Fr. Frank Majka, SJ – The Bridge

Manna Lessons (Exodus 16)

When the children of Israel left Egypt, they didn’t have time to gather all the things they might need, including enough bread to last for more than a short time. It wasn’t long before they started complaining that there wasn’t enough to eat. Moses took their complaints to God, who promised to give them food. So, one morning, when they looked out from their tents, the people saw the ground and bushes covered in a white sticky substance. They named it manna (the name means “What is this?”) and discovered they could eat it.

Moses told the people that each morning they could gather enough to feed themselves for that day, but if they gathered more than they needed for that day, it would spoil and be inedible. (The only exception was the day before the sabbath when they could gather manna for two days since they could not work on the sabbath.) They ate manna throughout their forty years of wandering, and it ceased only when they entered the land God had promised them.

I think we can draw two simple lessons from the story of the manna. First, if we think of our life as a journey, we can trust that God will send us the food/the grace to keep going until we reach our journey’s end. And, second, lest we think we can hoard up God’s help and grace, the story reminds us that we will be given what we need for each day, but not all at once, lest we forget that our food/our grace for each day is God’s daily gift.

As we enter into the second part of Lent, let’s ask ourselves how God has fed and graced us each day of our journey up until now and how we might show our gratitude.

Lent’s Big Three

The “big three” practices of Lent are prayer, fasting and almsgiving. The three are straightforward and easily understood. Still, as Lent begins, we might benefit from trying to figure out what lies behind them and what each one points to.

Look at prayer. We can pray any number of ways, from reciting traditional prayers like the Our Father or Hail Mary, to quiet personal prayer in a church or even when enjoying a peaceful cup of tea or coffee. But all prayer comes out of some experience or belief that God wishes to speak to us and wants us to speak to him. Prayer during Lent should remind us of the truth that God not only says to us, “I love you” but also, “Let’s talk.”

Then there is fasting, when we normally feel hunger in some form. Our daily experience of Lenten hunger — for sweets, meat, cookies, cake, ice cream or alcohol — might remind us that we have other hungers, too. We might discover we are hungry for love, purposeful work, reconciliation, respect, or that we might have that “hunger and thirst for righteousness” Jesus referred to in the Sermon on the Mount.

Giving alms also seems simple enough. Almsgiving is about sharing something we have with people who need it. We can give money to individuals in need, either directly or through charitable organizations, or we can give our time and talents to help improve the lot of others. But behind the practice of almsgiving lies the truth that we are all one human family. And one of the most important lessons any family member can learn is that, in a family, we must learn to share.

Prayer, fasting and almsgiving are not matters of rocket science or super-human effort. But forty days of practicing them, understanding where they come from and what they point to, can make for a very rich Lent.

A Simple Valentine’s Prescription

“Sclerocardia” sounds like the name of a medical condition, but it actually describes not a physical condition but a spiritual one. It means that our hearts (our souls, if you will) which are meant to be loving, tender, open and welcoming are angry, judgmental and closed to others. We are, in other words, hard-hearted.

Where does such a condition come from? It may come as the result of being unloved, being subjected to unending criticism or having too many experiences of failure and rejection. All of these, over time, make a person almost incapable of living a life of faith, hope or love.

Every February many of us celebrate Valentine’s Day, when we are invited to express our love for others and receive the love of others for us. To practice this every day, or as often as we can, is the prescription for counteracting hardness of heart. If we followed that prescription there would be more peace in the world and our hearts would come to more and more resemble the heart of Christ.

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!  ♥️

Let Me Think About It

During the Advent and Christmas seasons we hear several times the story of Mary’s yes to God’s asking her to bring his Son into the world. She wasn’t told a lot of specific details, but trusting that the invitation was from God, her response was an immediate “Yes.”

It’s worth asking ourselves if we would be as quick to say yes as Mary was, because, in fact, the same invitation God offered to her comes to each of us. God asks us, “Will you be willing to bring my Son into your world — not just the big world of culture, politics or the media, but, just as importantly, into the smaller world where you work, where you live, your friendships, your family and those around you who are suffering or in need?”

We might answer, “I’m certainly flattered that you asked, Lord, but let me think about it if you don’t mind.” Then, as we mull it over, we may conclude that reluctantly we have to say no, a response motivated by believing we are too sinful, too old, too young, not smart enough or skillful enough or that our faith is too weak. At the core of our reluctance to say yes could also be a fear that comes from not knowing all the details of what saying yes might mean.

But all through our lives we need to remember that none of us can depend on ourselves alone to do what God invites us to do. God’s invitations always come with the assurance that God isn’t looking for perfectly qualified people but, rather, people who are willing to say, as Mary did in her answer, “Yes, Lord. I’m at your service. Let whatever you wish be done.”

A Thought for Christmas 2018

Fling wide the door for Jesus’ coming.

Open your soul,

Stretch out the arms of your mind,

Expand your heart,

Run to meet the Eternal Light.

You deprive yourself of Christ

if you close the door of your heart.

He could force his way in if he wished,

but will come only if invited.

                                              Saint Ambrose