Giving and receiving valentines (or, in Charlie Brown's case, not receiving valentines) is an example of the consequences of conditional love: if (fill in the blank), then I will love you/give you a valentine/etc. We are not called to practice conditional love, however, but unconditional love - because that is how Christ loved us. We live out that unconditional love through the three pillars of Lent - praying, fasting, and almsgiving - doing it not for the sake of being seen, but in order to show unconditional love to others for their benefit.

God calls each one of us to love and to care for one another. Human beings are made to be in communion with each other in physical and embodied ways. When we bring care, love, and support to others, we help them to experience Christ’s compassion and healing touch.

Jesus knows suffering. He knows doubt. He knows abandonment. In fact, by his suffering, he expresses in the most profound way that he is I AM. He is with us. Let his name reverberate in your mind. May it help remind you that God does indeed care, and that, in both your darkest moments and your greatest triumphs, I AM is with you always.

We don’t need to go searching in all these other-worldly places – or even in the more usual worldly places – for meaning and purpose and empowerment. God has a plan for each of us, a purpose he’s held for us since before the world began. You begin discerning your life’s purpose by being faithful to the duty of the present moment.
The great Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky once wrote, “The mystery of human existence lies not in just staying alive, but in finding something to live for.” So, why not live for God?

“Come, follow me” is the call of Jesus for us to embrace our vocation as the beloved sons and daughters of God, to let go of what paralyzes us, and to cultivate a personal relationship with Jesus. Spend some time this week in prayer recalling your baptism into Christ and give thanks to God for His invitation to come follow Jesus, knowing everything else will follow.

Regardless of our disappointments and failures in our relationships with others, God always offers us another chance, often in a way we never expected. While the world offers us guilt, shame, and accusation, Jesus offers us the hope that, with His help, it is never too late to resurrect those broken relationships.

This weekend's homily title is meant to be playful, but there is a point here. To be desirable, attractive, special - that's one of those deep desires of the human heart we all experience. In the end, the more we try to manufacture our own acceptance and attractiveness, the more we’re bound to be frustrated. Conversely, the more we open our hearts to God and His embrace, the more attractive we become. True loveliness isn’t found in how we look; it comes from loving God and letting Him love us.

There is only one person in Jesus who has two natures: fully God and fully Man. This is why we honor Mary as the Mother of God, and doing so leads us to her Son, our Lord. As he was born under the law to ransom those under the law, we now are the adopted sons and daughters of God. So glorify, praise, and give thanks to God always that He, through Christ, has intimately opened for us a way to be His children, made possible through the cooperation of Mary, the Holy Mother of God.