[media presentation below] GospelThink Wednesday, February 14, Ash Wednesday MATTHEW 6:1-6,16-18 Three ways to be holy: give to others, pray for what you need, and deny yourself. Prayerthoughts a. I do many things that can be called “righteous deeds.” What is my motivation behind them—that is, why do I do them—to be praised or paid or actually to help someone? b. “Giving alms” is an automatic in Christian spirituality. Do I give of my time or talent or money on behalf of a good cause with no desire to receive something in return? c. The Lord wants my “almsgiving” to be secret. As I study my “giving” to others during this week, how many people knew about it? d. The Lord wants my prayer to be sincere. Do I make a show of my prayer so that others see what I am doing and therefore “praise” me? Am I praying all the time and not just  at assigned times like in Church? e. I must be careful as I study another not to assign an evil intention to what they are doing. I cannot read another’s mind when it comes to their praying or giving or fasting. f. The Lord wants my fasting (from food, television, Internet, etc.) to be in secret. The fasting should remind me to turn to God more in my life. During this Lent, am I choosing some “fasting”? g. My prayerthoughts…   Today, I will determine a specific spiritual act that I will do during this Lent. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy  THE ROBOT AND A QUESTION           Once upon a time, there was someone who was very brilliant and very wise.  At some point in time, that brilliant one created a robot that looked so much like the creator that it was difficult to tell them apart.           The brilliant one was pleased with the robot, and loved it, and even wanted to do more.  So, with a little more effort, the brilliant one managed at long last to give the robot his independence.           When the brilliant one’s friends heard of it, they cried, “To create is one thing, but to give independence is a mistake.  The beginning of trouble is freedom!”           Well, at first, the robot was pleased with his new-found freedom, and thanked the brilliant one very much, but after some time, he found that he didn’t have to thank the brilliant one in order to get what he wanted.  He found that he didn’t have to pay any attention to the brilliant one at all.  He found that he could have a lot of fun, enjoy himself, do anything he wanted, and didn’t have to go back to the brilliant one for anything.  Gradually, then, he moved away from the creator.           All the friends of the brilliant one said, “You should not allow such a thing.  The robot misused his freedom, why trust him any further.  Destroy him—you have the power.  How could you let someone insult you so much—to be created and then use the creator for its own good!”           But the brilliant one who was also very wise chose not to listen to the friends, and decided to influence the robot.  The brilliant one said: “I will send my own son, and instruct my son to have the robot change his ways, and come back to me.”           The robot not only did not listen to the son, but he actually killed the son.           “Surely,” the brilliant one’s friends said, “surely now, you will get rid of that robot after what he did to your son.”  But the brilliant wise one said, “No, I love that robot so much that I want to give him the chance to choose me.”  He refused to listen to the friends.           The conclusion of the story is this: the robot… + And there is no conclusion because we are still writing it           – the question of this Lent and every Lent is how can we write a better ending to our story than we have so far. MEDIA PRESENTATION Song: “On My Mind” — Ellie Goulding TRUE UNDERSTANDING OF ANOTHER The Gospel LUKE 24:25-33a Jesus said to the two disciples, “Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he reinterpreted to them what referred to him in all the scriptures. As they approached the village to which they were going, he gave the impression that he was going on farther. But they urged him, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them. And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?” So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem.

Gospelthink: I explained to the two disciples who were fleeing Jerusalem why I had come into the world. Have I sufficiently thanked the Lord for his gift of redemption?

“It’s a little dirty how the whole thing started; I don’t even know what you really intended. Thought that you were cute and you could make me jealous. Next thing that I know you were talking deep like it was mad love to you. You wanted my heart, but I just liked your tattoos. And now I don’t understand it: you don’t mess with love, you mess with the truth; and I know I shouldn’t say it, but my heart don’t understand why I got you on my mind. You didn’t love me, no, not really. Wait, I could have really liked you. I’ll bet that’s why I keep thinking about you. You got yourself in a dangerous zone ’cause we both have the fear, fear of being alone.”

Ellie Goulding’s song “On My Mind” speaks of a specific relationship that is happening as the couple begins to know each other. It started with simple attraction, and then all of a sudden on the man’s part, it became a little more intense. As a consequence, they are not sure where the relationship is going. It may be real, but it may only be “messing with love.” There is a need for understanding in the song. “My heart don’t understand” the lady in the relationship sings. What are the ingredients of “understanding”? Wikipedia quotes Thomas Edison who believed that the concept of understanding comes from the two words under and stand. When people acknowledge that they stand below someone, they make themselves receptive to obtain and retain information from that person, thereby allowing for understanding to occur. Standing under someone makes one humble enough to know the importance of the other person. The two disciples who were on their way to a town called Emmaus after they had heard of Jesus’ Resurrection did not understand Jesus and his mission. Jesus, joining their journey although they did not know it was him, caused them to “stand under” who he was, thereby opening their minds to what the Scriptures had foretold. They finally recognized and understood who he was. Understanding another whether one is speaking of just a friend or romantic love as in Ellie Goulding’s song is an essential ingredient of true love of another. It can be defined as a desire to recognize the other person with the accompanying desire to help if need be. If a person truly “understands” another, that person will recognize the other as important and not just an “object,” and further, such a person will want to help the other be what the other person really wants. Jesus knew the importance of truly understanding another. He wanted his disciples to have such an understanding of him. Listening to Ellie Goulding’s song tells us that in order to understand any romantic love, one must truly “understand” the other in the relationship. They both lead us to see the importance of understanding any person in our relationships.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, Your Son led His disciples to a better understanding of who he was. Studying his example, we can see the importance of the true understanding of other people. Give us the grace to accomplish such a understanding of others. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: We must have an understanding of another before we can truly love her/him. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. In the Gospel, Jesus informed his disciples what the Scriptures had foretold about him. What do you think is the most important thing that Jesus did? Why? 2. The disciples discovered Jesus in the “breaking of bread,” what we have come to understand as the Eucharist in our Church. Why is the Eucharist such an important part of our religion? 3. The disciples returned to Jerusalem, a symbol of their “return” to the understanding of what Jesus wanted. In your opinion, how can the institutional Church improve in its mission? 4. Text analysis: “You mess with the truth.” In context of the song, what is the meaning of the sentence? 5. Analysis: The couple are not in love now because they do not understand each other. What are the signs that we understand another? 6. Analysis: Why is the “fear of being alone” a dangerous zone? 7. In a relationship, when can one tell that the couple is “messing with love”? 8. What is your understanding of “humility”? 9. What is most important in a person’s understanding of another? 10. What does the song “On My Mind” teach young people?