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I don’t know about you, but I find this passage from The Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri J.M. Nouwen an excellent reflection to begin Lent with:

“This is the great mystery of our faith. We do not choose God, God chooses us. From all eternity we are hidden ‘in the shadow of God’s hand’ and ‘engraved in his palm.’ Before any human being touches us, God ‘forms us in secret’ and ‘textures us ‘ in the depth of the earth, and before any human being decides about us, God ‘knits us together in our mother’s womb.’ God loves us before any human person can show love to us. He loves us with a ‘first’ love, an unconditional love, wants us to be his beloved children, and tells us to become as loving as himself…

God has been trying to find me, to know me, and to love me. The question is not ‘How am I to find God?’ but ‘How am I to let myself be found by Him?’ The question is not ‘How am I to know God?’ but ‘How am I to let myself be known by him?’ And finally, the question is not ‘How am I to love God?’ but ‘How am I to let myself be loved by Him?'”

From the unformed embryo to the elderly grandparent, whether we are healthy, disabled or terminally ill, we are the Lord’s. He loves us and wants us to share in His love. Surprisingly, often the greatest challenge of the spiritual life is not to love God, but to allow ourselves to be loved by Him. This can be especially hard during Lent when we spend more time than usual reflecting on all the times we have distanced ourselves from Him by our sin. But even this should not discourage us, for the Lenten season is preparation for the greatest Act of forgiveness and proof of God’s great love for each one of us, even in our sinfulness.

For Christ, while we were still helpless, yet died at the appointed time for the ungodly…God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6, 8 )

This Lent, let us not become discouraged by the recognition of our faults and failings, but humbly accept the limits of our human nature, let go of our sins and allow ourselves to be forgiven and transformed by God’s love and mercy.

Happy Valentine’s Day, readers! As we celebrate romance and love today, let us keep in mind what, or Who, rather, is the source of that love.

“God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. In this is love perfected within us” (1 Jn. 4:16-17)

The romantic love of man and woman, as good and beautiful as it is, is but a reflection, a foreshadowing, of a Greater Love which awaits us and is meant to bring each spouse closer to to that Divine love. That is why

Couples can love each other only to the extent that they let the Creator “define a new level of existence” that places their love in the context of the Absolute. (Called to Love p. 74-75)

The best, indeed, the only way to grow in love with another person is to grow ever closer God, love’s Divine source. Why not end your Valentine’s Day celebration with your loved one today with some time spent in prayer together?

Excellent advice for all single people – especially our youth, from Blessed Marcel Callo:

I am not one to amuse myself with the heart of a lady, since my love is pure and noble. If I have waited until I was 20 years old to go out with a young lady, it is because I knew that I wanted to find real love. One must master his heart before he can give it to the one that is chosen for him by Christ.

Finding real love can take quite some time, but we should never let ourselves settle for less. Nor should we give our hearts (and our bodies) too freely or foolishly in search of that love. God alone is the One who satisfies our every desire. Establish a relationship with Christ first and build on that relationship so that He may a.) create in you a clean heart and guard you against impurity and b.) lead you to a worthy, suitable companion.

Man, did I call this one, or what?! Regarding Focus on the Family’s ad with Tim and Pam Tebow, which playfully depicted the Heisman winner tackling his mother:

NOW president Terry O’Neill said it glorified violence against women. “I am blown away at the celebration of the violence against women in it,” she said. “That’s what comes across to me even more strongly than the anti-abortion message. I myself am a survivor of domestic violence, and I don’t find it charming. I think CBS should be ashamed of itself.”

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Wow. Is she serious? These chicks just don’t know when to quit. Speaking of “violence against women”, how about Betty White getting leveled into a puddle of mud in the Snickers commercial which, according to USA Today’s “Ad Meter”, was the most popular ad of the night? … No? Nothing? Way to be consistent, Ms. O’Neill.

**Update
A friend on Facebook reminded me that it is NOW who promotes the ultimate violence against women and assault on femininity: abortion.

And speaking of Super Bowl ads that NOW probably should have been equally, if not more, offended by, how about the Bridgestone commercial wherein a man sacrificed his wife in order to save his tires? No. Not a peep from NOW about that one, either. Thomas Peters is right; it’s quite obvious after all this that NOW is officially a discredited organization which no one can seriously anymore. Thankfully I never did.

**I’ve added my final thoughts on the ad below

Here’s the first Focus on the Family ad that aired during the Super Bowl pre-game show – very classy:

And here is the ad that aired during the first quarter of the game. LOL, think N.O.W. will start complaining that the ad promotes violence against women? Well done!:

I know what you’re thinking and, yes, that’s all there was to it. Certainly not worth the time and effort pro-aborts spent condemning it and and demanding that it be rejected. In fact, if they would have just kept their mouths shut hardly anyone would have known what Pam was talking about when she said “he almost didn’t make it into this world.” There was no mention of a “difficult pregnancy”, abortion or even choosing life.

I’ve seen reaction from some pro-lifers were underwhelmed, even disappointed, after finally seeing the ad they’ve been passionately defending for the last two weeks. But, really, what did you expect in 30 seconds on national television? If it had been even the slightest bit more overtly “pro-life” it would have never been given air-time. Besides, often subtlety is the best way to win friends and influence people, especially with a subject as emotional and divisive as abortion.

Also, we cannot underestimate the significance of what happened before the ad even aired. For two weeks the hypocrisy of “choice” was on full display and the public was exposed to a true, uplifting story of courage, hope and, above all, self sacrifice. A much needed message for our current culture of selfishness and death. Honestly, you just cannot buy the kind of publicity we’ve seen given to this ad and it’s message. So, thank you N.O.W., NARAL and others for collectively overreacting to what might otherwise have largely gone unnoticed. Hopefully some seeds were planted.

For those who were unaware of the “controversy” prior to seeing the commercial and for whom the message was a little too subtle, hopefully some were directed, as was the ad’s design, to the Focus on the Family website, which features a more in-depth interview with Tim’s parents Bob and Pam and their choice for life.

That’s what I think anyway. What are your thoughts?