”The Lord heard and had mercy on me; the Lord became my helper” - ”A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.”

Today at Holy Mass in the first reading the Prophet Isaiah tells us what a our Lenten fast should look like…..”This, rather, is the fasting that I wish: releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; Setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke; Sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; Clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own. Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your wound shall quickly be healed; Your vindication shall go before you, and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer, you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am!”………As we read this its easy to think we will never be in a position where we have to “cry out for help”…Many of us are financially secure, we are strong in mind and body…However, if you have ever watched a loved one get old and die…You know that there comes a time when all our strength is taken from us…..Our money no long has value because of old age and terminal illness….Its then we all will “cry out for help”…And as the Prophet Isaiah tells us today…If we are good to others, God will be good to us in our time of need…….There are many chapters to life and frankly, God plays the “long game”…We too should view life in terms of the “long game”……We can not “earn our way to heaven” - Heaven is not for sale….And during this Lent, when we fast, we are too remember why we are doing it…To make ourselves vulnerable….And in that state of vulnerability, we will open ourselves up to the Holy Spirit and in turn take another step towards God….....The road is long..... And we get where we need to be one step at a time.

“For you are not pleased with sacrifices; should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it. My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit; a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.”

Four years ago my father passed away…He died of Parkinson Disease, which eventually left him bed-ridden for the last eighteen months of his life….For an athletic man who worked on his feet for almost four decades, this must have been very difficult…However, my father accepted his fate and to be very honest with you, I never really saw him complain…..That takes grace….You can not “self manufacture” this kind of attitude when suffering is so real…..God took care of my father because my father “took care of God" and others….He lived his marriage vows for fifty-two years…And he died in the grace of the Sacraments……No one ever thinks that suffering like what my father experienced will happen to them……But sadly, more times then not…When death comes to us - Its not pretty!….This is why the Prophet Isaiah warns us in the first reading at Mass today…..”Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer, you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am!”…….When you know you did your very best to live out your vocation as a Catholic…..You did your very best to live in and under God’s will…When “your time comes” - And it will come!…God will give you grace and sustain you….That is what I saw with my Dad…God sustained him in life and in death…..This is why we must think of our life in terms of “the long game”…..Lent is a time to help us to “re-adjust” our life towards God…This is why we fast….This is why we pray…This is why we give alms……This is why we reconcile ourself with God and the Church….For one day....We too will “cry out”…And the fruit of a good life is a good death

“Seek good and not evil so that you may live, and the Lord will be with you”

Today the first reading at Mass asks us to think about why we engage in our Lenten practices…..”Giving something up” for Lent has a purpose…That purpose is for us to grow in holiness…..Is that the goal of your fast?…….God is not impressed with spectacular feats of asceticism…God wants our sins…..God wants our obedience, which leads us to a good life here on earth and ushers in a holy and peaceful death when that time comes.....….These forty days, if we live them out properly can help us get to where we need to be….”Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your wound shall quickly be healed”……The Prophet Samual in the Old Testament tells us…….”Obedience is better then sacrifice”….However, in order to learn to be obedient, we must come to know that God loves us, that God is real and God will provide for us with his grace…..Our Lenten fast can teach us that…..When we feel our humanity as the result of a fast, we will also experience how God’s grace sustains us - Because grace is real and so is God!……This is how we grow in faith - Step by Step……”The Lord heard and had mercy on me; the Lord became my helper” - ”A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.”