Homily for Saturday of the 3rd Week of Lent

For daily readings, see http://www.usccb.org/nab/readings/030108.shtml

A saint is always the first one in the confession line. A saint is always the one most dependent on God’s mercy. There is courage, to be sure, in battling valiantly against our weaknesses, using whatever resources are available to us, before finally turning to Jesus for his mercy. The problem with this approach, as we see in today’s Gospel, is that it keeps us looking at ourselves. Looking to Jesus is a last resort just in case we are not able to become like him through our own power. The better way, and in the end, the more courageous way, is the way of the saints, who knew that lasting and meaningful conversion meant self-forgetfulness, an abandonment of self that allows one to look at Jesus as a first option. The goal is not to become like Jesus through our own power, but to let him love us at our weakest point, constantly, by humbly keeping our eyes fixed on Him. Jesus has lasting power over sin and death. We do not. So let us humbly come before him everyday seeking forgiveness for our sins. There is shame in being a sinner, to be sure, but there is more shame in hiding our sins from the one who is stronger than us, and is willing to place his life within our hands.