Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent

Today I am called to reflect on a reoccurring theme that has arisen in my life since returning to campus. As a junior, I have made myself a home here in Scranton. I have found a group of people I share my time, energy, and love with. This group is constantly changing, evolving, and redefining itself. I continue to be beautifully surprised by the new bonds formed at the end of each semester. My sisters, who both attended Jesuit universities, always say to me, “You always say that person is your best friend, we only had a couple of best friends”

I was reflecting on my sister’s words and I realized I meant that exactly what I said. After recently returning from Search 69, I can honestly say this list of best friends continues to grow. I have had the gift to get to know numerous people on a personal level; they have shared with me, and I them, so I qualify them as best in my book.

 

My question to all of you reading these words is, what is your social sphere like here in Scranton? Are you satisfied? Do you feel that you truly have the love of your friends? What is your idea of friendship? Do you feel the need for change?

I ask these questions because I recently met with three students here at The U who expressed that they feel their friends do not really know them. They have surface value friendships which go no deeper than weekend parties and Saturday brunch conversations at DeNaples. Each student I met with was searching and longing for more. They want to build a family. I once her a cheesy Hallmark card that said, “Friends are the family you choose for yourself.” I agree 100%. Your friends become your support, your strength, your rock when you are away from home.

Each of the three students explained that they do see the relationships and groups on campus they want to be a part of. They see their ideal, but they do not know how to attain it.

I admit it is difficult to put yourself out there, try a new experience, and get involved on campus in a new way or, for some, the very first time. Why am I writing this? Not to simply tell you about what great friends I have. No, quite the opposite. I ask this Lent to look around at your friends, and more importantly, those who are not your friends. Determine if your friends are fulfilling your needs? If they are, give them praise and thanks. If they are not, I am not saying ditch them, but go in search of those who you want in your life. Make an addition. Do not be afraid.

Open yourself up to the beauty of new relationships

… that includes God too! 

S.B ‘14

Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent

Choices: we make them all the time. Some are not all that important like what to wear or what to eat for lunch. But others seem larger than life; like your major, career path or what to do after graduation. On the senior retreat this weekend, myself and other seniors focused on those big choices. While not everyone will be leaving Scranton this spring, we all need to make choices like these eventually.

 Over and over we heard the message that there is no set plan for our lives. God did not make up a clear path for us that we have to get exactly right or we will be miserable human beings for the rest of our lives. Instead he gives us the power to choose what we desire and see fit at the time.

 All choices will bring us growth as well as ups and downs; the most important part is to stay close to God regardless of the choice. He will give guidance and peace to make the best choice you can at that time. I have found this guidance in the practice of discernment. (Jesuits love it!) Paying attention to one’s thought and feelings day after day can be God showing us the desires of our heart- if we pay attention.

 Throughout Lent and whenever a decision comes up, I challenge you to do a few things. Search your life, your heart, your mind for the ways God may be leading you. Know that while God knows it all there is no set plan, so value your choices instead of fearing them and I’ll try to remember to do the same. 

 -Love and Lenten Blessings,

Lauren G.  Class of 2013

Monday of the Third Week of Lent

I’d like to take this week’s reflection in a different direction. A dear friend of mine recently attended a SEARCH retreat at her college, and was telling me wonderful things about it. While discussing it, we stumbled upon the wonderful analogy between our relationship with God, and magazine subscriptions. You see, our initial encounter with God is when we are very young and can’t necessarily choose for ourselves if we’d like to “subscribe” to Him or not. So others (our parents and godparents) fill out “our subscription” for us at our baptism. After receiving God for many years, we make the decision ourselves to continue “subscribing” to Him at our confirmation. We get our name put on the magazine, and now more than ever it is our responsibility to continually renew our “subscription” with Him. My big question now is, what have you been doing to “renew” your “subscription”? Lent is truly a time of renewal, so I’d like to spend a minute discussing different ways for you to renew your “subscription” to God.

            First, and foremost, take a quick stop into Campus Ministries. The wonderful people working there are always more than willing to help lead you in the right direction. Ask about retreats coming up (a surefire way to renew your relationship with God), or even simply ask about how you could get involved with Campus Ministries. Retreats not really your style? There are still so many options! Take for example the weekly opportunities that the student body is supplied with by Campus Ministries. Every Thursday during Lent, Stations of the Cross are held at 4:40 PM in Chapel of the Sacred Heart, and the Examen reflection is held there at 9:30 PM that same night. Attend one of the many Quote Walks held throughout the semester or attempt to get to daily mass once a week. Still not feeling any of these? Alright, I’ll provide you with possibly the easiest way to renew your relationship with God. Ready? Sit. That’s it. Sit in silence. Listen to everything around you: the hum of your laptop fan, your breathing, the shutting of doors in the hallway. If you sit just for two minutes in silence, I can guarantee that you’ll hear God. Better yet, go outside. Look up at the sky. Think of how amazing our world is. You’ll see God there.

Simply picking one of those (or your own) methods of renewing your relationship with God will bring peace to your daily hectic life. There is one large difference between our relationship with God and magazine subscriptions however…God subscribes back. In fact, God has been subscribing to you since before you were born (go look up Jeremiah 1:5!). Will you continue to renew your “subscription” to him?

