Traditionally, Lent is a time when we turn our close attention to how we deal with the temptations that come our way, reflects Christian Brother Julian McDonald. While we were reminded on Ash Wednesday that prayer and fasting are helpful disciplines for ordering our waywardness, our focus might best be put on quality rather than quantity. Any disciplines we decide to undertake for Lent are surely meant to be about enhancing the quality of our love, our compassion for others and our relationships with one another. 

Advent was included in the Church’s calendar as a period of reflection intended to engage the Christian in giving attention to the significance of the fact that, in the person of Jesus, God demonstrated unequivocal solidarity and identification with all of humanity, reflects Christian Brother Julian McDonald.

Whenever we dare to pray “thy kingdom come” we are acknowledging our willingness to reflect something of the mercy, compassion and love of God that Jesus so eloquently expressed on the Cross., writes Christian Brother Julian McDonald.

However, we choose to live our religion, it is empty if it fails to lead us towards discipleship of the Jesus who taught us to live with courage, compassion, integrity and fearlessness, ever conscious of God’s Spirit somehow present under the messiness of the troubles which surround us, reflects Christian Brother Julian McDonald.

While today’s gospel-reading looks to be fairly complicated on the surface, it carries a message of great hope and encouragement for all of us and, by implication, shows us how to live our lives with meaning and purpose, writes Christian Brother Julian McDonald.