Reflection by Rev. Msgr. Joseph Reilly, S.T.L., Ph.D.
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Not too long ago, I was walking down the steps of Mooney Hall here on campus to go and check my mail. About halfway down the stairs, I stopped walking. All of a sudden, I had a déjà vu moment. It was not simply a matter of noticing the steps showing their wear after 114 years of footsteps. I was struck by the familiarity of this path, of how many times over the years this had been my daily routine. I first made this trek in 1979 as a freshman at the Prep making my way to the student locker room that was in the basement. In those initial days, the place was unfamiliar to me. My acceptance and success were uncertain. The people were all unfamiliar to me. Now it is home. The place I call my own and where I find my true self in the Lord.
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I wonder if the Season of Lent could be seen in the same light. By that I mean that each year, over and again, we go through the same motions, same words are prayed, same places of our lives need the light of God’s grace. We’re back in the season of penance, again. These are days of abstinence, again. It’s time for fasting and giving alms, again. We’re making our way, not down the 114-year-old staircase, but along the age-old way of returning to the Lord with our whole hearts.
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And then we get stopped in our tracks. One day there is an awareness, even subtly, that life in the Lord is never just the same old, same old. I’m not the same. God’s grace has changed my heart. I now know his love and mercy more deeply and personally. There is a growing awareness that God’s grace is real and effective. I can see it for myself. God is capable of healing – even me! God does solve problems – even my own! God wants to help me – even in my weakness! God’s love is real, and his mercy is all-encompassing.
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This Lent, God is tugging at your heart. Don’t settle for focusing on the worn steps of your own shortcomings and sin. Find your home in his love. You will discover there your true self.
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Rev. Msgr. Joseph Reilly, S.T.L., Ph.D., Vice Provost for Academics and Catholic Identity Seton Hall University and Rector/Dean Emeritus, Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology. He holds a Bachelor of Sacred Theology from Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, a licentiate in Sacred Theology (STL) from Pontificio Istituto Teresianum, Rome, and a Ph.D. in Educational Administration from Fordham University. He has served as a member of the Archdiocesan Priest Personnel Board, the Advisory Committee on Continuing Education and Ongoing Formation of Priests, the Archdiocesan Vocations Board, and the Board of Trustees of Seton Hall University. Pope John Paul II named him a Chaplain to His Holiness in 2005, with the title of Reverend Monsignor. In 2016 during the Holy Year of Mercy, the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization sought priests who were living signs "of the Father's welcome to all those in search of His forgiveness." He was the only priest from the Archdiocese of Newark formally commissioned as a Missionary of Mercy by Pope Francis.
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