Grace gives us the light to see all things with faith

4th Sunday in Lent, Mar. 18, 2012
Fr. Joseph Eddy, O. de M.
Gospel: John 3:14-21 Whoever believes in the Son should not perish but have eternal life.

(Full sermon text) The Lenten season is a great time to focus on the greatest mysteries of Christ’s life: His temptation in the desert, His betrayal and trial, the carrying of the cross, the crucifixion, and, finally, Christ’s death on the cross. These are wonderful, deep mysteries, but we must admit that they can be scary at times.

The drinking water is good, and so is the river of life

Tamil Nadu, in the very southern tip of India, is a poor area. But since it’s near the River Cauvery, the drinking water is good. The three Mercedarian religious friars seem to be happy, Fr. Vincent reports, even though they are sleeping in rather poor quarters in the older of the two chapels.

Ninety Catholic families of good tradition live under the Mercedarians’ care here. The Faith has taken root. Go to the friars’ website and read the entire story, “.”

Is God calling you to become a Mercedarian friar? Visit Fr. Joseph Eddy’s page.

Pondering the sufferings of Jesus can frighten people, because they fear that following our Savior will mean carrying the same heavy burden. As young Catholics in catechism class, we likely read the lives of the Saints and saw how they too suffered. At times, they did great penances, such as fasting or sleepless nights. Although we admire these heroic figures, many of us also have a natural fear of following their examples.

As priests, we come across many who practice the faith, going to Sunday Mass and spending time in prayer, yet fear getting too religious! They equate holiness or piety with suffering, trials, and a difficult life. This, unfortunately, comes from a society that sees religion as at odds with enjoyment, freedom, and happiness. However, this is a real misunderstanding of the life of grace. Grace is the very life of God that He gives to us. We first receive this grace at our Baptism. The candle that is given to our parents after baptism symbolizes sanctifying grace that we have received. Sanctifying grace is a gift from God that allows us to share in the life of the Trinity here on earth. It sanctifies us or makes us “like God” (holy).

Life of heaven on earth

We are given the opportunity to grow in this life more and more each day. Another form of grace that we can receive is actual grace. These are the gifts that we are given for particular circumstances. They help us to handle the problems and difficulties that come to us in this life. All and all, we are enabled by the different forms of grace to live in some way the life of heaven here on earth.

The Saints really had an abundance of grace. The Blessed Virgin Mary, the greatest Saint, was called “full of grace” by the angel Gabriel. The Saints, such as Mary, grew more and more in grace each day, because they made themselves open to it. Grace is a gift, so nobody earns it. However, we can and should seek to open ourselves up to respond to grace more and more each day. God is very generous and will give over-abundantly to all who ask for His Life. Responding to grace means that we at times die to our sinfulness and self-love. Lent offers us a “grace-filled time” to open ourselves up to God’s gift. We realize that Jesus died for our sins on the cross and He tells us that we too must bear the cross. As Catholics, we do not look for suffering, but if it cannot be avoided we unite it with the cross of Christ. Fasting, prayer, and almsgiving help us to be more open to grace and grow in it each day.

Seeing with the eyes of Christ

It is true that we are on a pilgrimage in this life. Ultimately, we can walk more and more in the light of our baptism by frequenting the Sacraments and living a virtuous life. We will have to suffer and at times deny ourselves, but we should not equate this with lack of freedom or unhappiness. The more we grow in the grace of God the more our outlook on life changes and things become clearer. We see things more with the eyes of Christ. People who really live a life of grace recognize the beauty, truth, and goodness all around us. A whole new world opens up to them. They realize that each person is created in the image of God possessing great dignity. They see God’s handiwork in nature and wish to appreciate it more. They innately begin to understand and notice the Lord’s hand guiding the lives of each person. This new perspective gives the grace-filled person a joy and peace that is “other-worldly”. Sure, holy people go through trials, but they have “the perspective of heaven” which radically changes the way they look at their difficulties. The Saints are the happiest and most joyful people that ever walked this earth. An example of this is Blessed Mother Teresa who showed great joy throughout her life despite many years of intense interior suffering.