness does not overlook the deed: it rises above it.”  (Gobodo-Madikizel, page 5.)

                How can we answer this need to forgive?  Let us ponder the Lord’s prayer again: Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.  It’s about learning to forgive ourselves through the Sacrament of Confession and to forgive others when we are wronged. 

                I found a good reminder about spiritual fasting during the Lenten Season from what I have of my notes from the novitiate.  Not only should we abstain from meat on Fridays and Ash Wednesday.  We must avoid all negative behavior so as to be enriched by the positives of authentic, Christian living.

“Fast from judging others; feast on the Christ dwelling within them.

Fast from emphasis on differences; feast on the unity of all life.

Fast from apparent darkness; feast on the reality of light.

Fast from words that pollute; feast on phrases that purify.

Fast from discontent; feast on gratitude.

Fast from anger; feast on patience.

Fast from pessimism; feast on optimism.

Fast from worry; feast on trust.

Fast from complaining; feast on appreciation.

Fast from negatives; feast on affirmatives.

Fast from unrelenting pressures; feast on unceasing prayer.

Fast from hostility; feast on nonviolence.

Fast from bitterness; feast on forgiveness.

Fast from self-concern; feast on compassion for others.

Fast from personal anxiety; feast on eternal truth.

Fast from discouragement; feast on hope.

Fast from facts that depress; feast on truths that uplift.

Fast from lethargy; feast on enthusiasm.

Fast from suspicion; feast on truth.

Fast from thoughts that weaken; feast on promises that inspire.

Fast from idle gossip; feast on purposeful silence.

“Gentle God, during this season of fasting and feasting, gift us with Your Presence, so we can be gift to others in carrying out your work.  Amen.”