Excerpts from a teaching on "LENT" given MARCH 6,1993

Why don't we begin with some ideas on Lent. It is a very special period. We have 40 days of Lent. Do you remember any forties?

(1) Forty days after the Resurrection before the Ascension.
(2) Jesus fasted for forty days.
(3) In Noah's time it rained forty days and forty nights.
(4) Moses was on the mountain forty days.
(5) The Presentation in the temple was forty days after our Lord's birth.

One more example: When Jezebel tried to kill Elijah, He walked for forty days.Forty is found many times in sacred scripture.

Lent is a time of penance. A time to repent. When John the Baptist started his ministry - REPENT! When Jesus started His ministry, do you know what He said ? REPENT! Lent is a time to repent of our sins. Lent is a time to think of SIN and do something about it. St. Paul said " I complete in myself what's lacking in the fashion of Christ.." I'm going to give you another word that I think would be good for you to understand. If we're going to repent, we have to MAKE UP. That's the word. What do you have to make up for? For what's missing. Jesus took our sins; He nailed them on the cross; He destroyed the record; But, there's something missing. Something we can't obtain is God's grace. That is freely given by God when we have true contrition; but, as Catholics we really believe we have to make up. You believe that and I believe that. Suppose that someone goes to your house and they steal; then they come back and return what they stole. It's o.k. now, right? We're square. I gave you back what I stole. Suppose I come back next week. Are you going to start hiding things? I guess it's not finished. You don't trust me. So, I guess it is not over. Understand now? I need to make UP.

Suppose a man is caught in adultery, his wife knows about it. He says, honey don't worry I went to confession. Do you think it's alright now? Don't you believe Jesus forgave me? Yea, But Buddy you better make up. Can you see the make up there? That's the best way I can explain it. After confession there is some making up. That's why we have penance. I'm going to give you a word in Hebrew..Metanoya ... Lent is a time of metanoya. ... It's a time of conversion. It comes from Latin, meaning: to turn. We have to turn from sin .... If we sin it's an aversion ... we turn against God. What we have to do is turn back to God. Can you see the difference there? Suppose I ask, "Should you do an about face?" You know. I don't know. I know me and you know you. That's what Lent is about. We all have to make an about face in any area, every area where we are not totally turned to God. So this is the kind of thing that we have to do during lent. We have to repent of our sins. Jesus paid for our sins but we need to do the making up. How important is it? I'll give you another word. I'm trying to put this in a way to really get it across to you. "Unless you do penance you shall all perish." Who said that? JESUS! Jesus said it. Therefore, this is a DIVINE LAW. I have a question now. Can Pope John Paul 11 break a divine law? You can break the laws you make. Right? You can break your own law. Suppose Darrell says we will meet at four o'clock and then he says forget it ... we'll meet at five o'clock. He made the law. He can change it. But the divine law, he cannot change because he didn't make it. Can you see the background now of Lent? So the Church as a mother tells us, "My children, I have a gift for you and because I love you I have a nice gift for you, Lent." Lent is a gift to make us aware, to remind us of the importance to do penance.

I would like you to listen carefully during Lent to the prefaces at mass. We have many prefaces during Lent and each preface tells us something about Lent. We have four prefaces we use during the week. We have seven prefaces we use on Sunday. Listen carefully. The prefaces are all made the same way. You have the beginning of the preface, it's about the Father. You have the end of the preface, the conclusion, it's joining the angels and the saints; and then the heart of the preface. We have eighty-three prefaces. The heart of the preface tells you about Jesus or tells you about the season. So we have four prefaces telling you about the season of lent. I'd like you to be very much aware of that. You could took at the prefaces of lent at the beginning of the misalette and copy some of the ideas. Then you would have something that is solid. St. Augustine said ... Lex Orandi ... Lex Credendi ... A very beautiful word in Latin. The law of our prayer is the law of our faith. We believe the way we pray. Our prayer our faith go together. Look at all our prayers during lent. We believe in penance.

Let's look at some other things now. We're going to look at what you can give up during lent. I think in the good old days people made up their minds. It's lent. I'm going to give up cigarettes, or I'm going to give up potato chips. People gave up things like that. If you want a program of things to give up, there's a nice program in Leviticus 19. I think it will bless you and your home.

