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Farewell to Alleluia and Gloria
During the penitential seasons of the Church, the Gloria and the Alleluia are not said or sung. The Gloria is sung only at the Mass on Holy Thursday, usually with great ceremony, organ and sometimes trumpets, and often with the ringing of bells. After the singing of the Gloria, musical instruments are to be silent until the Alleluia at the Easter Vigil. (Catholic families might imitate this solemn silence by not playing instrumental music in their homes at this time.)

In the Middle Ages and throughout the 16th century, the "burying" of the Alleluia was a solemn ritual on Septuagesima Sunday. A procession of children carrying a wooden plaque bearing the word "Alleluia" laid it at the feet of the statue of the Blessed Virgin, covering it with a purple cloth. It remained there until Easter at the Gospel procession, when the plaque was carried as the priest intoned the three Alleluias before the Easter Gospel. In Paris, a straw figure inscribed with the word was carried out of the choir at the end of the service and burned in the church yard.

Although the practice of literally removing the Alleluia from the Church may have disappeared, even today in some parish celebrations of the Easter Vigil an Alleluia card is carried in procession and placed in front of the altar during the singing of the first Alleluias before the Gospel for Easter.

The hymn Alleluia, Song of Gladness and the one that follows date from the early 9th and 10th centuries; both refer to the farewell to the Alleluia in the liturgy.

Reflections, Prayers, Actions, Questions and Answers for Lent 2006

Here are some other links about Lent:

The History of Lent

The Holy Season of Lent -- Fast and Abstinence

The Holy Season of Lent -- The Stations of the Cross

Lent and Fasting

Mardi Gras' Catholic Roots [Shrove Tuesday]

Ash Wednesday

All About Lent

Kids and Holiness: Making Lent Meaningful to Children

Why We Need Lent

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI FOR LENT 2006

Lent a Time for Renewal, Says Benedict XVI

Why You Should Celebrate Lent

Getting the Most Out of Lent

Lent: A Time to Fast From Media and Criticism Says President of Pontifical Liturgical Institute

Give it up (making a Lenten sacrifice)

Laertare Sunday

From: 2 Chronicles 36:14-16, 19-23

The Reign of Zedekiah (Continuation)

[14] All the leading priests and’ the people likewise were exceedingly
unfaithful, following all the abominations of the nations; and they
polluted the house of the LORD which he had hallowed in Jerusalem.
[15] The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent persistently to them by
his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his
dwelling place; [16] but they kept mocking the messengers of
God, despising his words, and scoffing at his prophets, till the wrath
of the LORD rose against his people, till there was no remedy.

Deportation. Destruction of Jerusalem (Continuation)

[19] And they burned the house of God, and broke down the wall of
Jerusalem, and burned all its palaces with fire, and destroyed all its
precious vessels. [20] He took into exile in Babylon those who had
escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and to his
sons until the establishment of the kingdom of Persia, [21] to fulfill
the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had
enjoyed its sabbaths. All the days that it lay desolate it kept
sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.

Cyrus’ Edict

[22] Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of
the LORD by the mouth dl Jeremiah might be accomplished, the LORD
stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia so that he made a
proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing:
[23] ”Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The LORD, the God of heaven,
has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to
build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is
among you of all his people, may the LORD his God be with him. Let
him go up.”

Commentary:

36:21. The mention of Jeremiah (cf. Jer 25:1-12; 29:10) indicates that
his book was already seen in the Chronicler’s time as being
prophetical and holy; and it also underlines the fact that the exile
was an event foreseen by God who kept the land in a long “sabbath”,
that is, a period of total rest, until the return of those who
constituted the true Israel. By refraining from any mention of the
governorship of Gedaliah (cf. 2 Kings 25 :22-26) the writer avoids
anything that would imply divisions between these who were deported
and those who stayed on in Jerusalem.

36:22-23. The end of the book of Chronicles is identical with the
start of that of Ezra (Ezra 1:1-3) and the repetition was probably
inserted when Chronicles was finally separated from the books of Ezra
and Nehemiah. But it does serve to reinforce the lesson, contained in
the previous verses, that the exile does not mean the end, and that
everything will continue as before the exile, because those who belong
to the Lord’s people will return, and the key conviction of faith will
endure--that the Lord is with them, with all of those who, when this
book was being assembled, were members of the people.

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

From: Ephesians 2:4-10

Salvation As a Free Gift

[4] But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he
loved us, [5] even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us
alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), [6] and raised
us up with him, and made us sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ
Jesus, [7] that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches
of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. [8] For by grace you
have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the
gift of God [9] not because of works, lest any man should boast. [10] For
we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God
prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Commentary:

4. God's mercy is the greatest expression of his love because it shows
the total gratuitousness of God's love towards the sinner, whereby
instead of punishing him he forgives him and gives him life. The words
"God, who is rich in mercy" have great theological and spiritual depth:
they are a kind of summary of all St Paul's teaching about God's
approach to people who are under the rule of sin, who are "by nature
children of wrath".

Pope John Paul II has chosen these words of Scripture "dives in
misericordia"--as the title of one of his encyclicals, an encyclical
which explores the divine dimension of the mystery of Redemption. Here
is how the Pope sums up biblical teaching on mercy: "The concept of
'mercy' in the Old Testament has a long and rich history [...]. It is
significant that in their preaching the prophets link mercy, which they
often refer to because of the people's sins, with the incisive image of
love on God's part. The Lord loves Israel with the love of a special
choosing, much like the love of a spouse (cf. e.g. Hos 2:21-25 and 15;
Is 54:6-8) and for this reason he pardons its sins and even its
infidelities and betrayals. When he finds repentance and true
conversion, he brings his people back to grace (cf. Her 31:20; Ezek 39:
25-29). In the preaching of the prophets "mercy" signifies a "special
power of love", which "prevails over the sin and infidelity" of the
chosen people [...]. The Old Testament encourages people suffering from
misfortune, especially those weighed down by sin--as also the whole of
Israel, which had entered into the covenant with God--"to appeal for
mercy", and enables them to count upon it" ("Dives In Misericordia",
4).

