Tuesday, March 29, 2022

 

FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT  – CYCLE  C – 2022

INTRODUCTION

v  In the 5th  Sunday of Lent, Jesus continues to show  through his actions the mercy of his Father and our Father.  

v  Today it is a woman, who has been caught in the act of adultery, who experiences Jesus’ kindness and respect toward her.  

FIRST READING   Is 43:16-21

·         This Reading is taken from the Second Isaiah or Deutero-Isaiah, which goes from chapter  40 to 55 of the book of Isaiah.  

·         God speaks to his people and introduces himself as the author of the exodus from Egypt  

o   He is the one who opens a way in the sea  

o   And a road through the raging waters   

o   Who throws off horse and rider who end up being like a quenched wick. 

·         But now think of the past only to look forward to the present and to the future.   

o   I am doing something new 

o   It springs forth, do you not see it?   

o   I open a way in the desert, now it is not in the sea, but in the desert.   

o   In the dry lands I open rivers.   

o   The wild animals look for me,    

o   Because I put water in the desert,    

o   For my chosen people to drink

o   The people I have formed for me to praise me and make others praise me too.   

·         These words are addressed also to us  

o   Do not stop in the past, or in its sufferings, or in the great things God has done for you.  

o   May the memories be only to open your eyes and see the present around you, and see the wonderful things God does for you, in your family, in your society, in your church, in your place of work, in the youth who blooms around you, see and discover…  

 RESPONSORIAL PSALM. Ps  126

R. (3) The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
When the LORD brought back the captives of Zion,
we were like men dreaming.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with rejoicing.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
Then they said among the nations,
“The LORD has done great things for them.”
The LORD has done great things for us;
we are glad indeed.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
like the torrents in the southern desert.
Those that sow in tears
shall reap rejoicing.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
Although they go forth weeping,
carrying the seed to be sown,
They shall come back rejoicing,
carrying their sheaves.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

*      Beautiful psalm that describes and paints, in a poetic way, the difference between sowing and ripping.    

*      The sowing of the earth, and of our heart too, is always difficult, full of uncertainties, not knowing the outcome, with the danger of storms and losing the harvest.  

*      The harvest is always a time of great joy, winter is gone as well as the difficulties, now it is time to rejoice and to collect the fruits.   

*      This is true in our life at all levels: material and spiritual.   

SECOND READING  PHL 3:8-14

Ø  Paul speaks to his dearest community, the community of Philippi.   

Ø  He considers everything as waste, the only thing that is worth is the knowledge of Christ, his Lord, for whom he has accepted to lose everything.  

Ø  Because he only wants to be with him, not being found just in his own eyes, not being righteous according to the law, but through faith-love-trust in Christ.    

Ø  Thus, to know him and the power of his resurrection.  

Ø  In his encounter with Christ, Paul has discovered the treasure of the risen Christ. The law   was only a preparation to encounter the Lord.   

Ø  He does not consider that he has reached the goal, but he continues. According to the words of the first reading, he does not look behind to the past, but to the future, to his dream, to be able to reach the reward, that is Christ Jesus himself.

Ø  Is Christ Jesus our only treasure? Do we look at the future with the desire to be with the Lord Jesus?    

GOSPEL John 8:1-11

*      The frame of this narrative of John is the Temple, where Jesus returns every day during the week preceding his death. At night, he goes to the Mount of Olives to pray, and he stays probably at his friends’ home (Lazarus, Martha and Mary.)  

*      He is already in the Temple, people are listening to him and asking him about the kingdom, the good news, the Father, and he teaches them tirelessly.

*      While he is still speaking some scribes and Pharisees, come dragging a woman caught in the act of adultery.     

o   Estrange situation and accusation, adultery is always between two: a man and a woman, it is never a question of only one person.    

o   They explain the situation to Jesus, their intentions are not right, they do not care either about the woman or about what she was doing. They do not care either about the sin, as an offense to God, they only want to use this woman to be able to accuse and condemn Jesus. 

o   Jesus writes with his finger on the ground. The finger of God, in the exodus the finger of God wrote the commandments on the stones.    

§  The commandments, which God had first written in the human heart.   

§  To teach us how to be sisters and brothers, to recognize that we are all equals: sinners, poor, in need of pardon from the Father of all.   

§  Jesus, our eldest brother; the only son of the Father; the beloved son, God like the Father, writes on the sand. What does he write? We will never know. We will imagine many things, but they will be only that, imaginations.  

§  The woman’s accusers continue to annoy Jesus with their demands of a sentence, trembling, the woman also waits for his words.   

§  She has probably heard about the rabbi Joshua, the good man who listens to all, but she has committed a great sin, she is dirty, impure, and this is a just and holy man, he will probably condemn her.  

o   Now something surprising happens, Jesus tells them that the one without sin may throw the first stone to her.    

§  We must give credit to them, to their honesty; they put the stones down and leave one by one, beginning by the eldest. At least they recognize themselves as sinners.  

o   Jesus and the woman are left alone, face to face, God and the sinner. 

§  Woman, where are your accusers? No one has condemned you?  

§  Nobody, Sir.

§  Neither do I condemn you, go, do not sin anymore. Jesus has not come to condemn but to save, to restore, to seek what was lost. His word, his gaze, his respect for this woman probably helped her not to sin anymore, to seek for the true love and not for the false love.  

o   We are all called to make Jesus’ salvation reach all, and avoid our condemnations which do not help anyone, because they do not come from love but from our falsehood and sin. 

o   We are all called to see each other as brothers and sisters, to feel sorry for our sins and for the sins of others, to give up our life as Christ gave up his life for the salvation of all, and thus make the kingdom of the Father present among us, little by little, person to person, one by one...

CLARETIAN CORNER 

MOTHER FOUNDRESS

On a feast day of St. Peter and St. Paul, after holy communion I went to the gallery, so as to be able to talk alone with my God about the work He has entrusted me and the great difficulties I saw in its execution. I did not dare to tell our Lord what was impossible for me, because I always had firm, by the grace of God, the certitude of the power of God in his creatures. But in those days our Lord permitted that I forget all the promises that his divine Majesty had given me; I saw nothing but human causes like a strong and invisibly army. I saw my littleness and poverty as a person. I was so confused, that even to talk about it to our Lord, I was ashamed for I did not see any talent in me, not a natural talent nor one by grace in order to cooperate with  the designs of God our Lord.  So, bathed in tears I could not find other words but: How can this be Lord?” I was also very oppressed to see myself all alone in a work of so great importance that the more I thought in my nothingness, the more his Dive Majesty would show me clearly the purpose of its exact fulfillment and the glory  that would redound to God our Lord for the good of the church. Because of this I had much courage to suffer, for our Lord gave me a great love for my holy mother church, that if the cost of my life (Even if I had one thousand lives) with all the love of my heart, even if I had to go to the end of the world, I would suffer to restore her peace, the most cruel torments.[1] 

FATHER FOUNDER 

In addition to attending these morning and afternoon services, I used to enter the church at nightfall, when hardly anyone was there, and talk alone with our Lord. With great faith, trust, and love, I would speak to God, my good Father. A thousand times over I would offer myself to his service. I wanted to become a priest so that I could dedicate myself to his service day and night. I remember telling Him, "Humanly speaking, I see no hope, but you have the power to make it happen, if you will." Then, with total confidence, I would leave it all in God's hands, trusting Him to do whatever had to be done: which He did, as I shall say later.[2]

 

 

 

 

                             



[1] PARIS, Venerable Ma. Antonia, Autobiography,35

[2] CLARET, Saint Anthony Mary, Autobiography, 40

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