by Fr Joachim Robert
Wisdom 2:1,12-22
Psalm 33:16,18,19-21,23
John 7:1-2,10,25-30
Way of the Cross theme:-
Come back to me with all your heart
Dear friends,
Last Sunday we had the parable of the Prodigal Son where the father was caught between the elder son and the younger son. Because the father chose the path of love, the father chose to show his love towards his sons, he found himself in a situation where he was misunderstood. Even though they came home, they were not able to understand the father.
In the same way, dear friends, our journey in Lent is a journey home towards God, is a journey where we come to realise who our Father is. And sometimes whenever we choose the path of love, we often get misunderstood, we often are not seen as what we intended to. And sometimes it creates us into confusion. Our actions are misguided, our actions are misunderstood, what we say is taken wrongly.
In the same way, dear friends, as what we see in the First Reading and the Gospel of today, in the Book of Wisdom, we are reminded that this path that we take towards righteousness and being virtuous is not easy. It is a path that demands us to love even though it hurts. It is a path that demands that we allow ourselves to put our faith and trust in God even though people around us may choose to think otherwise.
But the Lord was faithful to what He was called to do. And He was faithful to His mission, whatever the circumstances may have been.
And everywhere we go, dear friends, the Lord invites us to choose this path of love. And sometimes we can be brokenhearted, we can suffer because we have chosen the path of love.
And the Responsorial Psalm today reminds us that the Lord is close to the brokenhearted. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted. And it says:-
The Lord turns his face against the wicked,
destroys the remembrance from the earth.
The just call and the Lord hears
and rescues them in all their distress.
So, dear friends, if we are having situations of life in our families, in our communities, in our own personal journey of life, and if we are brokenhearted, the Lord reminds us that He is with us. He is with us because if we have chosen the path of love just like Him, we will embrace the cross as it comes along. And ultimately, it is not our will and our purpose that is important. It is the will and the plan of God in our lives, wanting us to grow into a deeper awareness of building His kingdom of love.
As we take this path, this remaining path towards Lent, dear friends, a time when we prepare our hearts and our minds towards the glory of the resurrection, we are reminded not to lose heart but to put our faith and trust in Him because the Lord says (as the Responsorial Psalm says today):-
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.
Let us not lose faith. Let us not lose faith and confidence in God because He loves us and draws us out from the situations that we are in.
And each and every moment, dear friends, we must remember that it is easy to fall down. It is easy for us to sin. But when we pick ourselves to rise up again, it is difficult.
But the Lord reminds us that He is together with us. And let us continue to show, in this remaining days of Lent, of our love for God by picking up our cross, however big or small it may be, by showing our love for Him. And for the grace to show our love for God during this remaining days of Lent we pray.
Click below to listen to homily and watch video:–
Click to live-stream Mass on 01 April 2022