'Tis the Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent (meaning "Spring;" the Latin name is Quadragesima, meaning "fortieth"): Quadragesima-link & Wikipedia-link Quadragesima.
Mass Readings—Tuesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
The Book of Numbers, chapter twenty-one, verses four thru nine;
Psalm One Hundred Two (R/. two), verses two & three; sixteen, seventeen, & eighteen; & nineteen, twenty, & twenty-one;
The Gospel according to John, chapter eight, verses twenty-one thru thirty.
Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus prophesies his Crucifixion and his Father’s role in his coming death. What enabled the first Christians to hold up the cross, to sing its praises, to wear it as a decoration is the fact that God raised up and ratified precisely this crucified Jesus. “You killed him, but God raised him up.” Therefore, God was involved in this terrible thing; God was there, working out his salvific purposes.Video reflection by Deacon Arthur L. Miller (U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops): Daily Reflection.
But what does this mean? There have been numerous attempts throughout the Christian centuries to name the salvific nature of the cross. Let me offer just one take on it. It became clear to the first Christians that somehow, on that terrible cross, sin had been dealt with. The curse of sin had been removed, taken care of. On that terrible cross, Jesus functioned as the “Lamb of God,” sacrificed for sin.
Does this mean God the Father is a cruel taskmaster demanding a bloody sacrifice so that his anger might be appeased? No, Jesus’ Crucifixion was the opening up of the divine heart so that we could see that no sin of ours could finally separate us from the love of God.
Reflect: Do you acknowledge and accept that the penalty of sin is death? Given your perspective, then, how do you understand the death of Jesus on the cross?
Papal Quote o' the Day
"Because all are entrusted with the vast area of charity & material assistance, I invite you to give generously. Give for the maintenance & support of seminarians; for the formation of the laity, in particular for catechists; for the construction of churches, schools, hospitals, & social work."Mother Teresa Quote o' the Day
—Pope St. John Paul II the Great (1890-2005, r. 1978-2005; feast: 22 October)
"We must never think any of us is indispensable. God has His ways & means. God may allow everything to go upside down in the hands of a very talented & capable person. Unless the work is interwoven with love, it is useless."Archbishop Sheen Quote o' the Day
—St. Teresa of Calcutta, M.C. (1910-1997, feast: 5 September)
"Crucified with Jesus were two thieves or revolutionaries. Why thieves? Because we are all thieves. We have all, as the prophet Malachi said, cheated God. We cheat Him in our lives; we cheat Him in our worship; we cheat Him in our relationships with fellow man. So He is reputed with the wicked. And this is the symbol of the Last Judgment, because when the Lord comes on the last day, they will be separated & divided, the wheat & the tares, the sheep & the goats, the good fish & the bad."
—Ven. Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)
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