The First Fruits

First Sunday of Lent

February 25, 2006

By The Justice and Peace Commission, Arlington (VA) Diocese

www.arlingtondiocese.org/offices/peacejustice

Fr. Gerry Creedon, St Charles Borromeo

Anne Murphy, Commission Consultor

Then you shall declare before the LORD, your God, “My father was a wandering Aramean who went down to Egypt with a small household and lived there as an alien. But there he became a nation great, strong and numerous. When the Egyptians maltreated and oppressed us, imposing hard labor upon us, we cried to the LORD, the God of our fathers, and he heard our cry and saw our affliction, our toil and our oppression. He brought us out of Egypt with his strong hand and outstretched arm, with terrifying power, with signs and wonders; and bringing us into this country, he gave us this land flowing with milk and honey. Therefore, I have now brought you the first fruits of the products of the soil which you, O LORD, have given me.”

And having set them before the LORD, your God, you shall bow down in his presence. Then you and your family, together with the Levite and the aliens who live among you, shall make merry over all these good things which the LORD, your God, has given you. When you have finished setting aside all the tithes of your produce in the third year, the year of the tithes, and you have given them to the Levite, the alien, the orphan and the widow, that they may eat their fill in your own community, you shall declare before the LORD, your God, “I have purged my house of the sacred portion and I have given it to the Levite, the alien, the orphan and the widow, just as you have commanded me. In this I have not broken or forgotten any of your commandments: I have not eaten any of the tithe as a mourner; I have not brought any of it out as one unclean; I have not offered any of it to the dead. I have thus hearkened to the voice of the LORD, my God, doing just as you have commanded me. (Deuteronomy 26: 5-14)

Piety

Father, God of Goodness, we thank you for the harvest the earth has produced for the good of mankind. These gifts witness to your infinite love; may the seeds of charity and justice also bear fruit in our hearts. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen. (Sacramentary: Opening Prayer: After the Harvest.)

• Pray every night for the farmers and the people around the world who feed the world and make their living through farming. Pray for the migrant workers who work in the fields and travel to great lengths to find work, often leaving their homes and families during harvest time.
  
• Participate in one daily Mass each week during Lent.
• Pray the Liturgy of the Hours, the official prayer of the church.(www.e-breviary.com

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/022507.shtml

Grateful for a good harvest, the people of Israel acknowledge that all they have comes from God. This prayer, read at Mass this first Sunday of Lent, is probably part of a ritual liturgy of thanksgiving where the Israelites recount all that God has done for them from the time of Abraham to their deliverance from the Egyptians. Now they are able to live and worship in the land that God has given to them. Included in this recitation is a promise to share what they have with those less fortunate: the alien, the orphan and the widow. In Paul's letter to the Romans, he reminds his listeners that in God's eyes, there are no distinctions among the people of earth; our God is the God of all people. In Luke’s gospel, Jesus is led by the Spirit into the desert for 40 days to be tempted by the devil. He eats nothing during this time and at the end when he is hungry the devil tempts him. Yet he is able to resist temptation because he knows that all good things come from God alone. During this Lenten season, the Spirit is leading us into the desert. The next six weeks are set aside for us by the Church so that we can recommit our lives to God. As Saint Paul tells us, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10: 9) Lent is the season when we deepen our relationship with Jesus, who loves us enough to become one with us; who, through his life, death and resurrection, shows us the way to the Father. So in coming to know Jesus, we, like the Israelites of old, should recount all that he has done for us and continues to do for us in a liturgy of thanksgiving, the Mass. And in remembering that everything we have comes from God, we must share what we have with all God’s children. During the 40 days of Lent, the Church calls each of us to reconnect with God through Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving (P-F-A). Like Jesus' 40 day sojourn in the desert, the Spirit will show us the way to the God.

Question: What worldly concerns keep you from realizing the active presence of God in your life? How can you use this Season of Lent to reconnect with God? How can a desert experience help me? What do I hope to gain being led by the Spirit into the desert?

Action

Fasting:

• What is your response to hunger, homelessness and suffering in the world? Can you make a commitment to one of the organizations in Northern Virginia that serves the marginalized?
• Try to give up one treat this week, maybe a Starbucks Latte, or a sweet treat with your coffee, and donate what you save to Catholic Relief Services (www.crs.org) or an organization that feeds the hungry.
• Support small coffee growers by looking for the Fair Trade logo on the container or package when you buy coffee. You can also look on the CRS website (www.crs.org) to see who sells fair trade coffee products.
• Go vegetarian for a day, a week, or for Lent, it will do a lot of good for the Earth.

Almsgiving:

• Consider making a donation to the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (http://www.usccb.org/cchd/.) This organization is the domestic anti-poverty, social justice program of the U.S. Catholic bishops. Its mission is to address the root causes of poverty in America through promotion and support of community-controlled, self-help organizations and through transformative education.
• Save all your pocket change and put it in the CRS rice bowl collection. If your parish does not have one, contact Terry Angelotti, Arlington Diocese Coordinator for CRS at 703.841.3939 or e-mail www.crs.org to see how you can get your change to them or consider donating the money to a local homeless shelter or soup kitchen.
• During Lent, try to eat local foods as often as possible, thus supporting small farmers. Many locations have farmers’ markets, and Whole Foods often labels local produce and meats. Another way to support local farmers is to join a farming co-op. Go to www.localharvest.org to find a local farm near you.
  
• Join the National Catholic Rural Life Council (www.ncrlc.com ) for updates on legislation affecting small family farms.
  
• Give money to anti-hunger organizations like Bread for the World or Heifer International.
  
• When you eat in a restaurant or order out, take the same amount of money that you spend and give it to the poor.