Third Sunday in Lent
“My eyes are always towards the Lord”
The opening words of today’s Mass, taken from Psalm 24, give us the remedy for all our ills. Trials we must have, sufferings we must bear, delays we must put up with, persecutions we must encounter: in the midst of it all, the secret to peace and happiness is to keep our eyes fixed on the Lord. As Psalm 122 reminds us, our eyes must never leave Him just as the eyes of a servant are continually intent upon the hands of the master. Have mercy on us He will, in His time. Let’s know how to wait for Him.
As our world becomes increasingly engulfed in material concerns, as the Church herself seems to become more and more worldly minded, seeking answers from science and politics rather than from God, the essentially supernatural character of our faith should inspire us with a a growing and intense longing to keep our eyes on the Lord. In Him all answers are to be found, One may accuse us of being irresponsible, aloof, or even of tempting God, but we know that the Lord Himself encouraged and incited a lively faith that refuses to allow itself to be persuaded by any considerations coming from creatures.
That call is a radical one. It is so radical that the Lord, in today’s Gospel pronounces a very severe sentence against those who are not resolutely on His side: He who is not with me is against me and he who does not gather with me scatters (Mt 12:30).
Let us, in this time of Lent, allow ourselves to be unswervingly with the Lord, and not among those who pay Him lip service until things get rough and they then turn to creatures for help. That cannot do us any good. It cannot bring a lasting solution, for vain is the help of creatures. We were made for God, and God alone can satisfy us.
As we approach the great feast of St Joseph, let us ask him for a share in his faith. In the midst of the most humanly absurd situations (the birth of the Son of God in a dirty stable, for example!), retained his peace of heart, knowing that by gathering together with the Lord, and keeping his eyes fixed on God, he would never be alone, never poor, for he had in his company the treasure of the universe, Jesus and Mary.
A world distraught with fears of every kind would do well to remember this. Nothing escapes God’s eyes. Let not ours lose sight of Him.