If you steal, don't you think that would be nice to give up? Now don't say I'm going to give it up for lent and I'll start stealing on Easter. No! no!

You shall not speak falsely. Suppose you speak falsely about people. You know we hear things and we add on our two cents and something more than two cents and by the time it's finished a lot of two cents have been added. The truth is all twisted. It's not really the truth any more. If you tend to exaggerate and add your two cents ... Why don't you keep your two cents. If you know something is bad, it's bad enough without you adding on.

If you lie ... Don't you think it would be better to give up lies than potato chip? Different isn't it?

We're not people who would use the name of God in vain, but I think we can be sloppy, and God said, "don't use my name in vain." Let's look at different things here. You could blaspheme, or you could us profanity, or you can curse, or you can use vulgar language, it's what you could call swearing. Somebody said, "I swear." I don't know what they did. They did something, but I don't know which one. Blaspheme is very rare because that's against God. That's rare. Profanity is frequent, people using the name of Christ or Jesus Christ. Now cursing, suppose I say, "this goddam chair." Does that make any sense? You think God's going to dam a chair? No! It's pretty dumb when you think about it. So this is cursing. It really doesn't make sense. And vulgar language, four letter words. Can you see this kind of stuff? So there's a lot of things. Why don't you cut out the whole bunch? None of them are good. What I think is bad is people using words that are loaded with things they don't mean. Don't use words that are loaded. Some people are sloppy using the name of God. "Oh my God! ... Oh my God!" Don't do that. Don't use the name of God in vain. This is something that is done very often by good people, but it's in vain. In the same way, another word that is really bad is, "Oh my Lord." What do you use the word Lord for? Let me teach you how to use the word Lord? Exodus 33 says Moses was on the mountain forty days and God said, "hurry up and go down to your people." So, Moses is going down the mountain and he sees them living it up. They had a golden calf and were dancing around. He was so mad that he threw the tablets of the law on the ground. Then God told him to go to the promised land. Then Moses answered, "if you're not coming don't send us." Look at the power of prayer. God said, "because you asked I'll go. Because you're my intimate friend." And Moses said, "do you mean it? I'm your intimate friend. Then let me see your glory." God said, ".1 will be all night keeping prayers before you and in your presence I will pronounce my name, Lord." When God wanted to put all His beauty. before Moses, He pronounced His name LORD. Do you think we should use that frequently? If you profane God's name, cut it out. Anything like that should disappear.

The challenge that we have is to look carefully in our lives. If there is anything that we do that is not in line with God, we have to cut it out. If any of you still have trouble using bad words, I would like for you to listen carefully to what words people use. It's interesting the words people use. One of my uncles used the word "datscan." There was a little town in Canada called Datscan. That was his word. That never offended anybody. Datscan didn't even know about it. That didn't offend anyone. Suppose I say, "gee whiz, leave me alone." That's not bad, right? "Gee Whiz. Doggone it, I'm tired." Is that O.K.? "Doggone it." What does that mean? These things don't mean anything. It's O.K. to use them. They don't offend God; they don't offend anyone. So for a week listen to what people say, what expressions they use. Some people can't say a sentence without using some of those words. That's poor vocabulary. If you repeat the same thing all the time, you know there is something wrong. That's a good thing to give up during lent. Anyone you know who is still using the name of God in vain; talk to them about it. They can be inspired by what you say and make up their minds that we don't talk that way anymore. I think it would be a great contribution you could make for them and also for children. There are a lot of children who use four letter words. Explain what the word means. Most little kids that I have seen in confession use that word and had no idea what it meant. Tell them what it means. They pick it up from others and they just repeat it. If you don't really look at these things, it goes on and on like it's alright. It' not alright. It's never been alright. I was amazed at some people using this language. When I talked to them about it, they had no idea what it meant. No idea at all. Isn't that amazing?

