A Sign of God's Mercy

The LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and every one who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live."

- Numbers 21:8

God had no more rescued the Children of Israel from slavery in Egypt before they started to complain because the journey was difficult, and they didn’t like the food, the manna, which God provided for them. As a result of their sin they were afflicted with serpents in the wilderness. But God showed mercy, and He instructed Moses: "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.”

The visible sign of the "fiery bronze serpent" being lifted up in the sight of the people reminded them of two important facts: that sin leads to death, but repentance leads to God's mercy and healing. And, of course, the lifting up of the bronze serpent on a wooden pole points to Jesus Christ being lifted up on the wooden cross at Calvary where He took our sins upon Himself to make atonement to the Father on our behalf.

The sacrifice of Jesus' life on the cross is the ultimate proof of God's love for us. The cross broke the curse of sin and death and won pardon, healing, and everlasting life for all who believe in Jesus, the Son of God and Saviour of the world.

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Pictured: "The Brazen Serpent"

by James Tissot (1836-1902)

False Witness

It’s upsetting to most people if they find out that others have been talking about them in a bad or false way. When lies are spread around about us, it’s one of the most difficult and devastating things that can happen. It has been rightly said that “a lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its boots on.”

At Mass on Monday in the fifth week of Lent we hear the story of Susanna, from the Book of Daniel. Susanna was a woman who loved God. She was unjustly accused of adultery by two elder judges who had tried to force themselves on her. Since adultery was a serious offense punishable by stoning to death, the law of Moses required at least two witnesses, rather than one, to convict a person. Susanna knew she had no hope of clearing her good reputation and escaping death unless God Himself intervened. God in His mercy heard the plea of Susanna, and Daniel was the instrument God used, resulting in punishment for the two elders who had given false witness.

When we consider the great damage that can be done, either by telling outright lies, or by spinning things to make someone look bad, it’s apparent just how sinful that kind of behaviour is. When it comes to saying anything about anybody, we need to think very carefully before speaking, and often it’s better not to say anything at all.

St. James in his epistle says that the tongue is only a small part of the body, but then he reminds us that a very small flame can set a whole forest on fire. That’s something for us to consider seriously when it comes to our conversations.

Don’t abuse others with your words. Don’t pass along to others what seem to be juicy tidbits about someone. That little feeling of dark pleasure which so often accompanies your judgement on someone else will return as God’s judgement upon you.

St. John Baptist de La Salle

St. John Baptist de La Salle was born at Rheims in 1651, became a member of the cathedral chapter at Rheims when he was sixteen, and was ordained a priest in 1678. Soon after ordination he was put in charge of a girls' school, and in 1679 he met Adrian Nyel, a layman who wanted to open a school for boys. Two schools were started, and Canon de la Salle became interested in the work of education. He took an interest in the teachers, eventually invited them to live in his own house, and tried to train them in the educational system that was forming in his mind. This first group ultimately left, unable to grasp what the saint had in mind; others, however, joined him, and the beginnings of the Brothers of the Christian Schools were begun.

Seeing a unique opportunity for good, Canon de La Salle resigned his canonry, gave his inheritance to the poor, and began to organize his teachers into a religious congregation. Soon, boys from his schools began to ask for admission to the Brothers, and the founder set up a juniorate to prepare them for their life as religious teachers. At the request of many pastors, he also set up a training school for teachers, first at Rheims, then at Paris, and finally at St.-Denis. Realizing that he was breaking entirely new ground in the education of the young, John Baptist de la Salle wrote books on his system of education, opened schools for tradesmen, and even founded a school for the nobility, at the request of King James II of England.

The congregation had a tumultuous history, and the setbacks that the founder had to face were many; but the work was begun, and he guided it with rare wisdom. In Lent of 1719, he grew weak, met with a serious accident, and died on Good Friday. He was canonized by Pope Leo XIII in 1900, and Pope Pius XII proclaimed him patron of schoolteachers.

