1 00:00:01,080 --> 00:00:04,240 In the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, 2 00:00:05,080 --> 00:00:10,120 my Lord and my God, I firmly believe that you are here, that 3 00:00:10,120 --> 00:00:14,720 you see me, that you hear me. I adore you. 4 00:00:14,720 --> 00:00:19,960 With profound reverence. I ask you for pardon of my sins 5 00:00:20,920 --> 00:00:23,760 and grace to make this time of prayer fruitful. 6 00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:31,160 My mother, Immaculate St Joseph, my father and Lord, my guardian 7 00:00:31,160 --> 00:00:50,610 Angel in deceive. So we have begun the season of 8 00:00:50,610 --> 00:00:55,890 Lent, which is of course not just a season of giving up 9 00:00:55,890 --> 00:01:02,450 things, which is partly that, but it goes much, it goes much 10 00:01:02,450 --> 00:01:05,850 deeper than that. And it is of course, a season of 11 00:01:06,530 --> 00:01:09,520 conversion. And we are looking to be 12 00:01:09,520 --> 00:01:14,400 converted this Lent, maybe in ways that we know we should be 13 00:01:14,400 --> 00:01:19,560 converted, but also perhaps in ways we don't yet know that we 14 00:01:19,560 --> 00:01:22,600 need a conversion. So we could begin by saying 15 00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:28,400 Jesus, Well, if, if you need me to convert to change in some 16 00:01:28,400 --> 00:01:32,200 area that I don't really, I don't really see, I don't yet 17 00:01:32,200 --> 00:01:34,480 know. Well, please, over the course of 18 00:01:34,480 --> 00:01:39,000 this Lent, show it to me, reveal this area of conversion. 19 00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:43,360 Now, the greatest story of conversion, the greatest 20 00:01:43,360 --> 00:01:48,280 conversion story of all is the story of the prodigal son, this 21 00:01:48,280 --> 00:01:51,840 parable that Jesus tells us in the Gospel. 22 00:01:51,840 --> 00:01:56,160 So I thought it would be nice that we would probably begin our 23 00:01:56,160 --> 00:02:01,240 Lent praying with the parable of the prodigal son and kind of 24 00:02:01,240 --> 00:02:06,120 seeing our sounds. We are the prodigal son and and 25 00:02:06,120 --> 00:02:08,919 so anyway we'll go through it step by step and let me see how 26 00:02:08,919 --> 00:02:11,560 it goes. So Jesus tells us there was a 27 00:02:11,560 --> 00:02:15,880 man who had two sons, and the younger of them said to his 28 00:02:15,880 --> 00:02:21,240 father, Father, give me the share of property that falls to 29 00:02:21,240 --> 00:02:23,680 me. And he divided his living 30 00:02:23,680 --> 00:02:26,600 between them. Not many days later, the younger 31 00:02:26,600 --> 00:02:33,000 son gathered all he had and took his journey into a far country 32 00:02:33,480 --> 00:02:38,680 and there he squandered his property in loose living. 33 00:02:39,640 --> 00:02:44,720 The younger son a little bit foolish, the baby of the family 34 00:02:45,360 --> 00:02:47,240 and loved by his father. We can imagine. 35 00:02:48,120 --> 00:02:52,120 But, and, and this is the important thing I suppose, that 36 00:02:52,120 --> 00:02:56,560 we realise it's a question of where is your heart? 37 00:02:57,760 --> 00:03:01,800 And he's with his father, who as we see later, his father is a 38 00:03:01,800 --> 00:03:04,920 wonderful, wonderful man. He couldn't be better. 39 00:03:04,920 --> 00:03:09,720 Of course, he represents God the Father and the son doesn't 40 00:03:09,720 --> 00:03:14,640 really appreciate that. And his heart is, is moving out 41 00:03:14,640 --> 00:03:18,200 of the house before he actually moves himself. 42 00:03:18,720 --> 00:03:23,400 And his heart is going and you can see it in his imagining this 43 00:03:23,720 --> 00:03:31,360 far away country where he's going to live a kind of crazy 44 00:03:31,360 --> 00:03:33,520 life. But you can see him, you know, 45 00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:36,360 he's hard to know. He's he maybe reading stories 46 00:03:36,360 --> 00:03:44,680 about wherever it is, the kind of whatever kind of seaside 47 00:03:44,680 --> 00:03:48,120 resort somewhere. And he's imagining, Oh yeah, 48 00:03:48,120 --> 00:03:50,960 the, the, the beaches with my friends and go out drinking 49 00:03:50,960 --> 00:03:54,480 every night and clubbing or whatever they do in the 1st 50 00:03:54,480 --> 00:03:57,080 century. And that's the kind of life he's 51 00:03:57,080 --> 00:04:01,360 imagining. And his heart is gone off to 52 00:04:01,880 --> 00:04:05,160 Central Bay or wherever it is. And that's, that's where his 53 00:04:05,160 --> 00:04:06,800 heart is and no longer with his father. 