LATIN - YEAR B

Introduction: The Fourth Sunday of Lent is called Lætare (Rejoice) Sunday, from the first words of today’s liturgy. As on Gaudete Sunday in Advent, rose-colored vestments may replace violet and flowers may grace the altar, symbolizing the Church's joy in anticipation of the Resurrection of Our Lord. The central theme of today’s readings is that our salvation is the free gift of a merciful God, given to us sinners through Jesus, His Son.  The readings stress God’s mercy and compassion and remind us of the great love, kindness and grace extended to us in Christ.

The Scripture lessons summarized:  In the first reading, taken from the Second Book of Chronicles, we learn the compassion and patience of God.  God allowed Cyrus the Great, a pagan conqueror, to become the instrument of His mercy and salvation to His chosen people who were in exile in Babylon.  In the second reading, Paul tells us that God is so rich in mercy that He has granted us eternal salvation and eternal life as a free gift through Christ Jesus.  Today’s Gospel has a parallel theme, but on a much higher level.  Jesus, the Son of God, became the agent of God's salvation, not just for one sinful nation but for the sinfulness of the whole world.  Through John 3:16, the Gospel teaches us that God expressed His love, mercy and compassion for us by giving His only Son for our salvation. Nicodemus, the wealthy Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin, meets Jesus by night and begins a long religious discussion. Jesus explains to him that he must believe Jesus’ words because he is the Son of God.  He further explains to Nicodemus God’s plan of salvation by referring to the story of Moses and the bronze serpent (Nm 21:1-9).  Just as God saved the victims of serpent bite through the bonze serpent, He is going to save mankind from its sins by permitting the crucifixion and death of His Son Jesus because the love of God for mankind is that great. Life messages: 1) We need to love the cross, the symbol of God’s forgiving and merciful love: As a forceful reminder not only of God's love and mercy, but also of the price of our salvation, the crucifix invites us to more than generosity and compassion.  It inspires us to remove the suffering of other people’s misery.  It encourages us not only to feel deep sorrow for another’s suffering but also to try our best to remove that suffering.  Hence, let us love the cross, wear its image and carry our own daily cross with joy, while helping other to carry their heavier crosses. 2) We need to reciprocate God’s love by loving Salvatore Ferragamo Womens Sandals Sale others. God’s love is unconditional, universal, forgiving and merciful.  Let us try to make an earnest attempt to include these qualities in sharing our love with others during Lent.  3) Our rebirth by water and the Spirit must be an ongoing process.  That is, we must lead a life of repentance and conversion bringing us to renewal of life, with the help of the Holy Spirit living within us, through prayer, Bible reading, frequenting the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Holy Eucharist and doing corporal and spiritual works of mercy.

LENT IV B II Chr 36:14-16, 19-23; Eph 2:4-10; Jn 3:14-21

Anecdotes: #1: “The Hound of Heaven”: “The Hound of Heaven,” written by Francis Thompson, is one of the best- known religious poems in the English language.  It describes the pursuit of the human soul by .  The poem tells the story of a human soul who tries to flee from God as it thinks that it will lose its freedom in the company of God.  This is the story of Thompson’s own life.  As a boy, he intended to become a priest.  But the laziness of his brilliant son prompted Thompson’s father to enroll young Francis in a medical school.  There he became addicted to opium that almost wrecked his body and mind.  He fled to a slum and started earning a living by shining shoes, selling matches, and holding horses.  In 1887 Francis sent some poems and an essay to Mr. Wilfrid Meynell, the editor of a Catholic literary magazine called Merry England.  The editor recognized the genius behind these works and published them in April 1888.  Then Meynell went in search of the poet.  He arranged accommodation for Francis, introduced him to other poets and helped him to realize God’s love.  How Francis tried to run away from God, how God “hunted” him, how Divine love caught up with him – these are the themes of his stirring poem, “The Hound of Heaven.”  Once we realize, as did the poet Francis Thompson and all the saints, that God in His love for us, pursues our souls to the ends of the earth and beyond, then we will try to return to that Love and allow the Hound of Heaven to “catch” us.  Today’s Gospel tells us about the breadth and depth and height of the Divine love of the Hound of Heaven for each one of us.

