Lenten Meditation 2020

Whoever is greedy for unjust gain troubles his own household Proverbs 15:27 Russian author Leo Tolstoy tells the story of a rich man who was never satisfied. He always wanted more, more and more. One day this rich man heard of a wonderful chance to get more land. For a thousand rubbles he could have all the territory he could walk around in a day. But he had to make it back to the starting point by sundown or he would lose it all. This wealthy man arose early and set out. He walked on and on, thinking he could get just a little more land if he kept going further and further. But he went so far, he realized he must walk very fast if he were to get back in time to claim the land. As the sun got lower in the sky, he quickened his pace. Then he began to run. Finally he came within sight of the starting place, so he exerted his last energies, plunged over the finish line, fell to the ground and collapsed. A stream of blood poured out of his mouth, and he lay dead. His ser...

Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. James 4:6 Ronald Wilson Reagan who served as the 40th president of the United States was nicknamed as the Great Communicator. The book Ronald Reagan: The Great Communicator , written by Ronald Reagan and Frederick J. Ryan is 175 pages of short stories, quotes, quips and speeches of and by the Great Communicator, which makes for perfect reading. In that book Ronald Reagan, told the following story: “I once addressed a very large, distinguished audience in Mexico City and sat down to rather scattered and unenthusiastic applause. And I was somewhat embarrassed, even more so when the next man who spoke, a representative of the Mexican government speaking in Spanish, which I don’t understand, was being interrupted virtually every other line with the most enthusiastic kind of applause. To hide my embarrassment, I started clapping before anyone else and longer than anyone else until our ambassador leaned o...

Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Ephesians 4.26-27 James Martin , (is an American Jesuit priest, writer, and editor-at-large of the Jesuit magazine America) He has written a beautiful book Seven Last Words: An Invitation To A Deeper Friendship With Jesus . He shares the following story in the book. One elderly monk in his community used to show his displeasure with other monks in a highly creative way. As you may know, most monastic communities chant the psalms several times a day together in chapel. Well, if this elderly monk was angry at someone, every time the word “enemy” came up in a psalm, as in “Deliver me from my enemies,” he would look up from his prayer book and glare at the monk he was angry with. Buddha warned his followers, “Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.” According to a survey, “T...