Bishop Kevin Farrell

The Chief Shepherd of the Catholic Diocese of Dallas

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An invitation to God’s Mercy this Lent

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An invitation to God’s Mercy this Lent

As you receive ashes on Ash Wednesday, the minister asks you to turn away from sin and believe in the Gospel. Those words are an invitation to God’s mercy.

In his Lenten message to the Church, Our Holy Father Pope Francis asks that the Season of Lent in 2016 “be lived more intensely as a privileged moment to celebrate and experience God’s mercy.” With the Pope’s words in mind, I will devote my blogs for each week of Lent and the Holy Week Triduum to the many aspects of God’s mercy.

When he opened the Holy Door at the Vatican on December 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Pope Francis reminded us of “How much wrong we do to God and his grace when we speak of sins being punished by his judgment before we speak of them being forgiven by his mercy — we have to put mercy before judgment.”

Our Holy Father reminds us in his message that, “The mystery of divine mercy is revealed in the history of the covenant between God and his people Israel. God shows himself ever rich in mercy, every ready to treat his people with deep tenderness and compassion, especially at those moments when infidelity ruptures the bond of the covenant, which then needs to be ratified more firmly in justice and truth. Here is a true love story, in which God plays the role of the betrayed father and husband, while Israel plays the unfaithful child and bride. These domestic images– as in the case of Hosea (Cf Hos 1-2) – shows to what extent God wishes to bind himself to his people … in Christ the Father pours forth his boundless mercy even to making him “mercy incarnate” (Misericordiae Vultus 8).

Forgiveness then is not only something to be received but something to be offered. It should be part of our nature. Mercy should be proactive, not only given reluctantly when it is asked for but offered freely to those who have offended us and never withheld as punishment or retaliation. Reconciliation is sharing God’s mercy.

For some of us it is easier to forgive others than to forgive ourselves. Somehow we feel that our offenses are beyond forgiveness. Pope Francis points out that such is not the case, reminding us that “in Jesus crucified, God shows his desire to draw near to sinners, however far they may have strayed from him.”

The sacrament of reconciliation is a personal and intimate experience of God’s mercy. Our priests, as missionaries of mercy, have been given the privilege to forgive the most serious of sins, even those reserved to the Holy See. They will be, in the words of Pope Francis, “living signs of the Father’s readiness to welcome those in search of his pardon.”

“We implore you, on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” (2 Cor 5:20)

 

Ash Wednesday

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Ash Wednesday

Pope Francis has called upon us in his Lenten message to embrace true poverty by “imitating Christ who became poor and enriched us by his poverty.” True poverty based on selflessness and self-denial, “frees us to help and enrich others.”

This poverty is not destitution which “is poverty without faith, without support, without hope.” As disciples we are called to imitate Christ by reaching out to those suffering material, moral and spiritual destitution.

Let this be our challenge this Lent, self-denial, of course, but also self-giving, binding the wounds of others with the mercy and compassion of Jesus. “By loving and helping the poor we love and serve Christ.”

We are called to “rend our hearts” by the Hebrew Scriptures (Joel 2:13). Over the Sundays in Lent, my blog will be short reflections on the psalms of the season in preparation for Holy Week and Easter.

I pray that our Lenten journey will be fruitful and compassionate.

Image Credit: “Penance” – by Sarah (Rosenau) Korf on Flickr

Ash Wednesday reflection

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Lent is a time when we are called to reflect on the Mystery of Redemption; the journey from alienation to reconciliation. This seeming dichotomy is illustrated by the two scripture passages that may be used during the imposition of ashes by the minister on Ash Wednesday..

One option, the more ancient of the two, is, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” The words come from Genesis 3:19 and were spoken by God to Adam before expelling him and Eve from the Garden of Eden.

Or the minister may choose to say, “Repent, and believe in the Gospel.” This scripture is taken from Mark 1:15. It is part of Jesus’ first statement at the beginning of his public ministry. “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel.”

They are well chosen passages for they remind us of our alienation from God by our sinfulness and His offer of forgiveness and reconciliation. That, in short, is salvation history which culminates in the Paschal Mystery, the Passion, death and resurrection of Jesus.

The passage from Genesis calls us to reflect on our transgressions. It reminds us of the source of our alienation from God. But, the Markan passage calls us to repentance and faith in Jesus and forgiveness.