54 00:04:06,800 --> 00:04:09,640 And this is the important thing. It's not, it's not just so much 55 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:13,360 as his actual external behaviour is where his heart has gone. 56 00:04:13,880 --> 00:04:21,040 And so soon he follows his heart off to this resort town, 57 00:04:21,040 --> 00:04:24,640 wherever it is. And foolish feast spends 58 00:04:24,640 --> 00:04:26,440 everything, he loses everything there. 59 00:04:28,120 --> 00:04:34,480 Now the Jesus goes on and says, when he had spent everything, he 60 00:04:34,480 --> 00:04:36,120 goes through a large inheritance. 61 00:04:36,960 --> 00:04:41,920 A great famine arose in that country, and he began to be in 62 00:04:41,920 --> 00:04:45,320 want. So he went and joined himself to 63 00:04:45,320 --> 00:04:48,880 one of the citizens of that country who sent him into the 64 00:04:48,880 --> 00:04:55,480 fields to feed swine pigs. And he would gladly have fed on 65 00:04:55,480 --> 00:05:00,520 the pods that the swine ate. And no one gave him anything. 66 00:05:01,560 --> 00:05:05,360 But when he came to himself, he said, how many of my father's 67 00:05:05,360 --> 00:05:09,280 hired servants have bred enough and despair? 68 00:05:10,160 --> 00:05:17,600 But I perish here with hunger. And so it's, it's nicely 69 00:05:17,600 --> 00:05:23,160 described by you, Lord, how the hunger comes, this famine, and 70 00:05:23,160 --> 00:05:26,800 the famine is in his heart. In other words, he's given his 71 00:05:26,800 --> 00:05:32,840 heart to his nightclubbing and his cocktails and his righteous 72 00:05:32,840 --> 00:05:36,880 living, thinking this will bring me great happiness. 73 00:05:37,920 --> 00:05:41,520 And of course it brings him pleasure for a little while, but 74 00:05:41,520 --> 00:05:45,080 then even the pleasure disappears and he's left with 75 00:05:45,080 --> 00:05:50,600 his own famine. His heart is in a desert and he 76 00:05:50,600 --> 00:05:54,680 may still be in Central Bay, but his heart is in the desert and 77 00:05:54,680 --> 00:05:58,560 he's lost everything. And, and not only that, but he's 78 00:05:58,840 --> 00:06:02,000 degraded. He's lost his dignity, he's lost 79 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:06,880 his money, He's lost his dignity because even the pigs are eating 80 00:06:07,040 --> 00:06:11,480 better food than he is eating. So Jesus is showing us in a kind 81 00:06:11,480 --> 00:06:16,320 of in a kind of dramatic way, what a terrible thing to lose 82 00:06:16,320 --> 00:06:21,880 our dignity this way that somehow even the pigs are better 83 00:06:21,880 --> 00:06:27,760 off than he is. And he regrets, you can imagine, 84 00:06:27,760 --> 00:06:29,400 he regrets all that money, everything. 85 00:06:29,400 --> 00:06:31,080 He regrets everything that he did. 86 00:06:32,800 --> 00:06:36,960 And that's, that can be us hoping we're not have having a 87 00:06:36,960 --> 00:06:42,520 completely crazy lifestyle, but we do things every sin, every 88 00:06:42,520 --> 00:06:47,360 sin is where the heart is going away from you, Lord, And the 89 00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:51,080 heart is going away to something we imagine is going to bring me 90 00:06:51,080 --> 00:06:56,120 happiness And, and we're kind of attracted away like this guy is 91 00:06:56,120 --> 00:06:58,960 very foolish in a way. You and I, you know, imagine 92 00:06:58,960 --> 00:07:03,160 this will bring me happiness, this kind of temptation, this 93 00:07:03,160 --> 00:07:06,120 will be it. I get this and this will kind of 94 00:07:06,120 --> 00:07:09,800 magically make me happy, fill my heart, but it never really does. 95 00:07:09,800 --> 00:07:13,360 And it leaves us with a with a sense of unhappiness. 