Oblates of St. Francis de Sales

New DeSales World Newsletter - Summer Edition

4th Sunday in Lent (March 26, 2006)

Readings 2 Chr 36: 14-16, 19-23 Ps 137: 1-6 Eph 2: 4-10 Jn 3: 14-21

Suggested Emphasis

"God is rich in mercy…manifested to us in Christ Jesus."

"We are truly God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to lead the life of good deeds which God prepared for us in advance."

Salesian Perspective

Lent is a time to celebrate the mercy, the generosity and the kindness of God.

We certainly hear echoes of Paul's letter to the Ephesians in St. Francis de Sales' observations in his Treatise on the Love of God (II, 5) where he writes: "Who now can have any doubt as to our abundant means of salvation since we have so great a Savior, in view of whom we have been made and by whose merits we have been ransomed?"

Francis continues: "Far indeed was Adam's sin from overwhelming God's generosity; on the contrary, Adam's sin aroused God's generosity all the more and called it forth!"

Lent calls us to proclaim this truth: as much as God loved us by creating us, God loved us even more by redeeming us! As St. Francis de Sales claimed, "The state of redemption is a hundred times better than that of innocence."

Lent calls us to proclaim the truth that in the face of God's generosity we are all-too-frequently stingy, small-minded, small hearted. This is most powerfully displayed when we sin. Ironically, it is only when we truly accept God's generosity that we are truly able to repent of our sinful affections, attitudes and actions. Francis de Sales asks the question: "Do you not know that the kindness of God should lead you to repentance?"

Lent calls us to "lead the life of good deeds." Repentance is not merely refraining from sin; repentance is also about embracing virtue, of doing what is commanded and counseled by God "diligently, frequently and readily with alacrity and cheerfulness." (Introduction to the Devout Life, Part I, Chapter 1)

In what remains of this season, dedicate yourself to thankfulness. Be grateful for God's mercy, generosity and kindness to you: accept the salvation won for you in Christ! Turn away from those sins that prevent you from experiencing and accepting that generosity in your life. Give testimony to God's kindness and your repentance by being merciful, generous and kind in your relationships with others. In so doing, you more convincingly become "God's handiwork, created in Jesus Christ, to lead the life of good deeds" that God prepared for you - yes, you - from the creation of the world!

Rev. Michael S. Murray, OSFS, is the Executive Director of the De Sales Spirituality Center.