One Minute Reflection – 5 March – Tuesday of the Eighth week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Mark 10:28–31 – Shrove Tuesday 2019 and the Memorial of St John Joseph of the Cross OFM (1654-1734)
Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions and in the age to come, eternal life. But many that are first will be last and the last first.”…Mark 10:29-31
REFLECTION – “All offerings to God are of great value, if they are made with a cheerful heart. The greatest of all such offerings are observing God’s commandments and showing kindness to the poor. Prayer itself, is like a great offering, when made in thankfulness.
Jesus highlights the blessing that radical renouncers, for the sake of the Gospel, will receive. What most people do not understand, when taking note of the ‘hundred-fold’ is the prediction of persecution that goes with it. When one is not ready for it, his renunciation is incomplete. ‘Persecution’ in this context, can also include the challenges of committed religious life, before which one is tempted to give up. But one should gather up courage and continue. Another danger, is to place oneself ahead of others even in renounced life, thus condemning oneself to the last position. But fortunately, the last too has hope to change roles.”…Archbishop Thomas Menamparampil SDB
“Sursum corda” – lift up your hearts, high above the tangled web of our concerns, desires, anxieties and thoughtlessness – “Lift up your hearts, your inner selves!” In both exclamations we are summoned, as it were, to a renewal of our Baptism: “Conversi ad Dominum” – we must distance ourselves ever anew from taking false paths, onto which we stray so often in our thoughts and actions. We must turn ever anew towards Him who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. We must be converted ever anew, turning with our whole life towards the Lord. And ever anew, we must allow our hearts to be withdrawn from the force of gravity, which pulls them down and inwardly we must raise them high, in truth and love. At this hour, let us thank the Lord, because through the power of His word and of the holy Sacraments, He points us in the right direction and draws our heart upwards.”…Pope Benedict 22 March 2008
PRAYER – Yes, Lord, make us Easter people, men and women of light, filled with the fire of Your love. Kindly listen to the prayers of the angels and saints on our behalf, as we start our Lenten journey. May You bless us through their prayers and grant us strength. Beloved Virgin Mother of God and our mother and St John Joseph of the Cross, pray for us, amen.
AnaStpaul 
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