March 21-22, 2009
Fourth Sunday of Lent
Second Chronicles 36:14-23 Ephesians 2:4-10 John 3:14-21
Even the most familiar space or room can be a bit frightening if it is shrouded in unfamiliar darkness. Paths we travel each day can be become daunting if the illumination is turned off; our minds begin to play tricks and our imaginations create specters from the shadows. Having now been within the season of Lent for four solid weeks we are becoming aware of the areas of our lives where we have diminished the ‘light of Christ’. Like in our day-to-day lives, once we start to cheat on our relationships with Jesus, we discover that we have to keep up the charade, we must continue to hide from the light of truth. Thus, we live our spiritual lives in the shadows, afraid that our deeds and negligence will be revealed. The trouble with life-in-the-shadows is that we can never fully see how diminished our lives have become because we never truly see them in the fullness of light. We have been created by God to be BRIGHT and VIBRANT, not dim and diminished….and this is the tragedy of sin, we start to think that our whole future is nothing but shadows, that God wants nothing to do with us….and NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER from the truth! God desires us to be the unique individuals he created us to be….and he wants to restore our brightness…but that only occur if we come into his light. A most wonderful opportunity to restore our brightness is offered to us through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, where we can own, in the presence of the Lord, our deeds of darkness and hear his reconciling voice restoring us to being people of the light. Within Reconciliation we have the opportunity to throw our weakened and shadowed selves into the arms of Jesus who already knows our choices but awaits our self awareness and ownership of the infidelities we have chosen. On April 2nd, the Sacrament of Reconciliation in a communal manner will be available in the morning and in the evening for all those who have discovered in these Lenten weeks that their lives are not as bright and as free as they could be. Reconciliation is not about punishment or harsh punishment….it is about allowing God to restore luster to our tarnished lives, to guide us back to the paths that offer life and light. The journey of Lent is not simply to uncover darkness for darkness’ sake…rather, it is a journey back into the light from which we were created.
Thank you for sharing this mid-point of Lent with our Corpus Christi community. Please accept a Bulletin on your way home, you will find the whole Holy Week schedule included…and our Reconciliation opportunities on April 2nd at 10 a.m. and at 7:00 p.m., we will have a number of extra priests available at the 7:00 p.m. Service to expedite the process. Please keep our youth, who are preparing for Confirmation, in your prayers as they go on retreat next weekend. With the arrival of Spring, Easter is not far away…but as we await the resurrection, remember, you are loved. FKB
