Third Sunday of Lent

Jesus preaches a lesson on repentance.            

Now into the third week of the Season of Lent, our Sunday Gospel prepares us to hear Lent's call to conversion and repentance. This is a total conversion, a metanoia. (a Greek word best explained by thinking of a not so cute caterpillar changing into a beautiful butterfly.) Today's reading is found in the chapters of Luke's Gospel that describe Jesus' journey to Jerusalem. During this journey, Jesus teaches and heals. He must also respond to those who question and challenge his authority and actions. There is no parallel in Mark's or Matthew's Gospels for today's reading from Luke. While Mark and Matthew describe an incident in which Jesus curses the fig tree, today's reading makes the barren fig tree the subject of a parable.                                                                                                 

Luke tells us that some among the crowds report to Jesus a massacre of Galileans by Pilate. The intention of the crowd seems to be to ask Jesus to explain why these people suffered. It was commonplace to more or less show people's suffering as evidence of their sinfulness. Jesus challenges this interpretation. Those who were massacred were no more or less sinful than the ones who report the situation to Jesus. Jesus replies that even a fatal accident, a natural disaster, ought not to be interpreted as punishment for sin.                                                           

Jesus' words at first appear to have a fire-and-brimstone quality. Jesus says in essence, “Repent or perish as these people did; all are sinful before God and deserving of God's punishment.” The tone changes, however, in the parable that follows. The parable of the barren fig tree contrasts the patience and hopefulness of the gardener with the practicality of the property owner. When told to cut down the fig tree because it is not producing fruit, the gardener counsels patience. If properly tended, the barren fig tree may yet bear fruit.                       

Throughout his journey to Jerusalem, Jesus has been teaching about the Kingdom of God. In this parable, we find an image of God's patience and hopefulness as he prepares his Kingdom. God calls us to repent, and it is within his power to punish us for our failure to turn from our sinfulness. And yet God is merciful. He doesn’t want to punish, he delays punishment and tends to us so that we may yet bear the fruit i.e. good works he desires from us.   

This, then, is our reason for hope: Not only does God refuse to abandon us, he chooses to attend to us even when we show no evidence of his efforts. Next week's Gospel will give an even clearer picture of the kind of mercy that God shows to us. Remember God loved us in our mother’s womb and he still wants to love us forever.      ************                                                     

Deacon John

On March 3^rd we remembered our first pastor

Msgr. William J. Flanagan who died in 1962. He turned the first spade of earth to begin the building of what is now our school. Some parishioners still remember our first days at the Della Theater back in 1941.

The First Scrutiny & The Presentation of the Creed
 

Tell people they'll face a scrutiny before they can join your community, and they'll probably say, "Thanks, but no thanks." Boldly our church expects not one but three scrutinies of catechumens before their baptism at Easter.

Scrutinies are rites of self-searching and repentance. When people from another spiritual background seek baptism or entrance in the Catholic Church, they do so by stages. (Remember neither a child or adults are baptized “Catholic” any more than they are baptized a “Methodist” or “Presbyterian.” We are all baptized a Christian within one of the Christian faiths. It only has to be done in the name of the TRIUNE GOD, i.e. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) First we accept them into the order of catechumens. Then as they complete their formation we enroll them among the "elect", or those chosen for baptism. This rite of election generally coincides with the beginning of Lent and was done for our group last Sunday at St. John the Baptist Parish in Heartland, Michigan. Three times during Lent the church prays the scrutinies to encourage a spirit of repentance among those who seek a worthy celebration of baptism. Although scrutinies have returned fairly recently to Catholic parishes, they originated early in church history. St. Ambrose and St. Augustine celebrated them in the fourth and fifth century to mark the spiritual progress of the catechumens. The moral preparation of catechumens included prayers of exorcism, to drive out the spirit of evil which kept them from embracing Christ as their light. In the scrutinies the church discerned if those exorcisms had achieved their effect.                                                   

Today's scrutinies are less intense than those of past centuries. . They still include an exorcism, in which the priest or deacon prays that the spirit of evil may be replaced by the spirit of good. Their purpose is not so much to examine the candidates' mental readiness, but their spiritual readiness. Scrutinies offer the catechumens the support they need to approach the waters of baptism worthily. For those who are already baptized, the scrutinies invite us to embrace the same spirit of self-searching and repentance. At Easter we renew our baptismal promises as we see the catechumens baptized. So during Lent we renew our repentance as we see the catechumens scrutinized. The scrutinies remind us of the seriousness of our Christian life and inspire us to turn from evil and pursue good. They give life to our recommitment to Christ at Easter.

