During these last forty days of Lent we have we have been preparing for Holy Week that helps us see more clearly our need for a savior. Indeed, there seems to be a plethora of news stories about terrorism, social unrest, poverty, hunger, false mercy, violence and death. We do not even need to seek further than our own community to notice that something in our generation has definitely gone wrong. We seem lost in our electronic gadgets and, for many, seem to be insatiable in our quest for entertainment which has deadened our ability to feel empathy for others.
We need a savior because the heart of every human being will never rest until it rests in God. Only god can fill our deepest need and desire. Indeed, our holy faith proclaims that God created humanity in order that we may adore and serve him. When we abstain from doing this, or don’t know how to, a great void is formed in the depth of our soul. Even if one were to have the entire world, that void would not be able to be filled.
Our Lord Jesus Christ came into the world to save us and fill that void that dwells within us due to sin. Jesus handed himself over to suffering and death freely in order that, through his passion, we may be healed. Jesus, in his sacrifice, offers God the Father the adoration due him and by Christ fulfilling the will of the Father in his divinity, gives testimony to the love of God to humanity satisfying that great hunger to be loved that lives in every person. Jesus is God incarnate. He is “Emanuel” and “God who saves.”
Today we begin this profound meditation on the passion, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. This week offers us an opportunity to come to know Jesus during his last moments before death. It is here that we come to know him as our great savior. I invite you to take these three days as if they were the ultimate spiritual retreat where we give ourselves to the pascal mystery. Allow Jesus to take you to his passion. Let us no longer concern ourselves with our personal needs and petitions, but be attentive to his life. Allow Jesus to speak to you, to teach you, to heal you, to inspire you for eternal life. Grab Jesus by the hand in order that where the Master is, the disciple will be.
Very Rev. Esequiel Sanchez