March 18, 2012

Fourth Sunday of Lent: 2 Chr 36:14-16, 19-23; Eph 2:4-10; Jn 3:14-21

One of my favorite stories is that of a famous scientist who after giving a lecture was asked what had most shaped his life.  He responded that he had started off as a misbehaving child that moved from one school to another because of his lack of control.  Finally his mother put him in a Catholic school.  On the first day of class he stepped in the room and was startled when he saw the crucifix on the wall.  He immediately went to his seat and was an ideal student for the rest of the year.  The next year on the first day of school he went into his next class, saw the cross, sat down and again was an ideal student.  This repeated itself through grammar school  into high school where he finally graduated with honors and went to a prestigious university.  When asked why this had affected him so much he responded, “Well, I saw that they had that man hanging from a cross and I figured that they were serious about discipline in that institution."

Most people place on the walls inside their homes pictures that bring them comfort.  Pictures of family and friends, places they have been or dream of going to or just idyllic scenes that look beautiful to the eye.  Glaring, in most of our homes and all of our religious institutions  and at the center of all of our churches is the image of a naked man stretched out on an instrument of torture.   There is for us as Catholic Christians no more beautiful and comforting image than Christ Crucified.

Jesus begins His dialogue with Nicodemus in today's Gospel, recounting the story from the book of Numbers (21:4-9) during the exodus from Egypt when the people were being led through the desert with Moses and they were attacked by serpents.  After pleading their cause, God instructed Moses to mount a bronze serpent and mount it on a pole, and whenever the serpent bit someone, the person would look at the bronze serpent and recover.  The image of that which had brought great fear and anguish to the people of Israel became an image of hope and healing.

That which frightens most of us more than anything else in the world is the thought of humiliation, pain, suffering and death.  The Cross for us as Catholic Christians is a reminder that God has given us the ultimate instrument of hope, healing and life through the gift of His only Son.  Jesus reminds us through His dialogue with Nicodemus in today's Gospel, that, " God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him." (Jn 3:16) The Cross becomes for us through Christ the eternal reminder not of suffering and pain, but God's eternal love for us.  We remember as we look upon that Cross that God loves us and desires not to condemn us but to redeem us from our sins.

Cardinal Roger Mahony, (who will be celebrating our 12 P.M. Mass today) often tells youth on the day of their Confirmation as they receive religious articles from their families, "to wear their Crosses with great pride."  Our Crosses are reminders to us that we are loved and redeemed through the suffering and death of our Savior.  They are reminders that we also need to reflect the love of Christ to others as we bear His Cross to the world.  The Cross is a constant reminder that we are healed of our fears and confusion in this life through the love of our Lord and we become a reminder to the world of God's love through the living out of our Christian principles.

Today, you will again notice the Priest wearing a "rose" (not pink!) vestment for Laetare Sunday.  This comes from the entrance antiphon for the Mass (replaced by our entrance song) that begins, "Rejoice, O Jerusalem."  In the mist of our Lenten Penance, today is a reminder of the great joy we are celebrating through the victory of Christ Crucified.  Today is a reminder for us as Christians that we live in great hope and expectation, not sorrow or gloom.

What better day, therefore,  could we have at Mary Star of the Sea, to celebrate the Feast of St. Joseph.  According to legend, there was a severe drought during the Middle Ages in Sicily and the people turned towards St. Joseph, the husband of Mary and their patron saint to pray for them.  They promised that if he answered their prayers, they would prepare a large feast to honor him.  The rain did come and the people of Sicily prepared a large banquet where they served the poor.  Since the fava bean was the crop which saved the population from starvation it has become and will be again for us today, the meal that is served traditionally at the St. Joseph Tables as we feast on "Pasta Fasole".

Today as we celebrate the Feast of St. Joseph on Laetare Sunday we are reminded that throughout the struggles of this life we are very loved.  As St. Paul reminds us in today's Second Reading “God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with Christ -by grace you have been saved-, raised us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus” (Eph 2:4-7)

• Our Lenten Mission will be led again by Fr. John Paul Forte, O.P. beginning tomorrow, Monday, as well as Tuesday and Wednesday, March19th, 20^th and 21^st at 7pm in the Church.  The theme is “Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.” (St. Catherine of Siena).  The challenge is for us to understand who God has called us to be and to live according to this calling.  Last year, Fr. John Paul set us all on fire and we are looking forward to his inspiration again this year.

God bless,

Father John Provenza

Pastor