On the First Sunday of Lent we hear about the devil tempting Jesus. He faces Satan head-on. Hearing how Jesus demolishes the devil's sophistries, we might think, "Sounds pretty easy." Well, I would like issue a warning, "Do not try this at home." Do not talk to the devil.

Although Jesus speaks directly to devil, you and I should not do the same. In case you have not noticed, there is a difference between Jesus and us. He is God; you and I are not. He is all powerful; we are weak.  He is all-wise; (please don't take offense) we are dumber than we think.*

Let me give a comparison. To take on the devil directly would be like me taking on a kick boxer. Even the most poorly trained kick boxer could have me on the floor, flat on my back, in a matter of seconds. Just so, a minor demon could bring me down - if I try to deal with him on my own.

The devil is like a wolf pursuing a sheep or a lamb. You would think the quickest way to bring down a sheep would be to attack its legs and make it stumble. But reportedly that is not the wolf 's normal method. He goes for the neck. And when he sinks his teeth into the neck, a lamb cannot bleat. It cannot call for the shepherd. The devil does something similar. He wants to first disable our voice so that we do not call out to the Lord.

Have you ever noticed that when you try to set aside a time to pray, that something inevitably comes up? All of a sudden, you remember an unfinished chore or a person you should call. Or better yet, take a quick look at the TV or the Internet . If you are like me, you begin thinking about what you have in the refrigerator. 

The devil will do almost anything to keep us from praying. Many families tell me about the trials they go through on Sunday morning, getting ready for Mass. Do you think that these things are just a coincidence? No, the devil attacks at the throat, to wants to take away your voice - so that you will not call out to the Lord.

Sometimes people ask why God allows the demons to attack us so much. I do not know, but I can make a guess. God does it for the same reason he permits anything bad to happen. He has in mind a greater good - namely, that we will turn to him. Sometimes a person has to hit bottom before he recognizes he cannot do it on his own.

There is something else. When we give in to a temptation, it takes power from us. But the opposite also applies: when we resist a temptation, we take power from it. The devil wants to rob us of power, to make us impotent. The Lord wants to make us strong by resisting tempation. The more strength, the more power we have, the more we have to offer to God through Jesus - and the better we can serve others.

I have talked quite a bit about the devil, more than I like to. I want to stress that we do not have to fear the devil. St. Augustine said that since coming of Christ, the devil is a chained power. He compares the devil to a dog tied to a post. For him to attack, we have to step into his territory.

Stay away from certain temptations. Various studies have shown that sexual involvement of any kind, apart from marriage, can harm a person, especially a teenager. One University of California study concluded that "early sexual activity - whether in or out of a romantic relationship - does far more harm than good."** You know, nothing magic happens when a person turns 20. These studies also apply to older people. Stay away from certain temptations. Flee them. Run to the one who overcame the enemy.

In our Seattle Men's Conference we will hear more about spiritual combat - how our men can take their leadership role by putting on the full armor of God. I ask you to join me in praying for the men will attend this Conference.***

And, above all, remember that, by his death and resurrection, Jesus has shackled the demonic powers. When tempted, do not talk to the devil; turn to Jesus As we hear in today’s Psalm:

Because he clings to me, I will deliver him...
He shall call upon me - and I will answer him. Amen.

************

*In his book  "What Americans Really Want...Really", Frank Luntz gives this fun statistic: 90% of the people in our country believe that they are "smarter than the average American"! 

**A couple more quotes:

Though a girl is "far more likely to feel used and abused after a typical" hook up, the "impersonality of twenty-first-century adolescent sex victimizes girls" and "plenty of harm" is done to boys as well.

Especially among younger teenagers, casual sex is associated with depression. This impersonality is harmful to both girls and boys; however, girls are especially at risk of becoming victims in casual sexual relationships.

See Adolescent sexuality in the United States

***Here is the prayer: "Lord Jesus, raise up in your Church strong, godly men: Men who respect, care and protect. Men who lead with courage, putting on your full armor. Men who persevere in love as you did – to the last drop of your blood. You live and reign forever. Amen"

On March 2 St. Mary of the Valley will host a Men’s Conference for the entire Archdiocese of Seattle.  Those attending will hear three life-changing talks by Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers.  From Portland, OR, Deacon Harold speaks at conferences through the country, motivating and equipping men to become the spiritual leaders God means us to be.  


