Wash Me And I Will Be Whiter Than Snow

Every year, we keep the beautiful tradition of re-enacting the washing of the feet on Holy Thursday.

Most people, when they are invited to take part in this ceremony by having their feet washed, feel honored. However, there can also be a feeling of embarrassment for some people. First of all, most people feel nervous getting up in front of a crowd even if they will not be saying or doing anything. Secondly, it can be awkward to take our shoe off and expose our foot. For many of us, our feet are not our most attractive feature. That’s why we cover them up with stockings and shoes. Many people also feel vulnerable when their shoes are off. What if there’s a fire or other emergency and I have to run out of church with only one shoe on? Finally, as if showing our foot was not embarrassing enough, the priest is going to take it in his hand, pour water over it and dry it off with a towel.

So while it is natural to feel honored when invited to take part in the foot washing ceremony, it is also natural to feel nervous and uncomfortable about it.

Now, let’s imagine how uncomfortable it must have felt for the apostles when Jesus stooped down to wash their feet. They did not come from wealthy backgrounds. They would not have been used to going to lavish dinners at rich people’s homes. So it is very likely that, although it was a custom of the day, they would not have been used to having their feet washed. Also, since foot washing was done only by servants, it would have been a shock for them to see Jesus doing it. In fact, we know it was uncomfortable for them because Peter jumps up and, at first, refuses to have Jesus do it for him.

Jesus did not wash the apostles’ feet because He couldn’t stand the smell anymore or because He didn’t want them to track dirt into the dining room. Rather, He did it to give them - and us - an example. If Jesus, the Lord and Savior of the World, was humble enough to wash the feet of His followers, we should do the same for one another. Jesus came to earth to serve and not to be served. As His followers, we must do the same.

Foot washing is an apt symbol because keeping Jesus’ commandment to love one another can get us into some awkward and tense situations. We might have to serve people who smell bad or are obnoxious. We might have to deal with people who don’t speak our language or whose culture is foreign to us. We may have to go to places we are not familiar with or be put in situations in which we do not feel comfortable. Often, we can be left feeling awkward, nervous or out of place. Nonetheless, if we are to follow Jesus’ example, we have to tolerate and even embrace that discomfort with patience, understanding and love toward those whom God places in our lives.

As if washing the disciples’ feet was not humiliating enough, Jesus goes a step further. After cleansing them, He feeds them His own Body and Blood. He empties Himself, holding nothing back, to unite Himself to the them - and to us - in the most intimate way possible.

Just as with the foot washing, Jesus gives Himself to us in the Eucharist not only to nourish us but to give us an example. We must empty ourselves - giving until it hurts - to bring Jesus to others. Just as He gives Himself to us though it cost Him His life, we must give ourselves to others.

Every condemned person gets a last meal. When He was facing an unjust and torturous death, Jesus chose to spend His last meal not indulging Himself but indulging those He loved by washing their feet and nourishing them with His own Body and Blood. In the same way, Jesus calls us not to spend our lives indulging ourselves but caring for the needs of others. But first we must allow Him to wash us and feed us. Then we will have strength to bear the embarrassment, vulnerability and outright fear that comes with going out to the fringes of society.

Jesus has done it all for us. Now we must go and do the same for one another.

Abandoned By God

It is one of the most emotional of all verses in the gospels.

“Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?”

“My God, My God, why have you abandoned me?

Jesus is alone, suspended between heaven and earth on the cross. He has been abandoned by His disciples. He is mocked by all those who see Him, even by the thieves crucified alongside Him. In the height of agony, He feels abandoned even by His Heavenly Father. His feeling of rejection strikes right down to His identity as Son of God.

At that moment, He takes on the suffering of all those who are abandoned. He becomes one with those who are abandoned by society because they are unemployed. He becomes one with women and men who are abandoned by their spouses. Stripped naked, He shares the lot of those who are poor, hungry and homeless.  He joins His cry with children who are abandoned by their parents and are even killed in the womb. Every victim of violence, all those whom our society considers useless, all those who feel left out find in Jesus a brother, one who shares their suffering and one who takes their burden upon Himself.

We must be careful, however, when we hear Jesus scream out these words, “My God, My God, why have you abandoned me?” Though it is a cry of unutterable anguish and heart wrenching grief, it is not an expression of despair. Jesus feels abandoned, but He never fails to hope in His Heavenly Father’s goodness even as He suffers shocking cruelty and tortures.

Jesus’ cry from the cross is a quotation from Psalm 22 which served as our Responsorial Psalm today. It is the prayer of a man who is undergoing intense persecution. However, it is also a  prophecy of Jesus’ sufferings detailing how He would be ridiculed, how His hands and feet would be pierced and how the soldiers would cast lots for His clothing.

By reciting a line from this psalm, Jesus shows not only that He feels abandoned and alone but that He understands His sufferings in light of this prophecy. He is signalling to those who are witnessing His crucifixion - and to us who are remembering it here today - that He expects God to vindicate Him. On the cross, Jesus appears to be broken, humiliated and defeated. However, in the end, God will grant Him victory.

Notice how the psalm ends: “You, O Lord, are not far from me...I will proclaim your name to my brethren; in the midst of the assembly I will praise you.” These are not the words of a despairing man. Rather, they express abiding faith and steadfast confidence rooted in the unfailing love of our Heavenly Father. This confidence is echoed in our first reading, another prophecy of Jesus’ passion from the prophet Isaiah: “The Lord God is my help, therefore I am not disgraced; I have set my face like flint, knowing that I shall not be put to shame.”

All of us gathered here today have been given a share in Christ’s cross. It could be an illness that we are facing. We might be living with the pain of a broken relationship or failed marriage. Some here may be grieving the loss of a parent, spouse or other loved one. Many here today may be burdened with loneliness or anxiety over life’s many challenges. Whatever burden we may be carrying, it is when we are feeling most alone and abandoned that Jesus is closest to us.

Remember, Jesus did not have to suffer and die. He could have prevented the soldiers from carrying Him off and He could have come down from the cross. As the saying goes, it was not nails which kept Jesus on the cross but love. It was out of love for us - especially for those of us who are suffering - that He accepted the Father’s will and gave His life in the most humiliating way imaginable. It was so that we would know what lengths God was willing to go for love of us, even though it was because of our sins that He would die.

Furthermore, he died on the cross to teach us that if we wanted to find Him, it would be among the poor and the suffering. If we are living a comfortable life, enjoying the world’s pleasures, and God seems distant to us, then it is time for us to go out to where He has chosen to make His home. It is time for us to go out, to live and to work among the poor, the homeless, the sick and the abandoned. When we encounter them and try to alleviate their suffering, then God will become real for us - not just a story in a book, not just a statue, not just an old man in the sky, but a living, breathing person who has chosen to disguise Himself in the elderly, the immigrant and the mentally ill.

Having reflected on God’s word, we now turn to this altar. We bring forth gifts of bread and wine which symbolize our joys and struggles, triumphs and defeats. Our Heavenly Father accepts them out of love for us and will transform them in the Body and Blood of His Son. The same body which was broken on the cross and the same blood which was spilled to forgive our sins will be made present here for us today. It is God’s undying pledge that He will vindicate those who have dared to hope in Him.  It is God’s undying pledge that He has not abandoned us but that He is with us always.

Hosanna!

If we had been alive two thousand years ago, what would we have seen?

We would have seen Jesus entering the gates of Jerusalem, the holy city, in the midst of great jubilation. Though Scripture tells us he rode on a simple donkey, the crowds came out to hail him as though he were a conquering general. The crowds shouted, sang and waved palm branches with indescribable joy at Jesus' entry into the city of David.

Why were they so enthused? Because they heard of all the wonders Jesus had worked. The stories of his healings had made their way all through the city. The incredible tale of the raising of Lazarus from the dead in Bethany, just a few miles from Jerusalem, had no doubt been told in every barbershop and at every marketplace. As Jesus entered the city, there was a feeling that something remarkable would happen. The people parading behind Jesus must have had a feeling that history was being made, that something of tremendous importance for the city and for the world was about to happen, and that they would be there to see it all.

What went wrong? Why would it be that in less than a week, their jubilation would sour to bitter scorn? Why would it be that this same crowd would call for this man's death? Why would they reject Him as Messiah saying that they wanted no other king than Caesar?

It is most likely the same thing that caused Judas to betray his friend and teacher, Jesus. This Messiah was not strong enough, not flashy enough. They preferred a Messiah mounted on a mighty steed, not a lowly donkey. They wanted a Messiah clad in shiny armour, not in a simple linen tunic. They wanted a Messiah who could shower them with riches, not one who was even poorer than they were. How could this humble carpenter from Nazareth ever stand up to the mighty Roman Empire and fight for them?

