You are in Egypt.

This week, you find yourself with the Israelites in Egypt. The environment has grown hostile and oppressive over the centuries, yet blindness to your slavery has kept you oblivious. But now Moses has been commissioned to proclaim the truth to you. Are you willing to accept the fact that Egypt has you enslaved? A “yes” will demand a complete change in your way of life.

Guideposts

1. Give up control. The disciplines of Exodus 90 provide you the opportunity to give up the control of your life that leads only to coping. In the Egyptian land where you are living, what have you been doing to cope with your situation? Where have you turned for help? Sports, work, pornography? Freedom is far better than coping. The road to freedom, though hard (see Matthew 7:14), is open to you if you are willing to become detached from Egypt and follow God.

2. Commit to your fraternity. This journey is hard. You will be tried and tested. You will need your fraternity, and they will need you. Weekly meetings are a must. (For more on the importance of your fraternity, see “Made for Fraternity” in the Field Guide)

3. Structure a time for daily prayer. Spend an hour of time in prayer every day. If this is impossible, spend as much time as possible, with a minimum of twenty minutes of silent prayer daily. Schedule this time into your day, or it will likely be left behind. (For more on the importance of prayer and an explanation of silent contemplative prayer, see “Fidelity to Prayer” in the Field Guide. For a how to on praying a holy hour, see "How to Pray a Holy Hour” in the Field Guide)

4. Be joyful. You have taken up Christ’s roadmap to freedom. Yes it will be hard, but this should not leave you gloomy. Rather, the hope of freedom in Day 91 and the invitation from God to take up this spiritual exercise should bring you abundant joy. When you talk to non-Exodus Men, do not discuss how miserable the disciplines are. Instead, talk about how much joy you experience when you picture what you will become on Day 91.

5. Examine your day nightly. Exodus 90 contains many disciplines that require a response of “yes” each day. At the end of the day, before you go to sleep, take a moment to examine your day. This will not only help you to say “yes” to the disciplines, it will also show your progress on the road to freedom. (For a how to guide on making a nightly examen, see “How to Make a Nightly Examen” in the Field Guide)

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

When the disciples asked Jesus how to pray, he taught them the “Our Father” (see Luke 11:1-4, Matthew 6:9-13). Join your Exodus brothers all over the world in praying this powerful prayer every day for the intentions above.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen. 

These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob, each with his household: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. All the offspring of Jacob were seventy persons; Joseph was already in Egypt. Then Joseph died, and all his brothers, and all that generation. But the descendants of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong; so that the land was filled with them. 

Your challenging personal journey from slavery to freedom begins with an examination of the opening paragraph of the ancient book of Exodus—the story of the journey of God’s people out of Egypt from slavery to freedom.

Given that the book of Exodus is the tale of the Israelites’ journey out of slavery, it should strike us as odd that we are told that the people were “exceedingly strong; so that the land was filled with them.” Exodus later says that the Pharaoh of Egypt even feared the Israelites. How on earth did the Israelites become enslaved if they were so “exceedingly strong”? Why did they not rise up and free themselves? How was it that, despite their great power, they remained enslaved to a tyrant? It seems a bit pathetic. That is, until we realize that the book of Exodus is telling our story, too.

This ancient text is not only a history of the Israelites. It is also a metaphor for modern men (and for men of all time). Whether the power oppressing you is lust, technology, food, drink, or something else, you now find yourself enslaved, even though as a man, you have been given great strength.

Enslavement does not equate to weakness. In most cases, a man’s brain and body are actually quite strong. More than likely, a man’s personal strength is one reason why he finds himself isolated and enslaved. Men are strong, and when a man tries to navigate life and its many difficulties on his own, he grasps at anything that will bring him consolation and security. Over the course of his life (and especially when he is young), he finds and puts to use objects or activities that he thinks will make him happy. He uses these things to his perceived advantage.

But as life goes on, he begins to realize that he has been caught by self-deception. He comes to see that the things he has pursued are not helping him. They are devoid of truth, and they do not bring him the happiness he is longing for. Worse, they have entangled him in deeply rooted attachments and bad habits. As much as he may desire freedom (and regardless of his strength), he cannot seem to break free of what entraps him. Like the Israelites, he is now positioned to learn one of Sacred Scripture’s greatest truths: that freedom comes from God alone. The Israelite people were exceedingly strong but unable to free themselves, and modern man often finds himself in the same situation.

How many times have you made energetic attempts to “set yourself free,” only to discover that you can’t? Hundreds? As we begin this momentous journey, this intense spiritual exercise, never forget this awesome truth: united as a fraternity, you can do this—but it will be God who grants your freedom.

You are in Egypt.

Are you willing to accept that Egypt has you enslaved? A “yes” will demand a complete change in your way of life.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen. 

Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. And he said to his people, “Behold, the sons of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war befall us, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens; and they built for Pharaoh store-cities, Pithom and Raamses. But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the sons of Israel. So they made the sons of Israel serve with rigor, and made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field; in all their work they made them serve with rigor. 

Consider: the Egyptians were anxious to keep the Israelites from becoming too strong, lest they start an uprising. The Egyptians dealt cleverly with them. They “set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens.” They preoccupied them with many tasks. As the Israelites grew burdened with the daily grind of work, they became distracted and lost touch with their freedom and strength. No man can be a hero when he is so burdened that he doesn’t have time to look up and consider his circumstances. So the Israelites (who were actually growing in power) were compelled to work even harder for their taskmasters, and they remained enslaved.

Today, our taskmaster (the evil one) uses the brick and mortar in our lives to control us; to keep us from our true sonship to keep us from getting too strong. Like Pharaoh, envious for power, he is crafty in the methods he uses to hold us down.

Think of the mortar and brick that preoccupies you: the endless work, the frantic activity, the constant push to get ahead. And consider all the other things the taskmaster uses to enslave you: alcohol, pornography, lust, pride, fear of failure, competition with others, money, sports, and status. All these things tend to make your life bitter. But you do not need to be oppressed by them. Deciding to remove them teaches you that you can live without them and can escape their hold on you that distracts you from more important things.

Men certainly have much that they are duty-bound to do. But most modern men would greatly benefit from simplifying their lives. Spend time today identifying areas where your life might be simplified. Invite the Lord into this conversation and write down your conclusions. This is an early step to freedom.

Note to married men: Any simplifications or changes to your way of life should be well communicated with your spouse. For more on how to live Exodus as a married man, see “The Exodus Man and His Bride” in the Field Guide. 

You are in Egypt.

Are you willing to accept that Egypt has you enslaved? A “yes” will demand a complete change in your way of life.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen. 

Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, “When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, she shall live.” But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live. So the king of Egypt called the midwives, and said to them, “Why have you done this, and let the male children live?” The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous and are delivered before the midwife comes to them.” So God dealt well with the midwives; and the people multiplied and grew very strong. And because the midwives feared God he gave them families. Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live.” 

In his great fear that the Israelites would rise up from their enslavement, Pharaoh instructs the midwives to do something extremely grotesque: they are to kill every infant boy they deliver, thus suffocating Israel’s future. The midwives heroically elude the command, but Pharaoh is unrelenting. He orders his own people to drown the Hebrews’ male infants in the Nile River.

St. Methodius considers Pharaoh a “type of the devil.”[2]  Just as Pharaoh ordered the Israelite baby boys killed, so the devil tries to kill a man’s virtue. The waters of the Nile are like our passions, and the evil one wants our souls cast into those waters to drown. When that happens, the offspring of slavery (sin) lives on, while the offspring of freedom (virtue) is suffocated. Every man knows the dreaded pain of this interior suffocation: the loneliness of pornography, the emptiness of alcohol abuse, the boredom of an unexamined life and an unending pursuit of entertainment.

You are now on day three of your determination to be liberated from these things. It may be that even as you start creating space between yourself and your idols, it feels as though you are moving straight through them. St. Augustine observes this irony in the Exodus story: the Israelites who were enslaved and condemned to drown, walk through the waters of the Red Sea into freedom. Our culture surrounds us with a constant invitation to mindless and destructive pleasures. We are like the Israelites, walking toward freedom with two giant walls of water to our left and right. But with the strength of God opening the way, our one task is to move forward.

Thank the Lord for opening the way for you today, and receive the courage to move forward. 

You are in Egypt.

Are you willing to accept that Egypt has you enslaved? A “yes” will demand a complete change in your way of life.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen. 

Now a man from the house of Levi went and took to wife a daughter of Levi. The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months. And when she could hide him no longer she took for him a basket made of bulrushes, and daubed it with bitumen and pitch; and she put the child in it and placed it among the reeds at the river’s brink. And his sister stood at a distance, to know what would be done to him. Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, and her maidens walked beside the river; she saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid to fetch it. When she opened it she saw the child; and behold, the baby was crying. She took pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.” Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother. And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away, and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son; and she named him Moses, for she said, “Because I drew him out of the water.” 

The Israelites are hopelessly enslaved in Egypt when suddenly, God raises up a liberator. As you will see in the coming days, the birth of Moses and his vocation as a liberator will foreshadow the great liberator: Jesus Christ. Even now, you can begin to see the similarities between the two. Just as Moses was saved shortly after his birth from the murderous Pharaoh, so Jesus was protected from Herod’s attempt to stop his predicted rise in power through a similar genocide of innocent children (see Matthew 2:13-16).

Moses received his name when the daughter of Pharaoh said, “I drew him out of the water.” You too were drawn out of the water when you were baptized. You were rescued from the tyranny of the evil one and made a son of the Most High.

Baptism is an often forgotten rite of passage. Yet, St. Paul was insistent about its importance: “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ... so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:3–4). The freedom you seek through this exodus stems from the new life you received in baptism.

Recall the graces of your baptism today, and look to the one who gave you those graces. He desires to stir up in you the gift of new life once more. Speak openly with him today. Give him thanks for the invitation to this spiritual exercise and ask him why he is so generously offering you the gift of new life once more. The answer will be one of great love.

You are in Egypt.

Are you willing to accept that Egypt has you enslaved? A “yes” will demand a complete change in your way of life.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen. 

One day, when Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and looked on their burdens; and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his people. He looked this way and that, and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. When he went out the next day, behold, two Hebrews were struggling together; and he said to the man that did the wrong, “Why do you strike your fellow?” He answered, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid, and thought, “Surely the thing is known.” When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh, and stayed in the land of Midian; and he sat down by a well. Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters; and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. The shepherds came and drove them away; but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock. When they came to their father Reuel, he said, “How is it that you have come so soon today?” They said, “An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and even drew water for us and watered the flock.” He said to his daughters, “And where is he? Why have you left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread.” And Moses was content to dwell with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah. She bore a son, and he called his name Gershom; for he said, “I have been a sojourner in a foreign land.” In the course of those many days, the king of Egypt died. And the sons of Israel groaned under their bondage, and cried out for help, and their cry under bondage came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God saw the sons of Israel, and God knew their condition. 

Men are at their best and finest when they are truly “men for others.” A mature and self-mastered man formed under God’s hand possesses a great strength that comes from the new life in him. That greatness is most surely expressed in his willingness to serve others—to use his strength for “the other,” whether his wife, his children, his brothers, his neighbors, his church, or his country. Most of us have fallen into the bad habit of putting our own needs and desires first, and only considering the needs of others second, if at all.

In today’s Scripture passage, we see Moses using his youthful strength to intervene to help others. He sees that the daughters of Reuel (Jethro) can’t fend for themselves against a pack of rogue shepherds. When men are focused on the care, support, and defense of those who are weaker and in need, God uses their strength for the good of others. God will do that with Moses. He will raise him to be the liberator and ruler of his people.

We men are called each day to make an act of the will; to look past our own wants and needs in favor of those around us. Take this call to your holy hour. Ask yourself, “Who is depending on you? Who looks to you for protection or help in the face of life’s injustices and dangers? Who has entrusted himself or herself to you, hoping that you will be a firm support; a man who can be relied upon? Who needs to trust that you will not stand idly by when the need arises, but will get involved on their behalf even when it’s inconvenient for you? Life becomes meaningful as you generously give of yourself to others. Are you willing to live that kind of life? Are you willing to step forward and be a man for others?

You are in Egypt.

Are you willing to accept that Egypt has you enslaved? A “yes” will demand a complete change in your way of life.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen. 

Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian; and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, “I will turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.” When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here am I.” Then he said, “Do not come near; put off your shoes from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. 

Note the way God and Moses come to their profound friendship. It is not Moses who goes wandering in search of God. Instead, it is God who seeks out Moses. Moses is going about his usual business when God calls him by name. Only then does Moses respond. St. Teresa of Avila often used the metaphor of a sunflower to describe the same reality. As the morning light floods the world, a sunflower will turn its head toward the sun. But this happens only after it has been touched by the sun’s rays. In the same way, when a soul turns toward God, it is because God has taken the initiative and touched that soul.

There may be a thousand reasons why you decided to take up this spiritual exercise. But it is important to remember that you did not initiate the choice. It was God himself who first called you. Through that call, God has opened you to a more profound relationship with him. Look at the last six days: what kind of a start have you made? Whether you charged in zealously with a too-strong dose of self-reliance or began hesitantly with a looming fear of failure, either way it is God who called you here. Because he first called, he will also provide. Grace and help are being offered to you every moment of every day. Don’t look at yourself, but at the Lord, and receive the grace he is providing.

During the course of these ninety days, God will reveal himself more fully to you. The initiative is all his, but it’s your part to respond to that initiative. Use this blessed time to “turn toward God,” to discover him as he reveals himself to you.

Be attentive to the Lord’s call to you in your holy hour today. Respond as Moses did by saying, “Here I am, Lord.” Then, ask him to begin revealing himself and his grace to you today more than ever before.

You are in Egypt.

Are you willing to accept that Egypt has you enslaved? A “yes” will demand a complete change in your way of life.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen. 

Then the Lord said, “I have seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters; I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And now, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to me, and I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring forth my people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?” He said, “But I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought forth the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God upon this mountain. Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the sons of Israel, ‘I am has sent me to you.’” God also said to Moses, “Say this to the sons of Israel, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you’: this is my name for ever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt; and I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt, to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.” And they will listen to your voice; and you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; and now, we beg you, let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’ I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand. So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders which I will do in it; after that he will let you go. And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you shall not go empty, but each woman shall ask of her neighbor, and of her who sojourns in her house, jewelry of silver and of gold, and clothing, and you shall put them on your sons and on your daughters; thus you shall despoil the Egyptians.” 

Freedom comes from God alone. We see this in the story of the Israelites. In today’s Scripture passage, God tells Moses that he will release the Israelites from the grip of the Egyptians. He then says that he will lead them into the “promised land,” which sounds good, except that the land happens to be inhabited by Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—all enemies of the Israelites.

Can you imagine what Moses was thinking? “You intend to wrench us out of the grip of Pharaoh (which can hardly go well), only to drop us in the middle of all our other enemies?” Is it any wonder that Moses wanted to be left alone? But to give Moses courage, God does something utterly remarkable. He reveals his sacred name: “I am who I am.”

In ancient times, it was understood that a name had power and communicated something of the being of the one named. When God reveals his name to Moses, he lends him his divine power. He is giving Moses a reason to have confidence in the mission set before him. Moses needs only to call upon God in trust.

Also note the significance of the mission given to Moses and the message he is told to deliver to the Israelites. Here again, Moses prefigures Christ. Just as Moses was sent by God to the Israelites (“… say this to the sons of Israel, that I Am has sent me to you”), so Christ was sent by the Father to liberate all of us. “Do not fear,” Jesus says, “only believe” (Luke 8:50). As you take up your disciplines, dying to yourself and struggling all the while, keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. He was sent to you to free you from yourself, from sin, and from slavery. As you fight the day-to-day battle for freedom, remember that God fights right there with and for you.

Call upon God now. He is waiting to give you his power and his strength.   

You are in Egypt.

The Israelites are far from free. Moses and Aaron’s obedience to God has only made life more difficult for them, making their enslavement much more apparent than ever before. By this point in our exodus, our enslavement has also become more evident. The disciplines have magnified attachments to human comforts we didn’t know we had. Our routine is forming, but we are nowhere near free. Why are we making life more difficult for ourselves by our obedience to God? Wouldn’t it be easier to quit this exercise and remain a comfortable slave for eternity? This is the consideration the Israelites, and we, face this week.

Guideposts

1. Make a good confession. Trying to enter into this spiritual exercise without first going to confession is like trying to summit Mount Rainier with ninety-five pounds of rocks in your pack: doable, but foolish. The cross you must take up daily is heavy enough as it is. Let the Lord take those rocks out of your pack. Go to confession so that you can scale this mountain and truly be free.

2. Stick with the daily reflections. If you don’t do the daily Scripture readings and reflections, you’re not actually doing this spiritual exercise. Reading the daily Scripture readings and reflections allows Jesus Christ, the Word, to lead you on your exodus. You don’t stop taking cold showers just because you don’t like them, so don’t stop reading the reflections daily just because you don’t like to. Stick with these reflections. They will keep you and your fraternity united during your exodus.

3. Add one extra Mass to your week. When asked what one thing he would challenge men to do to help them grow in their faith, a priest at the Augustine Institute responded, “Have them go to Mass just one more day per week.” Now is the time. Choose a day of the week and a specific Mass time that you will attend each week in addition to your usual Mass attendance. (For more on the impact of adding one additional daily Mass per week and the way Exodus Men have done this as a fraternity in the past, see the sub-section titled, “Strengthen Your Fraternity,” within the section entitled “Made for Fraternity” in the Field Guide)

4. Consider reading the Field Guide. If you didn’t have the time to read the Field Guide for this spiritual exercise before you began your exodus, consider reading it tonight or this Sunday. The Field Guide frames the experience of this spiritual exercise and helps you understand the reason why each part of this exercise exists. Understanding the “why” will help you commit to the “what” with greater joy and a more zealous heart.

5. Know where your anchor is. You have committed to checking in daily with your anchor. He is counting on you to fulfill your commitment. If you have been checking in daily, great. If you haven’t been, now’s the day to start. You will soon need your anchor as much as he needs you. (Think daily check-ins with your anchor aren’t important? See the sub-section titled, “Be a Well Set Anchor,” within the section entitled “Made for Fraternity” in the Field Guide.)

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

Then Moses answered, “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.’” The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A rod.” And he said, “Cast it on the ground.” So he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. But the Lord said to Moses, “Put out your hand, and take it by the tail”—so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand—“that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.” Again, the Lord said to him, “Put your hand into your bosom.” And he put his hand into his bosom; and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous, as white as snow. Then God said, “Put your hand back into your bosom.” So he put his hand back into his bosom; and when he took it out, behold, it was restored like the rest of his flesh. “If they will not believe you,” God said, “or heed the first sign, they may believe the latter sign. If they will not believe even these two signs or heed your voice, you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it upon the dry ground; and the water which you shall take from the Nile will become blood upon the dry ground.” 

Throughout the Old Testament, the Lord continuously works to show his people that he alone is God. But his people struggle to believe this. The Lord works sign after sign for his people and for other nations like Egypt. Those who see the signs and believe come to experience God’s love. Those who see and do not believe choose their own demise.

Do you believe the Lord alone is God? Do you live as though you believe it? A good way to test this is to look at your Sunday and your first and last activities of each day. What is the most important part of your Sunday? A sporting event? Yard work? What is the first thing you do each morning when you wake or the last thing you do each night before you sleep? Check your cell phone? Turn on the news? The Lord is pursuing you. He wants you to know that he is God alone. Checking your phone will not secure your freedom. Getting on your knees beside your bed first thing every morning and last thing every night puts you before the only one who has the ability to free you. Through these actions, God can bring you freedom.

As you continue to read of the amazing things the Lord did for Israel, pay attention to your own life. See the amazing things he is doing for you in the details of your life and on the altar. See these signs and let them strengthen your belief today that the Lord is God. Yes, that the Lord is God alone. 

You are in Egypt

The disciplines have magnified attachments to human comforts we didn’t know we had. Wouldn’t it be easier to quit this exercise and remain a comfortable slave for eternity?

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father …

But Moses said to the Lord, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either heretofore or since you have spoken to your servant; but I am slow of speech and of tongue.” Then the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.” But he said, “Oh, my Lord, send, I pray, some other person.” Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses and he said, “Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well; and behold, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you he will be glad in his heart. And you shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth; and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and will teach you what you shall do. He shall speak for you to the people; and he shall be a mouth for you, and you shall be to him as God. And you shall take in your hand this rod, with which you shall do the signs.” 

Moses weighs the gravity of the mission set before him, and rather than looking to the promise of God, he turns his eyes back on himself. God has asked of him something he is incapable of accomplishing with his own resources. “The anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses,” not for his lack of eloquence, but because of his lack of faith in God’s promise, a posture that robs him of hope. Over the course of our lives, God will test us in many ways, just as he tests Moses in today’s reading. He does not test us to learn anything about us. He tests us that we might learn something about ourselves and about him.

Recognizing his own inadequacies is not Moses’ problem; what trips him up is that he does not think the Lord will be capable of making up for what he lacks. Moses must learn that when God calls, he always provides the grace and strength to fulfill the call. If Moses is to lead the people of God and accomplish the impossible, he has to depend entirely upon God.

These ninety days are a great test for you. Learn from Moses: you will fail this exercise if you do not place your hope in God. God has called you to self-mastery and freedom, and he will provide the strength and grace needed for you to grow in that freedom. Often, in our fear, we take our eyes away from God and look only at ourselves, attempting to accomplish God’s plan on our own. Even if we partially succeed, we do this at a great cost to ourselves—and sometimes to those we love.

Be honest and acknowledge the fact that you cannot lead yourself to freedom. Then look up at the cross. Set your hope on the one who defeated even death. He alone will lead you to freedom. Hope in him. 

You are in Egypt

The disciplines have magnified attachments to human comforts we didn’t know we had. Wouldn’t it be easier to quit this exercise and remain a comfortable slave for eternity?

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father …

Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, “Let me go back, I beg, to my kinsmen in Egypt and see whether they are still alive.” And Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.” And the Lord said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt; for all the men who were seeking your life are dead.” So Moses took his wife and his sons and set them on a donkey, and went back to the land of Egypt; and in his hand Moses took the rod of God. And the Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles which I have put in your power; but I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. And you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, Israel is my first-born son, and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me”; if you refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay your first-born son.’” At a lodging place on the way, the Lord met him and sought to kill him. Then Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin, and touched Moses’ feet with it, and said, “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me!” So he let him alone. Then it was that she said, “You are a bridegroom of blood,” because of the circumcision. The Lord said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.”

So he went, and met him at the mountain of God and kissed him. And Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord with which he had sent him, and all the signs which he had charged him to do. Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the sons of Israel. And Aaron spoke all the words which the Lord had spoken to Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people. And the people believed; and when they heard that the Lord had visited the sons of Israel and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped. 

Consider the two main characters of the book of Exodus: Moses and Pharaoh. Moses knows his proper standing before the Lord. He is not haughty or arrogant before God. Because of this, he maintains his dignity and is given a privileged place in God’s sight. Pharaoh, on the other hand, is haughty, arrogant, and (most evidently from the Scriptures we’ll read in days to come) hardhearted. He is unwilling to acknowledge God despite many miraculous signs. Due to the beliefs of his family and pagan nation, he even believes himself to be kin to the gods, and his subjects accept him as such. Eventually, God will destroy Pharaoh’s progeny and his dynasty, proving to Pharaoh that he and his line are solely human.

Contemporary men often act like Pharaoh. Few would be so audacious as to publicly present themselves as divine, but many act as though they are, determining their own truth, setting their own course, refusing to depend on God, and living a sovereign life. Since the fall of Adam, humans have had rebellious hearts. The Israelites in this story are no exception. They will need to be taught—their forty years in the wilderness are not a nature walk. God will send his people into the wilderness so they can learn to depend upon him. They need to understand that the Lord is God and they are his first-born son.

A man is capable of many impressive accomplishments, but a son of God is capable of much, much more. These ninety days offer an excellent opportunity to order your life toward God. Surrender your rebellious heart. Live new, as a beloved son of a remarkable Father who will not only sustain you, but will help you become a dependable, selfless, and free man; a man for others.

Consider your own relationship with God. Do you see and relate to God as your Father? Do you turn to him often, the way a son turns to his father? Bring these questions into your holy hour today. 

You are in Egypt

The disciplines have magnified attachments to human comforts we didn’t know we had. Wouldn’t it be easier to quit this exercise and remain a comfortable slave for eternity?

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father …

Afterward, Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.’” But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should heed his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover I will not let Israel go.” Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us; let us go, we beg, a three days’ journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the Lord our God, lest he fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.” But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people away from their work? Get to your burdens.” 

In today’s Scripture passage, Pharaoh arrogantly disregards the commands of God. No doubt, he has his reasons. After all, he is ruler over a mighty kingdom. He commands armies and slaves. He comes from a powerful line of revered men with semi-divine status. He is powerful. Yet for all his grandeur, he will be brought lower than flies and frogs because he will not bend the knee to his true creator.

Each of us is a son of God, created in his image to live in his likeness. Each of us possesses many strengths, and as a result, pride is a constant temptation. When our pride grows, we defer more and more to our own impulses. The result is always our ruin. Sooner or later (usually sooner), we will find ourselves brought to our knees by past impulsive decisions that have grown beyond our control: addictions, distractions, frivolous pursuits, boredom, and (worst of all) sins. When we let pride control us, we are rendered powerless.

Keep your eyes humbly on heaven, and remember that it is God who insists that you be free—and who brings that freedom about. In your holy hour today, talk with the Lord about pride. Ask him to show you where you are prideful. Ask him to teach you true humility. Then, pray that he give you the courage and grace to live out that true humility today. 

You are in Egypt

The disciplines have magnified attachments to human comforts we didn’t know we had. Wouldn’t it be easier to quit this exercise and remain a comfortable slave for eternity?

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father …

And Pharaoh said, “Behold, the people of the land are now many and you make them rest from their burdens!” The same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their foremen, “You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as heretofore; let them go and gather straw for themselves. But the number of bricks which they made heretofore you shall lay upon them, you shall by no means lessen it; for they are idle; therefore they cry, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifice to our God.’ Let heavier work be laid upon the men that they may labor at it and pay no regard to lying words.” So the taskmasters and the foremen of the people went out and said to the people, “Thus says Pharaoh, ‘I will not give you straw. Go yourselves, get your straw wherever you can find it; but your work will not be lessened in the least.’” So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt, to gather stubble for straw. The taskmasters were urgent, saying, “Complete your work, your daily task, as when there was straw.” And the foremen of the sons of Israel, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, and were asked, “Why have you not done all your task of making bricks today, as before?” Then the foremen of the sons of Israel came and cried to Pharaoh, “Why do you deal thus with your servants? No straw is given to your servants, yet they say to us, ‘Make bricks!’ And behold, your servants are beaten; but the fault is in your own people.” But he said, “You are idle, you are idle; therefore you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’ Go now, and work; for no straw shall be given you, yet you shall deliver the same number of bricks.” The foremen of the sons of Israel saw that they were in evil plight, when they said, “You shall by no means lessen your daily number of bricks.” They met Moses and Aaron, who were waiting for them, as they came forth from Pharaoh; and they said to them, “The Lord look upon you and judge, because you have made us offensive in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.” 

The Israelites justly complain when they are expected to produce the same amount of bricks with less straw. Their slave master has made increasingly unattainable demands. Their slave master is Pharaoh and ours is Satan. Our addictions and habits create an unquenchable desire in us. But giving in to those temptations is deeply unfulfilling, as today’s reading shows.

Regardless of what enslaves us, the temptation is to seek a “quick fix” by giving way to our desire. The irony is that the more we give in, the less we are fulfilled. Temptation creates the illusion that our desire will find satisfaction if we just indulge a little more the next time. So we are driven ever deeper into slavery, and our freedom is ever harder to obtain. Each of us knows all too well the truth of St. Paul’s words from his letter to the Romans: “I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate” (Romans 7:15).

Never forget the falsity of this dark lie your temptations constantly speak to you. Keep it in the forefront of your mind as a driving force leading you to freedom.

Looking at today’s Scripture from another angle, we see that it is just as Moses and Aaron begin to work with God to free the people of Israel that things get even harder for the enslaved nation. It is often the same for us. The moment we start to pursue freedom, Satan responds by pulling our chains even tighter. Be aware of this reality today and in the days to come. Be not alarmed if things get worse. Keep your hope up, your eyes on Christ, and follow him with great trust. Freedom comes from God alone, and God desires your freedom even more than you do. 

You are in Egypt

The disciplines have magnified attachments to human comforts we didn’t know we had. Wouldn’t it be easier to quit this exercise and remain a comfortable slave for eternity?

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father …

Then Moses turned again to the Lord and said, “O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all.” But the Lord said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand he will send them out, yes, with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.” And God said to Moses, “I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself known to them. I also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they dwelt as sojourners. Moreover I have heard the groaning of the sons of Israel whom the Egyptians hold in bondage and I have remembered my covenant. Say therefore to the sons of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment, and I will take you for my people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. And I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord.’” Moses spoke thus to the sons of Israel; but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and their cruel bondage. And the Lord said to Moses, “Go in, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the sons of Israel go out of his land.” But Moses said to the Lord, “Behold, the sons of Israel have not listened to me; how then shall Pharaoh listen to me, who am a man of uncircumcised lips?”

