“But when you pray, go to your inner room…” – Matthew 6:6

       My friend Roger drives like a mad man. Every time I ride with him, my prayer life is enhanced. Deepened. Invigorated. Heaven feels so near.

       One fateful day, I was riding with him again. We were blazing through a highway like a cruise missile. Roger looked at me and said, “Bo, I have good news and bad news for you.”

       “What’s the good news?” I asked between my Hail Marys.

     “We’re efficiently moving at an average speed of 140 kilometers per hour.”

      Involuntary spasms shot through my body. “Are you trying to tell me that we’ll be arriving at our destination in no time?”

       “That’s the bad news. We’re lost. I have no idea where we are.”

       “Stop this car NOW!” I screamed. We were swiftly driving towards the opposite direction!

       The same thing happens to us. We get busy, do a million things, move fast, get efficient. But efficiently going where?

       This Lent, stop for a while and see if you’re heading in the right direction. Have a retreat with Your Maker. Bo Sanchez (bosanchez@

Reflection:Are you headed towards the fulfillment of your deepest aspirations?

Dearest Lord, guide me to where I will find my deepest joy — the joy that only You can give. Amen.

St. David of Wales, bishop, pray for us.

The Lord wants to capture our hearts, seduce us with His love, and have us remain with Him forever. In the Bible, the heart symbolizes the whole person. The prophet Joel speaks about “rending our hearts,” turning away from sin, and surrendering our entire being to God. We need to be committed to obey the will of God to live a life of holiness.

12 Even now, says the Lord, return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning. 13 Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the Lord, your God. For gracious and merciful is he, slow to anger, rich in kindness, and relenting in punishment. 14 Perhaps he will again relent and leave behind him a blessing, offerings and libations for the Lord, your God. 15 Blow the trumpet in Zion! Proclaim a fast, call an assembly. 16 Gather the people, notify the congregation; assemble the elders, gather the children and the infants at the breast; let the bridegroom quit his room, and the bride her chamber. 17 Between the porch and the altar let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep, and say, “Spare, O Lord, your people, and make not your heritage a reproach, with the nations ruling over them! Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’ ” 18 Then the Lord was stirred to concern for his land and took pity on his people.

R: Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

1 [3] Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness; in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense. 2 [4] Thoroughly wash me from my guilt and of my sin cleanse me. (R) 3 [5] For I acknowledge my offense, and my sin is before me always. 4 [6] “Against you only have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight.” (R) 10 [12] A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me. 11 [13] Cast me not out from your presence, and your Holy Spirit take not from me. (R) 12 [14] Give me back the joy of your salvation, and a willing spirit sustain in me. 15 [17] O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall proclaim your praise. (R)

God will take every chance we give Him to use us for His work of salvation and bring His message of love to others. The Gospel is powerful and remains relevant to our present-day circumstances and experiences with the help of the Holy Spirit. Let us trust in the timing of the Holy Spirit and reap the fruits of our faith.

20 Brothers and sisters: We are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him. 6:1 Working together, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. 2 For he says: In an acceptable time I heard you, and on the day of salvation I helped you. Behold, now is a very acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

Prayer and life in the Spirit are what matter to Jesus. He knows our state of life and of our relationship with Him. Jesus knows the truth and what other people think is irrelevant. Let us nurture our inner life. Jesus sees us from within and that is all that matters.

If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

1 Jesus said to his disciples: “Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father. 2 When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, 4 so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you. 5 “When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you. 16 “When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 so that you may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.

think: How are you nurturing your inner life?

Read the Bible in one year  Hebrews 5-8

T O D A Y’S BLESSING LIST

thank You, Lord, for: ______________________________________________________

THE THREE PILLARS OF LENT

Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent.

       First of all, I want everybody to smile. Remember what Jesus says in today’s Gospel — you cannot have a gloomy face during Lent. You have to look cheerful. And that’s the way we should celebrate the season of Lent.

       Lent is a time for positive growth for everyone, for becoming more and more like Jesus. That’s what Lent will do for us: help us to reach the end of the season, to celebrate Easter with a deep renewal of the life of Jesus within us, each of us more closely conformed to Him.

     And that will happen through the three things we hear about in today’s readings: prayer, fasting and almsgiving. If we do each of these three things in a special way during Lent, we will truly grow into the likeness of Jesus.

      Prayer. Prayer is not trying to manipulate God, like He is just waiting to do whatever we ask for at any moment, especially if we ask for it over and over again. Jesus said, “Just go into your room, be quiet.” More than repeating a lot of words, prayer is listening.

      Fasting is a very important part of the Lenten season. There are a lot of people who fast to slim down; they fast because of their figure. Fasting isn’t just for the sake of fasting itself. When we fast, we become aware of people who don’t have food.

       And then we move to almsgiving, or giving over what we have in excess. Or if we are really generous, giving out of our substance to those who have so much less.

       We pray and listen to God, we fast to remind ourselves of those who suffer because they don’t have enough, and we give our alms so that we can make life better for many. Fr. Rudy Horst, SVD

---------- REFLECTION QUESTION ----------

How can you best put these three “pillars of Lent” into practice?

Lord, You have given me already so many seasons of Lent but I did not use them well. Help me this year to become more like You through these Lenten exercises. Amen.