Last Monday we started the fifth week of Lent . I'm asking forgiveness with this occasion to my Lord and Saviour Jesus , for all my weakness , for being so long away from prayers and meditations .The Fifth Sunday of Lent brings us closer toward the Passion and death of Jesus. In John's Gospel, we hear the story of the raising of Lazarus. Jesus is not there when his dear friend, Lazarus dies, but after meeting with Lazarus' grief-stricken sisters and himself weeping, he stands at the door of the tomb. "Lazarus, come out!" Jesus commands. The man who had been dead came out. His hands and feet were wrapped with strips of burial cloth, and a cloth covered his face. Jesus then told the people, "Untie him and let him go."
Saturday is the Solemnity of Saint Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary, celebrated early this year so it would not conflict with Holy Week ( and never is too late to start the novena for the Blessed Saint Joseph ) .
If I experience myself somewhat "at war" with myself, then these are very important days to keep deliberately asking our Lord to help me. It is also a great time to begin to prepare to renew the baptismal promises at Easter. We can reject the unloving choices we've made . If we have developed the habit of naming a desire the first thing each morning, and carrying on a conversation with our Lord in the brief background moments of the day, we are already comfortable with letting the Word or the Season interact with the concrete events of the week. This way of finding intimacy with our Lord, through our daily interaction - even in a very busy life - is so appropriate for the Fifth Week of Lent. We can discover areas that are still resistant to God's grace. We can ask for help to practice new ways of being free, or new ways of loving. We can find ways to make financial sacrifices to give to the poor this week.
Each night this week, we can give heartfelt thanks. The closer we get to celebrating Holy Week and the events that brought us our salvation, each of us can express our gratitude, realizing this was all for me.
May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.