In the New Testament also there are many references to God's mercy,
sometimes very touching ones, like the parable of the prodigal son (cf.
Lk 15: 32); others take a more dramatic form, for example, Christ's
sacrifice, the supreme expression of the love of God, which is stronger
than death and sin. "The 'Cross of Christ', on which the Son,
consubstantial with the Father, 'renders full justice to God', is also
'a radical revelation of mercy', or rather of the love that goes

against what constitutes the very root of evil in the history of man:
against sin and death" ("ibid.", 8).

5-6. The power of God works in the Christian in a way similar to that
in which it worked in Christ. St Paul here uses almost the same
language as he did earlier (cf. 1:20), to show how radical is the
change produced in men by Christ's salvation.

Just as a dead person is unable to bring himself back to life, so those
who are dead through sin cannot obtain grace, supernatural life, by
their own effort. Only Christ, by means of the Redemption, offers us
that new life which begins with justification and ends with
resurrection and eternal happiness in heaven. The Apostle is speaking
here of that life of grace, and therefore of our future resurrection
and glorification with Christ in heaven; he refers to this as if it
were an accomplished fact, and the reason he does so is this: Jesus
Christ is our head and we form one body with him (cf. Gal 3:28), and
therefore we share in the head's condition. Christ, after his
resurrection, sits at the right hand of the Father. "The body of
Christ, which the Church is", St Augustine comments, "must be at the
right hand, that is, in the glory of heaven, as the Apostle says: 'we
have been raised up with him and made to sit with him in heaven.' Even
though our body is not yet there, our hope is already placed there"
("De Agone Christiano", 26).

From the moment of our incorporation into Christ by Baptism, his
resurrection and exaltation is something which is already present in us
in an incomplete way: "Thus by Baptism", Vatican II teaches, "men are
grafted into the paschal mystery of Christ; they die with him, are
buried with him, and rise with him (cf. Rom 6:4; Eph 2:6; Col 3:1; 2
Tim 2:11f). They receive the spirit of adoption as sons in which 'we
cry, Abba, Father' (Rom 8:15) and thus become true adorers such as the
Father seeks (cf. Jn 4:23)" ("Sacrosanctum Concilium", 6). See the note
on Rom 6:9-10.

The Redemption has already been accomplished, and man has available to
him all the grace he needs for salvation: the gates of heaven are open
wide; it is now the responsibility of every individual to make room for
grace in his soul, to avail of grace to respond to our Lord's call.
Through Christ, "we have been reborn spiritually, for through him we
are crucified to the world," St Zozimus comments. "By his death that
decree of death has been destroyed which Adam caused and which was
passed on to every soul--that sentence which we incur through our
descent, from which absolutely no one is free prior to being set free
by Baptism" ("Epist. 'Tractoria', Dz-Sch", 231).

8-9. Salvation is the work of God, a gratuitous gift of God: it
originates in God's mercy. It acts in man by means of faith, that is,
by man's acceptance of the salvation offered him in Jesus Christ. But
even faith, St Paul tells us, is a divine gift; man cannot merit it by
his own efforts alone; it is not exclusively the outcome of human
freedom; at all stages, from the very beginning, recognition and
acceptance of Christ as Savior means that God's grace is at work.

On the basis of this passage in Ephesians and other passages of
Scripture, the Church has taught: "According to the passages of Sacred
Scripture and the explanations of the Holy Fathers [specified] we,
with God's help must believe and preach the following: The free will of
man was made so weak and unsteady through the sin of the first man
that, after the Fall, no one could love God as was required, or believe
in God, or perform good works for God unless the grace of divine mercy
anticipated him [...]. Even after the coming of Christ this grace of
faith is not found in the free will of all who desire to be baptized
but is conferred through the generosity of Christ, according to what
has already been said and according to what the Apostle Paul teaches:
'It has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not
only believe in him but also suffer for his sake' (Phil 1:29). And
also: 'he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at
the day of Jesus Christ' (Phil 1:6). And again: 'By grace you have been
saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of
God' (Eph 2:8). And the Apostle says of himself: 'As one who by the
Lord's mercy is trustworthy' (1 Cor 7:25; cf. 1 Tim 1:13) [...]. And
Scripture says further: 'What have you that you did not receive?' (1
Cor 4:7). And again: 'Every good endowment and every perfect gift is
from above, coming down from the Father of lights' (Jas 1:17). And
again: 'No one can receive anything except what is given from heaven'
(Jn 3:27)" (Second Council of Orange, "De Gratia", conclusion).

The Second Vatican Council provides the same teaching: "'By faith man
freely commits his entire self to God [...]; before this faith can be
exercised, man must have the grace of God to move and assist him; he
must have the interior help of the Holy Spirit, who moves the heart and
converts it to God, who opens the eyes of the mind and 'makes it easy
for all to accept and believe the truth' ("De Gratia", can . 7; "Dei
Filius")'' ("Dei Verbum", 5).

When St Paul says that faith does not come from works (v. 9), he is
referring to things man can do on his own, without the help of grace.
If faith did come from works, then man would have something to boast to
God about, something which would bring salvation without dependence on
Christ--which would be inadmissible, because then our Lord's death
would make no sense, nor would even the Incarnation of the Word, whom
"God has made our wisdom, our righteousness and sanctification and
redemption; therefore, as it is written, 'Let him who boasts, boast of
the Lord"' (1 Cor 1:30-31). See also the notes on Jas 2:14; Rom 3:20-
31; 9:31.

10. The Christian became a new creation--"we are his workmanship"--
when he was inserted into Christ at Baptism (cf. 2 Cor 5:17). Once
justified by Baptism, he should live in a manner consistent with his
faith, that is, with his new life. The life of grace in fact moves him
to do those good works which God wishes to see performed (he had
already laid down that this should be so) and which perfect the work of
salvation. Deeds, works, prove the genuineness of faith: "faith by

itself, if it has no works, is dead" (Jas 2:17). Without these works--
the practice of the theological and moral virtues--not only would faith
be dead; our love for God and neighbor would be false.

