Once again we sat together over our afternoon tea. We read over today’s readings. The first one about God asking Abraham to kill his only son Isaac puzzled us. Being parents, there is no way on earth that we would bring harm to our children. Our role in life has been to protect them and love them. We asked each other: “Why would God command Abraham to do such a terrible thing?” Again we read: “God put Abraham to the test.”

We remembered how often we have ourselves have been tested and still are being tested. When both of us were widowed at a young age and left to raise 8 children between us, we asked ourselves, “Why, Lord, why?” Rather than providing a ram as He did for Abraham, God provided us for one another. He has blessed us with a life filled with joy and love, in the midst of many tests. But God was and still is always with us. He has brought us through physical and emotional pain, through cancer and chemo, through surgeries, through watching our children and grandchildren suffer and feeling helpless because we could not change, cure or control them.

At these times, we continue to keep going, following Jesus. We allow Him to lead us up the high mountain where He shows Himself to us as He did to His other best friends. Sometimes we, like Peter, are terrified and want to make things happen. Then we remember God, Our Father’s words: “This is My Beloved Son. Listen to Him”. Jesus has told us that God is in charge. He has brought us through many trials and sufferings. All we need do is listen to His Holy Spirit as He speaks in the silence of our hearts. We wait. We keep doing what we know how to do. We place our trust in Jesus. He never fails us because He has called us by name. We are precious in His eyes and He loves us.

Monday-March 13th
Readings: Dn 9:4b-10 - Lk 6:36-38

Tuesday-March 14th
Readings: Is 1:10,16-20 - Mt 23:1-12

Wednesday-March 15th
Readings: Jer 18:18-20 - Mt 20:17-28

Thursday-March 16th
Readings: Jer 17:5-10 - Lk 16:19-31

Friday-March 17th
Readings: Gn 37:3-4,12-13a - Mt 21:33-43,45-46

Saturday-March 18th
Readings: Mi 7:14-15,18-20 - Lk 15:1-3,11-32

We continue to ask each week that parishioners pray for the chronically ill of our parish. If you have a friend or loved one in need of our parish prayers please call the Rectory at 589-2800.

It’s been a long time, since our parish has had a mission. We have one planned for March 13-15 with two representatives of Catholic Relief Services, Joseph Hastings from Seattle and Thomas Awiapo from Uganda. Their sharing on the scriptures and our everyday lives will definitely help us enter into the Lenten season. They will speak at the Masses the weekend before, so you’ll have an opportunity to meet them. The actual parish mission Monday through Wednesday will consist of presentations after the 8:30 am Mass and evening presentations at 7:30 pm in the church. (They will also be speaking to the confirmation classes and the students at St. Robert’s School, as well as at some of the high schools in the area.) Please put the dates on your calendar, so that you have an opportunity to be inspired by these two good men!

Also, we’re looking for hospitality – a place to stay for Thomas – preferably nearby, from Saturday evening through Wednesday evening. If someone has a mother-in-law apartment or similar arrangement to offer for those nights, please contact Sister Sheral at 589-2800.

Our life is authentically Christian to the extent that we know Christ and listen to his word with a readiness to respond with our whole being. Christian life needs prayer: the integration of faith and life. In its full meaning, prayer is joyous acceptance of life’s greatest gift, the Lord’s friendship and the return of the gift of one’s self to God in the service of all.

Spiritual Reading will be available at St. Robert’s after the Masses on Sundays. Please take a few minutes either before or after Mass and check out a book or two that interest you. You may keep the books until you have them read. We have some books on the Library cart but we have many more in the Library/Reconciliation room.

 This is always a rough season for many to grapple with. The mood of the music tends to be more somber, as it is a reflection of the texts of Lent, dealing with repentance, renewal and change. “Rend your hearts-Turn back your lives to Me.” from the hymn “Led by the Spirit” and “Teach us...to mourn our sins” from “Lord, Who throughout these Forty Days” are examples of this.

Even the opening of Mass the mood is set with the ringing chime and our chanted Litany. Music that is more sedate, can allow for this spirit of reflection, whether it is organ music, choral music or hymns. Other chants for Lent include the omission of the Gloria and Alleluias. All of these changes point to a season not of celebration, but of prayer.

SAINT PATRICK’S DAY
March 17th

Archbishop George H. Niederauer has granted a dispensation for the Lenten obligation to abstain from eating meat on Friday, March 17th.

Many people in the Philippines find themselves without the necessary resources to meet basic survival needs. They also face the daunting challenge of rebuilding. Our 2nd collection will be sent to help them with these needs.

Since Anna May and Gene have already mentioned the difficulty of the first reading for today, I would be tempted to avoid it altogether. But I’d like to offer just a few comments. Abraham is the father of Israel, God’s chosen people, since he is willing to do what God asks even though it seems to make no sense at all. Abraham has been promised that God will establish his covenant with Isaac’s descendents, so how can this happen if Isaac is dead? According to the New Jerome Biblical Commentary, “God [is] the Lord whose demands are absolute, whose will is inscrutable, and whose final word is grace…The father’s very life is bound up with that of his child and heir; Abraham entrusts his life and his future unconditionally to the God who calls him.” Yet Abraham doesn’t question God and his obedience is honored by Jewish, Christian and Muslim believers. It is chosen for a Lenten Sunday because Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son prefigures God’s willingness to sacrifice his Son. Infant sacrifice was practiced in Canaan and in dire times, in Israel itself, though one could “redeem” the first-born (considered belonging to God) by an alternate sacrifice. Since the word of God is also the word of a specific human community, this passage may also reflect a growing cultural awareness among the Israelites that God did not want human sacrifice.

Paul’s letter to the Romans reminds us, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” How consoling this ought to be for us in times of doubt or when we are at the edge of despairing over our wounded and broken world! God gave us the best gift he had, his own beloved Son, and has not given up on us. In fact, according to Franciscan theologians, Jesus would have come whether or not our first parents sinned. He was sent by the Father to show us how much we are loved! God declares to Jesus, “This is my beloved Son” in this transfiguration episode. Our gracious God has said the same thing (“beloved daughter” to us women) to each of us at our baptism. Let us keep this love in mind as we examine our habits and attitudes this Lent. At the Easter Vigil and at each of the Easter Masses, we will be invited to renew the baptismal commitment our parents and godparents made for most of us. What might I ask the Holy Spirit to do in me so that I can wholeheartedly renew my commitment to follow the gospel?

Peace, S. Sheral

If you’d like some websites which will be helpful for your Lenten reflection, try www.praythenews.org by the Carmelites of Indianapolis or www.sfarchdiocese.org by our own archdiocese. You’ll find many options at both sites; may they refresh you during your lunch break or while your little one naps!

March 2006
17-19 Mercy Center Bookstore Sale
24 Speaker Series: James Finley
      Little Things that Fill The Whole World
25 Workshop with James Finley
      On Spiritual Awakening

VALLOMBROSA CENTER
250 Oak Grove Ave, Menlo Park CA 94025-3218
650-325-5614, Fax 650-325-0908