If you defraud; suppose you cheated someone because you didn't pay your bills or you said you were going to pay a certain wage and didn't do it. Hey! It's lent. Take care of your accounts. Unfortunately, we have people who are sloppy about paying their bills. I know that because I lived in a grocery store. My father had a grocery store and on a lot of occasions people would say, "Mr. Bourque could you trust me this week You know I don't have enough money". My father always said "yes." Some people ran up bills. Then they'd take the bus and go downtown and come back with groceries. They had to pay cash. Sometimes he asked "If you have cash why don't you pay me. I helped you when you were broke." So, don't defraud.

Suppose you rob your neighbor .. whether it's of his time, or his reputation, or whatever. Suppose somebody has difficulty seeing and you're not conscious of that. You leave stuff hanging around and they trip on it. Why do that? In the same way, if someone is deaf you say he's deaf like a pot. Don't talk that way. People don't try to become deaf. It's not something you should joke about, laugh at, or whisper in somebody's presence. Deaf people have a hard time because they wonder what people are saying. It's always hard for people who don't understand what others are saying. These are the habits we need to give up. What if you have dual justice? Some people have a system of justice for adults and another for teenagers. If an adult does one thing it's alright, a teenager does half the same thing-boy-do they get it. Why two systems of justice? It doesn't make sense. It is not the way of a Christian. Leviticus 19 is a challenge. An examination of conscience to see if there are things you are doing that you should give up. Not only for lent but for the rest of you life.

If you speak rashly, cut it out. If you reject your brother, cut it out. If you hate, cut it out. If you criticize negatively, cut it out. If you keep a grudge, give it up. Do you think it's alright to keep a grudge? No. It's not O.K. Let the Lord take care of it. Isaiah 58 verse 7 is very interesting, "Cry out full throated, lift up your voice like a trumpet blast, tell my people their wickedness." Secondly, "tell the House of Jacob, tell them their sins". In a family, we have nice relationships, but sometimes we have rotten ones. This lent have a little family review. Don't give up on your family. Get to the things that are bothering one another. It might be good to clear things up. If you are able, see if it is something you can correct or go around. just speak up. It's kind of interesting. We did that one time in the retreat house. We had people sitting in small groups. I had a big group of young people. We had people sitting in groups of six or seven and gave a candle to one. The one who had the candle spoke. Another time we had a little cushion. I pass the cushion to you. You squawk and throw the cushion to someone. It's a fun thing. It could be done in a family pit the beginning of lent. A griping session. You each have your turn to say things that bug you. In turn you hear -what bugs everyone else then you could turn to prayer. Ask the Lord to help you, so that during Lent you could help one another. So it's tell the house of Darrell, tell the house of Jacob. You could put your name there. Tell the house, your house, their sins.

"They see me there today, they desire to know my way. Like a notion that has done what is just and not abandoned the law of their God. They asked me to declare what is due them, pleased to gain access to God. Why do we fast and you don't see it?" Here's some griping. Griping to God. We do this and we do that. I have been fasting and God you don't listen. Do you want to know His- answer? On your fast days you carry out your own pursuits. You drive your laborers. You push and you bully people. You fast and you bully. Fast and bully don't go together. "Your fast ends in quarrels". Some people give up cigarettes and : become impossible to live with. Why don't you smoke and leave us alone? This is not good fasting. "Your fast ends in quarrelling and fighting, striking with a wicked claw" . Suppose you fast, you're upset and edgy, you have a headache and everybody knows it. Why don't you eat. Eat something so we can live with you. Do you understand? Why do we fast? "Would that today you might fast so as to make your voice heard". This is the fast that God desires; a fast that is going to be heard. Release those who are bound. Let's put it another way. Is there anyone who is tied up in your house? If you're in the house having fun and somebody comes in, do you freeze? You're joking and laughing. Somebody walks in and you can't talk any more? Someone is bound there. Release them. Do you have any slaves? Let them go. Release those bound unjustly, untie the thongs of the yoke, set free the oppressed. A husband can oppress his wife and a wife can oppress her husband. Parents can oppress their children, and children can oppress their parents. What are you going to do for lent? Free the slaves, in your house. Sounds funnny doesn't it? But you know, maybe I'm telling you something. Shelter the oppressed and feed the homeless. These are nice things you can do for lent. Clothe the naked and don't turn your back on your own. Do you know that some people have turned their back on members of their own family? Start there.

