Meditation: Genesis is a story about separation and reunion. In the beginning of the book, man becomes separated from God through the original sin, and then separated from his brothers through further sins. At the end of the book, we see the beginning of the reunion of the human family through the reunion of Joseph’s family. In this way, Genesis is a microcosm of the spiritual life. We separate ourselves from each other through sin, but through Christ we are reunited. As Easter approaches, let us be sure to reunite with all those we have wronged and all those who have wronged us. We have all failed before the law of God, and so let us forgive and see forgiveness from one another rather than holding grudges. Reading: Gen 43:26-31, 45:1-16 When Joseph came home, they brought into the house to him the present which they had with them, and

Meditation: In today’s reading, Jacob is torn between fulfilling his duty to his father-in-law and following the promises God had given to his family. However, God gives him a way to fulfill his duty, and then his wives tell him to do “whatever God has said.” In our own lives, we are sometimes torn between obligations to others and following God. While we must always fulfill our duties, we can never set this ahead of obeying God. We should do whatever God has said to do. Reading: Gen 31:3-16 Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you.” So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah into the field where his flock was, and said to them, “I see that your father does not regard me with favor as he did before. But the God of

Meditation: When Jacob stole a blessing from his brother Esau, Esau became greatly angered and began to hate his brother to the point of desiring to murder him. When a fellow Catholic does something that we think is wrong, it is easy to begin to hate that person. However, Christ tells us that when you hate your neighbor, you have already murdered him in your heart. We are soon approaching Easter. As we approach the great feast, let us seek to reconcile with our enemies rather than hating them. Reading: Gen 27:1-41 When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called Esau his older son, and said to him, “My son”; and he answered, “Here I am.” He said, “Behold, I am old; I do not know the day of my death. Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow,

Meditation: All throughout the story of Abraham, we have seen that sacrifice is a central theme. Abraham travels around the land of Canaan and manifests his faith to God in the form of sacrifice. This culminates with the greatest sacrifice of all, his willingness to sacrifice his own son, Isaac. As we near the end of Lent, we may feel that we could have done better. We could have sacrificed greater things and been more fervent in our penance. However, Abraham did not have to make the greatest sacrifice until near the end of his life. He offered small sacrifices of birds and animals first. At the beginning of our spiritual lives, even small sacrifices may be difficult. Some may struggle to keep no meat on Fridays even, but that is okay. That is what God is calling them to sacrifice. Others may be able to spend whole days of