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Homily for the third Sunday
of Lent - Year C - Lk. 13:1-9
by
Father Daniel Meynen
"There were some present at
that very time who told him of the Galileans whose blood Pilate had
mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, «Do you
think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other
Galileans, because they suffered thus? I tell you, No; but unless you
repent you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen upon whom the
tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse
offenders than all the others who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, No;
but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.»
"And he told this parable:
«A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came
seeking fruit on it and found none. And he said to the vinedresser,
`Lo, these three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and
I find none. Cut it down; why should it use up the ground?' And he
answered him, `Let it alone, sir, this year also, till I dig about it
and put on manure. And if it bears fruit next year, well and good; but
if not, you can cut it down.'» "
Homily:
" «Do you think that
these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans,
because they suffered thus? I tell you, No; but unless you repent you
will all likewise perish.» "
We often hear this
question: why is there suffering, pain, and death? Why is there
suffering of any kind? The answer is at once simple and complex. It is
simple if we base our answer on the following sentence of Saint Paul's,
who declares: "Sin came into the world through one man and death
through sin." (Rm. 5:12) This means that, through the sin of Adam, and
as a consequence of this sin, man is submitted to temporal death:
because of original sin, God imposed upon man the punishment of
temporal death. But the answer is also complex, because as Jesus says:
it is not because a man has sinned much that he will suffer much during
his temporal life. This means that there is a relationship between sin
and suffering, but that this relationship between the two is not
proportional.
Indeed, if God is just, he
is also merciful! And, if certain men or women, although being very
faithful to God and to the Church, suffer much for a long time, it is
due to mercy! Suffering and pain are a grace which God gives to those
whom he loves more than all others! Who is the human person who
suffered the most, although being guilty of no sin, if not Mary, the
Mother of Jesus, present at the foot of the Cross, in her sympathy for
her only Son as he died for all men? Truly, Mary is the most beautiful
example of those who suffer without having any sin to present to the
mercy of God. It is true that Jesus also suffered much, but he carried
upon him all the sins of the world, and it is precisely for these very
sins that he suffered and died on the Cross.
Mary voluntarily suffered
with her Son. Even before the Annunciation, she had read the Holy
Scriptures, and she knew that the Messiah who was to come would be a
suffering Messiah, a man who would undergo much pain. She knew it and
she said "yes" without hesitating. She was ready for all of it! And
yet, she had not sinned: she had no sin in her! Mary accepts what she
suffers whether or not it is just. Mary accepts suffering because she
is full of mercy! She is the Mother of Mercy! She is the one toward
whom we are invited to turn in order to return to God with all our
heart! Mary suffered so much, not for her own sins, but for ours! What
goodness! What love and what mercy for sinners! It is to her that we
must appeal if we want to change our life: "Unless you repent you will
all likewise perish."
" «Let it alone, sir,
this year also, till I dig about it and put on manure. And if it bears
fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.»
"
Here is another an example
of mercy! The master would have had the fig tree that does not produce
any fruit cut down immediately, but the vinedresser begs his master to
wait a little longer, one year more. This is nothing other than prayer
for the sake of obtaining mercy! Prayer is the great means of
salvation! Without prayer, there is no hope of receiving the mercy of
God which he has within himself. It is necessary to pray in order to be
saved! Let us pray especially with Mary! Her own prayer is the best! It
was through the prayer of Mary that Jesus accomplished his first
miracle, in Cana of Galilee. Let us therefore have confidence in Mary,
and she will help us to pray as it is necessary to pray. May this time
of Lent benefit us by helping us to change our behavior through prayer
to Mary!
We know that, in the course
of this Eucharistic celebration, we are all going to pray together to
the Father of Jesus, our Father, the Father of all mercy. With Mary, we
are going to proclaim our faith in Jesus Eucharist! And above all, we
are going to receive this divine sacrament, this remedy for all our
miseries! Let us therefore pray with devotion, let us go toward Jesus
with our hearts full of faith, hope, and love!
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