The Scribes and Pharisees are eager to condemn the woman in today’s Gospel without considering the ways they themselves fail to live in accordance with the law. Jesus compels them to self-reflection.
In what ways have you been prone to judge and condemn those around you? Are your judgments related to the ways you fail to examine your own conscience effectively?
The parable of the Prodigal Son invites us to consider the relationships in our lives and the extravagant love of God that is offered to each of us. Whether we are lost or found, Jesus says to each of us “you are here with me always; everything I have is yours.” (Luke 15:31)
Is there an area in your life (a relationship, feeling, emotion, or habit) that feels lost or separate from God’s love and mercy? What would it mean to let God embrace this area of your life?
In this week’s readings, our Lord asks Moses to remove his sandals as the place he is standing is Holy Ground. God was physically present to Moses in the burning bush.
In what moments of your life have you experienced Holy Ground? What was your response to God being revealed to you in that moment?
This week’s readings about Abraham’s covenant with God and Jesus’s Transfiguration reveal that the divide between heaven and earth is sometimes smaller than we think. God is inviting us to listen and believe.
What promise is God inviting you to listen to and believe in this week? What prevents you from believing in the promises of God?
This year, as a Collaborative, each week in Lent we will offer a Question of the Week which will be related to the Sunday readings. The questions will be published in the bulletin and on the website, and proposed briefly before the final blessing at every Mass during the Lenten season. This is an opportunity for our Collaborative community to be praying in companionship with one another, while simultaneously examining our individual spirituality. Consider this a collaborative-wide Lenten mini retreat!
QUESTION FOR THE FIRST WEEK OF LENT: Our Responsorial Psalm today is a petition to God – “Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble”.
In what area of your life do you most need God’s presence and when have you seen the Lord provide for you when you were in trouble? Do you consider your need for God a strength or weakness?