# 2: Glimpse of God’s love in the Amtrak tragedy: Near Mobile, Alabama, there was a railroad bridge that spanned a big bayou.  The date was September 22, 1993.  It was a foggy morning, just before daybreak, when a tugboat accidentally pushed a barge into the bayou.  The drifting barge slammed into the river bridge.  In the darkness no one could see the extent of the damage, but someone on the tugboat radioed the Coast Guard.  Minutes later, an Amtrak train, the Sunset Limited, reached the bridge as it traveled from Los Angeles to Miami.  Unaware of the damage, the train crossed the bridge at 70 mph.  There were 220 passengers on board.  As the weight of the train broke the support, the bridge gave away.  Three locomotive units and the first four of the train’s eight passenger cars fell into the alligator infested bayou.  In the darkness, the fog was thickened by fire and smoke.  Six miles from land, the victims were potential food for the aroused alligators.  Helicopters were called in to help rescue the victims.  Rescuers were able to save 163 persons.  But one rescue stands out.  Gary and Mary Jane Chancey were waiting in the railcar with their eleven-year-old daughter Andrea.  When the car went into the bayou and began to fill rapidly with water, there was only one thing they could do.  They pushed their young daughter through the window into the hands of a rescuer, and then succumbed to their watery death.  Their sacrificial love stands out especially because their daughter was imperfect by the world's standards.  She was born with Ferragamo Shoes Sale Online cerebral palsy and Ferragamo Lace Up needed help with even the most routine things.  But she was precious to her parents.  We, too, are imperfect – our lives filled with mistakes, sin and helplessness.  But we are still precious to God – so precious that He sacrificed his Son Jesus to save us.  Today’s Gospel tells us how a perfect God sent His Perfect Son to save an imperfect world.

# 3: Nicodemus in art and history: One of Rembrandt's most famous etchings portrays the scene. The limp, dead body of Jesus was slowly taken down from the cross. Joseph of Arimathea, dressed as the person that he was, in all his finery, stands close by. In the darkness, further away, veiled in shadow as only Rembrandt could do it, with his face lined in sorrow, is Nicodemus. He is holding in his hands the linen cloth in which Jesus' body would be buried. The Gospel says that Nicodemus also brought with him a mixture of spices, myrrh and aloes, "about a hundred pounds". One wonders what Nicodemus must have been thinking as he stood there, waiting for the body of Christ to be taken down from the cross. Obviously, much was going on in his life -- this wealthy man, bringing fine linen and a bountiful amount of expensive spices to anoint the body of one who had died as a common criminal. Was he still mystified as he had been when Jesus told him that he must be born again? Was he still puzzled by the response of Jesus when he pressed his question about how one could be born again? Jesus' answer had been totally unsatisfying for his rational mind: "The Spirit blows where it wills -- you feel it, and you hear the sound of it -- but you don't know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."(24 Additional anecdotes will be uploaded in our website:  )

Introduction: The Fourth Sunday of Lent is called Lætare (Rejoice) Sunday, from the first words of the day’s liturgy [the Introit].  Since this Sunday occurs in the middle of Lent, as Gaudete Sunday is celebrated midway through Advent, Lætare Sunday reminds us of the Event we look forward to at the end of the penitential season.  As on Gaudete Sunday, rose-colored vestments may replace violet and flowers may grace the altar. These outward signs symbolize the Church's joy in anticipation of the Resurrection, a joy which cannot be contained even in Lent, though we still refrain from Alleluias and the singing of the Gloria until the magnificence of the Easter Vigil.

The central theme of today’s readings is that our salvation is the free gift of a merciful God given to us through Jesus, His, Son.  The readings stress God’s mercy and compassion and remind us of the great love, kindness and grace extended to us in Christ.  As an act of love and gratitude to God Who is “rich in mercy” and as an expression of our Faith, we are invited to share Jesus’ sufferings by doing penance during Lent so that we may inherit our eternal salvation and the glory of his Resurrection in Heaven.  As we continue our Lenten observance for the fourth week, the Sacred Liturgy invites us to enter more deeply into the mystery of God's grace, mercy and salvation.  In the first reading, taken from the Second Book of Chronicles, we learn the compassion and patience of God.  God allowed Cyrus the Great, a pagan conqueror, to become the instrument of His mercy and salvation for His chosen people who were in exile in Babylon.  In the second reading, Paul tells us that God is so rich in mercy that He has granted us eternal salvation and eternal life as a free gift through Christ Jesus.  Today’s Gospel has a parallel theme, but on a much higher level.  Jesus, the Son of God, became the agent of God's salvation, not just for one sinful nation but for the sinfulness of the whole world.  Through John 3:16, the Gospel teaches us that God expressed His love, mercy and compassion for us all by giving His only Son for our salvation.