Archbishop Sartain will take part in the Conference with a powerful message about men’s spirituality and then will lead us in adoration of Jesus, present in the Blessed Sacrament.  

The Conference will include the opportunity to renew one’s life by making a good confession.  Priests from the around the archdiocese will be present to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation and to offer spiritual guidance. 

Do not miss this Conference.  Registrations are filling up fast.  We need your registration by this Friday, February 22, so the caterers can properly prepare for the lunches and the Conference organizers can takes care of all the necessary details.  

If you have not yet registered, you may register online at http://www.seattlemensconference.org or by filling out the registration form below:

Seattle Men's Conference
IRON SHARPENS IRON

"Iron sharpens iron and one man sharpens another." (Prov 27:17)

March 2, 2013

(St. Mary of the Valley Parish, 601 W Columbia St., Monroe, WA)

Name_________________________________________________________________________

Address____________________________________City_____________________Zip________

Telephone______________________________________________ home cell work

Email_______________________________________________________________________

The registration fee includes the payment for one of three lunch options:

Bratwurst $40 Mexican $45  Barbecue $50

Please complete this form and send it by mail to:

St. Mary of the Valley

P.O. Box 279

Monroe, WA 98272

Please make out check to “St Mary of the Valley” and write “Men’s Conference” in memo


Conference begins at 7:30 am with continental breakfast and concludes at 4 pm

Mass at 5 pm with Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers as homilist

Optional Presentation on Shroud of Turin at 7 pm



Conferencia de Hombres
EL FIERRO SE AFILA CON FIERRO

"El fierro se afila con fierro, y el hombre con otro hombre" (Prov 27:17)

2 de Marzo de 2013

(Parroquia de Santa Maria del Valle, 601 W Columbia St., Monroe, WA)

Nombre_______________________________________________________________________

Direccion_________________________________Ciudad_____________________Zip_______

Telefono__________________________________________________ casa cel trabajo

Correo Electronico______________________________________________________________

La tarifa de registracion incluye el pago de una de las tres opciones de comida:

Bratwurst (salchicha) $40 Comida Mexicana $45  Barbecue $50

Por favor complete esta forma y enviela por correo a:

St. Mary of the Valley

P.O. Box 279

Monroe, WA 98272

Haga el cheque a nombre de “St Mary of the Valley” y escibre “Conferencia de Hombres” en el memo

Conferencia empieza a las 7:30 am con desayuno a las 7:30 am (incluido) y concluye a las 4 pm

Misa a las 5 pm con el Diacon Harold Burk como homilista

Presentacion opcional sobre el Sudario (Shroud) de Turin a las 7 pm

On Ash Wednesday we prayed that God would arm us “as we take up battle against spiritual evils.”  In the spiritual battle we have the example of Pope Benedict XVI.  

As a child, he was part of a family that resisted the evils of Nazism.  

After World War II he continued the spiritual warfare:  as a priest, a university professor, bishop and then for 26 years as the right hand of Blessed Pope John Paul II.  

Finally, he has served almost eight years as the visible head of Christ’s Church.  

Now, he has determined that the most effective way he can engage the spiritual battle is by dedicating himself to prayer.  

This Lent we will be praying for Pope Benedict in the final weeks of his papacy and for the cardinals who will meet this March to choose a successor.  

The highest good is prayer and conversation with God, because it means that we are in God’s company and in union with him. When light enters our bodily eyes our eyesight is sharpened; when a soul is intent on God, God’s inextinguishable light shines into it and makes it bright and clear. I am talking, of course, of prayer that comes from the heart and not from routine: not the prayer that is assigned to particular days or particular moments in time, but the prayer that happens continuously by day and by night.
  Indeed the soul should not only turn to God at times of explicit prayer. Whatever we are engaged in, whether it is care for the poor, or some other duty, or some act of generosity, we should remember God and long for God. The love of God will be as salt is to food, making our actions into a perfect dish to set before the Lord of all things. Then it is right that we should receive the fruits of our labours, overflowing onto us through all eternity, if we have been offering them to him throughout our lives.
  Prayer is the light of the soul, true knowledge of God, a mediator between God and men. Prayer lifts the soul into the heavens where it hugs God in an indescribable embrace. The soul seeks the milk of God like a baby crying for the breast. It fulfils its own vows and receives in exchange gifts better than anything that can be seen or imagined.
  Prayer is a go-between linking us to God. It gives joy to the soul and calms its emotions. I warn you, though: do not imagine that prayer is simply words. Prayer is the desire for God, an indescribable devotion, not given by man but brought about by God’s grace. As St Paul says: For when we cannot choose words in order to pray properly, the Spirit himself intercedes on our behalf in a way that could never be put into words.
  If God gives to someone the gift of such prayer, it is a gift of imperishable riches, a heavenly food that satisfies the spirit. Whoever tastes that food catches fire and his soul burns for ever with desire for the Lord.
  To begin on this path, start by adorning your house with modesty and humility. Make it shine brightly with the light of justice. Decorate it with the gold leaf of good works, with the jewels of faithfulness and greatness of heart. Finally, to make the house perfect, raise a gable above it all, a gable of prayer. Thus you will have prepared a pure and sparkling house for the Lord. Receive the Lord into this royal and splendid dwelling — in other words: receive, by his grace, his image into the temple of your soul.