O God, who for the Christian education of the poor, and for the confirmation of the young in the way of truth, didst raise up the holy Confessor John Baptist de la Salle, and through him didst gather a new family in the Church: graciously grant that by his intercession and example we, being kindled with zeal for thy glory in the salvation of souls, may be enabled to be made partakers of his crown in heaven; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

Justice and Mercy

The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such. What do you say about her?" This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him.

- St. John 8:3-6

If you are a parent, or if you deal with children in any way, you know this dilemma: when they do something wrong, how do you discipline them in a way that’s serious enough to teach them the lesson they need to learn, but which isn’t so harsh that it discourages them or just makes them rebel against the discipline? How do you make them understand that there are certain things that are always wrong, and yet still allow for the fact that we all make mistakes? Often it is a difficult call – we want to be gentle and loving and merciful, but we don’t want them to fall into the danger of confusing what is objectively right and wrong.

For guidance we can look to the example of our Lord Jesus Christ. In His encounter with the woman taken in adultery we see our Lord dealing with someone breaking God’s Law, and yet He balanced His response with a wonderful combination of justice and mercy.

This was the situation: a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery was dragged by the scribes and Pharisees into the presence of Christ. This wasn’t accidental – they had timed this confrontation very carefully. Jesus had just spent the whole night before in prayer on the Mount of Olives. At dawn He returned to the temple, and as usual, the people crowded around Him to hear His teaching. Christ’s popularity was a very upsetting thing to the scribes and Pharisees. Repeatedly they have tried to destroy His reputation, or to catch Him in some breach of the Law, so that they could show the crowds that He was a phony, and so get the people to stop listening to Him. But every time they tried, they failed. They just can’t seem to get rid of Him.

But this time, the whole situation seems to be in their favour. This time, they’re sure they’re going to succeed, because the circumstances provided a perfect trap for them to spring on Him.

They bring the woman to Him. They pretend to be respectful by addressing Him as “Teacher.” “Teacher,” they say, “this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such. What do you say about her?” It is the perfect trap. They would force Jesus either to obey or disobey the law of Moses in full view of people. The scribes and Pharisees are certain they’re going to win this round, because they don’t see how He can possibly win, no matter which choice He makes. If He goes along with the punishment of stoning, He’s contradicting the message of mercy which He had been preaching, and which was a large cause of His popularity. But if He rejects the penalty of stoning, then He’s disobeying the law, and they’ll be able to bring Him up before the authorities as a law-breaker. This is a moment of high drama, and it looks like the whole ministry of Christ is hanging in the balance.

So what does He do? By all appearances, nothing. In fact, He doesn’t seem to show very much interest at all in what the scribes and Pharisees have said. Instead, He bends down and traces with His finger on the ground. But the scribes and Pharisees aren’t going to be put off that easily. They press for an answer. So He gives them an answer: “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.”

It is the perfect answer – not because it’s clever, not because it puts the scribes and Pharisees in their places – no, it is perfect because not only does Jesus not reject the law or disobey any part of it, but the answer gives the law its real meaning. Until this point the law had been used as a way of lording it over others; it had been turned into something that divided people between those who kept the law, and those who didn’t. But Jesus lifts the law up to the level of carrying out God’s plan for each person. He’s making the point that to break God’s law doesn’t hurt the law; rather, when we break God’s law we’re really hurting ourselves. When Jesus said to the woman, “Go, and do not sin again,” He wasn’t dismissing the sin; rather, He was dismissing those who were trying to use the occasion of someone’s sin as a way of making themselves appear to be holier than they really were.

This event tells us something important about our own relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. We can know that if we commit a serious sin, we shouldn’t feel like outcasts or second-rate Christians; rather, we can go to Christ with a repentant heart and ask for His forgiveness. And as soon as the thorn of sin is extracted, Christ the Great Physician of our souls, will heal the wound. And we can count on that – that’s the promise Christ makes, that if we come to Him with repentance and confess our sins, He’ll always forgive and heal us.

And that’s the way we must act towards those who have wronged us. All too often, people have the heart of the scribes and Pharisees, finding it hard to forget the sins of others, always dredging them up, almost as a way of feeling better about themselves. But Christ shows us how wrong that is, and in fact it’s an echo of what we hear from the prophet Isaiah, “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old.” To refrain from throwing someone’s sin in their face isn’t sweeping things under the carpet – it’s not a lessening of the seriousness of sin – rather, it’s a way of putting things back into their proper place. If only we were half as merciful towards others as we want God to be toward us!

