We Are Also Coming Back To Life.

We are God’s people, the people of life, through Jesus coming back to Life. Easter is the Feast of Life: It is the Victory of Life, the Pro-Life Day.

As the late, famous Italian catechist and author Sofia Cavalletti most profoundly wrote back in 1993:

“The Christian faith is an obstinate faith; each time confronted by death, it proclaims that death does not have the last word. And this is what we believe, what we affirm, and what we want to announce to the world, because we know that there has already been a first, great victory of life over death in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”

Today on Palm Sunday Jesus enters into the Holy City of Jerusalem on a donkey’s colt. The people wave branches as He enters the city, and they proclaim, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is to come! Hosanna in the highest!”

Today’s Gospel of Mark gives a panoramic view of the Sacred Easter Triduum: Holy Thursday, Good Friday & the Easter Vigil. On Holy Thursday we celebrate The Mass of the Lord’s Supper in the evening of the Thursday in Holy Week, as the Church begins the sacred Easter Triduum and devotes herself to the remembrance of the Jesus’ Last Supper. On the night he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus, loving those who were his own in the world even to the end, offered his Body and Blood to the Father under the appearance of bread and wine, gave them to the apostles to eat and drink, then enjoined the apostles and their successors in the priesthood to offer them in turn.

Today is the Fifth Week of Lent, and this means that next Sunday we will celebrate Palm Sunday. Lent has passed so quickly.

Jesus answered His disciples, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”

In the Gospel of John, Jesus speaks of the hour that has come. Why is this ‘hour’ and why is it so important to you and me?

Grace is simply the Love of God overflowing into the world. It is Jesus Who Is This Love.

“You must pay for everything in this world one way and another. There is nothing free except the Grace of God. You cannot earn that or deserve it.”

So wrote Charles Portis in his book, True Grit, twice made into very famous movies. This also sums up our readings for this Fourth Sunday in Lent, which is traditionally called Laetare Sunday and Rose is the color.

Today we hear that Jesus visited the Temple in Jerusalem for the first of the three Passovers that are referenced in St. John’s Gospel. Shocked by what He saw, He made a whip of cords and indignantly drove out the animals for sacrifice and the money-changers:

“‘Take these out of here, and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.’ His disciples recalled the words of Scripture:

‘Zeal for your house will consume me.’”

The Transfiguration was the most astounding, amazing and mind-blowing experience for Peter, James and John. It again reveals Jesus as truly the Son of God. What glorious Light shines from the face of Christ as He gave a foretaste of Heaven and a vision of His hidden glory.

“After six days, Jesus took Peter, James and John and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves. And He was transfigured be-fore them and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them.”

“This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

If today’s readings make us feel a bit uneasy and uncomfortable, this is a good thing! I say ‘good’ because it means that the readings touched on some fundamental truths about us and about our world. The world we live in is not perfect because of sin. Original Sin.

“I do will it. Be made clean.”

Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched the man. The leprosy left the man... and he was made clean.”

This famous passage tells us in very few words the entire History of Salvation: Jesus Christ’s hands are the hands of God reaching out to all humanity so that we may come out of the leprosy of sin, and come back to our place of peace and holiness near God. Leprosy was and still is a serious skin ailment, not necessarily leprosy of Hansen’s disease. What Moses prescribed is found the Old Testament Book of Leviticus (Lev. 14:17-20ff). When a person became afflicted, he or she first had to be presented to the priest, and then be declared unclean by the priest.

We warmly welcome Bishop Eduardo Nevares who will celebrate the Croatian Mass at 11:30am Sunday Mass. All are welcome to attend.

Jesus said, “I stand at the door and knock.” There is a famous painting that depicts Jesus knocking on a door. The door has no handle on the outside, because the door can only be opened from the inside, by the one who lives behind the door.

Jesus is The Word of God made flesh and His words are spoken with God’s authority. If we trust completely and give God authority over our lives and trust in His providence, He will take care of us no matter what. As Christian stewards, we follow Jesus’ commands out of gratitude for all that He has given us. We are more willing to live by God’s commands when we are motivated by love and gratitude.

Jesus Tells His First Disciples: “Come After Me, and I will Make You Fishers of Men.”

I can easily imagine James and John asking: “What have we signed up for here?” Last week, John the Baptist pointed out Jesus as the Lamb of God. Andrew, Peter and others were the first followers, disciples of Jesus. Today, we learn from St. Mark, who was St. Peter’s scribe, that “After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee” to begin His ministry of announcing the Kingdom of God. There was a transition from these disciples following John the Baptist to following Jesus. In other words, the disciples already knew who Jesus was and Jesus was aware of them.

After celebrating the Epiphany and Baptism of the Lord, we now return to Ordinary Time and immediately Jesus asks the first disciples: “What are you looking for?”

This time is far from ordinary, however. It is the time to follow our orders as Christians to go out to all the world and tell the Good News. Now the Voice of God, the Eternal Word Made Flesh, Jesus, was speaking to His first witnesses.

Epiphany celebrates the revelation that Jesus was the Son of God. It focuses on this great revelation to the Magi, the Three Wise Men.

On this day the Church celebrates the nativity of faith to the Gentile world. God brought the Magi to Christ… through the miraculous star… while a wonderful grace impelled their hearts and invited them to follow the star into another land… and there to adore a new-born King Who was God-Incarnate. The Magi came and adored Our Lord and they received the gift of grace that saintly Catholics have (Servant of God, Mother Mary Teresa Tallon, 1923).