Homily for Fifth Sunday of Lent

By Bishop Paul S. Loverde
Special to the HERALD
(From the issue of 3/21/02)

The following homily was given Sunday, March 17, the Fifth Sunday of Lent, by Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington.

There is one question we all ask whether we be children, teenagers or adults: How can I live life and be happy? And, as we get a little older, how can I cope with life and be at peace? We’ve all seen TV commercials; so many point to things they tell us will make us happy, make us live life well. But, too often, what the TV commercials point to do not make us really happy in living life.

Well, then, is there some secret to living life? Is there some key to coping with life? The answer is yes, but, it is not a thing you can buy or make; it is a Person, and that Person is Jesus! Yes, Jesus is the answer to our question: How can I be happy? How can I really live life well and cope with life better? Jesus came to teach us about "how to live life," in fact, He came to show us how to live. And we call His teaching the Gospel, don’t we? And we have learned that "Gospel" means "Good News." It is Good News, because it is all about living life well.

Jesus Himself tells us today, in the Gospel, that He is the key to living life. "I am the resurrection and the life…." And then He asks us, as He asked Martha, "Do you believe this?" Well, in order to believe that Jesus is the key to life, we must know Jesus. So, do we know Jesus, not only know about Him, but also, know Him as a person, the way we know our family and friends?

There are two ways by which we get to know Jesus just as there are two ways we get to know our friends. First, to know about them. That is how friendship begins. We meet someone and ask them questions: What is your name? Where do you live? And so on. And, if what we hear and exchange between ourselves is good, then we go on to get to know this person in a deeper way; we call or visit or write. Now, we not only know about him/her, but we really know him/her personally. Well, that is how we get to know Jesus. First, we get to know about Him. How? By studying and learning about Him. Who teaches us?

The first and the best teachers are parents. In fact, they teach their children not only by what they say, but even more by how they live. They show them that Jesus is important to them by the way they live life. The home is the first school of religious teaching. Of course, others can and do join parents in teaching about Jesus: the priests and deacons in their homilies, the weekly Christian formation programs in which many young people take part and the Catholic school which a goodly number of students attend. Adult faith formation enables us to continue learning about Jesus. That is why Christian formation is so important.

This ongoing formation leads us to getting to know Jesus as a Person, to loving Him as our Friend, our Savior, our Lord and God. The best way to get to know Jesus as a person is through prayer. Prayer is like a conversation where we listen to what Jesus tells us, and then we respond to Him in our thoughts and words. Prayer takes place in the home. Do we pray there each day by ourselves and also with our family? A very holy priest used to say: "The family that prays together, stays together." Prayer is what we are doing right now, during this Mass or Eucharist. Do we listen to what God is telling us in the sacred Scriptures during the first part of the Mass? Do we tell Jesus that we will follow God’s teaching when Jesus comes to us in Holy Communion: as we talk with Him after we return to our places? Martha said to her sister Mary: "The Teacher is here and is asking for you." Well, that Teacher is Jesus, and our prayer is really our response to His asking for us.

Among us today are a number of expectant parents. Each year, the diocese invites couples soon to be parents to gather together at the celebration of the Eucharistic Sacrifice so that in a tangible way they may experience the united prayer of our diocesan family represented by the parish community surrounding them. Indeed, I assure them of our prayer for them and the children soon to be born. Dear parents: there is no better or greater gift you can give to your children than to enable them to know Jesus and to love Him. When you do that, you have equipped them for living life here and hereafter.

Also among us at this Mass is one catechumen, preparing to receive the fullness of Christian Initiation at the Easter Vigil. This sister of ours in the human family has recognized the truth of Christ and is asking to be admitted to the communion of believers. She, too, like Martha in today’s Gospel account, wishes to affirm more tangibly: "Yes, Lord, I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world." We pledge our continuing prayers for her even as we are encouraged and inspired by her example to deepen our own baptismal promises and to live more faithfully.

Yes, Jesus is the key to life. In this life, He helps us cope and to live as well as we can, to struggle and keep going in tough times, even to face the death of our loved ones and friends. Remember: Jesus loved Lazarus and at his grave, Jesus cried. Jesus raised Lazarus to life as a sign that He has power to raise up our dead loved ones to eternal life. Jesus also helps us in this life to reach out to people in need, to the poor, the lonely, the confused. In that way, through our love, they can live life better.

But, Jesus also is the key to life beyond this life. Human death is not the end. Jesus tells us in today’s Gospel: "I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live; and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die." In the first reading, God promises: "O my people, I will open your graves and have you rise from them…." And, St. Paul reminds us in the second reading: "If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, then the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit dwelling in you." And that Holy Spirit has been given us through Baptism and Confirmation!

Yes, Jesus has the power to enable us to live forever! Do we really want to know how to live? Then, let us go to Jesus; He will teach us and show us! Let us stay with Jesus; He will lead us through this life into life eternal! Do we really believe this? I hope so because if we do, we are learning how to live.

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