Mar. 26 - Sunday
John 3:14-21
Readings
Ask a physicist to define light, and you might learn that light consists of electromagnetic radiation visible to the human eye. Ask a biologist to define life, and you might learn that it manifests itself in growth, reproduction, and response to stimulus. Ask one of the writers of the New Testament, however, and you’ll get an entirely different answer. Most likely, you’ll hear that light and life are divine gifts from God given to us in Jesus Christ.
There is so much more to the Christian life than the “light” of intellectual understanding. There is so much more to “life” than simply surviving in this world. Endless galleries of divine revelation and unmerited grace exist that can bring us to a personal knowledge of God and his plan for our lives—to his own light and life.
Where do we find this revelation? In Jesus Christ, the Word of God. According to the church, “in giving us his Son, God spoke everything to us at once—and he has no more to say” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 65). Now we can spend the whole of our lives digging ever more deeply into that revelation. “He is like a rich mine with many pockets containing treasures; however deep we dig we will never find their end or their limit” (St. John of the Cross, Spiritual Canticle).
Why do we need the light and life of Christ? Because without him, we are dead. Scripture tells us that because of sin, we have forfeited our inheritance of divine life. The law of death holds sway over all of us, and there is no escaping it on our own power. Only the wooden cross and the open grave can restore this life to us. Faith in Christ can open so many more doors than we can imagine. Let us come to Jesus today and ask for a double portion of his light and his life.
“Lord Jesus, I believe that by your cross you have overcome my darkness and restored me to divine life. May I be like you, bringing light and life into a needy world.”
Mar. 25 - Saturday
Luke 1:26-38
Readings
The Annunciation of the Lord
What a powerful example Mary is! In her desire to honor Jesus, no cost was too great. Nothing meant more to her than being with him. The joy of being loved by him filled her heart to overflowing, and she wanted to spend as much time with him as she could.
How much the Lord must rejoice when any one of us comes to him with the same love and devotion! When we approach him as Mary did, our outpouring of love is like fragrant nard. Its perfume fills everything we do. It overflows into all the situations we face and makes the peace and contentment in our hearts shine out to others. Coworkers wonder why we seem so lighthearted and calm. Neighbors feel drawn to us and are more willing to seek our counsel. Family members are touched by the ease and selflessness with which we perform even the most menial of tasks.
How did Mary arrive at this place in her life? We make a mistake when we think she first loved Jesus and that moved him to bless her in return. Like John, Peter, the woman at the well, the man born blind, and so many others, Mary was first and foremost a recipient of Jesus’ love. It was Jesus who found her and whose love touched the deepest part of her heart. It was his love for her that awakened her love for him and moved her to such an extravagant act of worship.
As Lent progresses, be sure you are sitting with Jesus and allowing him to speak words of love to you. Let him show you a love that knows no bounds. He is a good and gracious Savior, and he wants to heal our wounds and shine his light into our darkness. He wants to change us by his glory so that our every action will fill our homes with the fragrant perfume of love for Jesus.
“Lord Jesus, I know that even if I were the only one who needed saving, you would have come and died for me. Help me to respond single-heartedly by praising and serving you with all my heart. I love you, Lord!”
Mar. 24 - Friday
Hosea 14:2-10 Readings
In Hosea’s time, more than seven centuries before Christ, the northern kingdom of Israel was locked in a power struggle with the Assyrian empire. For long years, Israel repeatedly put its trust in political solutions and military alliances instead of trusting in God. Making matters worse, they also began to worship false gods, hoping that these idols would make them more prosperous. Thus, they broke their covenant with God and took themselves out from under his protection. Finally, in 726 b.c., Israel was attacked and its capital, Samaria, destroyed after a three-year siege. Against the background of the growing Assyrian threat, the prophet Hosea called Israel to repentance.
At the same time, Hosea himself was married to an unfaithful spouse, Gomer. Yet, instead of choosing to divorce her, he sought her out, forgave her, and in time, won her back. Hosea understood that the drama that was playing out in his personal life—that of a spurned husband wooing back a wayward wife—mirrored God’s relationship with fickle Israel: He would chastise his people and woo them back, ultimately forgiving all their sins.