Having said that, it is also true that to bring about this renewal in
man God counts on man's readiness to respond to grace and on his
carrying out "good works".

Christian Tradition has always taught that the fruits of faith are a
proof of its vitality. For example, this is what St Polycarp has to
say: "It does my heart good to see how the solid roots of your faith,
which have such a reputation ever since early times, are still
flourishing and bearing fruit in Jesus Christ [...]. Many desire to
share in your joy, well knowing that it is by the will of God that
you are saved through Jesus Christ" ("Letter to the Philippians", chap.
1).

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

From: John 3:14-21

The Visit of Nicodemus (Continuation)

(Jesus said to Nicodemus,) [14] "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in
the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, [15] that whoever
believes in Him may have eternal life.

[16] "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that
whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
[17] For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but
that the world might be saved through Him. [18] He who believes in Him
is not condemned; He who does not believe is condemned already, because
He had not believed in the name of the only Son of God. [19] And this
is the judgment, that the light has come into world, and men loved
darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. [20] For
every one who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the
light, lest his deeds should be exposed. [21] But he who does what is
true comes to the light, that it may be clearly seen that his deeds
have been wrought in God."

Commentary:

14-15. The bronze serpent which Moses set up on a pole was established
by God to cure those who had been bitten by the poisonous serpents in
the desert (cf. Numbers 21:8-9). Jesus compares this with His
crucifixion, to show the value of His being raised up on the cross:
those who look on Him with faith can obtain salvation. We could say
that the Good Thief was the first to experience the saving power of
Christ on the cross: he saw the crucified Jesus, the King of Israel,
the Messiah, and was immediately promised that he could be in Paradise
that very day (cf. Luke 23:39-43).

The Son of God took on our human nature to make known the hidden
mystery of God's own life (cf. Mark 4:11; John 1:18; 3:1-13; Ephesians
3:9) and to free from sin and death those who look at Him with faith
and love and who accept the cross of every day.

The faith of which our Lord speaks is not just intellectual acceptance
of the truths He has taught: it involves recognizing Him as Son of God
(cf. 1 John 5:1), sharing His very life (cf. John 1:12) and
surrendering ourselves out of love and therefore becoming like him (cf.
John 10:27; 1 John 3:2). But this faith is a gift of the God (cf. John
3:3, 5-8), and we should ask him to strengthen it and increase it as
the Apostles did: Lord "increase our faith!" (Luke 17:5). While faith
is a supernatural, free gift, it is also a virtue, a good habit, which
a person can practise and thereby develop: so the Christian, who
already has the divine gift of faith, needs with the help of grace to
make explicit acts of faith in order to make this virtue grow.

16-21. These words, so charged with meaning, summarize how Christ's
death is the supreme sign of God's love for men (cf. the section on
charity in the "Introduction to the Gospel according to John": pp. 31ff
above). "`For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son' for

its salvation. All our religion is a revelation of God's kindness,
mercy and love for us. `God is love' (1 John 4:16), that is, love
poured forth unsparingly. All is summed up in this supreme truth,
which explains and illuminates everything. The story of Jesus must be
seen in this light. `(He) loved me', St. Paul writes. Each of us can
and must repeat it for himself--`He loved me, and gave Himself for me'
(Galatians 2:20)" ([Pope] Paul VI, "Homily on Corpus Christi", 13 June
1976).

Christ's self-surrender is a pressing call to respond to His great love
for us: "If it is true that God has created us, that He has redeemed
us, that He loves us so much that He has given up His only-begotten Son
for us (John 3:16), that He waits for us--every day!--as eagerly as the
father of the prodigal son did (cf. Luke 15:11-32), how can we doubt
that He wants us to respond to Him with all our love? The strange
thing would be not to talk to God, to draw away and forget Him, and
busy ourselves in activities which are closed to the constant
promptings of His grace" ([St] J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 251).

"Man cannot live without love. He remains a being that is
incomprehensible for himself, his life is senseless, if love is not
revealed to him, if he does not encounter love, if he does not
experience it and make it his own, if he does not participate
intimately in it. This [...] is why Christ the Redeemer `fully reveals
man to himself'. If we may use the expression, this is the human
dimension of the mystery of the Redemption. In this dimension man
finds again the greatness, dignity and value that belong to his
humanity. [...] The one who wishes to understand himself thoroughly
[...] must, with his unrest and uncertainty and even his weakness and
sinfulness, with his life and death, draw near to Christ. He must, so
to speak, enter into Him with all his own self, he must `appropriate'
and assimilate the whole of the reality of the Incarnation and
Redemption in order to find himself. If this profound process takes
place within him, he then bears fruit not only of adoration of God but
also of deep wonder at himself.

How precious must man be in the eyes of the Creator, if he `gained so
great a Redeemer', ("Roman Missal, Exultet" at Easter Vigil), and if
God `gave His only Son' in order that man `should not perish but have
eternal life'. [...]

`Increasingly contemplating the whole of Christ's mystery, the Church
knows with all the certainty of faith that the Redemption that took
place through the Cross has definitively restored his dignity to man
and given back meaning to his life in the world, a meaning that was
lost to a considerable extent because of sin. And for that reason, the
Redemption was accomplished in the paschal mystery, leading through the
Cross and death to Resurrection" ([Pope] John Paul II, "Redemptor
Hominis", 10).

Jesus demands that we have faith in Him as a first prerequisite to
sharing in His love. Faith brings us out of darkness into the light,
and sets us on the road to salvation. "He who does not believe is
condemned already" (verse 18).

"The words of Christ are at once words of judgment and grace, of life
and death. For it is only by putting to death that which is old that
we can come to newness of life. Now, although this refers primarily to
people, it is also true of various worldly goods which bear the mark
both of man's sin and the blessing of God. [...] No one is freed from
sin by himself or by his own efforts, no one is raised above himself or
completely delivered from his own weakness, solitude or slavery; all
have need of Christ, who is the model, master, liberator, savior, and
giver of life. Even in the secular history of mankind the Gospel has
acted as a leaven in the interests of liberty and progress, and it
always offers itself as a leaven with regard to brotherhood, unity and
peace" (Vatican II, "Ad Gentes", 8).

