Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent

Today's Mass Readings

Jesus is performing the good works of the Father, yet He is treated with contempt. He is rejected and threatened with physical harm. Have you ever felt a similar feeling of hurt and pain? Jesus escapes from them when they try to arrest Him, and He goes back to the Jordan, the place where He was first baptized.

In my experience in listening to men and women in spiritual direction, there is a “place” where we are called to return to again. It is a “place” where we first encountered the love of Jesus, a “place” where we are to allow ourselves to be reminded of that love. I often don’t have to tell people anything new, I just have to remind them of what they already know, but what they can easily forget. To “return to the Jordan” for us, might be to return to that place where we were able to put our complete trust in God. Particularly when the days are busy or rather hectic, we can return in simplify of faith to that “place” where we trusted God, and had confidence that God would provide for our every need.

The Psalmist expressed the idea this way: “In my distress, I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.” In our distress and need, the challenge is to cry out to the Lord with confidence. It’s often the case that we don’t cry out to the Lord first, but we complain to our family, our friends, and our coworkers (and our brother monks!), instead of regrouping and going to that “place” where we encounter our Lord’s love. While I know that the Lord dwells in my heart, the physical “place” of encounter for me is the Blessed Sacrament Chapel in our Abbey Basilica. Even on the most tiresome and stressful of days, my nightly visit is an act of faith, an act of hope, and an expression that my ultimate trust is in God’s grace. The time and space help me discover and return to peace in my heart, which is the most important place to be.

Reflection by Fr. Paul Sheller, OSB