First reading () explained: Today's Gospel contains this lament of John the Evangelist: "The light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light."  The chronicler in the first reading says the same thing about the chosen people long ago: "But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His warnings, and scoffed at His prophet.” It also reminds them that early and often did the Lord God send messengers to the people out of deep compassion for them (2 Chronicles 36:15). The Second Book of Chronicles describes the history of the period from the reign of Israel's first king, Saul, (1030 BC), to the end of Judah's exile in Babylon (550 BC).  The Chronicles presents the successful periods of Israel’s development as God’s reward for fidelity, and the tragedies which befell Israel and the losses at war as God’s punishment for its infidelity. Today’s passage shows us how the people's infidelities caused them to lose the Temple and their homeland, and how God arranged, through the pagan king of Persia, to return them to their homeland and to help them rebuild His Temple there.  This short, sad summary with a hopeful ending is told from the viewpoint of a conviction that right worship will restore a people. God is willing to use desperate measures, even the heartbreak of his people, to save them and not to hurt them.

Second Reading () explained: Both the second reading from Ephesians and the gospel periscope reminds us  to focus on the mystery of salvation as a gift to sinners.  Paul teaches that, although we don’t deserve anything from God on our own merits, God chose to love, save and give life to us - both Jewish and Gentile Christians - because of His great mercy and love.  In the first half of his letter, Paul says that Divine grace did three things for us: a) brought us to life in Christ, b) raised us up with Christ, and c) seated us in the Heavens.  The sole purpose of these Divine deeds was to show the immeasurable riches of God's grace.  In the second half of the reading, Paul contrasts what we can achieve spiritually on our own (nothing), with what God gives us as undeserved grace (everything).  Paul also reminds us that all our goodness is God's gift to us and is nothing for us to boast about.  Our goodness, such as it may be, is His goodness shining through us.  “By grace we are saved through Faith, and this is not our own doing; it is the gift of God” (Eph 4:8-10). The second reading thus reveals “the great love [God] had for us.” Further, while this reading affirms that we are “saved through faith,” it also makes clear that this faith itself “is the gift of God. More love!”

Gospel Exegesis:  The context: Nicodemus, the wealthy Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin, meets Jesus by night and begins a long religious discussion.  But Jesus interrupts him, stating that rebirth by water and the Spirit is an essential condition for entering the Kingdom of God.  Jesus explains to him that Nicodemus must believe Jesus’ words because Jesus is the Son of God.  Jesus further explains God’s plan of salvation by referring to the story of Moses and the bronze serpent.  He also reveals the Good News that God will show His love for mankind by subjecting His own Son to suffering and death.

1. A)The uplifted serpent:John refers to an Old Testament story given in Numbers 21:4-9.  On their journey through the wilderness, the people of Israel murmured and complained, regretting that they had ever left Egypt.  To punish them, God sent a plague of deadly serpents.  When the people repented and cried for mercy, God instructed Moses to make an image of a serpent and to hold it up in the midst of the camp so that those who looked upon the serpent might be healed through the power of God.  In today’s Gospel lesson, Nicodemus learns that, like Moses’ bronze serpent, Jesus, too, must be “lifted up” (a contemporary euphemism for being crucified), and that the act of His being “lifted up” will similarly bring about salvation.  This is the first of three references in John’s Gospel to Jesus being “lifted up” (cf. 8:28, 12:32-34).  Specifically, this reference foreshadows the crucifixion of Jesus who carried with him the burden of the sins of the world.  When humans turn their thoughts to their crucified Savior and believe in him, they too will find eternal life.  Jesus was lifted up twice: on the Cross and at his Ascension into Heaven.  Just as the cross was the way to glory for Jesus, so it is for us.  We can, if we like, refuse the cross that every Christian is called to bear.  It is an unalterable law of human life, however, that without the cross, there is no crown.