When it comes to sin and repentance, Christ wants broken hearts from us, not broken hopes. When He hung on the cross, He prayed for His enemies who were filled with hatred towards Him, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” Even then, with death close by, Christ showed mercy towards those who had brought Him to the hill and who had nailed Him to the cross.

If we’re supposed to be Christ’s ambassadors in the world, then we certainly must show something of Christ’s mercy in our own attitudes towards others. It is a far greater victory for Christ if His enemies are converted to His truth, than it would be for Him to deliver them over to eternal punishment.

Every single day we pray in the Mass that God will deliver us from eternal damnation and number us in the fold of the elect. We’ve all done evil in God’s sight; we’re all deserving of death. But in His mercy, and by our repentance, He forgives us – not only once; not only seven times; but seventy times seven and even beyond that.

It is a wicked thing to be as the scribes and Pharisees were, to judge and condemn others. We’ve been shown God’s mercy, and we need to show it to others. That’s what it is to have the mind of Christ in us. It is in showing His mercy towards others that will make us more like Christ. That’s what will win people over to Him: to speak the truth and then to show mercy, just as each one of us knows the truth, and still has been shown mercy.

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Painting: "The Woman taken in Adultery"

by Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (1591-1666)

St. Vincent Ferrer

St. Vincent Ferrer is the patron saint of builders because of his fame for "building up" and strengthening the Church, through his preaching, missionary work, in his teachings, as confessor and adviser.

Born in 1357, when he was eighteen years old he entered the Order of St. Dominic. He was a brilliant student, and soon after his profession he was commissioned to deliver lectures on philosophy while continuing his studies, and eventually he received his doctorate, all the while growing in his spiritual life. 

In 1390, he entered the service of Cardinal Pedro de Luna, and this developed into a very difficult situation, because this was the time when a claim was made by Cardinal de Luna that he was the legitimate pope. St. Vincent felt a loyalty to his friend the Cardinal, but he realized that truth was more important than mere human friendship, and he felt obliged to go against his friend.

He then began those labours that made him the most famous missionary of the fourteenth century. He evangelized nearly every province of Spain, and preached in France, Italy, Germany, Flanders, England, Scotland, and Ireland. Many conversions followed his preaching, which God Himself assisted by the gift of miracles. 

Though the Church was then divided by the great schism, the saint was honorably received in the districts subject to the two claimants to the Papacy. He was even went to Granada, which was under the rule of Islam, and he preached the gospel with much success. He lived to see the end of the great schism and the election of Pope Martin V. Finally, having given his life to the preaching of the Faith, he died April 5, 1419.

O God, who didst vouchsafe to illumine thy Church by the merits and preaching of blessed Vincent thy Confessor: grant to us thy servants; that we may both be instructed by his example, and by his advocacy be delivered from all adversities; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

St. Isidore of Seville

St. Isidore of Seville was born into a family of saints in Spain in the sixth century. Two of his brothers, Leander and Fulgentius, and one of his sisters, Florentina, are revered as saints in Spain. His two brothers served as bishops and his sister was an abbess.

But it’s not always easy to live with saints. In fact, although Isidore’s brother Leander is venerated as a saint today, the way he treated his younger brother Isidore was shocking, even to people who lived at that time. Leander, who was much older than Isidore, took over Isidore's education and Leander’s idea of education involved force and and lots of punishment. We know from Isidore's later accomplishments that he was very intelligent and hard-working, so it’s difficult to understand why Leander thought abuse would work instead of patience. 

One day, the young Isidore couldn't take any more. He was frustrated by his inability to learn as fast as his brother wanted him to, and he was hurt by his brother's treatment, so Isidore ran away. As he stopped to rest, he noticed water dripping on a rock near where he sat. He noticed that the small drops of water that were falling weren’t very forceful, and seemed to have no effect on the solid stone. And yet he saw that over time, the water drops had worn holes in the rock.