96 00:07:13,720 --> 00:07:17,320 And if it's more serious, it leaves us with the sense of 97 00:07:18,040 --> 00:07:20,120 degradation. We're degraded. 98 00:07:21,160 --> 00:07:25,120 Now, what's very important, however, is his memory. 99 00:07:25,840 --> 00:07:29,560 His memory. He remembers his father's house. 100 00:07:30,200 --> 00:07:34,720 Funny, the Russian writer Dostoevsky, he's got a line 101 00:07:35,560 --> 00:07:41,760 which goes something like if we can remember our childhood 102 00:07:41,800 --> 00:07:45,800 innocence, we can be saved. It's kind of true. 103 00:07:45,800 --> 00:07:51,160 You know, a person that that goes doing crazy things, but 104 00:07:51,160 --> 00:07:55,400 they remember when they were a child and they were innocent and 105 00:07:55,400 --> 00:07:58,440 also very happy. And you can remember that 106 00:07:58,760 --> 00:08:01,640 remembering being with their mother and their father and, 107 00:08:01,920 --> 00:08:06,320 and, and realising, gosh, I've gone down a very wrong track. 108 00:08:06,840 --> 00:08:10,720 And my joy, my happiness was always in my father's house. 109 00:08:11,120 --> 00:08:13,040 That's what he remembers. And that's very important. 110 00:08:13,720 --> 00:08:16,240 And so for us, it's the same. We're gonna, I think sometimes 111 00:08:16,240 --> 00:08:20,000 remember, you know, our happiest moments, our happiest moment. 112 00:08:20,200 --> 00:08:23,200 Very often our happiest moments are, I don't know about you, but 113 00:08:23,480 --> 00:08:27,360 you know, a beautiful mass, beautiful time of prayer, 114 00:08:28,080 --> 00:08:31,400 something very simple, beautiful time of fraternity. 115 00:08:31,800 --> 00:08:33,120 They're very, very happy moments. 116 00:08:33,120 --> 00:08:36,400 They're very important for us actually, because you kind of 117 00:08:36,400 --> 00:08:40,120 think we do stupid things or, and very expensive things even, 118 00:08:40,120 --> 00:08:42,799 you know, I remember, gosh, going to Mass was free. 119 00:08:42,799 --> 00:08:45,720 I don't have to pay in. And these are, you know, really 120 00:08:45,720 --> 00:08:48,960 simple, but really, really happy moments. 121 00:08:49,840 --> 00:08:53,960 And so that's this kind of saves this boy the the memory of his 122 00:08:53,960 --> 00:09:00,600 happiness with his father. So, so he turns back and that's 123 00:09:00,600 --> 00:09:05,400 what conversion is. Conversion is turning around as 124 00:09:05,840 --> 00:09:08,560 what it literally means. You turn around. 125 00:09:08,920 --> 00:09:14,200 He's gone off to this resort somewhere and he literally says 126 00:09:14,280 --> 00:09:16,640 I'm going home. It's very beautiful. 127 00:09:16,880 --> 00:09:22,480 Be this memory reminds him of those happy times and he and he 128 00:09:22,480 --> 00:09:27,120 makes his resolution. I will arise and go to my father 129 00:09:27,960 --> 00:09:32,040 and I will say to him, Father, I've sinned against heaven and 130 00:09:32,040 --> 00:09:36,480 before you I'm no longer worthy. Be called your son. 131 00:09:37,280 --> 00:09:39,960 Treat me as one of your hired servants. 132 00:09:40,520 --> 00:09:45,560 What I'd like to imagine here, because when he comes back, 133 00:09:46,320 --> 00:09:49,080 Jesus tells us a lovely detail when he comes back. 134 00:09:49,320 --> 00:09:55,480 The Father saw him while he was still far away, which means the 135 00:09:55,480 --> 00:10:00,320 Father was up on the roof watching out spot. 136 00:10:00,320 --> 00:10:05,120 When will he come back? The father wasn't watching TV or 137 00:10:05,120 --> 00:10:08,080 reading the newspaper. The Father was up on the roof 138 00:10:08,400 --> 00:10:12,240 waiting for him to return. So it's a beautiful, beautiful 139 00:10:12,240 --> 00:10:14,360 detail. It's not like we could kind of 140 00:10:14,360 --> 00:10:15,880 imagine. Oh, the father didn't care. 141 00:10:16,480 --> 00:10:18,880 The father's OK, You're gone. See if I care? 142 00:10:19,280 --> 00:10:22,720 Not at all. Every day is according to our 143 00:10:22,720 --> 00:10:26,920 Lord's description, Obviously, every day his loving Father is 144 00:10:27,080 --> 00:10:31,080 on the roof of the house looking at the horizon. 