1. C)The Gospel of the Gospels:John 3:16 is probably the best loved verse in the Bible and it has been called "everybody's text" and the “Gospel of the Gospels.”  “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” This is the summary of the Gospel message of salvation through Christ Jesus.  This text is the very essence of the Gospel.  It tells us that the God takes the initiative in all salvation because of His love for man.  As St. Augustine puts it: "God loves each one of us as if there were only one of us to love."  It also explains to us the universality of the love of God.  God's motive is love and God's objective is salvation.  Those who actually receive eternal life must believe in the Son. “Such depth of God's love this Gospel reveals: God gave the only; Son, allowed the only Son to be “lifted up” on a cross, and now remains patient with us while we struggle with choosing between darkness and light, evil and truth. Moreover, in the very midst of our ongoing struggle, it is God who brings us to greater belief and leads us to eternal life. Such is the depth of love God has for us!”
2. D)Love of darkness and God’s judgment: When we walk according to the teachings of Christ, we are walking in the Light.  If we oppose these teachings, we oppose Christ himself; hence, we are walking in darkness.  In today's text, we are told, Light has come into the world, but people loved the darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.  There are many dark Ferragamo Womens Sneakers Sale Online corners in our world.  Addiction to alcohol, drugs, gambling and pornography, sexual immorality, environmental irresponsibility, and a lack of purpose among so many of us, especially among young people, are a few of these dark corners.  It is very easy to pretend that these dark corners don't exist.  We act like the   desert nomad in the story who woke up hungry in the middle of the night.  He lit a candle and began eating dates from a bowl beside his bed.  He took a bite from one and saw a worm in it; so he threw it out of the tent.  He bit into the second date, found another worm, and threw it away also.  Reasoning that he wouldn't have any dates left to eat if he continued to look for worms, he blew out the candle and quickly ate the rest of the dates!

Our lives matter to God, and He knows all about the dark corners in our lives.  He wants us to stop hiding our sin in the dark and demands that we expose every dark corner to His Light of life.  He is giving to us the Light that not only shows up the dirt in our lives but cleans it away.  He died so that we could be made new and clean.  Freely, the light of His Salvatore Ferragamo Womens Shoes Sale Online forgiveness shines into our lives, brightening up every corner, forgiving every sin, restoring our relationship with God, renewing our lives.

Life messages: 1) We need to love the cross, the symbol of God’s forgiving and merciful love: The crucifix – the symbol of the “lifted up” Jesus - holds a central place in our Churches because it is a forceful reminder not only of God's love and mercy, but also of the price of our salvation.  Hence, no Christian home should be without this symbol of God's love.  The crucifix invites us to respond with more than compassion; it inspires us to remove the suffering of other people’s misery.  It encourages us not only to feel deep sorrow for another’s suffering, but also to try our best to remove that suffering.  Hence, let us love the cross, wear its image and carry our own daily cross with joy.

2) We need to reciprocate God’s love by loving others. God’s love is unconditional, universal, forgiving and merciful.  Let us try, with His help, to make an earnest attempt to include these qualities as we share our love with others during Lent.

3) Our rebirth by water and the Spirit must be an ongoing process. As Christians, we are meant to lead a life of repentance and on-going conversion, bringing us to a renewal of life with the help of the Holy Spirit living within us.  The renewal of the Spirit comes when we work with Him to be liberated from the bondage of evil habits by using the Divine strength we receive through prayer, Bible reading and frequenting the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Holy Eucharist.

4) Let us be bearers of Jesus’ light and carry it to other people.  When we allow the Light of God’s forgiveness to shine in our lives, it brightens up every corner, forgives every sin, restores our relationship with God and renews our lives.  Whoever follows Jesus will not walk in darkness.  We will experience the joy and peace of sins forgiven, of new attitudes and of new relationships with family and friends.  Jesus’ Light of truth, justice, holiness and charity shining in our lives ought to bring blessing to others.  We are to let this Light of Christ shine through us into the lives of the people around us.  The Light we give to others can dispel the darkness of their lives and bring them to a completely new outlook.  Let us not underestimate what the Light of Christ can do through us.  As Jesus said: “You are the light of the world.... your light must shine before people so that they will see the good things you do and praise your Father in Heaven” (Matthew 5:14, 16).