And so, they ask the Roman Empire, in the person of Pontius Pilate, to save them from their Messiah by crucifying Him among thieves.

Can we say two thousand years later that we are so different from them? Can we say that we would have acted differently? Don't we act the same way when we praise God on Sunday, but turn our backs on those in need on Monday? Do we act any differently if we reflect on the mysteries of the rosary, but are blind to the mystery of God unfolding in our lives? Are we any better when we can remember everything that happens on American Idol, but can't recall what the gospel reading from the Sunday before was?

 For two thousand years, the world has both longed for its Messiah, Jesus, and turned its back on Him. It has longed to see Him and closed its eyes to Him. It has wondered why God is so silent, yet failed to listen to Him. Today, with all the advancements of modern society, we cannot claim to be much different than that crowd that welcomed Jesus two thousand years ago.

 Yes, the week that saw Jesus enter triumphantly into Jerusalem will end with the tragedy of His death. But, wait! The story is not over. For, this week, the God who chose to suffer and die rather than exact vengeance on His people will accomplish something marvelous. It is something that no one could ever have imagined when Jesus' beaten, lifeless body was taken down from the cross. Yet, it was for this moment that the world was created. It is the mystery of how God plans to save us even in the midst of our rejection of Him.

We'll have to come back next Sunday to find out what this wonderful thing is. But we can be assured that it will not fail to disappoint us. For this God of surprises, this God who loves us beyond all telling, will not let death have the final word over His beloved Son nor over us who believe in Him and welcome Him into the city of our hearts.

Living Water, Light And New Life

Over the past few weeks of this Lenten season, the gospel readings have been longer than usual. Taken from John’s gospel, they detail Jesus’ encounters with individuals and how they come to grasp Who He is. By listening to Him, they are drawn deeper into the mystery of God revealed in the person of Jesus Christ. As they come to believe in Him, they are changed forever.

Two weeks ago, we heard the story of the Samaritan woman at the well. She had come at the hottest time of day to draw water. However, she meets Jesus who offers her the living water. She had been thirsting for love, for purpose and for freedom from her shame. And she found all these in Jesus, the bearer of the water of life. Professing faith in Him as the Messiah and Savior of the World, she found a new life bubbling up from within her - a living water.

Last week, we heard the powerful story of the healing of the man born blind from birth. The people of Jesus’ day would have considered his blindness a punishment for sins that either he or his parents had committed.  Before meeting Jesus, he lived in total darkness. By professing faith in Him he is now cured.  He is able to see Jesus, the Light of the World. Jesus uses the healing to teach His disciples - and us - that faith gives us new vision, seeing beyond appearances to the glory of God hidden in the world. Jesus is the Light which makes that new vision possible.

And today, we proclaim Jesus’ power over death. Martha, Mary and Lazarus were dear friends of Jesus. Whenever He passed through Bethany, He would stop at their home to enjoy their company and a meal with them. We know how deeply He loved them by the tears He sheds seeing Mary’s grief over her dead brother. Fulfilling the prophecy from Ezekiel in which God promised to open His people’s graves, Jesus commands Lazarus to come back to life, to come out from the tomb and to be unbound. Jesus shows that He exercises complete authority over death. Through faith in Him, the believer sees His glory and receives the new life over which the grave no longer has power.

When we hear the themes of these three powerful readings - living water, the light of faith and new life - one of the sacraments should immediately come to mind. Baptism. In that sacrament, we have water poured over our heads cleansing us from sin and purifying us to become God’s holy people. We would then have been given a candle with the words, “Receive the light of Christ. You have been enlightened by Christ. Walk always as a child of the light. Keep the flame of faith alive in your heart.” Finally, it is through baptism that the new life of Jesus’ resurrection is imparted to us. We receive the living water, are enlightened by Christ and walk in newness of life through the sacrament of Baptism.

These forty days of Lent are a time of sacrifice and purification in preparation for the great feast of Easter when we celebrate Jesus’ ultimate victory over sin and death. The high point of that celebration is the moment when we renew our baptismal vows. Having purified ourselves through prayer, fasting and acts of charity, we stand as a community, light a candle as a symbol of our faith, and recommit ourselves to rejecting Satan, the father of lies and professing our belief in God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, Jesus Christ His only begotten Son and the Holy Spirit who is the Lord and Giver of Life. Then we will bless water and have it sprinkled upon us to revive within us the graces of our baptism freeing us from sin and empowering us to live as children of God.

