Showing all posts by Elija

Since today’s Gospel recounts the cleansing of the Temple once again, and we already explored this theme on the seventh day of our Lenten journey (https://en.elijamission.net/day-7-resist-evil-in-the-holy-spirit/),

I have decided to dedicate today’s meditation to two saints whose feast day is celebrated on March 16: Saint Abraham of Edessa (Mesopotamia) and his niece Mary.

From a very young age, Abraham longed for a life of solitude with God, so he asked his parents for permission to become a hermit. However, his parents had already chosen a young woman whom they considered worthy to be his wife. With great regret, Abraham obeyed them. Legend has it that after the wedding, he told his wife of his decision to live in permanent abstinence. Later, he left secretly and shut himself away in a solitary cell located about an hour from the city of Edessa.

God’s call to solitude was so strong that all his family’s attempts to bring him back to his wife were in vain. He walled up his cell, leaving only a small window through which he received the necessities of life.

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We are now more than halfway through our Lenten journey and are drawing closer and closer to Holy Week. The fourth Sunday of Lent is a Sunday of joy (Laetare in Latin). The priest may wear pink vestments to highlight the joyful nature of this day.

Today’s Gospel (Jn 6:1–15) presents us with the well‑known story of the miraculous multiplication of the loaves and fishes. The crowd had listened to Jesus’ preaching, and at the end He wanted to feed them and show them God’s providence and glory through this sign. This is what happened, and not only were they all satisfied, but there were also twelve baskets left over. The Gospel testifies that there were five thousand men (v. 10).

This miracle was a reason for the people to praise Jesus as the expected prophet: “This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world” (v. 14). However, they drew the wrong conclusion, as Scripture suggests: “Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the hills by himself.” (v. 15)

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Today’s long reading (Dan 13:1–9, 15–17, 19–30, 33–62) tells the story of Susanna, the wife of Joakim, whom God delivered from the hands of two evil judges who falsely accused her of a serious moral crime. The Gospel (Jn 8:1–11), which we will focus on today, recounts an event full of lessons.

How does Jesus deal with the guilt of someone who has committed adultery? The scribes and Pharisees brought Him a woman in these circumstances and said, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such. What do you say about her?” (vv. 4–5).

Evidently, the accusers did not want to know what Jesus thought about it, but rather to trap Him in order to find a reason to accuse Him (v. 6). At first, Jesus did not give them any answer. However, in response to their insistence, He uttered that decisive phrase that should sink deep into our hearts and shape our entire lives and our way of dealing with similar situations: “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her” (v. 7). He said this to those Pharisees and scribes who were waiting impatiently and demanding an answer. Upon hearing these words, they began to leave, one after another, starting with the oldest (v. 9). None of them dared to throw a stone.

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Today’s reading tells of the rebellion of the sons of Israel in the desert of Zin. They had been traveling for almost forty years and were dissatisfied with their circumstances. They grumbled against Moses and Aaron and quarreled with them. They complained about the miserable place of Kadesh, missing grain and figs, pomegranates and wine. They had obviously lost confidence and demanded of their leaders, “Give us water to drink.” Moses and Aaron fell down before the Lord and prayed, “Lord God, hear the cry of this people and open Your treasure chambers to them; a spring of living water, that they may drink their fill and cease their grumbling.” (Num 20:6 – translated from the Latin Vulgate Bible)

 “The Lord said to Moses, ‘Take the rod, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water; so you shall bring water out of the rock for them; so you shall give drink to the congregation and their cattle.’ And Moses took the rod from before the Lord, as he commanded him. And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, ‘Hear now, you rebels; shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock?’ And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his rod twice; and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their cattle.” (Num 20:7–11)

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Today is the twenty-third day of our Lenten journey. Before getting into the topic, let’s finish the “flower display” we started yesterday, remembering each of the “flowers” collected from day 12 to day 22.

Day 12: Manage the gift of sexuality according to what God has ordained for our state of life, and avoid all forms of impurity.

Day 13: Walk the path of holiness as atonement for countless sins and offenses against God, unbelief, and injustices committed against people.

Day 14: Trust God in all situations, giving Him first place in our lives, remaining faithful to the sound doctrine of the Church and living according to it, and overcoming the temptations of pride by serving God and our neighbor.

Day 15: A flower of peace, believing in the omnipotence of God, who is capable of changing everything.

Day 16: Ask the Lord to grant us a heart full of trust in Him and belonging to Him without reserve. 

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