Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent

Matthew 18:3 - Then he said, "I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven.

            This is a passage we’ve heard often, but I have never fully understood. At first I thought that you shouldn’t question God, but then how can I grow? So that was option was out. Then I thought you must return to what you believed about God when you were little. But that was a long time ago and I forgot, plus my family was not very ‘into Church’ so I didn’t put much importance in it when I was young. So that wasn’t going to work either.

            After years and years of hearing this, someone showed me what this faith looked like. Last semester I interned at an agency serving adults with intellectual disabilities. One woman had the most beautiful faith I have ever seen in my life. She would see the sun and look up at the sky each day and tell us “God’s watching me.” Even when she had a difficult day, she was immediately cheered up when she saw the sun peaking through the window knowing it was God’s presence. And this woman showed God’s ‘sunshine’ everywhere she went by lighting up a room with her loving nature.  She taught me what it was to have faith like a child. Life is so complicated, she was able to make it so simple and know that God was with her.

            So in what ways do we need to become like children and make things simple? Maybe in actions: like stepping away from studying for midterms and do something childlike, such as coloring (a personal favorite). Maybe in thoughts: asking God to remind you that no matter how crazy things God shines down on us. In whichever way you please, let God be our parent this Lent.

-Lauren G. Class of ‘13

Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent

During Lent most people find themselves saying, “No”; such as if a temptation to break our Lenten promise comes up we say “no”.  In the Church we just celebrated the greatest “YES” there ever was.  That is the “yes” that Mary responded with when the angel Gabriel asked her if she would be the mother of Christ.  The feast of the Annunciation almost always falls during lent. 

This year it falls at a particularly good time for me because it is starting to feel like Lent is never going to end.  This feast reminds me not just that Christmas is only 9 months away, but also that I too must answer yes to God’s will for me.  I ask myself, have I been saying “yes” to God lately?  Recently I have been struggling with my plans not fitting with God’s plans.  I think that I have everything all planned out just right and something happens, I am reminded today that I need to trust that God’ will is the best possible thing that could happen to me.  Thank God (literally) Mary did not say, “no, I don’t think that having a child, not to mention the Son of God, is the right plan for me right now.”  For the remainder of this Lent, let’s try to respond with a jubilant “Yes!” to God’s plans for us just like the Blessed Mother.

-Alyssa T. ’13