Sunday of the Fourth Week of Lent

I spent about an hour yesterday fighting with my computer so it would let me connect to the internet. Apparently having MacAfee anti-virus on my computer turned off the Windows anti-virus software, which confused Cisco who thought I had no anti-virus software. In the end I had to uninstall MacAfee, change the settings of Windows Defender, uninstall and reinstall Cisco, and restart my computer about five or six times.

            My point here is not to complain about my computer problems, but to look at how I handled them. I realize that I’ve been thinking about time a lot lately, and I think my posts reflect this, but I was astounded by the fact that I spent about an hour with my computer just trying to get on the internet because I wanted to watch Netflix. Parade Day tired me out and I wanted some time with How I Met Your Mother and the episode of New Girl I still hadn’t watched from two or three weeks ago. As I sat on my couch and realized how invested I was in my internet access, I couldn’t remember the last time I got so invested in something else.         

            My ability to study for a test runs out after about forty-five minutes; my paper writing attention span is spotty at best until the night before something is due; and when it comes to day-to-day work, well, it doesn’t take a lot to derail me from reading. When I sit down to pray, which usually happens late at night because I spend all day procrastinating or playing catch-up, I can only manage a few minutes before I’m dozing off in the middle of my centering mantra.

            I’m not that busy of a person, so I can’t even attempt play the too busy for prayer or friends or family card and I think that while God may not have been meddling with my computer or Cisco he may have been speaking to me in the aftermath and asking me: How am I using my time? I know I spend a lot of it clicking around the internet or watching Netflix (specifically The West Wing so at least its quality television but still) or playing with my phone. I know I have enough time to see everyone and talk to God and go to class and squeeze in an episode of television at the end, I just have to use it for what matters instead of what doesn’t.

            So my challenge or question for you lovely readers is: how are you using your time? And does any of your time usage need to change?

            --Katie R. ‘13

Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent

"to sit at my right and at my left,

this is not mine to give
but is for those for whom

it has been prepared by my Father.”

Matthew 20:17-28

             Service, to serve, to be a servant…these words are not strangers to us. We hear them time and time again, not only in scripture, but also in our day-to-day lives. We are told to do service or to serve others is “a good thing to do.” Why then, is it forced upon us as punishment, as a requirement for class, or looked at as simply a resume builder? Would you say that someone who conducts service under one of these three conditions is a servant? I wouldn’t. In fact, that word would not even come to mind.

            “Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:17-28

            “Whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.” Many times we become trapped in the fad of serving. We do things because they will benefit us; they will make us look “good”, or help to develop this image that we are true, self-less people. This Lent we are not only challenged to fast and repent quietly, but to serve quietly. What then is service under this context?

            To serve, to be a servant, is to willingly act out of love and offer your gifts to         join and engage in communion with others.

            This is no easy task. We are human; therefore, we eagerly seek external affirmation. We want people to know the good works we do; we feel we need a witness. Let’s try and disengage this idea, and reengage in the service which Christ showed us. To do this, we must empty ourselves of the preconceived notion that our goodness is only validated through its recognition in another human being. This Lent, instead of fishing for these worldly “kudos,” let us relish in “kudos” from the Divine as we actively participate in service to one another.

S.B.  ‘14

Second Sunday of Lent

I’ve been doing the Lent thing since I was a kid, being raised in a Catholic family and going to Catholic schools my entire life. I gave up chocolate, promised to clean my room, offered to help with the dishes, or stopped eating potato chips. When I matured in my faith, I began to see Lent more for what it was, a time to grow with God. So, each Lent I go into it with a goal. What do I want to change over the next forty days? Sometimes it is a desire for a smaller pant size, because God is more of a motivator than a New Year’s resolution for me. More frequently, it has been wanting to get rid of the unnecessary things in my life which take away from friends, family, faith, or even school (though I always loved the joke as a kid of giving up homework for Lent).

My point here today is that we’ve been in the season of Lent for about a week and a half now, long enough to start to settle into these promises we’ve made. So, take sometime today and check in with yourself and God and see if these promises have been fruitful. I know I’ve given up one thing only to replace it with something else, which, at the end of the day gets me nowhere in fighting a slight caffeine addiction or an unnecessary attachment to social media. In order for Lent to be fruitful, sometimes we have to do some extra work and clear out whatever crops up to prevent this growth.

Katie, Class of 2013

Friday of the First Week of Lent

I can´t get this past Sunday´s Gospel out of my head. Do you remember what it was? =) After going to Mass on Ash Wednesday, complete with getting ashes on my forehead and making my plans as to what I was going to give up during Lent, this past Sunday when I was in mass the Gospel hit me over the head like a sledge hammer because it really helped me see Lent through different lenses. Hearing the story about Jesus being led by the Holy Spirit into the desert for forty days to be tempted by the devil, without food, should really put our Lenten journey into perspective.

First of all, we have the example of Jesus who follows the Holy Spirit into the barren desert to fast and pray for forty days. Now that I live in Mexico for the school semester I understand what the desert is like physically. It is very cold through the night and through the morning, and of course, very hot during the day. Also, the barren desert is nothing but dirt, dust, and cacti. But why does Jesus go into the desert without food to be tempted by the devil?

1. Jesus goes to PRAY, which strengthens his relationship with the Father, and Jesus denies the devil in the process saying, “It is written: You shall worship the Lord, your God, and him alone shall you serve.” 

2. Jesus goes to fast in the desert in order to accomplish the same goal, which is to strengthen his relationship with the Father by showing him that the following statement is true: “It is written, Man does not live on bread alone but by every Word that comes from the mouth of God.”

This Lent we have the opportunity to follow the example of Jesus with our OWN Lenten observance, following Jesus who goes to spend time in the barren desert to 1. To pray 2. To fast 3. Be tempted by the devil himself, all in order to become closer to God and experience his saving graces. We should do this not because the Pope and the Catholic Church as an Institution tells us to do it, but because we want to follow the our role model, friend, and our brother, Jesus.

Ciro  ‘14