Saturday: Fifth Week of Lent

Then Jesus straightened up and said to her,

“Woman, where are they?

Has no one condemned you?”

She replied, “No one, sir.”

Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you.

Go, and from now on do not sin any more.”

John 8:10-11

Of the many gifts that God gives, the gift of the family is one of the most precious. Both the family of origin and one’s personal family, however it may be configured, can be a source of great joy and at times a source of great pain….

Cherish family relationships that are good and a blessing and do whatever possible to heal family relationships that have been damaged.

In the love of Jesus,

Father Lenny Zamborsky

December 31, 2006

For Reflection:

Jesus did not tell the woman that her marital infidelity was okay; he told her, “…do not sin anymore.”  But neither did he condemn her. 

How does this speak to you about your own family relationships?

What might you do to cherish good family relationships and to heal damaged family relationships?

Friday: Fifth Week of Lent

Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger.

But when they continued asking him,

he straightened up and said to them,

“Let the one who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”

John 8:8

It is appropriate to judge behavior of itself, but often inappropriate to judge the person, his or her intention, motivation or movement of the heart.  So often when one’s experiences and pain are revealed, it much more understandable how that person could act badly or be hurtful.

   

In the love of Jesus,

Father Lenny Zamborsky

June 25, 2006

For Reflection: 

How do the above quotes confront or challenge you?

Fr. Lenny used to remind us that “Hurt people hurt people.”

Can you recall when you have acted badly out of pain or hurt? 

Did anyone understand and forgive you? 

Have your ever understood and forgiven someone else who acted badly out of pain or hurt? 

Thursday: Fifth Week of Lent

Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman

who had been caught in adultery

and made her stand in the middle.

They said to him,

“Teacher, this woman was caught

in the very act of committing adultery.

Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women.

So what do you say?”

John 8:3-5

People have unlimited and unconditional worth and dignity and deserve respect, not for anything they do, accomplish or are capable of.  All human life is to be respected because human beings with assets, limitations, virtues and sins are created in the image of God and redeemed by the blood of Christ.

In the love of Jesus,

Father Lenny Zamborsky

October 15, 2006

For Reflection:

As you reflect on your own life, with which person from this Gospel do you most identify? …Scribe? …Pharisee? …Woman? …Jesus?

Do Father’s Lenny’s words encourage you personally? 

Confirm your attitude toward others? 

Challenge you to change?

Wednesday: Fifth Week of Lent

Even now, says the Lord,

return to me with your whole heart;

for I am gracious and merciful.

Joel 2:12-13

The saints are models of encouragement for following Jesus, the Way to God’s Kingdom.  In the Catholic tradition, there is an understanding that those who have died, not seriously alienated from God, but also not having actualized their potential for perfection, are in a state of being perfected.  As in the case of the saints’ prayers for us, it is good to know and believe that our prayers for our deceased loved ones have power.

In the love of Jesus,

 Father Lenny Zamborsky

October 27, 1996

For Reflection:

In his letter proclaiming 2016 the “Year of Mercy,” Pope Francis wrote:  

“We need constantly to contemplate the mystery of mercy.  Mercy: the ultimate and supreme act by which God comes to meet us.  Mercy: the fundamental law that dwells in the heart of every person who looks sincerely into the eyes of his brothers and sisters on the path of life.  Mercy: the bridge that connects God and man, opening our hearts to a hope of being loved forever despite our sinfulness.” 

Spend some time connecting this quote with today’s reading and Fr. Lenny’s words.

Tuesday: Fifth Week of Lent

Brothers and sisters:

I consider everything as a loss

because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord….

Just one thing: forgetting what lies behind

but straining forward to what lies ahead,

I continue my pursuit towards the goal, 

the prize of God’s upward calling, in Christ Jesus.    

Philippians 3:8, 14

Christians believe that this life is a journey and the life beyond is the real home. The Paschal mystery simply put is the belief that out of love for the world, God became human in the incarnation and that the God-man, Jesus, by his own passing from death to Resurrection, has made it possible for good people to also follow his path to eternal life.

In the love of Jesus,

Father Lenny Zamborsky

January 9, 2005

For Reflection:

In this reading, St. Paul expresses what might seem like a very lofty ideal: “I consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”  How does your personal relationship with Jesus measure up to that ideal?

What might help you, in your life’s journey, to continue your pursuit towards the goal and to follow Jesus’ path to eternal life?

Monday: Fifth Week of Lent

R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

Restore our fortunes, O LORD,

like the torrents in the southern desert.

Those that sow in tears shall reap rejoicing.

Psalm 126: 4-5

We are invited to celebrate the Paschal Mystery with an ever deepening consciousness of what it means in our personal lives at this time. Nowhere is the mystery of the coexistence of the white and gray more clearly seen than in the dying and rising of Christ—the very heart of our faith.   As we celebrate the Paschal Mystery, we call to mind God’s goodness, presence and transforming power in the joys and challenges, the light and darkness of our lives.

In the love of Jesus,

Father Lenny  Zamborsky

March 31, 1996

For Reflection:

Recall some of the times in your life when your tears were eventually turned into joy.

What does “Paschal Mystery” currently look like in your personal life?

In the life of the Church? 

In the world?

Sunday: Fifth Week of Lent

Remember not the events of the past,

the things of long ago consider not;

see, I am doing something new!

Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?

In the desert I make a way,

in the wasteland, rivers...

I put water in the desert

and rivers in the wasteland

for my chosen people to drink.

Isaiah 43: 18,20

Rather than seeing Lent as a penitential season, think of it as a time to focus on some dimension of spiritual renewal/growth….turn to God in praise, joining with chirping birds and blooming flowers in a creaturely response to the Creator God.

In the love of Jesus,

Father Lenny  Zamborsky

April 3, 2005 

For Reflection: 

If you were a St. Louis parishioner, do you remember the Lent when St. Louis Church was fragrant with flowers? How did that affect your attitude toward Lent?

If “penance” is really a means of becoming a better person, what kind of penance is most helpful to you?