Father Kleppner - March 4, 2007 Lenten Meditation Second Sunday of Lent When God Enters Our Picture “Experiencing God’s Presence” God is here! The eternal God is present here and now. When we sing the Gloria Patri, we say, “As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end”. God already is within our life picture, but in personal experience sometimes God seems absent or hidden. Lent can be a time of discovering anew just where God is and how our lives can be enriched by this discovery. A re-reading of the Psalms would be a good place to start. The first Psalm describes a faithful person as being like a tree, planted by rivers of water. God refreshes and nourishes us. The twenty-third Psalm describes how God walks with us and supports us. Psalm 136 has a repeated refrain of how God’s mercy and steadfast love endure forever. The Psalmist’s experience can help us identify ways in which God is at work within our own lives. Continuing with scripture, we also sense God’s presence in the words of the prophets, who say “God has shown you what is good: do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8) We feel God’s nearness in the life of Jesus, as he carried on conversations with his disciples along the road, healed the sick, gave sight to the blind and went through death to resurrection. As we hear Jesus teach, we sense what blessings come even to people who seem unlikely to receive them. God was in Christ and we feel God’s presence as we get to know Jesus and reflect upon his life. Reading the scriptures, taking time to grasp their meaning and then opening ourselves to God in prayer can help us experience the presence we seek.     Heavenly Bits Of Wisdom God wants spiritual fruits, not religious nuts. Dear God, I have a problem. . .it’s me. Growing old is inevitable. . .growing up is optional. Silence is often misinterpreted but never misquoted. Do the math. . . count your blessings. Faith is the ability to not panic. Laugh every day. It’s like inner jogging. If you worry, you didn’t pray. If you pray, don’t worry. Blessed are the flexible. For they shall not be bent out of shape. The most important things in your house are the people. When you get tangled up in your problems, be still. God needs us to be still so He can untangle the knot. A grudge is a heavy thing to carry. He who dies with the most toys is still dead.

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