At this point in human history, Jesus’ victory over death does not manifest itself by literally raising people from the grave. Rather, the new life of faith is evident in the power of His Holy Spirit who is living and active within us. Saint Paul teaches us in today’s second reading that through faith and baptism we have received God’s Holy Spirit. Because of this, “although the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is alive because of righteousness.” This means that God is now at work raising His people from the graves of ignorance, selfishness and greed. God’s power over death manifests itself in His people being loosed from the bonds of addiction, unhealthy relationships and superstition. Whoever believes in Jesus sees His glory by having his or her life made totally new by the power of God’s Spirit.

However, there is more. When we renew our baptismal vows, we will also profess faith in the resurrection of the dead. Through His death and resurrection, Jesus has made eternal life possible for us. The grave is not the end of our life story. Rather, we will continue to live beyond the grave and, at the end of history, we will receive a resurrected, glorified body incapable of pain, decay or death. This also is the result of God’s Spirit living within us as Saint Paul teaches us, “the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through the Spirit dwelling within you.”

All this is the result of the God who in His great mercy and love has given us the living water and the light of faith leading us to a new and eternal life through the Holy Spirit.

In today’s gospel, Jesus assures Martha, “if you believe you will see the glory of God.” All these blessings are ours simply by believing in Jesus. Our act of faith made sincerely and humbly opens up the heavens to us. It does require an ongoing renewal of our consciences and change in our attitudes and behavior. But all that will come with time as the Holy Spirit increasingly makes His home within us.

As we enter into the last week or so of this Lenten season, let us focus then on Easter Sunday and the renewal of our baptismal vows. With a faith renewed by sacrifice and acts of charity, let us commit ourselves to Jesus, the Living Water, the Light of the World, and our undying hope for new and eternal life.

Lazarus Raised

While he walked the earth, Jesus worked many incredible miracles. He multiplied loaves and fish to feed over five thousand people. He cured the blind, the crippled and lepers. He walked on water and stilled the raging storm with his command. He drove demons out of the possessed.

All these wonders were meant to teach the people who witnessed them one thing - that He was more than a brilliant teacher or an inspired prophet. He was the Messiah, The Son of God, sent to the world to die for our sins and to offer us the hope of everlasting life. He was God Himself come down to Earth with power over sickness, over nature and over life itself.

Many who saw Jesus’ miracles with their own eyes came to believe in Him because of them. However, many others refused to believe despite the many signs He performed. Though they could not deny Jesus’ power, they could also not accept that God would become man. No matter what Jesus said or did, they could not believe.

Today we witness the seventh and last sign offered by Jesus in the gospel of Saint John - the raising of Lazarus from the dead. Lazarus and his sisters Martha and Mary were dear friends of our Lord. It was their great honor to have Him as a guest in their home many times. Jesus would often visit them to rest from His travels or to get away from the crowds which were always pressing Him.

Jesus loved them very much, so when word reached Him that Lazarus was sick, we would expect Jesus to rush there right away to heal Him. But instead He waits until Lazarus has died and is buried to begin the journey to Bethany. Certainly Jesus could have cured him and prevented his death. But He had an even greater miracle that He wanted to perform. He wanted to show His followers that He had power not only over sickness but over death itself. By allowing Lazarus to experience death, He was able to do something even more wondrous for him. And through that sign many came to believe in Him. Through the miracle, He confirmed His words to Martha which have continued to ring out through the centuries: “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.”

When He walked on the earth, Jesus showed that He had power over life and death. How much more real is that power now that He has conquered death on the cross and risen to Heaven! Whatever circumstances we find ourselves in, we must always remember that nothing happens to us that is not allowed by God. And if He allows it to happen, He will give us the strength to get through it and will make immeasurable good come from it. When we face challenges and tragedies it is natural for us to say to God as Martha did, “Lord, if you had been here this never would have happened.” But God is always with us, and He is in control of all the events of our lives. If we trust Him and believe, we will see His glory, He will work wonders in our lives and many will come to believe because of it.

