Our Lenten Observance

The yearly Lenten celebration begins on Ash Wednesday and concludes on Passion Sunday (Palm Sunday).  Like the season of Advent that prepares the faithful for Christmas (the birth of the Lord Jesus), the whole season of Lent is a preparation for the celebration of the Paschal Mystery (the Passion, Death and Resurrection of our Lord) that we specially commemorate on Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

There are three traditional practices that accompany the celebration of Lent. These are Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving. But these practices are not done to impress others or to show people how ‘holy’ we are.  We observe them to remind us in a very special way what it means to be Christians.  Prayer invites us to be in dialogue with God and deepen in us God’s presence (Prayer). Fasting is an ascetic practice that reminds us that we are more than food, power, and wealth. It calls us to become more aware of ‘who’ and ‘what’ we truly are. And Almsgiving is a platform for us to share our gifts and resources to people in need. In the Alay Kapwa Lenten program, the sharing can be expressed in three ways: sharing our Talents, our Time and our Treasure.

This year 2014, being in a house of formation (OMI Postulancy), I made special effort to celebrate the beginning of Lent. I decided to abstain from the use of the Internet from 6 pm Tuesday (1st Vesper of Ash Wednesday) to 6 pm of the actual Ash Wednesday. Actually I planned also to refrain to use my cell phone in order to devote the time in prayer, spiritual reading and simply to be still! Wow! I did manage to do them! For spiritual readings, I took the booklet of Sr. Mary Niere, OCD (Zamboanga City Carmelite) entitled: The Gospel of Contemplation. It is a very down to earth presentation of St. Theresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross based on her years of struggle as a Carmelite nun.  It is comparable to the presentation of great thinkers and authors for dummies… so it is Theresa of Avila and John of the Cross combined for Dummies.

The other booklet I took for the day is the work of Fr. Timothy Radcliffe, OP - former master General of the Dominicans. The title of the booklet is ‘Seven Last Words’.  Again, Fr. Timothy presents this yearly ritual of Siete Palabras in simple encounters with ordinary people. I recommend both books for their reading during the season of Lent. The first is available in any St. Paul Publication outlet, while the latter is a Claretian Publication that was originally published by Novalis.

There is also another way of celebrating the season of Lent. In my FB account, I have posted what I shall endeavor to do during this season. The ways are really taken from Isaiah chapter 58 verses 1-9. This is also based on my spiritual conference to the OMI Postulants last Friday. 

‘This 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’ (Isaiah 58: 6-7)

Almsgiving and charity are GOOD. They alleviate the sufferings of the poor. But Isaiah goes for the jugular… He goes to the VALUES of the Kingdom of God - Justice and Peace.  He speaks of doing justice to those who have been wronged; releasing them from whatever bondage and untying any yoke of oppression. These acts are coupled with actions on behalf of the poor by way of sharing our bread, our shelter and our clothes to anyone in need. 

I said to myself at the beginning of Lent… I will make all attempts to contribute to the realization of these Kingdom values of Justice and Peace both in small and big ways.

This theme fits well the message of the Gospel reading for the 1st Sunday of Lent (A) - the three temptations of Jesus.  Three times the devil tried to trick Jesus and three times Jesus rejected them.  The narrative is not simply about the Jesus and the devil, but it is about us and our own struggle in life to SEE what is real and what is false. Jesus invites us to shed off the illusion or the devil’s trick - bread without toil, the blinding brilliance of the wealth of the earth and the corrupting decay of power. 

We are dazzled by these same tricks… and we succumb to them in our dreams and ambitions… Yet Jesus is telling us now that person is MORE important than bread, wealth or power. Often these lead to death and NOT to life. The season of Lent is a special occasion and prayer that we may see again… It opens our eyes in order that we may see the truth before us.

source: gmanetwork.com

Tourists, pilgrims throng Bethlehem for Christmas

BETHLEHEM, West Bank — Thousands of Christian pilgrims from around the world packed the West Bank town of Bethlehem for Christmas Eve celebrations on Tuesday, bringing warm holiday cheer to the biblical birthplace of Jesus on a cool, clear night.

The heavy turnout, its highest in years, helped lift spirits in Bethlehem as leaders expressed hope that the coming year would finally bring the Palestinians an independent state of their own.

"The message of Christmas is a message of peace, love and brotherhood. We have to be brothers with each other," said Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal, the top Roman Catholic cleric in the Holy Land, as he arrived in town.