Ideas for Adults

Fasting

• Fast with one full meal, no snacks one day a week.

• Skip meat an extra day (or two) a week .

• Give up alcoholic beverages. (Except in social situations; then you get just one!)

• Give up coffee (or reduce to one cup a day).

• Give up all desserts.

• Give up all unnecessary shopping.

• Fast from music in the car.

• Fast from talk radio.

Prayer

• Begin (or begin again) the daily Rosary .

• Meditate for 10 minutes a day (get a Magnificat to follow those).

• Choose one extra devotion per week during Lent: Stations of the Cross, Eucharistic adoration or a weekday Mass.

• Read a book on the Life of Christ. For example:

Alban Goodier’s The Life of Our Lord Jesus Christ

Fulton Sheen’s The Life of Christ

Frank Sheed’s To Know Christ Jesus

Romano Guardini’s The Lord

• Read the Catechism of the Catholic Church’s 74-page section on prayer. (Section four; less than two pages a day!)

Almsgiving/Charity

• Visit a nursing home with your children.

• Forgive someone and patch things up in a visit, or, if necessary, by phone or letter.

• Give up gossip, judging or profanity.

• Find one “act of forgiveness” to make every day: A driver who cuts you off, a co-worker who annoys you, a shopper who cuts in line, a store clerk who is rude or a family member who ignores your needs.

• Say a kind word to everyone you meet.

• Pay a significant compliment (or more!) to each of your children every day.

• Offer to watch the children of a new mother one day a week throughout Lent.

• Visit an elderly friend or relative.

• Save up a significant amount of money for a deserving charity or apostolate.

For Children and Teens

If none of the adult ideas work for you, try:

• Do chores without complaining

• Draw pictures of Holy Week events.

• Restrict your TV, Internet or music time.

• Restrict your phone time.

• Send a letter or picture to a grandmother, aunt or Godparent.

• Make a new friend outside your “crowd.”

• Be a friend to a shy person .

• Give up that bad place, person or thing.

• Choose a favorite toy, book or piece of clothing and put it away until Easter.

Free Republic

What to Give Up (for Lent)? The List
NC Register ^ TOM HOOPES 

During Lent 2013 we are praying for Pope Benedict in the final weeks of his papacy - and for the cardinals as they meet in March to elect a new pope. For this homily I would like to share Pope Benedict's answer to today's question: How do I make a "good Lent"?

In his message for Lent 2008 Pope Benedict gave some concrete suggestions. He recalls the three basic Lenten "tasks" - prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Sometimes people think that these practices are passé, that Jesus has somehow spiritualized everything. You know, it's the 21st century - we don't have to get on our knees, or reach into our wallets or pass up a tempting dessert. For those who have fallen into a vague "spirituality," I ask them to re-read today's Gospel. Jesus does not say, "If you fast." He says, "When you fast." He does not say, "If you feel like praying." He says, "When you pray." Nor does he say, "Give if you happen to have something extra." No, he says, "When you give alms."

That last penitential practice - almsgiving - is what the Holy Father focuses on in this 2008 message. He notes that Jesus "became poor for us." That is what Lent, and especially Holy Week, is about: Jesus' abject poverty, his self-emptying for our salvation. He became poor for us so that we might become rich. Becoming rich refers to sharing God's life. It also includes temporal blessings. They are a sign of God's goodness, his abundance. Jesus puts those things in our hands, says Pope Benedict, so that we can assist those in need. That is what we mean by almsgiving.

