Dear Friends,

The miracle story presented in the today’s Gospel is a story of hope; not simply for Lazarus, Martha and Mary, but for each one of us. Remember that Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead and Lazarus returned to this life—in the here-and-now—not unto life eternal. Lazarus eventually died again. The hope for each of us is that despite our sinfulness—our turning away from the life of grace and light, away from God—we have the capacity to be raised to life from the death of sin … in this world, in our here-and-now! Pope Benedict XVI comments on this passage from the Gospel of John, saying:

In today’s Gospel — the raising of Lazarus — we listen to the voice of faith from the lips of Martha, Lazarus’ sister. Jesus said to her: “Your brother will rise again,” and she replies: “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day” (Jn 11:23-24). But Jesus repeats: “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live” (Jn 11:25-26). This is the true newness which abounds and exceeds every border! Christ pulls down the wall of death and in Him dwells all the fullness of God, who is life, eternal life. Therefore, death did not have power over Him and the raising of Lazarus is a sign of His full dominion over physical death which, before God, resembles sleep (cf. Jn 11:11). However, there is another death, which cost Christ the hardest struggle, even the price of the Cross: it is spiritual death and sin which threaten to ruin the existence of every human being. To overcome this death, Christ died and His Resurrection is not a return to past life, but an opening to a new reality, a “new land” united at last with God’s Heaven. Therefore, St Paul writes: “If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from will give life to your mortal bodies also through His Spirit who dwells in you” (Rom 8:11). [Angelus, 10 April 2011]

We are half way through Lent, has it been a wasted time or a fruitful season? Have we grown more intimate with Jesus or are we still listlessly wandering and wondering if we should risk encountering Him more deeply? The hope of this story reminds us that, if we have yet to start Lent, the time to begin is right now! This week, we celebrate the greatest hope, the Solemnity of the Annunciation of our Lord, the very historical moment when Jesus assumed our nature and began His human life in the womb of Mary of Nazareth. In a 1977 Christmas meditation titled, The Light Shines in the Darkness, almost thirty years before he became pope, Joseph Ratzinger wrote this encouraging message, still relevant for us today amid our worldly uncertainty, fear and chaos. He writes: All the terrible events of world history seem to constitute a grave accusation against God. But when God appears before us, unarmed; with His love as His only might, all the frightening images of God lose their plausibility. The human existence of the Son is the glory of the Father. In the crib and on the Cross, the glory of God is raised aloft in this world. And wherever men follow this God; a new humanity begins and peace on earth begins, even if only in a fragmentary fashion.

As a people of faith in the Word made flesh, we have no excuse to be afraid of God; so why is there uncertainty, fear and chaos in our hearts? Too much, we still fall for the seductive lie that tells us that we can make “our own truth.” Or, like Pilate, when we question our faith and ask; “What is truth?” while finding ourselves standing right before Him and aware of His awesome Presence in our lives cannot recognize Him. “What is Truth?” No, the question is: “Who is Truth?” The message of the Church’s proclamation through the ages is: GOD IS WITH US. Celebrated beginning at the Annunciation through His Birth and Epiphany to the world toward its fulfillment in the Paschal Mystery the reality of the message is more intimate … GOD IS WITHIN US! If we do not believe this saving message, we’re lost, confused, afraid, alone! Stop listening to the prophets of doom and division who seek to control, divide and enslave as they use words to obfuscate their intentions rather than reveal the truth of who they are and that for which they stand. My sisters and brothers, as your pastor, I encourage you to know “who you are” and “Whose you are;” as the Prologue of the Catechism of the Catholic Church begins: God, infinitely perfect and blessed in Himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in His own blessed life. For this reason, at every time and in every place, God draws close to man. He calls man to seek Him, to know Him, to love Him with all his strength. He calls together all men, scattered and divided by sin, into the unity of His family, the Church. To accomplish this, when the fullness of time had come, God sent His Son as Redeemer and Savior. In His Son and through Him, He invites men to become, in the Holy Spirit, His adopted children and thus heirs of His blessed life. … Christ sent forth the apostles He had chosen, commissioning them to proclaim the gospel … All Christ's faithful are called to hand it [this treasure] on from generation to generation, by professing the faith, by living it in fraternal sharing, and by celebrating it in liturgy and prayer. Let us seek the power of Jesus; in humility and trust, ask Him to roll away the stone of the burden of sin, reveal to us our true dignity in the light of His Presence and unbind the shackles of whatever is keeping us enslaved!

Be of good cheer and “Be not Afraid!”

Msgr. Grous