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CHRIST DIES IN EVERY JUST MAN

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SATURDAY, FOURTH WEEK OF LENT Jer 11:18-20; Ps 7:2-3,9-12; Jn 7:40-52 Christ in Us, the Hope of Glory The paschal mysteries, which we have explained as the mystery of Jesus Christ, are indeed profound. They draw from the very depth of God’s will, which is an unfathomable abyss of goodness for us. Because God is our creator, his intention for making us sits deep within each person he created as the source of our being. Because he made us for himself, there is a deep yearning for God within us, which no creature can ever satisfy. On the other hand, erected within the consciousness of sinful man, is a tendency to self. The tendency is a negative or corrupted desire for God that turns to seek self in place of God. It is a device of the evil one, who erected this false god in the consciousness of man by casting doubt on the word of God, thereby closing the entrance of the word of God into the human soul. The conflict between these two centres of desire in us characterises the paschal ...
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THE ORIGIN OF THE SON OF MAN AND THE MYSTERIES

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FRIDAY, FOURTH WEEK OF LENT Wis 2:1,12-22; Ps 34:16,18,19-21,23; Jn 7:1-2,10,25-30 The Meaning of Paschal Mysteries The sin-induced conflict between the immutable will of God and the human wills and desires is the root of the paschal mysteries. In other words, they come about from the conflict between the light of God and the darkness of sin and evil, between the Truth of God and human ignorance and demonic lies. The paschal mysteries are of Christ's events, but they resonate in the life of every human person. Thus, it connects back to the very fall of man and woman in the Garden of Eden. It is born of the seed of discord sown in the human heart by the evil one, which is propagated daily by our choices. So, the paschal mysteries are within us who turn to God in faith. The Book of Wisdom puts the source of the paschal mysteries as the misconceptions rife in human sinful hearts in opposition to God’s truth. “The godless say to themselves, with their misguided reasoning: ‘Our li...
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THE EFFICACY OF THE PASCHAL MYSTERIES

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THURSDAY, FOURTH WEEK OF LENT Exod 32:7-14; Ps 106:19-23; Jn 5:31-47 The Father’s Witness to the Son We have reflected on the fact that the Son reveals the Father through his life, death, and resurrection. The core of these revelations is the content of the paschal mysteries. By the paschal mysteries through which he sacrificed or consecrated himself to the Father to accomplish his will, he showed forth the holiness of God and revealed the essence of his sacred name: ‘I Am who I Am.’ Through the same paschal mysteries, he forgave our sins and achieved the eternal redemption of all who would call on God’s holy name for salvation. The paschal mysteries have profound significance for us who seek to know God and receive salvation from sin and evil. Its importance is such that the scriptures lose their meaning when we remove these mysteries of our Lord. The words of our Lord in the gospel affirm this. “You study the scriptures, believing that in them you have eternal life; now these same sc...
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CHRIST, THE DAY OF SALVATION

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WEDNESDAY, FOURTH WEEK OF LENT Isa 49:8-15; Ps 145:8-9,13-14,17-18; Jn 5:17-30 The Son’s Paschal Mysteries reveal the Father God the Father is the source of every good gift, which the Son mediates. The Son, who is the Eternal Word, reveals the will of the Father. As the word of God, he comes to us through the ages, illuminating and guiding us according to the plan of the Father for our salvation. But his salvific and redemptive work took a definitive and concrete form at his incarnation. His coming in human nature is the day of salvation prophesied by the prophet Isaiah as we read. “At the favourable time, I will answer you, on the day of salvation I will help you. (I have formed you and have appointed you as covenant of the people.) I will restore the land and assign you the estates that lie waste.” At the incarnation of the Son, the Father has caused the water of salvation to flow from the heavenly sanctuary for our sanctification and redemption. It is the time of favour when g...
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THE PASCHAL EVENTS TO HEAVENLY MYSTERIES

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TUESDAY, FOURTH WEEK OF LENT Ezek 47:1-9,12; Ps 46:2-3,5-6,8-9; Jn 5:1-3,5-16 Devotion to Paschal Realities We have noted that the Church’s interest and focus have shifted from self-mortifications and other observances to the paschal mysteries, which are the ends of the observances. A well-initiated Lenten observance leads to the freeing of minds and purification of our hearts, which enable us to devote them to the paschal mysteries. The humility acquired through our acknowledgment of sins and their confessions is necessary for receiving the new heavens and earth God promised and achieved through and in the humanity of his Son, Jesus Christ. The prophet Ezekiel speaks of the new heavens God promises to create in the passage from Isaiah we read yesterday. As we pointed out, the new heavens are the mysteries contained in the Son of God, whose humanity is the new earth. We are to access these new heavens through the sacred humanity of our Lord. Through the same humanity of our Lord, the b...
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INVITATION TO PASCHAL CELEBRATION

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MONDAY, FOURTH WEEK OF LENT Isa 65:17-21; Ps 30:2,4-6,11-13; Jn 4:43-54 New Heavens and a New Earth As we enter the fourth week of Lent, the Church’s focus moves from observances to the paschal mysteries. The purpose of the self-mortifications and other observances is to free our minds and hearts to understand and embrace the abundance of heavenly graces that come with celebrating our paschal mysteries. These mysteries are the new and heavenly realities God creates among us for our salvation. The prophet Isaiah prophesied about these new spiritual things surpassing the old as reality surpasses its shadow. “Thus says the Lord: Now I create new heavens and a new earth, the past will not be remembered and will come no more to men’s minds. Be glad and rejoice forever and ever for what I am creating, because I now create Jerusalem ‘Joy’ and her people ‘Gladness.’” God creates new heavenly realities, spiritually perceived and understood. So, the effort to purify our minds and hearts is...
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COMING HOME TO THE FATHER'S HOUSE

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FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT Josh 5:9-12; Ps 34:2-7; 2 Cor 5:1-6,17-21; Lk 15:1-3,11-32 Eating of God in Freedom of Spirit A man born into slavery, groomed and raised as a slave, has no experience and knowledge of what it means to be freeborn. The children of Israel had no experience of living in a land they could call their own or their father’s land when they were in Egypt. They were all born in Egypt as foreigners and made slaves, and many of them understood and accepted their situation to be the usual. Their story shadows our situation as sinners called to be righteous in Jesus Christ. Given our birth and upbringing in sin, we cannot even imagine what a sinless life is like. The overwhelming experience of sin in our human life made the prophet Isaiah express despair at the vision of the glory of the most holy God. “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips; and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King; the LORD of hosts!” We fee...
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