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

From Catholic Exchange

by Fr. Paul de Ladurantaye

Other Articles by Fr. Paul de Ladurantaye

Laetare Sunday

03/05/05

Toward the beginning of this week’s gospel text, Jesus states what His mission is: "We have to do the works of the One Who sent me." Being sent by the Father, Jesus must do the Father’s works.


The works of God are principally three: creation, redemption and sanctification. Each of these is displayed in our gospel passage about the man born blind. It certainly was possible for Jesus to cure the man’s blindness without touching him at all. A word would have been enough. Yet, Christ’s act of making clay with His saliva and then smearing that clay on the man’s eyes recalls that moment in the book of Genesis when God formed the first man out of the clay of the earth (Gn 2:7). In other words, Christ’s healing of the blind man is a kind of re-creation. Once his eyes have been smeared with clay, the blind man goes to wash in the pool of Siloam and comes back "able to see." The washing liberates him from the night of blindness; that is, he has been redeemed by the Light of the World — a redemption that allows this man to participate in and benefit from the power of divine light. The washing itself recalls baptism — that moment when we receive the light of faith and of grace as we are washed clean in the sacramental waters of the baptismal font. The Apostle John informs us that the man came back able to see, but he has not yet actually seen Christ. When he is asked where Jesus is, the man replies, "I do not know." It is only later, after the man has been thrown out of the synagogue by the Pharisees, that Jesus takes the initiative to go and find him. Having been re-created and redeemed, all that is left is for this man to be sanctified. Sanctification consists in "seeing" Jesus. And seeing Jesus requires our interior communion with Christ, a personal relationship of love with Him and being touched by the Holy Spirit so that we can understand the inner meaning of Christ’s words and actions. Upon seeing Jesus, the formerly blind, but now sanctified, man receives the gift not only of physical sight, but also the gift and sight of faith: "'I do believe, Lord,’ and he worshiped Him." Early on in this gospel episode, Jesus insists that the man was born blind "so that the works of God might be made visible through him." Before his encounter with Jesus, everything was "invisible" to the blind man. His condition was one of physical and spiritual darkness. Now, after his healing encounter, and through his re-creation, redemption and sanctification, the man who once was blind is able to manifest in himself the very saving power of God. Each of us is, in a way, like the blind man in the Gospel: sometimes, we deliberately close our eyes to the Light of Christ; other times, we simply are unable to see as we should. This Lent, the healing of the blind man that the Gospel records should remind us all that when we reject the blinding rebellion of the devil and submit obediently to Christ’s re-creating, redeeming and sanctifying power, we will become lights ourselves: That is, we become those in whom the Father’s works gloriously appear. That is the true joy of this Laetare Sunday. Fr. De Ladurantaye is director of the Office of Sacred Liturgy, secretary for diocesan religious education, a professor of theology at Notre Dame Graduate School and in residence at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington, Virginia. (This article courtesy of the Arlington Catholic Herald.)

TODAY'S TIDBIT

The fourth Sunday of Lent, celebrated earlier this week, has the
liturgical color or rose. There are two Sundays a year when Rose is
used: the Third Sunday of Advent and the Fourth Sunday of Lent.
Rose is used to show that our time of penance is quickly coming to a
close and that they joyful season of Easter is nearly here. Today is
also considered the midpoint of Lent. Many of the things stressed in
the readings and prayers move from a spirit of penitence to a spirit of
anticipation of the Resurrection and the celebration of the Easter
Mysteries. This is reflected by the opening antiphon of today's Mass,
which begins with the phrase "Rejoice Jerusalem."

Thank you.

Thank you for coming onto the thread.

John 3:16 and Grace

by Marcellino D'Ambrosio, Ph.D.

Other Articles by Marcellino D'Ambrosio, Ph.D.

John 3:16 and Grace

03/25/06

For years, evangelical Protestants have extolled John 3:16 as the heart of the Gospel. In their minds, if you only have a moment to tell people something about the Christian faith, this little Bible verse is the Scripture you should quote: “For God so loved the world that He sent His only Son that whosoever believes in Him may not die but may have eternal life.”


Pope Paul VI, in his landmark letter on evangelization, confirmed that this verse, from yesterday’s Gospel, is indeed is the central theme of the entire Bible. So then comes the million-dollar question: How could a loving God ever send anyone to hell? The answer is very simple. He doesn’t. Oh, hell certainly exists, all right. We see its crowded waiting room here on earth and can, if we observe closely, get some insight as to why its occupants are sitting there. War certainly comes close to being hell on earth, especially when you happen to be on the losing side. Armed conflict is always nasty. But in the ancient world, despite the low level of technology, war was often total. When a city resisted a conquering army, it was made into an example for neighboring towns. Jerusalem, for example, was razed to the ground by the Babylonians. The pride and joy of Israel, Solomon’s temple, was reduced to a heap of rubble; civilians as well as soldiers put to the sword; and a few lucky ones led into exile. Did God bring this hellish fate upon them? Not in the least. He actually sent messengers to tell them how to prevent such tragedy. Jeremiah warned Jerusalem to repent and offer no resistance to the invaders. Their response? They imprisoned him. Through stubborn and foolish arrogance, they brought their fate crashing down upon their own heads, much to God’s dismay. Eternal punishment is exactly the same. No one is in hell except those who choose it. “The judgment is this — the light came into the world, but men loved the darkness instead of the light” (Jn 3:19). Why would anyone walk away from the light? Perhaps because they don’t like what they see as they emerge from the shadows. Maybe because they don’t want anyone else to see them as they really are. They’d rather keep up the charade that they are good people and can fend for themselves, thank you very much, that they’ve always done what’s right and deserve to be appreciated, even applauded, by God and everyone else. At the moment of death, the choice for light or darkness becomes final and irrevocable. But before that time, God is waiting for us to turn to Him. He is rich in mercy (Eph 2:4). He shines His light on our sins and brokenness not to humiliate us, but to irradiate the vermin that infects us and to clear up our blotchy complexions. All we need is the courage to face the truth about ourselves and rejoice in His merciful love which accepts us no matter what we’ve done or who we are. All we need is to be willing to say “sorry” and “thanks.” For we can do nothing to earn His favor — it comes to us as a pure, undeserved gift, as Ephesians told us in yesterday’s second reading. But God can’t give us His mercy if we don’t ask for it. And if we insist on “pulling our own weight,” and getting from God what’s coming to us, He’ll do as we say. Jesus offers us a share in what He deserves from our heavenly Father. I think I’d opt for that rather than what I deserve! Lent is a time to remember that we live by the mercy of God, and to renew our determination that the grace that He has so generously lavished upon us will not be received in vain. Dr. D'Ambrosio studied under Avery Cardinal Dulles for his Ph.D. in historical theology and taught for many years at the University of Dallas. He now directs www.crossroadsinitiative.com, which offers Catholic resources for RCIA, adult faith formation, and teens, with a special emphasis on the Year of the Eucharist, the Theology of the Body, the early Church Fathers, and the sacrament of confirmation. (This article originally appeared in Our Sunday Visitor and is used by permission of the author.)

