Passion Sunday (March 24, 2024)

St. Jane de Chantal had this to say about the Passion of Our Lord, Jesus Christ:

"The Church proposes Passion Sunday to remind us of the sufferings of our Savior…in which the work of our redemption was so abundantly completed. Our redemption began from the instant of the adorable conception of the eternal Word in the womb of the Virgin, his Holy Mother, and it was completed in the passion of the Savior. This Sunday reminds us to prepare, by a holy recalling to mind of our Savior's toils and sufferings…considering what God has done for us and encourage ourselves to imitate Him. And, if it was necessary, as Scripture says, that the Son of God should enter his glory and kingdom by a multitude of toils and tribulations, we are deceived if we think to enter there by any other way. Let us love: love our little sufferings and prepare ourselves by the consideration of those of our Lord…Let us strive to die indeed to ourselves, to our inclinations, and to all which corrupts our nature, and God will enable us to live a new life, in his grace and in his love, in this world, and then forever in his glory, giving himself as the reward for our little labors." (<u>Conferences</u>, Exhortation XI, page 117 - 118)

St. Jane also helps us to consider that the passion of Jesus is not only about suffering: it is ultimately about being obedient to, open to, and trusting in Divine Providence. "It is a true point of the highest and most sublime perfection when we are entirely given over, open and obedient to the events of divine Providence. If we indeed have surrendered ourselves to Providence we shall be as happy to be here as a hundred miles form here; and even more so, finding ourselves in Providence more of God's pleasure and less of our own satisfaction. It would be of no consequence whether we be humbled or exalted, to be led by one hand or the other, to be in dryness, aridity, sorrow and privation or to be comforted by divine Providence and in the enjoyment of God. In fact, we should keep ourselves in the good hands of this great God like cloth in the hands of a tailor, who cuts it in a hundred ways for use as he pleases and as he designs, while it puts no hindrance in the way. So, we should endure to have God's powerful hand cut, hammer and chisel us just as God wishes, to make us a fit stone for the adornment of his building." (Conference XLI, pp. 280 - 281)

As we reflect upon the passion of Jesus - the generosity of Jesus - the obedience of Jesus - the self-emptying of Jesus - it affords us the opportunity to examine our own passion for righteousness, our own generosity toward others, our own obedience to the will of the Father and our own willingness to empty ourselves so that our hearts, minds, attitudes and actions may more faithfully reflect the love of God who invites us each day to continue the ministry of Jesus in ways that fit the state and stage of life in which we find ourselves.

Fifth Sunday of Lent (March 17, 2024)

The connection between the first reading and the third reading is not hard to discover today. God tells Jeremiah that the upcoming, New Covenant will not be like the Sinai covenant with Moses. The new covenant will be one written on the hearts of his people. Relationship. Our Gospel tells of Jesus’ revealing that covenant.

John tells us of two Greek gentiles who have a request: “Sir, we would like to see Jesus.” Philip, one of the apostles with a Greek name receives the request and tells his fellow, ethnic apostle, Andrew. Together they convey the request. As often happens, Jesus does not address the situation directly; he uses this occasion to reveal a positive change in the way that his followers are to relate to God, one another, and to creation. The passage also prefigures the church’s future mission to the Gentiles.

Jesus says, “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life.” Jesus, of course, is speaking of his personal death and resurrection as the proto-example to his followers. He generalizes; he extends the teaching to us with “whoever hates [loves less] his life.”

This “life” that is to be lost can take different forms. For alcoholics and those addicted to drugs, it means to trade their non-lives of addiction for sobriety, being clean. For us not addicted, the genius that articulated “life” by naming life’s principal components; time, talent and treasure have surely served us well. If we serve ourselves and not serve others with our time, our talent, and our treasure, we fail this challenge of dying to self and bringing life to others.

When couples become parents, they seem to learn this lesson of life very quickly. With a child who is the expression of their love, they unhesitatingly give their time, their talent, and their treasure to their child. Fortunately, it is still “news” when a parent serves oneself, fails miserably, and neglects a newborn.

Serious students and serious new-hires know the wisdom of the denial of self that is required for graduating or holding a job.

Did you notice the difference in Jesus’ attitude in john’s gospel from the synoptic gospels [Matthew, Mark, and Luke] where Jesus prays that the cup of suffering will pass, that he will not have to drink it? Today’s Gospel from john admits that he is troubled, but does not struggle with the agony of suffering. He says, “It was for this purpose that I came to this hour.” This is another example of John viewing Jesus as more divine than human. It is in the Synoptic Gospels we see Jesus as more human than divine.

Jesus’ issue is the urgency of “his hour.” The tone is set by the image of the “grain of wheat.” There is no “cheap grace.” Jesus must die to produce the “fruit” of the community of believers who will be united with him and form what Paul will call “the body of Christ.” Jesus’ prayer is quickly affirmed by his Father.

As we move downhill toward the conclusion of Lent, we need to determine if there is any part of ourselves as grains of wheat that must die to produce the fruit of metanoia, the change of heart/mind that will allow us, as believers, to live Jesus more deeply at our celebration of Resurrection on Easter and our union with our God and our fellow believers both here and hereafter.