February 26th
Lenten JourneyFor Peter and the early Christians, many events in the Old Testament prefigured the events that led to universal salvation through Jesus Christ. For instance, in today's first reading we hear the story of God's covenant with Noah and his family after the great Flood. Peter, in the second reading, sees a foreshadowing in this of new spiritual birth through the waters, this time not of the Flood, but of Baptism. And just as Noah was in the ark for 40 days and nights, and the Israelite people wandered in the desert for 40 years, in our Gospel today we hear that before his public ministry began, Jesus went and suffered from temptation in the desert for 40 days. Our 40-day Lenten Journey has begun. Let us make these days fruitful as the holy events of the past become alive within us and nourish us in our own particular walk with the Lord today. Blessed (Mother) Teresa on the love of Jesus: "On the Cross Jesus said, 'I thirst.' From the Blessed Sacrament Jesus continues to say to each of us: 'I thirst.' He thirsts for our personal love, our intimacy, our union with Him in the Blessed Sacrament. His longing for us to be with Him in the Blessed Sacrament is infinitely greater than our longing to be with Him." "When you look at the crucifix, you understand how much Jesus loved you. When you look at the Sacred Communion Host, you understand how much Jesus loves you now." |