Often, the so-called “God of the Old Testament” is accused of harshness and cruelty, and today’s Scripture seems to prove that stereotype true. But look again. If God were to rush in and fix the problems faced by the Israelites, what would he accomplish? They would heave a sigh of relief and then quickly forget their predicament, forgetting also the one who ensures their freedom. They would forget their need for God, and so would learn (and gain) little. By allowing the difficult situation to continue, God is giving the Israelites the opportunity to learn a valuable lesson: that he is the only one who can gain their freedom, and that he is capable of overcoming even the worst kinds of slavery. They will then know without a doubt that the Lord is their God and that they can do nothing without him.

Think for a moment about what a fallen man would be like if he had no weaknesses. He would likely be a proud and haughty beast, delusionally thinking himself capable of mastering his own life and procuring his own freedom without the help of God. Your weaknesses can provide you with important insight if you let them. They can teach you of your need for God and can move you to look to him for your freedom instead of relying on your own futile efforts for momentary stress relief.

Your weaknesses have brought you here. And your weaknesses (though not your sins) can be God’s gift to you if you allow them to teach you your need for God. Give thanks to the Lord today for the gift of your weakness that constantly drives you back into his loving presence. 

You are in Egypt

The disciplines have magnified attachments to human comforts we didn’t know we had. Wouldn’t it be easier to quit this exercise and remain a comfortable slave for eternity?

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father …

But the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, and gave them a charge to the sons of Israel and to Pharaoh king of Egypt to bring the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

These are the heads of their fathers’ houses: the sons of Reuben, the first-born of Israel: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi; these are the families of Reuben. The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman; these are the families of Simeon. These are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari, the years of the life of Levi being a hundred and thirty-seven years. The sons of Gershon: Libni and Shime-i, by their families. The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, the years of the life of Kohath being a hundred and thirty-three years. The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to their generations. Amram took to wife Jochebed his father’s sister and she bore him Aaron and Moses, the years of the life of Amram being one hundred and thirty-seven years. The sons of Izhar: Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri. And the sons of Uzziel: Misha-el, Elzaphan, and Sithri. Aaron took to wife Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab and the sister of Nahshon; and she bore him Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. The sons of Korah: Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph; these are the families of the Korahites. Eleazar, Aaron’s son, took to wife one of the daughters of Puti-el; and she bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites by their families. These are the Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said: “Bring out the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt by their hosts.” It was they who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt about bringing out the sons of Israel from Egypt, this Moses and this Aaron. 

Lengthy biblical genealogies tend to lose our interest. The names are foreign, and the significance of the family lines has long been lost to history. Yet, everything included in Sacred Scripture reveals important truths to the Church and to the believer. The genealogies, specifically, connect us to the promises and covenants made by God to his people. They also remind us (as they reminded the ancient peoples) of our dignity and our future home.

Your own family line can teach you much about yourself as well. Your strength of character, your temperament, your personality, your very person has been passed on to you through your ancestors. More immediately, in spite of what our culture tells us, you can learn much about yourself and your life from your father.

Fathers, perhaps more than we know, have significant impact on their children—sometimes positive, sometimes negative. We learn our self-mastery, self-confidence, and the way we interact with the world, largely from our fathers. If you struggle in any of these areas, does this mean your father failed you? That is a looming question for every man—something you must certainly work through.

This is not the place for an exhaustive treatise on fatherhood. But as you work to better understand yourself and strive for the freedom of self-mastery, you will probably find it beneficial to consider your father and your relationship with him. Try this exercise: if possible, ask your father to describe his own father (your grandfather), and you will see where many of your father’s traits (positive and negative) most likely came from. You might also get an idea of what you may be passing on (or what you will pass on) to your children. Keep the exercise positive and do not look to blame, but to simply understand. Remember, you are developing virtuous habits in the midst of a fraternity. These habits will be a gift to those around you—especially your children. You can’t change the past, but you now have the opportunity to work with the Lord to forge a new future for your family. 

You are in Egypt.

Life has gotten more challenging. For the Israelites, the work load hasn’t let up. Pharaoh is refusing to let them go. In spite of the first five plagues, Moses and Aaron don’t seem to be gaining greater freedom for the Israelites. For you, the excitement of this fraternal exodus may have already waned. The reality of the many weeks ahead is beginning to set in. And worse, like the Israelites, not enough time has passed yet for you to really see any gains of freedom. In spite of this position, who will you choose to serve this week: God or Pharaoh?

Guideposts

1. Keep examining your day. It will not only help you through these ninety days, but it will keep you free in Day 91. Practice your nightly examination well so you will have a good habit of it in Day 91. (Don’t know how to examine your day? See “How to Make a Nightly Examen” in the Field Guide.)

2. Assess your daily holy hour honestly. Time in silent prayer is crucial when making an exodus. Freedom comes from God alone. God will lead you where you need to go. God will remind you of his love for you and your true value as his first-born son. But you won’t hear any of these things if you don’t set time aside each day to quiet your mind and listen.

3. Don’t cut corners. By now, the ascetic disciplines have become familiar to you. You know what is hard about them and what is easy. The more you know the disciplines, the easier it will be to cut corners. Do you want to stay in Egypt, or do you want to be free? (For more on the necessity of asceticism, see “The Gift of Asceticism” found in the Field Guide.)

4. Remember your “Why.” Think back to why you started this spiritual exercise. If you forget your “why,” you will not likely be able to finish this journey. The allure of comforts is just too strong to overcome without a worthy purpose. (Haven’t written your “why” yet? Go back to the section of the Field Guide entitled “What's Your Why” and write your “why” before you continue.)

5. Stay joyful. If you keep your “why” in the front of your mind and your daily prayer consistent, your hope for freedom can’t help but be high. Making an exodus is challenging. Thankfully, it is God who is bringing forth the freedom you seek. Stay joyful. The plagues reveal to you that God, too, is working for your freedom.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

On the day when the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, the Lord said to Moses, “I am the Lord; tell Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say to you.” But Moses said to the Lord, “Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips; how then shall Pharaoh listen to me?” And the Lord said to Moses, “See, I make you as God to Pharaoh; and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet. You shall speak all that I command you; and Aaron your brother shall tell Pharaoh to let the sons of Israel go out of his land. But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, Pharaoh will not listen to you; then I will lay my hand upon Egypt and bring forth my hosts, my people the sons of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch forth my hand upon Egypt and bring out the sons of Israel from among them.” And Moses and Aaron did so; they did as the Lord commanded them. Now Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh. 

Look at what’s going on in today’s Scripture: Moses is facing the Egyptian Pharaoh, the most powerful ruler in the world in the very heart of his kingdom, where he is surrounded by his loyal subjects. God directs Moses to give Pharaoh a difficult command that he needs to obey. Perhaps not surprisingly, Moses behaves as many would in the face of a daunting task: he shrinks from it. He tells God that he is tongue-tied. But God won’t accept his all-too-human excuse.

Instead, God, the supreme ruler of all creation, tells the weak-voiced Moses, “I make you as God to Pharaoh.” St. Ambrose tells us that Moses’ virtue far exceeds Pharaoh’s. Moses is not given to sinful behavior, and his passions do not rule him. Ambrose says that he “[castigated] his flesh with an authority that was almost regal.” Even as Moses’ confidence in himself falters, the Lord has every confidence in his son.

So it is with you. As you direct your passions and suffer the pains of asceticism, you do so as a son of God, regal and powerful in the face of the detestable “Pharaoh” of worldliness and vice. Could you have said that about yourself fifteen days ago? Your habitual way of life is changing. Keep following Christ’s roadmap of prayer, asceticism, and fraternity, and you will continue to gain the grace of mastery over your passions.

Thank God for the success you have had so far. Continued gratitude will aid in upholding your joy amidst the challenges of this spiritual exercise. 

You are in Egypt

Life has gotten more challenging; Moses and Aaron don’t seem to be gaining greater freedom. In spite of this position, who will you choose to serve this week: God or Pharaoh?

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father ...

And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Prove yourselves by working a miracle,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your rod and cast it down before Pharaoh, that it may become a serpent.’” So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did as the Lord commanded; Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent. Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers; and they also, the magicians of Egypt, did the same by their secret arts. For every man cast down his rod, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods. Still Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them; as the Lord had said. 

In today’s reading, Pharaoh commands his magicians to duplicate the sign performed by Aaron. This is only an empty attempt to confuse the people by deflating the power of God’s sign. Pharaoh is trying to offer alternatives to God’s way. Today, we find modern “pharaohs” everywhere trying to do the same thing. “Read this book, it will give you the peace you seek. Spend time on this website, it will give you the relationships you desire. Take up this diet paired with these supplements, and you will pretty much live forever.” But we were made for God himself, and no alternative can fulfill our hearts.

How many times have you run after newer, easier roads to freedom only to realize once again, in a moment of failure, that there is no “easier way”? Freedom and salvation are only found by way of the cross. This can be discouraging; the way to God is hard. What if we are not perfect? What if we just can’t do it? What will become of us and our families if we fail to walk in the way of the Lord? If we can’t handle the way of the cross by ourselves, and there is no easier way, then what is left for us but despair?

These questions all have one thing in common: they exclude God’s grace. There is good reason to be worried if we are thinking only of ourselves and our finite abilities. Prayer, asceticism, and fraternity are not easy things to live out. In the face of the challenge, it is normal to look for alternative ways to God, or worse, to run after things that distract us from our inability to succeed on our own. But look at today’s Scripture. As Moses and Aaron stand before Pharaoh, they are inferior to him in nearly every way in the eyes of the world, but God is present, and he acts on their behalf.

“Do not be afraid.” This is the most common phrase in all of Scripture, showing up in one form or another over 350 times in the Old and New Testaments. When Jesus was first beginning his public ministry, Simon the fisherman, later called Peter, recognizes his own sinfulness when he meets Jesus. He falls to his knees and begs the Lord to depart from him. Jesus then spoke these words to him: “Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men” (Luke 5:10). Look at the response of this man who just openly confessed his inadequacies. He left everything and followed the Lord.

It is true that you are not capable of living prayer, asceticism, and fraternity perfectly. But, you need not despair. Just as the Father was there for Moses, and Christ was there for Simon Peter, so too the Holy Spirit is here right now for you. “Do not be afraid.” There is no way to freedom and salvation other than the way of the cross, a life of prayer, asceticism, and fraternity; but God is here with you. Do not be afraid: God is alive and acting in your life right now and will continue through all of these ninety days. Do not be afraid: you are God’s son; he loves you and he is here to provide the grace you need to be a free man, joyfully walking with him along the road to salvation. Call this to the front of your mind today in prayer. 

You are in Egypt

Life has gotten more challenging; Moses and Aaron don’t seem to be gaining greater freedom. In spite of this position, who will you choose to serve this week: God or Pharaoh?

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father ...

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is hardened, he refuses to let the people go. Go to Pharaoh in the morning, as he is going out to the water; wait for him by the river’s brink, and take in your hand the rod which was turned into a serpent. And you shall say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, “Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness; and behold, you have not yet obeyed.” Thus says the Lord, “By this you shall know that I am the Lord: behold, I will strike the water that is in the Nile with the rod that is in my hand, and it shall be turned to blood, and the fish in the Nile shall die, and the Nile shall become foul, and the Egyptians will loathe to drink water from the Nile.”’ And the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your rod and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, their canals, and their ponds, and all their pools of water, that they may become blood; and there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.’”

Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded; in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, he lifted up the rod and struck the water that was in the Nile, and all the water that was in the Nile turned to blood. And the fish in the Nile died; and the Nile became foul, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt. But the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts; so Pharaoh’s heart remained hardened, and he would not listen to them; as the Lord had said. Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he did not lay even this to heart. And all the Egyptians dug round about the Nile for water to drink, for they could not drink the water of the Nile. 

Here is a sure truth: God reveals things as they really are. In today’s passage, God begins the ten plagues in order to show his authority over Pharaoh and the false gods of Egypt. So great is that authority that every body of water in Egypt is turned into blood, making the Nile putrid and undrinkable. Blood here can be taken as a symbol of physical existence—the material of human nature that is of this world. Water, the source of human life, is here turned into a source of death and decay.

In Hebrew, this text implies that the pots and vessels used for water (and now filled with blood) were made from material acquired from the same trees and stones used by the Egyptians to build their idols. The Egyptians’ false gods have now become a literal source of death for them. They are gods that cannot save.

Today, you are constantly tempted to turn to the things of the flesh—sex, power, money—that, when not ordered towards God, cut you off from true life and freedom. The vessel of our humanity is too often filled with death and decay rather than with God’s life. Yet consider another scene in Scripture: the one from chapter 2 of the Gospel of John. Here, Christ turns water, held in vessels for purification, into wine, a yet more potent symbol of life and joy and of the new life he offers us in the Spirit. Keep strong, and know that Jesus will turn the water of your life into wine if you stay with him. Call upon the Lord today. Ask him to fill you abundantly with life and joy. 

You are in Egypt

Life has gotten more challenging; Moses and Aaron don’t seem to be gaining greater freedom. In spite of this position, who will you choose to serve this week: God or Pharaoh?

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father ...

Seven days passed after the Lord had struck the Nile. Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will plague all your country with frogs; the Nile shall swarm with frogs which shall come up into your house, and into your bedchamber and on your bed, and into the houses of your servants and of your people, and into your ovens and your kneading bowls; the frogs shall come up on you and on your people and on all your servants.”’” And the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your rod over the rivers, over the canals, and over the pools, and cause frogs to come upon the land of Egypt!’” So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. But the magicians did the same by their secret arts, and brought frogs upon the land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron, and said, “Entreat the Lord to take away the frogs from me and from my people; and I will let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.” Moses said to Pharaoh, “Be pleased to command me when I am to entreat, for you and for your servants and for your people, that the frogs be destroyed from you and your houses and be left only in the Nile.” And he said, “Tomorrow.” Moses said, “Be it as you say, that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God. The frogs shall depart from you and your houses and your servants and your people; they shall be left only in the Nile.” So Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh; and Moses cried to the Lord concerning the frogs, as he had agreed with Pharaoh. And the Lord did according to the word of Moses; the frogs died out of the houses and courtyards and out of the fields. And they gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank. But when Pharaoh saw that there was a respite, he hardened his heart, and would not listen to them; as the Lord had said. 

Unless you are an eight-year-old boy, the prospect of a multitude of croaking frogs overwhelming the land is inconvenient at best. This slimy scene reveals something about Pharaoh as a man. When Moses offers him relief from the amphibian assault, Pharaoh agrees that Moses should intervene with God, but not now—“tomorrow.” Pharaoh shows no regard for the hardship he has placed upon his own people. His arrogant indifference to the plight of his subjects reveals his hardness of heart. He refuses to kneel before God or to be seen cooperating with him. And when the plague of frogs is lifted, he shows no regard for Moses, and in his puffed-up pride he offers no gratitude to God.

We often make the grave mistake of disregarding anyone but ourselves. Too easily (even if only figuratively) we disregard the God of the universe, our wives, our parishioners, our sons, and our daughters. Disregarding others is the opposite of what it means to be a true man. And disregard for the Body of Christ—which is disregard for God himself—is a path likely to lead to hell.

Do you want to reach your true potential and use your God-given strength as he created you to do? Then you must think of others. You must “humble yourself under the might hand of God” (1 Peter 5:6) and raise up those around you. In doing this, you will be acting in a holy way. How does the Lord see you acting now? Not sure? Ask him.  

You are in Egypt

Life has gotten more challenging; Moses and Aaron don’t seem to be gaining greater freedom. In spite of this position, who will you choose to serve this week: God or Pharaoh?

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father ...

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your rod and strike the dust of the earth, that it may become gnats throughout all the land of Egypt.’” And they did so; Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and struck the dust of the earth, and there came gnats on man and beast; all the dust of the earth became gnats throughout all the land of Egypt. The magicians tried by their secret arts to bring forth gnats, but they could not. So there were gnats on man and beast. And the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them; as the Lord had said. 

There is a common saying that goes, “God never gives us more than we can handle.” This is far from the truth. Just look at Moses. God gave him way more than he could handle. Moses is left with only two options: he can run away and try to comfort his failure with the idea that God has asked too much from him; or he can trust that God will provide him with grace where his human strength is insufficient.

It is a serious challenge to live as Christian men in today’s culture. Many of us are tempted to believe the lie that we would be much happier if we had never been introduced to God and his Church because then, we would not be required to endure a life of many crosses. But that discouraging lie only leads to new forms of slavery.

Today, take heart in these words of St. Francis de Sales:

Remember this simple truth which is beyond all doubt: God allows many difficulties to beset those who want to serve him, but he never lets them sink beneath the burden as long as they trust in him. … Never, under any pretext whatsoever, yield to the temptation of discouragement; not even on the plausible pretext of humility.

If you step forward to serve God, he will push you to more than you can handle. By this point in our journey, we are well aware of that reality. But God will never let you sink beneath your burden as long as you trust in him. Look again at your why. Do you trust that God will bring this to completion? If you do not, now is a good time to talk to him about that. If you do, take time to express your gratitude to the Lord. 

You are in Egypt

Life has gotten more challenging; Moses and Aaron don’t seem to be gaining greater freedom. In spite of this position, who will you choose to serve this week: God or Pharaoh?

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father ...

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and wait for Pharaoh, as he goes out to the water, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. Else, if you will not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and your servants and your people, and into your houses; and the houses of the Egyptians shall be filled with swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they stand. But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people dwell, so that no swarms of flies shall be there; that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth. Thus I will put a division between my people and your people. By tomorrow shall this sign be.”’” And the Lord did so; there came great swarms of flies into the house of Pharaoh and into his servants’ houses, and in all the land of Egypt the land was ruined by reason of the flies.

Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron, and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God within the land.”

But Moses said, “It would not be right to do so; for we shall sacrifice to the Lord our God offerings abominable to the Egyptians. If we sacrifice offerings abominable to the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not stone us? We must go three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God as he will command us.” So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. Make entreaty for me.” Then Moses said, “Behold, I am going out from you and I will pray to the Lord that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, tomorrow; only let not Pharaoh deal falsely again by not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.” So Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord. And the Lord did as Moses asked, and removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; not one remained. But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, and did not let the people go. 

We have arrived at a key point in the drama of Israel’s exodus. God makes a demand of Pharaoh: “Let my people go, that they may serve me.” Obeying the command of God, Moses intends to take the people a three-day’s journey into the wilderness, where they will make sacrifices that are “abominable” to the Egyptians. In other words, they will take animals that the Egyptians worship and slaughter them as burnt offerings. The Israelites will then be reminded of what they already know: the gods of the Egyptians are merely creatures, not deities that can justify their sinful actions.

We modern men are too sophisticated to worship gods under the images of sheep and cattle. Nonetheless, in our arrogance and sophistication, we still worship idols. They come most often in the guise of money, sex, power, sports, and entertainment. As close readers of Scripture, we should see what kind of freedom God is bringing to the Israelites. His primary concern isn’t freedom from a physical taskmaster who dictates their workday. His main concern is the freedom of their souls. Bodily slavery may be terrible, but it does not bring damnation. But freely choosing to worship idols instead of God is another matter altogether. After 400 years in Egypt, the Israelites are found worshiping Egyptian idols. This worship has enslaved their very souls and kept them from the right worship of God himself.

Even when Pharaoh gets worn out by the plagues and grants the Israelites permission to go into the wilderness, he does not want them to go “very far away.” He will not allow his labor force to slip from his hands. He wants to keep them enslaved. Think about the time you are taking away from the things that enslave you. Satan may be whispering, “Sure, go ahead and take a break from your slavery for a week, for Lent, or even for ninety days. But don’t go far away.” He wants to keep his hold on us so that at the end of this period of “offering sacrifices to the Lord,” we will slip back into slavery. Our freedom can’t be won and forever protected in any set amount of time. These ninety days are meant to serve as a serious start, a time of purification, and an excellent reminder. From here, it will take a lifetime of fidelity and reliance on God to remain a free man.

Knowing this should not lead you to sadness or despair. It should bring you a greater zeal to seek lifelong freedom. If you are discouraged, bring it to the Lord and give him the space to speak truth to you and show you how much help and strength he wants to give you. If you are full of zeal, praise God for the gift. Contact your brothers—especially your anchor. They may not all be as encouraged as you are. Some may even be tempted to quit. Share your joy and conviction with them today. 

You are in Egypt

Life has gotten more challenging; Moses and Aaron don’t seem to be gaining greater freedom. In spite of this position, who will you choose to serve this week: God or Pharaoh?

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father ...

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. For if you refuse to let them go and still hold them, behold, the hand of the Lord will fall with a very severe plague upon your cattle which are in the field, the horses, the donkeys, the camels, the herds, and the flocks. But the Lord will make a distinction between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt, so that nothing shall die of all that belongs to the sons of Israel.”’” And the Lord set a time, saying, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land.” And the next day the Lord did this thing; all the cattle of the Egyptians died, but of the cattle of the sons of Israel not one died. And Pharaoh sent, and behold, not one of the cattle of the Israelites was dead. But the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go. 

The message sent to Pharaoh is clear: God intends to separate the Israelite people from the Egyptian kingdom. The Israelites do not belong to Pharaoh, but to God alone. To drive this point home, God emphatically warns Pharaoh that he “will make a distinction between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt, so that nothing shall die of all that belongs to the sons of Israel.” The Father is protecting his sons.

Just as the Israelites were set apart, so you have been set apart by your baptism. It is easy to forget the power and effect of baptism. When you emerged from the font, either as an infant or as an adult, you were made a son of the heavenly Father. You became sacred and were given everything you would need to participate in God’s divine life.

Examine your life. Do you realize what it means that your life has been set apart and made sacred? When a priest uses a chalice in the Sacred Liturgy, that chalice can never again be used for normal activity. Because it is sacred, it must be treated in a special way. In the same way, your baptism has set you apart. You remain in the world, but you are no longer of the world. You are consecrated, set apart to serve the Lord alone from now on. Your destiny is to be with God. This means that temptations to give yourself to earthly pursuits need to be resisted, especially when those pursuits distort the plan of God for your life.

The more you embrace your true identity, the more you will realize the irrationality of the pursuit of sex, power, money, and status. Let us frequently stir up in our hearts the grace of our baptism to remember that identity. We need to lay claim to our baptismal birthright and our eternal inheritance. We must remain set apart for God.

Enter into a dialogue with the Lord today regarding what it means that you are sacred set apart. Reflect with him on how you live “set apart” and where you fail at it. Be specific, listen closely, and be willing and ready to change as the Lord requests. This will mark another solid stage along the road to freedom. 

You are in Egypt.

The plagues have escalated in Egypt. The Lord is now using those who oppose him to further his plans. He is proving to the Israelites the emptiness of the idols of Egypt by destroying those very idols with plagues. The Israelites are finally seeing the value of leaving Egypt and serving God alone. As you venture through the fourth week of your exodus, take note of the false gods that the Lord is destroying in your life through the disciplines of this spiritual exercise. Let this bring you hope for freedom and the change of heart you need to leave Egypt behind and serve God alone.

Guideposts

1. Commit to your fraternity. How many fraternity meetings have you missed? Are you tempted to skip a future fraternity holy hour, Mass, or meeting? If Satan can convince you that you don’t need your brothers, he knows that his work of enslavement will once more become just as easy as it was before this exodus. Commit to your fraternity.

2. Make a plan to exercise. You are called to engage in regular intense exercise during these ninety days. How have you been doing? Past Exodus Men have found that if they don’t have an exercise plan to stick to, it is very challenging to make time for exercise every week. Make a plan, write it down, and stick to it.

3. Acknowledge the goodness of the Lord. As the plagues afflict the Egyptians this week, take notice of God’s omnipotence. He has the authority to do great things, including freeing you from your bondage, regardless of how hard fidelity to this exercise seems. Remember: his goodness knows no limits. Do not arrogantly rely on yourself. Rely on God, the only one who has the ability lead you to greater freedom.

4. Get outside. In a world full of screens and digital relationships, men have forgotten how to be men with other men. Some have even forgotten what it really means to “take a hike.” Pick a time this weekend or next to get together as men to find a forest, a valley, or a desert plain and hike through it. No excuses: the worse the weather, the greater the bond. This shared experience will enhance the bonds that you and your fraternity will need for the many trying weeks ahead.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of ashes from the kiln, and let Moses throw them toward heaven in the sight of Pharaoh. And it shall become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and become boils breaking out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt.” So they took ashes from the kiln, and stood before Pharaoh, and Moses threw them toward heaven, and it became boils breaking out in sores on man and beast. And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils were upon the magicians and upon all the Egyptians. But the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he did not listen to them; as the Lord had spoken to Moses. 

Today marks a slight but notable turning point with the second set of five plagues against Pharaoh and the people of Egypt. In this second set of plagues, the consequences become more intense, the magicians come to realize God’s strength, and Pharaoh’s heart is hardened by his realization of God’s omnipotent existence.

After each of the first five plagues, Pharaoh hardened his own heart. In this second set of five plagues, Pharaoh’s heart is hardened by God. God is not doing evil to Pharaoh, nor is he setting Pharaoh up for failure. To understand this, think of butter and clay in the hot sun. Each substance responds in its own way to the same sun: the butter melts and the clay hardens. The sun is not discriminating between the two substances. The difference in each substance’s nature causes the difference in response.

In the book of Exodus, Moses leads the Israelites to respond to God’s actions like butter: over time, God’s presence melts their hearts, and they choose to honor his greatness. Pharaoh looks upon the same acts of God and responds to God like clay in pride and with increased resistance to God’s will: God’s presence hardens his heart. If God is truly who he says he is, then Pharaoh’s position is false. If God is God, Pharaoh is not God. Pharaoh’s entire identity is at stake.

When you enter into your daily holy hour, how do you respond to the presence of God? Is your heart like butter, or is it like clay? When you sit before the all good Father, do you sense an increase in peace? Or does simply his presence cause you frustration, as if he’s a sort of rival?

We should desire to hear the Lord’s will and do it. If you feel stressed or anxious, it may be because you are in a power struggle with God. Perhaps you are hardening your heart in a hollow attempt to preserve a false identity; one that is greatly inferior to the man the Lord is calling you to be for the Church and for your family. In your holy hour today, take note of how you respond to the presence of God. Then talk with him about how and why you respond as you do. 

You are in Egypt

The Israelites are finally seeing the value of leaving Egypt. Take note of the false gods that the Lord is destroying in your life. Allow this reality to bring you the change of heart you need to serve God alone.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father …

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. For this time I will send all my plagues upon your heart, and upon your servants and your people, that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth. For by now I could have put forth my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth; but for this purpose have I let you live, to show you my power, so that my name may be declared throughout all the earth. You are still exalting yourself against my people, and will not let them go. Behold, tomorrow about this time I will cause very heavy hail to fall, such as never has been in Egypt from the day it was founded until now. Now therefore send, get your cattle and all that you have in the field into safe shelter; for the hail shall come down upon every man and beast that is in the field and is not brought home, and they shall die.”’” Then he who feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh made his slaves and his cattle flee into the houses; but he who did not regard the word of the Lord left his slaves and his cattle in the field.

And the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch forth your hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, upon man and beast and every plant of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.” Then Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven; and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth. And the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt; there was hail, and fire flashing continually in the midst of the hail, very heavy hail, such as had never been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. The hail struck down everything that was in the field throughout all the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and the hail struck down every plant of the field, and shattered every tree of the field. Only in the land of Goshen, where the sons of Israel were, there was no hail.

Then Pharaoh sent, and called Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “I have sinned this time; the Lord is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. Entreat the Lord; for there has been enough of this thunder and hail; I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.” Moses said to him, “As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will stretch out my hands to the Lord; the thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, that you may know that the earth is the Lord’s. But as for you and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear the Lord God.” (The flax and the barley were ruined, for the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bud. But the wheat and the spelt were not ruined, for they are late in coming up.) So Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh, and stretched out his hands to the Lord; and the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain no longer poured upon the earth. But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet again, and hardened his heart, he and his servants. So the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the sons of Israel go; as the Lord had spoken through Moses. 

In this seventh plague, hail cascading from the sky destroys every living thing in the field. We see in Scripture that God deals with humanity sometimes with tenderness and sometimes with severity. Either way, it is for man’s good and sanctification.

A common modern caricature sees the Church as a harsh institution whose primary effects on humanity have been crippling guilt and shame. Modern television programs paint a dark picture of our Christian faith: grim, dank churches; dreary music; and tall wooden boxes where glum congregations receive condemning lectures from a cold, unfeeling celibate with a palpable scorn for humanity. Where do people come up with this stuff?

It might stem from the Church’s continual call to conversion. Conversion can feel violent. When you are in a state of depression, anger, anxiety, loneliness, or exhaustion, the choice to deprive yourself of creature comforts can feel like a violent interior hailstorm. It can seem harsh. But these little self-deaths bring into order those passions and impulses that blockade us from freedom.

Stay close to the Lord in your ongoing conversion. Let your body and soul be purified by the ascetic disciplines. Violent as they can feel from time to time, they will purify and preserve your life. If you are struggling with the ascetic disciplines, tell the Lord about it in your holy hour today. It may also be good to bring this up to your fraternity and to your fraternity’s spiritual director if you have one. But first, bring it to the Lord. 