145 00:10:31,440 --> 00:10:33,880 When would he come back and praying? 146 00:10:34,400 --> 00:10:35,840 Imagine he's praying. He thought it was God the 147 00:10:35,840 --> 00:10:36,840 Father. He was God the Father. 148 00:10:37,120 --> 00:10:42,200 He doesn't to pray, but he's that sense kind of the matter. 149 00:10:42,200 --> 00:10:47,480 He's praying for the boy and and you and where do you think this? 150 00:10:47,840 --> 00:10:51,600 What are the lines that we have in in this Mass that we're about 151 00:10:51,600 --> 00:10:55,840 to have now. Now it is the Lord who speaks. 152 00:10:55,840 --> 00:10:59,080 Come back to me with all your heart. 153 00:11:00,280 --> 00:11:03,320 And that's it kind of exactly what the Father would be saying 154 00:11:05,200 --> 00:11:07,800 and wishing, wishing for his son. 155 00:11:08,560 --> 00:11:10,640 Come back to me with all your heart. 156 00:11:11,440 --> 00:11:16,640 So we think of contrition, you know, we're all, we're all, you 157 00:11:16,640 --> 00:11:20,800 know, showing our contrition. We're all a little bit hungry or 158 00:11:20,800 --> 00:11:23,600 maybe before dinner, we're a bit hungry because we're living our 159 00:11:23,600 --> 00:11:26,960 fast and abstinence. We some of us have ashes. 160 00:11:27,240 --> 00:11:29,480 Maybe we're all of ashes by the end of the evening. 161 00:11:29,960 --> 00:11:35,120 But these are signs. They're signs, Lord, I'm sorry 162 00:11:35,480 --> 00:11:39,080 that I've left you in some way or so in a certain sense, you 163 00:11:39,080 --> 00:11:44,320 know, Lord, I'm sorry that in some way I love food more than I 164 00:11:44,320 --> 00:11:47,640 love you in some way. Lord, I'm sorry that I love 165 00:11:47,640 --> 00:11:53,440 drink more than you or that I'm I love my phone more than I love 166 00:11:53,440 --> 00:11:57,440 you in a certain way because that that is the case. 167 00:11:57,440 --> 00:12:01,200 You know that that's why we're fasting food and drink obviously 168 00:12:01,200 --> 00:12:04,920 today, but, but maybe also our phone, our entertainment, 169 00:12:05,280 --> 00:12:09,080 because we're kind of saying, but I want to, I want to return 170 00:12:09,280 --> 00:12:13,480 to you. And my heart is too immersed in 171 00:12:13,480 --> 00:12:17,520 creatures, creatures that fill me with delight. 172 00:12:18,360 --> 00:12:22,400 You know, umm, we're all different, but different things, 173 00:12:22,800 --> 00:12:26,160 you know, for one person, uh, you know, their favourite 174 00:12:26,160 --> 00:12:30,440 dessert and, and their eyes light up and their heart. 175 00:12:30,720 --> 00:12:34,280 I mean, for me, if I see my favourite dessert, my heart 176 00:12:34,280 --> 00:12:36,640 jumps. You know, all my favourite. 177 00:12:36,640 --> 00:12:39,320 I'm not going to tell you where it is my favourite dessert, you 178 00:12:39,320 --> 00:12:45,360 know, joy, joy, which is lovely. But what happens is that just 179 00:12:45,360 --> 00:12:50,840 like this boy, our heart turns away from God and kind of 180 00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:56,160 adores, almost like worships the creature and the creature is 181 00:12:56,160 --> 00:12:58,320 only a creature. And just because of our 182 00:12:58,320 --> 00:13:02,680 disorder, we kind of OK, it's a nice dessert, but don't make a 183 00:13:02,680 --> 00:13:05,240 God out of it. Oh yeah, the these things are 184 00:13:05,240 --> 00:13:09,400 interesting on our phone, online or our success, even success in 185 00:13:09,400 --> 00:13:12,240 our career, great. But don't make a God out of it. 186 00:13:12,840 --> 00:13:17,120 All these creatures. And so there's a Latin phrase 187 00:13:18,320 --> 00:13:20,440 which I think is quite helpful when we think of what conversion 188 00:13:20,440 --> 00:13:25,240 is. And it says sin is the Latin 189 00:13:25,240 --> 00:13:27,600 phrase is stronger than the English translation. 