The pope points out that giving alms not only helps the person who receives. More important, it helps the person who gives. Almsgiving, says the pope, is "an exercise in self-denial to free us from attachment to worldly goods." The force of material riches attracts us and they can easily become an idol. If that happens, we cut ourselves off from God. Jesus said, "You cannot serve God and mammon." The person who gives alms rejects the idol of mammon and, instead, serves God.

We will have wonderful opportunities for almsgiving during Lent. Support of your parish, of course, takes first place. I am not saying this because I am your pastor. I'm saying because the parish is where we receive the Sacraments and hear the Word of God. The parish, moreover, helps organize and focus our service to brothers and sisters.

Beyond the parish and the diocese, we do what we can to reach out to the poor in our world. Many of you have joined me in doing this by supporting the Mary Bloom Center. And, throughout our country, people aid the poor by taking home the Rice Bowl. If you are like me, you will need a child's help to form this cardboard into a container. But when you do, you can place it on your dining table. The Rice Bowl will remind of the three tasks: fasting, prayer and almsgiving.

I hear people say, "I cannot give any more. I am already stretched to the limit." I understand that. But is that not the meaning of the cross. Jesus extended his arms to embrace all humanity. Instead of stressing about all the demands on us, what we need to do is join ourselves with Jesus. He became poor for our sake. As Pope Benedict underscores, almsgiving unites us with his self-giving.

As your receive the ashes at this Mass, I invite you to make a good Lent: to do some voluntary fasting, to find new moments for prayer and - in response to the message of the Holy Father - help the needy and yourself by giving alms. Welcome to Lent!

**********

Spanish Version

From Archives (Ash Wednesday homilies):

Return to Me
The Purpose of Lent
Two Cheers for Catholic Guilt
Don't Waste This Crisis
When You Give Alms
Back to the Basics
Dealing With Guilt
Exercise of Holy Desire

I'd like to begin with something that applies both to our overall study of the Bible and specifically to this Sunday's readings. In one of his Wednesday audiences Pope Benedict spoke about the three senses of Scripture:

First comes the "literal" sense, what the words actually mean. That is our starting point, but as the Holy Father points out, the literal sense "conceals depths that are not immediately apparent." Beneath the literal sense is a "moral" sense - what we must do to live the Word. Finally, we come to "spiritual" sense - "the unity of Scripture which throughout its development speaks of Christ."

To help understand these three senses, the Pope uses a comparison made by an ancient Scripture scholar named Origen. Origen compares the three senses of Scripture to fresh walnuts. Outside is like the green husk - bitter because the literal meaning is often difficult to grasp, living as we do so far removed from the original authors and their times.

If we penetrate the literal sense (and sometimes this requires a a lot of effort) we come to the moral sense. It is like the hard shell of a walnut. It protects the nourishing, tasty meat inside. What's inside of course has most value. We want the full, spiritual sense of God's Word. That's the meat, the heart of the matter.

This comparison of the fresh walnut can also apply to our relationship with Christ. It often begins with something like the green husk, something bitter. We get a glimpse of that bitterness in today's readings. When Isaiah sees the vision of the Holy One, he cries out, "Woe is me, I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips, living among people of unclean lips." Similar to Isaiah, Peter falls at the knees of Jesus and says, "Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man." And St. Paul says, "I am the least of the apostles, not fit to be called an apostle." When a person senses the Lord's presence, it often comes with a recognition of sin. And that sin is not something casual , but bitter.

The recognition of sin can bring one to second stage - where a man embraces the moral life. We can see this in Isaiah, Peter and Paul. They tasted the bitter reality of their unworthiness. Fortunately, it did not lead them to despair. Rather, it led to a profound moral renewal. St. Paul said that he "toiled harder than all of them." But he quickly added, "not I, however, but the grace God that is with me." Isaiah experience moral renewal by a burning coal being placed to his lips. Peter, being Peter, took a little longer for his full conversion.

Conversion, embracing the moral life - is like the outer shell of a walnut. It protects what counts - the meat inside. Once I picked up a walnut without noticing that the shell had been slightly broken. What was inside had become spoiled and worm-eaten. So it is with us if we allow an opening for the evil one.

We need the moral life to protect what really matters - the relation to God. Keep that in mind as we begin the season of Lent this Wednesday. The practices of Lent - receiving ashes on the forehead and abstaining from meat on Ash Wednesday and the seven Fridays of Lent - these are not things that come naturally to us. They can involve a bitter taste.