Excited tourists milled about the town's Manger Square, stopping in restaurants and souvenir shops and admiring a large, illuminated Christmas Tree. Marching bands and scout troops performed for the visitors in the streets, and on a stage next to the tree.

Will Green of New York City, along with his wife, Debbie, and their 2-year-old daughter Daphne were among the crowds of people who greeted Twal's motorcade as he entered town from nearby Jerusalem.

Green said that being in Bethlehem for Christmas was a dream come true. "All the stories that we grew up with. It's here. It's part of our life. We heard them in the family, school and church. This is the birthplace," he said.

Green slowly pushed a stroller and his wife held their daughter as they followed a crowd toward the Church of the Nativity, built on the site where Christians believe Jesus was born.

Palestinian dignitaries greeted Twal at the entrance of Bethlehem. His motorcade crawled through the town's narrow streets as he stopped to shake hands and greet the throngs of visitors. It took him nearly 90 minutes to make the short trip to celebrate Midnight Mass at the Church of the Nativity compound.

Hundreds of people packed the compound for the service. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the European Union's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, and Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh were among the dignitaries in attendance.

In his homily, Twal addressed Abbas, telling the president he prays for a "just and equitable solution" for the Palestinians. Twal, himself a Palestinian, also expressed sympathy for the plight of the Palestinians, particularly families with relatives imprisoned by Israel or those who have suffered as a result of the conflict with Israel.

"The world is living through a long night of wars, destruction, fear, hate, racism and, at the present time, cold and snow," he said. Lamenting strife in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, he also urged worshippers "not to forget our own problems here: the prisoners and their families who hope for their release, the poor who have lost their land and their homes demolished, families waiting to be reunited, those out of work and all who suffer from the economic crisis."

Yet Twal called on people not to despair. "We are invited to be optimistic and to renew our faith that this land, home of the three monotheistic religions, will one day become a haven of peace for all people," he said.

"Oh Holy Child, God of goodness and mercy, look with kindness on the Holy Land and on our people who live in Palestine, in Israel, in Jordan and all the Middle East. Grant them the gift of reconciliation so that they may all be brothers — sons of one God," he said.

The number of visitors to Bethlehem remained below the record levels of the late 1990s, when Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts were at their height.

Following a Palestinian uprising that began in 2000, the numbers plunged. But thanks to a period of relative calm, they have been steadily climbing in recent years -- and got an extra push this year thanks to the resumption of peace talks.

"Our message is a message of justice and peace," said Palestinian Tourism Minister Rula Maayah. "We Palestinians are seeking peace and we deserve to have peace and our children deserve to live in peace."

Maayah said the number of visitors to Bethlehem was expected to jump by about 14 percent from last year.

A spokesman said 10,000 foreign visitors had entered town by the early evening, slightly higher than last year. Israel's Tourism Ministry, which coordinates the visits with the Palestinians, said the number could reach 25,000 during the holiday season.

Despite the Christmas cheer, Mideast politics loomed in the background. In order to enter Bethlehem, Twal's motorcade had to cross through the hulking concrete separation barrier that Israel built during the uprising. Israel says the barrier is needed to keep attackers from entering nearby Jerusalem, but Palestinians say the structure has stifled the town and stolen their land.

Maayah said that the barrier, along with nearby Israeli settlements and Israeli control of archaeological sites in the West Bank, has made it difficult to develop the tourism sector.

In addition, few Palestinians seem to think that the current round of peace talks will bear fruit. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry relaunched the talks last summer, but there have been no signs of progress.

Israel carried out a series of airstrikes and other attacks Tuesday in the Gaza Strip in retaliation for the deadly shooting of an Israeli civilian who had been working along the border. The fighting, which left a 3-year-old Palestinian girl dead, was the heaviest in more than a year.

Christmas also serves as a reminder of the dwindling numbers of Christians who live in the Holy Land. Over the decades, tens of thousands of Christians have left, fleeing violence or in search of better opportunities overseas. Christians now make up a tiny percentage of the population.

Bethlehem is now only one-third Christian, with most residents Muslim. In an annual gesture, Israel permitted some 500 members of Gaza's small Christian community to leave the Hamas-ruled territory and cross through Israel to attend the celebrations in Bethlehem.

But for one night at least, residents and visitors brushed aside their troubles to celebrate the holiday.

Nick Parker, a student from Georgia Tech University, said he was enjoying the food and making friends with local residents and fellow travelers.

"It's special to be here where Jesus was born," he said. "It's a special opportunity, once in a lifetime." — AP

source: gmanetwork.com