190 00:13:28,000 --> 00:13:34,960 Sin is an adversio adeo and a convercio and creaturas. 191 00:13:35,560 --> 00:13:38,080 And we have the English word a aversion. 192 00:13:38,800 --> 00:13:42,120 Aversion is a really strong dislike for something. 193 00:13:42,560 --> 00:13:46,720 Oh my God, I have an aversion to that kind of food. 194 00:13:46,720 --> 00:13:51,480 Say I hate it and you so you. But in this phrase, your 195 00:13:51,760 --> 00:13:57,120 aversion from God, you turn away from God and I just don't like 196 00:13:57,120 --> 00:13:59,680 him. And I convert towards creatures. 197 00:14:00,760 --> 00:14:03,880 Give me my dessert or give me the our sinful things as well. 198 00:14:04,440 --> 00:14:06,960 Yeah. And and we turn away from God. 199 00:14:07,320 --> 00:14:09,680 And so conversion is the exact opposite. 200 00:14:10,440 --> 00:14:17,440 We reverse that conversio and deo and deo maybe, and adversio, 201 00:14:17,440 --> 00:14:20,080 our creator or us. So turn your back away from 202 00:14:20,080 --> 00:14:22,320 creatures. That's what we're doing today in 203 00:14:22,320 --> 00:14:25,760 a kind of dramatic way, but all to some degree, you know, in a 204 00:14:25,760 --> 00:14:30,840 very explicit way during the Lent with things we love. 205 00:14:30,840 --> 00:14:33,480 And we kind of think I love them too much. 206 00:14:34,160 --> 00:14:38,680 I love my dessert too much. I love my phone too much. 207 00:14:38,800 --> 00:14:41,800 They're very good things, but I love them too much. 208 00:14:42,120 --> 00:14:46,560 And so and they, they lead me even in small ways, they lead me 209 00:14:46,560 --> 00:14:51,360 to turn away from God. So now I have to turn away from 210 00:14:51,360 --> 00:14:55,360 my food to some degree, turn away from my phone, turn away 211 00:14:55,360 --> 00:15:00,720 from my music, Not completely but making it smaller, put it 212 00:15:00,720 --> 00:15:04,080 that way and turn it to God. This is the the conversion and 213 00:15:04,080 --> 00:15:07,680 this is what the Father is saying, you know, and praying 214 00:15:07,680 --> 00:15:11,560 for his son. Come back to me with all your 215 00:15:11,560 --> 00:15:13,120 heart. Come back to me. 216 00:15:13,520 --> 00:15:17,880 Redirect your heart for me to me because this is where your 217 00:15:17,880 --> 00:15:20,760 happiness is like. You remember when I was thinking 218 00:15:20,760 --> 00:15:24,200 of the boys boy, just like when you were a child in this house, 219 00:15:24,440 --> 00:15:27,080 your happiest moments were here with me. 220 00:15:27,640 --> 00:15:29,960 And so we have to experience that over length as well. 221 00:15:30,360 --> 00:15:34,120 My Lord, my happiest moments are with you actually, and that 222 00:15:34,120 --> 00:15:35,800 wouldn't be the case for all eternity. 223 00:15:38,080 --> 00:15:41,960 That is what the only thing that can really fill our heart 224 00:15:42,320 --> 00:15:44,080 because our heart is made for God. 225 00:15:44,480 --> 00:15:49,840 So very simple. So the boy arises, he goes when 226 00:15:49,840 --> 00:15:52,800 he's still far away off them. The Father sees him, has 227 00:15:52,800 --> 00:15:57,680 compassion, and he and and ran. It's very beautiful. 228 00:15:58,440 --> 00:16:00,320 The father doesn't just walk out or wait. 229 00:16:00,320 --> 00:16:01,960 We just sit there with his arms folded. 230 00:16:02,280 --> 00:16:08,320 The father runs out and embraces him and kiss him even before the 231 00:16:08,320 --> 00:16:10,720 boy says anything. There's a beautiful painting, 232 00:16:10,720 --> 00:16:13,720 the beautiful painting by Rembrandt, the prodigal son. 233 00:16:13,720 --> 00:16:17,360 You see it and the the boy's a mess, but the father's there 234 00:16:17,640 --> 00:16:21,800 embracing him. And then the son starts off with 235 00:16:21,800 --> 00:16:25,600 his little act of contrition. Father, I have sinned against 236 00:16:25,600 --> 00:16:28,760 heaven and before you. I'm no longer worthy to be 237 00:16:28,760 --> 00:16:32,440 called your son. But the Father hears hears his 238 00:16:32,440 --> 00:16:35,600 contrition and that's very good. He makes his act contrition. 