“If I were a rich man, Yubby dibby dibby dibby dum…” Can you tell I just saw the play ‘Fiddler on the Roof’? I loved it, and the score features so many wonderful songs. When the song “Do You Love Me?” I thought about this reflection. I dare say we have all been working to be faithful to our Lenten promises. Some of us have been working on making Lent our daily journey. Although it may not be easy, we continue to live as Jesus has asked us to.
So, when I heard, “Do you love me?” I thought about Jesus asking me that question. I wanted to sing, ‘after 63 years, what do you think?’ But instead, my response echoed Peter’s: ‘You know I do.’ What about you? We are in our fifth week of Lent. What effect has Lent had on how you are living your life and how your relationship with God has grown? From the readings at liturgy and our own devotions, how have you learned a bit more about prayer, fasting, and almsgiving? Next week, we have the opportunity to remember how much God loves us. John 3:16 reminds us “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
I want to share with you a different translation of that verse, and I think it will give you even more reason to say yes to the question ‘Do you love me?’ This contemporary translation is from Eugene Peterson’s THE MESSAGE. “This is how much God loved the world: He gave His Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in Him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending His Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was; He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in Him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust Him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.”
There is so much here to prayerfully reflect upon as we ready our hearts for the holiest week of our faith. Whatever these past weeks have been, each day is a gift—an invitation to rise, begin again, and walk forward from where we are. May these last days of Lent bring you to a hopeful place.
Till next week,
Sister Theresita
PS Mary answered the question “Do you love me” by saying YES on this day that we celebrate, Happy Feast of the Annunciation!