But those practices remind us of the importance of the moral life. The first Scriptural words we will hear on Ash Wednesday are: Return to me. Return to me with you whole heart . This something our men will hear in a powerful way when they come to the Men's Conference on March 2.

The Lord can renew us no matter what the state of our souls. None of us has a greater sin than Peter - after three years great favor, he denied even knowing the Lord. Nor have you or I sinned worse than Paul, who persecuted the Church - Jesus' own body. But he found mercy - unparalleled grace. So shall we. We have that assurance in today's Psalm: "The Lord will complete what he has done for me; your kindness, O Lord, endures forever."

As Scripture has three senses - literal, moral and spiritual - so our relation to God has three stages: the recognition of sin, repentance and savoring the mystery of God - his love endures forever. Amen.

************

*The pope's audiences on early Christian writers have been compiled into one volume: Church Fathers: From Clement of Rome to Augustine. Here is the section I drew from:

Also in his Homilies, Origen took every opportunity to recall the different dimensions of the sense of Sacred Scripture that encourage or express a process of growth in the faith: there is the "literal" sense, but this conceals depths that are not immediately apparent.The second dimension is the "moral" sense: what we must do in living the word; and finally, the "spiritual" sense, the unity of Scripture which throughout its development speaks of Christ.

It is the Holy Spirit who enables us to understand the Christological content, hence, the unity in diversity of Scripture. It would be interesting to demonstrate this. I have made a humble attempt in my book, Jesus of Nazareth, to show in today's context these multiple dimensions of the Word, of Sacred Scripture, whose historical meaning must in the first place be respected.

But this sense transcends us, moving us towards God in the light of the Holy Spirit, and shows us the way, shows us how to live. Mention of it is found, for example, in the ninth Homily on Numbers, where Origen likens Scripture to [fresh] walnuts: "The doctrine of the Law and the Prophets at the school of Christ is like this", the homilist says; "the letter is bitter, like the [green-covered] skin; secondly, you will come to the shell, which is the moral doctrine; thirdly, you will discover the meaning of the mysteries, with which the souls of the saints are nourished in the present life and the future" (Hom. Num. 9, 7)

Lord Jesus, raise up in your Church strong, godly men:  Men who respect, care and protect.  Men who lead with courage, putting on your full armor.  Men who persevere in love as you did – to the last drop of your blood.  You live and reign forever.  Amen.

Conferencia de Hombres
EL FIERRO SE AFILA CON FIERRO

"El fierro se afila con fierro, y el hombre con otro hombre" (Prov 27:17)

2 de Marzo de 2013

(Parroquia de Santa Maria del Valle, 601 W Columbia St., Monroe, WA)

Nombre_______________________________________________________________________

Direccion_________________________________Ciudad_____________________Zip_______

Telefono__________________________________________________ casa cel trabajo

Correo Electronico______________________________________________________________

La tarifa de registracion incluye el pago de una de las tres opciones de comida:

Bratwurst (salchicha) $40 Comida Mexicana $45  Barbecue $50

Por favor complete esta forma y enviela por correo a:

St. Mary of the Valley

P.O. Box 279

Monroe, WA 98272

Haga el cheque a nombre de “St Mary of the Valley” y escibre “Conferencia de Hombres” en el memo


Conferencia empieza a las 7:30 am con desayuno a las 7:30 am (incluido) y concluye a las 4 pm

Misa a las 5 pm con el Diacon Harold Burk como homilista

Presentacion opcional sobre el Sudario (Shroud) de Turin a las 7 pm

Seattle Men's Conference
IRON SHARPENS IRON

"Iron sharpens iron and one man sharpens another." (Prov 27:17)

March 2, 2013

(St. Mary of the Valley Parish, 601 W Columbia St., Monroe, WA)

Name_________________________________________________________________________

Address____________________________________City_____________________Zip________

Telephone______________________________________________ home cell work

Email_______________________________________________________________________

The registration fee includes the payment for one of three lunch options:

Bratwurst $40 Mexican $45  Barbecue $50

Please complete this form and send it by mail to:

St. Mary of the Valley

P.O. Box 279

Monroe, WA 98272

Please make out check to “St Mary of the Valley” and write “Men’s Conference” in memo

Conference begins at 7:30 am with continental breakfast and concludes at 4 pm

Mass at 5 pm with Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers as homilist

Optional Presentation on Shroud of Turin at 7 pm