Our Lord speaks to the chosen people of something greater being here, and we know that to be
none other than the Lord himself, for it is not the signs and the figures that prefigured
his presence, but his actual presence that is among the chosen people. And we must not think
that in today's gospel our Lord is talking about his absolute will that souls would be condemned,
for we know very clearly that the sign of Jonah proves his absolute will is that all men be saved,
for he entered into death in order that we may be delivered from death. And so, as we prepare and
get further into this Lenten season, we reflect upon this great mystery of our salvation,
and we reflect upon the whole aspect of the life of the Lord, for each and every one of us
have our cross to bear. We either bear it like the good thief or the bad thief, but often,
as many of the saints pointed out, we must not look for a Simon of the Cyrenian to carry our
cross, because we have someone greater to carry it for us. For the Lord does not ask us to carry
the heavy burden of his cross. He asks each and every one of us to carry a little piece of his
cross, and for this he is there always to strengthen us, always to guide us. And so,
we truly have great joy because the sign of Jonah proves that Jesus Christ is truly triumphant over
death, and our victory will be victory insofar as we understand that the crosses we are to carry
are a union with the cross of Christ. They are not the fullness of his cross, for he bore that
for our love. And so, no Cyrenian will come to our rescue, because,
someone greater than Simon the Cyrenian has come to our rescue, that is, none other than the Lord
himself. And so, let us stay close to him by staying close to the Mother of God, so that we
truly come to know that greatest mystery of our faith, that he is truly with us until the end of
time, there to strengthen us in our burdens and in our trials and our tribulations, there to help us
always to carry the little piece of the cross that he has bequeathed to each and every one of us,
that is, the mystery of his sacrifice.
The New Testament of Luke, chapter 4, verse 1, says,
We will be supported and ready to receive the sacrament with us, the blessed sacrament, until the end of time.
And so, with great joy, we truly prepare for this most wonderful mystery of our salvation, that Jesus Christ
suffered, died, and was buried, but on the third day he truly rose again, and insofar as we unite ourselves to
him, then we will participate at the end of time in the fullness of that resurrection. And so, we truly have
great joy, for with this knowledge and with this love in our heart, we will go to the next stage of our life, and this
will be the day that we will continue to be saved.
Nothing can distract us from the mission that we have, that is, that mission of being united to God for all eternity,
because the human heart, being created with an infinite capacity, can only find its happiness,
that is, be sealed in love by union with God in heaven, rather than be sealed in hate by union with Satan in hell.
And so let us always strive to reflect upon these great truths, these great wonders of our faith,
knowing that he truly is with us, knowing that he does not ask many of us to do extraordinary things.
He merely asks us to try and do the ordinary things in a most extraordinary manner.
And even there, when we fail, the Lord is there to strengthen us by his sacramental life.
And so we have nothing to fear, but as one politician once put it, but fear itself,
that is, those fears that are really a product of our imaginations, for we truly have nothing to fear.
For Christ has overcome all that the human heart can fear.
For Christ has overcome death, and in him we too can overcome death.
For Christ has overcome death, and in him we too can overcome death.