Jesus says to us again today: “I tell you… unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.” 3rd Sunday of Lent - MQP Church in JLW Parish - March 20th, 2022

 Gospel & Homily MP3 version     Homily PDF version     

What are the offerings that we bring to God? What is the meaning of "HOSANNAH!" MP3 version

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits!”

Dear brothers and sisters, God revealed Himself to Moses saying: “I am the God of your fathers.” And to you, how did God reveal Himself? When I was a child, Maman taught me my prayers. However, it was in watching Papa pray to God in church that I realized that God is real, that He is truly there before us when we pray. And you, what has been your experience? Even if your parents were unable to bring you to God, God must have found another way. It is most certainly true that it is God Himself, the Holy Spirit, who has brought us here today.

For his part, Moses saw “the bush that was blazing, yet it was not consumed.” Then, he heard the voice of God. As for me, in my child’s heart, at my Confirmation, at my first Confession, and at my first Communion, I felt the presence of God and his love for me. At the time, I wasn’t conscious of it; I wouldn’t have been able to talk about it. It was only 20 years later, as a young adult participating in a weekend retreat, that I was able to reflect on my experience of God in my life. Then, the Holy Spirit brought to my mind my discreet and sweet experiences of the presence and the love of God for me at the age of eight.

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits!”

Brothers and sisters, they must not be lost all those graces the Good God has given to us in the course of our life, from the moment of our conception in our mother’s womb until now, at this very moment; for even our very breath is given to us by God our Father and Creator. Life is a gift we receive from God from one moment to the next. This time of Lent is a gift God gives us. He captures our attention and invites us to reflect and remember every experience of God that we have had from our earliest childhood until today.

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits!”

If we can work, then, we earn our living by the sweat of our brow, yes, but the opportunity to have a job and the health and strength to work is a gift from God. When we are in trouble, and help comes to us, it is God who inspires the people who come to our aid. When the Good God allows us to suffer still longer, in the end we find that suffering has strengthened us. If we open our heart and our soul to the Good God, we discover that, no matter the circumstances, everything is a gift from God. Everything mysteriously comes to us for our final good.

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits!”

The continuing conflict in Ukraine is a scandal. The whole world is in shock because of this war waged against the population of Ukraine by Russia’s military. It seems to us impossible to understand why this conflict erupted in the first place and why it drags on. It would be easy to grumble and complain against God and to succumb to various temptations to do evil things.

We could be tempted to judge and condemn one side or the other. Yet, who are we to judge? Who is good; if not God alone? It is now very late in human history, but it is also late in our own lives. There is no longer any time to lose. It is today that we must listen attentively to the voice of the Lord Jesus. “I tell you… unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.” It is possible for a human being not to listen to his conscience; yet, our conscience warns us when we do evil or refuse to do good, either by our gestures, our words, or our attitudes. This very day it is up to us to decide to come closer to the Good God, to open our hearts to Him.

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits!”

When Jesus walked this Earth, he went about forgiving sins, even when that was not what people were asking of Him. For two millennia now, Jesus continues to ask us to admit to Him our sins in front of the priests He sends to us. To experience perfectly his forgiveness and our lasting freedom of soul, this confession to God in front of the priest is both necessary and truly effective. Yet, we don’t like it; so we ask: Why not confess only privately to the Good God?

I am a human person – that is my individual identity. There I can and must admit my fault directly to the Good God. I am also a member of a family – that is my identity of origin. There, I can and must admit to my family my faults against them. I am also a member of the Body of Christ, of his Church, and I am part of his universal assembly of all the baptized – that is my identity as a Christian and disciple of Jesus. There, I can and must admit my faults to Jesus in the way that He asks me to do it, through the sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation.

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits!”

Jesus is waiting for us in every priest He takes the trouble to send to us. When we confess our sins in front of the priest, it is Jesus Himself who listens to us. He inspires good words to the priest for us and grants us to taste the sweetness of his mercy through the forgiveness He grants us through the absolution said by the priest. Today, Jesus calls us all to repentance.

“Father, grant us the grace to know and to regret our sins.” “O my Jesus, I trust in You!” “Holy Spirit, grant us the courage to go and confess our sins to the priests of Jesus. Thank You, for You are God, the Father, + the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

In silence now, the Holy Spirit shines his divine light in our heart, our mind, and our soul.

 

https://frgilleshomilies.blogspot.com         https://homeliesabbegilles.blogspot.com

 

© 2006-2022 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal QC           © 2006-2022 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC