This weekend, the members of our RCIA program begin a period of purification and enlightenment, as they journey ever closer to God, and prepare to receive the Sacraments of Initiation at Easter. We who have already been baptized are also called to a time of purification, conversion, and repentance. As we near the mid-point of Lent, we are given an excellent opportunity to stop and ask ourselves how our Lenten observance is going. Do we recognize our need for God in our lives? Or are we still trying to make it on our own?
Our Gospel this weekend gives us a powerful reminder that we are all sinners in need of God’s mercy. Jesus makes it quite clear in the Gospel that the circumstances of a person’s life do not indicate how much that person has sinned. He challenges us to leave aside the notion that people who die as a result of a fatal accident or natural disaster were somehow greater sinners who deserved God’s punishment. In fact, he warns us very bluntly that if we do not repent, our fate will be the same as those that we have wrongfully condemned.
This “fire and brimstone” manner of speaking quickly gives way to a reminder of God’s mercy, evidenced in the parable of the fig tree. The property owner’s impatience is balanced out by the gardener’s hopefulness that the fig tree will bear fruit if it is nurtured properly. God has that same hope for each and every one of us. God is patient with us- he does not strike us down in the midst of our sinfulness, but tends to us, and pours out His blessings upon us, even when we fail to recognize His presence in our lives. God waits for us to turn to him and acknowledge our faults, so that we can receive the gift of his grace. It is this grace that nurtures us and helps us to bear good fruit for the Kingdom of God.
If you have not already done so, I encourage you to take advantage of the Sacrament of Reconciliation during this Lenten Season, so that you may be reconciled to God, and experience his Grace and Mercy. I ask you also to pray for the members of our RCIA program, that they may journey closer to God during this sacred time. May the Lord help us all to experience the Easter mysteries with renewed joy and faith in the Son of God.
Sincerely in Christ,
Fr. Steven Huber, CSB