Just as God promised to heal Israel’s faithlessness (Hosea 14:4), he is always ready to restore our relationship with him when we have broken it by our sin. Just think: He is faithful even when we are unfaithful! He loves us unconditionally and freely! God never gives up on a single one of his people. He never withholds his love from the undeserving. He never thinks anyone is too far gone or beyond his power to heal and save.
Hosea didn’t give up hope that his wife would return to him, or that the Lord would reach down to lead his people back to himself. Despite both Israel’s and Gomer’s unfaithfulness, Hosea dared to pray with great confidence, trusting in God’s compassion, love, and mercy. Hosea’s example encourages us to pray confidently for the people and situations God has put on our hearts. Let’s take up the call to be ministers of God’s love in our intercession. It’s amazing what God can do through our prayers, especially when we place radical faith in him!
“How faithful you are to us, Father! Your compassion is limitless. No sin is too great for you to forgive it, no relationship so broken that you cannot heal it. Show us your mercy, Lord!”
Mar. 23 - Thursday
Luke 11:14-23
Readings
Have you ever thought about Jesus as a “strong man” who enters the fortified house of our lives and takes away our armor so he can rule? Of course, that brings up the question: “What is my ‘armor,’ and why would Jesus want to take it away?”
Today’s first reading gives us some insight. God’s command through his prophet seems simple: If we listen to his voice, we will be his people and know his blessings. We just need to walk in the ways he requires. But how often we turn faithfulness to God’s commands into legalistic observance of rules! We rely on our own actions to make us God’s people, forgetting our deep need to listen to the voice of the Lord.
Then, when Jesus comes to the house of our hearts, he finds it well fortified with all the regulations we have set up to prove ourselves. This is the “armor” he wants to take away so that we can be free to relate to him in love, not as if we were simply following the rules of a contract. For at the heart of all God’s commands is his desire to have a relationship with us.
God does not want us to be a bunch of robots following some precise set of rules. He wants to be our own God, not just some divine scorekeeper up in heaven. He wants us to learn how to hear his voice when we hear his commands. He wants us to learn how to see his face in the brother or sister we are “commanded” to love. So when we hear his voice today, let’s not harden our hearts by trying to fit his ways into our expectations. Let’s try to listen with love instead, so that we will be inspired to follow and obey.
Jesus truly is the strongman. He really does want to remove the armor that keeps him at a distance. His love will not let him rest until we can be “with him,” not “scattering” the blessings of the relationship he holds out to us (Luke 11:23).
“Lord Jesus, remove the armor in which I clothe myself. I want a relationship with you. I want to be truly yours. Help me let go of my legalism so I can walk with you in love!”
Mar. 22 - Wednesday
Deuteronomy 4:1,5-9
Readings
On the brink of the Promised Land, Moses exhorted the Israelites to remember. Over and over, he told them to pay attention to what God had done—how he had delivered them from slavery in Egypt, protected them in the wilderness, and provided for them throughout their forty-year journey. For Moses, this exhortation was not meant to stir nostalgia among the people. He wanted them to remember their past so that they would make good decisions in the future.
When we remember our experiences of God, we relive those moments. We allow the grace and power of those moments to strengthen us and revitalize us. We allow them to build our faith and reinforce the knowledge that we can trust and lean on God.
Our experiences with God can also help us to stand firm during those times when God seems distant. In those seasons when we cannot as readily perceive God’s presence, or when we are struggling with powerful temptations, we can lean on our memories of God’s faithfulness and trust that he will not desert us. We can recall the times when we have experienced his tender mercy and felt his healing strength. Over time, our memories will transform us and build us up.
Like the Israelites facing new challenges in the Promised Land, our memories of God’s work in our lives can help guide us toward sound decisions. By looking at past situations in which we saw God helping us, we can find answers to present challenges—answers that incorporate godly grace into our human reasoning.