He took this as an important lesson. Isidore realized that if he kept working at his studies, bit by bit his small efforts would eventually pay off in great learning. He also wanted his brother Leander to see that he was really trying, so he went back. When he returned home, his brother wasn’t any more understanding or any more kind than he had ever been, and in fact Leander sent Isidore off to a monastery where he was confined to a cell so he wouldn’t run away again, and there he was to continue his studies.

Either there must have been a loving side to this fraternal relationship, or Isidore was remarkably forgiving even for a saint, because later he would work side by side with his brother and after Leander's death, Isidore took his place as the bishop of Seville, and would complete many of the projects his brother had started.

In a time where everybody wants to blame the past hurts for their present problems, Isidore didn’t fall into that trap. He was able to separate the abusive way he was taught from the joy of learning. He didn't run from learning after he left his brother but embraced education and made it his life's work. Isidore rose above his past to become known as the greatest teacher in Spain.

His love of learning made him promote the establishment of a seminary in every diocese of Spain. He didn't limit his own studies, nor did he want limitations on others. In a unique move, he made sure that all branches of knowledge including the arts and medicine were taught in the seminaries.

His encyclopedia of knowledge, the Etymologies, was a popular textbook for nine centuries. He also wrote books on grammar, astronomy, geography, history, and biography as well as theology. In fact, the great breadth of Isidore’s learning meant that Pope John Paul II named him Patron of the Internet.

He lived until almost 80. As he was dying his house was filled with crowds of poor to whom he was giving aid and alms. One of his last acts was to give all his possessions to the poor. When he died in 636, this Doctor of the Church had done more than his brother had ever hoped; the light of his learning caught fire in Spanish minds and held back barbarism from Spain. But even greater than his outstanding mind must have been the genius of his heart that allowed him to see beyond rejection and discouragement to joy and possibility.

O God, by whose providence blessed Isidore was sent to guide thy people in the way of everlasting salvation: grant, we beseech thee; that as we have learned of him the doctrine of life on earth, so we may be found worthy to have him for our advocate in heaven; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

Jerusalem

The first word we heard on the Fourth Sunday in Lent was “lætare” - “rejoice.” “Rejoice ye with Jerusalem; and be ye glad for her, all ye that delight in her,” the introit said. And the theme is repeated at the next day’s Mass in a reading from the prophet Isaiah, “I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.”

Jerusalem. The remembrance of that holy city mid-Lent is a reminder of all that God has done there. He has made holy this city with His presence from days of old. It was in Jerusalem that the Temple was constructed; it was in Jerusalem that Christ opened the treasures of the Kingdom of God. It was in Jerusalem that our Lord made His triumphal entry, but was then condemned and killed, and it was in Jerusalem that death was conquered for us all when Jesus Christ walked triumphantly from the tomb.

Jerusalem. It is the symbol also of our eternal destination, that "heavenly Jerusalem" where God is enthroned, surrounded by the angels and saints, and where a place has been prepared for each one of us, if we will but claim it. 

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. It is an earthly city torn apart by sinful man, but it is a heavenly destination, sanctified by the Perfect God.

The Divine Artist

The world's best and finest art is that which serves as a kind of window through which one can grasp a fuller knowledge of life, of truth, of beauty. It becomes a passageway for light which illuminates one's mind and soul, so that reality is made a little clearer, a little richer.

The artist who can achieve this we call a master, but such a one is the merest shadow of the truly artistic Master - the One Who does not fashion great works with clay or canvas, but Whose crowning creation is mankind. It is He Who makes saints, forming them after His own image, colouring them with grace, and placing them in the world as windows through which we see something of God's divine beauty and truth, and through whom we are illumined by God's own Light.

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Image: "God as Creator"

Paris ca. 1220–1230

Lost and Found

One of the truly beautiful stories in the scriptures, perhaps the most effective parable in the entire New Testament, is that of the prodigal son.

It is the story of a prideful young man who decided he knew more than anybody else. It is the story of that same young man who arrives home, shaken and much wiser from his experiences of tending herds of pigs. He is totally prepared to freely admit that he had been a stupid fool. In complete humility he is prepared to say, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and am not worthy to be called your son.” He knew full well that he had pushed God’s goodness aside, and had allowed pride to take its place, and it had almost wrecked his life. But he was repentant, and he had a desire to make restitution for what he had done.