During this holy season we are called to journey with Jesus as he sets his face toward Jerusalem and the victory of the Resurrection. I invite each of you to join me on our own journey of prayer, fasting and sacrifice culminating on the greatest of all feasts, the Feast of the Resurrection.

As we take our Lenten journey, I will be blogging about the gifts given by God to strengthen each of us along the way.

Charity is the heart of Christian life

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Being a Christian is not determined by what we do, but by what we are. A Christian is a disciple or follower of Jesus Christ. Because we have chosen to become His disciples we accept and follow his teachings and strive to pattern our lives on His which is the manifestation of the Father’s healing and forgiving love for us. (John 14:9). So as St. Paul reminds us it is…”the love of Christ compels us.” (2 Cor. 5:14)

Pope Benedict XVI uses the occasion of his Lenten Message to remind us of this important fact…”we must reflect upon the very heart of Christian life: Charity.” The Holy Father draws from the Letter to the Hebrews (10:24) “Let us be concerned for each other, to stir a response in love and good works,” and not to be isolated and indifferent to the fate of our brothers and sisters.

“All too often, the Pope continues, “our attitude is just the opposite: an indifference and disinterest born of selfishness and masked as a respect for ‘privacy.'” Quoting from Pope Paul VI’s encyclical Populorum Progressio (1966) he observes that: “Human society is sorely ill. The cause is not so much the depletion of natural resources, nor the monopolistic control by a privileged few; it is rather the weakening of brotherly ties between individuals and nations.”

Surely we see the word’s of Pope Paul lived out in our world today…in the tragic killings of innocent people, in the international discord with war and threats of war becoming a way of life, in the polarization that is wounding the Church and in families devastated by brokenness. We have spoken often of the lack of civility today and we have witnessed the inflammatory and destructive rhetoric in our political process.

Charity is more than generous giving. It is generous living. The Pope reminds us that: “Sacred Scripture warns us of the danger that our hearts can become hardened by a sort of ‘spiritual anesthesia’ which numbs us to the suffering of others…we should never be incapable of ‘showing mercy’ towards those who suffer.”

The Holy Father also identifies “fraternal correction in view of eternal salvation” as an important aspect of Christian charity that is often overlooked. Fraternal correction is not ridiculing or demonizing but loving correction. He reminds us of Proverbs (9:8ff) “Rebuke the wise and he will love you for it. Be open with the wise, he grows wiser still, teach the upright, he will gain yet more.”

Institutionally this is the prophetic role of the Church, to speak out against infringements upon human dignity and religious freedom by the government or international bodies. For bishops, pastors and parents, it means preaching and teaching by word and by witness and always in charity.

We all recognize that loving criticism of our children helps them grow into responsible adults, yet we are often reluctant to lovingly correct our peers. I might add that the corollary to this is to accept loving criticism recalling the old adage that “your best friend is your severest critic.”

In striving to become disciples of Jesus we bring our gifts but we also bring our weaknesses, for Scripture reminds us that “even the upright fall.” In Charity we must not only support each others gifts, but help each other in our weaknesses.

Our journey to God is a journey together.

The fastest day of the year

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I recall a discussion among relatives when I was young concerning what was “the fastest day of the year”, one side holding out for Ash Wednesday and the other for Good Friday. Of course the argument was unwinnable, but it illustrates the fact that many of us do not understand what fast and abstinence is all about.

Part of the problem is that Pope Paul VI updated the rules for public fasting and penance in his “Apostolic Constitution on Penance, ” so they are a little different than they were for your grandmother.

No one can be dispensed from the necessity of doing penance, but for those physically unable to observe the rules of fast and abstinence due to illness or other causes, it is recommended that they practice voluntary acts of penance or works of charity. For that matter, all Catholics are urged to practice such voluntary acts in addition to observing the rules of fast and abstinence appropriate to their situation.

Basically, if a person is between the ages of 18 and 59 they are obliged to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Fasting means taking only one full meal. It may be any meal, but the other meals should together not equal another full meal.

Those who have celebrated their 14th birthday must practice abstinence on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and all the Fridays of Lent. Abstinence forbids the use of meat, but does not include eggs, milk, meat juices and soups, gravies and sauces flavored with meat.

Honestly, the rules are not as important as the spirit of penance, voluntarily forgoing legitimate activities to share in the sufferings of Jesus who “emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross”(Phillippians 2)

What is the fastest day of the year?

Today, Ash Wednesday is certainly one of them.