If we only knew what we could accomplish if we allowed God to really work in our life!….But before that transformation happens, we must “go into the desert”….Today begins that “journey” once again…And as St Paul told us……”Now is a very acceptable time”

Today is Ash Wednesday…What is this day all about?…..Today we begin a journey…..We should go into these next forty days one way and come out another way…Like all journeys, they are filled with ups and downs….When the “downs” come, and we feel our humanity, we cling to God…In doing so, we empty ourself and are filled with the Holy Spirit…Lent is not about “giving something up”…Its not a “test” of our strength or a display of how self-disciplined we may or may not be…Lent is a time to “enter the desert”…This morning I read a passage from a Belgian Theologian (Jacques Leclercq), this is what he wrote: “Man wants to build heaven on his own…He must remember that he is a creature, that all of life for him is only God, and when he attempts to separate from God and act outside of him, everything collapse. Nothing remains of the grandeur of man, without God, but this little hand full of dust at the corner of the altar, on this Ash Wednesday, with which the Church will mark our foreheads as with our own substance.”………Jacques Leclercq is reminding us, no matter who we are or what we have accomplished here on earth, we all end up in the same place (six feet under the ground)…..However, while we still have breath and life, God can do great things through us if we allow him too…….Today the journey begins once again - A journey to be transformed!…I promise you this - If you take these forty days seriously, God will surprise you….Grace animates mankind and enables him to do the impossible….Because nothing is impossible for God…..But remember….“From dust you came, to dust you shall return”

“If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts”

People always speak about being “transformed”…But how can we really do it?…..And if we do make a change, will it last?…..This is why we need God’s grace but in order to receive it, we must be open to it…Sometimes “opening ourselves up” to God can be challenging…..Years ago I met a mathematician volunteering with the Missionaries of Charity in Lower Manhattan named Vijay ….He was at a “cross roads” in is life and literally went on a 40 day water fast, volunteering with Mother Teresa’s Sisters serving the poor…I met Vijay while he was fasting and frankly could not believe anyone could possibility live on just water for forty days…After this period of time, my friend was baptized and became Catholic…..I have written about his in the past - In my twenties, when I was committing myself to live as a faithful Catholic and was not married, I fasted rigorously to implore God to give me the grace to live a chaste life until I was married…I failed after one period of Lent…Only to try again the next Lent and receive the grace of chaste, which lasted for roughly 15 years until I met my wife and got married….God can do the impossible, but many times in order for him to do the impossible, we must “strip away” layers of “ourself” in order for God to enter those parts of us we keep from him…That process is not always pretty but if we want to be “transformed”, that is what it takes more times then not…..Before Jesus began his mission, which as we know was no small task to accomplish, he went into the desert for forty days…There he was tempted three times…..”Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry. The tempter approached and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread. ”He said in reply, “It is written: ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.’ ”Then the devil took him to the holy city, and made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you’ and ‘with their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ”Jesus answered him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.’ ” Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence, and he said to him, “All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.” At this, Jesus said to him, “Get away, Satan! It is written: ‘The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve.’” Then the devil left him and, behold, angels came and ministered to him.”…...This time in the desert prepared Jesus for what was to come - His Passion and death….God uses everything - Nothing is wasted - Not even our failures and struggles!…We too must “enter the desert” in order to be transformed….But know this, when we are “tempted in the desert” as Jesus was, God’s grace will sustain us - “Behold, angels came and ministered to him”…And if we fail, we need to get up and try again!

“If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts”

Today at Mass we hear the words of St Paul in the second reading….”Working together, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says: In an acceptable time I heard you, and on the day of salvation I helped you. Behold, now is a very acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation”……Time waits for no man….And like everything else in life, if you want something, you need to get serious and make it happen!….Well, life in the Spirit is no different…If we only knew what we could accomplish if we allowed God to really work in our life!….But before that transformation happens, we must “go into the desert”….Today begins that “journey” once again…And as St Paul told us……”Now is a very acceptable time”