Many times, when we find ourselves faced with a difficult situation, we ask God for a sign that He is with us. Sometimes, in His mercy, He will grant our request. But more often it does not work that way. Usually we must first show God a sign that we are willing to trust Him before He begins to work wonders for us. As He said to so many people He cured, “It is your faith that has healed you.” The signs of God’s presence are all around us. Faith gives us the ability to see Him at work in every detail of our life. It helps us to discern the blessings laced through all the moments of struggle. Faith is the difference between those who see the miracles and believe and those who see but look the other way refusing to believe.

Jesus words to Martha are also directed to us: “If you believe, you will see the glory of God.” The miracles of Jesus are not a thing of the past. He continues to work marvelous signs in the lives of those who believe. His glory continues to manifest itself to those who trust Him no matter how difficult life becomes.

If we are having trouble seeing God at work in our lives, then all we need to do is ask for the gift of faith, and He will grant it to us.

We can be transformed here and now by the greatest of his miracles, the most glorious sign of His presence among us - the bread and wine which will be changed into the Body and Blood of Jesus. It is given to us who believe. He promised that all who eat this bread will never die. We grab hold of that promise with confidence and hand ourselves over to Him, the Lord who has power over life and death.

Breath Of Life

We are familiar with the story of how God created the first man, Adam. After forming him from clay, he blew into his nostrils the gift of life. This is different from the way God created any of the animals or any of the plants. By giving Adam His own breath, God was sharing His life with him. Breath is life. We are aware that someone is alive if he or she is breathing. To stop breathing - or to be unable to breathe - is to die.

The word "spirit" is closely related to the word for breath. We call breathing "respiration". To stop breathing or to breathe out is to "expire". Both of those words are related to the word for "spirit". In this way we can understand the Holy Spirit to be the breath of God, the life of God. We have that life not only because we have been created by God, but also through the gift of faith. Through baptism and confirmation, in particular, God breathes the Holy Spirit into us. God shares with us His very life.

Paul speaks of this in the second reading. The Spirit who worked so powerfully in the life of Jesus, is the same Spirit we have received through faith and baptism. This is the same Spirit who empowered Jesus to speak with authority. This is the same Spirit who empowered Jesus to perform miracles. This is the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead. That Spirit is with us here as we gather to worship.

What does this mean for us? If God's Spirit is the very life of God within us, then the eternal life of heaven is not something we receive after we die. That eternal life of God is already in us. We are already living it. Heaven is already within us and around us. To be sure, it is still in seed form. It hasn't yet reached its fullness. We are not always aware of it. But, it is at work in us just as surely as our breath is filling our lungs with oxygen.

We see that eternal life at work in the words of Martha and Mary. They are distressed at their brother's death and distressed at Jesus' apparent neglect of them in their need. Nonetheless, in the midst of their grief, they confess their belief with the words: "I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God". And, Jesus does not let them down. When Jesus says that they will see their brother again, Martha misunderstands and thinks He is talking about the resurrection on the last day. But, Jesus has something else in mind. He has in mind the life of the Spirit which is already at work in Him and is beginning its work in the world. Jesus' life was not something that Martha and Mary would experience in some far off day in the future. They were to experience it that very day with the raising of their brother Lazarus from death. Because they believed, they saw the glory of God.

Jesus came to earth for one reason - to redeem us from our sins and to restore us to life with God. Sin cuts us off from God's life. Sin strangles God's breath of life within us. Sin inevitably leads to death. When Jesus weeps in today's gospel reading, he is not just mourning for Lazarus. He is not just sympathizing with Martha and Mary. He is weeping for all of humanity which suffers death because of sin. But, Jesus will conquer death by Himself suffering it and by rising from the dead to give us the hope of everlasting life with Him now through faith, and in fullness with Him forever in heaven.

All life needs food to sustain it, and the life of God in us is no different. Not only does God provide us with the breath of His Spirit, He also nourishes us with the body and blood of His Son. The same Spirit which raised Jesus from the dead will transform simple bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ to give us the power to live as He lived.  

Now that we have tasted the life of God - now that we have breathed it into our lungs - why would we ever go back to living just for ourselves? Why would we ever want to let sin cut us off from that life again? No matter what choices we have made in the past - even if it seems that our souls are buried deep in a tomb - God can roll away the stone and breathe new life into us. Today is a new day. If we believe, we can see God's glory at work in us and at work in our lives. We need only believe to breathe deeply of God's eternal life which He offers through the Holy Spirit.

