Gospel: Luke 13:31-35
Some Pharisees came to Jesus and said,
“Go away, leave this area because Herod wants to kill you.”
He replied, “Go and tell that fox,
‘Behold, I cast out demons and I perform healings today and tomorrow,
and on the third day I accomplish my purpose.
Yet I must continue on my way today, tomorrow, and the following day,
for it is impossible that a prophet should die
outside of Jerusalem.’
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you,
how many times I yearned to gather your children together
as a hen gathers her brood under her wings,
but you were unwilling!
Behold, your house will be abandoned.
But I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say,
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
The Mass intention is for Mr & Mrs Bolak RIP.
Reflection:
There is a church on the lower western foothills of the Mount of Olives, facing the old City of Jerusalem, which commemorates Jesus’ lamentation. Shaped as a tear drop, the church is called Dominus Flevit (“The Lord has wept”). Inside the church is a mosaic of a hen gathering its chicks. This is based on the Lord’s words in today’s Gospel: “Jerusalem…how many times I yearned to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were unwilling!” Jesus’ laments on Jerusalem’s callousness and predicted its destruction. The Lord yearned for the city’s love, but the people failed to return that love. Indeed, the city welcomed Him on Palm Sunday with cries of “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord”, but on Good Friday shouted, “Crucify Him!”
The Lord yearns for our love too. What prevents us from loving Him in return? Fr Donald Haggerty, a priest from the Archdiocese of New York, wrote: “We have to realise that our Lord is not alone in gazing on us. The adversary, the evil one, does likewise. It is a primary effort of the devil to accuse us of a perpetual unworthiness before God…for many people, great or small in their sins, this accusation is perhaps received at face value…The sense of unworthiness is embraced as a truth without qualification. What follows for a soul is often some sense of remoteness from God, a lack of confidence, an unwillingness to draw closer because the door seems closed.”
- The current pandemic can either make or break our faith. Whose gaze are we going to approach: God’s or the devil’s? Why or why not?
- What steps do you take if you sense that you are far from God?
- How do you protect yourself from the devil’s accusation that you are always unworthy of God?
Lord Jesus, thank You for Your Word today. The door to Your Heart is always open to us. Help us bear that in mind so that we may come to You and not be fooled by the devil’s accusation. Amen.
Sincerely,
Pietro
