FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT - 2023

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord;
whoever believes in me will never die. JN 11:25, 26

EZEKIEL 37:12-14 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Thank You, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for the new life that we receive through Jesus Christ, Our Lord, and Savior.  How good it is to be reassured constantly that we are precious in Your sight and that You will woo and pursue us relentlessly, lovingly, tenderly, and tirelessly until we surrender and allow ourselves to be taken captive by You.

Thank You, Lord, that You never give up on us. Thank You for redeeming us and saving us. Thank You that while we were yet sinners and deserving of eternal death, You nevertheless came into the world to raise us to new life and to give us Your own Spirit and the promise of a share of Your glory in Your Kingdom. Thank You for setting us free and making us daughters and sons of God.

PSALM 129(130) ©

My Soul's Beloved,

The psalmist has expressed the sentiments of all souls who cry out to You ceaselessly for help and relief as we sojourn from this valley of tears to our eternal home. Who do we have but You O Lord? You alone have the power to set us free from the miseries of our earthly existence, to forgive our sins, to assist us with Your grace for we have no strength of our own to withstand the wiles of the enemy, the world, and above all our concupiscence.

Thank You for showing us mercy and granting us pardon when we cry out to You. Thank You for keeping no records of our sins once You have forgiven them. Thank You, Lord, for instituting the Sacraments and for ensuring Your Presence among us until the end of the age.

Thank You for the longing that You have put in every human heart for You and for leading us gently to the knowledge that You alone satisfy our hungry hearts. Only in loving You and allowing ourselves to be wholly Yours can we be happy in this life as we prepare ourselves for the life to come.

ROMANS 8:8-11 ©

My Soul'sBeloved,

Thank You, Lord, for the wisdom and understanding You have given the writers of Sacred Scripture in expressing and making known to us the things of God and of heaven. Nothing is hidden from those who desire to make their home in You and in whom You make a home. Our bodies are Your living temples. Your Spirit makes it possible to discern and to choose wisely the things that give life and to resist the things that kill the soul.

In baptism, we are made children of God and heirs to the Kingdom. In all the Sacraments that follow we are given the power and the grace to live in the shadow of God with childlike trust and simplicity. Only the little ones are pleasing to You. Today I pray O Lord that You grant me the grace I need to be little, humble, obedient, and docile to the promptings of Your Spirit always. Amen. 

JOHN 11:1-45 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

It is impossible to plumb the richness of all that this beautiful account of the raising of Lazarus reveals and teaches us even if we possessed the wisdom of Solomon. 

That You love Your friends and share their joys and sorrows is clear. You mourned with Martha and Mary at the death of Lazarus. You wept and shared their grief even though You knew that You would raise him to life again. This family returned Your love. They considered nothing to be too good for You as Mary's actions proved when she anointed Your feet with expensive ointment and wiped Your feet with her hair. Now their hearts were broken at the loss of their brother and they chided You for not coming when they had informed You that he was ill. They knew that had You come You could have healed him.

Often, Lord, we complain when You do not answer our prayers in the way that You ask You to. Instead of surrendering to Your wisdom, we instruct You how to answer us. But as both Martha and Mary were to find out, You had something far greater in mind. This miracle would prove definitively that You are God.

Through all our misunderstands, through all our doubts, our impatience, and our murmurings, You quietly support us, listen to us, correct us, and reveal to us that Your ways are far, far better than anything we could hope for or conceive of. If we are truly Your disciples then like Thomas, we will desire to follow You all the way even to death.

These words of comfort and reassurance are addressed not just to Martha and Mary but to everyone and anyone who hears You and believes: 

‘I am the resurrection and the life.

If anyone believes in me, even though he dies he will live,
and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.
Do you believe this?’

If we have eyes to see and we believe no matter how dark the road, the depths of our grief, the sadness that seems to fill every crevice in our hearts if we cling to You through every situation we believe is impossible, we will witness the glory of God.

‘Have I not told you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?’ 

You can roll away every stone, every block, every sin that prevents grace from penetrating into our soul because Your prayers of intercession to Your Father on our behalf will always be heard.

‘Father, I thank you for hearing my prayer.
I knew indeed that you always hear me,
but I speak for the sake of all these who stand round me,
so that they may believe it was you who sent me.’

And Your Father always hears You and answers You and then we are set free from all that binds us and enslaves us and destroys and kills us.

We believe Lord, may our lives be a powerful witness to Your love so all who see us will believe in You and be saved.