And God said,” Come no nearer!  Remove thy sandals from off thy feet, for this is Holy Ground.” 
                              

Moses goes to Mt. Horeb which is another name for Mt. Sinai and sees a bush burning but not being consumed. God speaks from within the fire to Moses. He is told that he has a twofold mission. One to go to Pharaoh and secondly  to 'bring my people, the Israelites out of Egypt' (Ex. 3:10). Moses’ asks who am I to undertake such a mission, I who have lived my young life as an Egyptian and most of my life as a Midianite? God responds I shall be with you; you are My chosen one.                                                    

God then says to Moses my name is `Eheh asher Eheh' and tell the children of Israel `Eheh' sent me [Moses] to you.' (Ex. 3:14). `Eheh' is the verb `to be' without a tense. Thus `Eheh asher Eheh' could mean `I am what I am', `I will be what I will be', and/or `I can be what I can be'; I am the timeless God who existed before time and will exist after time. God then tells Moses his name. 'I am YHVH', a variant of 'Eheh'.  ... I shall free you from the slavery of the Egyptians; I shall rescue you from slavery and I shall redeem you ... I shall take you as my people and I shall be your God. And you shall know that I am YHVH your God, who has freed you from the slavery of the Egyptians' (Ex. 6:6-7). Telling the people that `Eheh' sent me means `the timeless One' has send me. Moses is to tell the people that I, God will be with you forever. (From the Internet) Addendum some language scholars believe that “Yahweh” is the third person of “Yahaw” – therefore not “I AM who I AM” but Moses repeating what God said in the third person. And Moses said, God name?? “HE IS who HE IS.” 

Calendar Humor

(This story actually comes from a deacon friend of mine in England, believe it or not he’s a fan of American football!)

NEXT WEEK is HERE - A Cajun who is a New Orleans’ Saints fan makes his way in “Hell.”

The Devil assigned him the usual punishment.  He put the Cajun in the mass pit where the heat was melting others. The Devil came back later surprised to find the Cajun just sitting around, not even misting much less sweating. The Devil asked, "How come you're not so much as sweating here while everyone else is screaming for relief from the heat?"  The Cajun laughed and said, "Man, I was raised in the bayous of Sout Looziana. Dis ain't nothin' but May in Morgan City to me!"                                                      

The Devil decided to put the Cajun through it.  He put him in a sealed off cave in the pit with open blazes and four extra furnaces blasting.  When the Devil came back days later the Cajun was sitting pretty and had barely begun to bead up with sweat. The Devil was outraged.  "How is this possible?" the Devil shrieked.  "You should be melted to a puddle in these conditions!"  The Cajun laughed even harder than before.  "Hey man, I done tole you!  I was raised in Sout Looziana.  You tink dis is heat?  Dis ain't nothin' but August on Cow Island!"                                              

So the Devil thought, "Alright, a little reverse ought to do the trick."  He put the Cajun in a corner of Hell that no heat ever reached.  It was freezing.  To add to the Cajun's misery he added massive icebergs and blasted frozen air.  When the Devil returned the Cajun was shivering, ice hung from every part of him, but he was grinning like it was Christmas.         

Exasperated the Devil asked, "HOW?  How is it possible? You're impervious to heat and here you sit in conditions you can't be used to -- freezing cold -- and yet you're happier than if you were in Heaven.  WHY?

"The Cajun kept grinning and asked, "Don't dis mean de Saints won da Super Bowl?"

Parents: Food is not appropriate during Mass, but if you bring something for your children to snack on during Mass please remember to clean the area after Mass is over.

ALSO: DO NOT BRING ANY PEANUT PRODUCTS INTO THE CHURCH FOR ANY REASON. We have parishioners who are extremely allergic to nuts.