As we approach the holiest time of the year, we are afforded the opportunity to realize how transformative God is. Again and again, God has transformed the world and the human race, never as much as when raising Jesus from the dead. But God also transforms us individually—in baptism, when we are given new birth in Christ; in reconciliation, when we receive forgiveness; in the Eucharist, when receive the Body and Blood of Christ; and day in and day out in our complicated lives. Let us keep in mind that transformation means dying to something old in order to make something new.
“I am doing something new!” the LORD says to Isaiah as he and the exiles return to the holy land, pointing out that mercy and salvation were not onetime gifts to the Chosen People, but were being given right now, transforming them and the world. Paul testifies to his transforma- tion, leaving everything behind to pursue perfect union with Christ. In the Gospel, Jesus forgives the adulterous woman, giving life when she faced certain death. Listening to today’s readings, let us thank God for the mercy and salvation we have been given.
• In Genesis we hear that God did not just create the waters that covered the earth, but took control over them, separating them from the heavens and calling forth the dry land in their midst. In Isaiah, we hear that God continued to rule the waters, holding them back to give freedom to the Chosen People, releasing them to kill their enslavers, and, in Isaiah’s time, directing them into the desert to lead the people back home. Using perhaps the most elementary substance on earth, in a way behind the ability of any person, God is forever “doing something new!” (43:19).
• The Pharisees cite Moses in defending their plan to stone the woman caught in adultery. The law was based on the commandments, presented by Moses to the people on a pair of stone tablets. Stone—hard, dense, and unyielding—anchored their sense of justice. Jesus pointed to a better way. He did so by writing on the ground. Instead of chiseled in stone, rigid and permanent, his words were traced in the dirt, unsubstantial and erasable. The dirt recalls the ashes applied to our foreheads a month ago, a fleeting reminder of our sinfulness, easily washed away. Jesus’ gift of forgiveness washes away her sin. Meanwhile, the dirt, the earth, would eventually reabsorb the stones of the crowd.
• But stone does not yield easily. The scribes and Pharisees did not soon forget this challenge to their authority. Not only did he sidestep their test, not only did he remind them of their own sinfulness, he showed them up, as evidenced by the fact that every person in the temple area declined to challenge him. Jesus’ radical mix of justice and mercy threatened their world, further inflaming them and convincing them to put him to death.
How can I respond to those who have hurt me or hurt others with mercy and forgiveness, as Jesus has shown? Whom is Jesus calling me now to forgive?
-from Pastoral Patterns
LISTEN HERE to the Audio Recordings of the Readings of Sunday, April 3rd, 2022, Fifth Sunday of Lent.
SELECT HERE for the Readings of Sunday, April 3rd, 2022, Fifth Sunday of Lent.
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Palm Sunday is the final Sunday of Lent, the beginning of Holy Week, and commemorates the triumphant arrival of Christ in Jerusalem.
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April 9th, Saturday Vigil 4:00PM
April 10th,Sunday 8:00AM and 10:30AM
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"My dear friends in Christ,
As the Bishop of Worcester, I thank God for the great generosity of our parishioners when asked to offer a compassionate response to people in crisis.
Along with praying for peace in the Ukraine this Lent, I join with the bishops throughout the United States to ask you to consider making a donation in response to the humanitarian crisis which is unfolding in the Ukraine and in the surrounding countries of Eastern Europe which are providing a haven to Ukrainian refugees..."
READ MORE from Bishop Robert J. McManus, Diocese of Worcester