Feb. 26, 2012: 1st Sunday of Lent

Click to hear audio homily
A couple of weeks ago while helping with private reconciliations at Baton Rouge area catholic high schools, one young lady told me, “Father, I must be getting too old.My brother is annoying me! I need patience!” I concurred with her when she told

me that her brother is 10 years old, because I remember when I was 10-years old

and frequently tested my older sister’s patience. We all need patience whether we

are a 16-year old or an 80-year old. What is patience? It is the capacity to accept

or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset. Patience is

really about self-control. It is the ability to keep control over the impulse that rises

suddenly when something disagreeable happens. We were taught when we were

little, “Count to ten before you speak when you feel angry; count to one hundred

when you feel very angry.” It takes a lot of self-control to keep our inner volcano

from erupting.

Today’s scripture presents us two persons who demonstrated great patience and
trust. The first person, Noah, survived 40 days and nights on the ark with his family
and animals, waiting patiently for the rain to stop and the ground to dry. This
was a man who had to endure a lot of difficulties. Those of you who watched the
movie “Evan Almighty” may remember how much taunting Evan received from his
friends and neighbors while building the ark. More importantly, Noah had to trust
that God was trying to save his family. Can you imagine the inner struggle for Noah?
However, it was through these inner struggles that Noah learned to trust and rely
on God the Father. We don’t exercise patience and trust in a vacuum. Rather, it is in
the midst of the storms and struggles that we face that we must ask God for patience
and the grace to trust Him. The rainbow that we see in the sky is a visible sign of
God’s covenant with us, reminding us that He is always merciful and that He is at our
side.

Noah’s trust in the Father is a powerful example to us, but God the Father gave us an
even more compelling sign of His covenant —His Son Jesus. It is in Jesus that we see
a greater demonstration of patience and trust. He was led into the desert by the Holy
Spirit to face a deluge of temptations on our behalf. He was tempted by pleasure,
possessions and pride and he over came these temptations by totally trusting in His
Father.

There were articles in the newspapers about what people were giving up for
Lent—coffee, pizza, beer, and chocolate chip cookies. I didn’t read where anyone
was giving up on pride, anger, lust, gluttony, jealousy, greed, and laziness. These
are much more difficult temptations to overcome than our attachment to favorite
snacks. Yet, how can we overcome such difficult temptations on our own? God
knows how weak we are, and we must remember that He loves us as we are. In
His mercy, God the Father sends His own Son to face these temptations for us. We
entered into Jesus’ life through baptism, therefore, we must ask for His own patience
and trust to help us through the struggles.

Right now our community needs Jesus’ patience and trust more than ever. It is
God’s providence that we are praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy every week, and
thus are bathed in God’s forgiveness and mercy. A few days ago I was at a hospital
in Baton Rouge to anoint a parishioner who had been in a tragic car accident.
She is in critical condition, and our entire community is praying for her survival.
Unfortunately, those who caused this accident also belong to our community. This
is a very sad time for our community and now, more than ever, we must know that
our Heavenly Father loves each of us as we are. We must also love and show mercy
as the Father has shown mercy to us. It is a time for us to look within and change
those thoughts and actions that keep us from being our Lord’s love in this world.
This change will not come about without conflicts and struggles but we must know
that through our struggles, we will learn to trust and rely on our Heavenly Father. I
would like for all of us to sing a verse of “Be Not Afraid” to remind us that our Father
is always with us.

“Be Not Afraid”

If you pass through raging waters in the sea, you shall not drown.
If you walk amid the burning flames, you shall not be harmed.
If you stand before the pow'r of hell and death is at your side, know that
I am with you through it all.

Refrain
Be not afraid.
I go before you always.
Come follow me, and
I will give you rest.