Fumbling For A Light

Imagine stepping into a room so dark that you cannot see anything.

The first thing you do is run your hands against the wall to look for the light switch. When you cannot find it, you start to walk into the room with short, halting steps so that you do not bump into anything. To make sure you don’t trip and fall, you stretch your arms out in front of you, trying to feel your way in the darkness.

As your eyes get accustomed to the dark, you can make out some shadowy objects that look like chairs and maybe a desk. Then you take out your cell phone and use the light from it to look around the room. However, it only gives you fleeting glimpses of the objects  in the room. If you are going to see clearly, you will need to find the light switch.

Then the door behind you opens and someone walks into the room. “Who’s there?”, you cry out. The person asks, “What are you doing here in the dark?” You answer, “I couldn’t find the light switch?” He then walks over to it and turns the overhead lights on for you. You feel some relief and even laugh about how helpless you were in the dark.

This image of someone walking into a dark room is really the story of our lives. Each of us is born into a dark world. We are totally dependent on our parents and other adults to provide for us. Everything around us seems so big and dangerous. As we grow up, we do not always see clearly the difference between right and wrong. We are unsure what will help us and what will harm us. As time goes by, we have to learn that we cannot always get our way and that what is good for us is not always good for others. If we are blessed enough to have good parents and teachers, we learn the value of honesty and hard work. Still, as we grow into adulthood, we have to stumble in the dark many times. Like the man in the dark room, we have to take short steps to make sure we do not hurt ourselves.

Many of us, have spent most of our lives like the man in the dark room before the lights were turned on. We might have had some values to guide us, but we could never see clearly enough to feel safe. At the same time, we were content to have just enough light not to bump into or trip over anything. Others of us became used to the dark. We figured that what we could not see could not hurt us. At the same time, by staying in the dark, we could not see how helpless, weak and vulnerable we really were. Sadly, many people in the world today live their lives this way.

However, many of us were blessed at some point in our journey to have the lights turned on for us. We experienced the relief and joy of finally seeing things as they really were. We laid eyes on the beautiful colors and forms that the darkness obscured. And we finally saw ourselves as we were - beautiful and lovable if also wounded and afraid.

What was that light that was turned on for us? It was Jesus Christ, the Light of the World.

Once we came to believe in Him, our lives finally made sense. We realized that God created us in His image and likeness and that, through baptism, we have the incomparable dignity of being His children. For the first time, we found real purpose in our existence when we understood that we were destined to live with Him forever in Heaven. Our attitudes and behavior also changed as we learned through His word that the key to happiness is putting others before ourselves. In the light of Christ, everything became clearer and we walked with renewed confidence and hope.

How can we have our eyes opened to the light of Jesus Christ like the blind man in today’s gospel?

The first step is to invite Jesus into your heart. He loves you and wants to dispel the darkness around you. It is as simple as saying, “Jesus, I want to make you the center of my life.” Then a change will begin to take place within you. At first, we may only see faint glimmers of light like the first rays of the sun at dawn. But it will be enough to guide us on those first steps of the journey. As we make progress, committing ourselves daily to keeping Christ and His light at the center of our lives, we will see even more clearly.

The second step is to go to confession. The darkness in our life is caused by sin. We have made bad choices that have lead us away from Christ and His light. To dispel that darkness, we have to confess our sins and allow a light to be shone on ourselves as we truly are. Very often, we prefer to stay in darkness because of the shame and guilt we are carrying. Bringing that all to the Sacrament of Confession will free us from that burden and help us feel more comfortable walking in the light.

Finally, to live in the light of Christ, we must know His teaching. The Bible tells us that God’s word is a “lamp to our feet and a light to our path.” By spending some time everyday reading Scripture, we will come to see reality as God sees it. Understanding the mind of God, we will make healthier and holier choices. Another important tool for helping us understand Jesus’ teaching is the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Sometimes the Bible alone can be difficult to understand and apply to our lives. The Catechism helps us to do just that and is indispensable in forming our consciences.

Jesus Christ, the Light of the World, has shone in our midst, dispelling the darkness of sin and error. That light is available to all those who call upon Him and are willing to put His light at the center of their lives. We no longer have to stumble around in the darkness or hide out of shame. We can step into the light and walk with confidence and peace that we will not fall. Jesus Christ makes it all possible once we allow Him to turn the lights on for us.