Saturday of the Fifth Week

Reflection

During the 2012 NFL season, the Kansas City Chiefs tragically lost a team member due to a tragedy that many people felt was linked to a mental illness.  Chiefs’ quarterback Brady Quinn provided some profound perspective on the situation:

“We live in a society of social networks, with Twitter pages and Facebook, and that’s fine, but we have contact with our work associates, our family, our friends, and it seems like half the time we are more preoccupied with our phone and other things going on instead of the actual relationships that we have right in front of us.  Hopefully, people can learn from this and try to actually help if someone is battling something deeper on the inside than what they are revealing on a day-to-day basis.”

 

For me, I feel as though Brady’s message really resonates with Jeremiah 31:10 from today’s readings.  Jeremiah 31:10 says, “Hear the word of the Lord, O nations; proclaim it in distant coastlands: 'He who scattered Israel will gather them and will watch over His flock like a shepherd.’” The second half of this verse is what really appeals to me because it preaches a message of unity.  Jesus served as a unifier through both His ministry and sacrifice, and we continue to celebrate His life and sacrifice today because of how it selflessly brought us together in Christian brotherhood. However, at times, I feel that we all become distracted by the furious pace of life, which can cause us to lose focus of the communal bond that we have through Christ. Lent provides us with a great opportunity to remind ourselves of the important and unbreakable bond that we share through Christ.  Much like Brady Quinn, I pray that we can all take some time during the Lenten season to reflect on and truly rejoice in the bond that we share as brothers and sisters in Christ.

 

Prayer

God, please help me today to be mindful of my brothers and sisters in Christ. I pray that Your spirit will move me to reach out to those that may be struggling or in need of support and that by becoming closer to those around me I will also become closer to You.

 

David Walsh, ‘10, Member of the Worshipping Community

 

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