You are in Egypt

The Israelites are finally seeing the value of leaving Egypt. Take note of the false gods that the Lord is destroying in your life. Allow this reality to bring you the change of heart you need to serve God alone.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father …

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh; for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may show these signs of mine among them, and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your son’s son how I have made sport of the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them; that you may know that I am the Lord.” So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, that they may serve me. For if you refuse to let my people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your country, and they shall cover the face of the land, so that no one can see the land; and they shall eat what is left to you after the hail, and they shall eat every tree of yours which grows in the field, and they shall fill your houses, and the houses of all your servants and of all the Egyptians; as neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen, from the day they came on earth to this day.’”

Then he turned and went out from Pharaoh. And Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God; do you not yet understand that Egypt is ruined?” So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh; and he said to them, “Go, serve the Lord your God; but who are to go?” And Moses said, “We will go with our young and our old; we will go with our sons and daughters and with our flocks and herds, for we must hold a feast to the Lord.” And he said to them, “The Lord be with you, if ever I let you and your little ones go! Look, you have some evil purpose in mind. No! Go, the men among you, and serve the Lord, for that is what you desire.” And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence. Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come upon the land of Egypt, and eat every plant in the land, all that the hail has left.” So Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind upon the land all that day and all that night; and when it was morning the east wind had brought the locusts. And the locusts came up over all the land of Egypt, and settled on the whole country of Egypt, such a dense swarm of locusts as had never been before, nor ever shall be again. For they covered the face of the whole land, so that the land was darkened, and they ate all the plants in the land and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left; not a green thing remained, neither tree nor plant of the field, through all the land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron in haste, and said, “I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you. Now therefore, forgive my sin, I beg you, only this once, and entreat the Lord your God only to remove this death from me.” So he went out from Pharaoh, and entreated the Lord. And the Lord turned a very strong west wind, which lifted the locusts and drove them into the Red Sea; not a single locust was left in all the country of Egypt. But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go. 

People often ask: “Why would God allow [insert hardship here] to happen to my friend or relative?” To answer, first consider that the reason we exist is to be in and with God. Apart from God, we are nothing. Yet we often rebel against God. Why do bad things happen to good people? Quite commonly, it is to make them better; to encourage them to return to God.

In today’s reading, Pharaoh acts manipulatively. He realizes that he has lost nearly everything. In his prayer to the Lord, he clings desperately to what he still has, trying to maintain his position, to ensure that he will not lose his kingdom.

Men struggle mightily to maintain control. Masturbation and fantasy worlds are both examples of a boy’s response to stress, conflict, confusion, failure, and desolation. A boy in any of these situations turns to something, anything, that will give him a sense of control—even if he knows it is a lie. To avoid giving in to this same temptation as men, it is important to continually remember that our time in this world is a preparation for the next.

As Christian men, we must be what the Israelites are about to become: pilgrims, Exodus Men. This means detaching ourselves from things, from comforts and securities. It means clinging only to God and moving forward faithfully toward him. What are you clinging to? What do you need to let go of? Bring these things before the Lord today and beg him to grant you freedom in this very hour. 

You are in Egypt

The Israelites are finally seeing the value of leaving Egypt. Take note of the false gods that the Lord is destroying in your life. Allow this reality to bring you the change of heart you need to serve God alone.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father …

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt.” So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days; they did not see one another, nor did any rise from his place for three days; but all the sons of Israel had light where they dwelt. Then Pharaoh called Moses, and said, “Go, serve the Lord; your children also may go with you; only let your flocks and your herds remain behind.” But Moses said, “You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God. Our cattle also must go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind, for we must take of them to serve the Lord our God, and we do not know with what we must serve the Lord until we arrive there.” But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go. Then Pharaoh said to him, “Get away from me; take heed to yourself; never see my face again; for in the day you see my face you shall die.” Moses said, “As you say! I will not see your face again.” 

Though Pharaoh’s frustration is growing, his heart remains hardened. He continues to rebel, even though he is being thoroughly shown that obedience to God’s plan is the only way to fulfillment. Pharaoh believes he has a way forward for himself and his people, but this plan is evidently against the will of God. As a result, he and his people find themselves in severe darkness.

Consider that a man is a created being and, as such, he does not belong to himself. Only when we come to terms with the fact that we belong to God and to him alone (which requires a strong dose of humility) can we begin to see the providence of God more clearly.

Look at the people of Israel. Increasing in humility and docility to the Lord’s plan, they find themselves gifted with light. Now look at your life. Are you living in light or in darkness? Are you becoming more docile to the Lord’s plan for you through the gift of the disciplines, or are you becoming more rebellious? Talk to the Lord about this. Why is his good plan for you causing you to rebel (in little ways or big ways)? Ask him to show you the value of the disciplines, especially the value of the ones you detest most. Ask him to show you the good that he is doing through them in your life right now. 

You are in Egypt

The Israelites are finally seeing the value of leaving Egypt. Take note of the false gods that the Lord is destroying in your life. Allow this reality to bring you the change of heart you need to serve God alone.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father …

The Lord said to Moses, “Yet one plague more I will bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go from here; when he lets you go, he will drive you away completely. Speak now in the hearing of the people, that they ask, every man of his neighbor and every woman of her neighbor, jewelry of silver and of gold.” And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and in the sight of the people. And Moses said, “Thus says the Lord: About midnight I will go forth in the midst of Egypt; and all the first-born in the land of Egypt shall die, from the first-born of Pharaoh who sits upon his throne, even to the first-born of the maidservant who is behind the mill; and all the first-born of the cattle. And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there has never been, nor ever shall be again. But against any of the sons of Israel, either man or beast, not a dog shall growl; that you may know that the Lord makes a distinction between the Egyptians and Israel. And all these your servants shall come down to me, and bow down to me, saying, ‘Get you out, and all the people who follow you.’ And after that I will go out.” And he went out from Pharaoh in hot anger. Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not listen to you; that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.” Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh; and the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the sons of Israel go out of his land. 

The Israelite people prepare themselves. God has promised that this will be the final plague. He has promised freedom—but he does not say freedom will come without a mighty struggle or without trust in God. Imagine what this means to the Israelites: after many long years of slavery in Egypt, the door is beginning to open. Freedom is no longer just a dream, but a real possibility.

Do you see the same possibility for your own freedom? You may now be asking yourself why you agreed to such a radical spiritual exercise. By now, some of your brothers may have quit. But for you who have made it this far, the door has begun to open. If you can trust God more deeply, rely on your brothers more completely, and persevere, giving God time to work in your life, the door will continue to open before you. Prepare yourself and beg the Lord today for the grace of perseverance. 

You are in Egypt

The Israelites are finally seeing the value of leaving Egypt. Take note of the false gods that the Lord is destroying in your life. Allow this reality to bring you the change of heart you need to serve God alone.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father …

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, “This month shall be for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month they shall take every man a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household; and if the household is too small for a lamb, then a man and his neighbor next to his house shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old; you shall take it from the sheep or from the goats; and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs in the evening. Then they shall take some of the blood, and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat them. They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled with water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts. And you shall let none of it remain until the morning, anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. In this manner you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. The blood shall be a sign for you, upon the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall fall upon you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.

“This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations you shall observe it as an ordinance for ever. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread; on the first day you shall put away leaven out of your houses, for if any one eats what is leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. On the first day you shall hold a holy assembly, and on the seventh day a holy assembly; no work shall be done on those days; but what every one must eat, that only may be prepared by you. And you shall observe the feast of unleavened bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt: therefore you shall observe this day, throughout your generations, as an ordinance for ever. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, and so until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. For seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses; for if any one eats what is leavened, that person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a sojourner or a native of the land. You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.” 

It is easy to be constantly dissatisfied with the present. Most of us are stuck in the habit of looking to the “next best thing,” which we believe will finally secure what we most desire. In our impatience, we dislike and disregard the present while longing for a better tomorrow. Yet living this way is to turn our back on life itself. As Christians, we are called to live life fully in the present moment, even when the present consists of toil, grief, or pain.

Today, the Israelites are preparing for the coming of the dawn. At the same time, they are present to the night, for the night demands their detailed attention. If they overlook one part of the sacrifice before them, they may find the dawn far gloomier than it otherwise would have been.

Because of your response to God’s call to freedom, you too are now anticipating the dawn. These ninety days of sacrifice are a precious time. It can be easy to look at these days as a nuisance or a pointless test of will. Perhaps you are waiting impatiently for the day when this nonsense can stop, and you can enjoy life in freedom. That’s a mistake. This is a time to focus on the sacrifices present before you. Your family is begging you to be changed by your time in prayer. The Church is longing for you to step up and be more for her people through your practice of asceticism. Your brothers are counting on you to build them up as they help perfect you. Lean in. Live in the present.

Have you been paying due attention to the details of the spiritual exercise the Lord has called you to? If so, receive God’s loving affirmation in this moment. If you have not, then open your heart to the grace the Lord wants to give you. He desires to bring you to the dawn. The choice of cooperation with his plan is yours. 

You are in Egypt

The Israelites are finally seeing the value of leaving Egypt. Take note of the false gods that the Lord is destroying in your life. Allow this reality to bring you the change of heart you need to serve God alone.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father …

Then Moses called all the elders of Israel, and said to them, “Select lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood which is in the basin; and none of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning. For the Lord will pass through to slay the Egyptians; and when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door, and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to slay you. You shall observe this rite as an ordinance for you and for your sons for ever. And when you come to the land which the Lord will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this service. And when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the Lord’s Passover, for he passed over the houses of the sons of Israel in Egypt, when he slew the Egyptians but spared our houses.’” And the people bowed their heads and worshiped. Then the sons of Israel went and did so; as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did. 

Today’s passage points us to the power of the Eucharist. St. John Chrysostom wrote about this passage from Exodus in his characteristically direct, challenging manner:

If we wish to understand the power of Christ’s blood, we should go back to the ancient account of its prefiguration in Egypt. “Sacrifice a lamb without blemish,” commanded Moses, “and sprinkle its blood on your doors.” If we were to ask him what he meant, and how the blood of an irrational beast could possibly save men endowed with reason, his answer would be that the saving power lies not in the blood itself, but in the fact that it is a sign of the Lord’s blood. In those days, when the destroying angel saw the blood on the doors, he did not dare to enter, so how much less will the devil approach now when he sees, not that figurative blood on the doors, but the true blood on the lips of believers, the doors of the temple of Christ.

Chrysostom is referring to Holy Communion, which we receive upon our lips and into our mouths. This astonishing gift provides us protection from the powers of death and darkness, even more powerfully than the blood of the Passover lamb protected the children of Israel from the angel of death. Have you been running to receive the Eucharist daily? Have you at least been faithful to adding one extra Mass to your week? The Blood of the Lamb is not simply part of a historic event, but an ongoing, present reality. Christ offered his sacrifice once for all, and that sacrifice continues in every Mass. What a gift.

Do you believe the Body and Blood of Christ present in the Eucharist has the power to protect you from the powers of death and darkness? Do you believe—really believe—that Christ’s body, blood, soul, and divinity are fully present in the Eucharist? If you do, praise God that you have the eyes to see and the ears to hear the good things he has for you. If you do not, today is the day to ask the Lord for the grace to see the truth of this gift of himself to mankind. 

You are east of Egypt, fleeing into the wilderness.

The Israelites have begun to serve God. They have courageously responded to his directives by killing a lamb (an image of an Egyptian god) and publicly smearing its blood on their doorposts. Demonstrating his goodness, the Father continues to lead his children along the road to freedom. You too have courageously responded to the Lord’s directives and marked your doorposts. After a month of detachment from the gods and idols of this world you have chosen to stick with the disciplines and continue to follow Christ’s roadmap to freedom. That is ongoing evidence of God’s grace actively at work in your life. As you follow the Lord out of Egypt this week, he will lead you into the wilderness. Stay very close to God and your fraternity so to not wander astray.

Guideposts

1. Give up control. It is good to reflect on what disciplines you are tempted to change and where in this spiritual exercise you are tempted to cheat. Bring these things to the Lord in your holy hour today. Give him control.

2. Check in on your anchor. Have you checked in on your anchor yet today? Have you checked in on him this week? If you haven’t checked in on him today, now’s a good time. He is counting on you. He needs you. If you give way as an anchor and he falls, it will be a painful landing, simple as that.

3. Reflect back on your why. Your why is a worthy purpose for making an exodus. The people you love (wife, children, friends, parish) are eager to have you free. Remember them daily as you say “yes” to each of the disciplines.

4. Follow God. Is your pride inflating as you practice the disciplines? Are you feeling like a failure due to human imperfections? Are you in a state of shock from a still ongoing habit? Recall how you came here, remember that God invited you. Just as God called the Israelites out of Egypt and provided for them when they couldn’t free themselves, so too God has called you out of your Egypt and into freedom. If you are willing to stop looking at yourself and fix your eyes on him alone, he will lead you to freedom. Follow him.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

At midnight the Lord struck all the first-born in the land of Egypt, from the first-born of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the first-born of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the first-born of the cattle. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where one was not dead.  

One may be roused to anger against God in response to these verses. One may even blame him for the chaos and death that he causes throughout time. But Scripture is understood when read rightly, that is, as a whole. Enlarging our scriptural scope, we can see that God never chose sin, suffering, or death for mankind. In the Garden of Eden, God created man in complete harmony with himself and with the created world. It was the human race, gifted with freedom, who made a choice that brought chaos into God’s order. Since then, God has been working to reorder the world that man disordered.

God allowed man to act against God’s ordered plan out of respect for man’s freedom. If man had cooperated with God’s plan in the garden, he would have experienced God’s love in a much different way. Similarly, if Pharaoh had chosen to cooperate with God’s plan in Egypt, he too might have experienced God’s love in a much different way.

Are you cooperating with God’s plan today? Are you questioning God’s decisions, or are you trusting that his plan is a plan of sheer goodness? These questions are worth taking into your holy hour today. 

You are east of Egypt, fleeing into the wilderness.

The Israelites have killed a lamb (an image of an Egyptian god) and publicly smeared its blood on their doorposts. Now entering the wilderness, it will serve you well to stay very close to God and your fraternity.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

And he summoned Moses and Aaron by night, and said, “Rise up, go forth from among my people, both you and the sons of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as you have said. Take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone; and bless me also!” And the Egyptians were urgent with the people, to send them out of the land in haste; for they said, “We are all dead men.” So the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading bowls being bound up in their mantles on their shoulders. The sons of Israel had also done as Moses told them, for they had asked of the Egyptians jewelry of silver and of gold, and clothing; and the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. Thus they despoiled the Egyptians.  

In accord with the story of the exodus, the yearly Jewish feast of Passover requires the use of unleavened bread in the sacred meal. The Israelites had very little time to escape from Egypt—so little time, they could not wait for their bread to rise. Time was scarce, and action was required.

Think about this in the context of your life today. Do you recognize that time is scarce? Do you know that action is required of you now? Do you keep in mind your mortality or contemplate the day you will die? Awakening to these truths comes differently for each man. Perhaps it’s the experience of a car accident, a heart attack, a stroke, an incident at home, or an encounter with violence. Whatever it is, it brings the sudden realization of what little time we have on earth.

You may be overcome with anxiety as you begin to realize, maybe for the first time, that your life on earth is not endless. As a response, like the Israelites, you may find yourself in a rush to “get things in order,” especially your personal life. God has given you these valuable ninety days to consider your life, deepen your relationships, purge yourself of sin, and reorder your life to God. The Lord is a God of wisdom and love. However challenging this spiritual exercise, still, it is good that you are here now. Make use of this time.

Are you still putting things off in your spiritual or family life that the Lord is asking you to get in order? Are you resisting the process of growing up, of giving yourself to others, of taking on your proper responsibilities? Are you living in mediocrity or wasting these ninety days by cutting corners or withholding your full effort? Dialogue with the Lord about this today in your time of silent prayer and listen to where he leads you. 

You are east of Egypt, fleeing into the wilderness.

The Israelites have killed a lamb (an image of an Egyptian god) and publicly smeared its blood on their doorposts. Now entering the wilderness, it will serve you well to stay very close to God and your fraternity.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

And the sons of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children. A mixed multitude also went up with them, and very many cattle, both flocks and herds. And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they had brought out of Egypt, for it was not leavened, because they were thrust out of Egypt and could not tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves any provisions. The time that the sons of Israel dwelt in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. And at the end of four hundred and thirty years, on that very day, all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. It was a night of watching by the Lord, to bring them out of the land of Egypt; so this same night is a night of watching kept to the Lord by all the sons of Israel throughout their generations.  

In this passage, we see the remarkable generosity of God. Think back to the first verses of the book of Exodus. Joseph, the son of Jacob, arrived in Egypt alone. From this man and his eleven brothers came the huge multitude spoken of today. This instills two invigorating thoughts: first, God cannot be outdone in generosity. Second, it is a marvel how much God can do with so little.

Today you join the Israelites as they follow the Lord out of Egypt. With a full month behind you, you and your brothers have begun the next step of the journey. Take a moment to celebrate your accomplishment. Leaving Egypt is no small achievement. You have given up much and made many changes to get here.

Take note, though: the promised land is not the next town over, nor have Pharaoh and the Egyptians given up. You have chosen to leave behind your old home of slavery and idolatry to venture toward freedom. So far so good. But the road ahead is not a well-paved super highway lined with fast-food restaurants and convenience stores. You have left civilization. You have entered the desert wilderness.

Things are about to get harder. The evil one, angrier than Pharaoh, is going to follow you into the wilderness, seeking to track you down and enslave you more intensely than before. But take heart, the Lord is leading you, your brothers are with you, and the destination is worth it. Stick to Christ’s roadmap: prayer, asceticism, fraternity. This has led you out of Egypt; it will lead you all the way to the promised land.

Spend time praising God today. Offer him your gratitude for leading you to the completion of the first thirty days out of Egypt and onward toward freedom. 

You are east of Egypt, fleeing into the wilderness.

The Israelites have killed a lamb (an image of an Egyptian god) and publicly smeared its blood on their doorposts. Now entering the wilderness, it will serve you well to stay very close to God and your fraternity.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the ordinance of the Passover: no foreigner shall eat of it; but every slave that is bought for money may eat of it after you have circumcised him. No sojourner or hired servant may eat of it. In one house shall it be eaten; you shall not carry forth any of the flesh outside the house; and you shall not break a bone of it. All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. And when a stranger shall sojourn with you and would keep the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised, then he may come near and keep it; he shall be as a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it. There shall be one law for the native and for the stranger who sojourns among you.” Thus did all the sons of Israel; as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did. And on that very day the Lord brought the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their hosts. 

At the Passover meal, an unblemished lamb was sacrificed. This sacrifice prefigured the Eucharistic Liturgy, where Christ, the unblemished lamb, would become the Paschal sacrifice. In Exodus, God commanded that no foreigner could partake of the Passover sacrifice. Yet a foreigner was not left without hope. If he chose to become circumcised and follow the law, he would be a member of the community and be admitted to partake of the Passover.

The rite of circumcision made the decision to become a part of the community a serious one. No grown man allows a knife to be taken to his genitals on a Sunday morning whim. A man who submitted to circumcision chose to be a full and active participant in that community. He chose fidelity to that body.

In the same way, the Church does not permit non-members of her community to receive Holy Communion on a Sunday whim. Yet like the foreigners among the Israelites in Exodus, non-members of the Church need not remain separated from the Body, nor be excluded from the Eucharist. In order to receive, they must do what is required of all members in the community: publicly profess the faith of the Church, be baptized, examine their conscience, fast, go to Mass, and then physically receive Holy Communion. Everyone is welcome to receive Communion, but we are all bound to receive the sacrament worthily and with fidelity. Are you committed to worthy reception, or do you take your membership in the Church community for granted? During your time of prayer today, consider how you came to the Eucharist last week. 

You are east of Egypt, fleeing into the wilderness.

The Israelites have killed a lamb (an image of an Egyptian god) and publicly smeared its blood on their doorposts. Now entering the wilderness, it will serve you well to stay very close to God and your fraternity.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

The Lord said to Moses, “Consecrate to me all the first-born; whatever is the first to open the womb among the sons of Israel, both of man and of beast, is mine.” And Moses said to the people, “Remember this day, in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage, for by strength of hand the Lord brought you out from this place; no leavened bread shall be eaten. This day you are to go forth, in the month of Abib. And when the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you shall keep this service in this month. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the Lord. Unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days; no leavened bread shall be seen with you, and no leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory. And you shall tell your son on that day, ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ And it shall be to you as a sign on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand the Lord has brought you out of Egypt. You shall therefore keep this ordinance at its appointed time from year to year. And when the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as he swore to you and your fathers, and shall give it to you, you shall set apart to the Lord all that first opens the womb. All the firstlings of your cattle that are males shall be the Lord’s. Every firstling of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. Every first-born of man among your sons you shall redeem. And when in time to come your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall say to him, ‘By strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of bondage. For when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord slew all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both the first-born of man and the first-born of cattle. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all the males that first open the womb; but all the first-born of my sons I redeem.’ It shall be as a mark on your hand or frontlets between your eyes; for by a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.” 

This redemption or “buying back” of the first-born son would be a consistent reminder for the Israelites that God spared their first-born sons, but he did not spare the first-born sons of the Egyptians. Among the twelve tribes of Israel, first-born sons served as a pre-Levitical priestly class. They would retain this privilege until their gravely unfortunate idol worship in the wilderness; the incident of the golden calf (see Exodus 32:1-6). By that act, they forfeited the privileges and responsibilities of the priesthood, and God redistributed these to the one tribe that remained faithful to him, the Levites (see Exodus 32:26). [8]

In the New Testament, we see Jesus as the High Priest, the fulfillment of all Old Testament priesthood—especially on Good Friday when he would be both priest and victim, and the perfect sacrifice would be offered. Following the victory of Christ over sin and death, all who are baptized into Christ share in his priesthood (see Revelation 5:10), now known as the common priesthood. The common priesthood (different in kind from the ordained priesthood) comes with privileges and responsibilities. One of those responsibilities is that a priest must offer sacrifice.

This means that you, a member of the common priesthood, must offer sacrifice. What kind of sacrifice? St. Paul tells you: “I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship” (Romans 12:1). This spiritual exercise, in which you are now engaged, is an offering to God. By taking up its disciplines daily, with the proper disposition, you are being formed as a priest of Jesus Christ on behalf of yourself and your family.

Dialogue with the Lord about your office as a “common” priest. Listen to what he might say about sanctifying your day and making offerings for others out of the ascetic disciplines you have taken up. Let him give you a deeper understanding of sacrifice. 

You are east of Egypt, fleeing into the wilderness.

The Israelites have killed a lamb (an image of an Egyptian god) and publicly smeared its blood on their doorposts. Now entering the wilderness, it will serve you well to stay very close to God and your fraternity.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philis’tines, although that was near; for God said, “Lest the people repent when they see war, and return to Egypt.” But God led the people round by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the sons of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt equipped for battle. And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him; for Joseph had solemnly sworn the sons of Israel, saying, “God will visit you; then you must carry my bones with you from here.” And they moved on from Succoth, and encamped at Etham, on the edge of the wilderness. And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night; the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people. Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the sons of Israel to turn back and encamp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon; you shall encamp over against it, by the sea. For Pharaoh will say of the sons of Israel, ‘They are entangled in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.’ And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host; and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord.” And they did so. When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the mind of Pharaoh and his servants was changed toward the people, and they said, “What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” So he made ready his chariot and took his army with him, and took six hundred picked chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them. And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt and he pursued the sons of Israel as they went forth defiantly. The Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them encamped at the sea, by Pihahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon. 

You have come to the edge of the Red Sea. Look in one direction and you see a beautiful vista. Look in the other and you face a raging army coming at you to take you captive or kill you. The Israelites confronted all of this physically. For us this is all a reality today, but in the spiritual realm.

Cardinal Jean Daniélou wrote of the conflict between catechumens (those preparing for baptism) and Satan, their enemy. He describes what the eye cannot see and the spirit may not yet be able to perceive:

The catechumen's forty days of Lent are a time of trial, a time of serious conflict, while Satan and his angels strive to keep possession of his soul. This is no figure of speech, but must be understood in literal reality: for a pagan is not merely ignorant of the Christian revelation, he is subject to the active domination of the powers of darkness, and needs to be wrested out of captivity. … Even after Christ's victory, the human nature of those who are not his remains imprisoned: he crushed the serpent's head, but its coils are writhing yet to ensnare the peoples of the earth. Satan, seeing his prey about to escape, redoubles his efforts against the catechumen; but during the forty days, Christ's hold is strengthened too. … but the devil keeps up his pressure all the while until the very moment of the Easter Vigil and the very edge of the font.

Then, and only then, the impossible thing comes to pass; the sea is divided. …

As the waters were opened for the Israelites, and the gates of death were opened for the Lord Jesus, even so, the catechumen goes down into the water of baptism, makes his crossing, leaves behind him Pharaoh and his host, the devil and his angels, and comes out on the other side. He is saved. Saved, that is, quite literally, like a shipwrecked survivor brought to land.  [9]

Baptism is more than a simple rite. It is no mere superstition. It is a saving work of God. As you stand beside the Red Sea today, take stock of your situation. Today is Day 34, and you are free either to go on with a life of prayer, asceticism, and fraternity the Lord has called you to, or quit. You can continue with the Lord in pursuit of freedom and life, but then you may drown in the sea before you (that is, if the Lord does not have a better plan that you cannot yet see). Or, you can go back, return to the easier way, return to past habits, return to the life that led you to slavery. Which will you choose? Will you turn back, or will you place your trust in the giver of life and move towards the sea? The choice is yours. 

You are east of Egypt, fleeing into the wilderness.

The Israelites have killed a lamb (an image of an Egyptian god) and publicly smeared its blood on their doorposts. Now entering the wilderness, it will serve you well to stay very close to God and your fraternity.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

When Pharaoh drew near, the sons of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them; and they were in great fear. And the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord; and they said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us, in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt, ‘Let us alone and let us serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be still.” The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the sons of Israel to go forward. Lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the sons of Israel may go on dry ground through the sea. And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.” Then the angel of God who went before the host of Israel moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness; and the night passed without one coming near the other all night. 

The parting of the Red Sea is a familiar event to us. The Israelites are hemmed into an impossible situation, and they respond with anxious doubt. God then says to Moses, surprisingly: “Why do you cry to me?” It would seem that God was responding to something Moses said, but Moses had not said anything. God was responding to his inner unspoken thought. God knows us better than we know ourselves and reads the desires and thoughts of our hearts.

Even if we might think that we want a reprieve from our sacrifices and ascetic practices, God sees further, and he wants to give us what we most deeply want for ourselves. What is it that we want most deeply, most longingly? Not the passing pleasure of a movie night binge; not the taste of a good beer; not the momentary high of checking out a major gain in the market or a development on the playing field. We want true joy. We want genuine freedom. We want a life worth living. Your ears might be deaf to the silent cry of your heart that says to God “Give me joy!” Yet, God hears, and he asks you, “Why do you cry to me?”

God says to you, “Go forward.” His words may be hard to accept if you are looking out fearfully at the sea. But take heart—his plan is greater than you can know, and he will be with you through it all. In your holy hour today, take time to talk to God about your desires. Listen as he shows you what is beneath your surface level desires. Listen as he points to what will bring you true joy and what will bring goodness to you, your family, and your parish. 

You are on the Northwest bank of the Red Sea.

Pharaoh and his army have left Egypt in relentless pursuit of the Israelites. Just when they thought they were completely free, the Israelites find themselves trapped between a raging army and a seemingly impassable body of water. To lose hope here is to give up on God and bring on a more severe slavery than ever before. We find ourselves in a similar spot. Our past habits are charging at us while the daily disciplines remain. If we lose faith, quit now, and turn back, we will be enslaved once more. If we remain stalwart in our faith, the Lord will lead us through the waters. He will purify us and separate us from our enemies like never before. What will you choose this week?

Guideposts

1. Make time for a good confession. If the last time you went to confession was near the beginning of your exodus or before it began, then this is an ideal time to return. Sin “injures and weakens the sinner himself, as well as his relationships with God and neighbor” (CCC 1459). Thus, sin (and more importantly, the effect of sin) is directly opposed to the goals pursued in this spiritual exercise. Find out what time confession is at your parish and make time to receive the graces the Lord wants to give you in the midst of this exodus.

2. Stick with the reflections. Stay united to your brothers on this journey. Don’t cheat yourself on this exodus. Stick with the reflections daily. Like water in the desert, they’re worth far more than you may think.

3. Enter into God’s Word. Christ is the very Word you read in your Scripture reflections each day. Don’t just read the words—enter into the Word. The Word is alive. He is a person you can dialogue with; a person who is speaking specifically to you. Enter into the Word each day by listening to what the Lord has to say to you in your specific state of life.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the sons of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. The Egyptians pursued, and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. And in the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down upon the host of the Egyptians, and discomfited the host of the Egyptians, clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily; and the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from before Israel; for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians.” Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.” So Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its usual flow when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled into it, and the Lord routed the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen and all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea; not so much as one of them remained. But the sons of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the seashore. And Israel saw the great work which the Lord did against the Egyptians, and the people feared the Lord; and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses. 

It should come as no surprise that the event of today’s Scripture is a primary image for baptism. Called to trust and faith in God, the Israelites walk toward the water, the very thing that they saw as a barrier to life when the Egyptian army was charging towards them. Though the water looked like death to them, God used it to save their lives. They entered the Red Sea as men oppressed by the grip of the Egyptians and came out the other side saved. God is using your acts of self-denial in this exercise in a similar way. The disciplines look like death, yet they are assisting in bringing forth new life.

