On the 3rd, 4th and 5th Sundays of Lent we reflect upon the Scrutiny readings at alternate 9am and 11am masses. Last week we reflected upon the Woman at the Well. At the 9am mass this week we will reflect upon The Man Born Blind, and next week upon The Resurrection of Lazarus. The purpose of these reflections is for the benefit of the Elect within our parish who are in the final weeks before they will enter fully into the Catholic faith at the Easter Vigil mass. The Scrutiny readings focus on the conversion of heart and mind, the ability to “see” where once we were blind. The Scrutiny readings and reflection are helpful to the elect to overcome their lingering doubts and strengthen their resolve to love God and reject Satan. We, the community, pray these Scrutinies with and for the elect of our parish in support of their conversion. Please take a few minutes to visit the Lent tab on the Children’s Liturgy of The Word website and read the Scrutiny reflections.
Other than the mass at which the Scrutiny is reflected and prayed we will be reading and reflecting upon the readings for the 4th Sunday of Lent.
It’s all about God’s infinite love for us and our reciprocation in thanksgiving this week!
In our day to day lives we toil and trudge to earn a living, to earn respect, to earn recognition. We earn our way through our lives and we can stand proud and proclaim, “Look what I have accomplished through my own hard work!”
Did you know that God loves you so much that you don’t have to “do” anything to be saved except acknowledge the One God sent to be your salvation? Yes; Jesus did all the hard work for our salvation. No matter what deeds we perform, good works, alms giving, etc., our salvation is not earned by those measures. Salvation is given through our faith in God’s one true Son who was sent for the purpose of taking the sins of the world upon himself and dying on the cross.
In St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians he writes: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, it is not from you; it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so no one may boast.”
“…so no one may boast.” We cannot puff ourselves out and proclaim that what we have done has earned our salvation; we cannot consider ourselves better and above others because we alone have worked for that reward! God’s love and God’s gifts are not given in the same way that men reward one another.
Our good works, then, are not undertaken as a means to salvation, but rather as gratitude for the gift of salvation that has been given to us by God. A pure gift and pure grace. Jesus taught us that the most important commandment is to love God with all your heart, with all your soul and all your mind AND to love one another as He has loved us. We love God because we are so loved by God. We return that love through works of thanksgiving for the gifts that God has given to us freely. You cannot keep the commandment of loving one another if you do not perform good works and it is impossible to love God with all your heart, soul and mind and not be loving to others. It is not loving one another as God loves us to look past someone in need, who is cold or hungry or lonely or in pain. Jesus also taught us that to help someone who is suffering in those ways is to help Jesus himself.
In St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians he continues, “For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them.”
The Psalm this week is Psalm 137: Let My Tongue Be Silenced (Retz) and here is the Lead Sheet
Have a glorious week praising God as offering all your works and deeds in thanksgiving!