Before the young man could blurt out the last part of his prepared statement, “Treat me as one of your hired servants,” his father orders that the best robe be brought out, along with a ring for his finger, and that the fatted calf be killed for a feast. Of the many things we could say about this story, this is the high point: the forgiveness of the father. The father who loved his son, and who only wanted his son back, no matter how long it took and no matter what the boy had done in the past. And when the son returned, sorry for what he had done, there was forgiveness waiting for him.

Imagine if the father in this parable refused to forgive his repentant son. We would quite rightly think, “Wait a minute! That’s not how the story should go.” There is something in us that knows a lack of forgiveness is contrary to what God intends. To refuse to forgive is a refusal to reflect the image of God, and in fact it becomes a form of slavery. Even if someone has done something serious against us, when we refuse to forgive that person, we are giving them control over our emotions, control over our decisions, control over our actions. They now run our lives. They become our lords, whom we serve with our grudges, hostility, and hatred.

The word "forgive" means to set free, to cut loose, to dismiss. When something is forgiven it no longer has power. When a debt is forgiven, it no longer has any claim over our money. When sin is forgiven, it no longer has any power to condemn. But when we refuse to forgive others, we’re chaining ourselves to them in a perverse and destructive bond that ties up the freedom which is ours as children of God.

To forgive "from the heart," is an act of the will. Forgiveness isn't a feeling. You don't have to be in a forgiving mood to forgive. The essence of forgiveness is first in words, "I forgive you," and then to carry out those words by how we act. Forgiveness means we don’t return evil for evil, anger for anger, or sin for sin.

God doesn't keep track of how many times we come to Him for forgiveness. In baptism and repeatedly in the confessional, God wipes clean the ledgers of our lives. "If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." He brings out the best robe. He puts a ring on our finger. He lays on a banquet to celebrate, because we were lost but in Christ we have been found.

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Painting: "The Prodigal's Return"

by Sir Edward John Poynter (1836-1919)

Sanctified Time

I love the constant round of the liturgical year. The solemnities and feasts, the famous saints and the obscure, they all give the sense of adventure within stability. So many things to celebrate and ponder, but all within the steadiness of the Mass. In addition to the obvious - the gaining of grace - I think this accomplishes something else which is important for us.

We can become so accustomed to our surroundings that we almost stop noticing them. A view that strikes a stranger as being magnificent is scarcely seen by the person who lives with it every day. When we’ve lived with something for a long period of time it takes something or someone to especially call it to our attention. We have a tendency to miss what’s right in front of us. It becomes easy to take one’s spouse or children for granted. We neglect important friendships. They’re always there, so we slip into the habit of not noticing them as we should.

This is one of the reasons why the liturgical calendar is so important. The truths of our faith and the lives of the saints are given specific days on which we are to remember and celebrate them. We have them called to our attention.

Of course, things like the Incarnation, the Passion and Death of Christ, the Resurrection, the Coming of the Holy Spirit, and the lives of men and women which have been sanctified through the totality of Catholic truth aren’t intended just to pop onto our calendar once a year and be forgotten about the rest of the time. They’re always true, and make up the fabric of our faith. But if we don’t call them to mind specifically at particular times, there’s a danger of them simply slipping into the background of our thinking, and we might never really celebrate each of the wonderful things God has revealed to us.

The Solemnity of the Annunciation

At the Annunciation, God sent His messenger, the archangel Gabriel, to announce to the Blessed Virgin Mary that she would bear the Incarnate Son of God, and it would be Jesus who would take human flesh from her, to bring salvation into the world. When Mary heard these words, she was filled with awe and wonder, and she asked for clarification: “How can this be…?” When Gabriel told her that it would be by the power of the Holy Spirit, Mary responded by saying, “Let it be unto me according to thy word.”

That is an important phrase, “Let it be…” It takes us back to creation itself, when by the word of God, all things came into being.

