4th Sunday of Lent

Today, the fourth Sunday of Lent, is Laetare Sunday; marking the halfway point of the Lenten Season. Laetare means “to be joyful” or rejoice. The vestments for today are rose colored instead of violet and we rejoice because we are the recipients of God's love.

We all know the children’s song “Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so.” Yes, Jesus loves us and in today’s Gospel Jesus tells us about the vastness of God’s love for us in what are the most quoted verses in the New Testament, John 3:16-17. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.”

One scripture scholar writes that these two verses contain the “very essence of the gospel.” God loves us. God loves not just you and me, God loves the world. St. Augustine said: “God loves each one of us as if there was only one of us to love.” Jesus did not have to convince God to love us, God loved us first.

Our problem is accepting the enormity of this love. God loves us unconditionally, understanding our inadequacies, limitations and sinfulness. God does not condemn us; God forgives us out of love. Given the immensity of God’s love, we have every reason to rejoice. So, on this the fourth Sunday of Lent, REJOICE! And, during the week give yourself a gift. Spend a few moments basking in the love of God.

Father of peace,

we are joyful in your Word,

your Son Jesus Christ, 

who reconciles us to you.

Let us hasten toward Easter 

with the eagerness of faith and love.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

Who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, 

one God, for ever and ever.

Amen

An Irish Prayer

 

Open Arms of Home

A young man returned from military duty in the Middle East. For several months, he had served in a place of great danger, in very unfamiliar and uncomfortable surroundings. When he talked about his joy upon being home, he talked of the simplest things. His recliner fit like a glove, and his bed was nothing short of luxurious comfort. He played ball with his son for an hour, and enjoyed his favorite meal across the table from his wife. The touch of her hand, he said, was beyond description. The greatest comfort he'd ever known wasn't anything elaborate. The greatest comfort was simply being home. It was the comfort of having familiar surroundings after a very dangerous journey.

The disciples and the close-knit circle around Jesus thought they had lost Jesus. They had called him Messiah, and life had been wonderful when Jesus was around. Suddenly, there was the cross, and it was all over. The grave sealed their hopes, and the comfort was shattered.

Then came the cry - "He's alive!" - and Jesus was in their midst. He came with open hands, standing among them, fixing their breakfast, walking with them, encouraging them, thrilling them, leaving them with the smiles of a man come home from war.

Wherever you've been, the Lord's Supper is an opportunity to come home. The battle might have been difficult, and you might not have won every fight. But here is forgiveness, and grace ... and the open arms of home.

A New Serenity Prayer

God, grant me the serenity

to accept the people I cannot change,
which is pretty much everyone,
since I’m clearly not you, God.
At least not the last time I checked.

And while you’re at it, God,
please give me the courage
to change what I need to change about myself,
which is frankly a lot, since, once again,

I’m not you, which means I’m not perfect.
It’s better for me to focus on changing myself
than to worry about changing other people,
who, as you’ll no doubt remember me saying,
I can’t change anyway.

Finally, give me the wisdom to just shut up
whenever I think that I’m clearly smarter
than everyone else in the room,
that no one knows what they’re talking about except me,
or that I alone have all the answers.

Basically, God,
grant me the wisdom
to remember that I’m

not you.

Amen

Fr. James Martin, SJ

Moving Beyond Ourselves

Love immediately challenges me to break the fixation I have with myself. ~ John Powell, S.J.

Self-absorption can become habitual, and it's a seductive pastime. "How do I look?" "Was my response articulate?" "Is my wit impressive?" It's all too easy to block out the presence of others except for the purpose of comparison to ourselves. And blocking out their presence robs us of the many lessons they've come to teach us.

The ego is fragile only in proportion to the amount of undue attention we give it. And assuredly we cripple it by the focus we mistakenly believe nurtures its growth. Far better for the health of our ego to love and encourage the well being of a friend's ego.

The more we move beyond ourselves, the greater will be our personal peace and security. Happiness is the natural by-product of favoring another with loving attention.

From “Worthy of Love” by Karen Casey

Companions

“It is possible to travel alone. But the good traveler knows that the journey is human life and human life needs company. “Companion” means, the one who eats the same bread. Happy are they who feel they are always on the road and that every person they meet is their chosen companion. The good traveler cares for his weary companions. He grieves when they lose heart. He takes them where he finds them. He listens to them. Intelligently, gently, above all, lovingly, he encourages them to go on and recover their joy on the journey."

- Dom Helde

3rd Sunday of Lent

Our Old Testament readings for the past two Sundays have focused on the covenants God first made with Noah and then with Abraham. Today we have the story of another covenant, a covenant given to Moses and passed on to all of us in the Ten Commandments. These Commandments define how we should conduct our relationship with God (Commandments 1-4) and our relationships with each other (Commandments 5-10). The Ten Commandments are summed up by Jesus in Matthew 22:37-40; “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments."

Given the importance Jesus placed on God’s Commandments, today’s Gospel from John 2:13-25, should come as no surprise to us. Jesus gets angry when he encounters people desecrating the Temple, God’s House. The merchants and money changers were abusing their relationship with God by treating God’s House like a common market place and abusing their relationships with the people who came to God’s house for worship through extortion. Their lack of reverence for God and lack of respect for the people of God violated the two great Commandments and the teaching of all the prophets and Jesus.

A good Lenten exercise for this week could be to reflect on the Ten Commandments and our relationship with God and our relationships with other people. Are we irreverent towards God? Do we recognize the sacredness of God’s house? Are we respectful of other people? Do we treat others the way we want to be treated? Today’s Responsorial Psalm from Psalm 19:8-10, reminds us of how remarkable God’s Commandments are: “The law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul. The decree of the LORD is trustworthy, giving wisdom to the simple. The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart. The command of the LORD is clear, enlightening the eye. The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The statutes of the LORD are true, all of them just….”

Holy God, we often turn our hearts

into houses of pride and greed

rather than into homes of love and goodness

where you can feel at home.

Destroy the temple of sin in us,

drive away all sin from our hearts,

and make us living stones of a community

in which can live and reign

your Son Jesus Christ,

our Lord for ever and ever.

Amen.