The Work of god

Year B

- Fourth Sunday of Lent

God loved the world so much

John 3:14-21

14 And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
17 "Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
18 Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
19 And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.
20 For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed.
21 But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God."

Inspiration of the Holy Spirit - From the Sacred Heart of Jesus

When I told Nicodemus that the Son of Man had to be lifted up just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, I was recalling the past when people offended God and their punishment was to be bitten by deadly serpents. So Moses made a serpent of bronze, and put it upon a pole; anyone bitten would have to look at the serpent of bronze to live. Numbers 21:8-9

I was declaring to the world that I was going to be crucified and die. I predicted that I was going to be exposed to everyone like a cursed dead serpent, so that by paying for your sins with my death you could find life in me through the forgiveness of yours sins.

And just as sin and death came to the world through the first man, so grace and life comes from the Son of Man, a title that I gave myself to represent the whole human race. Since the offense committed against the eternal God could not be repaid by anything of this world, so I was sent to the world to pay with my human and divine nature the punishment assigned to everyone which is death.

But God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

I did not come to condemn the world since it was already condemned by sin, I came to save it through my living sacrifice by which you obtained the forgiveness of your sins, to show you the love of God for His creation.

This is why I am still present in the Sacrifice of the Mass, providing my blood to cleanse you from your sins. The Holy Scriptures testify: "They will look on the one whom they have pierced." Zech 12:10

Make yourself worthy to be purified, eat of my flesh and drink of my blood to live.

I invite everyone to believe in me, to believe in my word, to believe in my suffering and death for your sins, to believe in the power of God that I have, believe that I will raise you up on the last day.

I am the light of the world, a light that dissipates the darkness of sin. Those who do not believe are missing out on the gift of God, they are condemning themselves since they prefer to live in darkness.

Come to the light my little child, do not be afraid, confess your sins, purify yourself in my blood and see with the eyes of the spirit the wonders that I present to you.

Author: Joseph of Jesus and Mary

Sunday, March 26, 2006
Fourth Sunday of Lent

First Reading:
Psalm:
Second Reading:
Gospel:

2 Chronicles 36:14-17, 19-23
Psalm 137:1-6
Ephesians 2:4-10
John 3:14-21

But I have hoped in the Lord: I will be glad and rejoice in Thy mercy. For Thou hast regarded my humility, Thou hast saved my soul out of distresses.

-- Psalm xxx. 7,8

Office of Readings -- Awakening Prayer

Office of Readings

If this is the first Hour that you are reciting today, you should precede it with the Invitatory Psalm.

O God, come to my aid.
O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.

A suitable hymn may be inserted at this point.

Psalm 23 (24)
The Lord comes to his temple
The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness, the world and all who live in it. He himself founded it upon the seas and set it firm over the waters. Who will climb the mountain of the Lord? Who will stand in his holy place? The one who is innocent of wrongdoing and pure of heart, who has not given himself to vanities or sworn falsely. He will receive the blessing of the Lord and be justified by God his saviour. This is the way of those who seek him, seek the face of the God of Jacob. Gates, raise your heads. Stand up, eternal doors, and let the king of glory enter. Who is the king of glory? The Lord of might and power. The Lord, strong in battle. Gates, raise your heads. Stand up, eternal doors, and let the king of glory enter. Who is the king of glory? The Lord of hosts – he is the king of glory. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Psalm 23 (24)

The Lord comes to his temple

The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness, the world and all who live in it.
He himself founded it upon the seas and set it firm over the waters.

Who will climb the mountain of the Lord? Who will stand in his holy place?
The one who is innocent of wrongdoing and pure of heart,
who has not given himself to vanities or sworn falsely.
He will receive the blessing of the Lord and be justified by God his saviour.
This is the way of those who seek him, seek the face of the God of Jacob.

Gates, raise your heads. Stand up, eternal doors, and let the king of glory enter.
Who is the king of glory?
The Lord of might and power. The Lord, strong in battle.

Gates, raise your heads. Stand up, eternal doors, and let the king of glory enter.
Who is the king of glory?
The Lord of hosts – he is the king of glory.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.

