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Thursday, 5th Week of Lent

4/6/2017

1 Comment

 
Today's Gospel
John 8:51- 59 
Jesus said to the Jews:
"Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever keeps my word will never see death." 
So the Jews said to Him,
"Now we are sure that you are possessed.
Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say,
'Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.'
Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? 
Or the prophets, who died?
Who do you make yourself out to be?" 
Jesus answered, "If I glorify myself, my glory is worth nothing;
but it is my Father who glorifies me,
of whom you say, 'He is our God.'
You do not know Him, but I know Him.
And if I should say that I do not know Him,
I would be like you a liar.
But I do know Him and I keep His word. 
Abraham your father rejoiced to see my day;
He saw it and was glad." 
So the Jews said to Him,
"You are not yet fifty years old and you have seen Abraham?"
Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you,
before Abraham came to be, I AM."
So they picked up stones to throw at Him;
but Jesus hid and went out of the temple area.

Reflection
Jesus is the great “I am.” Throughout the Gospel, He constantly demonstrates to the Jews that He in fact is God. He brings about healing, He forgives sins, and He equates himself with the Father by demanding belief in Him. Not asking them to believe in a way to God or a teaching about God but to believe in Him who is God. We cannot fully understand this. How is Jesus both fully human and fully divine? There are countless documents explaining the Incarnation but we will never fully be satisfied with the answers. However, if our hearts remain open, we will always have opportunities to learn something new about the great mysteries of God. 

This is the beauty of the Catholic faith. Too often we put God in our self-designed boxes. We pretend as if we have everything all figured out. The Jews could not accept Jesus because He did not come in the way that they expected or deemed suitable for God to come. They were so angry at what He was saying that they picked up stones to throw at Him. They could not accept the mystery. 

As we approach Easter, let us open ourselves more fully to the mystery of God and enjoy the fact that God will continue to surprise us in so many different ways. May we once again be amazed at the beauty of God and the mystery of Jesus, the Word made flesh. Take these last days of Lent to really examine how God has been working in your life. Today, take a few minutes to remember a moment of consolation, a moment where you really felt the presence of God in your life, and sit with that moment embracing the closeness of our God even in the midst of great mystery. ​
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Tuesday, 5th Week of Lent

4/4/2017

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Today's Gospel
John 8:21-30

​Jesus said to the Pharisees:

"I am going away and you will look for me,
but you will die in your sin.
Where I am going you cannot come."
So the Jews said,
"He is not going to kill himself, is He,
because He said, 'Where I am going you cannot come'?"
He said to them, "You belong to what is below,
I belong to what is above.
You belong to this world,
but I do not belong to this world.
That is why I told you that you will die in your sins.
For if you do not believe that I AM,
you will die in your sins."
So they said to Him, "Who are you?"

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Jesus said to them, "What I told you from the beginning. I have much to say about you in condemnation. But the one who sent me is true,
and what I heard from Him I tell the world."
They did not realize that He was speaking to them of the Father.
So Jesus said to them, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM, and that I do nothing on my own, but I say only what the Father taught me. The one who sent me is with me.  He has not left me alone, because I always do what is pleasing to Him."

Because He spoke this way, many came to believe in Him..
Reflection

In today’s Gospel, Jesus affirms His divinity and astonishes the Pharisees in the process. For those with eyes to see and ears to hear, it’s extremely obvious what Jesus is saying, yet the Pharisees, who knew every detail of the law, couldn’t grasp Jesus’s words. Jesus is the Word of the Father; He and the Father are one. Jesus makes it clear that unless you believe He is the Christ, you cannot go where He’s going: Heaven. Does this mean Jesus is just being stingy with invites to the Eternal Banquet? No, of course not! Jesus implored the Pharisees time and again to repent and be saved but they continued to persist in their hardness of heart.  

But what does it mean to believe in Jesus? He makes it clear that if we believe in Him, we will obey His commands and the Holy Trinity will dwell within us. It’s God’s life within that allows us to obey His law, thus becoming like the Father. Believing in Jesus is not purely about an intellectual knowing, rather it means we accept all that He has told us. Accepting His word into our heart lights the divine spark within. This divine spark is fueled by the word of God, utterly consuming and transforming us in love. This transformation cannot take place without humility, something the Pharisees severely lacked. 

It is only through true humility that we can empty and dispose ourselves to truly receive the gift of God, which is His very life. Our hope is in Jesus who has revealed to us the way to the Father. He goes to prepare a place for us and no longer do we have to dwell in darkness like the Pharisees because Christ is our light and salvation! Today, in prayer, ask for the grace of humility that we might be ready to not only hear when Jesus speaks to us, but also understand His words, and ponder these words within our hearts.
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    Lenten Reflections

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Parish Office
81 Cooper Street 
Woodbury, NJ
Phone 856-845-0123
Summer Office Hours: 9:00am - 3:00pm Monday-Friday
​Fax: 856-845-7409
Email: mail@holyangelsnj.org 
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