When God created heaven and earth, He said ‘everything is good’. Each thing in this world came into existence with the signature of the Lord that it is “Good”. The invisible Lord reveals His glory through his creation. It is when in union with the nature that we will be able to experience the presence of God in this world.
In this season of lent and very specially in the Holy Week, we ponder specifically upon the unfathomable love of God the Father for the humanity. The very message of the Holy Week gives us hope and peace of mind. It reminds us that when man becomes weak and fragile because of his sinfulness, God’s mercy covers and protects him from all sorts of his weakness and makes him strong with his love. Jesus taught us: “Greater love has no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends” (Jn 15: 13). He gave life and meaning to these words by offering his life on the cross for our salvation and thus proved that we all are his friends. The Gospel of John says: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (Jn 3: 16). The cross of Jesus is the supreme revelation of this love of God for the humanity.
It is a painful reality that though we receive the mercy and the compassion of the Lord without any limit, we often fail to impart this love to our brethren. Pope Francis in his Lenten message reminds us that the cross of Jesus must not be a mere ornament for us. Rather the values of forgiveness and mercy that is being revealed in the cross should be imbibed in our daily lives. Meditating upon the love of the crucified Jesus, let us broaden the horizons of our love for the brethren. If we keep hatred against anyone in our hearts, may the life and example of the crucified Lord inspire us to forgive them wholeheartedly.
Our Lord Jesus, who was crucified to redeem us from all our sins and weaknesses, invites us to extend our hands to the poor and the needy. May the cross of Jesus inspire and help us to be a living example of love and mercy in our family and in the society we live.
Fr Joseph Mundolickal CST