Fr. Hans Kung, SJ, wrote that while we do not plan for suffering, inevitably we will suffer for what we believe in. This sums up the suffering and passion of Our Lord, as we observe the sacred season of Holy Week.
Many people long for a safe place where they can reveal themselves without fear of being judged. Today’s Gospel on the woman caught committing adultery dramatically lays out the safest of all places, the mercy and forgiveness of God.
Back in college almost 40 years ago, the parable in today’s Gospel was called the Parable of the Merciful Father. Let us reflect from this perspective, the Merciful Father, the forgiving, healing love of God.
Lent is a special time to remember the love and mercy of God that comes to us through Christ’s Cross and Resurrection. This Sunday’s Gospel gives us a myriad of thoughts and “warnings.”
This event is preceded by a series of intense activities: the missioning of the 12, the feeding of the 5,000, Peter’s confession of faith, and the prediction of Christ’s passion and death. The Transfiguration is what seals the deal, puts everything in perspective and integrates Christ’s life and mission into this singular grace of being the Father’s Beloved Son.
One of the things that impressed me in my seminary formation was what my spiritual director and formators told us time and again: When you come closer to doing what God wants you to do, the evil spirit will do everything and anything to prevent you from doing it.
Recently, an advice of Pope Francis to priests to keep our homilies to 10 minutes made the rounds of the internet. (Fr. Joe Galdon, SJ, used to tell us in the seminary, “There are no souls saved after seven minutes,” while Fr. Jim Donelan, SJ, trained us, or at least tried to, on the one-point homily.)
C.S. Lewis’ book, “The Four Loves,” gives us a good springboard for our reflections. Lewis discusses the four loves: storge, the love of affection and empathy; philia, the love between friends; eros, the love of a man for a woman; and agape, the unconditional love of God, benevolent love towards all.
Today we end the Christmas season with the Baptism of the Lord. This is Christ’s vocation story in which he hears “the voice within”—revealing to him his mission and identity: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
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