The Israelites were led through the desert to the land of milk and honey.  Today, we seek to be delivered from whatever holds us in bondage, including our personal sin and the sins of the organizations, social and political systems which we endorse and support.

· As an individual, family, or faith-sharing group, think about what attitudes, inclinations or habits hold people in bondage.  What are we doing this Lent to allow God’s grace to deliver us from this bondage?  What are we doing to reform the organizations with which we are associated?

· Lent is a good time to renew our prayer life.  Jump-start your day with our Daily Prayer on Facebook at Facebook.com/WaterlooCatholics.
 
 

Many of us work too hard.  We don’t have time to relax, to reflect, to renew ourselves and our relationships.  Like the disciples during the Transfiguration, we’re too exhausted to notice what God is doing in our lives.  Physical exhaustion can easily turn into acedia, a kind of spiritual listlessness or exhaustion.

· As an individual, family, or faith-sharing group, think about what might happen if we actually made time each day or each week to sit down and reflect.  Would the world end if we didn’t accomplish everything we want – even need -- to do?  Would the things we do be done better?

· A daily examen can help us recognize how we have accomplished with God’s grace, and how we have overlooked God’s grace.  Find our Evening Examine online each day at Facebook.com/WaterlooCatholics.
 
 

Jesus told his disciples a parable about a fig tree which was not bearing much fruit. The gardener decides that he will cultivate the shallow and infertile ground around it in the hope that it will recover and be more productive.
God is a loving gardener who seeks to give us the nourishment we need to bear much fruit.

· As an individual, family, or faith-sharing group, think about why people often seem–and are--so shallow.  Would it make a difference if we sat down and decided which relationships, commitments, or interests are the most important and apportioned our time and energy accordingly?

· The Eucharist, the source and summit of Catholic life, should help us focus on what’s really important.  Find a guide to the Mass online at waterloocatholics.org/guide-to-the-mass.
 
 

In the Gospel story of the Prodigal Son, we see someone who is not satisfied with what he has. When he realizes how much he really had, he returns home and is welcomed back by his Father.  His older brother, however, is troubled by this reconciliation; he becomes dissatisfied and unable to rejoice at the “new life” brought to his brother.

· As an individual, family, or faith-sharing group, think about what keeps us from rejoicing at another’s happiness or our own blessings.  Is it jealousy, a feeling of entitlement, or a twisted sense of injustice?  What are the root causes or fears which prevent us from being satisfied?

· Impending death or physical decline sometimes help us see things in a new perspective.  Use this inventory to examine some of the basic things that are important to you: http:/bit.do/whats-important.
 
 

The American journalist and playwright Fulton Oursler once said, “Many of us crucify ourselves between two thieves--regret for the past and fear of the future.” This is a great obstacle for Christians because the fundamental challenge of our faith is to continue growing more deeply into the love of God, which we see expressed in this week’s Gospel as mercy for the past and hope for the future.

· As an individual, family, or faith-sharing group, think about some of the reasons people long for the past and fear for the future.  Is a basic pessimism about the future, a sense that things always get worse, compatible with our faith in God’s love for us and for creation?

· Learn more about how our understanding and expression of faith can change as we learn and grow: waterloocatholics.org/stages-in-faith-development

Lent ends on the Wednesday of the sixth week.  It is followed by the three holy days (the Holy Triduum) and Easter Sunday.  During the Triduum we contemplate the Paschal Mystery by which Jesus passed from this life through death to new life.  Through the Incarnation the Divine entered into this life so that through the death and resurrection of Jesus we could enter into the life of the Divine.  The Incarnation and Resurrection break down the separation between creation and the Creator, between us and the Divine, between this life and the next.

· As an individual, family, or faith-sharing group, think about how your own life mirrors the Paschal Mystery – what events have caused you to pass from life through loss to new life?  In what way do these interim “deaths” prepare us to enter gradually into the final passage by which God delivers us from this life into eternal life?

The Incarnation and Resurrection make the whole of this life a sacramental moment.  Learn how to develop a sacramental imagination here: https://waterloocatholics.org/sacramental-imagination.