239 00:16:36,960 --> 00:16:40,720 And that is very much what we do in in confession. 240 00:16:41,400 --> 00:16:43,640 That's why confession is an important part of Lent. 241 00:16:44,360 --> 00:16:48,240 It's really important because and a good quality confession 242 00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:51,320 where no, we don't have to. We don't have to break down 243 00:16:51,320 --> 00:16:53,920 crying if you want you can, but we don't have to be. 244 00:16:53,920 --> 00:16:57,680 We don't have to cry, but we do have to feel contrition 245 00:16:57,680 --> 00:17:00,520 literally is your our our heart is broken. 246 00:17:01,240 --> 00:17:06,119 Remember where this lovely line today from the prophet Joel, Let 247 00:17:06,119 --> 00:17:11,200 your let your heart be broken and not your garments torn. 248 00:17:12,040 --> 00:17:14,040 The tear the Jews used to tear their garments. 249 00:17:14,200 --> 00:17:19,640 They're very superficial and and and Jesus Joel is saying no, 250 00:17:19,800 --> 00:17:23,720 none of it your garments that's exterior things or the ashen or 251 00:17:23,720 --> 00:17:28,119 forehead great, but the more the important thing is your heart is 252 00:17:28,119 --> 00:17:33,280 a bit broken because we see our sins nor the things I do against 253 00:17:33,280 --> 00:17:39,760 you against you against others, the nasty things I think and say 254 00:17:39,760 --> 00:17:42,480 about others. I'm I'm really sorry my that 255 00:17:42,480 --> 00:17:47,120 breaks my heart and even the things I do against myself, my, 256 00:17:47,680 --> 00:17:52,800 my over indulging my wasting hours of time and whatever 257 00:17:52,800 --> 00:17:56,000 social media, whatever. And these are the three the 258 00:17:56,000 --> 00:17:59,840 three areas that we're trying to cure over Lent. 259 00:18:00,560 --> 00:18:05,520 The things I do against God with the cure for that is prayer. 260 00:18:06,520 --> 00:18:12,200 The things I do against others, my nasty words at times, my 261 00:18:12,200 --> 00:18:16,880 nasty thoughts against others, Am's giving the things I do 262 00:18:16,880 --> 00:18:21,000 against myself over indulging in food or social media or 263 00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:24,160 whatever, fasting. So it's these are three 264 00:18:24,160 --> 00:18:27,640 traditional practises of lame, but you see why they're like 265 00:18:27,800 --> 00:18:31,960 they're medicine prayer because we we act against God. 266 00:18:32,440 --> 00:18:35,920 Am's giving in a general sense because we act against others 267 00:18:36,480 --> 00:18:40,120 and fasting because we act against ourself with our sins. 268 00:18:40,520 --> 00:18:43,480 These are the three remedies we hear about in today's gospel. 269 00:18:43,960 --> 00:18:48,000 Jesus talks very explicitly about praying when you when you 270 00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:51,400 pray going to your in your room when you give alms, don't let 271 00:18:51,400 --> 00:18:53,720 your right hand know what your left hand is doing when you're 272 00:18:53,720 --> 00:18:56,200 fasting. Don't don't have it. 273 00:18:56,200 --> 00:18:58,320 You have it written all over your face. 274 00:18:59,040 --> 00:19:02,640 And so this is it the three relationships, but also in this 275 00:19:02,960 --> 00:19:07,520 we have to see. Well, Lord, help me to that 276 00:19:07,520 --> 00:19:10,680 underlying this is real. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Lord, that 277 00:19:10,680 --> 00:19:13,800 I've treated you badly. I'm sorry that I've treated 278 00:19:13,880 --> 00:19:17,320 others badly and I'm sorry I also have treated myself badly 279 00:19:17,800 --> 00:19:22,680 with my with my sins. Now, just for some practical 280 00:19:22,680 --> 00:19:26,560 ideas. There's a there's a prayer, the 281 00:19:27,080 --> 00:19:29,720 the opening prayer of the Mass, which we're about to celebrate. 