March 23, 2025
Father, through our observance of Lent, help us to understand the meaning of Your Son’s death and resurrection, and teach us to reflect it in our lives. Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Commentary
We all remember the famous line from Verizon commercials, “Can you hear me now?” In the first reading for this Third Sunday of Lent, we can almost hear the Israelites asking the same question.
In their slavery, the Hebrew people long to be made free. Finally, through Moses, God hears their cry. From a burning bush, God says, “I have witnessed the affliction of my people in Egypt and have heard their cry of complaint …”
The Lord urges Moses to be a mediator for the Hebrew people. Moses, revealing his reluctance, wants some reassurance. He knows that the people will have a problem believing that God is speaking through him. God assures Moses that He, the great I AM, will be with him as he leads the Israelites out of Egypt and to the Promised Land.
From this point on, the Israelites will have trouble hearing God. They will grumble, even as Moses acts as their mediator and even as God produces miracle after miracle. From this point on it is God who asks, “Can you hear me now?”
When have you called God for assistance? What response did you receive?
Commentary
In the Second Reading, St. Paul reminds the Corinthians that Christ was with the Israelites as they wandered through the desert. He said:
“… they drank from a spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ.”
Jesus Himself said, “Before Abraham was, I AM.” Christ is the great I AM who revealed Himself to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The one true God, who led the people to the promise land, is the same Christ who leads us to eternal life.
Paul warns that those who grumbled against God in the desert never reached the land of milk and honey. They perished in their stubbornness. In the same way, Christians who know Christ – the great I AM – must not grow weary.
When the people who wandered the desert grew weary, they turned away from God and to their own foolish designs. Paul warns us not to grumble as they did. His warning is strong:
“Therefore, whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall.”
The old saying goes, “If you ever want to make God laugh, make a plan.” What plans have you made in your life that did not include God? How did they turn out? Would they have been better if you had asked for divine assistance?
Continued...
Commentary
The parable of the fig tree in today’s Gospel helps us to see that God is very patient. He is, as the psalm says, “slow to anger and rich in kindness.”
The Lord calls us to repentance and to produce fruit. We cannot be like the people of Israel who grumbled and complained and decided to rest on their own designs.
God is patient, but the Gospel is clear. Jesus does not mince His words, “I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish …”
Simply to say that we know Christ but fail to follow Him is foolish. Remember the Second Reading? We should not assume that we are standing secure. A fig tree may be a tree, but it is as useless as a pile of wood if it doesn’t produce.
Reconciliation is a part of being Christian. When we take the Lord for granted, or assume that we are safe, it is then when we must turn back to God. Only in God are we safe. Only in Christ are we saved! This is why Jesus tells us, “Remain in me!”
Remaining in Christ is the only way to be a Christian. To know Him and to follow him will help us bear fruit.
Am I producing fruit? Would people be able to recognize that I am a Christian? In what way?
Lent is a time for Reconciliation. Examine your conscience and, if you are in need of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, consider going to our regularly scheduled weekly confessions or attending a parish Lenten Reconciliation Service.
Consult the parish bulletin or parish offices and websites for additional services in neighboring parishes.
While holding a leafless and dry branch from a tree, the leader will invite the group in a sixty-second quiet examination of conscience. After the period of silence, the leader says the following:
Lord, I am lifeless without You.
The group responds: May we live in You and You in us!
The leader passes the branch to another member of the group who repeats, “Lord I am lifeless without you.” The group makes the same response. After the branch has been passed around, the leader invites the group to pray Psalm 103.
Response: The Lord is kind and merciful.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
Used with Permission. All rights reserved. Christ in Our Neighborhood © is a Scripture program designed by Bishop John Dolan of the Diocese of Phoenix. Free resources at dphx.org/christ-in-our-neighborhood.
