1 April 2023
Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Tomorrow begins Holy Week. The Gospel of today’s Mass invites me to appreciate the mysteries to be unfolded between tomorrow and Easter Sunday, when we celebrate Christ’s Resurrection.
I’ll begin this week reflecting on the attitude of the Pharisees., who were witnesses to the “many signs” of Jesus that converted the crowds, they ask: “What are we going to do?” The answer should have been obvious, but they deliberately chose not to believe, covering themselves blindly in righteousness.
Next, I’ll see their attitude does not differ from many people today.
The media is crowded with such, and I personally encounter them in my daily dealings. Can’t they see it’s their self-righteousness that closes their minds toward faith and morals?
Finally, I’ll do a little self-examination. When faced with the temptation to sin are my arguments much different from those of the Pharisees, or those today whom I judge to identify with them? Result: Can I now appreciate better the logic of Caiaphas. “Jesus was going to die to gather into one the dispersed children of God.”
Resolve: I shall do some extra spiritual reading to prepare myself for Holy Week, to see why I can identify with the Pharisees of old, sinners today and the need now to see the effects of Jesus’ death.