In Christian baptism, an unbaptized person called to have trust and faith in God approaches the waters of the baptismal font oppressed by the grip of sin and death and comes out the other side saved. The Holy Spirit is hovering over the waters (as he did when Jesus himself was baptized) in order to form us anew. Looking at today’s Scripture we see something similar: “The Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night …” The wind is an image of the Holy Spirit. As in Christian baptism, it is the Holy Spirit hovering over the waters that makes the Israelites’ salvation possible.

The parting of the Red Sea demonstrates both the authority of God over death, and his readiness to save his people from slavery. The event brought the Israelites to fear the Lord and to believe in him (see Exodus 14:31). Even today, the Jewish people look back upon this salvific event to remember that God is their Savior and Lord, that they are his first-born son, and that he has a great plan for them.

Do not underestimate the power of your own baptism. Look back like the Israelites on that moment of salvation and recall that God also has a great plan for you. Let it serve as a continual reminder that God is your Savior and Lord, and you are his son.

Consider the holy water fonts in all the entryways of churches around the world. They aren’t there for believers to mindlessly moisten their fingertips and leave damp spots on their shirts. Every time you dip your fingers in the font, remember your baptism. Use that simple, but powerful rite to recall that God is Lord, he is our Savior, you are his son, and he has a great plan for you.

Bring these three realities—God’s divinity, your sonship, and his plans for you—to your holy hour today. Invite the Lord to tell you more about each of these in a new and profound way. 

You are on the Northwest bank of the Red Sea.

The Israelites find themselves trapped between an army and a body of water. We find ourselves in a similar spot: between our past habits and the disciplines. If we quit now we will be enslaved once more. Stay stalwart in your faith.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

Then Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to the Lord, saying, “I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. The Lord is a man of war; the Lord is his name. Pharaoh’s chariots and his host he cast into the sea; and his picked officers are sunk in the Red Sea. The floods cover them; they went down into the depths like a stone. Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power, your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy. In the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries; you send forth your fury, it consumes them like stubble. At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up, the floods stood up in a heap; the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea. The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them. I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.’ You blew with your wind, the sea covered them; they sank as lead in the mighty waters. Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, terrible in glorious deeds, doing wonders? You stretched out your right hand, the earth swallowed them. You have led in your merciful love the people whom you have redeemed, you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode. The peoples have heard, they tremble; pangs have seized on the inhabitants of Philistia. Now are the chiefs of Edom dismayed; the leaders of Moab, trembling seizes them; all the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away. Terror and dread fall upon them; because of the greatness of your arm, they are as still as a stone, till your people, O Lord, pass by, till the people pass by whom you have purchased. You will bring them in, and plant them on your own mountain, the place, O Lord, which you have made for your abode, the sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established. The Lord will reign for ever and ever.” For when the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his horsemen went into the sea, the Lord brought back the waters of the sea upon them; but the sons of Israel walked on dry ground in the midst of the sea. Then Miriam, the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and dancing. And Miriam sang to them: “Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.” 

Finally, after a long and grueling conflict, the Israelite people have been set free from the bonds of slavery. Overwhelmed with joy, Moses and Miriam, the prophetess, break into song. It is a new song, because it celebrates a new and fresh act of God. The Scriptures are full of such new songs because the promises of the Lord are new every morning (Lamentations 3:23). The book of Revelation tells of the new song being sung in heaven celebrating Christ’s victory on the cross: “And they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals…’” (Revelation 5:9).

Here by the Red Sea, Moses sings, “Who but the Lord has brought me deliverance?” God has freed his people from the domination and influence of the many gods of Egypt, and Moses can’t stop thanking him. God did the same for us and far more—he broke the power of our spiritual enemies and put us on the road to eternal life. If we happily celebrate something as passing and insignificant as a sports championship, how much more ought we be grateful for the eternal gift of our baptismal freedom? This is a victory far more worth celebrating.

Be a man of gratitude. Take a moment to give sincere thanks to the Lord for leading you to this point. Thank him for the gift of your family. Thank him for your desire to be a better man. Thank him for the very air you breathe. Whatever we may have to complain about, we have far more to be thankful for. Sing a “new song” to the Lord today. Learn with Moses and the Israelites how to be a man of gratitude, and you will learn the secret of freedom and joy. 

You are on the Northwest bank of the Red Sea.

The Israelites find themselves trapped between an army and a body of water. We find ourselves in a similar spot: between our past habits and the disciplines. If we quit now we will be enslaved once more. Stay stalwart in your faith.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

Then Moses led Israel onward from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur; they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah. And the people murmured against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” And he cried to the Lord; and the Lord showed him a tree, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the Lord made for them a statute and an ordinance and there he tested them, saying, “If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give heed to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases upon you which I put upon the Egyptians; for I am the Lord, your healer.” Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees; and they encamped there by the water.  

The Israelites, set free from Pharoah’s slavery and enjoying the first days of their freedom, now find themselves in the midst of a barren wilderness. They have come to the water of Marah, but have found it bitter and undrinkable. In what will become a pattern for them, they doubt God’s providence. They angrily press Moses to do something about it. Moses then prays to God for help, and in response, God shows Moses a tree.

Yes, a tree.

As you have followed the Israelites on their exodus, you have no doubt begun to see that many of the events in the Old Testament are hard to understand apart from the light given by Christ. Today’s scenario of the tree is a prime example. When Christ comes, he brings his apostles to a tree (the cross), and he commissions them to teach all the nations to take up and carry that cross. For two millennia, this act of Christ and the spreading of the power of the cross throughout the world has made the lives of Christians—with all their burdens and trials, bitter as they may seem—sweet and light.

Picture yourself sitting on a city bench in the bitter cold. It’s snowing steadily, and the bench is bolted to the ground next to a busy and slushy street. A very tardy coworker is late (again) in picking you up for work. As you get colder and covered deeper in snow, you are not thinking of the cross. Instead, you have allowed yourself to become aggravated and cynical.

Now picture yourself on a similar bench on a similar cold and snowy day. Only this time, the bench is suspended from a cable, and it’s moving toward the top of a mountain peak by the name of KT-22. You aren’t aggravated or cynical about the cold and the snow. Instead you are stoked and overflowing with joy. In fact, you paid good money to be out in these elements because these seemingly adverse things (the bitter cold, the uncomfortable bench, and the dumping snow) will gain for you the chance to be waist-deep in an iconic powder day at Squaw Valley. As a skier, you possess the eyes to see the value of your ride on a chairlift. Thus, even this bitter cold moment is sweet.

Through the purifying nature of this spiritual exercise, your wait on that city bench will start to become just as sweet to you as the skier’s ride on a chairlift. Practicing asceticism helps you gain the eyes to see the opportunities that are hiding behind your encounters with adversity. With these new eyes, you can see that sitting on a cold city bench is an opportunity to unite your discomfort and lack of control to the cross, making what seems like nothing but a burden, a substantial opportunity for self-gift.

Through the cross, your suffering can be lifted up in prayer for you, your family, and even your tardy coworker. Just as the tree thrown into the water at Marah sweetened the undrinkable water, so the cross, “thrown” into our adversity, can turn even our bitterest sufferings sweet. 

You are on the Northwest bank of the Red Sea.

The Israelites find themselves trapped between an army and a body of water. We find ourselves in a similar spot: between our past habits and the disciplines. If we quit now we will be enslaved once more. Stay stalwart in your faith.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

They set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the sons of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt. And the whole congregation of the sons of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, and said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate bread to the full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” 

It can be easy to look at the people in Scripture and feel a sense of superiority over them, especially when they fail. The familiarity of the stories can create a caricatured image that feeds our complacency and leads us to make superficial judgments. Adam sins and condemns mankind to death, and we ask how he could be so blind. David commits adultery, and we foster a sense of scandal at this great man’s terrible failure. St. Peter denies Christ, and we stifle a scoff at his cowardice.

Here in this scene, it is easy enough to look at the tired, hungry, uncomfortable, and complaining Israelites and think, “What a bunch of babies.” Look at the scoreboard: God liberates them from their slavery, parts the Red Sea to secure their escape, drowns their oppressors, and makes bitter water sweet for them to drink. In spite of all this, the Israelites get whiny. Worse yet, they want to return to their former slavery. It might have been hard under Pharaoh, but at least there was something to eat, and there was security in the status quo.

On this thirty-ninth day of struggle, you can probably sympathize with the complaints of the Israelites. From the vantage point of the wilderness, the safety of the past looks good to them, and perhaps it does to you, too. Yet in their hearts, the Israelites surely know, if for the moment they have forgotten, that going back to the old status quo does not just mean a bed to sleep in and regular meals to eat. It also means the risk of their children being murdered because the Pharaoh feels threatened. It means being unable to freely honor their God. It means back-breaking work for the glory of a country not their own and in honor of gods they were not made to serve. It means living in hell.

The Israelites face a crucial decision: Go back to the status quo of slavery or really remove the desire for it from their hearts and minds. St. John Cassian says, “Bodily renunciation and removal from Egypt, as it were, will be of no value to us … if we have been unable to obtain at the same time the renunciation of heart, which is more sublime and more beneficial.”

By his roadmap of prayer, asceticism, and fraternity, the Lord has brought you to a place of physical detachment from Egypt (from movies, money, games, etc.). But in your heart, are you still whining like the Israelites? Are you still grasping for the hell out of which the Lord has led you? As you continue on this journey, your passions wailing and pushing you to return to slavery, embrace the costly necessity. In the depths of your heart and mind, choose to reject slavery to vice. Match your inward reality to the outward freedom God has given you.

One day away from Day 40, take note of the difference between your external reality and your interior reality. There is a reason this spiritual exercise goes for ninety days and not just forty. There is yet more internal work to be done. Greater freedom lies ahead for you, as it does for the Israelites. Give thanks to the Lord for the external progress you have made, and keep following him beyond Day 40 in relentless pursuit of internal freedom, all the way to Day 91.

Today should not be a day of disappointment over the work that still needs to be done. It should be a day of gratitude for the work the Lord has already accomplished in you. Take time in your holy hour today to receive the gift of joy from the Lord. He is proud of you. 

You are on the Northwest bank of the Red Sea.

The Israelites find themselves trapped between an army and a body of water. We find ourselves in a similar spot: between our past habits and the disciplines. If we quit now we will be enslaved once more. Stay stalwart in your faith.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.” So Moses and Aaron said to all the sons of Israel, “At evening you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your murmurings against the Lord. For what are we, that you murmur against us?” And Moses said, “When the Lord gives you in the evening flesh to eat and in the morning bread to the full, because the Lord has heard your murmurings which you murmur against him—what are we? Your murmurings are not against us but against the Lord.” And Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the sons of Israel, ‘Come near before the Lord, for he has heard your murmurings.’” And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the sons of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. And the Lord said to Moses, “I have heard the murmurings of the sons of Israel; say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat flesh, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread; then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’” In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning dew lay round about the camp. And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as hoarfrost on the ground. When the sons of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “It is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat. This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Gather of it, every man of you, as much as he can eat; you shall take an omer apiece, according to the number of the persons whom each of you has in his tent.’” And the sons of Israel did so; they gathered, some more, some less. But when they measured it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; each gathered according to what he could eat. And Moses said to them, “Let no man leave any of it till the morning.” But they did not listen to Moses; some left part of it till the morning, and it bred worms and became foul; and Moses was angry with them. Morning by morning they gathered it, each as much as he could eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted. 

The Israelite people, wandering in the wilderness and depending completely on the providence of God, cry out to him for food. God responds generously with manna from heaven that miraculously appears with the morning dewfall. This should sound familiar. How many times have we heard the Eucharistic prayer at Mass: “Make holy, therefore, these gifts, we pray, by sending down your spirit upon them like the dewfall ... ?”

Like the Israelites, each of us finds himself in the wilderness of life. We, too, cry out to God for food. Without fail, God gives us what we need. Christ promises, “I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die” (John 6:48–50). The Israelite people ate God-given bread in the wilderness. In the same way, at Mass we pray that God will send down his Spirit, turning the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ for our eternal nourishment.

When the bread came down from heaven, the Israelite people were amazed and asked, “What is it?” We, too, are left with the same amazement. Could Christ really give himself entirely to us for our salvation? Without manna, the Israelites would have died in the wilderness. Without the Eucharist, can we truly live? Take this vital question to your holy hour. 

You are on the Northwest bank of the Red Sea.

The Israelites find themselves trapped between an army and a body of water. We find ourselves in a similar spot: between our past habits and the disciplines. If we quit now we will be enslaved once more. Stay stalwart in your faith.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

On the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers apiece; and when all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, he said to them, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy sabbath to the Lord; bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over lay by to be kept till the morning.’” So they laid it by till the morning, as Moses bade them; and it did not become foul, and there were no worms in it. Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field. Six days you shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is a sabbath, there will be none.” On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, and they found none. And the Lord said to Moses, “How long do you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? See! The Lord has given you the sabbath, therefore on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days; remain every man of you in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.” So the people rested on the seventh day. Now the house of Israel called its name manna; it was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey. And Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Let an omer of it be kept throughout your generations, that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’” And Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar, and put an omer of manna in it, and place it before the Lord, to be kept throughout your generations.” As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before the covenant, to be kept. And the sons of Israel ate the manna forty years, till they came to a habitable land; they ate the manna, till they came to the border of the land of Canaan. (An omer is the tenth part of an ephah.) 

On the sixth day, the people are told to collect enough manna for two days so that, on the seventh day (the Sabbath), they can rest. This command reflects the account found in Genesis: “So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it because on it, God rested from all his work, which he had done in creation” (Genesis 2:30). It also foreshadows the third of the ten commandments (keep holy the Sabbath), which will come later in the book of Exodus.

It is not just creation that observes the Sabbath. God himself rests on the seventh day. Notice that the manna is not supplied on the Sabbath. Some of the Israelites still go out to collect the manna, but there is none. The Sabbath, his covenantal sign with Adam, is holy to the Lord, and he himself observes the day with solemn rest. This tells us that, even today, when we rest on Sunday—the Lord’s Day—we rest intentionally with God.

Fallen man has built up a world that keeps him so busy that he has no time to dwell with God—or with anyone else, for that matter—especially on Sundays. Too many of us choose Sunday as the day to catch up on unfinished tasks, such as yard work or grocery shopping. Yet, the Lord desires more for us. Be a close reader of this Scripture. God commands the Israelites not to go out into the field (don’t do yard work) or collect manna (buy groceries) on the Sabbath. These are two examples of things that can lead to busying of the Lord’s Day.

It has been pointed out that in Genesis, both man and beast were created on the sixth day, but man was created for the seventh day. When a man works on the seventh day, he falls back to the sixth day, and is thus no better than a beast. [11] Are you enslaved to bodily impulses and human schedules? Is your wife joyfully reminded every Sunday that she married a man, or is she left looking out the window upon a beast?

Teachings about rest on the Lord’s day are very hard for men to hear. But God has made his will clear for us through his Word and the long tradition of the Church for our good. Dialogue with God today about your own fidelity to keeping the Lord’s Day holy and unimpeded by the clutter of unfinished tasks. Be ready to hear uncomfortable truths from the Lord who wants your total freedom. Be faithful; God will provide the grace you need to bring his directives to completion. 

You are on the Northwest bank of the Red Sea.

The Israelites find themselves trapped between an army and a body of water. We find ourselves in a similar spot: between our past habits and the disciplines. If we quit now we will be enslaved once more. Stay stalwart in your faith.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

All the congregation of the sons of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the LORD, and camped at Rephidim; but there was no water for the people to drink. Therefore the people found fault with Moses, and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you find fault with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?” But the people thirsted there for water, and the people murmured against Moses, and said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?” So Moses cried to the LORD, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” And the Lord said to Moses, “Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel; and take in your hand the rod with which you struck the Nile, and go. Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, that the people may drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the fault-finding of the sons of Israel, and because they put the LORD to the test by saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?” 

“Is the Lord among us or not?” Today, we continue to ask this question, just as men have asked it throughout all of history.

We often live as though God did not exist. We rarely remember his presence or contemplate his wisdom. We rarely take him into account in making plans or praise and thank him for all the blessings in our lives. But when something goes wrong, we are quick to blame God and, with self-righteous indignation, condemn him for his perceived absence or inaction.

In today’s Scripture, the Israelites go so far as to test God, making demands of him and coming close to cursing him for their misfortune. God is a providential Father to his people, and he commands Moses to strike a rock with Aaron’s staff. When Moses does so, water gushes forth from the dry rock. God has done the same miracle for us. When Christ hung upon the cross, a soldier took a spear and thrust it into his side, “striking” him. Immediately, blood and water flowed from his side: the blood of the Eucharist and the water of baptism. St. Paul says that “the rock was Christ,”(1 Corinthians 10:4) who provides us with all we need. “Is the Lord among us or not?” The answer is a resounding “Yes.” He is not only among us; he is within us.

Unlike the Israelites, you, a baptized Christian, have the spirit of Christ literally dwelling within you. All that you need has already been given to you. Christ says it plainly: “He who believes in me … out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38). Are you thirsty? The spirit of Christ is welling up within you. Drink from the life-giving waters within you today, and start living from them. Have a conversation with the Lord today about how to access—and how to drink and live from—these living waters. 

You are in the rugged, mountainous desert at the base of Mount Sinai.

The gift of newfound freedom has been won for the Israelites in the depths of the Red Sea. Now, the Lord has led his people to the base of Mount Sinai. At the top of this mountain, he will speak with Moses and give him the roadmap that promises to secure freedom for him and the Israelites forever.

You have made it to Week 7. This week marks the halfway point for this spiritual exercise. Congratulations! Detached like never before from the idols of your former life, you continue to hold Christ’s roadmap to freedom in your hands: prayer, asceticism, and fraternity. If you throw away this roadmap now, you will lose the gift of freedom itself. There is still work ahead. Your old life may be behind you, but new habits still need substantial time to be formed.

Guideposts

1. Honor your holy hour. God has so much to share with you. He desires to share his very self with you. Keep giving him time in prayer every day. To make excuses and say he is not worth our time is to insult God himself. He loves us so much and deserves so much more from us than our excuses.

2. Go to the source. “The Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life” (CCC 1324). How have you done at attending one extra Mass per week? If you haven’t committed to one extra encounter with Jesus Christ present in the Eucharist each week, ask yourself why. Freedom comes from God alone. Schedule the time to attend one extra Mass per week starting today.

3. Keep making your nightly examen with care. If you have been successful at making a nightly examination of conscience, you will have started to notice the freedom and success God has granted you thus far. If you have not been doing a nightly examen, your personal success in Day 91 is already looking bleak. Begin now to examine your conscience nightly and with care. (For an explanation on how to make a nightly examination of conscience, see “How to Make a Nightly Examen,” in the Field Guide).

4. Stay joyful. Last week, the Lord freed you from Egypt by way of the Red Sea. This week, you pass the halfway point. There is much to be grateful for. There is much joy to be had. Live in this joy so others may see and come to know that God is actively leading men to greater freedom.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

Then came Amalek and fought with Israel at Rephidim. And Moses said to Joshua, “Choose for us men, and go out, fight with Amalek; tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand.” So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed; and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands grew weary; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat upon it, and Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; so his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua mowed down Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. And the Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.” And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The Lord is my banner, saying, “A hand upon the banner of the Lord! The Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.” 

Amalek refuses the Israelites passage toward their promised land. They have taken it upon themselves to oppose the divine will, a sure act of pride. Here, St. Augustine offers some wisdom: pride “becomes an obstacle to things above and a mediator to things below.” Consider the application of that in your own life.

Armed with the sacred virtue of humility, Moses oversees the battle with hands raised to ensure Israel’s victory, while Joshua musters the troops. Amalek is strong and ready for war, with all they need to defeat the Israelites. Yet they do not. Why? Because Moses is prepared to act in complete obedience. He is humble enough to submit to God’s plan no matter how disconnected God’s promptings seem to the matter at hand or how misguided his obedience makes him look in front of others. Moses leaves his hands raised to God. In turn, God provides for his people a great victory.

If you arm yourself with the virtue of humility, God’s triumph through you is practically assured. But if you allow yourself to be crippled by the idea that your grit and willpower will see you through, your fate will be the same as that of Amalek. What is the Lord asking you to do that you perceive as disconnected to the tangible matters at hand? What is he asking you to do that you are unwilling to take up in humble obedience? Dialogue with him about this today. He may reveal something to you that you didn’t even know you were subtly opposing out of pride. 

You are in the rugged, mountainous desert at the base of Mount Sinai.

You hold Christ’s roadmap to freedom in your hands: prayer, asceticism, and fraternity. There is still work ahead. New habits need substantial time to be formed.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel his people, how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt. Now Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, had taken Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sent her away, and her two sons, of whom the name of the one was Gershom (for he said, “I have been a sojourner a in a foreign land”), and the name of the other, Eliezer (for he said, “The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh”). And Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness where he was encamped at the mountain of God. And when one told Moses, “Behold, your father-in-law Jethro is coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her,” Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and did obeisance and kissed him; and they asked each other of their welfare, and went into the tent. Then Moses told his father-in-law all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had come upon them in the way, and how the Lord had delivered them. And Jethro rejoiced for all the good which the Lord had done to Israel, in that he had delivered them out of the hand of the Egyptians. And Jethro said, “Blessed be the Lord, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh. Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods, because he delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians, when they dealt arrogantly with them.” And Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, offered a burnt offering and sacrifices to God; and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law before God. The next day Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood about Moses from morning till evening. When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand about you from morning till evening?” And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God; when they have a dispute, they come to me and I decide between a man and his neighbor, and I make them know the statutes of God and his decisions.” Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good. You and the people with you will wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you; you are not able to perform it alone. Listen now to my voice; I will give you counsel, and God be with you! You shall represent the people before God, and bring their cases to God; and you shall teach them the statutes and the decisions, and make them know the way in which they must walk and what they must do. Moreover choose able men from all the people, such as fear God, men who are trustworthy and who hate a bribe; and place such men over the people as rulers of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. And let them judge the people at all times; every great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves; so it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you. If you do this, and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all this people also will go to their place in peace.” So Moses gave heed to the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said. Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. And they judged the people at all times; hard cases they brought to Moses, but any small matter they decided themselves. Then Moses let his father-in-law depart, and he went his way to his own country. 

Moses has proven himself an able leader, and he now enjoys the regard and respect of his people among whom he has gained a great measure of authority. The Israelites look to him as a mediator who speaks for God himself. Yet, as we have seen, he acts with great humility and deference. When Jethro, his father-in-law, comes into camp, they greet one another warmly and celebrate together the freedom of the Israelite people.

Jethro, a priest of his own people, admonishes Moses, pointing out problems with his mode of governance and advising him to establish a court system. Moses does not regard his father-in-law’s intervention as a threat or as an attack on his authority. Having already achieved so much, he might have rejected the advice as an insult, but instead, again acting with humility, he takes Jethro’s counsel and acts on it.

Humility is an often-misunderstood virtue. True humility means knowing the truth about oneself and about one’s true place in relation to God and to others. A Christian man is called to be simultaneously great and humble. He is humble when he knows his strengths and weaknesses, his abilities and his limitations, and importantly, his proneness to sin. He is great because God’s spirit is at work in him. He acts with righteousness, but he does not boast. He knows that his talents and accomplishments have been given to him as a gift from God. He is aware that he is acting like a thief when he takes credit for any good work because to do so attempts to steal glory from God.

Consider who you are as a man. Are you pursuing the call to greatness? Are you embracing the true sight of the virtue of humility? Ask the Lord to speak to you about who you are. He knows the truth about you—better than you know yourself. You are his son. 

You are in the rugged, mountainous desert at the base of Mount Sinai.

You hold Christ’s roadmap to freedom in your hands: prayer, asceticism, and fraternity. There is still work ahead. New habits need substantial time to be formed.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

On the third new moon after the sons of Israel had gone forth out of the land of Egypt, on that day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. And when they set out from Rephidim and came into the wilderness of Sinai, they encamped in the wilderness; and there Israel encamped before the mountain. And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him out of the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the sons of Israel: You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my own possession among all peoples; for all the earth is mine, and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.” So Moses came and called the elders of the people, and set before them all these words which the Lord had commanded him. And all the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” And Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord. And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you for ever.” Then Moses told the words of the people to the Lord. And the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments, and be ready by the third day; for on the third day the Lord will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. And you shall set bounds for the people round about, saying, ‘Take heed that you do not go up into the mountain or touch the border of it; whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death; no hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot; whether beast or man, he shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.” So Moses went down from the mountain to the people, and consecrated the people; and they washed their garments. And he said to the people, “Be ready by the third day; do not go near a woman.” 

The people of Israel are preparing to meet God. Consider all the preparations they must undertake before they encounter the God of their fathers: garment-washing, abstinence, and respect. The people are reminded that God is utterly holy, and they are prohibited from approaching (let alone touching) the mountain upon which Moses will speak to God. So sacred is that holy mountain that even to touch it will result in execution.

We have lost the sense of the sacred. Rarely do men stand in awe before the Lord and ponder their insignificance before him. We seldom treat the physical sanctuary in our churches with the sensitivity and reverence they deserve. There was a time when people refrained even from entering the sanctuary unless properly vested, spiritually ready, and directed to do so for a specific purpose.

Consider for a moment your own parish church. Do you and your fellow worshippers treat the sanctuary with proper respect? Do you observe a reverent attitude and ensure that you are properly dressed and prepared before entering? Or do you wander through the sanctuary as if it’s nothing more than a passageway to another place?

God told the Israelite people to wash their garments to prepare for the Lord. Today, grown men attend the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass ungroomed, wearing flip-flops and shorts, jeans and a T-shirt, or, on game day, their favorite sports jersey. When they are challenged, the defense tends to be, “At least I am here.”

A Christian man living a filial relationship with God the Father should present himself to his Lord properly prepared, both internally and externally—and that includes basic grooming. Ask the Lord today how he would like you to honor him in your appearance before him at Mass. Then be willing, like Moses and the Israelites, to live out his request. God is more than worth it. 

You are in the rugged, mountainous desert at the base of Mount Sinai.

You hold Christ’s roadmap to freedom in your hands: prayer, asceticism, and fraternity. There is still work ahead. New habits need substantial time to be formed.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, and a thick cloud upon the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God; and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. And Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire; and the smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder. And the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain; and the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to the Lord to gaze and many of them perish. And also let the priests who come near to the Lord consecrate themselves, lest the Lord break out upon them.” And Moses said to the Lord, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai; for you yourself charged us, saying, ‘Set bounds about the mountain, and consecrate it.’” And the Lord said to him, “Go down, and come up bringing Aaron with you; but do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the Lord, lest he break out against them.” So Moses went down to the people and told them. 

Scripture tells us “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10). What do you think when you hear this? God is often wrongly portrayed as a mild and safe personality, easily approachable, harmless, nothing to fear. This is backwards. God is utterly incomprehensible, all-holy, and all-powerful. If we think he is harmless, we are deceiving ourselves.

Proper fear produces a response of respect. Snow seems harmless to people dwelling in cities with moderate climates that only see a light dusting of snow a few times a year. But professional high-altitude mountaineers have a due fear of snow. These experienced individuals know that death by avalanche is a real possibility, and they respect the power of snow by watching the weather, testing the snow pack, and adjusting their trekking plans accordingly. The same cultivation of proper fear is needed —only far more so—in our dealings with God.

In today’s passage, the Israelites are alerted to the presence of God by a trumpet blast. Trumpets are sounded in Scripture for two prominent occasions: the call to battle and the call to prayer. Is it not telling that the two calls would share the same sign? That God calls men both to battle and to prayer with a blare of the trumpet? The two activities are not unrelated. Prayer is a kind of graced battle against self and against the evil one.

Consider the frequency of your prayer before you took on this spiritual exercise. If you didn’t go to battle in prayer daily, was it because you didn’t have time, or was it because you didn’t properly fear God?

Through your experience in this spiritual exercise, are you beginning to see God’s ability and authority, to give life and to take it away? Are you seeing your need to have reverence for God? Or do you still imagine him as a city-dweller in a moderate climate imagines snow—harmless? The trumpets have blown, calling you to prayer and to battle. Your practice of daily prayer is an indication of your attitude.

If you‘ve embraced your daily holy hour willingly and faithfully over the past forty-six days, give praise to God. You are moving toward seeing his true identity and authority. If you have struggled to fulfill the commitment to prayer you made during this exercise, bring that up to the Lord. Let him share with you the eternal benefits of learning proper fear and due reverence toward him. Though he is not harmless, he is very good.

You are in the rugged, mountainous desert at the base of Mount Sinai.

You hold Christ’s roadmap to freedom in your hands: prayer, asceticism, and fraternity. There is still work ahead. New habits need substantial time to be formed.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

And God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing mercy to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work; but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your manservant, or your maidservant, or your cattle, or the sojourner who is within your gates; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it. Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which the Lord your God gives you. You shall not kill. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant, or his maidservant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.” 

The Israelite people have escaped from years of servitude to Pharaoh and, by the miraculous and powerful hand of the Lord, are enjoying the gift and privilege of freedom. But in today’s passage, God seems to take away much of that freedom by binding upon them ten demanding commandments. What is he about? Are they not free men, able to make their own choices and determine their own destinies?

