40daysoflent

Faith is our ultimate priority

By Aaron Reevey

Now more than ever it seems as if it is not a popular decision to express your Faith in God-especially as a college student. While it is so easy to get swept away by the parties, people, and excitement of being away from home it is important to stay grounded and spiritually centered. Speaking from experience, my foundation has always been my Faith in God. I can say with confidence that I would not have graduated or attended college if I did not have Faith. Where I come from there seems to be an abundance of problems such as academic shortcomings, teenage pregnancies, and substance use and abuse. Luckily, instead of dealing with the many problems those I knew faced I turned to God at a very young age and continue to do so to this day. Instead of problems, although my road to success has been anything but easy, I have been rewarded blessing after blessing after blessing.

There is a quote in John Chapter III, which reads as follows “Whoever does accept his testimony certifies that God is trustworthy.” Receiving the testimony of God through attending Mass and reading The Bible feeds us as Christians the necessary tools to help us become “children of the light.” By putting Christ first everything else simply falls into place.

Despite whatever independent variables one encounters in life it is essential that your Faith be your ultimate priority. We must deny ourselves from temptation or what we think is right for us and be obedient to the call that He has place upon us.

Aaron Reevey is a Graduate Student at Monmouth University

Obedient despite the struggle

By Jessica Montoya

“I am troubled now. Yet what should I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour?’ But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name” (John 12: 27-28).

In the gospel of the fifth Sunday of Lent, the Lord tells his disciples that He is troubled by the prospect of the coming hour when He will bear the heavy weight of the cross. Like the Lord, we all experience many anxieties and struggles in life that we wish would quickly dissipate. As a student, I sometimes find myself praying to God to let time fly by so that I no longer have to experience the stress of preparing for examinations or writing papers.

Despite being troubled by the coming hour, our Lord affirms the purpose for which He was born of a Virgin. He came to be our model of holiness so that we may learn to be obedient to the will of the Lord. Through prayer, we too can come to know the purposes for which we are called. The Lord’s faithful example teaches me that I can glorify the Lord’s name by fulfilling my duties as a student, the vocation for which I am currently called. I must not pray for my struggles to pass me by, but instead, I must pray for courage and wisdom to complete the will of the Lord.

May we all, like our Savior, learn to be obedient to our Heavenly Father even in times of struggle. Let us remember the story of our salvation: “Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered; and when he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him” (Hebrews 5: 8-9).

Jessica Montoya is a Senior at Princton University.

Christ came to lift us up into salvation.

by Jonathan Irrobali

In today’s world we are hit constantly by the way others expect us to act. We can give in to our sinful impulses and create a barrier between ourselves and God. It is as if we fix ourselves to the earth and not heaven.

In the gospel of the 4th Sunday of Lent, we read of Jesus talking to Nicodemus. He tells him, “As Moses lifted up the snake in the dessert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in Him.”

In Jesus being lifted up, for our sins, we know that we can be lifted up – lifted up to eternal life. But when we refuse to let go of our sinfulness, how can we be lifted up by Christ? If we look at the first part of Jesus’ quote, we can make a connection with the people of Moses’ time. They refused to let go of their sinfulness. In nailing the representational snake to the pole and lifting it up, Moses was bringing the people’s sinfulness into the light. In confronting their sin in the light of Truth the people could then let go of their sinfulness and be saved.

We can do the same thing, spiritually, during Lent. We can examine our lives and see how we refuse to let go of our sinfulness. Once we name it, we can lift it up, as Moses did, into the Light of Truth. We can use the sacrament of confession to confront the sinfulness we refused to let go of, and bring into Christ’s light, letting His grace help us to let it go. By letting it go, we are then free to be lifted up by Christ’s loving sacrifice on the cross.

Written by Jonathan Irrobali, Novice at the Trinitarian Noviate House at Incarnation/St. James Rectory Trenton.

Good Enough?

By Heather Chojnacki

A student in college these days has so many things to worry about besides just grades; clubs, sports, activities, family, friends, becoming ‘well-rounded,’ dealing with pressures of drugs, alcohol and partying, deciding what the future holds for him/her, building the resume.

Sometimes we can’t be bothered to attend mass or to pray regularly with so many things going on. However, Lent is a special time; a time for contemplation and a time for reconnection. It doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming; rather, it is simple.

The first reading for this third Sunday of Lent recounts the 10 commandments; God’s 10 golden rules. Personally, sometimes I don’t feel that I’m capable of being ‘good’ enough for God, and I feel like, what’s the point in trying? However, then I remember his grace and his forgiveness.

We cannot simply give up when we fall into a pattern of sin. Lent is a time to consider the way we are living and if gives glory to God. If not, there’s no better time to reconnect, to go to confession or to start going back to mass. I find that when I invite God into my life, everything else seems a lot less stressful.

Heather Chojnacki is a Sophomore Rider University

If God is for us who can be against us

by Rosemarie Fabrizzio

Each day we rise in the morning, looking to the window for sunlight. If it is not there, do we mourn at the gray sky and allow this to forecast our mood for the rest of the day?

Each day we are faced with challenges whether as minor as a rain shower or as drastic as a physical disability. As humans we allow these challenges or obstacles to control our daily attitudes. And sometimes we feel as if we are all alone. My friends, we are not alone. As Abraham in the first reading, we are tested in life and only pass the test with the help of deep faith and trust in God-

God’s presence is always with us. God is there when you are driving down a winding road in the fog, there when you feel like giving up because he is pushing you forward, and God is there reminding you of patience when your frustrations linger. God’s presence is a part of each day, in the wind which caresses our bodies, the trees which provide us with shade, and in the whole earth, each and every grain. Sometimes, as did Peter, James, and John on the mountain, we experience with great clarity the presence of God and the love of Jesus.

What can carry us through the day to day moments are the memories of Jesus journeying with us on brighter days. Instead of facing daily obstacles with our heads down, we should try to embrace them as opportunities to strengthen our spirits. Remember although the sky may be gray, the sunlight is just beyond the clouds. As we read in Paul’s letter to the Romans, “If God is for us who can be against us?”

Rosemarie Fabrizzio is a student at Georgian Court University