09 March 2024 – 4th Sunday of Lent (Year B) | Laetare Sunday

by Fr Fabian Dicom

So we hear in the Second Reading from the letter to the Ephesians. It states that we are all deemed God’s work of art, crafted, created in Christ Jesus to lead a good life, to lead a virtuous life.

It is not common for us to view ourselves as another interpretation or translation uses the word ‘masterpiece‘. So it is not common for us to view ourselves as masterpieces. However, God perceives our genuine worth, our genuine value. In the eyes of God, we are masterpieces. Our value and worth are immense.

That reminds me of the first virtue that we spoke about at the Parish Recollection or the Formation that took place the whole day. There are 322 persons here, I believe all of them are here, after a day’s session on ‘Living the Virtues.’ And just for the benefit of the rest of the congregation, just a very, very short explanation of what we did throughout the day.

We had kind of or rather identified last year when the parish went through the parish assembly that we needed to enhance these three values of inclusivity, caring and unity. All of you felt that it lacked in the parish and therefore we needed to focus on that. When it came to the parish formation, we felt that before we can talk about inclusivity, before we can talk about caring or unity, let us go down to the fundamental aspects of living a good life, a virtuous life.

And therefore today we reflected on the four cardinal virtues. A different take on the cardinal virtues, a new proposed version. So basically, what we did today is to reflect on three questions:
1. Who am I?
2. Who am I called to be?
3. How do I get there?

And here we are called to be or rather we are called as the work of art, God’s work of art. We are masterpieces. To get there, we propose that the virtues will take us there. So we reflected on the four virtues of self-care, fidelity, justice and prudence. The pillars of cardinal virtues, the virtues that will leads us to where the Lord wants us.

So when the Lord thinks of us as His masterpieces, I can’t help but thinking about how important it is to take care of this masterpiece. You and I. To care for ourselves.

Besides that, being masterpieces, all those special people in our lives, we have them who mean the world to us. Like treasures we hold dear. We don’t think about what it cost to care for them. We go out of the way to be for them, even if it means traveling far, staying up late when they are sick. We stand up for them fiercely when needed. Our feelings for them aren’t just about how they treat us, even if they do things that perhaps bother us, we will still cherish them. We might just say: Oh, okay. They are just this way. Their value to us runs deeper than their actions. we appreciate them simply for who they are.

And the virtue that helps us appreciate those we love very much, to really be concerned about them is the virtue of FIDELITY, that we are faithful.

Now think about how much you love your family, how much you love your friends and how they love you back. This kind of gives you a glimpse of how God loves us. Just a glimpse. Because God loves us so much that He gave us His only Son. And that is what we read in the Gospel today, that He loves us so much that He gave us His only Son.

That is a big deal! That is a very, very big deal!

It is like giving something really precious without worrying about the cost. So God’s love is so generous that He did not even hold back His Son from us. And that is why we see the Cross as a symbol of Christianity. It is not about liking suffering but it shows just how much God cares for you and for me. It is like a big sign saying: You are so valuable to God.

And God loves us because of who we are, not because of what we do. This is similar to how we love those we care about. We love them for who they are, not just for what they do. Even if we find it hard to believe, God’s love for us is not based on anything we have done. We might sometimes worry if you have done enough to earn God’s love. But think about it. When someone loves us deeply, we don’t ask if we have done enough to deserve it.

So God’s love unlike human affection is not contigen on merit. It doesn’t depend on merit. We need not to strive to earn it. We don’t have to earn it. Rather, the call today in the Gospel is we are called to accept it graciously, humbly. Even amidst our flaws and transgressions, God’s love remains steadfast. His mercy offers solace, guiding us back to him in moments of waywardness. So embracing His love is a key to stepping into that illuminating warmth, that light that we hear in the Gospel today. Dispelling darkness and instilling vitality. Through His love, we are empowered to lead virtuous lives, as advocated by Saint Paul.

This Sunday is Laetare Sunday. Laetare means rejoice in the Latin text. And that is why we are all wearing pink. You never catch me wearing this in any other day. Okay. This is supposed to be a colour of rejoicing.

On Laetare Sunday, the church expresses hope and joy in the midst of our Lenten Fast and Penance. One day they say: Hey, no need to be so downcast. It is still a joyful period. So I am not sure whether the colour evokes that feeling in you all. I hope it does, because today, not only because it is a pause and say okay we want to celebrate, I think it is a very special day to celebrate. We celebrate the realisation and affirmation of God’s love for us.

Amidst life’s distractions, the Season of Lent serves as a poignant reminder of our fundamental priorities. Nurturing our relationship with God and reaching out to others. And this is where we are called to practice the virtue, the third virtue of JUSTICE. Justice must be an integral part of our Christian life that allows us to reach out to people, especially to the marginalised, those we are forgotten and to know that they deserve a life that is better. Just the virtue of Justice, not only our personal virtue but has to be the virtue of our parish community.

We rejoice in the triumph of Jesus’ light over darkness, illuminating the path towards righteousness. Just as the light clarifies our vision, lights up our steps, Jesus imparts clarity on matters of virtues and goodness. That light will illuminate our PRUDENCE on the way we choose the virtues we practice in responding to the God who love us tremendously.

So my dear brothers and sisters, let us rejoice in God’s unwavering, faithful and unconditional love which persists even in our moments of faltering. May His loving light rejuvenate our spirits and inspire fervent service to Him. We take that and pray for those graces at the Mass today.

Click below to listen to the homily and watch the video:

Click to live-stream Mass on 09 March 2024