When God created humanity, he took a great risk in endowing his creatures with the gift of freedom. Yet, he thought it was worth the risk, in order that we might have the capacity to love him. Without freedom, there can be no genuine love. Had God pre-programmed us like robots to love him, our relationship with him would not involve any real love.

God is very much concerned for our freedom. He freed the Israelites from slavery, and he has won our freedom from an even darker slavery through the cross. The last thing he wants is to see that hard-won freedom forfeited. The Ten Commandments are a pledge from God; a template for how Israel’s freedom (and ours) can be preserved.

Consider: each commandment is designed to help us avoid becoming enslaved again to Satan. If we violate any one of these commandments, we forfeit our true freedom through our own choice. The commandments are not impositions from a tyrannical God. They are yet another loving gift to the Israelites—and to us. The laws of the Church, stemming from these ten commandments, serve the same purpose. They are not shackles, but gifts that help us freely and rightly love our God.

Consider one commandment or law from God and his Church that you struggle to accept. Bring this before the Lord and ask him to reveal to you how it is meant to help you love God freely and rightly. (If you are unable to find peace over the answer you receive in prayer, bring your concern to your fraternity and your fraternity’s spiritual director for further clarity.) 

You are in the rugged, mountainous desert at the base of Mount Sinai.

You hold Christ’s roadmap to freedom in your hands: prayer, asceticism, and fraternity. There is still work ahead. New habits need substantial time to be formed.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

Now when all the people perceived the thunder and the lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled; and they stood afar off, and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will hear; but let not God speak to us, lest we die.” And Moses said to the people, “Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that the fear of him may be before your eyes, that you may not sin.” And the people stood afar off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was. And the Lord said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the people of Israel: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have talked with you from heaven. You shall not make gods of silver to be with me, nor shall you make for yourselves gods of gold. An altar of earth you shall make for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen; in every place where I cause my name to be remembered I will come to you and bless you. And if you make me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stones; for if you wield your tool upon it you profane it. And you shall not go up by steps to my altar, that your nakedness be not exposed on it.” 

Be a close reader of Scripture today. “God has come to test you, and that the fear of him may be before your eyes, that you may not sin.” Why has the Lord come to speak to Moses atop Mount Sinai? Why is there thunder, lightning, trumpets, smoke, and a long list of laws? Because the Lord wants his people to live rightly. He wants them to live free from sin. He wants them to love him as much as they are able.

We can only love others when we have come to know them. The more the Israelites encounter God in the midst of their adversity, the better they know him. Because God is all-good and worthy of love, the Israelites’ ability to love God also increases with each encounter. Aware of this, the Lord is calling the Israelites to live up to the standard of love of which they are capable. In today’s Scripture, God reminds his people of their knowledge of him, and the love such knowledge demands: “You have seen for yourselves that I have talked with you from heaven. You shall not make gods of silver to be with me, nor shall you make for yourselves gods of gold.” The same connection of knowledge and love applies to your relationship with God.

As you have learned more and more throughout life about who the Lord is, what you know of him has shaped the way you are capable of loving him. As you learned about Jesus Christ, you were able to love God in his identity as the Son. As you learned about the Eucharist, you were able to bend your knee before the Son present under the appearances of bread and wine. As you learned about the Mystical Body of Christ, you were able to call upon the Son through the members of his body, the communion of saints. The blessing of knowledge of God comes with responsibility. The better we know him, the more we will be held accountable to act toward him in genuine love.

If we know that Sunday is holy (a day set apart for the love of God), then we are responsible to live in accord with that knowledge. A man (the head of his household) who possesses this knowledge (and so takes his family to Mass on Sunday) leads them in keeping the remainder of the day as a time set apart for God through prayer, family, and holy leisure, lives his love for the Lord well. But if the same man were to set aside the command to keep the Lord’s Day holy (and instead of going to Mass were to take his family elsewhere and fill the day with all sorts of pursuits that were not directed towards God), he would fall far short of his ability to live out his love for the Lord. He would also fall short of loving his family by separating them from the source of love (God) on the day made for service to him alone.

During your time in silent prayer today, consider the grace and ability the Lord has given you to love him. Ask yourself if you are loving the Lord as much as you are capable of. Then open the conversation to the Lord. Ask him how you could tangibly love him better. Write down the conclusions of this conversation and resolve to love the Lord as much as you are able. 

You are in the rugged, mountainous desert at the base of Mount Sinai.

You hold Christ’s roadmap to freedom in your hands: prayer, asceticism, and fraternity. There is still work ahead. New habits need substantial time to be formed.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

Now these are the ordinances which you shall set before them. When you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing. If he comes in single, he shall go out single; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master’s and he shall go out alone. But if the slave plainly says, “I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,” then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost; and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him for life. When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do. If she does not please her master, who has designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed; he shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has dealt faithlessly with her. If he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her as with a daughter. If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, or her marital rights. And if he does not do these three things for her, she shall go out for nothing, without payment of money. 

For the modern reader, scriptural ordinances governing slave ownership can be disconcerting. It helps to consider the very different circumstances and culture in which the Israelites lived. A slave connected to an Israelite tribe had food, shelter, and protection. Life was so difficult in the ancient world that slavery could sometimes provide the impoverished with a greater benefit than the hardships of trying to get by on one’s own. God’s ordinances concerning slavery, presented in today’s Scripture, were a guarantee of basic human rights. We can see the Israelite provisions for the impoverished as a sort of precursor to the Christian community described in the Acts of the Apostles, where those who had possessions sold them in order to give to those who had need (see Acts 2:44-46).

Jesus tells us to “love the Lord your God with all your heart” and “love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:30-31). This precept is fundamental for Christians, but do you observe it day after day? Do you give to others expecting nothing in return—not even due gratitude?

Consider the patterns of your daily life. Do you provide the help around the house your wife wishes you would—and then some? Are you attentive to the needs of your children? Do you provide honor and care to your father and mother, especially in old age? Do you serve your clients and coworkers in the office with charity? Do you consider the good of others when you play competitive sports—or when you’re in the driver’s seat of a car? Do you take responsibility for the people around you, in your neighborhood, or town by offering to help with yard work, making meals, and babysitting? And finally, are you actively supporting your brothers in your Exodus fraternity (especially your anchor) in a way that gives your brothers confidence that they can rely upon you for support?

There is much to pray over here. Allow the Lord to join in on your self-assessment. 

You are in the rugged, mountainous desert at the base of Mount Sinai.

The Israelites have made camp at the base of Mount Sinai, where they await God’s word. Your stay with the Israelites here at the base of Mount Sinai will span the next four weeks. This is a time of retreat for you; a time to be in the mountainous desert awaiting God’s word. If you listen closely, you will receive much. If you live loosely, you will wander back to the bondage from which you were just released. Cease gazing upon yourself and the things of days past. Set your eyes upon the rugged mountains around you. Let the powerful stature of the exposed rock and the height of the encompassing peaks inspire you toward positive change.

Guideposts

1. Keep longing for your freedom. Satan doesn’t want you to desire freedom. He’d rather you desire comfort and fall back into slavery. For millennia Satan has tried to convince God’s people that the laws given to Moses restrict our freedom or are preventing our happiness. Let your guardian angel inform Satan that you won’t be falling for that old trick. If you continue to keep God’s laws, God’s laws will continue to keep you free. Stay with Christ’s roadmap, and you will stay with freedom.

2. Stick to the disciplines. The disciplines you have kept faithfully have started to become easier. The disciplines that you have cheated on or made easier for yourself have remained challenging and irritating. With still a Lent’s worth of days to go, now is the time to double down your efforts. If you have been doing well, keep doing well. If you have been cheating, tell your anchor and your fraternity. Resolve to execute all the disciplines with love for the Lord and a purer desire for freedom.

3. Know where your anchor is. Is he broken and lost in the wilderness, watching sports, perusing social media, or leaning into food or drink? Go and find him. Speak truth with love to him today. Bring him back. Keep up the daily check-ins. Now is a great time for today’s check-in. Regardless of how early in the morning or late at night you think it is, check in with your anchor. If he is doing his reflections, he will understand.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

Whoever strikes a man so that he dies shall be put to death. But if he did not lie in wait for him, but God let him fall into his hand, then I will appoint for you a place to which he may flee. But if a man willfully attacks another to kill him treacherously, you shall take him from my altar, that he may die. Whoever strikes his father or his mother shall be put to death. Whoever steals a man, whether he sells him or is found in possession of him, shall be put to death. Whoever curses his father or his mother shall be put to death. When men quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist and the man does not die but keeps his bed, then if the man rises again and walks abroad with his staff, he that struck him shall be clear; only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall have him thoroughly healed. When a man strikes his slave, male or female, with a rod and the slave dies under his hand, he shall be punished. But if the slave survives a day or two, he is not to be punished; for the slave is his money. When men strive together, and hurt a woman with child, so that there is a miscarriage, and yet no harm follows, the one who hurt her shall be fined, according as the woman’s husband shall lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. If any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. When a man strikes the eye of his slave, male or female, and destroys it, he shall let the slave go free for the eye’s sake. If he knocks out the tooth of his slave, male or female, he shall let the slave go free for the tooth’s sake. When an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox shall be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be clear. But if the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past, and its owner has been warned but has not kept it in, and it kills a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned, and its owner also shall be put to death. If a ransom is laid on him, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is laid upon him. If it gores a man’s son or daughter, he shall be dealt with according to this same rule. If the ox gores a slave, male or female, the owner shall give to their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned. 

“Eye for eye, tooth for tooth …” Consider your relationship to justice and mercy. When you are tempted to lie to someone, cheat, or act wrongly, do you expect justice to be done to you? Too many of us today find ourselves reacting with justice when someone wrongs us, yet assuming mercy when we have wronged others. When someone speeds by us on the road, we often respond with frustration and a hope that they get caught. Yet, when we are late for an important meeting and drive faster than we ought to, we tend to feel justified in our decision and assume that others will understand why we are passing them by.

Our response to the news reveals this reality all the more. When you read of a businessman who is caught in a lie that led him to his success, what consequence do you expect to be fair? Five years in jail? Twenty years? Life? Would a life sentence (or even just five years) behind bars seem like a long time if the man attended your church? What if it was you?

It is easy to respond with justice when other people make poor decisions. It is easy to expect a guilty man to lose his job, owe a large sum of money, and face jail time. But when watching men get exposed in the news for doing the wrong thing, do you ever pause and reflect on your own life?

As men, we must not waste an opportunity to reflect on our own life choices and daily decisions. Justice is a good thing; so too is mercy. As we practice making a nightly examen, let us see our shortcomings and resolve and strengthen our ability to make good decisions in accord with what is right, even when no one is looking. Further, let us grow in an understanding of our own need for mercy as we acknowledge our shortcomings before the Lord.

The next time someone wrongs you, remember how you are striving to live rightly, yet how you continue to need God’s mercy. Talk to the Lord in your holy hour today about how he extends both justice and mercy for the good of man, so that you may extend each to those around you similarly. 

You are in the rugged, mountainous desert at the base of Mount Sinai.

Your stay with the Israelites at the base of Mount Sinai will span the next four weeks. This is a time of retreat for you. If you listen closely, you will receive much. Set your eyes upon the mountains around you and let them inspire you to change.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

When a man leaves a pit open, or when a man digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it, the owner of the pit shall make it good; he shall give money to its owner, and the dead beast shall be his. When one man’s ox hurts another’s, so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and divide the price of it; and the dead beast also they shall divide. Or if it is known that the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past, and its owner has not kept it in, he shall pay ox for ox, and the dead beast shall be his.

If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and kills it or sells it, he shall pay five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep. He shall make restitution; if he has nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft. If the stolen beast is found alive in his possession, whether it is an ox or a donkey or a sheep, he shall pay double. If a thief is found breaking in, and is struck so that he dies, there shall be no bloodguilt for him; but if the sun has risen upon him, there shall be bloodguilt for him. When a man causes a field or vineyard to be grazed over, or lets his beast loose and it feeds in another man’s field, he shall make restitution from the best in his own field and in his own vineyard. When fire breaks out and catches in thorns so that the stacked grain or the standing grain or the field is consumed, he that kindled the fire shall make full restitution. 

Justice is often defined as “giving to one what is due.” With this in mind, note two important points: (1) These passages limit the amount of compensation due to a person who suffered a loss. In other words, a person who incurred damages could not demand unjust restitution. (2) The liable party is required to make just compensation to anyone he has harmed. A takeaway for men today is this: If we have harmed or hurt another person in some way, justice demands that we address the grievance fairly and fittingly.

In the midst of a busy and chaotic life, it is likely that, even without meaning to, we have harmed others (whether parents, siblings, a spouse, children, fellow parishioners, friends, or colleagues). In justice, we must seek to be reconciled with them. Just as our reconciliation with God through the sacrament of Confession is essential for our complete freedom, so too is our reconciliation with others.

In your holy hour today, call to mind someone to whom you owe an apology. Bring this person before the Lord and seek God’s will. Know that the Lord is going to provide the grace necessary for you to carry out his will, even if it is very hard.

(If the request you believe you have received from the Lord seems like it may cause harm through reopening old wounds, it may be wise to seek counsel. Ask your fraternity their thoughts on the situation or bring it to your fraternity spiritual director for advice. Counsel is a great gift we have as members of the Body of Christ. It helps us ensure that the words we receive in prayer are actually from the Lord.) 

You are in the rugged, mountainous desert at the base of Mount Sinai.

Your stay with the Israelites at the base of Mount Sinai will span the next four weeks. This is a time of retreat for you. If you listen closely, you will receive much. Set your eyes upon the mountains around you and let them inspire you to change.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

If a man delivers to his neighbor money or goods to keep, and it is stolen out of the man’s house, then, if the thief is found, he shall pay double. If the thief is not found, the owner of the house shall come near to God, to show whether or not he has put his hand to his neighbor’s goods. For every breach of trust, whether it is for ox, for donkey, for sheep, for clothing, or for any kind of lost thing, of which one says, “This is it,” the case of both parties shall come before God; he whom God shall condemn shall pay double to his neighbor. If a man delivers to his neighbor a donkey or an ox or a sheep or any beast to keep, and it dies or is hurt or is driven away, without any one seeing it, an oath by the Lord shall be between them both to see whether he has not put his hand to his neighbor’s property; and the owner shall accept the oath, and he shall not make restitution. But if it is stolen from him, he shall make restitution to its owner. If it is torn by beasts, let him bring it as evidence; he shall not make restitution for what has been torn. If a man borrows anything of his neighbor, and it is hurt or dies, the owner not being with it, he shall make full restitution. If the owner was with it, he shall not make restitution; if it was hired, it came for its hire. If a man seduces a virgin who is not betrothed, and lies with her, he shall give the marriage present for her, and make her his wife. If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he shall pay money equivalent to the marriage present for virgins. You shall not permit a sorceress to live. Whoever lies with a beast shall be put to death. Whoever sacrifices to any god, save to the Lord only, shall be utterly destroyed. You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. You shall not afflict any widow or orphan. If you do afflict them, and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry; and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless. If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be to him as a creditor, and you shall not exact interest from him. If ever you take your neighbor’s garment in pledge, you shall restore it to him before the sun goes down; for that is his only covering, it is his mantle for his body; in what else shall he sleep? And if he cries to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate. You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people. You shall not delay to offer from the fulness of your harvest and from the outflow of your presses. The first-born of your sons you shall give to me. You shall do likewise with your oxen and with your sheep: seven days it shall be with its dam; on the eighth day you shall give it to me. You shall be men consecrated to me; therefore you shall not eat any flesh that is torn by beasts in the field; you shall cast it to the dogs.

You shall not utter a false report. You shall not join hands with a wicked man, to be a malicious witness. You shall not follow a multitude to do evil; nor shall you bear witness in a suit, turning aside after a multitude, so as to pervert justice; nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his suit. If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him. If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him with it, you shall help him to lift it up. You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in his suit. Keep far from a false charge, and do not slay the innocent and righteous, for I will not acquit the wicked. And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the officials, and subverts the cause of those who are in the right. You shall not oppress a stranger; you know the heart of a stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. 

The laws laid out in this section should provoke self-assessment. If one in particular stood out to you, reread it. After doing so, bring it before the Lord. Ask him to reveal to you why it stands out to you, and be open to the conversation—possibly long overdue—that may ensue.

If none of the particular laws stick out to you, consider the last one regarding the oppression of the stranger. Where are you giving in to attitudes of oppression against the “strangers” (people who are not like you, who annoy you, or make you uncomfortable) in your own life? These attitudes of oppression might include rash judgment, arrogance, superiority, or an unwelcoming spirit. Hone in on one concrete example with the Lord. Then ask him to show you what it looks like to love the stranger. 

You are in the rugged, mountainous desert at the base of Mount Sinai.

Your stay with the Israelites at the base of Mount Sinai will span the next four weeks. This is a time of retreat for you. If you listen closely, you will receive much. Set your eyes upon the mountains around you and let them inspire you to change.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

For six years you shall sow your land and gather in its yield; but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave the wild beasts may eat. You shall do likewise with your vineyard, and with your olive orchard. Six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; that your ox and your donkey may have rest, and the son of your maidservant, and the alien, may be refreshed. Take heed to all that I have said to you; and make no mention of the names of other gods, nor let such be heard out of your mouth. Three times in the year you shall keep a feast to me. You shall keep the feast of unleavened bread; as I commanded you, you shall eat unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt. None shall appear before me emptyhanded. You shall keep the feast of harvest, of the first fruits of your labor, of what you sow in the field. You shall keep the feast of ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in from the field the fruit of your labor. Three times in the year shall all your males appear before the Lord God. You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread, or let the fat of my feast remain until the morning. The first of the first fruits of your ground you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God. You shall not boil a kid in its mother’s milk. 

Today, the Lord commands the Israelites (and us) to rest and feast. This command demonstrates God’s loving desire for our well-being. God knows that we are prone to slavery. By commanding times for resting and feasting, he provides us opportunities to remember our life with him and worship him properly. Today’s verse shows that God not only cares that we feast; he also cares specifically when we feast.

As Christians, the Church tells us to refrain from work and to rest on holy days of obligation and on the Lord's Day (see CCC 2185). The Church practices Saturday evening through Sunday (the day of Christ’s resurrection) as the Lord's Day. Meanwhile, the world presents us with the "secular sabbath," which runs from Friday evening through Saturday. This alternative sabbath is a time to celebrate—not the Lord, but ourselves and worldly things. Too often, we fall into the habit of celebrating the secular sabbath instead of the Lord’s Day. We play and feast on Friday and Saturday, leading us—among other problems—to put off our weekend work until Sunday. Thus, our real day of rest and worship, of remembering life’s most important matters, gets pushed aside for the things that have to get done.

Let us stop and ask ourselves:

Why do these worldly things have to get done on Sundays? Whose will is more important to us: the non-existent master who says these things can’t wait until later? Or the God who is our true master and who is loving us into existence? To put the question more bluntly: Are we willing to sin (to knowingly turn our backs on God’s will) by allowing the busyness of the week to dominate the Lord's Day instead of choosing to take up holy leisure and worship of the Lord? Most often, these things we think are so important could wait until later—or should have been done on Friday or Saturday when we were celebrating the secular sabbath.

This predicament shows how much we need the Lord's Day and holy days of obligation to help us keep life in perspective, and to remember that God comes before work. God wants us to be free. He wants us to be able to be refreshed by him. In a world where we struggle to stop the constant busyness and make time for God and the leading of our family to him, the Father’s command to keep holy the Lord’s Day, works for our good.

Does the emphasis on rest, feasting, and leisure on the Lord's Day make you angry? If so, take time in your holy hour today to examine why. Then bring it up to God and allow him to speak truth to you with love.

If, on the other hand, you are eager to reorder your Sunday and holy days of obligation to better love and serve God, give thanks. Then, take time to dialogue with the Lord about how you might be able to live more freely for him on these days.

You are in the rugged, mountainous desert at the base of Mount Sinai.

Your stay with the Israelites at the base of Mount Sinai will span the next four weeks. This is a time of retreat for you. If you listen closely, you will receive much. Set your eyes upon the mountains around you and let them inspire you to change.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

Behold, I send an angel before you, to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place which I have prepared. Give heed to him and listen to his voice, do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression; for my name is in him. But if you listen attentively to his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. When my angel goes before you, and brings you in to the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, and I blot them out, you shall not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their works, but you shall utterly overthrow them and break their pillars in pieces. You shall serve the Lord your God, and I will bless your bread and your water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of you. None shall cast her young or be barren in your land; I will fulfil the number of your days. I will send my terror before you, and will throw into confusion all the people against whom you shall come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. And I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out Hivite, Canaanite, and Hittite from before you. I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild beasts multiply against you. Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you are increased and possess the land. And I will set your bounds from the Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the Euphrates; for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you. You shall make no covenant with them or with their gods. They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against me; for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you. 

In the passage from Exodus today, God talks of an “angel” sent to “guard you on the way and to bring you to the place which I have prepared.” Angels in the Old Testament are sometimes evidently messengers of the Lord, and in other instances, God himself. The angel spoken of here is commonly understood to be God himself. (For an example of where an angel is more evidently revealed as God, see Judges 6:12-15.)

It is the Lord’s desire to guard and protect his people as he leads them through life and onward to unity with himself. Angels are one way in which God chooses to lead his people. The Church informs us that all Christians are surrounded by the watchful care and intercession of angels (CCC 336). This is because “the whole life of the Church benefits from the mysterious and powerful help of angels” (CCC 334). In your holy hour today, take a moment to consider the presence of an angel before you in the midst of your exodus. This angel, commonly called your guardian angel, has insight and help for you regarding your salvation. Your guardian angel knows your unique road to the promised land. He has led you to this point, and he will lead you all the way to freedom.

If you have five to seven men in your fraternity, then you have five to seven angels present and looking over every weekly fraternity meeting. That reality is profound. Just as you dialogue with God, you can (and should) dialogue with these powerful angels, especially your guardian angel. Listening to and speaking with your guardian angel will take practice, but the result is well worth the effort. Take some time to talk to your guardian angel in prayer today, just as you would to a friend. 

You are in the rugged, mountainous desert at the base of Mount Sinai.

Your stay with the Israelites at the base of Mount Sinai will span the next four weeks. This is a time of retreat for you. If you listen closely, you will receive much. Set your eyes upon the mountains around you and let them inspire you to change.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

And he said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship afar off. Moses alone shall come near to the LORD; but the others shall not come near, and the people shall not come up with him.” Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice, and said, “All the words which the LORD has spoken we will do.” And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD. And he rose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. And he sent young men of the sons of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the LORD. And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he threw against the altar. Then he took the book of the covenant, and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.” And Moses took the blood and threw it upon the people, and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.” Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, and they saw the God of Israel; and there was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank. 

The sacrifice depicted in today’s reading about the Mosaic Covenant is of great importance. This act of sprinkling blood upon the altar (as if upon God himself) and upon the people (who stand in representation of themselves) is a covenant action, bringing the two parties into a covenant with each other. This is a major event in salvation history. God is covenanting himself to the people of Israel.

There are five key covenants in the Old Testament. [13]  The covenant depicted today between God and Israel, known as the Mosaic Covenant, is the fourth of them. A covenant is more than a contract that can be negotiated or stepped out of, and it’s more than an exchange of goods between two parties. A covenant involves an exchange of persons themselves. Covenants are indissoluble bonds that bring two parties intimately together. In a covenant relationship, each party belongs to the other. This is why Israel’s entry into a covenant with God is such a big deal.

Covenants are sealed with blood to signify their unbreakable nature. It is understood that if either party should violate the terms of the covenant, the dissenting party would suffer the same fate as the animal sacrificed. God is not fooling around. His commitment to Israel is real and lasting. He demands that our commitment to him be the same.

The Mosaic Covenant, along with the other four Old Testament covenants, is fulfilled in Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection. Christ established a New Covenant and calls all men to enter into it. Just as the Israelites participated in the blood of the sacrifice in order to enter into the Mosaic Covenant with God, so we participate in the blood of Christ’s sacrifice to enter into the New Covenant. Baptism serves as our act of entry into the New Covenant, and we reconsummate our covenant with God every time we receive Christ’s body and blood in the Eucharist.

Too often, we approach the altar as if it’s just “half-time” at Mass. But the reception of Communion is a far bigger deal than that. It is a covenantal exchange. In the New Covenant, God enacts what is sometimes called the “great exchange.” He takes on all that we are, and he gives to us all that he is. When we offer him our lives, he takes upon himself our sins, our weaknesses, our sufferings, and even our death. And in return, he gives us eternal life, divine goodness, and royal kingship. Not a bad exchange.

When you go up to receive the Eucharist at Mass, are you entering into the New Covenant and giving yourself fully to God in exchange for everything that is his? Bring this question with you to holy hour today. Consider the immensity of the covenant bond you share with God. 

You are in the rugged, mountainous desert at the base of Mount Sinai.

Your stay with the Israelites at the base of Mount Sinai will span the next four weeks. This is a time of retreat for you. If you listen closely, you will receive much. Set your eyes upon the mountains around you and let them inspire you to change.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain, and wait there; and I will give you the tables of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction.” So Moses rose with his servant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God. And he said to the elders, “Wait here for us, until we come to you again; and, behold, Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has a cause, let him go to them.” Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. The glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days; and on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the sons of Israel. And Moses entered the cloud, and went up on the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights. 

In response to today’s Scripture passage, St. John Chrysostom says, “Look in turn at the instances of good behavior due to fasting. The great Moses, after keeping his fast for forty days, was able to receive the tablets of the law.” [14]  Just as it did for Moses, the end of our time of fasting holds a reward, a gift from the Lord. Stay attentive, continue to run the race with your brothers so as to win (1 Corinthians 9:24). Persevere, so that at the end of this time of purification, you may be able to govern your mind, body, and soul with the law God gives you.

Why are you here, following this purifying roadmap to God? You have your written why, but what about all the unwritten, subconscious whys that you once carried with you? What were the reasons you considered this spiritual exercise in the first place? Was it for some selfish purpose? Was it because someone pushed you to do it? Was it because you like a good challenge? Was it your own pride? By now, your reasons should be purified. Your reasons should more perfectly align with the intentional why you first wrote down. Acknowledge that purification before God with gratitude today, and use it as fuel to continue on. 

You are in the rugged, mountainous desert at the base of Mount Sinai.

The Israelites are about to learn how to construct and adorn the tabernacle, a holy place for God to dwell among his people. “Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God” (1 Corinthians 6:19). How are you adorning your temple? What are you allowing into this holy place? What are you doing to ensure this place is made holy like the tabernacle so that God may dwell in you?

Guideposts

1. Keep up the rigorous exercise. Since God believes that our bodies are a worthy place to dwell, we must show them due respect. Care for your temple. Strengthen your temple. Keep the temple active and always in good shape for right service to God.

2. Keep your commitment to your fraternity. The blessed life of accountability that you are living with your fraternity has brought you out of Egypt. It is through prayer, asceticism, and this fraternity that your freedom is being given to you by God. Don’t let yourself or your brothers be isolated. Keep your commitment to your fraternity, especially your fraternity meetings.

3. Make time for your fraternity outside of the meeting. Exodus Men have noted that the ninth and tenth weeks are often among the most challenging for morale. This makes these weeks the perfect time for another fraternity outing. Regardless of how many men can make it, schedule a time for holy recreation this week or next. Then make it happen, rain or shine.

4. Keep making your nightly examen with care. Fidelity to your nightly examen will continuously give aid to the next day’s success. Your habit is now forming. Stick with it, and it will bring you abundant blessings in Day 91.

5. Stay joyful. This can’t be stressed enough. If you fail in joy, it is likely because you are failing in gratitude or in hope. Has the Father not given you the grace to make it to Week 9? He has, and he will remain faithful to you, all the way to the promised land. Be grateful and be hopeful, for these will keep you joyful.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the sons of Israel, that they take for me an offering; from every man whose heart makes him willing you shall receive the offering for me. And this is the offering which you shall receive from them: gold, silver, and bronze, blue and purple and scarlet stuff and fine twined linen, goats’ hair, tanned rams’ skins, goatskins, acacia wood, oil for the lamps, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, onyx stones, and stones for setting, for the ephod and for the breastpiece. And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst. According to all that I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it.” 

As Christians, we do not make the exact sacrifice asked by God in today’s Exodus reading. But the Lord does ask us to sacrifice in order to support the work of the Church. In fact, Christian men are asked to give even more than the gold and silver God requested of the Israelites. St. Paul tells us that we are to give our very bodies as a sacrifice for God and for the Church. “I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship” (Romans 12:1).

The Catechism explains this beautifully:

The Church, which is the Body of Christ, participates in the offering of her Head. With him, she herself is offered whole and entire. She unites herself to his intercession with the Father for all men. In the Eucharist, the sacrifice of Christ also becomes the sacrifice of the members of his Body. The lives of the faithful, their praise, sufferings, prayer, and work, are united with those of Christ and with his total offering, and so acquire a new value. Christ’s sacrifice present on the altar makes it possible for all generations of Christians to be united with his offering (CCC 1368).

Take a moment to examine your participation in the Mass. Are you bored? Does your mind easily wander? Do you consider the Eucharistic prayer something that is only for the priest to say while the people in the pews simply look on? Or are you fully and actively entering into the sacrifice of Christ at every Mass?