JOKE OF THE WEEK: #1: “For God so loved the world that” He sent His Son to Israel: A Jewish father in the U.S. was concerned about his son.  He had not truly raised him in the faith of Judaism…  So, hoping to strengthen his son’s Faith, the father sent him to Israel so that the boy could experience his heritage.  A year later the young man returned home.  He said, "Father, thank you for sending me to the land of our Fathers.  It was wonderful and enlightening.  However, I must confess that while in Israel I converted to Christianity."

As they prayed, the clouds above opened, and a mighty voice stated, "Amazing that you should come to Me.  I, too, sent My Son to Israel..." (Jewish Jokes)

SYNOPSIS OF LENT V (B) HOMILY JOHN 12:20-33

Introduction: Today’s readings focus on the approaching death of Jesus which Paul considers a priestly sacrifice and John considers the moment of Jesus’ "exaltation" and "glorification." The readings offer us a challenge.  Just as Jesus became the “Promised Messiah of Glory” and the “Conquering Son of Man” by offering his life for others, we, too, must possess Heaven by dying to self and by spending our lives in self-giving, sacrificial service.

Scripture lessons: The first reading, taken from the book of the Prophet Jeremiah, explains how God   will replace the Old Covenant of Judgment with a New Covenant of Forgiveness of sins. This New or Renewed Covenant prophesied by Jeremiah was fulfilled, at least in part, through Jesus’ life, death and Resurrection. The Responsorial Psalm (Ps 51) is our cry for mercy from God as we ask Him to cleanse us from sin and guilt and create a “new heart” for us.  In the second reading,St. Paul tells the Hebrews that it is by Jesus’ suffering and death, in obedience to his Father’s will, that Jesus established the New Covenant. Using metaphors of the “sown wheat-grain” and the “spent life” in today’s Gospel, Jesus teaches the same lessons St. Paul does. The Gospel hints at the inner struggle of Jesus in accepting the cup of suffering to inaugurate the New and everlasting Covenant. However, Jesus accepts the cross as his “hour,” meaning the stepping-stone to his passion, death, Resurrection and exaltation. He also considers his “hour” as the way of glorifying his Heavenly Father and of being glorified by his Father. In addition, it is the way by which Jesus draws all people into the saving action of God. Finally, the “lifting up” of Jesus on the cross and later into Heavenly glory by Resurrection and Ascension is the assurance of our own exaltation and glorification, provided we accept our crosses.

Life messages:  1) Today’s Gospel teaches us that new life and eternal life are possible only by the death of the self through suffering and service.  Salt gives its taste by dissolving in water.  A candle gives light by burning its wick and melting its wax.  The oyster produces a priceless pearl by transforming a grain of sand through a long and painful process.  Loving parents sacrifice themselves so that their children can enjoy a better life than they themselves had.  Let us pray that we may acquire this self-sacrificial spirit, especially during Lent. 2) Only a life spent for others will be glorified in Heaven, and sometimes even in this world. We know that the world owes everything to people who have spent their time and talents for God and for their fellow human beings.  Mother Teresa, for instance, gave up her comfortable teaching career, and with just 17 cents in her pocket began her challenging life for the “poorest of the poor” in the crowded streets of Calcutta.  We see similar cases in the history of great saints, scientists and benefactors of mankind in all walks of life. They chose to burn out rather than to rust out.  Examples are the Rockefeller Foundation for scientific progress and the Bill Gates Foundation for AIDS Research.  Let us, too, spend ourselves for others.