Eric C ‘16

Sunday of the Third Week of Lent

So, getting back from the Senior Retreat this weekend I came away with a lot of somethings to think about. There is one message I want to pass on to all of you though, and that is to be intentional.

            On retreat this was put in the context of graduation (sorry seniors!) and spending these last few months intentionally so that no time is wasted. This is important year-round though, for being intentional means making the best use of time. That translates to single-tasking at dinner and putting away the phones or homework in order to focus on the delicious food you’re eating and the wonderful people who are dining with you. It means paying attention in class and doing homework, because part of college is class and even though this is really hard sometimes (especially for those of us with senioritis) it is a reason for being here. And in terms of God, maybe just saying God this time is for you because I care about you.            

            Part of this stems from the understanding of desire I’ve picked up from the Jesuits over the past four years: that God sometimes uses our deepest desires to speak to us, to call us to Him and to guide us. All of this gets lost in the schoolwork and meetings and jobs and sometimes my deepest desire is to sleep and not to read that novel for English class, but even that desire may be God (and my body) telling me to take better care of myself.

            The takeaway of all this is to be intentional this Lent and dive into life. See where your desires take you and where you decide to devote your time. Mumford and Sons sings “where you invest your love, you invest your life.” Spend sometime this Lent just seeing where you invest yourself and where God fits into all of it and readjust if you need to.

--Katie R.

(Here’s the Mumford & Sons song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBaauZ0nji0 )

(Also, a quote by Thomas Merton that I think fits well here but that I couldn’t quite figure out how to mention explicitly in the reflection.)

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going.

I do not see the road ahead of me.

I cannot know for certain where it will end.

Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.

But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.

And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.

 I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.

 And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road

though I may know nothing about it.

Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.

I will not fear, for you are ever with me,

and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

-          Thomas Merton

Saturday of the Second Week of Lent

Saturday March 2, 2013

Today’s Gospel is a familiar one, the Prodigal Son. How many times have we heard this reading, thought about forgiveness and maybe jealousy, and moved on? We see in the story a father who forgives his son for squandering money, which is easy to grasp. Part of Lent, however, is thinking deeply about God’s forgiveness of our all of our sins, which may be a little more significant than forgiving our spending habits. And the father in the parable only has to say the word, and a party is planned, the son is forgiven. In real life, however, there’s more to the story. Jesus died to forgive our sins. He faced temptation in the desert, a bloody, humiliating journey through Jerusalem, and a painful death on the cross. Although the price of forgiveness was high, the rest of the story is the same. Jesus still forgives us, no strings attached, and feels the great joy of the parable father when we turn to Him. 

But we also must remember the dialog between the father and his son. Like us, the son feels unworthy—he does not expect forgiveness. The father forgives his son and the whole household celebrates. Like the father, God forgives us and the company of heaven celebrates when we accept his forgiveness. Jesus paid the price for our sins, but still He forgives us no matter the offense and welcomes us home.

The responsorial psalm for today is a comforting one, “The Lord is kind and merciful.” It challenges us to think about what it means to be kind and merciful, and to think about God’s boundless kindness and mercy, which we know by faith, though we cannot imagine them.

“For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he put our transgressions from us.
The Lord is kind and merciful.”

Laura

Friday of the Second Week of Lent

Friday, March 1^st

        It’s amazing how the parables of Jesus are still applicable to us two thousand years later. The one from today’s mass (the one about the landowner who planted a vineyard, and left his servants in charge of the vineyard) is especially impactful especially when you get to the part when it talks about sending his son to the vineyard.

The landowner says “They will respect my son.”

However, when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another,

‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.’

      Wow. The words of the landowner “They will respect my son” are really powerful and it really makes me think. Lent is an opportunity for us to respect the son. To respect Jesus throughout Lent we can do many things. The least we could do is acknowledge him every day, or many times through the day. Next, we could pray and talk to Jesus about life. We can share our joys and our struggles, both big and small. One final suggestion, we can listen to what Jesus has to tell us each day. Praying isn’t all about moving our lips. We can try and listen. If we don’t hear anything that’s okay too, but by listening we are respecting Jesus with presence.

         Have you checked with Jesus yet today?

Happy Lent,

Ciro ‘14

Thursday of the Second Week of Lent

As the grey skies of February drag into March, classes grow busier, days grow even rainier, and years appear to stretch between today and spring break. During this time of year, one can easily feel overwhelmed by lethargy and anxiety—after all, who doesn’t feel like just going back to bed some days?—but for many students, these feelings can become so all-encompassing that they evolve into a different beast; depression. Depression can creep upon a person so quietly, he or she does not notice it until it becomes unwieldy. One feeling depressed typically feels alone, and may push others away; even the Lord. However, even when we turn our backs to the Lord, he reaches out to us. He longs for our joy. He is not some distant entity who sees but cannot sympathize—He understands pain not only because of the sacrifice He made on the cross, but the crosses we carry each day. He weeps with us.

Personally, I take great comfort in reflecting upon God’s promise of peace, from John 16:33: “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” There is no pain in this world that Christ has not felt and defeated, and He readily gives us the strength to do the same. No feeling can overcome the peace that will come from resting in the arms of our Father in heaven.

This Lent, we as a community should work to offer our suffering up to the Lord, and always to keep in mind the image of Him, walking beside us, lightening the weight of our crosses.

Cailin Class of '16