Third Sunday of Lent

We are now upon the Third Sunday of Lent. FWe are now upon the Third Sunday of Lent. For sixteen days now we have been carrying our crosses with Christ and gathering each Sunday at the Lord’s Table in a state of rest and relaxation. We have drawn comfort and instruction from Sacred Scripture, gathered together in community to break bread, and enjoyed each other within the spirit of our faith in so many different ways. I feel that as each year passes, this wonderful place that defines our Christian Family only gets better. It provides peace, comfort, solace, and love enriched by the Living Water of Our Lord Jesus Christ mentioned in the Scriptures today.

As I reflect on our journey thus far, my mind goes back to the First Sunday of Lent and the Gospel Reading with Jesus going out in the desert for 40 days. My heart sunk a little bit because I realize that I am doing the same thing this weekend. As you read this pastoral letter, I will already be gone, gathering with my Deacon Brothers on our yearly retreat. We will be at Campion, the former location of the Jesuits’ Weston School of Theology and its current Provincial Headquarters (there is a general feeling that Father Walsh knows everyone here). Even though this is necessary and will be a wonderful experience, it is still strange and unique to be away from my parish and family homes during this Lenten Season. I will not be breaking bread at the Lenten Supper or be at the Stations of the Cross. I will not be at mass and my weekend will not scheduled around various appointments and activities at the church. I will be withdrawn from the world and, in some aspects, alone with Christ in my own spiritual desert oasis. This in itself is a perfect image for Lent and I will definitely carry it with me.

It is truly beautiful how the Gospel Reading from the First Sunday of Lent fits perfectly with that of the third. We have that vision of the parched, barren desert with Christ being at its center. Then we have Jesus professing that He is that Living Water which we all must quench our thirst with. All the more, we are challenged to place ourselves in that desert and suffer the sweltering heat and the merciless winds that cause the sand to rip into our flesh. We are laid bare and helpless against the elements; our sins and humanness exposed as what they are. Then, at that very moment where we feel our lives coming to an end, there is Christ to quench our thirst and give it back to us. He is there is cradle us and tend to our wounds. Through Him, we become whole again.

During this season, there should be times such as these where we strip ourselves bare before Christ and surrender ourselves to His will. Through this exercise, we are more susceptible to Him: we answer His call to love Him and He touches us. We then wait in anticipation for the Spirit to move us and for us to feel Christ’s love. There is a special grace through suffering and sacrifice. Saint John of the Cross taught this and the Book of Job reflects on this. This is also what the Church teaches us through the Season of Lent: loss is actually gain and sacrifice is actually reward. And the ultimate reward comes with the Easter Joy but only after the Passion of the Christ.

I invite you all to take these images from the Gospels and meditate on them. Those that are read in the coming weeks should also be contemplated. Believe me, they all fit together. It is a wonderful exercise to actually meditate on the scripture throughout the week and have it enrich your Lenten Journey. No one can even begin to comprehend the journey without including Sacred Scripture. It is part of the Living Water which nourishes our soul.

The third full week is before us. Our journey has just begun. Let us go back out into the desert to find that Spiritual Oasis. There, I can promise you there is one very special friend waiting there for us.

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend. Pray for me and I shall be praying for you.

Yours in Christ,

Deacon Tom