Question: Could you elaborate more? I think a lot of people have people bound. How do you release them? What's your suggestion

Answer: Well I think there are different ways. First, if someone is bound, you have to try to figure out why. Then you have to forgive or ask forgiveness. You have to make up for the harm done. It could be stuff they never thought of. I'll give you a crazy example. There was a guy, he was very concerned about his weight. He'd weigh himself regularly on the bathroom scale. Somebody was always moving that dam scale. Do you recognize anything like that in your house? Anyway it was an issue. It went on for years. The wife would wash the floor and not put the scale back in the same place. The kids would kick the scale and move it. One day the man was in church. He was praying. The Lord asked him to ask forgiveness from his wife. He asked, Why? The Lord said, "The scale!" He didn't say anything. He went home. He took the scale and put it on the top shelf. The wife noticed the scale was missing and started thinking, "We're going to have another war!" At meal time he said, " Don't look for the scale I put it away". His wife started crying because he had made such an issue over the dam scale through the years. Silly stuff, huh? In families, it's usually silly stuff that creates a lot of the tension and the problems. This is the kind of stuff that could bind you or someone else. If there is something, ask for forgiveness and then make up; or you forgive ... whatever's necessary that you may live like the brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ. Here's a way for you to remember. Matthew 25:31 and following. "I was hungry and you gave me food. I was naked and you clothed me. I was away from home and you received me". Remember? "Every time you did it to the least of mine you did it to me." These are the corporal works of mercy. That's a very healthy program for lent. "If you do this, then your light shall break forth, then your wound will be heated, then your vindicators shall go before you, then the glory will shine." Then you'll be the kind of people God is looking for. That's your homework.

Here are a few ideas from some of the prefaces.

(I) Lent is a gift, kind of interesting. I got the idea from the mass. It's a gift to the families.

(2)Lent is a great season of grace. It's a time when you can really shape up and become God's holy people.

(3)Lent is a time to express our thanks to God by self denial.

(4) It's a time to renew our minds and our hearts. All of us have the responsibility to look at our lives. What must I turn away from? What is it that I'm doing now that's wrong? I must turn away from that. It's a time to renew ourselves in spirit. It's a time to raise our minds to God. Lent is a time of loving reverence to God, our Father. It's a time of willing service to our neighbor. What can you do for lent? Suppose there's somebody in your neighborhood who is a shut-in and can't get out, or in a nursing home with no company. It's lent. Go visit them. Show concern for your neighbor. Suppose there's a woman who moved, or one of your friends has been asking you for six months to come and look at her new draperies. Why don't you go? It's going to make her happy. Make a sacrifice, go look at the draperies. It's silly stuff that makes the difference though. Lent is the time of service to our neighbors. Lent is the time to show those in need, God's goodness.

Suppose you fast and do nothing for someone who is really in need; your fast didn't go far enough. It's a time when the Lord wants to give us strength to purify our hearts. You should reach Easter nicer than you were Ash Wednesday. If you're not nicer Easter, something didn't work. It's a time to control our desires. We all have problems controlling something or the other. It's a time to master our sinfulness. What are your sins? It's a time to conquer our pride so as to serve God in freedom. Lent is a time to recall the great events that give us new life, the teaching of Christ, His persecution, His agony, passion, and death. It's time to grow in holiness. If you use the time well, you will be more holy. Can you imagine? The Lord said, be holy because I'm holy. Jesus said seek first his way of holiness ... put that number one on your schedule. Is that number one? Have you made up your mind to be holy? Lent is a time to bring the image of God's Son to perfection in us. We're made in the image of God? There's a very interesting word in one of the prefaces of mass. God wants to see and love in us what He sees and loves in Jesus. If God looks at you, does He see in you what He sees and loves in Jesus? Work on it during lent, so that by Easter you look like Jesus. Wouldn't that be nice? During lent the Church teaches us how to live in this passing world. Teaching us to live with our hearts set on the world that will never end. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. Prepare yourselves to celebrate the Paschal mysteries in this life. We celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again. Jesus, we thank You for dying for us; we thank You for rising for us. Lent is the time to receive the reward of everlasting life. That's why we're working on it now. We're building our eternal life. It's very simple, REPENT!, every Mass from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday. I hope this will help you to take a second look at lent and to do something