Psalm 65 (66)
Hymn for a sacrifice of thanksgiving
Cry out to God, all the earth, sing psalms to the glory of his name, give him all glory and praise. Say to God, “How tremendous your works! Faced with the greatness of your power your enemies dwindle away. Let all the earth worship you and sing your praises, sing psalms to your name”. Come and see the works of God, be awed by what he has done for the children of men. He turned the sea into dry land, and they crossed the waters on foot: therefore will we rejoice in him. In his might he will rule for all time, his eyes keep watch on the nations: no rebellion will ever succeed. Bless our God, you nations, and let the sound of your praises be heard. Praise him who brought us to life, and saved us from stumbling. For you have tested us, O Lord, you have tried us by fire, as silver is tried. You led us into the trap, heaped tribulations upon us. You set other men to rule over us – but we passed through fire and water, and you led us out to our rest. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Psalm 65 (66)

Hymn for a sacrifice of thanksgiving

Cry out to God, all the earth,
sing psalms to the glory of his name,
give him all glory and praise.
Say to God, “How tremendous your works!
Faced with the greatness of your power
your enemies dwindle away.
Let all the earth worship you and sing your praises,
sing psalms to your name”.

Come and see the works of God,
be awed by what he has done for the children of men.
He turned the sea into dry land,
and they crossed the waters on foot:
therefore will we rejoice in him.
In his might he will rule for all time,
his eyes keep watch on the nations:
no rebellion will ever succeed.

Bless our God, you nations,
and let the sound of your praises be heard.
Praise him who brought us to life,
and saved us from stumbling.

For you have tested us, O Lord,
you have tried us by fire, as silver is tried.
You led us into the trap,
heaped tribulations upon us.
You set other men to rule over us –
but we passed through fire and water,
and you led us out to our rest.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.

Psalm 65 (66)
I shall enter your house with burnt-offerings. I shall fulfil my vows to you, the vows that I made with my lips, the vows that I uttered in my troubles. I shall offer you rich burnt-offerings, the smoke of the flesh of rams; I shall offer you cattle and goats. Draw near and listen, you who fear the Lord, and I will tell all that he has done for me. I cried out aloud to him, and his praise was on my tongue. If I looked upon sin in the depths of my heart, the Lord would not hear me – but the Lord has listened, he has heard the cry of my appeal. Blessed be God, who has not spurned my prayer, who has not kept his mercy from me. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Psalm 65 (66)

I shall enter your house with burnt-offerings.
I shall fulfil my vows to you,
the vows that I made with my lips,
the vows that I uttered in my troubles.
I shall offer you rich burnt-offerings,
the smoke of the flesh of rams;
I shall offer you cattle and goats.

Draw near and listen, you who fear the Lord,
and I will tell all that he has done for me.
I cried out aloud to him,
and his praise was on my tongue.
If I looked upon sin in the depths of my heart,
the Lord would not hear me –
but the Lord has listened,
he has heard the cry of my appeal.

Blessed be God, who has not spurned my prayer,
who has not kept his mercy from me.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.

Reading	Leviticus 8:1 - 9:24 ©
The consecration of the priests
The Lord spoke to Moses; he said: ‘Take Aaron, his sons with him, and the vestments, and the chrism, the bull for the sacrifice for sin, the two rams and the basket of unleavened bread. Then call the whole community together at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.’ Moses followed the orders of the Lord; the community gathered at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, and Moses said to them, ‘This is what the Lord has ordered to be done’. He made Aaron and his sons come forward, and washed them with water. He put the tunic on him, passed the girdle round his waist, dressed him in the robe and put the ephod on him. Then he put round his waist the woven band of the ephod with which he clothed him. He put the pectoral on him, and placed the Urim and Thummim in it. He put the turban on his head, with the golden plate on the front; this is the sacred diadem as the Lord prescribed it to Moses. Then Moses took the chrism and anointed the tabernacle and everything in it, to consecrate them. He sprinkled the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and its furnishing, the basin and its stand, to consecrate them. Then he poured the chrism on Aaron’s head, consecrating him by unction. Then Moses made Aaron’s sons come forward; he put the tunics on them, passed the girdles round their waists and put on their head-dress, as the Lord had ordered Moses. Then he had the bull for the sacrifice for sin brought forward. Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the victim’s head and Moses immolated it. Then he took the blood and with his finger put some of it on the horns round the altar, to take away its sin. Then he poured out the rest of the blood at the foot of the altar, which he consecrated by performing the rite of atonement over it. Then he took all the fat that covers the entrails, the fatty mass which is over the liver, the two kidneys and their fat; and he burnt them all on the altar. The bull’s skin, its flesh and its dung he burnt outside the camp, as the Lord had ordered Moses. Then Aaron raised his hands towards the people and blessed them. Having thus performed the sacrifice for sin, the holocaust and the communion sacrifice, he came down and entered the Tent of Meeting with Moses. Then they came out together to bless the people and the glory of the Lord appeared to the whole people – a flame leaped forth from before the Lord and consumed the holocaust and the fat that was on the altar. At this sight the people shouted for joy and fell on their faces.

Reading

Leviticus 8:1 - 9:24 ©

The consecration of the priests

The Lord spoke to Moses; he said:
‘Take Aaron, his sons with him, and the vestments, and the chrism, the bull for the sacrifice for sin, the two rams and the basket of unleavened bread. Then call the whole community together at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.’
Moses followed the orders of the Lord; the community gathered at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, and Moses said to them, ‘This is what the Lord has ordered to be done’.
He made Aaron and his sons come forward, and washed them with water.
He put the tunic on him, passed the girdle round his waist, dressed him in the robe and put the ephod on him. Then he put round his waist the woven band of the ephod with which he clothed him. He put the pectoral on him, and placed the Urim and Thummim in it. He put the turban on his head, with the golden plate on the front; this is the sacred diadem as the Lord prescribed it to Moses.
Then Moses took the chrism and anointed the tabernacle and everything in it, to consecrate them. He sprinkled the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and its furnishing, the basin and its stand, to consecrate them. Then he poured the chrism on Aaron’s head, consecrating him by unction.
Then Moses made Aaron’s sons come forward; he put the tunics on them, passed the girdles round their waists and put on their head-dress, as the Lord had ordered Moses.
Then he had the bull for the sacrifice for sin brought forward. Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the victim’s head and Moses immolated it. Then he took the blood and with his finger put some of it on the horns round the altar, to take away its sin. Then he poured out the rest of the blood at the foot of the altar, which he consecrated by performing the rite of atonement over it. Then he took all the fat that covers the entrails, the fatty mass which is over the liver, the two kidneys and their fat; and he burnt them all on the altar. The bull’s skin, its flesh and its dung he burnt outside the camp, as the Lord had ordered Moses.
Then Aaron raised his hands towards the people and blessed them. Having thus performed the sacrifice for sin, the holocaust and the communion sacrifice, he came down and entered the Tent of Meeting with Moses. Then they came out together to bless the people and the glory of the Lord appeared to the whole people – a flame leaped forth from before the Lord and consumed the holocaust and the fat that was on the altar. At this sight the people shouted for joy and fell on their faces.

