Reflection
Thus says the Lord God, “My dwelling shall be with them; I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” That great promise from God’s prophet Ezekiel (the first reading of today’s Mass) expresses what every believer (and every seeker) longs for above all: to experience the presence of God. And to that longing the last words of today’s Gospel responds with a question, “Will he come to the feast?”
Our Scriptures today prepare us for Palm Sunday and Holy Week. It is preparation on the note of hope. It’s a hope even (ironically) voiced by Caiaphas who “prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, and not only for the nation, but also to gather into one the dispersed children of God.”
To be gathered into one, into Communion, as one People of God in the presence of the One God, in the one Body of Christ, the new Temple, Altar, Priest, and Lamb of Sacrifice: “Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb.” He will indeed “come to the feast.”
Prayer
A prayerful aspiration from the Collect of today’s Mass: O God, grant to Your people the grace to will and to do what You command, that they may be one in the faith of their hearts and the homage of their deeds.
Fr. Richard Berube, S.S.E. ’66, Emeritus Professor, Religious Studies
Scripture
First Reading: Ezekiel 37:21-28
Psalm: Jeremiah 31:10-13
Gospel: John 11:45-56
Daily Scripture readings can be found online at the USCCB website
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