Lenten Reflection – 6 April – Saturday of the Fourth week of Lent, Year C
The Readings: Jeremiah 11:18-20; Psalm 7:2-3,9BC-10, 11-12; John 7:40-53
Daily Meditation:
Apart from You we can do nothing.
The conflict around Jesus grows.
And all the while, we are turning to God for mercy.
What Jesus went through is for me,
that I might have mercy and the gift of everlasting life.
We call upon the Lord for help, for strength, for trust.
My shield is with God,
who saves the upright in heart.
Psalm 7:10
“No one laid hands on him”...John 7:44
Origen (c 185-253)
Father, Priest and TheologianIn Christ we encounter such human characteristics that they have nothing to distinguish them from the weakness common to us mortals. At the same time, we encounter characteristics so divine, that they can only be appropriate to the sovereign and ineffable divine nature. Too small to comprehend this, the human mind is so dumbfounded, that it does not know what to take its stand on, nor which path to follow. Is it aware of God in Christ? Yet it sees Him die. Does it take Him to be a man? But see Him coming back from the dead with the prize of His victory, having destroyed the reign of death. In the same way our contemplation needs to be practised with such reverence and fear that, in the same Jesus, it considers the truth of the two natures, avoiding attributing to the divine essence those things that are nor worthy of it or do not belong to it but also avoiding seeing only an illusory appearance in historical events.
In truth, causing such things as these to be heard by human ears, trying to express them in words considerably surpasses our ability, talent and language. I even think it surpasses the capability of the apostles. More still, the explanation of this mystery probably transcends the entire order of angelic powers.
Closing Prayer:
Lord,
what You ask of my life seems so right.
It is how I want to live,
following Your Son, Jesus, so closely.
And yet I fail so often to stay on that path.
I cannot do it alone, loving Lord.
I need Your help and guidance.
I need to remember Your love for me
and I want to remember
how very much I need You in my life.
May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen
AnaStpaul 