Each and every time God works in us, he does far more than rescue us from a difficult situation or give us his comfort. He also gives us another glimpse into who he is. He reveals his constancy, his faithfulness, his mercy, his power, and his glory. It is these truths that God wants to become the foundation for our lives. So take some time today to recall how God has worked in you. What has God shown you about himself? Write these down, and let them become the foundation of your faith and trust in a loving Father.
“Lord, you have shown me that you are faithful and true. You have poured your mercy and love into my heart. I praise you and thank you for what you have done in my life.”
Mar. 21 - Tuesday
Matthew 18:21-35
Readings
Corrie Ten Boom, a renowned evangelist, had once been imprisoned in a German concentration camp. Years later, while giving a talk on forgiveness, she recognized a prison guard who had mistreated her. He didn’t recognize her, and came up afterwards to shake her hand. At that point she had only hatred for her former captor, and prayed for the grace to be able to love him. She felt the Lord calling her to put out her hand, and when she had obeyed, heard him saying to her, “Well done, Corrie, that’s how my children behave.”
Ten Boom’s initial response to the guard sounds a lot like the unmerciful servant. Someone owed him a debt, and he simply wanted it back. He couldn’t let go of what he thought was rightfully his. In the same way, Corrie knew that this man owed her something for the terrible wrong he had done to her. Even though he could never pay her back, she was reluctant to release him from his debt.
In each of our lives, there is a similar story. We have all been wronged at one time or another, and we are each given the opportunity to show forgiveness. The fact is, we seldom find it easy. The only power that can truly bring us to forgive others is the power of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. Because of the blood he shed for us on Calvary, we can walk in his love and not be bound by our grudges and hatreds anymore. The old law of “an eye for an eye,” doesn’t have to apply to us. We have been set free!
As we reflect on Jesus’ power to restore relationships, we should also remember how crucial forgiveness is to our spiritual life. In the Lord’s prayer, Jesus tells us to pray, “Forgive us, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” If we refuse to forgive our brothers and sisters, we prevent ourselves from receiving his love. With that in mind, let’s ask ourselves if there is someone we need to forgive. If so, don’t wait another moment to bring that situation to the foot of his cross—that’s where he can deal with it!
“Lord, I need your heart! I cannot love the way I should. Let your love flow into me, and I will truly be a child of the light!”
Mar. 20 - Monday
Matthew 1:16,18-21,24
Readings
Always working in wonderful and mysterious ways, God chose a simple carpenter to be the foster father for his eternal Son. How can this be? A mere man, charged with the upbringing of the Son of God? Much of this is mystery, but we do know that when God calls someone to do something, he pours upon them all the grace they need for the task.
Joseph was a man of mature faith who trusted in the Lord. Silent though he was, his actions speak more loudly than all the sermons, exhortations, and philosophizing of Christian history. At the beginning of Jesus’ life, when our redemption was about to occur, we read about one man whose strength, trust, and humility stand as a sign of the new creation that Jesus would make possible for all of us through his cross.
God spoke to Joseph through an angel in dreams, and every time Joseph heard from the angel, he promptly followed God’s directives (Matthew 1:20-24; 2:20-23). The situations Joseph faced were difficult. On the angel’s first visit, God told Joseph of Mary’s miraculous conception and that he should not fear taking her as his wife. Surely, he must have been tempted to doubt or to be concerned about what others might think or say. But, without asking for further understanding—without a single question—Joseph acted decisively.
Like Joseph, we too are called to be generous receivers of God’s grace, his power that enables us to obey the Lord. Let us open ourselves to God’s will. We can hear God speak to us in prayer, as we read Scripture, and while participating in the liturgy. Sometimes our situations will be difficult, and we may be tempted to doubt God. But we all have the Holy Spirit, who loves to instruct us in the ways of the Lord. When we do God’s will, our faith, hope, and intimacy with God mature, and we become more able to do the works he prepared for us.
“Lord God, you love us and have a perfect plan for our lives. In love you speak your plan to us; give us the grace to listen. We know you have work for us; give us the strength to be your obedient servants.”