282 00:19:30,680 --> 00:19:33,840 It's a very interesting line. It's I'll read it. 283 00:19:33,840 --> 00:19:38,320 It says, granted, Lord, that we may begin with holy fasting this 284 00:19:38,520 --> 00:19:42,040 campaign by campaign. It means like a battle, we're 285 00:19:42,040 --> 00:19:46,200 going to battle of Christian service so that as we take a 286 00:19:46,200 --> 00:19:53,320 battle against spiritual evils, we may be armed with weapons of 287 00:19:53,360 --> 00:19:56,720 self restraint. So it's funny is the idea is 288 00:19:56,720 --> 00:19:59,440 that we're all heading off into battle and just that the 289 00:19:59,440 --> 00:20:03,160 soldiers will be given there as your your rifle and there's 290 00:20:03,160 --> 00:20:05,720 your, your bullets and there's your helmet. 291 00:20:06,040 --> 00:20:10,000 And so we're heading off into battle and the weapons were 292 00:20:10,080 --> 00:20:13,720 taking up and there's your sobriety, there's your 293 00:20:13,720 --> 00:20:17,600 temperance with food, there's your temperance with your phone, 294 00:20:17,840 --> 00:20:19,840 there's your temperance with your tongue. 295 00:20:20,200 --> 00:20:22,920 And these things, these are your weapons because otherwise you're 296 00:20:22,920 --> 00:20:25,000 going to get shot dead on day one. 297 00:20:25,080 --> 00:20:30,160 You need these, your weapons. And so these are the our weapons 298 00:20:30,160 --> 00:20:32,840 for this campaign. And it's a 40 day campaign. 299 00:20:32,840 --> 00:20:36,600 We're all heading off to, to war now and there's finally just one 300 00:20:36,600 --> 00:20:38,320 little. It's a prayer which you don't 301 00:20:38,320 --> 00:20:41,280 see because we use it in the, in the bravery. 302 00:20:41,440 --> 00:20:45,240 So we priests pray it. But I find it very striking 303 00:20:45,840 --> 00:20:50,000 because it gives a very good, I think a very practical way to 304 00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:54,000 approach Lent again in Latin. I think it's a little bit more, 305 00:20:54,360 --> 00:20:59,280 it's a little bit more strong, but it says utama, ergo parchis. 306 00:20:59,560 --> 00:21:04,920 Let's use more sparingly. And it mentions things that we 307 00:21:04,920 --> 00:21:07,560 should use more sparingly. And the very first one it 308 00:21:07,560 --> 00:21:11,200 mentions isn't food, it isn't drink, it isn't the mobile 309 00:21:11,200 --> 00:21:13,240 phone. It's words. 310 00:21:14,080 --> 00:21:18,640 It's kind of funny. Let us be more sparing in our 311 00:21:18,640 --> 00:21:21,560 words. Don't you know? 312 00:21:21,560 --> 00:21:24,200 It's almost like we should have, you know, feel that we have a, a 313 00:21:25,640 --> 00:21:30,040 kind of quota of words, you know, like, OK, you've finished 314 00:21:30,040 --> 00:21:32,400 your quota. You know, it's only half nine in 315 00:21:32,400 --> 00:21:34,920 the morning, but you've used up your quota and that's it. 316 00:21:34,920 --> 00:21:38,120 No more words today. And what Pope Leo says in his 317 00:21:38,120 --> 00:21:43,960 lovely message for Lent, he says, he says we don't normally 318 00:21:43,960 --> 00:21:48,480 think in this way, but we should be obstinious in our in our 319 00:21:48,480 --> 00:21:53,240 words, meaning he's really thinking about our words are 320 00:21:53,240 --> 00:21:57,440 often cruel that we somebody say to people or more often say 321 00:21:57,440 --> 00:22:00,200 about people. And so he says, let's try to be 322 00:22:00,200 --> 00:22:10,240 very abstemious, porcius barco or more reserved, less words to 323 00:22:10,240 --> 00:22:14,200 people, especially harsh words to people about people and even 324 00:22:14,200 --> 00:22:18,600 mental words, words in our own mind that are never said to 325 00:22:18,600 --> 00:22:23,160 anybody else judgements. And so that's that's a lovely 326 00:22:23,160 --> 00:22:27,200 message from Pope Leo saying that's a very important area of 327 00:22:27,200 --> 00:22:30,800 being of kind of blend. Let's be more obstinous with 328 00:22:30,800 --> 00:22:33,840 these words. The ones we say to people about 329 00:22:33,840 --> 00:22:36,720 people are that they never come out of our mind, but they're 330 00:22:36,720 --> 00:22:39,600 then said in our own mind. That's the very first one. 331 00:22:39,880 --> 00:22:44,000 So let's be more sparing in words, food. 332 00:22:44,680 --> 00:22:46,640 And then it mentions two other ones, which you won't have. 333 00:22:46,960 --> 00:22:52,200 You never have guessed Yochis at Somnol. 