Through Lent with Pope Francis
Hedonism and consumerism can prove our downfall, for when we are obsessed with our own pleasure, we end up being all too concerned about ourselves and our rights, and we feel a desperate need for free time to enjoy ourselves. We will find it hard to feel and show any real concern for those in need, unless we are able to cultivate a certain simplicity of life, resisting the feverish demands of a consumer society, which leave us impoverished and unsatisfied, anxious to have it all now. Similarly, when we allow ourselves to be caught up in superficial information, instant communication and virtual reality, we can waste precious time and become indifferent to the suffering flesh of our brothers and sisters. Yet even amid this whirlwind of activity, the Gospel continues to resound, offering us the promise of a different life, a healthier and happier life.
Gaudete et exsultate
Scripture
Luke 10:25-28 NCB
A lawyer came forward to test Jesus by asking, “Teacher, what must I do to gain eternal life?”
Jesus said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?”
He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbour as yourself.”
Jesus then said to him, “You have answered correctly. Do this and you will live.”
Thought for Today
Again the Pope gives us wise words to ponder about the way we live our lives. So many things we take for granted without giving them much thought.
How far have we bought into the materialistic society?
Do we keep the material world in its place – a necessary help to allow us to love God and our neighbour?
Music
You Don’t Love God if you Don’t Love your Neighbour, Rhonda Vincent & the Rage
(A little tongue in cheek, for lovers of country music)