March 1, 2020

Post date: Mar 02, 2020 5:58:21 PM

March 1, 2020 Homily by Fr. Karl Schray

“Get away Satan! The Lord your God shall you worship

and him alone shall you serve.”

How many times would we have avoided temptation or sin

if we had used these words from the mouth of our God?

In the first Reading of Ash Wednesday, the Prophet Joel says,

“Return to me with your whole heart, says the Lord”.

Surrendering our lives to God is the journey of Lent.

A Henri Nouwen story illustrates this idea.

There was once a little river that wanted to be a big river.

The little river worked very hard but soon came upon a rock.

‘I won’t let this rock stop me.’ So, the little river pushed and struggled

until it made its way around the rock. The little river traveled on

until a mountain loomed ahead. ‘I won’t let this mountain stop me.’

By working very hard, the little river carved a canyon through the big

mountain. The little river was certainly becoming bigger. But soon an

enormous forest blocked the way ‘I won’t let all these trees stop me.’

The little river worked very hard and soon made its way through the forest.

The river was now large and powerful. The river arrived at the edge

of a vast desert. ‘I won’t let this desert stop me.’ The river began pushing

and working its way across the desert. The hot sand began soaking up all

the water. With a feeling of desperation, the once large and powerful river

looked at the few remaining puddles. The river was silent. It was over.

Then the river heard a voice from the heavens. “Little river stop pushing.

It’s time to surrender. Let me lift you up. Let me take over.” The river said,

‘Here I am’. The sun lifted the river and turned it into a huge cloud.

The wind carried the river across the desert, and the river rained down

on the thirsty fields and hills making the land beautiful and fruitful.

This story encourages us to reflect on our Lenten journey. God has

blessed us with incredible talents. We have learned to use them.

We have been successful. We have worked around the rocks, the

mountains and even the forests. The desert, however, is another story.

The desert times of our lives empty us. It is during the desert times

that we are most motivated to turn to God. It is time to surrender.

We realize we can’t survive alone. It is time for God to take over.

Today’s Gospel begins, “At that time, Jesus was led by the Spirit

into the desert to be tempted by the devil.” Jesus confronted the evil,

used God’s word and grew in strength, surrendering to the will of His Father.

Like Jesus, our Lenten journey calls us to a time of sacrifice and prayer.

Led by the Spirit, we too, must go to the desert. We can’t sit back and think

with big river attitudes.

Lenten days are filled with desert opportunities and our response must be

‘Here I am, Lord’.

A lady was looking around her husband’s shop for something

when she noticed that his vice was lying broken on the workbench.

She thought she’d go buy him a new one. She went to the hardware store and asked for a heavy-duty vice.

The manager said: Sorry, but I gave them up for lent.