334 00:22:52,680 --> 00:22:57,640 So sleep, sleep, don't overdo sleep. 335 00:22:57,640 --> 00:23:01,200 Kind of interesting. Not that we should be like 5 336 00:23:01,200 --> 00:23:05,040 hours a night to sleep properly, but don't overdo sleep. 337 00:23:05,760 --> 00:23:07,640 Now you're going to think, well, actually, that could also be 338 00:23:07,640 --> 00:23:11,520 part of a Lenten campaign. Don't do, I'm not going to have 339 00:23:11,520 --> 00:23:13,840 whatever hours of sleep, but don't overdo sleep. 340 00:23:14,440 --> 00:23:17,480 And then the other one is Yoch's, which is games. 341 00:23:18,560 --> 00:23:25,240 Games again, not oh not saying no games, it's saying purchase 342 00:23:25,560 --> 00:23:30,000 more sparing and games basically means entertainment. 343 00:23:30,840 --> 00:23:35,320 So we just that we're not so not entertaining ourselves so much 344 00:23:36,080 --> 00:23:41,400 on our again, on our phone, our music going out for 345 00:23:41,400 --> 00:23:44,920 entertainments, just more sparing because that's one of 346 00:23:44,920 --> 00:23:46,000 the areas. Actually, there's a book 347 00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:49,360 published in the 1960s and things have not got any better 348 00:23:49,360 --> 00:23:51,080 since then. But the title of this book, 349 00:23:51,200 --> 00:23:54,920 quite a famous book entertaining ourselves to death. 350 00:23:55,520 --> 00:23:57,360 It's the famous it's by a guy called Postman. 351 00:23:57,880 --> 00:24:00,800 But because he just even said he said there, wow, we're an 352 00:24:00,800 --> 00:24:02,960 entertainment culture. That's the 1960s. 353 00:24:03,480 --> 00:24:06,240 And it's true how much we entertain ourselves. 354 00:24:07,120 --> 00:24:12,080 So Porcius less, less of this because again, this creature, 355 00:24:12,080 --> 00:24:16,360 which is entertainment, which is good, but we go overboard and 356 00:24:16,360 --> 00:24:19,640 actually entertain every other moment of the day. 357 00:24:20,160 --> 00:24:24,080 I, you know, listen to my my podcast and I listen to my music 358 00:24:24,320 --> 00:24:26,840 and then I'm looking at a little video and then, Oh my God, I 359 00:24:26,840 --> 00:24:29,120 haven't been entertained in, in in 3 minutes. 360 00:24:29,120 --> 00:24:33,600 I better get entertained again. So too much so purchase. 361 00:24:34,160 --> 00:24:36,920 So I think that's very, I think that's a very, very, very 362 00:24:36,920 --> 00:24:39,880 practical thing for our Lenten campaign. 363 00:24:40,400 --> 00:24:42,880 But always thinking, Lord, whether it's, you know, I'm 364 00:24:42,880 --> 00:24:46,760 turning my back a little bit on my entertainment, my sleep, on 365 00:24:46,760 --> 00:24:53,000 my, on my drink, on my words, so that my heart, like the prodigal 366 00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:56,880 son's heart, is going back to the father and rediscovering the 367 00:24:56,880 --> 00:25:00,840 joy of being with my father. Much greater joy than food or 368 00:25:00,840 --> 00:25:03,120 drink or entertainment can ever give me. 369 00:25:03,440 --> 00:25:06,720 So that's our campaign. So let's ask Our Lady to help us 370 00:25:06,720 --> 00:25:12,720 over these these 40 days. Persevere not to give up after a 371 00:25:12,720 --> 00:25:16,280 week to stick at it. And then, because then we go to 372 00:25:16,280 --> 00:25:20,360 the great joy of being so close to you, Lord, in Holy Week, and 373 00:25:20,360 --> 00:25:21,720 especially them. For these 374 00:25:32,060 --> 00:25:35,540 I give you thanks, my God, for the good resolutions, affections 375 00:25:35,540 --> 00:25:39,300 and inspirations you have communicated to me in this 376 00:25:39,300 --> 00:25:42,740 meditation. I ask you for help to put them 377 00:25:42,740 --> 00:25:46,580 into effect. My mother, Immaculate St Joseph, 378 00:25:46,580 --> 00:25:50,540 my father, Lord, my guardian Angel, intercede for me.