March 31st

By: Erin Kinsella

OPENING PRAYER

As you begin, take a moment to become aware of God’s presence in your midst. Slowly breathe in and out. Ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you as you read the texts.

READINGS

First Reading: Isaiah 65:17-21

Thus says the Lord:

I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice for ever in what I am creating; for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight. I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and delight in my people; no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it, or the cry of distress. No more shall there be in it an infant that lives but a few days, or an old person who does not live out a lifetime; for one who dies at a hundred years will be considered a youth, and one who falls short of a hundred will be considered accursed. They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

Gospel Reading: John 4:43-54

After spending two days in Samaria, Jesus went from that place to Galilee (for Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in the prophet’s own country). When he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, since they had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the festival; for they too had gone to the festival.

Then he came again to Cana in Galilee where he had changed the water into wine. Now there was a royal official whose son lay ill in Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. Then Jesus said to him, ‘Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.’ The official said to him, ‘Sir, come down before my little boy dies.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your son will live.’ The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started on his way. As he was going down, his slaves met him and told him that his child was alive. So he asked them the hour when he began to recover, and they said to him, ‘Yesterday at one in the afternoon the fever left him.’ The father realized that this was the hour when Jesus had said to him, ‘Your son will live.’ So he himself believed, along with his whole household. Now this was the second sign that Jesus did after coming from Judea to Galilee.

REFLECTION

Recently, I went to see the musical Les Misérables. When I was 8 years old, I got the soundtrack on tape, and it has been a soundtrack behind practically my whole life. I know the characters, I’ve read the book and seen the movies, I feel the emotion when I listen to and sing the music. When I saw the musical brought to life in front of me, it was like a culmination of a love I’ve had for as long as I can remember. I imagine it will be a similar, albeit unimaginably greater experience, when I die. This God that I love, that I know more of each day, that I’ve read about, who brings light to my life… I will see Him face to face. It will be the culmination of a love that has been nurtured without seeing fully.

In the same way, the readings today give a great hope, and point to eternity. Isaiah speaks of it, and the signs that Jesus performs in His public ministry all point to our eternal home. However, in my own life, I often fail to live in light of eternity. Funny enough, since God (and eternity) are outside of time, living in the eternal paradoxically involves truly living in the “now”. Sometimes we call this living in the duty of the moment. If you’re anything like me, becoming so bogged down in whatever current never-ending to-do list I have results in not being fully present to anything that I’m doing. When we find ourselves in times like this, being able to step back and reorient ourselves in light of the Eternal Love that is surely (and sometimes pretty slowly, it feels like!) bringing us to our final home is helpful. Learning to be present with Christ in our daily activities is a beautiful way to keep “the big picture” in mind, and to receive more deeply the Love that we are called to share with others.

MEDITATION

• What does it mean to me to live looking towards eternity? How does this bring me hope and perspective?
• How can I more fully live out the duty of the moment in my life?
• Today, try to notice when you are becoming lost in the tasks of daily life. If you can, take a few moments to reorient yourself to the present and the eternal.

CLOSING PRAYER
We pray…

• For a greater understanding of what it means to live fully in the present, so that we can love others through the eyes of eternity;
• For those who do not yet know that they were created for more than this life, that they can receive the hope that comes from God’s promises;
• That God may continue to enlarge our hearts and make us aware of His presence in our daily lives;
• For those who have a hard time seeing God’s loving care in their lives, especially those who have lost a sense of hope.

AMEN