Try entering fully into Mass by mentally offering yourself to Christ during the offertory (when the money is collected and the gifts are brought forward) and praying with the eucharistic prayers. When it comes time to receive the Eucharist, you will have prepared by attentively remembering the pains of Good Friday during the sacrifice on the altar. The celebration of the risen Lord (a mini-Easter) and the reception of the Eucharist will then be all the more meaningful. Consider this in prayer today, and make a resolve with the Lord to participate more fully in the Sacrifice of the Mass. 

You are in the rugged, mountainous desert at the base of Mount Sinai.

The Israelites are learning how to construct and adorn the tabernacle, a holy place for God to dwell among his people. Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. What are you doing to ensure this place is made holy so that God may dwell in you?

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

They shall make an ark of acacia wood; two cubits and a half shall be its length, a cubit and a half its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height. And you shall overlay it with pure gold, within and without shall you overlay it, and you shall make upon it a molding of gold round about. And you shall cast four rings of gold for it and put them on its four feet, two rings on the one side of it, and two rings on the other side of it. You shall make poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold. And you shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark, to carry the ark by them. The poles shall remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be taken from it. And you shall put into the ark the covenant which I shall give you. Then you shall make a mercy seat of pure gold; two cubits and a half shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth. And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub on the one end, and one cherub on the other end; of one piece with the mercy seat shall you make the cherubim on its two ends. The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be. And you shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark; and in the ark you shall put the covenant that I shall give you. There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are upon the ark of the covenant, I will speak with you of all that I will give you in commandment for the sons of Israel. 

The Ark of the Covenant was the single most sacred religious article possessed by the Israelite people. As we have already seen, different people, places, and things in the Old Testament are types (prefigurations) of people, places, and things in the New Testament. The Ark is no exception. The question we should ask here, however, is not, “What is the Ark of the Covenant?” Rather, the question we should ask is, “Who is the Ark of the Covenant?”

The Ark of the Covenant prefigures the Blessed Virgin Mary. Here are a few of the correlations that reveal the typology:

• The Ark was made of the finest acacia wood; a solid, closed-grain wood unable to be corrupted by insects. The Virgin Mother was held uncorrupted from all sin—even original sin.
  
• The Ark was plated in gold, a symbol of divinity. The Virgin Mother was chosen by the Father to be the mother of God.
  
• The Ark carried the staff of Aaron (a symbol of the priesthood), a sample of the manna (a type of the Eucharist), and the tablets of the covenant (the Word of God). The Virgin Mother carried Jesus Christ (the great high priest, the Eucharist, and the Word incarnate).
  
• The Ark of the Covenant consistently brought the Israelites to the presence of God. The Virgin Mother consistently brings us directly to her Son, our Lord.
  

But there is more. When the Israelite army marched with the Ark of the Covenant into battle, they won their battles. As Christians, we too will be blessed if we follow the new Ark of the Covenant, the Blessed Virgin Mary, into battle. It is no surprise that Exodus Men have consistently found that the men in their fraternity who pray the rosary every day have a much greater likelihood of achieving freedom than those who do not.

The Israelites greatly revered the Ark of the Covenant as a means to God. Similarly, you should cultivate a great reverence for the Blessed Virgin, the new Ark of the Covenant. If you are able to realize Mary’s place in God’s plan for you, you will gain a mother who will consistently and swiftly lead you to her Son, Christ Jesus, at any and every moment you ask for her aid.

Call out to Mary during your holy hour today. Ask her (like you ask your fraternity brothers) to intercede for you with her son, Jesus Christ. Listen as she responds to your call. 

You are in the rugged, mountainous desert at the base of Mount Sinai.

The Israelites are learning how to construct and adorn the tabernacle, a holy place for God to dwell among his people. Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. What are you doing to ensure this place is made holy so that God may dwell in you?

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

The priests of the Temple were to place twelve loaves of bread in two rows atop a sacred table (Leviticus 24:6), along with the golden vessels used for sacrificial libations, so that the bread of presence might be always before the Lord. This arrangement foreshadows the bread and wine that would later be used in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

See how much the Lord desires to be with his people. This great king allows himself to be humbled to a fragile piece of bread, handled by human hands, mashed between human teeth, and exposed to the possibility of human desecration. Why? So that he, in all his glory, can spend intimate time with you, even amidst your imperfections. Jesus longs for you. He waits for you in the tabernacle and in the perpetual adoration chapel. He thirsts to be with you. He has this same longing for all people, but we know that few people give him attention, and even fewer sit before him in the Eucharist. Console Christ’s longing heart. Go and spend time with him, on behalf of yourself and on behalf of all those who never will. Our Lord greatly delights in every undivided moment you give him.

If your fraternity is making a weekly communal holy hour before the Blessed Sacrament, as suggested in the Field Guide, you are doing something great. Stick with it. If you are not, this is a good time to schedule at least one fraternity holy hour during your exodus. The next few weeks of this spiritual exercise will be extremely challenging for you and your fraternity as you spend an extended time with the Israelites at the base of Mount Sinai. Adding a fraternity holy hour will give you the extra grace to endure this desert-based stillness. Communicate with your fraternity today. Set a time within the next ten days for a fraternity holy hour.

Just as with your personal holy hour, if Eucharistic adoration is not available in your area, time in front of the tabernacle is also a great option. Either way, make plans to spend time with Christ. He greatly desires to spend time with you and your fraternity.

Take time before our Eucharistic Lord today to ask him how much it means to him that you spend intentional time before him. 

You are in the rugged, mountainous desert at the base of Mount Sinai.

The Israelites are learning how to construct and adorn the tabernacle, a holy place for God to dwell among his people. Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. What are you doing to ensure this place is made holy so that God may dwell in you?

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

And you shall make a lampstand of pure gold. The base and the shaft of the lampstand shall be made of hammered work; its cups, its capitals, and its flowers shall be of one piece with it; and there shall be six branches going out of its sides, three branches of the lampstand out of one side of it and three branches of the lampstand out of the other side of it; three cups made like almonds, each with capital and flower, on one branch, and three cups made like almonds, each with capital and flower, on the other branch— so for the six branches going out of the lampstand; and on the lampstand itself four cups made like almonds, with their capitals and flowers, and a capital of one piece with it under each pair of the six branches going out from the lampstand. Their capitals and their branches shall be of one piece with it, the whole of it one piece of hammered work of pure gold. And you shall make the seven lamps for it; and the lamps shall be set up so as to give light upon the space in front of it. Its snuffers and their trays shall be of pure gold. Of a talent of pure gold shall it be made, with all these utensils. And see that you make them after the pattern for them, which is being shown you on the mountain. 

God tells Moses to pattern the sanctuary after the vision of the heavenly sanctuary he received on the holy mountain. Consider the instructions for crafting the golden lampstand, with images of flowers and almonds. God wants his earthly sanctuary to look and feel like the world he created. Thus, the sanctuary becomes a model or microcosm of the universe, with Moses’ heavenly vision as the “blueprint.” Eventually, the sanctuary would be the model upon which the great Temple of Solomon would be built. That Temple would serve as a blueprint or a model of the universe for the Israelites. Right in the midst of his created world, God is acting to dwell with his people.

For millennia, men have encountered God in nature and the natural world. As you’re hiking, running, fishing, sitting around a campfire, gardening, farming, or even driving to work, be attentive to the natural world around you. Notice a sunrise, an approaching storm, a gentle wind, the changing seasons, the wildlife, a meandering river, a magnificent tree … and call to mind the grandeur and mystery of God. Recall his presence to all he has created, including all humans—most especially to those we love.

St. Augustine taught that if man wanted a book about God, he should look first to the great book of creation, the natural world. Do you spend due time reading this great book? Do you appreciate the gift of creation that God has given us? When is the next time you will get out for a hike in the woods or a stroll in the park—maybe with your fraternity, maybe with your children, maybe with both? Dialogue with the Lord today about your relationship to nature, his first great book. 

You are in the rugged, mountainous desert at the base of Mount Sinai.

The Israelites are learning how to construct and adorn the tabernacle, a holy place for God to dwell among his people. Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. What are you doing to ensure this place is made holy so that God may dwell in you?

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

Moreover you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen and blue and purple and scarlet stuff; with cherubim skilfully worked shall you make them. The length of each curtain shall be twenty-eight cubits, and the breadth of each curtain four cubits; all the curtains shall have one measure. Five curtains shall be coupled to one another; and the other five curtains shall be coupled to one another. And you shall make loops of blue on the edge of the outmost curtain in the first set; and likewise you shall make loops on the edge of the outmost curtain in the second set. Fifty loops you shall make on the one curtain, and fifty loops you shall make on the edge of the curtain that is in the second set; the loops shall be opposite one another. And you shall make fifty clasps of gold, and couple the curtains one to the other with the clasps, that the tabernacle may be one whole. You shall also make curtains of goats’ hair for a tent over the tabernacle; eleven curtains shall you make. The length of each curtain shall be thirty cubits, and the breadth of each curtain four cubits; the eleven curtains shall have the same measure. And you shall couple five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves, and the sixth curtain you shall double over at the front of the tent. And you shall make fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is outmost in one set, and fifty loops on the edge of the curtain which is outmost in the second set. And you shall make fifty clasps of bronze, and put the clasps into the loops, and couple the tent together that it may be one whole. And the part that remains of the curtains of the tent, the half curtain that remains, shall hang over the back of the tabernacle. And the cubit on the one side, and the cubit on the other side, of what remains in the length of the curtains of the tent shall hang over the sides of the tabernacle, on this side and that side, to cover it. And you shall make for the tent a covering of tanned rams’ skins and goatskins. 

Today, God is directing the construction of a portable and elaborate tent that will house the Ark of the Covenant along with all that will be necessary for liturgical worship. We are told that the tent, though made from several curtains and coverings, will be coupled together in such a way that it “may be one whole” (Exodus 26:11). This is an indication from the Father that the universe is being held together and is always and forever marked by a profound unity.

Shortly before his passion, Jesus fervently prayed, “Holy Father, keep them in your name which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one” (John 17:11). Christians are all baptized into the one Mystical Body of Christ. It is not possible to be Christian and simply an individual; that is, unassociated with the one Body of Christ, the Church. To be separated from the Church is to be separated from the very body into which you were baptized. It is to be separated from Christ. The importance of this unity can be seen in the care that Jesus took to establish the Church before he died for it. He installed a center for his Church, a rock upon whom all the Christian world could stand united. Thanks to the Holy Spirit, the unbroken line of successors to St. Peter (the first rock upon which the Church stands) has continued to our day, just as Christ promised (Matthew 16:18).

Sadly, over our 2,000-year history, Christians have been wounded by divisions and splintered into numerous sects. Some Christians who have been separated from the main trunk of Christ’s vine refer to themselves as organized “churches.” Some no longer want to be associated with any organized church at all, choosing the unreal state of loosely independent Christians. As Christian men, we need to acknowledge the mournful reality of this dismemberment of Christ’s body and to work for the reunification of the Church, the one Body of Christ.

Christ longs to see his children live in unity. Satan delights in setting people in opposition to one another. Our unity should speak to the truth of all that we believe. Our unity (including the unity you experience with your Exodus fraternity) should have the strength to endure any storm. Now is the time to pull together, tighter, stronger. You need each other to become free men and to stay free men. There is no such thing as Christian individualism.

As Exodus Men, we never want to be a source of disunity or discord in the Church. For unity’s sake, we pledge ourselves to all that the Church teaches and believes to be true. Take time to dialogue with the Lord about unity today—unity as the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ. If you have pains with the Church, be sure to share those with the Lord, and listen to his loving response. 

You are in the rugged, mountainous desert at the base of Mount Sinai.

The Israelites are learning how to construct and adorn the tabernacle, a holy place for God to dwell among his people. Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. What are you doing to ensure this place is made holy so that God may dwell in you?

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

And you shall make upright frames for the tabernacle of acacia wood. Ten cubits shall be the length of a frame, and a cubit and a half the breadth of each frame. There shall be two tenons in each frame, for fitting together; so shall you do for all the frames of the tabernacle. You shall make the frames for the tabernacle: twenty frames for the south side; and forty bases of silver you shall make under the twenty frames, two bases under one frame for its two tenons, and two bases under another frame for its two tenons; and for the second side of the tabernacle, on the north side twenty frames, and their forty bases of silver, two bases under one frame, and two bases under another frame; and for the rear of the tabernacle westward you shall make six frames. And you shall make two frames for corners of the tabernacle in the rear; they shall be separate beneath, but joined at the top, at the first ring; thus shall it be with both of them; they shall form the two corners. And there shall be eight frames, with their bases of silver, sixteen bases; two bases under one frame, and two bases under another frame. And you shall make bars of acacia wood, five for the frames of the one side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the frames of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the frames of the side of the tabernacle at the rear westward. The middle bar, halfway up the frames, shall pass through from end to end. You shall overlay the frames with gold, and shall make their rings of gold for holders for the bars; and you shall overlay the bars with gold. And you shall erect the tabernacle according to the plan for it which has been shown you on the mountain. 

God directs every detail in the construction of the sanctuary where he plans to dwell. He gives the necessary specifics to ensure that the tent will remain firm and withstand any hostility. He directs the construction of the foundation and the frame to support the elaborate coverings and to house the Ark of the Covenant. “Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain” (Psalm 127:1). This is to be a house of God, and it must be built by God and in accord with his plan.

The same goes for us as men: each of us is a house of God, and that means we must be built by God and in accord with his plan. To rephrase the Psalm: Unless the Lord builds the man, he who strives to build himself labors in vain. That is too often our mistake. We erroneously believe that our success and productivity rests entirely on our own strength. We try to achieve greatness, so that we can present ourselves complete to the Father and say to him, “This is what ‘I’ have accomplished, and now ‘I’ offer it to you.” This attitude is based on a profound lie.

The Father desires to raise you, his son. No good father brings a son into the world only to send him away to fend for himself. God pays close attention to every detail of your life, directing you, encouraging you, challenging you, supporting you, and delighting in your growing stature. But you are still free—free to lay yourself in God’s good and saving hands and free to run from his goodness in a vain attempt to build yourself.

You have placed your trust in the Lord by taking up this spiritual exercise. Continue now to be open to God in prayer. Have confidence in him today. If you are willing to submit to his loving plan, he will build you up, and your labor will not be in vain.

In your time of prayer today, beg the Father for the direction and counsel you need to be the man he desires you to be. 

You are in the rugged, mountainous desert at the base of Mount Sinai.

The Israelites are learning how to construct and adorn the tabernacle, a holy place for God to dwell among his people. Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. What are you doing to ensure this place is made holy so that God may dwell in you?

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

And you shall make a veil of blue and purple and scarlet stuff and fine twined linen; in skilled work shall it be made, with cherubim; and you shall hang it upon four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold, with hooks of gold, upon four bases of silver. And you shall hang the veil from the clasps, and bring the ark of the covenant in there within the veil; and the veil shall separate for you the holy place from the most holy. You shall put the mercy seat upon the ark of the covenant in the most holy place. And you shall set the table outside the veil, and the lampstand on the south side of the tabernacle opposite the table; and you shall put the table on the north side. And you shall make a screen for the door of the tent, of blue and purple and scarlet stuff and fine twined linen, embroidered with needlework. And you shall make for the screen five pillars of acacia, and overlay them with gold; their hooks shall be of gold, and you shall cast five bases of bronze for them. 

The veil of the Temple was used to separate the profane from the sacred. No one was permitted to pass beyond the curtain unless they had been set apart for sacred duties and gone through ritual purification. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve walked with God freely in perfect unity. When sin entered the world, it destroyed that unity and separated us from God and from one another. Do not be deceived: sin still has the potency to separate us from God and from each other.

Adam chose to go his own way; but our heavenly Father (who knows his children better than they know themselves) knew that only unity with him would satisfy and fulfill them. He sent his only Son to take on the punishment we deserved and to fulfill the Old Covenant. The sacrificed blood of our crucified Lord tore open the veil that separated man from God and gave us a new confidence to approach his holy presence. “Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way which he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh … let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith” (Hebrews 10:19–20, 22).

When the soldier pierced Jesus’ side, blood and water flowed forth. When the spear opened his side and tore open the curtain of his Most Sacred Heart, the heart of God was once more accessible to all men. God did this for you; he allowed the veil of his body to be torn, and he has opened his very heart to you. Do you take the presence of his holy Body and Blood for granted? Do you act as though you have some sort of right to the Eucharist based on your merits?

It is not anything we have done or can do that opened the way for us to God. It was Christ’s bloody sacrifice that forever changed man’s relationship with God. Take time to acknowledge that today. Take time to honor the sacrifice Christ made for you. Enter through the torn veil and into the Sacred Heart of God. 

You are in the rugged, mountainous desert at the base of Mount Sinai.

Two full months are behind you now. What a gift. In this week’s readings, the Israelites are hearing from the Lord about the priesthood and proper vestments for serving in the tabernacle. As your new life is being formed in the mountainous desert, consider with the Israelites how your new freedom will be put into action. Will you use it to serve the Lord (looking up to the mountaintops) or to serve yourself (with your head down, ignoring those around you)? Only one way will keep you free.

Guideposts

1. Check in with your anchor. After weeks of making a nightly examination, you have begun to know yourself well. Are you tempted to cut a corner, skip a reflection, avoid time with God in prayer, or even to completely turn back to the slavery you left behind? Check in with your anchor. That is what he is there for. Even if you already checked in with him today, if you are concerned that you may fall, check in with your anchor again. It is far better to contact him in a moment of temptation than to have to explain to the whole fraternity why you didn’t contact him, after you’ve fallen.

2. Keep the disciplines. The ascetic practices have grown mundane and lost all appeal, though freedom has not. This is the time your virtuous muscles are truly being strengthened. Your effort now (or lack thereof) will be evident to you and your fraternity in Day 91. Build virtue. Keep the disciplines.

3. Remain reliant on the Lord. He has brought you this far. He will continue to lead you to the promised land. If you begin to think you have done this work on your own, he may allow you to see a glimpse of what you are capable of without him. That is, he may allow you to wander back to Egypt. Stay at the base of Mount Sinai. Remain reliant on the Lord.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

You shall make the altar of acacia wood, five cubits long and five cubits broad; the altar shall be square, and its height shall be three cubits. And you shall make horns for it on its four corners; its horns shall be of one piece with it, and you shall overlay it with bronze. You shall make pots for it to receive its ashes, and shovels and basins and forks and firepans; all its utensils you shall make of bronze. You shall also make for it a grating, a network of bronze; and upon the net you shall make four bronze rings at its four corners. And you shall set it under the ledge of the altar so that the net shall extend half way down the altar. And you shall make poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with bronze; and the poles shall be put through the rings, so that the poles shall be upon the two sides of the altar, when it is carried. You shall make it hollow, with boards; as it has been shown you on the mountain, so shall it be made. 

After giving the prescriptions for the tent and the Ark, God teaches Moses how to build the altar of burnt offering. The altar is to be the centerpiece of Israelite worship, where priests will offer sacrifices of lambs, goats, and bulls for the remission of sins. In Egypt, the wayward children of Israel chose other gods. Offering sacrifice to the Lord is one physical way God gives Israel of separating themselves from Egypt’s false gods and honoring him, the one true God. Though these animal sacrifices of the Israelites are imperfect and temporary, they are obedient offerings in response to the Lord’s request, and they aid in their freedom. The end goal is not the sacrifice of the animals themselves, but the sacrifice of the Israelites’ hearts to God.

When we give up the things we love, we are able both to separate ourselves from false gods (or things that could become false gods), and honor our Lord worthily. By now, though, you have seen how easy it can be to take pride in our acts of sacrifice and penance. Are we still telling people, other than our fraternity brothers, all about how cold our showers are? Who are we serving with such comments? Never forget that your sacrifices are an expression of your love for God, not a display of your machismo.

Talk to the Lord today about how he can further purify your heart during this last month through your acts of asceticism. Dialogue with him about how your sacrifices can be as profound for your spirit as they are for your flesh. 

You are in the rugged, mountainous desert at the base of Mount Sinai.

Consider with the Israelites in the desert how your new freedom will be put into action. Will you use it to serve the Lord or to serve yourself? Only one will keep you free.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

You shall make the court of the tabernacle. On the south side the court shall have hangings of fine twined linen a hundred cubits long for one side; their pillars shall be twenty and their bases twenty, of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver. ...

All the pillars around the court shall be filleted with silver; their hooks shall be of silver, and their bases of bronze. The length of the court shall be a hundred cubits, the breadth fifty, and the height five cubits, with hangings of fine twined linen and bases of bronze. All the utensils of the tabernacle for every use, and all its pegs and all the pegs of the court, shall be of bronze. And you shall command the sons of Israel that they bring to you pure beaten olive oil for the light, that a lamp may be set up to burn continually. In the tent of meeting, outside the veil which is before the covenant, Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening to morning before the Lord. It shall be a statute for ever to be observed throughout their generations by the sons of Israel. 

God cares about the details. In the sacred liturgy, the details matter because they express the holiness of God. When the liturgy is celebrated in a dignified fashion, validly and licitly, it has the ability to teach us much more about God than human words ever could. This was the case for the Israelites, and it is still the case today. Poorly celebrated liturgy teaches us poor theology. God shows us that he deserves the best from us in life by requesting the best of what we have for divine liturgy, whether art, ornamentation, or music. He deserves this because he is God.

For laymen, we must be generous with our gifts in order to make the Church and the liturgy beautiful for the Lord. This could mean offering to pay for organ cleaning, chapel bells, or dignified religious art. It may also mean helping our sons to see the beauty of the Mass and inspiring them to serve in a worthy fashion at the altar of the Lord.

For priests and those who work as liturgists or sacred musicians, the responsibilities are yet greater. It will be your part to study the liturgy and understand what the Church prescribes for sacred space and for sacred music, and then put into practice what you have learned with joyful submission to the Lord’s will. The worship of God is too important to be arranged according to our personal preferences. He deserves the best his people can offer as prescribed by those in authority in the Church.

Our society embraces the cult of casual. How many of us wear a nice button up shirt and slacks to work and throw on jeans and a polo for Sunday Mass? Take the details seriously. As a start, if you don’t already, dress well for Mass and teach your family to do the same. For priests, consider walking your liturgists through the many Church documents that pertain to the dignity of the liturgy.

Consider how you may be embracing the cult of casual in your relationship with God. Discuss with him how he desires you to honor him more, especially as it pertains to the Mass. 

You are in the rugged, mountainous desert at the base of Mount Sinai.

Consider with the Israelites in the desert how your new freedom will be put into action. Will you use it to serve the Lord or to serve yourself? Only one will keep you free.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

Then bring near to you Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the sons of Israel, to serve me as priests—Aaron and Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. And you shall speak to all who have ability, whom I have endowed with an able mind, that they make Aaron’s garments to consecrate him for my priesthood. These are the garments which they shall make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a coat of checker work, a turban, and a sash; they shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons to serve me as priests. ...

And you shall make a plate of pure gold, and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet, “Holy to the Lord.” And you shall fasten it on the turban by a lace of blue; it shall be on the front of the turban. It shall be upon Aaron’s forehead, and Aaron shall take upon himself any guilt incurred in the holy offering which the sons of Israel hallow as their holy gifts; it shall always be upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord.  

Today, we read of the setting apart of Aaron to be a priest, holy to the Lord. Through the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist, you, too, have been set apart to be holy to the Lord. During these past two months, every time you have chosen to put into practice the gifts of prayer, asceticism, and fraternity, you have chosen to express by your actions the truth of your consecration. Through these three actions, you are claiming your identity as holy to the Lord and embracing what it means to be set apart.

By now, you know well that this is a challenging way to live. Pursuing holiness and practicing daily prayer, asceticism, and fraternity all take serious effort. Many Exodus Men have found that it is easier to live the holiness they are called to during the time of these spiritual disciplines than afterwards. Why is that? First, it’s because this spiritual exercise is a “mountain peak,” a set of specified disciplines to push you for ninety days that give life more focus. Secondly, it’s because your fraternity provides you with a committed group of men to help push you to the top. For too many Exodus Men, both their sharp focus and their fellowship have ceased at the close of the ninetieth day. But for you and your brothers, they don’t have to.

Christ desires you to continue to live as a man set apart, holy to the Lord, but he will not force you to be one. The choice is yours each day—one day at a time. Have you been living as a man set apart? How can you live your consecration in a more profound way today? Ask the Lord to help you answer this question. 

You are in the rugged, mountainous desert at the base of Mount Sinai.

Consider with the Israelites in the desert how your new freedom will be put into action. Will you use it to serve the Lord or to serve yourself? Only one will keep you free.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

Now this is what you shall do to them to consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests. Take one young bull and two rams without blemish, and unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers spread with oil. You shall make them of fine wheat flour. And you shall put them in one basket and bring them in the basket, and bring the bull and the two rams. You shall bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the tent of meeting, and wash them with water. And you shall take the garments, and put on Aaron the coat and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastpiece, and belt him with the skilfully woven band of the ephod; and you shall set the turban on his head, and put the holy crown upon the turban. And you shall take the anointing oil, and pour it on his head and anoint him. Then you shall bring his sons, and put coats on them, and you shall belt them with sashes and bind caps on them; and the priesthood shall be theirs by a perpetual statute. Thus you shall ordain Aaron and his sons. 

Put yourself in the shoes of an Israelite. By the command of God, Moses is about to ordain Aaron and his sons into a holy priesthood. As you look upon the messy, but structured ordination process, your human unworthiness should come to mind. These men have been specially selected, called by God to serve him on behalf of his sinful people. But they are by no means perfect. They also are sinful and unworthy by their own merit to serve in the presence of God.

The same is true of men entering the priesthood in the Church. If you have never been to a priestly ordination, consider attending one this coming year. One of the most powerful moments in the ordination rite is the act of prostration. The men being ordained lie face down upon the floor before the altar, their very posture acknowledging their unworthiness for their office and their need for God’s divine assistance.

If you are a married man, recall the day you were married. In front of the altar, you stood before your loving bride, preparing to exchange vows. You were about to publicly commit to being faithful to this specific woman in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, as long as you both may live. You were about to make a covenant with your bride before God that you would honor and love her every day of your life till death do you part. That is an intimidating undertaking. There you stood, a man completely unworthy of the task at hand. Yet, you were being particularly called to fulfill it.

Regardless of your current state of life (married, single, or religious), God is calling you to serve him and his Church. Today is a day to acknowledge your sinfulness, inadequacies, and unworthiness. This is not to condemn or belittle yourself, but to make you more aware than ever before of your need for God. Call on the Lord today. Fall on your face before him in holy hour today and beg him for the grace to serve him, his Church, and your family, for he is calling you to do significant things.  

You are in the rugged, mountainous desert at the base of Mount Sinai.

Consider with the Israelites in the desert how your new freedom will be put into action. Will you use it to serve the Lord or to serve yourself? Only one will keep you free.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

Now this is what you shall offer upon the altar: two lambs a year old day by day continually. One lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer in the evening; and with the first lamb a tenth measure of fine flour mingled with a fourth of a hin of beaten oil, and a fourth of a hin of wine for a libation. And the other lamb you shall offer in the evening, and shall offer with it a cereal offering and its libation, as in the morning, for a pleasing odor, an offering by fire to the Lord. It shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tent of meeting before the Lord, where I will meet with you, to speak there to you. There I will meet with the sons of Israel, and it shall be sanctified by my glory; I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar; Aaron also and his sons I will consecrate, to serve me as priests. And I will dwell among the sons of Israel, and will be their God. And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them forth out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them; I am the Lord their God. 

Today’s reading contains just a small portion of a long list of sacrifices the Israelites are commanded to make. Specifically, God commands that these sacrifices be offered “with no intermission” and “continually.” In its original language, though translated into different English phrases, there is but one root Hebrew word used here: tamiyd, which means “continually.” [15]

Regarding right worship and service in the tabernacle, the word tamiyd is used an emphatic thirty-four times (beginning in Exodus 25:30 and continuing through Numbers 29:38). God has made it very clear that he wants the Israelites to show him worship and reverence at all times. The Israelites get no evening breaks or days off to go to the bar with their buddies and exercise a little harmless debauchery. Good thing God doesn’t call us men to such holy discipline anymore.

Or does he?

As we read in the letter to the Hebrews: “Through [Jesus Christ] then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name” (Hebrews 13:15, emphasis added). Moreover, the letter goes on, “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God” (13:16).

Like the Israelites, we are called to sacrifice continually to the Lord. Prayer, asceticism, and fraternity are not a once in a while requirement. They are not a quick fad or an exciting temporary challenge. God desires them from us continually.

What is your mentality today? Are you still eager to leave this exodus journey and slide back into an easier way of life? Or has the Lord set you free to see the greater gifts he has given you and the glory of the plan he is working in you through them? You are learning how to pray, sacrifice, and push your brothers to holiness. You are being trained in habits that most men (if they are being honest) wish they possessed. Do you recognize the greatness of these gifts? Dialogue with the Lord today about your desires to use or to give up these three gifts today and on Day 91. Listen, and be consoled by his loving plan for you. 

You are in the rugged, mountainous desert at the base of Mount Sinai.

