Thursday of the Fourth Week in Lent
Exodus
32:7-14 — John 5:31-47
March
18, 2010
Verse for Recollection
throughout the Day:
“…for a
while you were content /
to rejoice
in his light. /
But I have
testimony greater than John’s.”
[John 5:35-36]
Reflection:
Jesus’ words to us in today’s Gospel passage are very
moving. They are all about “testimony”. That may not seem like a moving word: it might, at first hearing, suggest a
courtroom trial. So would a nearly
synonymous word: “witness”. Yet maybe we need to reach down and recover
the religious meaning at the root of these words…
Jesus mentions
a number of “witnesses” that He has: John
the Baptizer; the works that the Father gave Him; “the Father who sent me”; and
the Scriptures. And what do these witness to about Jesus: that He ran a red light? that’s He’s a nice guy? that He’s the son of Mary? Jesus elaborates for us, in speaking about the
witness of His works: “these works that I perform
testify on my behalf that the Father has
sent me.” Here is one of the
themes that John stresses over and over again in his account of the
gospel: the divinity of Jesus, which (of
course) is based on His relationship to God the Father.
Holy Trinity by Andrey Rublev
To digress for one paragraph, often when
Catholics consider the purpose for the Sacrament of Confession, they think primarily
of their sins being forgiven. The
forgiveness of sins is one of the chief purposes of Confession, but it’s not the
only one. Receiving the Sacrament of
Confession also confers sacramental graces that one did not have even
before committing one’s sins: this is
one of the reasons why the Church commends Confession even to those who have
committed only venial sins. This is why many
of the saints, who we can presume had few sins at all, went to Confession
weekly: not only to have their sins
forgiven, but also to receive the sacramental graces that strengthen one’s
Christian life.
Now apply this example to the Seasons of Lent
and Easter. If you were to ask the
average Christian, “Why did Jesus die on the Cross?”, you might well get the
response, “To wash away our sins.” This
response is true. But Jesus’
Passion, Death and Resurrection accomplish more than this only. The Cross and Resurrection are the foundation of one’s Christian life.
And when we say “one’s Christian life”, what
exactly are we talking about? The phrase
“one’s Christian life” sounds a little abstract, but at the foundation of the
Christian life is the truth that through Jesus Christ, we are sons and daughters of God the Father. There is nothing abstract
about this relationship. The glory of the
Resurrection is a glory that is promised to us as God’s sons and
daughters. But what is most moving about
this truth is that we already share in this glory, if but dimly, to the extent
that we live our Christian life now as witnesses to Jesus Christ, the Father’s
only-begotten Son.
Reflection Question:
Is my relationship with God the Father at the heart of all I do and
offer during Lent?
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Please
pray for these intentions:
special intention of V.
special
intentions of E.
special
intention of M.
special
intention of L.
special
intention of S.
prayers
for a 16-year old, D.,
who is on the wrong path
special
intention of J.
special
intention of T.
special
intention of R.
special
intention of N.
repose
of the soul of Fr. Stuchlik
special intention of Fr. Hoisington
You
are invited to submit your own petitions to Father Hoisington by means of the Reflections Facebook group, or to his email address: hoisingtont@cdowk.org.
