1st Sunday of Lent 10.3.19 Riches
Lent is our most readily identifiable season. It is
associated with sacrifice as its most recognizable point, and that means it may
not be the most popular time.
It is not all gloom, however, as we learn that from sacrifices
come great blessings.
If we deny ourselves anything it is to gain something
greater still,
For one thing, we are gaining a greater grasp of where we
stand with God, and what we can do to improve that standing.
We hear of people who have won the Lottery but do not know
they have won it. Somewhere they have the ticket that will bring them millions
of dollars.
This can be our position if we consider how fortunate we are
to possess the faith.
We possess the whole universe, not just a few million
dollars; but do we know it?
Taking the human race as a whole, it is more like we have
thrown the ticket away; we have forfeited our hold on eternal life.
Every time we oppose, deny, or insult the one true God we
are giving up the prize above all others.
Sensing our loss we then look elsewhere, to false gods. But
they cannot help.
It is harder to repair the damage on this level, than to
find the lottery winner, because it is not just a matter of finding a missing
object.
Restoring a damaged relationship with God involves the whole
of ourselves - body and soul, the way we think; where we direct our love.
These are things which cannot be turned around in a moment. But
it can be done.
God is generous. We would have been thrown out of any hotel
by now if we behaved there the way we behave in God’s universe.
He still holds out to us the possibility of restoring union
with Him, the chance of a new life; and we take the opportunity of doing that when
we offer the Mass, or go to Confession, or engage in other penitential
practices.
Offering each time again the atoning sacrifice of Christ, we
acknowledge our distance from Him. We ask Him to restore what we have lost, the
graces we have forfeited; to make us aware of where our true riches lie, and
not to let us be so foolish as to look elsewhere.
So we find we do still have the winning ticket! It comes in
the form of Mercy. God’s mercy is like a bank that never runs out of money. We
can claim and claim and still there is more.
It is hard to sell this to the general public, because we
cannot give them the instant satisfaction they demand.
Try to tell someone that gaining eternal life is better than
all earthly delights put together, and we may not get a hearing.
If anyone tries the remedy, however, they will see a way
forward.
Anyone prepared to follow Our Lord, in His patience and
humility, will find that way.
This is how to do business with God: being humble and
patient, never demanding from Him, nor directing what He must do. We leave it
all to His perfect will.
If we submit our desires to the will of God we will always
come off better.
The best thing about Adam and Eve’s state before they sinned
was that they had perfect submission to God; which meant they had perfect control
of their own desires.
Sin has cost us that self-control, and in its place we have concupiscence
We regain what we have lost by humility, simplicity, giving
it all back to God.
The more we entrust to Him the more obviously we will experience
the return of paradise, as far as it can be achieved on this earth; then finally,
Heaven.
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