Consider with the Israelites in the desert how your new freedom will be put into action. Will you use it to serve the Lord or to serve yourself? Only one will keep you free.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

You shall make an altar to burn incense upon; of acacia wood shall you make it. A cubit shall be its length, and a cubit its breadth; it shall be square, and two cubits shall be its height; its horns shall be of one piece with it. And you shall overlay it with pure gold, its top and its sides round about and its horns; and you shall make for it a molding of gold round about. And two golden rings shall you make for it; under its molding on two opposite sides of it shall you make them, and they shall be holders for poles with which to carry it. You shall make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold. And you shall put it before the veil that is by the ark of the covenant, before the mercy seat that is over the covenant, where I will meet with you. And Aaron shall burn fragrant incense on it; every morning when he dresses the lamps he shall burn it, and when Aaron sets up the lamps in the evening, he shall burn it, a perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations. You shall offer no unholy incense thereon, nor burnt offering, nor cereal offering; and you shall pour no libation thereon. Aaron shall make atonement upon its horns once a year; with the blood of the sin offering of atonement he shall make atonement for it once in the year throughout your generations; it is most holy to the Lord. 

The use of incense is common to both the Hebrew and Christian liturgies and has been for thousands of years. There are many reasons for the use of incense in worship: its fragrance, its “otherworldly” movement about the sanctuary, and the way it lifts the eyes and the mind of the worshipper toward God. Incense has been understood as a representation of prayer and of the presence of God.

The Psalmist petitions the Lord, crying, “Let my prayer be counted as incense before you” (Psalm 141:2). In Revelation, it is written that “another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer; and he was given much incense to mingle with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar before the throne; and the smoke of the incense rose with the prayers of the saints from the hand of the angel before God” (Revelation 8:3–4). If the smoke of incense is used to accompany the prayers of the saints to the seat of God, we can see how important it is for us, the Church on earth, to make use of such a powerful sacramental.

The liturgy in which we participate on earth—the structure, the rubrics, the smells, the bells, the colors, and the actions—is designed to mirror as closely as possible the perfect worship of God, the heavenly liturgy. So the next time you encounter incense at Mass, as the smoke pours out into the sanctuary, know that you are joining your ancestors, the angels, and the saints in one universal offering to God.

Today, take some time to consider the sacred liturgy. Let the Lord open your heart, your mind, and your eyes to the realities in action before you during Mass. If you have unanswered questions about certain parts of the liturgy, write them down and seek out the answers. Like the use of incense, other parts of the liturgy (when properly used) have much to teach us about God, ourselves, and our relationship with him. 

You are in the rugged, mountainous desert at the base of Mount Sinai.

Consider with the Israelites in the desert how your new freedom will be put into action. Will you use it to serve the Lord or to serve yourself? Only one will keep you free.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

The Lord said to Moses, “When you take the census of the sons of Israel, then each shall give a ransom for himself to the Lord when you number them, that there be no plague among them when you number them. Each who is numbered in the census shall give this: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as an offering to the Lord. Every one who is numbered in the census, from twenty years old and upward, shall give the Lord’s offering. The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less, than the half shekel, when you give the Lord’s offering to make atonement for yourselves. And you shall take the atonement money from the sons of Israel, and shall appoint it for the service of the tent of meeting; that it may bring the sons of Israel to remembrance before the Lord, so as to make atonement for yourselves.” The Lord said to Moses, “You shall also make a laver of bronze, with its base of bronze, for washing. And you shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it, with which Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet. When they go into the tent of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister, to burn an offering by fire to the Lord, they shall wash with water, lest they die. They shall wash their hands and their feet, lest they die: it shall be a statute for ever to them, even to him and to his descendants throughout their generations.” 

God commands Moses to take a census. He does this to show the people of Israel that they belong to him. The Israelite people are not isolated beings, on their own, living for themselves. They are God’s chosen people, united and called to fidelity both to God and to each other as one Israelite people.

This story is greatly contrasted by an event that will take place 500 years later: King David, incited by Satan, decides to take a census of the people of Israel (1 Chronicles 21:1). The result of his action is grave harm to his people; three days of pestilence comes upon Israel, and 70,000 men die (1 Chronicles 21:14). What is the difference between the census of King David and the one taken by Moses? Moses numbered God’s people so they would know that they were God’s. King David numbered God’s children to claim them as his own.

No matter what nation we belong to, no matter what sports teams or news feeds we subscribe to, our first and only proprietor is our all-good Father in heaven. So, whether you are proud to be an Aussie or a Kiwi, a Cheesehead or a Cowboy, keep at the forefront of your mind that as a baptized member of the Body of Christ, you are first and foremost a Christian. That title carries with it the reality of an invaluable identity that ought to bring you greater joy than any other name. The name “Christian” promises us more than anything else can—eternity in heaven and perfect union with God—and it delivers on its promises.

Take a moment in prayer to consider what it means to be Christian and what it means to belong to God. Praise the Lord in utter gratitude today for this gift of communion with him and his people, in which we have been granted the honor to participate. 

You are in the rugged, mountainous desert at the base of Mount Sinai.

In this week’s Scripture, the Israelites demonstrate human weakness. They show how easy it is to fall back into old habits. They reveal to us the need to actively and continuously pursue the Lord. The Levites demonstrate that courageous fidelity to the Lord is possible even in a world of debauchery. The Lord reveals something greater than either. He shows the Israelites and us that he will always remain faithful to his covenant people, even when they (we) fail him. Listen closely to the Word in the Scriptures this week. Listen as he reveals his faithful love for you.

Guideposts

1. Surrender control. Just as many of the Israelites lost patience with Moses as he remained forty days atop Mount Sinai, so you may be losing patience with some aspects of this spiritual exercise. You may have lost patience with prayer (thinking that the Lord is not speaking to you), with the difficulty of the ascetic practices, or with your fraternity brothers. Yet, it is exactly these things that have brought you to Week 11. Be patient, trust, and continue to surrender control. God will bring forth the freedom you seek.

2. Call back to mind your why. Likely, you have seen your why begin to be fulfilled. You may be spending more quality time with your wife, your children, your parish, and the Lord. Keep that why in the front of your mind. There is still a ways to go.

3. Make a third good confession. Three confessions may seem like a lot during a single spiritual exercise. Yet, many Church leaders suggest that the faithful make a good confession at least once a month, so three confessions over a ninety day period is nothing out of the ordinary. Don’t let yourself or your sins get in the way of your freedom. Make a third good confession this week.

4. Share your joy. If you have done a good job cultivating joy through gratitude and hope this week, share that joy with your Exodus fraternity. It is likely that not all men in your fraternity are experiencing the same level of joy. Help them cultivate gratitude and hope. Share your joy with them this week.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

Moreover, the Lord said to Moses, “Take the finest spices: of liquid myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet-smelling cinnamon half as much, that is, two hundred and fifty, and of aromatic cane two hundred and fifty, and of cassia five hundred, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and of olive oil a hin; and you shall make of these a sacred anointing oil blended as by the perfumer; a holy anointing oil it shall be. And you shall anoint with it the tent of meeting and the ark of the covenant, and the table and all its utensils, and the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense, and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils and the laver and its base; you shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy; whatever touches them will become holy. And you shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests. And you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘This shall be my holy anointing oil throughout your generations. It shall not be poured upon the bodies of ordinary men, and you shall make no other like it in composition; it is holy, and it shall be holy to you. Whoever compounds any like it or whoever puts any of it on an outsider shall be cut off from his people.’” 

God tells Moses today that the sacred anointing oil must not be poured on ordinary men. This oil is only for men who have been set apart, those who will serve God and his people as priests. Having been baptized into Christ and his threefold office as priest, prophet, and king, you have been set apart. In the rite of baptism, you were literally anointed with chrism, a sacred oil. Are you living in accord with this great anointing? Are you living a life set apart for the service of God and his people? Or are you living as an ordinary man?

Over the past seventy days, you have changed your very way of life, taking up the gifts of prayer, asceticism, and fraternity like never before. You have submitted yourself to the Lord’s will and eaten daily from the life-giving Word of God. Though you are tired, you are well-nourished. Meanwhile, there are many men in your community who are terribly malnourished. The internal weakness of these men makes them spiritually unable to lead their families or even get them to Mass each Sunday. The world claims to offer them sustenance and gives them nothing but empty calories. What are you giving them? Even the mention of prayer before a meal or the example of your attendance at Sunday Mass could give them the taste of sweet nourishment that they long for. Even more than that, imagine what an invitation to Mass, to a men’s group, or even just to dinner with your family might give them.

You are not an ordinary man. You have been anointed. Are your neighbors benefitting from your anointing? Make a solid examination, then dialogue with the Lord about how he wants you to serve his people. If the Lord brings specific names to mind, write them down. Then, be sure to follow through in reaching out to them. The Lord will be with you, and he will bless your holy courage. 

You are in the rugged, mountainous desert at the base of Mount Sinai.

The Levites demonstrate that courageous fidelity to the Lord is possible even in a world of debauchery. The Lord reveals something even greater. He shows the Israelites and us that he will always remain faithful to his covenant people, even when we fail him.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

The Lord said to Moses, “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah: and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, for work in every craft. And behold, I have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and I have given to all able men ability, that they may make all that I have commanded you.”…

And the Lord said to Moses, “Say to the sons of Israel, ‘You shall keep my sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you. You shall keep the sabbath, because it is holy for you; every one who profanes it shall be put to death; whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord; whoever does any work on the sabbath day shall be put to death. Therefore the sons of Israel shall keep the sabbath, observing the sabbath throughout their generations, as a perpetual covenant. It is a sign for ever between me and the sons of Israel that in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.’” 

God sends his Spirit on two of his workmen, Bezalel and Oholiab, giving them skill and intelligence in all workmanship. They are given these gifts in order to return glory to God in the magnificent things they craft and build in his honor.

How often do we hear gifted men brag that all their skill and success have been acquired by their own hard work? Yet everything we have, we have been given. What would a so-called “self-made man” be without the air in his lungs? Where would any of us be if God did not endow us with intelligence, energy, and opportunity? Let us be among those who thank the giver of all good gifts for his generosity.

The second portion of today’s reading immediately takes up the issue of rest, again. It is no coincidence that instructions regarding rest would follow instructions about the gift of skilled labor. For centuries, the Church has taught us that we work in order that we might have rest. This is contrary to contemporary thinking, which suggests that we rest solely so that we can work more. Sunday should be kept sacred and reserved, first for worship, and then for things such as family, friends, reading, hiking, fishing, recreation, and (quite importantly) for a holy feast. All of these good things are partaken of with gratitude and for the glory of the Lord.

Look back solely at the last month. Since the Day 41 reflection on resting on the Lord's Day, how well have you and your family kept sacred your Sundays? If you are a priest or minister, you have different parameters, but your obligation to rest still exists. Whatever your vocation, have you been faithful to God’s call to rest? Or have you remained a slave to your work to the detriment of those around you?

Take these questions to your holy hour today. Lay your answers before the Lord and listen as he guides you through them to greater freedom.

You are in the rugged, mountainous desert at the base of Mount Sinai.

The Levites demonstrate that courageous fidelity to the Lord is possible even in a world of debauchery. The Lord reveals something even greater. He shows the Israelites and us that he will always remain faithful to his covenant people, even when we fail him.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron, and said to him, “Up, make us gods, who shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” And Aaron said to them, “Take off the rings of gold which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” So all the people took off the rings of gold which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. And he received the gold at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, and made a molten calf; and they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.” And they rose up early the next day, and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. 

Thus far, the story of the Israelites in Exodus has been a story of sonship, slavery, freedom, and (most of all) God’s sovereignty. Yet, after everything the Lord has done for the Israelites throughout their exodus, they fall prey to the temptation to serve a false god.

We may be tempted to scoff at the Israelites and say, “What faithless men. Can’t they see all that the Lord has done for them and their families?” But let’s turn our eyes to ourselves. Like the Israelites, you have been in the wilderness quite some time now. What gods do you still desire to serve? Is there a movie you can’t get by without seeing, a sports team that holds your identity, an eating habit that promises to keep you content all day, money that continues to distract you, an hour that should be devoted to prayer that you feel you must reclaim for some selfish activity? To steer clear of our false gods, we must acknowledge all that the Lord has done for us. Our continued effort and discipline in these last two and a half weeks will be crucial. You may feel like you are starving, but the Lord is providing you with the sustenance you need. Trust him and open your heart to receive it.

There are likely only two or three fraternity meetings remaining for you within this spiritual exercise. At this coming fraternity meeting, plan for life after Exodus. Like the Israelites in today’s reading, if you and your fraternity do not have a plan for life after Exodus, you’ll be in for a quick return to life before Exodus. If your fraternity continues to meet after this spiritual exercise, prayer and asceticism will live on. If the fraternity wanes or drops off completely, asceticism and prayer will likely follow suit. It isn’t necessary to take on all the disciplines of this spiritual exercise when your fraternity begins to meet again in Day 91. Still, it would be good to make some level of fraternal commitment to prayer, asceticism, and fraternity. Christ’s roadmap to freedom is impossible to keep to alone. Try living fraternity by yourself.

Will you help your fraternity brothers refrain from turning back to false idols for the good of the Church and their families? How much do your brothers matter to you? How much does your freedom matter to you? Bring the answers to these questions before the Lord today. Internalize his divine insight. 

You are in the rugged, mountainous desert at the base of Mount Sinai.

The Levites demonstrate that courageous fidelity to the Lord is possible even in a world of debauchery. The Lord reveals something even greater. He shows the Israelites and us that he will always remain faithful to his covenant people, even when we fail him.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down; for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves; they have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them; they have made for themselves a molten calf, and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’” And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people; now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them; but of you I will make a great nation.” But Moses begged the Lord his God, and said, “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent he brought them forth, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it for ever.’” And the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do to his people. And Moses turned, and went down from the mountain with the two tables of the covenant in his hands, tables that were written on both sides; on the one side and on the other were they written. And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables. When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a noise of war in the camp.” But he said, “It is not the sound of shouting for victory, or the sound of the cry of defeat, but the sound of singing that I hear.” And as soon as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses’ anger burned hot, and he threw the tables out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it with fire, and ground it to powder, and scattered it upon the water, and made the sons of Israel drink it. 

Look at how God and Moses speak of the Israelites. God says to Moses, “Go down; for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt … ” Moses responds, “[W]hy does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought forth out of the land of Egypt ... ?” God gives ownership of the disobedient Israelite people to Moses, and Moses responds by giving the ownership right back to God. He then appeals to God’s perfect fidelity by reminding him of the covenant he made with Abraham, Isaac, and Israel.

God’s purpose in speaking to Moses this way is to allow Moses to call to mind the power of God’s fidelity to his covenant people. When Moses discovers the golden calf, he destroys the frail idol, just as the Lord destroyed Egypt’s false gods by the ten plagues. He then shows the sons of Israel the fruitless reality of the idol by forcing them to drink its ground-up remains. It is a sickening, but real reflection of the emptiness of their idolatrous worship.

If you have been faithful to the disciplines of this spiritual exercise, the scales are now falling from your eyes. Still tempted by Satan to enslave yourself to your favorite things, you are more capable than ever before of seeing their real importance. What priority will these things have for you in Day 91? Consider what favorite things you are tempted by, and determine whether they should be totally eliminated or rightly ordered with God and family. Where there is sin, elimination is the goal. Where there is a good thing that has been made into an idol, the idolatry needs to stop. Let us not let slavery creep back into our lives, stealing us away from our families and from God.

Talk with the Lord specifically about your favorite things today. Set a plan and get specific with him. Let the Lord lead the discussion, then write down your concrete conclusions concerning how you will prioritize or eliminate (if necessary) each of these favored things. 

You are in the rugged, mountainous desert at the base of Mount Sinai.

The Levites demonstrate that courageous fidelity to the Lord is possible even in a world of debauchery. The Lord reveals something even greater. He shows the Israelites and us that he will always remain faithful to his covenant people, even when we fail him.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

Look at Aaron’s childish defense against Moses’ question. Aaron first tries to fend off Moses’ anger by blaming the foolishness of the Israelite people. He then tells a half-true story, followed by the ridiculous phrase, “I threw (the gold) into the fire, and there came out this calf” (Exodus 32:24). It is clear that Aaron is trying to shirk responsibility for his actions.

Aaron is no random Israelite; he is Moses’ brother. He has been close to God and has witnessed his marvelous works since the beginning of Moses’ leadership. He was given to Moses by God to be Moses’ very mouth (Exodus 4:16). Yet, this chosen man falls into grave sin. Take note of this. Even men who have been close to God for a long time (much longer than ninety days), can still fall in a moment. They can even fall so far as to craft an idol and lie about it to themselves and to others. This can happen when they cease waiting on God’s Word and start listening to the cacophony of the world.

Why did Aaron and the Israelites build a golden calf? It did not bring them food, water, or a magic carpet ride into the promised land; nor did they expect it to. They built the golden calf because God was silent to them and that was uncomfortable. They wanted a more suitable god—a god they could see, touch, and control. They wanted a god that permitted them to live the way of life they wanted to live.

In the Scripture from Day 73, Aaron declared a feast day before the golden calf. The result was idol worship just as it was performed back in Egypt. Exodus 32:6 describes this worship: the people made offerings before the calf (idol worship), sat down (slothfulness), ate (gluttony), drank (drunkenness), and rose up to play (literally, had an orgy). This way of behaving has nothing to do with the holiness of the living God and everything to do with the comfortable way of life the Israelites preferred.

Consider the idols we made prior to this spiritual exercise. None of them offered us salvation, but we worshipped them anyway. Why? Because of the way of life they allowed us to live. Think about these idols for a moment. Our favorite sports teams allows us (grown men) to scream at a television in front of our children; abundant food allows us to make every day a feast day; phones allow us to avoid the reality of our depravity by filling every moment of silence with distraction; and pornography and masturbation allow us to feel the comfort and pleasure a woman offers without the requirements of an actual human relationship.

We worship idols, not for what they give us, but because of the way of life they allow us to live. Following God leads to freedom. Following anything else leads to slavery.

Talk to the Lord about your past idols today. What way of life were you fostering for yourself? How has that way of life prevented you from being the man you need to be before God and your family? 

You are in the rugged, mountainous desert at the base of Mount Sinai.

The Levites demonstrate that courageous fidelity to the Lord is possible even in a world of debauchery. The Lord reveals something even greater. He shows the Israelites and us that he will always remain faithful to his covenant people, even when we fail him.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

Moses calls the Israelites back to God’s service, asking with heated concern, “Who is on the Lord’s side?” (Exodus 32:26). Out of the twelve tribes of Israel, only one tribe, the Levites, steps forward. What follows is a serious act of purification; a purging, an acknowledgment of Israel’s infidelity to their covenant with God and an ordination of a tribal line of priests.

Moses’ response seems to be vengeful and heartless. Yet as the Scripture passage continues, we see that his response is actually the opposite. Willing to make atonement for the Israelites, Moses valiantly begs God to have mercy, even offering his own life in the place of the Israelite people. Moses is not heartless; he is the epitome of self-gift. His offering here prefigures the atoning offering of Jesus Christ. Look at the cross. Like the Israelites, we deserve punishment and death for our sins, but, as Moses did for the Israelites, Christ offers his own life in the place of ours. Unlike with Moses, the Father accepts Christ’s offer.

Finally, consider God’s response to the sin of the Israelites. He sends a plague upon the people of Israel as a just punishment for their infidelity to the covenant. Yet, he is not abandoning his people or killing them all off. He is purifying them, for their sake and the sake of their mission to the world. Like Moses, God follows this up with mercy and ongoing fidelity to his people.

Consider just the last week of your life. Where were you unfaithful to God? Out of love, God is still holding you in existence. You deserved justice and instead received mercy. Praise the Lord in your time of prayer today for the mercy he has shown you this week—especially the tangible mercy he has extended to you through his sacraments. 

You are in the rugged, mountainous desert at the base of Mount Sinai.

The Levites demonstrate that courageous fidelity to the Lord is possible even in a world of debauchery. The Lord reveals something even greater. He shows the Israelites and us that he will always remain faithful to his covenant people, even when we fail him.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

The Lord said to Moses, “Depart, go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought up out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘To your descendants I will give it.’ And I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, lest I consume you in the way, for you are a stiff-necked people” …

Moses said to the Lord, “See, you say to me, ‘Bring up this people’; but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.’ Now therefore, I beg you, if I have found favor in your sight, show me now your ways, that I may know you and find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people.” And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” And he said to him, “If your presence will not go with me, do not carry us up from here. For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from all other people that are upon the face of the earth?” And the Lord said to Moses, “This very thing that you have spoken I will do; for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.” Moses said, “I beg you, show me your glory.” And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord’; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face; for man shall not see me and live.” And the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand upon the rock; and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by; then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back; but my face shall not be seen.” 

As Christian men, we are called to live a life of heroic virtue. Today, Moses gives us a clinic on how to live out heroic virtue, especially faith and courage. After God speaks to Moses about distancing himself from Israel, Moses responds courageously. He begs God the Father to remain with him and the Israelites.

Who are we apart from our fathers? Orphans. When a young boy sees his father leaving for a long work trip he cries out, “Don’t go!” A boy inherently knows his need for his father. He equally knows his identity as his son, and thus, is willing to demand his father’s presence.

When we fail to speak to the all-good Father, it is sometimes due to lack of courage. Often, though, the virtue we lack isn’t courage; it’s faith. Too often, we lack faith that God is a good father and that we truly are his sons. Our failure to cry out to the Father is an outward sign of our inward identity crisis as sons of God.

Moses has faith in his sonship and in God’s paternity. When he cries out to God today for something that is good for him (and in keeping with God’s purposes), he receives what he asks for. Knowing that he has favor in God’s sight, Moses asks for even more. By a request that shows the deepest desire of his heart and that surely delighted his creator, he asks to see the very face of God. Though Moses does not receive the answer to his request in its fullness, he is given as much of God’s shining glory as he can handle in his mortal state.

The Lord has so much he wants to give us. Often, we are simply too faithless or too cowardly to ask. Ask the Lord in prayer today for greater faith in his paternity and for greater courage to speak to him from your sonship for everything you need. 

You are in the desert, north by northeast of Mount Sinai.

After a significant step back, the people of Israel hear again in this week’s Scripture readings of the need to serve the Lord their God. Are you still striving to serve the Lord? There are crucial days remaining in your exodus journey. You are still being purified. You committed to ninety days of this spiritual exercise, not seventy, eighty, or even eighty-nine. Serve the Lord in these final days, not by slowing your pace, but by increasing it. Lengthen your stride, increase your momentum. Give everything you have all the way to the finish, just as Christ gave everything he had on Calvary.

Guideposts

1. Recommit to the daily reflections. Much will unfold in the reflections these last two weeks. Keep your fraternity committed. The reflections will help you understand where the Word is leading you. They will also give you the final steps of the trek into Day 91. Now would be a sad time for you or your brothers to go astray.

2. Continue your commitment to the Word of God. As the book of Exodus comes to a close, the story of the Israelites in the wilderness will remain unfinished. Follow the Word as he leads you from the book of Exodus into the three subsequent books of Scripture: Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

3. Solidify your plan for Day 91. Day 91 is rapidly approaching, even though you are still being purified in these final weeks. If your fraternity has made no plans for actively serving your parishes and your families in Day 91, nothing will change. Plan as a fraternity to celebrate after this spiritual exercise. Plan to continue the practice of meeting as a fraternity. This sacrifice of time will bring about good things for you, your family, your fraternity, and your parish. Don’t throw the opportunity away.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

The Lord said to Moses, “Cut two tables of stone like the first; and I will write upon the tables the words that were on the first tables, which you broke. Be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to me on the top of the mountain. No man shall come up with you, and let no man be seen throughout all the mountain; let no flocks or herds feed before that mountain.” So Moses cut two tables of stone like the first; and he rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hand two tables of stone. And the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. The Lord passed before him, and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy and faithfulness, keeping merciful love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” And Moses made haste to bow his head toward the earth, and worshiped. And he said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, let the Lord, I beg you, go in the midst of us, although it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.” 

The Lord proclaims his name, his very identity, to Moses and to us. Read this section closely. Each self-descriptive statement the Lord makes here can be used in times of prayer, praise, and hardship. God is unchanging truth itself. We can be sure that these descriptors, spoken to Moses millennia ago, still apply to God now.

When you find yourself contrite after falling to sin, call on the one who is “merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.” When you feel that God has abandoned you, pray to the one who is “faithfulness.” Throughout Scripture, God gives us his names and attributes, not to brag about his character, but to equip us with reasons and ways to understand his goodness and summon his help. As you enter into God’s Word, stay attentive to the attributes of his name and put them to use. Moses models this for us today.

When the Lord speaks his name, Moses rushes to bow his head to the ground. Then, hearing that God is merciful and gracious, Moses begs him to pardon the sins of the Israelites and claim them once more as his own. Moses makes his request with humility and faith, and God gives him what he has asked. As a result of his prayer, the Israelites are restored to their covenant relationship with God. This shows the power of knowing the names of the Lord and praying according to what they reveal.

Consider in prayer the many names and attributes of the Lord. Choose one (either one from today’s passage or one you remember from elsewhere in Scripture), and call upon the Lord in prayer using this particular descriptor. (If you can’t pick one, use “The Lord abounding in mercy and faithfulness.”) Know that God will hear your prayer, even if you don’t immediately feel it. Then speak with the Lord about how this particular name or attribute affects your relationship with him. 

You are in the wilderness, north by northeast of Mount Sinai.

There are crucial days remaining in your exodus journey. You are still being purified. You committed to ninety days of this spiritual exercise, not seventy, eighty, or even eighty-nine. Lengthen your stride, increase your momentum.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

And he said, “Behold, I make a covenant. Before all your people I will do marvels, such as have not been wrought in all the earth or in any nation; and all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the Lord; for it is a terrible thing that I will do with you. “Observe what I command you this day. Behold, I will drive out before you the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Take heed to yourself, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you go, lest it become a snare in your midst. You shall tear down their altars, and break their pillars, and cut down their Asherim (for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God), lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and when they play the harlot after their gods and sacrifice to their gods and one invites you, you eat of his sacrifice, and you take of their daughters for your sons, and their daughters play the harlot after their gods and make your sons play the harlot after their gods. You shall make for yourself no molten gods. The feast of unleavened bread you shall keep. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month Abib; for in the month of Abib you came out from Egypt. All that opens the womb is mine, all your male cattle, the firstlings of cow and sheep. The firstling of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. All the first-born of your sons you shall redeem. And none shall appear before me empty. Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; in plowing time and in harvest you shall rest” …

And the Lord said to Moses, “Write these words; in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” And he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments. 

There are two different ways the word “jealousy” is used. Jealousy often refers to a sin, similar to envy, whereby someone wants something of another’s even though he has no special right to it. The commandments that forbid “coveting” speak to this. But jealousy can also refer to the proper concern that justice be done. In this sense, a person can be “jealous” for the rights of the oppressed. When the Scriptures speak of God as being “jealous,” it is this second kind of jealousy.

If a man sees his next-door neighbor happily arriving home from a date with an attractive woman, and he gets jealously angry and grim because he doesn’t have a pretty girlfriend himself, he is sinning. He has no just claim to the affections of the woman. But if the same man sees his next-door neighbor happily arriving home from a date with his own wife, he will experience a different kind of jealousy. He will be jealous for the just claims of marriage, and he will be right in being disturbed and in taking due action.

God often speaks of his relationship to his covenant people (in both the Old and New Testaments) as a marriage bond. God’s covenants demand fidelity from both parties, God and his people. God is always faithful, and he is rightly jealous of his people’s fidelity. In order to help the Israelites avoid falling into the sin of infidelity, God commands the Israelites to tear down altars and break pillars that have been set up in honor of idols.

These precautionary actions apply just as much to us today. Are there altars raised to idols in our house or on our desk at work? Is our basement decorated with an overabundance of trophies or sports memorabilia; our garage ordered as a shrine for our car; or our living room unwelcomingly directed towards the largest screen in our home instead of to love of others? When disproportionally displayed, we can invite good things that we enjoy to persuade us to withhold due worship to the Lord and bid them to seduce us to “play the harlot” with them.

Do you have altars set up to false idols? Is your home pointing those you love to God first and foremost? Ask these two questions of yourself honestly today. Talk with the Lord about them in your holy hour. And as you go throughout your day, look around your home, your car, your office space, and any other places that you have say over. If there are altars, pillars, or shrines set up to false gods in these places, consider making prudent changes to them, lest these serve as an area of temptation to you or to others. 

You are in the wilderness, north by northeast of Mount Sinai.

There are crucial days remaining in your exodus journey. You are still being purified. You committed to ninety days of this spiritual exercise, not seventy, eighty, or even eighty-nine. Lengthen your stride, increase your momentum.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tables of the covenant in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. And when Aaron and all the sons of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. But Moses called to them; and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses talked with them. And afterward all the sons of Israel came near, and he gave them in commandment all that the Lord had spoken with him in Mount Sinai. And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face; but whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he took the veil off, until he came out; and when he came out, and told the sons of Israel what he was commanded, the sons of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone; and Moses would put the veil upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him. 

In the Scripture passage today, Moses comes down from the mountain after forty days and forty nights of prayer and fasting before the Lord. This is Moses’ second stretch of forty days and forty nights on top of Mount Sinai (the first was just before the golden calf incident). So after eighty days of prayer and fasting, Moses becomes so conformed to God that others are able to see God’s glory in him.