Reading	From a treatise on John by Saint Augustine, bishop
Christ is the way to the light, the truth and the life
The Lord tells us: I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. In these few words he gives a command and makes a promise. Let us do what he commands so that we may not blush to covet what he promises and to hear him say on the day of judgement: “I laid down certain conditions for obtaining my promises. Have you fulfilled them?” If you say: “What did you command, Lord our God?” he will tell you: “I commanded you to follow me. You asked for advice on how to enter into life. What life, if not the life about which it is written: With you is the fountain of life?” Let us do now what he commands. Let us follow in the footsteps of the Lord. Let us throw off the chains that prevent us from following him. Who can throw off these shackles without the aid of the one addressed in these words: You have broken my chains? Another psalm says of him: The Lord frees those in chains, the Lord raises up the downcast. Those who have been freed and raised up follow the light. The light they follow speaks to them: I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness. The Lord gives light to the blind. Brethren, that light shines on us now, for we have had our eyes anointed with the eye-salve of faith. His saliva was mixed with earth to anoint the man born blind. We are of Adam’s stock, blind from our birth; we need him to give us light. He mixed saliva with earth, and so it was prophesied: Truth has sprung up from the earth. He himself has said: I am the way, the truth and the life. We shall be in possession of the truth when we see face to face. This is his promise to us. Who would dare to hope for something that God in his goodness did not choose to promise or bestow? We shall see face to face. The Apostle says: Now I know in part, now obscurely through a mirror, but then face to face. John the Apostle says in one of his letters: Dearly beloved, we are now children of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be. We know that when he is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. This is a great promise. If you love me, follow me. “I do love you”, you protest, “but how do I follow you?” If the Lord your God said to you: “I am the truth and the life”, in your desire for truth, in your love for life, you would certainly ask him to show you the way to reach them. You would say to yourself: “Truth is a great reality, life is a great reality; if only it were possible for my soul to find them!”

Reading

From a treatise on John by Saint Augustine, bishop

Christ is the way to the light, the truth and the life

The Lord tells us: I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. In these few words he gives a command and makes a promise. Let us do what he commands so that we may not blush to covet what he promises and to hear him say on the day of judgement: “I laid down certain conditions for obtaining my promises. Have you fulfilled them?” If you say: “What did you command, Lord our God?” he will tell you: “I commanded you to follow me. You asked for advice on how to enter into life. What life, if not the life about which it is written: With you is the fountain of life?”
Let us do now what he commands. Let us follow in the footsteps of the Lord. Let us throw off the chains that prevent us from following him. Who can throw off these shackles without the aid of the one addressed in these words: You have broken my chains? Another psalm says of him: The Lord frees those in chains, the Lord raises up the downcast.
Those who have been freed and raised up follow the light. The light they follow speaks to them: I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness. The Lord gives light to the blind. Brethren, that light shines on us now, for we have had our eyes anointed with the eye-salve of faith. His saliva was mixed with earth to anoint the man born blind. We are of Adam’s stock, blind from our birth; we need him to give us light. He mixed saliva with earth, and so it was prophesied: Truth has sprung up from the earth. He himself has said: I am the way, the truth and the life.
We shall be in possession of the truth when we see face to face. This is his promise to us. Who would dare to hope for something that God in his goodness did not choose to promise or bestow?
We shall see face to face. The Apostle says: Now I know in part, now obscurely through a mirror, but then face to face. John the Apostle says in one of his letters: Dearly beloved, we are now children of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be. We know that when he is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. This is a great promise.
If you love me, follow me. “I do love you”, you protest, “but how do I follow you?” If the Lord your God said to you: “I am the truth and the life”, in your desire for truth, in your love for life, you would certainly ask him to show you the way to reach them. You would say to yourself: “Truth is a great reality, life is a great reality; if only it were possible for my soul to find them!”

A concluding prayer may follow here.

Laetare Sunday, the Fourth Sunday of Lent, is one of two occasions during the liturgical year when the priest wears rose; the other is the

Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday.

Catholic Culture

Collect:
Father of peace, we are joyful in your Word, your Son Jesus Christ, who reconciles us to you. Let us hasten to our Easter with the eagerness of faith and love. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

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March 26, 2006

Fourth Sunday of Lent

And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. 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. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God (John 3:14-18).

This Sunday was formerly called "Laetare Sunday" since its mood and theme was one of hope and rejoicing that Easter was near. In the reformed calendar this Sunday is not different from the other Sundays of Lent even though the entrance antiphon for the day still begins with the Latin word "laetare" and the vestments worn by the celebrant are rose-colored, not violet. The day is important because it is the day of the second scrutiny in preparation for the baptism of adults at the Easter Vigil.

The Station at Rome is in the basilica of Holy Cross in Jerusalem, one of the seven principal churches of the holy city. It was built in the fourth century, by the emperor Constantine. The emperor's mother, St. Helen, enriched it with most precious relics, and wished to make it the Jerusalem of Rome.

Sunday Readings
The first reading is taken from the Book of Chronicles 2 Chron:36:14-16, 19-23. It refers to the edict of Cyrus, the king of Persia, permitting the exiles to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple, which had been burned by the Chaldeans as a punishment from God for the infidelities of the Chosen People.