There are other lists I could make. Do you want another one? I would like for you to write it and put it on the door of your refrigerator. It would make a difference. Here is the list. Turn to St. Paul's letter to the Galatians. I'm going to say either you're a 5:19 kid or a 5:22. What's a Galatians 5:19 kid? I think I'm the only one who ever said it that way. In St. Paul's letter, the flesh is human nature that is not in line with God. What comes from the flesh? What comes from the Spirit? Those are the two dimensions. What comes from the flesh? Simple, what proceeds from the flesh is lewd conduct, impurity, licentiousness, etc.

First it's sins against sex, then, idolatry, sorcery. hostility, back-biting, jealousy, bickering, outbursts of rage, selfishness, rivalry, selfish rivalry, dissension, factions, anger, drunkenness, and the flesh. What proceeds from the Spirit? It's so different. You know what the Spirit does. The Holy Spirit produces love, joy, peace, kindness, gentleness, humility, self-control. See the difference. Suppose that you just decided, that in your family for lent you're going to really make a difference. You made up you mind, we're going to have a password during lent. If somebody does some dumb thing, you say 5:19. When we hear the password, we back off and think. We're not coming to a collision course. Agree to have a password in your family. Bickering over whose going to do the dishes, or whose going to do this or do that. That's 5:19. Right? jealousy ... 5:19. That's simple? That's as simple as I can put it. You could make this a nice lenten program ... either you're 5:19 or 5:22 kids. I think that with love, you'll be able to bring that kind of thinking into your family.

Here's another list you could use. I'll take this one from Ephesians Chapter 4:25-3 1. "See to it that you put an end to lying." That's clear. You lie? Quit. Do you know what I tell kids who lie to their parents. "You know when you were too young to talk, your mother could look at your face and she could read your face. Don't think as you grow up that you can lie and your mother not know." When we lie something happens to our face. Did you know that? That's what lie detector tests are about. Something happens when we lie. Suppose you walk in the house late with your head down, go to your room, and close the door. What are you hiding? So what are you going to do for lent? Stop lying. "Let everyone speak the truth to his neighbor for we are members of one another."

If you are angry, do it without sin. We have to be careful. Let me give you two words here. St. Paul said, "Patch up"...When? "Before the sun goes down" Jesus said, "if on your way to the altar you remember your brother has something against you; leave your offering, go and make peace with your brother." Suppose a husband and wife are kind of angry, go to bed angry, turn their back to one another .. the sun's gone down. Patch up.

"The man who has been stealing must steal no longer, rather let him work with his hands at arduous labor so that he will have something to share with those in need." Don't steal; work and share. I'll give you another one. It's Ephesians 4:29. "Never let evil talk pass your lips." just think of that ... suppose all of us decided that during lent no evil talk is going to cross our lips. Say only the things that people need to hear. Say only the things that really help people. You can say a lot of things people don't need to hear. Never let evil talk pass your lips. Say only the good things people need to hear. Say only things that will help people. That's a g6od program. Eph 4:29 "Do nothing to sadden the Holy Spirit with whom you are sealed against the day of redemption." I read something the other day that kind of impressed me. When God looks at us and He sees our sins, as He's looking He sees the price Jesus paid for our sins. You and your brother, don't want to talk to one another. The Lord looks at you not talking to one another, but He sees how much Jesus paid for your sins. You have to start talking. Do nothing to sadden the Holy Spirit with whom you've been sealed. Get rid of all bitterness, passion, anger, harsh words. In place of all that why don't you put love? Be kind to one another, compassionate, mutually forgiving. I'm giving you different programs, Leviticus 19, Isaiah 58:1-7 and from verse 8 on are the rewards. Read Gal 5:19, 5:22, and Eph 4:25. You have a lot of things there. If you clear those things before Easter, you're going to be in great shape!