Ten years ago already, actor, director and producer Mel
Gibson released a film depicting the final hours, and crucifixion and death of
Jesus Christ called The Passion of the
Christ. I saw the film when I was
studying in Rome during Holy Week, and I remember being deeply and tearfully
moved by this highly realistic rendition of Jesus’ passion. It definitely changed the way I pray the
sorrowful mysteries of the rosary and the stations of the cross, the graphic bloodshed
and suffering etched in my memory.
Particularly difficult scenes to watch, were the scourging
of Our Lord at the pillar and when the crown of thorns pierced his forehead and
when he fell underneath the weight of the cross on the road to calvary. Difficult, not just because the amount of
blood and suffering was gross or morbid, but as the film progressed I got that
growing awareness that his suffering was because of my sins.
I remember just being flooded with tears, at the scene
depicting Jesus meeting his mother on the way of the Cross. Amidst the mockery and beatings from the
roman soldiers, Jesus meets his mother, looks at her, bloodied and beaten, and
says, “See Mother, I make all things new.”
All of the suffering, all of the blood, the hard road of the cross was
for the purpose of ushering in something new.
Three hundred years before the crucifixion of Jesus, the
Jews were in exile. In a sense, they had been bloodied and beaten by the
captors. God’s people suffered the
humiliation of living in a foreign land, under foreign rule. The promises of God seemed so ever distant,
it looked as if God’s enemies were victorious.
And in the darkness, God sends a prophet, Isaiah. And through his prophet, God says, as we heard
in the first reading, “see, I am doing something new!” God is promising that He is going to break-in
to creation in an unexpected way, he’s going to break the bonds of our
captivity. He’s going to usher in a new
unheard of era of freedom from the powers of darkness and evil, a new way of
walking in friendship with God, a whole new order to creation.
That’s what Jesus meant: “I make all things new.” I make new human souls, I make new human
community, I make new marriage, I make new man’s relationship with God.
So many of the Gospel stories are brimming with that
newness. In the Gospel today, it looked
like it was the end of the road for the women caught in the act of
adultery. She was guilty of a capital
crime. Yet, Jesus does something
new. He stops the momentum of this
violent crowd and forces them to consider something new, to consider that they
too are sinners, they walk away dumbstruck.
And then he invites the sinful women to a new way of life—a life without
sin.
This story always reminds me of what happens in the
Sacrament of Confession. In the
Sacrament of Confession, the penitent is asking Jesus to do something new in
them. Lord make that part of me that is
caved in on itself new, take that selfish part of me, take that self-centered part
of me, though my sins be as scarlet, wash me clean. And after absolving our sins, the priest
dismisses the penitent, saying “your sins are forgiven, go in peace” . Like Jesus in the Gospel, he is saying “go,
and sin no more.”
Something new is possible through the Sacrament of
Confession. The slate is wiped
clean. It’s a new start, a fresh start,
with God’s promise that He will help me overcome the sinful tendencies I’ve
just confessed.
“Go, and sin no more” means a fresh start, but it also means
the hard work begins. It is going to be
a challenge to not gossip the next time I have chance. It is going to be a challenge to hold my
tongue when I want to lash out in impatience.
It is going to be a challenge to make sure that I have time set aside
every day for prayer. But each of these
challenges are opportunities for God to do that something new in us—and to
cooperate with Him in that process He’s
going to help me relate to family members with more patience, he’s going to
help me be a better Christian witness at work and in the public sphere, he’s
going to help me be more disciplined in the use of earthly goods. He’s going to bring new growth. But growth in holiness isn’t just about being
free from sins, but coming to new ways of generosity, new ways of self-giving,
new ways of self-sacrifice. God will
make you new, if you let Him.
The word Lent comes from an old anglosaxon word meaning
springtime. In springtime we see new
growth. What new growth have you seen in
your own soul through your Lenten practices of prayer, fasting, and
almsgiving. Spring is also a time for
pruning, cutting away the less healthy branches so that new growth can
occur. Has this Lent helped you identify
those habits or attitudes that need to be cut back, in order that new Christian
generosity can sprout and flourish.
If not. If you can’t
identify where you need to be pruned. If
you can’t identify where the Lord wishes you to grow, there probably hasn’t
been enough time dedicated to prayer and reflection this Lent. But it’s not too late.
This week we saw the election of a new Pope. A new Pope, the first Jesuit, with a new name,
the first Pope to take the name Francis, the first Pope from the Americas. And I think the election of Pope Francis has
the Holy Spirit’s fingerprints all over it.
He wasn’t the traditional candidate that many conservatives were hoping
for. He’s wasn’t the progressive
candidate that many liberals were hoping for.
There’s a freshness about him, isn’t there? A Pope who before blessing those gathered at
Saint Peter’s square first asked for the blessing of the people. A Pope who rode the bus to work every
morning.
I think it is going to be very interesting and very exciting
to see how God’s plan will continue to unfold throughout the Papacy of Pope
Francis.
800 Years ago, Francis of Assisi knelt in prayer at the
Church of Saint Damiano. Saint Francis
saw the figure of Christ crucified come alive and say to him, "Francis,
don't you see my house is crumbling apart? Go, then, and restore it!" Francis literally started to rebuild the
crumbling chapel, but he also brought great renewal in the Church through his
poverty and chastity and Gospel living.
With the great falling away from the Church especially in Europe,
but also in our own country, we pray Pope Francis may shepherd back into the
flock all those who, for whatever reason, have strayed. And that he may also have the courage to
protect the flock against the many evils of our day.
During Lent, Jesus is reaching out his hand, to lift us out
of our sin, to lift us up to a brand new start.
Today, as we contemplate Jesus' encounter with the sinful woman, let's
ask him for the grace to trust him more completely, and to accept his offer of
another chance as often as we need to, in our own prayer and especially in the
sacrament of confession for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
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