LENT V : Jer 31:31-34; Heb 5:7-9; Jn 12:20-33 

Anecdotes: # 1: Sacrifices of Olympic champions: When we watch the Olympics, what do we see but young athletes who have made enormous sacrifices over the years? They have sacrificed a normal childhood for countless hours of hard work and pain and solitary training, and they have done it all just for that moment when they might stand on the winner's platform at the Olympic Games. If few of us are Olympians, many of us are parents, and what is parenthood but a whole slew of sacrifices? You sacrifice all of your privacy and a piece of your sanity. You sacrifice a neat, orderly environment in which to live, where things stay just where you left them. You make a huge financial sacrifice - between children and taxes, you're lucky to have a dollar in your pocket at the end of the day - but you do it all for the sake of something which money can't buy. In these and in many other ways, we are perfectly used to the idea of losing one thing in order to gain something else. It all makes me wonder: if we are so willing to sacrifice and even suffer for things which matter to us in our worldly lives, why shouldn't we do even more for the sake of our spiritual lives? Why should we shy away from the full meaning of what Jesus said in today’s Gospel: "If you love your life you will lose it, but if you hate your life in this world, you will gain it for eternal life."

# 2: Dying for Another: The story of Maximilian Kolbe is well-known. He was a Franciscan priest in Poland, and he was in a concentration camp during the Second World War. Some prisoners had escaped, and the authorities were determined that this should not happen again. For every prisoner that escaped they picked a prisoner in the group, and that prisoner was condemned to die. After one young man was picked, someone who had a wife and young family back home, Maximilian stepped forward and offered to take his place. The soldiers were shocked at this, but they took him up on his offer, and the young man returned to the group. Maximilian died in a horrible fashion, as they were all locked in cages and left there to starve to death. All during that time he encouraged others and inspired them with his prayers. He was canonized some years ago and the prisoner whose place Maximilian took, wept through the entire ceremony. I like to think that he understood what real love is, and that death would no longer have any fear for him. (Jack McArdle in And That's the Gospel Truth; quoted by Fr. Botelho).

# 3: “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound!” One man who learned what there is to lose and gain was an eighteenth-century slave-trader named John Newton. Captain of a trans-Atlantic slaving ship, he had everything this world can offer as he made a lucrative living from the brutal business of buying and selling human cargo. Eventually, he was confronted with Jesus Christ, and he was converted to the Gospel truth which makes us free (John 8:32). He spent the rest of his life crusading to abolish the very business which had proven so enriching. He also wrote a number of great hymns, including a familiar one which begins: “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound! That saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I'm found, Was blind, but now I see.” Once, John Newton thought that he was on top of the world, but in truth, he was wretched and blind. He lacked the moral clarity to see that he was nothing more than a cynical businessman making money in an evil enterprise; he was allowing the agnostic's law of supply and demand to separate him from his Christian conscience. Then Jesus came along and the old John Newton died. A new John Newton was born. An old life was lost and a new one was found, a new life whose melodic fruit remains with us to this day. What about yourself? What have you got to lose? You've got to die to yourself in order to live with Christ! You've got to sacrifice and give up to gain! So what about it? What have you got to lose? What about selfishness? Shouldn't we lose that narrow-minded little love which only extends to family and friends? (21 additional anecdotes are uploaded in our website: under “Sunday homilies.”)

Introduction: Lent's Fifth Sunday’s readings present us with a challenge: Just as Jesus became the “Promised Messiah of Glory” and the” Conquering Son of Man” by offering his life for others, we, too, must possess Heaven by dying to self and spending our lives in self-giving, sacrificial service.  Today’s readings focus on the upcoming death of Jesus, which is interpreted not only as a priestly sacrifice (Heb 5) but also as the moment of his "exaltation" and "glorification" (Jn 12).  The first reading, taken from the book of the Prophet Jeremiah, explains how God will replace the Old Covenant of Judgment with a New Covenant of Forgiveness of sins.  This New or Renewed Covenant prophesied by Jeremiah has been fulfilled, at least in part, through Jesus’ life, death and Resurrection. The Responsorial Psalm (Ps 51) is our cry for mercy from God as we ask Him to cleanse us from sin and guilt and create a “new heart” for us.   In the second reading, St. Paul tells the Hebrews that it is by His suffering and death, in obedience to His Father’s will, that Jesus established the New Covenant.  Quoting the full text of Jeremiah 31:31-34, St Paul explains that the new and better covenant was inaugurated through the High Priest Jesus’ offering of himself as the one perfect sacrifice for sins.  We cannot appreciate adequately the “Blood of the New and everlasting Covenant” which we share in the Eucharist without recognizing the joys and sufferings, triumphs and setbacks that marked the history of God’s Covenant relationship with His people.  Using metaphors of the “sown wheat-grain” and the “spent life” in today’s Gospel, Jesus teaches the same lesson. The Gospel hints at Jesus’ inner struggle in accepting the cup of suffering to inaugurate the New and everlasting Covenant.  However, Jesus accepts the cross as his“hour,” meaning the stepping-stone to his passion, death, Resurrection and exaltation.  He further considers his “hour” as the way of glorifying his Heavenly Father and of being glorified by his Father.  It is also the way by which he draws all people into the saving action of God.  Finally, the “lifting up” of Jesus is the assurance of our own exaltation and glorification, provided we accept our crosses.

