"We feel part of this living Church with its own face, a Church that breathes our Indigenous identity and spirituality," writes Sr. Delia Maria Albatabango of the Ayllu Guadalupac Misioneracuna in Ecuador.
"Failure is painful," writes Stephanie Peirolo, reflecting on the miraculous catch of fish in Luke 5. "But we should not close ourselves off to hope and grace."
Scripture for Life: Being reconciled to the God of compassion is bound to have a transformative effect on the one who is reconciled, That person will not only be a messenger of reconciliation, but also the embodiment of it.
Faith is both an anchor and a sail, grounding us and moving us for the same reason: the Gospel. My faith empowers me to take a firm stance as well as to move beyond what I think is possible.
In surrendering to the presence of love, we find a security our plans could never provide: the security of being fully alive, fully present to the embrace of absolute love, the captivating presence of God.
What do these readings offer us as we reach the halfway stage of our Lenten journey? First, they warn us against judging others, reminding us that nobody deserves the life God gives us and that God is never the source of suffering.
This Lent, we can act with curiosity, rather than leading with assumptions. We might be surprised to find out what led a person to choose their Lenten practice. We can encourage them and perhaps seek encouragement.
In our time, in the Spirit of our times, we have seen buried in the hearts of the popes who have gone before us their personal attempts to bring us through what the era demands but which we cannot see from long-range vision.
Scripture for Life: In these first two weeks of Lent, we've begun a new stage of our Holy Year pilgrimage. We've seen human frailty and the glory of what humanity can become.
