Below are Fr. Howard Hansen's reflections for this week
Email: HowardHansen@FranciscanRetreats.net
Link to Readings for Daily Mass
Fourth Sunday of Lent, March 22
John 3: 14-21
“For the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. Whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be seen clearly as done in God.”
The theme that comes to mind from the Gospel to be read for this Fourth Sunday of Lent is a rather simple one and we have touched on it many times in these homilies. But once again, repetition is the mother of studies. That theme is: Live your life in Jesus’ way and everything will turn out all right. Our human hearts desire many things deep down that are important to our well-being such as happiness, joy, peace and freedom from pain, not only physical pain but also the spiritual pain of guilt and shame. These desires and wants are possible for us only if we follow the way, the light, of the Lord Jesus.
Jesus tells us all this in his own words: Repent and believe in the Gospel; make a U turn toward the light of Christ. This Fourth Sunday of Lent is sometimes referred to as “Laetare” (Rejoice!) Sunday, and the name will be fulfilled if we follow the light, Jesus Christ.
Jesus wants us all to be an ethical people. He wants us to do things, live our lives, the right way by loving God and our neighbor and all that that implies. He wants us to realize that we have a choice. Jesus gave us his law, his commandments, his way for the consideration of all. These gifts of his are common sense ways to happiness, joy, and peace and we are free to accept them or reject them. Jesus does not interfere with our free wills. And the choice we make will bring us happiness and joy or the pain and misery of darkness. The choice is ours. It’s as simple as that.
Lord, help me to walk humbly with you and choose to walk my path of life in your light. Amen.
Fr. Howard
Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent, March 23
John 4: 43-54
In today’s Gospel selection, a royal official approaches Jesus and asks him to come with him to his home and heal his son who is near death. Jesus said to him, “You may go; your son will live.” The man believed what Jesus said and later was to discover that his son was cured precisely at the same time Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.”
Let us imagine, if we can, the joy and happiness of the man in the Gospel upon discovering that his son was alive and well! This same joy can be ours if we obey Jesus’ words and ways. With a few words Jesus changed the feelings of the man in the Gospel from grief and sorrow to joy and happiness. He will do the same for us if we bring our difficulties to him and listen to his words.
Fr. Howard
Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent, March 24
John 5: 1-16
The theme of last Sunday’s Gospel continues yet another day. “Do you want to be well?” Jesus asked the man who had been ill for 38 years. Today’s Gospel episode takes place at the pool named Bethesda. Apparently an intermittent spring in the pool bubbled up occasionally and this turbulence in the water was believed to cure people. If one was quick enough to get into the water while it was bubbling, they would be cured. If, on the other hand, it stopped bubbling before the person got into it, the water somehow lost its curative powers. Our man in the Gospel today had no way of getting into the bubbling water. Jesus’ words made the bubbling water unnecessary. He said to the man, “Rise, take up your mat and walk.” And so it happened.
Sometimes in the midst of our troubles and difficulties, no matter what they might be, we use remedies suggested to us by others trying to help us and for one reason or another nothing happens. Take it to the Lord! Put matters in his hands. He told us all, “Come to me all you who labor and are burdened and I will refresh you.” I will re-fresh you; I will make you fresh and new again. Believe me, it works!
Fr. Howard
Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent, March 25
The Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord
On this feast of the Annunciation of the Lord we see God inviting Mary, his Mother-to-be, to participate in his divine plan. Mary accepted the invitation with her “fiat,” her “let it be done to me” as you will, as you say. Mary was to be the Mother of Jesus, the Redeemer of us all, and as such she played a huge part in God’s divine plan of salvation.
We too are called to participate in his divine plan for we are the ones, all of us, who pass on the “good news” of salvation to the people of our day. We do this by being worthy disciples of the Lord, by letting people see that we are happy and joy-filled because we follow the values of Jesus. We preach by the lives we live and by our example. I often hear St. Francis being quoted as having said to his Friars: Preach always and if necessary, use words. If we show others the values of Jesus by being loving, compassionate, caring, forgiving and serving people, we are indeed preaching the “good news” Jesus came to make known.
Let us all pray today the Responsorial Psalm of this Solemnity taken from Psalm 40:
“Sacrifice and offering you do not want; but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Holocausts and sin-offerings you do not require; so I said “Here I am;
Your commands for me are written in the scroll.
To do your will is my delight; My God, your law is in my heart”.
Fr. Howard
Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent, March 26
Exodus 32: 7-14
The first reading for our Liturgy today is taken from the Book of Exodus. It is a fine Lenten reading and one I think we can all identify with.
The reading speaks of God leading the Jewish people out of the control of Pharaoh to the land of milk and honey, a journey that was going to take them forty years. Along the way their story is filled with grumblings, complaining and many infidelities to the God who obviously loves them very much. Time and time again God intervenes and helps them through their difficulties and time and time again they revert to their grumbling, complaining and infidelities. One would think that eventually they would have learned. Their behavior on their journey even taxes our patience just reading about it.
Yet, in our own life’s journey we are the same way, constantly grumbling and complaining and being unfaithful to God when things don’t go our way. And we continue to do things our way rather than invoke his way. We have all been down this route and recognize it very well. When are we going to learn that we can’t make it alone without God being a part of our lives and that he is our way, truth and life?
Fr. Howard
Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent, March 27,
John 7: 1-2, 10, 25-30
Our Gospel for today begins by telling us that Jesus continued to move about within Galilee but did not wish to travel into Judea because the Jews were trying to kill him. Yet, despite the obstacles and the threat of death, Jesus does go to Jerusalem for the feast of Tabernacles.
Through all of this we see Jesus continuing to do his Father’s will and continuing to carry on his mission. What holds us back from doing our mission, the will of God for ourselves? Sorry to say, it doesn’t take much to get me off the track. How about you? When I see other people being violent, am I more prone to violence too? When I see people not being compassionate to someone when they should be, do I cease being compassionate too, to be like them? Do I run and hide from God’s way when doing it brings with it the risk of disapproval of those around us? These are good questions for all of us to ask ourselves during the remainder of this Lenten season.
Fr. Howard
Saturday of the Fourth Week of Lent, March 28
John 7: 40-53
In our Gospel today the chief priests, the Pharisees, the guards – the whole Sanhedrin – are all concerned with arresting Jesus and getting rid of him. But they are all wary. They are, I think, all a bit fearful of confronting Jesus. The Pharisees ask the guards, “Why did you not bring him (arrest him)?” And the guards answered, “Never before has anyone spoken like this man.” All of them were in a quandary and finally went off to their homes to bury their heads in the sand.
What do we feel when we continue to offend the Lord or neglect him? Do we worry about the consequences? Just as no evil consequences came upon the Sanhedrin for their actions against Jesus so vengeance will not happen in our cases either. God is love and he continues to love us no matter what we do. But we are hurting and destroying ourselves in our rejections of Jesus. We reject our happiness, joy and peace in rejecting him who is our happiness, joy and peace.
When I hear junior high and high school confessions, I always ask the young people whether they are happy or not. If they answer “no” or they make a face, I ask them why they are not happy. And inevitably it will be because of the things they are doing that are not according to the way, truth and life of Jesus. They know full well that that is where their happiness lies. How about us?
Fr. Howard