First reading,  explained: Jeremiah lived from about 650 B.C. to perhaps 580 B.C.  Most of his work was in Judah's capital, Jerusalem.  Called by God as a young man, Jeremiah lived through the tragic years preceding and succeeding the ruin of the kingdom of Judah.  In 597 Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem and deported part of its population to Babylon (Iraq).  A second Judean revolt brought back the Chaldean armies once again, and in 587 B.C. Jerusalem was captured, its Temple burnt and more of its inhabitants deported.  When Jerusalem fell, Jeremiah remained in Palestine with his friend Gedaliah whom the Chaldeans had appointed governor.  When Gedaliah was assassinated, a party of Jews, fearing reprisals, fled to Egypt, taking Jeremiah with them.  It is probable that he died there.

Jeremiah lived through these catastrophic events as God’s messenger, preaching, prophesying disaster and vainly admonishing the incompetent Davidic kings.  He tried to keep the people, the priests and the kings faithful to God amidst an atmosphere of political intrigue.  He was blunt in his words, and, though some passages in today's reading seem gentle, in his confrontations with erring people, priests and kings, Jeremiah was always firm and strong.  He asked questions and supplied answers: Why was there a need for God to make a New Covenant?  It was because the people, priests and kings had broken the original one.  How would the New Covenant be different from the old?  It would be written on the hearts of the people and hence could not be erased by cowardly leaders.  Why would there be no need for teachers under the New Covenant?  Because the present teachers -- the priests and kings -- had failed miserably, and God chose to take other measures.  The passage reads as follows: "I will place My Law within them and write it upon their hearts.”  This New Covenant does not abolish the earlier Covenants with Noah, Abraham and Moses, for these earlier covenants are really the progressive stages of the history of the one Great Covenant between the one God and His people.  Jeremiah’s prophecy of a New or Renewed Covenant has been fulfilled, at least in part, through Jesus’ life, death and Resurrection.

Second Reading,  explained:  This passage from Paul’s letter to the Hebrews is chosen because it fits with today’s Gospel which contains an ominous prediction of Jesus’ passion, and some details of Jesus’ prayer to his Father.  The verses preceding these describe the priests of ancient Judaism, and then describe Jesus as the Priest of the New Covenant.  Today's verses expand on that theme of Jesus as God's Son and at the same time emphasize his human nature (learning obedience through suffering, thus made perfect).  They also indicate Jesus’ superiority to the priests of his day in that he "became the source of eternal Salvation" to others.  Since Jesus suffered and prayed with tears to be saved from death, he can sympathize with our sufferings.  Since Jesus knows our human condition and is touched by our anguish and distress, he pleads with God the Father on our behalf.

Gospel exegesis The Context: Some Greek pilgrims who were either new converts to Judaism or mere ‘truth-seekers’ were greatly impressed by the royal reception given to Jesus on Palm Sunday and by the subsequent cleansing of the Temple by Jesus.  Hence, they approached the apostle Philip who had a Greek name and requested a private interview with the Master.  Jesus uses the occasion to declare that he is the “Son of Man” prophesied by Daniel, and that his time of glorification is at hand.  He immediately corrects the false notion of a political messiah by stating that he will be glorified by his suffering, death and Resurrection.

