3rd Sunday of Lent (Cycle C, Year II)
Community Word: We are saved by our faith in Jesus, God’s chosen Son.
Theme: Our faith in Jesus, God’s chosen Son, leads us to repentance and fruitfulness.
Promise: “He redeems your life from destruction, crowns you with kindness and compassion.” (Ps 103:4)
Reflection:
Lent is the season when we commemorate the passion, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, for the salvation of man. It is a manifestation of God’s great love to fulfill His promised redemption of mankind. We are therefore exhorted to make Christ’s death on the cross meaningful in our life, to be constantly aware that we are the beneficiaries of His great sacrifice.
The saving power of Christ’s death on the cross has purified us from all our inequities and transgressions, and we have to persevere in our Christian faith to preserve a state of grace within us. We have to sustain a conscious effort to nurture our spirit and courageously preserve the purity of our heart as we are constantly imperiled by worldly temptations in our daily life. A weak spirit is prone to yield to tests that leads to sin. When overcome by sinfulness, we are hindered from having a joyful and inspired spirit which makes it difficult for us to be fruitful witnesses of Christ’s mercy and compassion. We are also drawn away from the loving presence of God.
Jesus commands us to repent and He tells us as well the consequence if we do not (cf Lk 13:3, 5). As we yield to His command, we become reconciled with Him through the Sacrament of Penance, in sincerely confessing our sins to the priest. True repentance is to completely surrender ourselves from our wrongdoing, change our mind and heart, and turn away from everything that displeases God, through the enabling power of the Holy Spirit. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness,” (1 Jn 1:9). We are enjoined to go to confession and received the Sacrament regularly, to guard our heart and remain steadfast in fulfilling our obligations as faithful disciples.
While Jesus is uncompromising in His command to repent, in the parable of the barren fig tree, He demonstrates patience, kindness, mercy and hope by giving us all the opportunities to reform and be transformed. Although it is within God’s power to punish us for our failures, He patiently waits for us to realize our mistakes, be remorseful and become spiritually fruitful again. He gives us chances upon chances to be redeemed from our sinfulness and to turn back to Him.
As we are cleansed from spiritual impurities, God allows us to be fruitful by His grace, and then we can start to cultivate righteousness in our life. The Lord wants to empower us in our talents and abilities so that we would bear fruit to win hearts for His kingdom. Lent is a time to let God nourish our souls through confession, prayer, Scripture reading and serving our brothers and sisters. When we allow Jesus to fully live in us and love us, our lives become more and more fruitful. Let us heed the command of Jesus to repent of our sins as we seek our nourishment from God to regain our spiritual worthiness, keeping in mind His promise that, “He redeems your life from destruction, crowns you with kindness and compassion,” (Ps 103:4).
Prayer:
Merciful Father, despite Your kindness and Your goodness, we continue to be ungrateful whenever we commit sins that offend You, sins of our thoughts, words and actions, sins we may have done knowingly and unknowingly. We beg You, dear Lord, have mercy on us and forgive us of all our sins. Constantly remind us of Your presence so that everything that we do will always be according to Your Holy Will. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen.
Reflection Questions:
- Are you repentant of your sins? What are the impediments that prevent you from making a good confession?
- What resolutions can you make to keep you from committing the same sins and start becoming more spiritually fruitful as a Christian?
This Week’s Daily Mass Reading Guide:
March 20, 2022 (Sun) – Ex 3:1-8,13-15/ Ps 103:1-4,6,7,8,11/ 1 Cor 10:1-6,10-12/ Lk 13:1-9
March 21, 2022 (Mon) – 2 Kgs 5:1-15/ Ps 42:2, 3 – 43:3, 4/ Lk 4:24-30
March 22, 2022 (Tue) – Dn 3:25, 34-43/ Ps 25:4-9/ Mt 18:21-35
March 23, 2022 (Wed) – DT 4:1, 5-9/ Ps 147:12, 13, 15, 16, 19, 20/ Mt 5:17-19
March 24, 2022 (Thu) – Jer 7:23-28/ Ps 95:1, 2, 6-9/ Lk 11:14-23
March 25, 2022 (Fri) – Is 7:10-14/ Ps 40:7-11/ Heb 10:4-10/ Lk 1:26-38
March 26, 2022 (Sat) – Hos 6:1-6/ Ps 51:3, 4, 18-21/ Lk 18:9-14
“Ignorance of the Bible is ignorance of Christ. Read your Bible daily!”