In the beginning, God said “Let there be light,” and there was. God brought into being everything there was – by His word there came into being all of creation, including man himself. In fact, creation itself is the larger context for the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

As God spoke His creative word in the beginning, so in our remembrance of the beginning of the Incarnation we call to mind Mary’s words, “Let it be…. Let it be unto me according to thy word.” The Virgin Mary’s words, “Let it be,” echo God’s words, “Let there be.” It is, in a way, the continuation of creation and the beginning of our salvation. 

God says, “Let there be…” and His word brings forth creation.  Mary says, “Let it be,” and her words bring forth the Incarnate God into the world.

We beseech thee, O Lord, pour thy grace into our hearts: that, as we have known the Incarnation of thy Son Jesus Christ by the message of an Angel; so by his Cross and Passion we may be brought unto the glory of his Resurrection; through the same Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

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Pictured: "The Annunciation"
by Arthur Hacker, 1892 

The Curing of Naaman

When Jesus had come to Nazareth, he said to those in the synagogue, "Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his own country. But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when there came a great famine over all the land; and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian." When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. And they rose up and put him out of the city, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw him down headlong. But passing through the midst of them he went away.

- St. Luke 4:24-30

In this passage from St. Luke’s Gospel Jesus refers to the healing of Naaman the Syrian. Naaman was a great military leader, but he had leprosy. Naaman's slave-girl was a young Jewish woman who had faith in God and compassion for Naaman her master. She urged him to seek out Elisha, the great prophet of Israel, and ask for healing.

When Naaman went to the land of Israel in hope for a cure for his leprosy, the prophet Elisha instructed him to bathe seven times in the Jordan river. At first, Naaman was indignant. He expected that there would be much more in being healed than just going into the Jordan River. After all, there were better rivers than that in Syria. But Naaman’s advisors pointed out to him that if he had been asked to do something really involved and more difficult, then he would have. Instead, Elisha had asked him to do something simple, and he felt insulted! Naaman got their point and followed the prophet's instructions. In doing so he was immediately restored to health.

There are many lessons we could learn from this, but an important one is for us to understand what God is asking of us, and then to do it. And in many ways, what God asks of us is fairly simple.

What does He lay out for us to do?

We need to be faithful in receiving the sacraments He has given us. When we sin, we need to repent and confess it. We need to stop and think carefully before we speak or act. We need to choose to be obedient to God’s commandments.

These things are simple. They may not be easy, but they are simple. And if we do them faithfully, we will have that wholeness – the spiritual health – God wants for us.

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Pictured: Bronze and enamel plaque 

depicting the Cure of Naaman, c.1150

Lent III: Repentance

 

There were some present at that very time who told Jesus of the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered thus? I tell you, No; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen upon whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, No; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Lo, these three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down; why should it use up the ground?’ And he answered him, ‘Let it alone, sir, this year also, till I dig about it and put on fertilizer. And if it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”

- Saint Luke 13:1-9

As we make our way through the weeks of Lent, it is as though we are on a clearly marked path, with signposts along the way, directing us safely from one point to the next, toward that all-important destination of Easter.

Every year Lent begins with that dramatic story of the temptations of our Lord Jesus Christ. There He is, out in the desert undergoing those attacks from Satan, and through His divine strength and wisdom, we’re able to begin the Lenten journey with the assurance that the power of Christ always overcomes evil and temptation.

Then our Lenten path takes us each year to the height of the Mount of the Transfiguration. And there, with Peter, James and John, we see the Old Covenant united and fulfilled with the New, as Moses and Elijah converse with our transfigured Lord, showing us the glory that shall be revealed on the Last Day, when we come face to face with Almighty God.

