10am Mass
4th Sunday of Lent
Laetare (Rejoice) Sunday
"Rejoicing in the Midst of Persecution Against the Church"
March 11, 2018
In the movie For Greater Glory, it shows the persecution of the Catholic Church in Mexico in
the early 20th Century. Even
within this predominantly Catholic country, Mexican President Vincente Fox said
[of his predecessor the anti-Catholic Mexican President Calles], QUOTE “After
1917, Mexico was led by anti-Catholic Freemasons (who evoked the spirit of
anti-clericalism)….” QUOTE Over 200,000
died from this in what became known as the Cristero Wars.
Some stories include 5,000 Catholic lay leaders who
were killed in their own homes by the government in front of their wives and
children. Other stories tell of Jesuit
Fr. Bl. Miguel Pro, S.J. who before being shot in a firing squad yelled “Viva
Cristo Rey!” “Long live Christ the King!” One of my favorite of the martyrs is a
married member of the Knights of Columbus who [in prison was asked to give up
his Faith because he had a family to support but he] wrote to his wife, “I die
for Jesus.” Other moving stories include
the 14-year old St. Jose Sanchez del Rio who, before he was shot, drew a cross
on the ground and kissed it. We rejoice
in their witness!
This rejection, persecution and suffering bring us to
today’s Gospel. For this 4th
Sunday of Lent, Father and I are wearing the mixed colors of Lent and
Easter. The Church calls us to still rejoice
even in our acts of penance in prayer, fasting and almsgiving. We see Jesus talking about being lifted up on
the Cross. And just as those who looked
on the image of the bronze serpent being lifted up in the desert by Moses and
were healed, so too those who look upon the Son of Man on the Cross with faith
will be healed of sin and have eternal life.
Jesus is preparing us to reflect on His passion and death for Holy Week
and the sacred mysteries of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the glorious Resurrection
at the Easter Vigil.
We are reminded of the mysteries we are to celebrate
at the end of the 40 days of Lent. And this is the first of two main points:
Jesus must be lifted up on the Cross. This is what we mean by “God so loved the
world that he gave us his only Son.” If
Jesus were to live another 33 years, he would not have accomplished the
salvation that could only be accomplished by being lifted up on the Cross. So we rejoice lovingly for Him who hung upon the
wood of the Cross for us.
Now, if the first main point from our Readings is that
Jesus must be lifted up, then the second
main point is that just as the Son of Man was lifted up on the Cross, so too we
must be lifted up on own Crosses. For
us Christians in the West, this may not be a physical martyrdom, by dying
before a firing squad but the mystery of the Cross – the joy of the Cross –
that we suffer it and die on it, whatever they are.
What does this mean for us? In the Gospel, did you catch the light and
darkness comparison? Just as Jesus is
the Light for the darkness of our world sent by God out of love, we too his
followers need to be light of the world.
IF God’s love is so great for us, then surely we can give back to God
our little ways to love. We only need to
listen to the news to hear of how society is living today as if God did not
exist.
It is like the First Reading in the Second Book of
Chronicles where it is written: Early and often the Lord sent his messengers to
them for he had compassion. But those in
the world mocked the messengers of God and scoffed at you his prophets [you the
baptized and confirmed!] who are bringing God to them. We are ridiculed for believing in God and
living the 10 Commandments.
Jesus said, “If they persecute me, they will persecute
you, too.” Today, according to the pontifical
foundation called Aid to the Church in Need, over 60% of countries in
the world experience medium to high religious persecution. It is QUOTE “worse than at any time in history”. QUOTE Christianity is the
“world’s most oppressed faith community”!
The very act of what you’re simply doing right now – sitting in a church
pew – is illegal or despised or comes with a penalty in most of the
world. (PAUSE) Millions of people cannot come to Mass like us.
So, what can we do about it, this violation of their
basic human rights? The first is to
reflect on today’s Gospel from St. John that God so loved the world that He
sent His Son to die for me. So we can reflect
on our Lenten practices of prayer, fasting and almsgiving to those in need at
this mid-point of Lent. Maybe we’ve
dropped the ball on these, but when we reflect on the martyrs that have died
for the Creed that we will profess in a few minutes, then surely you and I can
make that effort to love God and pray to God.
Perhaps we can be a little more conscious of the
plight of the persecuted, to offer an intention for them when we fast on Friday
to unite in solidarity those Christians right now in prison all because they
attended Mass one day. Or perhaps we are
able to provide material relief for the persecuted brothers and sisters as part
of our Lenten almsgiving. For us in the West,
the United States [where we are not experiencing the genocide of Christians],
perhaps we can be a little more bold or courageous with our Faith—the Faith
which millions today have suffered or been imprisoned or who have been economically
marginalized for because of their Faith.
Let us remember these poor little ones, especially the children who are
suffering for their Faith around the world.
Remember the words of our Responsorial Psalm today: Let my tongue be
silenced, if I ever forget you.
In closing, the persecution of the Church didn’t just
happen a hundred years ago, like in Mexico.
The Church is lifted up every day on the Cross around the world today,
just as her Beloved Spouse, the Son of Man, was lifted up. On this Laetare Sunday, yes, we know of these
tragedies against human life, inside and outside the womb. But let this moment of tragedy not be a
moment to be discouraged [because discouragement is not from God], but rather let
us rejoice with those who are persecuted.
Rejoice and be glad, for theirs is the Kingdom of God.
Let us also help alleviate the sufferings of the
persecuted Church because when one part of the Mystical Body suffers we all
suffer. Let us not be like the people
that preferred darkness to light, but let us live the truth of our Faith, come
to the Light of Jesus, and then be a light to others in the darkness. So, that we who share in suffering and death
of Christ will also share in His glorious resurrection. As Father Christopher in the film For Greater Glory said, “Who are you if
you don’t stand up for what you believe?
There is NO greater glory than to give your life [to] Christ.”
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