The second reading is from the Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians 2:4-10. In today's extract St. Paul is emphasizing the gratuitousness of the gift of faith which the Ephesian converts have received. This gift which God gave them, even when they were sinners, had united them to Christ, and has given them the right to share in His glorious resurrection and inherit heaven with Him and through Him.

The Gospel is from St. John 3:14-21. This man Nicodemus had a half-open mind as regards Jesus. He was moved by his teaching and miracles. He defended him when his companions were out to have Jesus arrested. He helped to have him properly buried when his enemies had him put to death, but that was as far as he went, apparently. There is no mention of him in the first Christian community of Jerusalem. What held him back, what kept him from giving himself fully to Jesus who spoke so kindly and told him so clearly that he himself was indeed a teacher who had come from God, that he had been offered by God as the sacrificial victim who would save the world? All Nicodemus had to do was to accept his word, "believe in him" and be baptized and he too would have eternal life.

Why did he not do this? The answer is given in the beginning of his story "He came to Jesus by night." He was one of the leading Pharisees and evidently was afraid of what they would think of him had they seen him associating with Jesus. How much more so did he dread what their reactions would be had he become a follower of him whom they called "this impostor." Nicodemus had only half of his mind open to the truth, the other half was closed and barred by his fear of what his own class—the leaders of the Jews—would think of him. He risked his own future happiness in order not to lose the present respect of his sinful associates.

What a foolish man we would all say! Yet, are not many of us often like Nicodemus, when it comes to living up to our following of Christ? There are Catholic men who would like to, and should, go much more often to Holy Communion but are afraid of what their fellow-parishioners, who receive but rarely, would think of them. There are many, far too many, Christians who will not defend or stand up for their religion when it is insulted and attacked in their place of work or in a saloon. There are Christians who stand idly by, and give at least tacit approval, when grave injustices are being carried out by individuals or by local or national groups. These and many more like them are Christian types of Nicodemus, who through fear of losing the approval, the worthless esteem, of their sinful associates, are prepared to forfeit the esteem of God and their own eternal welfare.

Nicodemus probably thought he had made reparation for his lack of openness to Jesus when he assisted at his burial. What value, however, had that work of mercy for one of his frame of mind? There are amongst us today, humanists, most of them ex-Christians, men and women who make assisting their neighbor, while excluding Christ and God, the essence of religion. While the assistance the neighbor receives will benefit him materially, what spiritual or religious value can it have for the humanist who excluded God and our Savior Jesus Christ? Humanism or concentrating on our neighbor to the exclusion of God, is an imitation of religion and a very false imitation at that. Helping our neighbor because he is a son of God is part of our true religion, and the second of the two great commandments of love; but helping a neighbor from whom we have effaced the image of God has not and cannot have any religious value or significance whatever. It is as meaningless as lighting a candle before the photograph of a wife one has deliberately deserted.

Thank God, we have accepted Christ with our whole heart and our whole mind. It is through him that we have been made sons of God. It is through him that we have learned to love God and learned of God's infinite love for us. Because all men are God's sons also, and our brothers in Christ, we will gladly help them whenever and wherever we can because God has commanded us to do so. This is true humanism which sees in the neighbor the workmanship of the almighty Creator, and what is more important still, the elevating effects of the divine Savior, as well.

Excerpted from The Sunday Readings by Fr. Kevin O'Sullivan, O.F.M.

Homily of the Day

Homily of the Day

Title:	It Takes More Than Just Knowing the Rules
Author:	Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.
Date:	Sunday, March 26, 2006

Chr 36:15-16, 19-23 / Eph 2:4-10 / Jn 3:14-21

There's a law in physics that a pendulum can never return to a point higher than the point from which it's released. In fact, because of friction and gravity, it will fall just a little short of the release point. Each time it swings, the arc gets smaller and smaller till it finally comes to rest.

A physics teacher had just taught this lesson when a student decided to get even for all his bad grades. "Teacher," he asked "do you really believe that?"

"Of course I do," huffed the teacher. "I've been teaching it for twenty years!"

"Well, then, let's just put it to a little test." And with that the student made a huge pendulum by suspending 300 pounds of weight-lifting disks from the ceiling. He brought the weights right up to the teacher's nose. "Now, sir, if the law of the pendulum is true, when I release this mass of metal, it will swing across the room and then back, and stop just a little short of your nose. Sir, do you believe that?"

"Yes," said the teacher, looking not at all certain.

The boy released the pendulum. At the far end of its arc it paused just a moment and than swung faster and faster back toward the teacher - who had disappeared under the desk! He knew the law of pendulums, but when the crunch came, he wasn't willing to bet his nose on it!

+ + +

In Sunday's Gospel, Jesus says, "Whoever believes in me will not die, but will have eternal life." He's saying, in other words, that faith in God is a matter of life and death for us! So we'd better get very clear about what faith is.

First of all, it's a lot more than just knowing and signing off on the big dogmas: One God, three persons, died for our sins, and so on. They're important and true, but signing off on them isn't the essence of faith. Real faith in God is a relationship in which we entrust ourselves into God's hands.

Now why would we entrust ourselves to someone we can't even see?

Because ever so quietly, God has been showing himself to us in thousands of different ways every day: In the majesty of a sunset, in a glistening dewdrop resting on a rose, in the forgiveness and understanding that come our way so often, in the round little faces of our children and the wrinkled faces of our dear old friends, and best of all in the face of our brother Jesus.

How much he wants the best for us. And so, when it finally sinks in, we whisper, I believe. I know you love me and I can trust you, Lord. So I give myself to you.

If those words have deep roots, they will bear fruit in peaceful hearts and in confident hearts that know how to relax in the Lord. If those words have deep roots, they will bear fruit in hearts that know what matters and what does not, hearts that don't falter or pull away when heavy weights bear down upon them, hearts that are ready for everything because they are connected to the Lord.

Those are the strong and peaceful hearts we want for ourselves and that God wants for us. So speak from deep inside the words he's been waiting to hear: "Lord, I know you love me. So I give myself to you! I give it all and I'm holding nothing back."

Peace and strength will follow!