Daily Lenten Reflections

Tuesday, April 9, 2019

Tuesday of the Fifth Week

Reflection

In today’s reading, the children of Israel become angry with Moses and God during their journey to the Promised Land. They complain about the presumed futility of their journey when they have to bypass their intended destination of Edom. In punishment for their hardness of heart, God sends seraph or “fiery” serpents who afflict the people with a sting of burning venom; many of the people ultimately die from this affliction. The people quickly acknowledge their sinful behavior and beg Moses to intercede. At the Lord’s direction, Moses mounts a bronze serpent on a pole. When anyone who has been bitten looks up at the serpent, they are healed of their affliction, their hardness of heart, and they live.

Are we ever impatient when an unexpected and unwanted challenge forces a change in our plan for the day? Frustration can spiral into anger and cause us to “take it out” on those who we love and trust the most. Just as a parent needs to grab a child’s attention to correct inappropriate behavior, God helps us divert our focus from ourselves by drawing our attention upward toward Him, and thereby allowing Him to heal our hearts and souls with His love and mercy. This truth is underscored in today’s Gospel, where Christ admonishes the Pharisees, by declaring, “You belong to what is below. I belong to what is above.” He later explains, “When you lift up the Son of Man then you will realize that I AM…” Indeed, Christ on the cross carries the fire of our sins. But it is by our gazing at God’s ultimate sacrifice that we are healed! And it is through faith in the risen Christ that we shall ultimately come to experience eternal life!

Prayer

Oh, most glorious and merciful God, melt the bitterness of our sinful ways with Your love, and lift our hearts and souls upward to You, through Christ our Lord!

Maureen Munn Condon, Member of the Worshipping Community, in collaboration with Mark Danis, ’84

Scripture

First Reading: Numbers 21:4-9
Psalm 102:2-3, 16-21
Gospel: John 8:21-30

Daily Scripture readings can be found online at the USCCB website

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Mission of Edmundite Campus Ministry

The Mission of Edmundite Campus Ministry at Saint Michael’s College is to share the Good News of the Gospel with the College community by facilitating encounter with Jesus Christ. We do this through the celebration of the Church’s Liturgy, in programs promoting knowledge of the Catholic faith, by developing ecumenical and interreligious relationships, and providing retreats and other opportunities for personal spiritual growth.

The Catholic and Edmundite tradition upon which the College was founded is grounded in the conviction that all women and men are created in the image and likeness of God providing a special dignity unique to each person. Such dignity requires human life to be respected in all of its stages recognizing that we are all children of God.

Therefore, in its pursuit of furthering the Reign of God, the Edmundite Campus Ministry staff seeks to interact with and support every member of the College community in their search for Truth, contributing to the “enhancement of the human person and to the advancement of human culture in light of the Catholic faith.”