Now, on this third Sunday in Lent we’re given the key as to how we move from the desert to the mountain, from temptation to glory – and the answer is “repentance.” Of course, repentance is not necessarily very popular. We’re at a point in our social history when it seems we’re always supposed to be affirming towards others, and we’re supposed to take great pains not to damage a person’s self-esteem. Apparently things like sin, and death, and judgement, and everything surrounding them, are “too negative,” and so aren’t talked about. And for many people, repentance falls into that same category. Too many of us try to dismiss the fact that we have sinned, and that we need to admit it, and say we’re sorry for it. But our Lord Jesus Christ had no such hesitation: He says very clearly in today’s Gospel, “unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

Repentance is an essential ingredient in our spiritual lives. It allows us to get beyond “self” so that we can be more truly conformed to Christ’s likeness. The Greek term for it is “metanoia,” which means a “turning away from sin and a turning back to God.” In that way, repentance is a two-fold thing – it’s a “turning away” and it’s a “turning towards.” In today’s Gospel, Jesus calls for repentance within the context of some events which had happened locally and were well-known to those who were listening to him.

Apparently, one incident was a repression that had been carried out by Pilate against a group of Galileans, and another incident was an accident which had killed eighteen people. Since we’re a couple of thousand years away from these events, we have no idea who these people were or what the circumstances were, but Jesus used them to make an important point: He pointed out all those deaths, and then said that if the people who were listening to Him didn’t repent, they’d also die.

The way He said it was shocking to His listeners, so to help them get His point, He tells them a parable, putting what He said in context. He told the story about a fig tree that hadn’t given fruit when it should have. When the owner wants to cut it down, the vinedresser asks him to give him time to cultivate it and fertilize it, so that it might give fruit the next year. By telling this story, Christ wants to make the point that repentance is essential – in fact, it’s a matter of spiritual life and death – but God is patient, and He’ll help us turn towards Him. He won’t abandon us even when we’re in serious need of repentance. He’ll be like the vinedresser, cultivating us and helping us to turn to Him, because He loves us and wants us to be with Him.

When it comes to repentance it means we have to see the activity of God in our lives. We need to receive and accept what God sends us. We need to let God direct our lives. We need to conform our plans to His. Our position is precarious when we think that we’re in no need of repentance and reform. It’s a short step from that, into thinking that we can simply rely on ourselves to get us through this life and into the next. We’re so easily deluded into thinking that our strength come from ourselves. No – our only foundation is found in our dependence upon God.

So, Christ calls us to repentance – but repentance is as much an attitude as it is an action. If our lives are going to be conformed to Christ, then our hearts first have to be made like His. Just as He loves us with that yearning and passionate love which led Him to the Cross, so we need to have a love for Him that makes us willingly take up our cross and follow Him. Christ is that Love which knows no rest and which never tires until it has found us. Today we need to repent – that is, we need to turn away from our sins and turn towards God, and in turning, we show our love for the Lord Jesus Christ.

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Pictured: "The Vine Dresser and the Fig Tree"

by James Tissot (1836-1902)

Our Patron St. Joseph

Blesséd Joseph, Guardian mild,

Who didst love the Holy Child,

Show thy love to us who pray,

Shield us from all harm this day:

Foster-father of the Word,

Keep us close to Christ our Lord.

Great Saint Joseph, Patron bold

Of the Church from days of old,

Give us courage strong and new,

To proclaim God’s Gospel true:

Foster-father of the Word,

Keep us close to Christ our Lord.

He Whom thou didst guide in youth,

We receive in very truth;

In this Sacrament of love,

We are one with thee above:

Foster-father of the Word,

Keep us one with Christ our Lord!

Text: Fr. Christopher G. Phillips 1992

Tune: “Bread of Heaven” by William D. Maclagan, 1875

A Hymn in Honour of St. Joseph

1. Holy Joseph, Intercessor,

Unto thee God's children sing;

Be our Patron and Protector,

To God's throne our praises bring.

2. Faithful Spouse of faithful Virgin,

Lover of God's purity;

From thy worthy place in heaven,

Pray that we may faithful be.

3. Guardian of the Word Incarnate,

Silent guide of God's own Son;

Guard our hearts and lead us onward

To the life that Christ has won.

4. Humble man in lofty station,

God has poured His grace on thee;

Pray such grace to us be given,

That we live eternally.

Text: Fr. Christopher G. Phillips, 1991

Music: "Stuttgart" adapted by C. F. Witt, 1715

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Painting: "St. Joseph and the Child Jesus"

by Charles Bosseron Chambers (1882-1964)