Think about the crosses that God, in his mysterious wisdom and providence, has allowed to come into your life. Think about the persons in your life and in our world who most need God's grace. Give your cross to the Lord; allow Him to take it, to join it to His own; and offer it up: for you, for your loved ones, and for the transformation and renewal of the world.
 
Permission to podcast the music in this episode obtained from ONE LICENSE with license #A-737156. All rights reserved.

Jesus lowers Himself to serve those whom He loves. That kind of self-lowering can often offend our human pride; while many of us are willing (or want to be willing) to give everything for someone we love, we want to control how much others are allowed to do for us - even Jesus. But to truly receive the love of Jesus, we must not only be willing to give everything for Jesus: we must also be willing to allow Him to give everything for us.
 
After the homily (about the 06:55 mark) is the singing of "Pange, Lingua, Gloriosi / Tantum Ergo," which takes place during the Transfer of the Most Blessed Sacrament at the end of the Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord's Supper. Permission to podcast this music obtained from ONE LICENSE with license #A-737156. All rights reserved.

Practice hosannas by allowing your words to be those of encouragement and support, your prayers to be of praise and surrender and humility. And be alert for any way that, instead, you are giving in to a kind of "crucify him" by your words and actions.

Embracing the cross is a "perishable skill" - you lose it if you don't use it. How do we practice, though? Deacon Brett uses "Mother Teresa's Humility List" (see image below), and challenges us to choose one or two to work on this week (and in weeks to come).

We are called to reach out to the lost, wherever they may be. Drawing in those who have wandered isn't about some kind of piety or moralizing people, shaking our finger at them for "being lost" - it means building relationships with people. It's about kindness. Sometimes it's not easy; often times it's messy; but it always starts with basic friendship and relationship. This week, let the Holy Spirit guide you to someone in your life that has wandered or is lost in some way, and make the effort to build a relationship with them.

Signs appeal to those seeking for power. Wisdom appeals to those seeking after knowledge. But the cross attracts those seeking after love. The cross is attractive because it demonstrates a total, self-giving, self-emptying love.
Lent is all about getting back to the basics of our faith: We proclaim Christ crucified. That means putting aside our search for signs or wisdom, and striving instead to give ourselves completely for Jesus as Jesus gave himself completely for us.
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We have a choice when we go through those really foggy times: to give in to doubt and discouragement, bargaining with God; or to live trustingly that God will provide. We are not spared the troubles of this world, but God promises that in everything He will be with us - and no matter what we face in our lives, God will provide.

The temptations Jesus faced are not much different than those we all face, and He not only gives us a model for how to respond to them with humility, but He also promises to stand with us as we face them and help us to reject them. And even when we fail, we can get up, go back to our Father, and be received with prodigious love.