Pictured is a cross in front of stained glass windows at St. John Vianney Parish in Goodyear, Arizona.
“Repent, and believe in the Gospel.” It’s Lent – prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. To get into these 40 days, it may seem unusual, but let us turn to Christmas. Doing so might keep us from the rerun attitude of “here we go again. “
These are Pope Leo’s words taken from his homily during Christmas Midnight Mass.
“Jesus…lives among us. To find the Savior, one must not gaze upward, but look below…even a stable can become more sacred than a temple. In the child Jesus, God does not give us a clever solution to every problem, but a love story that draws us in.”
To find our Savior this Lent, let me suggest that we take an unblinking look toward this earth below. Let us gaze at “the stable” of our lives as human beings, convinced that Jesus lives among us, and we will find Him there. There is plenty in that “stable” that draws us to the marvelous Love story made known on Good Friday and Easter.
First of all, there is great beauty in the “stable” of human life. One humble example can be found in the recent celebration of the Winter Olympics. Kristy Coventry, the IOC President, spoke to the athletes from her heart as she described what it means to be human – to dream, to overcome, to respect and care for one another.
Coventry said, “This is why we all love the games. Because through you [athletes] we see the very best in ourselves. You remind us that we can be brave, that we can be kind, that we can get back up no matter how hard we fall.”
Even Jesus fell under the weight of the cross. And so have we. Lent is the opportunity to bravely get back up in order to reestablish the beauty of our lives, in order to begin again to love as He did.
Taking a hard look at the “stable stuff” of human life, we cannot help but see, side by side with human beauty, the raw reality of human suffering. There is poverty. There is hunger. There is sickness.
This past January, when Bishop Patrick Neary, C.S.C., [a Holy Cross Priest], accepted the position of Board Chairman of Catholic Relief Services (CRS) he said, “My years in Africa and in parish ministry have shown me the face of Christ in the poor and the vulnerable. CRS embodies the Church’s mission of compassion. … with a merciful heart, together we will continue to bring the light of Christ to … those most in need.”
Bishop Neary’s words become a practical reality through the Lenten alms you and I give to CRS.
$20 buys 2 bags of nutrient-rich fertilizer.
$40 buys a flock of egg-laying chickens.
$60 buys 2 scrap-eating pigs that become bacon.
$300 buys 1 milk-producing cow.
“I was hungry and you gave me food.” Matthew 25: 35
The “stable stuff” upon which we gaze, in addition to human beauty and human suffering, unfortunately includes violence, cruelty, and evil. We need only look at news reports to observe the heartbreaking treatment of the stranger among us.
The Pope and the U.S. Bishops themselves have urged prayers as well as action in the face of what we see. Let us allow Lent to be a time for prayers that move us – that violence will end and respect for the dignity of every human being will be restored.
“Loving God, your Son Jesus said your Kingdom is like a banquet.
a festive gathering for all people of every race and color –
a table at which the lonely find company,
and the hungry savor rich foods and fine wines,
and strangers enjoy warm family ties.Give us the spirit of joyful welcome,
that people on the move may know that they belong.
Grant that our tables at home may draw new neighbors
from other lands into a loving community.
And that the Eucharistic tables in our parishes
may prefigure that banquet in heaven where all
are one with you.” Catholic Household Blessings & Prayers
Fr. Thomas K. Zurcher, C.S.C.
Cross & Anchor Reflection provided by Rev. Thomas K. Zurcher, C.S.C., March 2026
