40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Friday in the Fourth Week of Lent, 24 March 2023 Wisdom 2:1, 12-22 >>> + <<< John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30
Yes, dear God our Father, man is a mystery, for better and for worst. For better when we live up to your call for us to be holy like you and for worst when we live so far from your ways. Your mystery is always beautiful and good to ponder upon but there are times when we succumb to evil and sins, our mystery becomes so dull without any sparkle at all, often shameful even detestable like the ways of the wicked in the first reading.
The wicked said among themselves, thinking not aright: “Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us; he sets himself against our doings, reproaches us for transgressions of the law and charges us with violations of our training. Let us see whether his words be true; let us find out what will happen to him. Let us condemn him to a shameful death; for according to his own words, God will take care of him.
Wisdom 2:1, 12, 17, 20
Keep us strong, dear Father like your Son Jesus Christ in the face of wicked men who laugh and scorn us, daring to test you; in this age of social media when everything is flaunted for all to see including what is evil and not right, even indecent including the excesses of worldly things, teach us to be simple, to keep something in us hidden, a mystery. Like fidelity, perseverance, and holiness. Amen.