Being in the presence of the Lord is a “conforming” experience. The face-to-face time that Moses spent with the Lord meant that not only his mind and his heart became conformed to God’s glory, but even his face. Look at the lives of the saints. The time they spent with the Lord conformed them to God and his glory. When we read of the lives of the saints and hear about the great things they did, we see not only their virtuous humanity; we also gain a glimpse of God’s glory.

As of today, you too have spent eighty days of prayer and fasting before the Lord. The timing is no coincidence. Whether you have been consistently faithful to the disciplines of this spiritual exercise over the past eighty days or you have cut corners, made excuses, or removed certain disciplines from the beginning, one way or another, you have just spent eighty days before the Lord. That is not only a major accomplishment—it is a truly conforming experience.

Talk with the Lord today about how he has conformed your mind, your heart, and your way of life to his. Feel free to write these changes down so that you continue to live in accord with this grace. Give thanks to the Lord for these changes. And as you sit before him in prayer today, allow him to continue to conform your life to his.

You are in the wilderness, north by northeast of Mount Sinai.

There are crucial days remaining in your exodus journey. You are still being purified. You committed to ninety days of this spiritual exercise, not seventy, eighty, or even eighty-nine. Lengthen your stride, increase your momentum.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

Moses assembled all the congregation of the sons of Israel, and said to them, “These are the things which the Lord has commanded you to do. Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a holy sabbath of solemn rest to the Lord; whoever does any work on it shall be put to death; you shall kindle no fire in all your habitations on the sabbath day.” Moses said to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, “This is the thing which the Lord has commanded. Take from among you an offering to the Lord; whoever is of a generous heart, let him bring the Lord‘s offering: gold, silver, and bronze; blue and purple and scarlet stuff and fine twined linen; goats’ hair, tanned rams’ skins, and goatskins; acacia wood, oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, and onyx stones and stones for setting, for the ephod and for the breastpiece. And let every able man among you come and make all that the Lord has commanded: the tabernacle, its tent and its covering, its hooks and its frames, its bars, its pillars, and its bases; the ark with its poles, the mercy seat, and the veil of the screen.” ...

Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood; two cubits and a half was its length, a cubit and a half its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height. And he overlaid it with pure gold within and without, and made a molding of gold around it. ...He also made the table of acacia wood; two cubits was its length, a cubit its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height. ...He also made the lampstand of pure gold. The base and the shaft of the lampstand were made of hammered work; its cups, its capitals, and its flowers were of one piece with it. ...He made the altar of incense of acacia wood; its length was a cubit, and its breadth was a cubit; it was square, and two cubits was its height; its horns were of one piece with it. ...He made the holy anointing oil also, and the pure fragrant incense, blended as by the perfumer. ...

He made the altar of burnt offering also of acacia wood; five cubits was its length, and five cubits its breadth; it was square, and three cubits was its height. He made horns for it on its four corners; its horns were of one piece with it, and he overlaid it with bronze. 

As you recall from the readings of weeks nine and ten, Moses received detailed instructions from God for the tabernacle. Now the time has come to start the actual building. Today’s Scripture verses are excerpts from a much longer account of Moses conveying God’s building plans to the Israelites, just as he had received them.

The repetition shows how important proper worship is if Israel is to be free. God is precise, both with the physical structure of the tabernacle and the rites of worship that will happen there, because he is setting up a bit of heaven on the earth. These are not arbitrary arrangements. They reflect the worship going on before the throne of God. The tabernacle will not only be a physical reminder of God’s presence to the Israelites; it will be a participation in the life of heaven, as God’s people carry out their daily call to practice prayer, asceticism, and fraternity according to what he has taught them.

Many modern people look at basilicas and cathedrals only as buildings of architectural interest and, sometimes, as nothing more than museums. But churches are a continuation of the original tabernacle, just as liturgy is the fulfillment of the rites of sacrifice God gave to the Israelites. Basilicas, cathedrals, and parish churches give us a visible reminder of our daily call to practice prayer, asceticism, and fraternity and allow us to share in the life of heaven even more richly than was given to the Israelites in the tabernacle.

When you pass by a church on your way to work, do you feel a call to prayer? When you catch a glimpse of the stations of the cross as you are walking out of Mass, are you moved to offer yourself as a sacrifice for your family for the rest of the week? When you walk into a church far from your home and you catch sight of the candle next to the tabernacle signifying Christ’s real presence, do you remember that heaven’s life is breaking into our world there?

Through church buildings and their various details, the Lord is calling you as he called the Israelites to daily, holy service. Dialogue with the Lord today about how his presence in visible church buildings can call you daily to a deeper sense of a life constantly directed toward Christ. 

You are in the wilderness, north by northeast of Mount Sinai.

There are crucial days remaining in your exodus journey. You are still being purified. You committed to ninety days of this spiritual exercise, not seventy, eighty, or even eighty-nine. Lengthen your stride, increase your momentum.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

This is the sum of the things for the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the covenant, as they were counted at the commandment of Moses, for the work of the Levites under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the Lord commanded Moses; and with him was Oholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, a craftsman and designer and embroiderer in blue and purple and scarlet stuff and fine twined linen. All the gold that was used for the work, in all the construction of the sanctuary, the gold from the offering, was twenty-nine talents and seven hundred and thirty shekels, by the shekel of the sanctuary. And the silver from those of the congregation who were numbered was a hundred talents and a thousand seven hundred and seventy-five shekels, by the shekel of the sanctuary: a beka a head (that is, half a shekel, by the shekel of the sanctuary), for every one who was numbered in the census, from twenty years old and upward, for six hundred and three thousand, five hundred and fifty men. 

A pattern emerges as we continue our reading of Exodus: God returns over and over to a small group of chosen men. Even though the Israelites number many thousands, God selects a chosen few. He singles them out by name to complete his sacred work.

It seems as if God knows who will respond to his call and who will not. He works through those men who willingly respond to his selection. We want to be men who are ready to respond to God’s call and upon whom he can rely. God does not need us. If he wanted, he could manage everything himself. Yet, he has chosen, from love, to dignify his sons by working his will through them.

You have said “yes” to God’s call to follow him through this ninety day spiritual exercise. With eight days to go, consider God’s intention in inviting you here. Do you think that at the end of these ninety days God will have completed his work of forming you into a better man? Unlikely. Your heavenly Father has a far greater plan in mind for you and your family. Gaining freedom is only one part of that plan. Be ready and be willing to work with God.

Dialogue with the Lord today about how he intends to use prayer, asceticism, and fraternity to continue to form you into an even greater man for your family and your parish. 

You are in the wilderness, north by northeast of Mount Sinai.

There are crucial days remaining in your exodus journey. You are still being purified. You committed to ninety days of this spiritual exercise, not seventy, eighty, or even eighty-nine. Lengthen your stride, increase your momentum.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

The hundred talents of silver were for casting the bases of the sanctuary, and the bases of the veil; a hundred bases for the hundred talents, a talent for a base. And of the thousand seven hundred and seventy-five shekels he made hooks for the pillars, and overlaid their capitals and made fillets for them. And the bronze that was contributed was seventy talents, and two thousand and four hundred shekels; with it he made the bases for the door of the tent of meeting, the bronze altar and the bronze grating for it and all the utensils of the altar, the bases round about the court, and the bases of the gate of the court, all the pegs of the tabernacle, and all the pegs round about the court ...

And they brought the tabernacle to Moses, the tent and all its utensils, its hooks, its frames, its bars, its pillars, and its bases; the covering of tanned rams’ skins and goatskins, and the veil of the screen; the ark of the covenant with its poles and the mercy seat; the table with all its utensils, and the bread of the Presence; the lampstand of pure gold and its lamps with the lamps set and all its utensils, and the oil for the light; the golden altar, the anointing oil and the fragrant incense, and the screen for the door of the tent; the bronze altar, and its grating of bronze, its poles, and all its utensils; the laver and its base; the hangings of the court, its pillars, and its bases, and the screen for the gate of the court, its cords, and its pegs; and all the utensils for the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of meeting; the finely worked garments for ministering in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons to serve as priests. According to all that the Lord had commanded Moses, so the sons of Israel had done all the work. And Moses saw all the work, and behold, they had done it; as the Lord had commanded, so had they done it. And Moses blessed them. 

On the eighty-third day of this spiritual exercise, we read of the completion of the tabernacle. After all the details and instructions were given to the selected men of Israel, they found a way to bond together and complete the laborious challenge. Though still laboring, you and your brothers are on the road to a similar end.

After completing the tabernacle, the selected Israelite men choose to respond to God’s presence. They stay when God stays and go when he goes. What will you do once you’ve completed this spiritual exercise? Will you go back to Egypt? Or will you stay attuned to God’s promptings and follow him, even if he leads you further into his purifying love? Call to mind your why.

Just as the Israelite men received their blessing upon the completion of the tabernacle, so you will receive your blessing at the end of this exercise. Prepare for it as a fraternity. Plan a time to celebrate together.

At the end of this exercise, God will not force you to follow him. It will be up to you to choose to do so. God is good, and he will provide you the grace to keep following him (if that be your choice) just as he has provided you the grace to follow him up to this point. In prayer today, ask the Lord for a fervent desire to continue following him in Day 91 for yourself, your fraternity, your family, and the Church. 

You are in the wilderness, north by northeast of Mount Sinai.

There are crucial days remaining in your exodus journey. You are still being purified. You committed to ninety days of this spiritual exercise, not seventy, eighty, or even eighty-nine. Lengthen your stride, increase your momentum.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

The Lord said to Moses, “On the first day of the first month you shall erect the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. And you shall put in it the ark of the covenant, and you shall screen the ark with the veil. And you shall bring in the table, and set its arrangements in order; and you shall bring in the lampstand, and set up its lamps. And you shall put the golden altar for incense before the ark of the covenant, and set up the screen for the door of the tabernacle. You shall set the altar of burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and place the laver between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it. And you shall set up the court round about, and hang up the screen for the gate of the court. Then you shall take the anointing oil, and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it, and consecrate it and all its furniture; and it shall become holy. You shall also anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and consecrate the altar; and the altar shall be most holy. You shall also anoint the laver and its base, and consecrate it. Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the tent of meeting, and shall wash them with water, and put upon Aaron the holy garments, and you shall anoint him and consecrate him, that he may serve me as priest. You shall bring his sons also and put coats on them, and anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may serve me as priests: and their anointing shall admit them to a perpetual priesthood throughout their generations.” Thus did Moses; according to all that the Lord commanded him, so he did. And in the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, the tabernacle was erected. 

At the beginning of this passage, God commands the tabernacle to be erected “On the first day of the first month” (Exodus 40:2). Why is he so specific about the time? Because it was on the first day of the first month that God created the world. The tabernacle is an image of the entire world and so is to be erected on the same day as creation began. God’s master plan includes careful attention to timing, even to singling out one particular day.

When God asks you to do a specific thing at a specific time, it is because he has a plan in mind for you and those in your life. You may not know the whole picture, but you can trust that the plan is good. That doesn’t mean it won’t be challenging or uncomfortable. But it will always be good, even in its precise timing. This spiritual exercise is an example of this. God called you to a challenging and uncomfortable time, yet you are probably able to see results, even if the whole plan is not yet clear to you.

It is nearly impossible to stick to God’s plan for you if you do not give the Lord time each day. Without prayer, without God’s plan, you are left to your own plans and your own resources for you and your family. How has that worked out for you in the past?

The last eighty-four days has been forming in you a habit of daily prayer. This is one habit you don’t want to take a break from. Exodus Men have found that if Day 91 includes a break from daily prayer, it is very hard to get back into a disciplined habit of prayer. You’ve worked too hard to let that happen.

You might choose to shorten your daily holy hour in Day 91, but at least twenty minutes of dedicated, undistracted, silent prayer ought to remain a daily part of your life. Stick to this habit, and you will be more capable of sticking to the plan God has for you and your family in Day 91. 

You are on the eastern edge of the promised land.

After so much grace, the Israelites still doubt God. As a result, they are justly barred from the promised land. Your future should be vastly different. You have done well these past three months, relying on God more than ever before. You have learned something of what it means to take up your cross daily and follow Christ (see Luke 9:23). Through a sharing of Christ’s roadmap, the Lord has entrusted you with an understanding of the Christian life beyond that of many men. Christ’s roadmap is now in your hands. You are free to choose what you do with it, but you are not free from the consequence of your decision. Live it, embrace it, and your consequence will be greater freedom in Day 91.

Guideposts

1. Reflect on your three months of daily prayer. Before your exodus, you may not have had a daily prayer routine. Look at how your relationship with God has grown because of it. What is your plan for prayer in Day 91? If you don’t have a plan to hold yourself accountable to daily prayer, you won’t make time to pray daily. Make a written plan.

2. Take note of your ongoing need for God. If you cease begging God for grace and mercy and if you cease acknowledging your need for God daily, you will likely lose your freedom. Don’t let that happen to you or your fraternity brothers—especially your anchor.

3. Acknowledge your attention to Scripture in these past months. The Word is alive, and through your attentiveness, it has led you to this final week of your exodus. Imagine the man you would become if you continued to follow the living Word. Imagine the men your brothers would become if you journeyed further through the Word as a fraternity. The opportunity is before you in Day 91.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud abode upon it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the sons of Israel would go onward; but if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not go onward till the day that it was taken up. For throughout all their journeys the cloud of the Lord was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel. 

We have reached the conclusion of the book of Exodus. Great work. But the Book of Exodus does not end in the promised land. The story continues in the following books of sacred Scripture, which flow together to make one story of salvation. We, too, play a role in that story, but what that might look like is best preserved for your ongoing formation in Day 91. Until then, let’s take a deeper look at the following excerpt from today’s Scripture reading:

Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting, because the cloud abode upon it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. (Exodus 40:35)

Moses is not permitted into God’s presence. This is a change from Moses’ conversations with God before the building of the tabernacle. Think back to when Moses’ face had shone due to him being in God’s presence atop Mount Sinai. Now that there is a place for the Israelites to make atonement for their sins (the tabernacle), they must show their desire to regain right relationship with God. Until the Israelites are prepared to do this, Moses will suffer the same separation from God that the Israelites chose for themselves through their sins.

In his mercy, God provides Moses and the Israelites a roadmap back to right relationship with him. The Father does this for them and for us by providing a set of specific disciplines to follow, turn by turn, back to him.

Tomorrow, we will look more closely at the Israelites’ roadmap as we follow them into the book of Leviticus. Today, take a look at your own life in light of the above excerpt from Scripture. Is the Lord permitting you into the tabernacle or rightly separating himself from you until you outwardly choose him again? Now that you have Christ’s roadmap, the Lord expects more from you. He expects you to choose to follow his roadmap (prayer, asceticism, and fraternity) back to him.

Talk with the Lord today about how your outward living of prayer, asceticism, and fraternity displays your love for him and keeps you faithful each day. 

You are on the eastern edge of the promised land.

You have learned something of what it means to take up your cross daily and follow Christ. You have learned Christ’s roadmap to freedom. Live it, embrace it, and experience greater freedom in Day 91.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

The Lord called Moses, and spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying … “If any one of the common people sins unwittingly in doing any one of the things which the Lord has commanded not to be done, and is guilty, when the sin which he has committed is made known to him he shall bring for his offering a goat, a female without blemish, for his sin which he has committed. And he shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering, and kill the sin offering in the place of burnt offering. And the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and pour out the rest of its blood at the base of the altar. And all its fat he shall remove, as the fat is removed from the peace offerings, and the priest shall burn it upon the altar for a pleasing odor to the Lord; and the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be forgiven.” 

The third book of Sacred Scripture, Leviticus, picks up where the book of Exodus left off. God is now speaking to Moses from the tent of meeting. Moses is not permitted into the presence of the Holy God due to Israel’s sinfulness. Note though, God is still willing to speak to Moses, even though Moses is not allowed into his presence.

In Leviticus, the Israelites are given a set of ritual offerings and penitential actions that will be necessary for their continued holiness. If the holy God is to live among them, they must be holy. If the Israelites cease following these rituals, they will lose favor with God as if they were saying, “We no longer need a relationship with God. We don’t need his forgiveness or his help.”

Consider your own relationship with God. Even when you have sinned and turned away from him, he still speaks to you, calling you out of your sin to return once more to a life of freedom in following him. The sacraments of Confession and the Eucharist for Christians, even more so than the fulfillment of all the sacrifices in Leviticus for the Israelites, provide us the healing and reunifying grace Christ desires for our soul.

God has also given us the gifts of prayer, asceticism, and fraternity to help restore and renew our relationship with him. When Christians turn away from these gifts, it is like saying, “We no longer need a relationship with God. We don’t need his forgiveness or his help.” Once we realize how untrue this is, the devil will immediately try to deceive us, telling us that there’s no way back to God once we fall. We must not believe him.

If this spiritual exercise is your first contact with ordered prayer, asceticism, and fraternity, this season has probably been both freeing and exhausting. Like most Exodus Men, you will likely want to enter a less intense time of celebration and reflection. But you also want to avoid ending up back in Egypt. The Lord hears you and knows your needs. Today, consider which disciplines you might want to continue. Do you need to be on social media or drinking and eating the way you used to? How can you best ensure continued freedom in Christ? Be honest with yourself, remembering that the stakes are high. Your freedom is on the line. Regardless of what disciplines you choose to retain, keep your fraternity together. Your fraternity, especially your anchor, supplies a strong defense against the enemy.

Dialogue with the Lord today about Day 91. Ask him openly what he desires for you in Day 91. Do this for your freedom; do this for your family. 

You are on the eastern edge of the promised land.

You have learned something of what it means to take up your cross daily and follow Christ. You have learned Christ’s roadmap to freedom. Live it, embrace it, and experience greater freedom in Day 91.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

The Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tent of meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, “Take a census of all the congregation of the sons of Israel, by families, by fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, every male, head by head; from twenty years old and upward, all in Israel who are able to go forth to war, you and Aaron shall number them, company by company. And there shall be with you a man from each tribe, each man being the head of the house of his fathers” …

Moses and Aaron took these men who have been named, and on the first day of the second month, they assembled the whole congregation together, who registered themselves by families, by fathers’ houses, according to the number of names from twenty years old and upward, head by head, as the Lord commanded Moses. So he numbered them in the wilderness of Sinai ...

In the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day of the month, the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle of the covenant, and the sons of Israel set out by stages from the wilderness of Sinai; and the cloud settled down in the wilderness of Par’an ...

Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving; and the people of Israel also wept again, and said, “O that we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt for nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; but now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.” 

The book of Numbers, just like the book of Leviticus, picks up right where the Book of Exodus left off. This is because Leviticus serves as more of a supplemental book to the greater narrative of Scripture. Leviticus lays out the many ritual laws that the Israelites must follow, but it does not cover substantial chronological time in the process. The first verse of the book of Numbers subtly shows the extraordinary importance of the book of Leviticus to the overall narrative of Scripture: “The Lord spoke to Moses ... in the tent of meeting” (Numbers 1:1, emphasis added).

As we know, Moses had been prohibited from entering the tent of meeting with God. Now, he is permitted to enter the tent again, meaning that the ritual laws given to the Israelites by God in the book of Leviticus have worked. Take a moment to consider what has happened. The people of Israel chose to sin before God. In turn, God justly judged them unworthy to enter into his presence. In his paternal mercy, God laid out a set of guidelines for the Israelites as a roadmap that could purify them and free them to enter into his presence once more, provided they chose to follow the roadmap.

Sound familiar?

The ritual laws were challenging for the Israelites, just like the disciplines of this spiritual exercise are challenging for us. The beautiful and more important thing is God is good, his plan is good, and his roadmap works.

The Israelites are finally on the move again. Following the Lord, they travel through the desert to the wilderness of Paran. They have been in the desert wilderness for over a year at this point, mostly at the base of Mount Sinai. They have seen God do amazing things for them—the plagues in Egypt, the Red Sea parting, miraculous food and water, and forgiveness and a renewal of the Covenant after they turned from him and worshiped a golden calf. Yet, none of this is enough for the Israelites. They still wish they could go back to the food of Egypt. They still desire slavery and the base human securities it offered regardless of the oppressive work it entailed. The unknown of God is simply too much for them, even though he always provided; even though he promised freedom and a land flowing with milk and honey.

Where do you see yourself in this story?

The ninety days ends this week. You have witnessed the Lord do many amazing things in your life. Are you still complaining? You know Christ’s roadmap works if you stick to it. Are you wavering in your resolve, tempted to leave your brothers and longing to binge on dessert in Egypt? Are you desirous of the slavery that will come with such a choice?

Gaze upon the cross. Be grateful today for all God has done for you in the wilderness. Even though the details of the road ahead are unknown, the perfect Father has something far greater for you than the life you were living ninety days ago. He has something in store for you that’s even greater than the life you are living today. Choose to keep following him. 

You are on the eastern edge of the promised land.

You have learned something of what it means to take up your cross daily and follow Christ. You have learned Christ’s roadmap to freedom. Live it, embrace it, and experience greater freedom in Day 91.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

The Lord said to Moses, “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I give to the sons of Israel; from each tribe of their fathers shall you send a man, every one a leader among them.” …

At the end of forty days they returned from spying out the land. And they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the sons of Israel in the wilderness of Par’an, at Ka’desh; they brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. And they told him, “We came to the land to which you sent us; it flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. Yet the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large; and besides, we saw the descendants of A’nak there. The Amal’ekites dwell in the land of the Neg’eb; the Hittites, the Jeb’usites, and the Am’orites dwell in the hill country; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along Jordan.” But Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once, and occupy it; for we are well able to overcome it.” Then the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.” So they brought to the sons of Israel an evil report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants; and all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature. And there we saw the Neph’ilim (the sons of A’nak, who come from the Nephilim); and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.” Then all the congregation raised a loud cry; and the people wept that night. And all the sons of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron; the whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! Why does the Lord bring us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey; would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” ...

And the Lord said to Moses and to Aaron, “How long shall this wicked congregation murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the sons of Israel, which they murmur against me. Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘what you have said in my hearing I will do to you: your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness; and of all your number, numbered from twenty years old and upward, who have murmured against me, not one shall come into the land where I swore that I would make you dwell, except Caleb the son of Jephun’neh and Joshua the son of Nun. But your little ones, who you said would become a prey, I will bring in, and they shall know the land which you have despised. But as for you, your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness. And your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years, and shall suffer for your faithlessness, until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness. According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, for every day a year, you shall bear your iniquity, forty years, and you shall know my displeasure.’” 

The Israelites have finally come to the edge of the promised land. The land is just as God described, but it is not what the Israelites expected. It is flowing with milk and honey, yes, but it is also occupied by a strong and fortified people.

You may be experiencing freedom in a whole new way today. If so, give thanks to God for this grace. Just as the promised land was filled with intimidating men that made the Israelites seem like grasshoppers before them, so too the days and years ahead of you will be filled with trial and opposition—Jesus already knows that (see Matthew 10:22-25). Gaining freedom and relationship with God does not mark the ending for you and your fraternity; rather, it marks the beginning.

On the other hand, you may not be experiencing great freedom just yet. Maybe you stumbled in the wilderness. You binged on a pleasure, gave into a temptation, or fell to an old vice. Does this mean you can’t enter the promised land?

Look to God’s Word. In the midst of their exodus, the Israelites fell into sins of the flesh. They went back to idol worship and had an orgy (cf., Exodus 32:1–6). Did God reject this people and give up on leading them to the promised land? No. He gave the Israelites their much-needed roadmap, the Law, which is preserved in the book of Leviticus. This was both just and merciful. This roadmap would lead to forgiveness, reunification with God, and onward to the promised land, provided the Israelites repented and chose to take it up.

Even though the Israelites’ sins of the flesh didn’t keep them from the promised land, today, we see that their doubt in God did. Regardless of whether you’re experiencing greater freedom today or not, the Lord wants to bring you fully into freedom and fully into a life lived for him. In the face of the upcoming worldly opposition, do you doubt that the Lord can do this for you?

Talk honestly with the Lord about this in your holy hour today. 

You are on the eastern edge of the promised land.

You have learned something of what it means to take up your cross daily and follow Christ. You have learned Christ’s roadmap to freedom. Live it, embrace it, and experience greater freedom in Day 91.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

And the sons of Israel, the whole congregation, came into the wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Ka’desh; and Miriam died there, and was buried there. Now there was no water for the congregation; and they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron. And the people contended with Moses, and said, “Would that we had died when our brethren died before the Lord! Why have you brought the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness, that we should die here, both we and our cattle? And why have you made us come up out of Egypt, to bring us to this evil place? It is no place for grain, or figs, or vines, or pomegranates; and there is no water to drink.” Then Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the door of the tent of meeting, and fell on their faces. And the glory of the Lord appeared to them, and the Lord said to Moses, “Take the rod, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water; so you shall bring water out of the rock for them; so you shall give drink to the congregation and their cattle.” And Moses took the rod from before the Lord, as he commanded him. And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels; shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock?” And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his rod twice; and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their cattle. And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe in me, to sanctify me in the eyes of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.” These are the waters of Mer’ibah, where the sons of Israel contended with the Lord, and he showed himself holy among them. 

The Israelites once more rebel against Moses and Aaron, this time due to bodily thirst. The scene may remind you of the reading from Day 42 (Exodus 17). The two scenarios are similar, but in today’s scene, God intends to go one step further than before in revealing his glory to Israel.

God commands Moses to tell the rock to yield water. Unlike before, when Moses had to strike the rock, here, words will be enough to make the waters gush forth. This would have been an impressive sight for the Israelites. But Moses’ pride gets in the way. Instead of speaking to the rock as he is commanded, he disobediently uses the authority of his office and speaks to the people, directing God’s due glory to himself.

Moses’ words reveal his sin: “Hear now, you rebels; shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock?” (Numbers 20:10, emphasis added). Yes, the offices Moses and Aaron hold provide them authority, but they also demand humble obedience. Only the power given them by God can make water come forth from the rock, yet Moses acts out of pride. He speaks to the people instead of to the rock, and he directs the eyes of the Israelites to himself, instead of directing their eyes to God. However, even in Moses’ disobedience, God still provides for his people through Moses’ office—but not without just consequence to Moses for his prideful actions. Thus, Moses loses the privilege to enter into the promised land.

You are now standing at the edge of the promised land with the Israelites. If you have told others that you are completing a ninety day spiritual exercise, then you are about to be bombarded with opportunities to act out of pride. Your friends, your coworkers, and your spouse or parishioners may laud you for completing such an intense spiritual exercise. If so, what will your response be? Will you allow their eyes to remain fixed on you and all you accomplished, or will you direct their eyes to the one who actually provided the success—the only one who has the ability to bring you and all men to the greater freedom found in Day 91? To whom will you give the honor for bringing you to the end of this spiritual exercise? To whom is owed the glory for leading you to this state of greater freedom? Prepare for what may come by acknowledging God’s work in you with joy and gratitude during your time of prayer today. 

You are on the eastern edge of the promised land.

You have learned something of what it means to take up your cross daily and follow Christ. You have learned Christ’s roadmap to freedom. Live it, embrace it, and experience greater freedom in Day 91.

Pray that the Lord grants deliverance to you and your fraternity.

Pray for freedom for all men in Exodus, just as they are praying for you.

Our Father…

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words which I command you this day shall be upon your heart; and you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. And you shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. ...

For this commandment which I command you this day is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, “Who will go up for us to heaven, and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?” Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, “Who will go over the sea for us, and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?” But the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it. See, I have set before you this day life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you this day, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his ordinances, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you are entering to take possession of it. But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you this day, that you shall perish; you shall not live long in the land which you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse; therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice, and clinging to him; for that means life to you and length of days, that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them. 

The book of Deuteronomy picks up the story of Israel’s exodus after forty years in the wilderness have passed and the God-doubting generation of Israelites have died off. The younger Israelites, the new generation of Israel, are now ready to enter the promised land.

The first part of today’s Scripture is called the Shema, a Hebrew word that means “listen.” The form of listening implied by this word entails both a hearing and a fitting act of response. Moses is calling a new generation of Israelites to do what the preceding generation did not do: to listen to the Law and respond by following it faithfully.

Moses is essentially saying three things to this generation of Israelites:

• You have seen where unfaithfulness to God leads.

• You know the details of God’s roadmap for your life.

• Make the choice to follow it.

Though the roadmap laid out by God is not one that follows the easiest way, it is the only road to life. This reasonable and uncompromising call from Moses is as pertinent for us today as it was then. Christ’s roadmap for us is clear: pray daily, make ordered acts of asceticism, live fraternity.

In the second half of today’s reading, Moses points to the choice facing the Israelites. It is no small matter: it is a choice of life or death. If the new generation chooses to follow the Law, they will gain life. On the contrary, if they turn from God and despise his Law (if they hear but choose not to respond), they will inherit death.

What will you do with the roadmap Christ has imparted on you in these ninety days?

• You have seen where unfaithfulness to God leads.

• You know the details of God’s roadmap for your life.

• Make the choice to follow it.

Will you continue to live a life of prayer, asceticism, and fraternity to whatever degree the Lord is calling you to? The choice is yours. Choose life. 

Congratulations, brother! From slavery in Egypt to the freedom of the Promised Land, God Himself has led you. Be thankful, be grateful, and celebrate Christ's victory.