Jesus heals a lame man at the Pool of Bethesda, providing us with an opportunity today to reflect on how the Lord calls us to be agents of healing for those in our midst.
Mass Readings – Tuesday of the 4th Week of Lent
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Archive of Fr. Andrew’s Podcasts
Study: When in my life have I had to let go of something, someone, so that growth could happen?
Pray: Am I struggling right now to let go? Ask God for help – wisdom and strength – to do it.
Serve: Is there someone in my life that needs help letting go of a past mistake or hurt? How can I help them?
Pastoral Note: The 3rd, 4th, and 5th Sundays of Lent provide an option for using the “Year A” readings at Mass for the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) process, but for those who follow the usual cycle the reflection is offered below.
Mass Readings – 5th Sunday of Lent
The Gospel of John today offers an image that contains the central idea of the Christian faith:
Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies,
it remains just a grain of wheat;
but if it dies, it produces much fruit.
John 12:24
Picture a grain of wheat in your hand. It is a tiny, lifeless thing; alone it can be crushed for flour. Yet if that grain is allowed to fall to the ground two things will happen.
First, the grain will die to itself. That is, it will cease to be a GRAIN of wheat. Its hull will be broken down and disintegrate, the kernel will lose its appearance, and it will no longer be able to be used for flour!
Second, the grain will become something new. The grain will be transformed into a new and living creation, full of life and possibilities. It will not resemble the grain – it will be vastly larger, living, able to grow, and full of new potential.
Simply put, as the grain of wheat “died” to its old self, a new life was able to burst forth. The old passed away, making new hope and opportunity available. This is the Paschal Mystery – a journey from death to life.
Like the grain of wheat, Jesus will also make this journey; from Good Friday to Easter Sunday, his life will be a process of transformation, change, and new life. Through his death, he will not only be raised to life, but he will become the instrument by which God saves us as well.
What does this mystery mean for us? If this journey from death to life is our own, how do we live it out? How do we experience the Paschal Mystery in our lives? Here are four ideas for reflection:
1. Death – we no longer need to be afraid!
2. Life – we let go of our selfishness – to grow!
3. Sin – we “die” to our faults; God’s grace fills us.
4. We become like Christ – if he did it, so can we!
The Paschal Mystery makes sense, because we encounter the process of death to life in so many everyday experiences. It is not an easy journey, but when we open our hearts to this mystery, we allow God’s transforming grace to work within us, remaking us into a new creation, alive in Christ!
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Note: This post was originally published on March 15, 2015.
The love of Jesus is a light that shines in the darkness of our world. As we draw near to Christ we open our hearts and allow his love to fill and flow through our lives.
Mass Readings – 4th Sunday of Lent
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Archive of Fr. Andrew’s Podcasts
The parable of Jesus today offers us a profound phrase for our daily meditation: “O God, be merciful to me a sinner.”
Mass Readings – Saturday of the 3rd Week of Lent
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Archive of Fr. Andrew’s Podcasts
Jesus takes the 10 Commandments and simplifies them down to two. This focus allows us to concentrate our efforts on what is most important in the life of faith: loving God and one another.
Mass Readings – Friday of the 3rd Week of Lent
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Jesus drives out a demon and then responds to a comment from the crowd. As we face evil in our lives we call upon the Lord for the strength we need.
Mass Readings – Thursday of the 3rd Week of Lent
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Archive of Fr. Andrew’s Podcasts
Jesus fulfills the Law and the Prophets, creating a new covenant by which we know God and offer our lives with meaning and power.
Mass Readings – Wednesday of the 3rd Week of Lent
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St. Peter asks the question that all the disciples are thinking…and Jesus drives home the point about forgiveness with a powerful parable.
Mass Readings – Tuesday of the 3rd Week of Lent
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Archive of Fr. Andrew’s Podcasts
Study: When have I experienced a profound moment of love? How did that moment change my life?
Pray: Ask for the grace to embrace and share God’s love with others. Today.
Serve: How might I put my love into action for another? How might I show someone the love I have in my heart?
Pastoral Note: The 3rd, 4th, and 5th Sundays of Lent provide an option for using the “Year A” readings at Mass for the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) process, but for those who follow the usual cycle the reflection is offered below.
Mass Readings – 4th Sunday of Lent
Do you ever wonder just how great God’s love really is? How amazing? How awesome? I keep thinking about different analogies that show the reality of divine love when compared to human understanding.
For example: If my entire awareness of God’s love could be viewed, it would be like a drop of water – compared to the Pacific Ocean of God’s love. Or a grain of sand – compared to the Sahara Desert. Or a single blade of grass – compared to the Midwest Prairie.
The fact is, there is no comparison that can truly show the height, depth, power, or magnitude of the love of God. No analogy, no image, no description can do it justice…yet we can use our limited language to give us a hint:
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but 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. (John 3:16-17)
This is God’s demonstration of love. Look at a Cross; listen to the Stations; read the Passion. The love of God is not words or clever thoughts. The love of God is manifest through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ – out of love for us.
The question is – Do we believe it? Do we accept in our hearts that this love is for us? Do we live with the conviction that God values us, cherishes us, treasures us, forgives us, and loves us with this sort of intensity?
If we do believe, then our lives are forever changed. If we receive these words and open our hearts, then God will come and transform us. The Lord’s power is that great; once we say “Yes” to Christ we begin a process that will draw us steadily closer to God and one another.
We have heard these words so often that we can take them for granted. We can overlook their meaning and miss the point. Lent gives us time to search into our hearts and recognize this love for what it is – God’s way of calling us home.
May we be ready to respond!
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Archive of Fr. Andrew’s Podcasts
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Note: This post was first published on March 8, 2015.
This presentation outlines a plan of action for the Christian life. Fr. Andrew explores different aspects of our lives, provides a simple process for personal evaluation and offers practical measurements to review our effort. Given at the Diocese of Superior Men’s Retreat on February 17, 2018.
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Archive of Fr. Andrew’s Podcasts
For a copy of the worksheet that accompanied this presentation click on: A Plan for Life
Catholic Inspiration – Podcast Archives of Homilies & Talks
Three Great Things 