The hour of glorification for the “Son of Man”: The “hour” Jesus refers to is his time for glorifying his Heavenly Father and of being glorified by his Father.  It is also the way by which he draws all people into the saving action of God.  Jesus’ being “lifted up” on the cross to glorify his Father reminds us that we too can glorify God by wholeheartedly accepting our crosses from our loving Heavenly Father.

The term “Son of Man” (translated as “a son of man” by the RSV), is taken from Daniel 7:13.  The seventh chapter begins with the description of a frightening vision of Daniel in which he sees the cruel and savage world powers of the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Medes and the Persians as wild beasts like a winged lion, a bear with three tusks, a four-headed leopard and a terrible, ten-horned wild beast.  At last, Daniel sees a gentle, humane and gracious ruler in the form of a man.  The Jews, under repeated foreign rules and bondages, dreamed of such a God-sent ruler and preferred to call this “promised Messiah” by the name “Son of Man.” In the apocryphal Book of Enoch, this Jewish dream of a world conqueror is clearly stated.  It was but natural that the apostles shared this view and consequently saw the “Son of Man” in Jesus.  Jesus promptly corrected them, however, replacing their dream of conquest and political power with a vision of His cross and suffering.

 The metaphors of the “dying grain of wheat” and of the “surrendered life”: Jesus explains to his apostles that it is by his suffering and death that he is bringing life and liberation to the sinful world, just as a grain of wheat sown in the field ceases to remain itself alone, “just a seed,” by germinating and then growing into a plant which produces many new grains of wheat.  In the same way, it is by the self-sacrificial lives of holy men and women that life and salvation come to mankind.  In other words, when we "die" to our selfishness, we "rise" to new life in Jesus Christ.  To be “buried in the earth” means avoiding sin, accepting suffering and living for others.

Life messages:  1) New life and eternal life are made attainable for us only by the death of the self through suffering and service.  Salt delivers its taste by dissolving in water; a candle gives light by burning its wick and melting its wax.  The oyster produces a priceless pearl by a long and painful process.  Loving parents sacrifice themselves so that their children can enjoy a better life than they themselves have had.  Let us pray for this self-sacrificial spirit, especially during Lent.

2) Only a life spent for others will be glorified here in this world and in Heaven. We know that the world owes everything to people who have spent their time and talents for God and for their fellow human beings.  Mother Teresa, for instance, gave up her comfortable teaching career and, with just 17 cents in her pocket, began her challenging life for the “poorest of the poor” in the crowded streets of Calcutta.  Thus, she became, in the words of the Secretary General of the U.N., “the most powerful woman in the world.”  We see similar cases in the history of great saints, scientists and benefactors of mankind in all walks of life.

3) It is better to burn out than rust out.  This is one of the repeated pieces of advice Jesus gave us (Mark 8:35; Matthew 16:25; 10:39; Luke 9:24; 17:33). Bernard Shaw in his play, Joan of Arc, shows the saint as praying: “Lord I shall last a year; use me as you can.”  Many charitable foundations and research institutions are financed by generous millionaires who understood this great principle of life (e.g. The Rockefeller Foundation and the Bill Gates Foundation for AIDS Research), while so may others selfishly keep their God-given wealth and talents for themselves.  Let us learn to live this Lenten period “burning out,” spending our time and talents for others around us by humble, selfless and self-giving service.  “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can” (John Wesley).

Joke of the week:

1) The definition of a good sermon: It should have a good beginning. It should have a good ending.  And they should be as close together as possible.

2) After an exceptionally long and boring sermon the congregation filed out of the church not saying a word to the pastor.  After a while, a man shook the pastor's hand and said, "Pastor, that sermon reminded me of the peace and love of God!"  The pastor was ecstatic.  "Nobody has ever said anything like that about one of my sermons before!  Tell me, how did it remind you of the peace and love of God?"  "Well", said the man, "it reminded me of the peace of God because it passed all human understanding and it reminded me of the love of God because it endured forever!"

3) Before a pastor began to preach one Sunday morning he thought he should explain why he had a Band-Aid on his chin.  "As I was shaving this morning I was thinking about today's message when I lost my concentration and accidentally cut my chin with the razor."  He then went on to preach the longest message of his life.  After the service one of the teens greeted the pastor and said, "Pastor, next week why don't you think about your shaving and cut the sermon."