psalm 50 - go for real food - 2nd week of lent Tuesday

In Psalm 50 our responsorial psalm in this mass, God accuses Israel of becoming superficial in their faith.  They recite his statutes and profess his covenant with their mouth and yet they cast behind their backs the word of God.  In a single word this is what we refer to as hypocrisy.  Lain ang hambal, lain ang ginabuhat; palasimba pero palalibak man; naga-hatag limos sa nagakinahanglan pero wala nagahatag sang nagakaigo sa nagatrabaho. Our actions do not coincide with what we believe; our decisions are not informed and formed by our faith.  There is a dichotomy, a separation between belief and deed.  There is a wide gap between faith and action.

Psalm 50 therefore reminds us of the dangers we encounter in our effort to become religious, in our effort to become godly and nowhere is this danger so manifest and so rabid than in lent, in the practices of lent.

There is this place nga sa pagkadamo-damo sang ila gina-procession nga pasos every Good Friday.  Every year nagadugang nga nagadugang so much so that it becomes a spectacle to behold in Good Friday with all the rich dress, the wonderful lights and the beautiful flowers that adorn the caros.  This is just my take.  You know when the human heart cannot be filled and content here it will look for it elsewhere.  When the human heart cannot find meaning here it will find meaning elsewhere.  Ang espiritu naton mangita gid na sang kabulusgan.  If it cannot find meaning in the liturgy it will readily find it in popular devotions, if it cannot find expression in the Mass we celebrate, in the word of God which we read and reflect, it will express itself in those expensive caros and put meaning in them as if they are essential, as if they are that matters most, as if they are the most and the only important thing.  These things are indicative of our life of faith – indicative because it will tell you whether our faith is shallow and hallow or deep and vibrant.

Since the start of Lent I have been insisting, go to mass, daily mass if possible, receive the sacraments, listen to God's word especially, listen to God's word, allow these to lead you, to guide you, ibalik ang pabasa sang pasyon sa mga panimalay during the Holy Week, reflect. 

If you allow me to make a comparison, kon ang aton Lent puro lang pasos, procession, visita iglesia, daw nag-inom lang kita sang cold nga softdrinks – kanami sang pamatyag mo, daw nakabulong sang kauhaw.  Daw – because that is a temporary feeling.  We know for a fact that softdrinks do not really give nourishment, wala sustansia.  I am not saying nga indi maayo ini nga mga butang.  What I am saying is indi ka magpabilin sa sina lang. You need to eat the real food, and the real food for us Catholics are the word of God and the Eucharist. 

So how will this address hypocrisy?  It is our hope that these real food will close the gap between faith and action, between what we believe and what we do.  Lent is the time to go back to the essentials of our faith because only then can we allow God to fire ourselves up in the struggle to make our faith authentic.  Psalm 50 - "Why do you recite my statutes, and profess my covenant with your mouth, Though you hate discipline and cast my words behind you?"