THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

Her Doctrine and Morals

Quinquagesima Sunday

2 March 2025

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The Sunday

Sermon

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Dear Friends in Christ,

The Season of Lent is upon us. This coming Wednesday is Ash Wednesday and marks the beginning of our Lenten fast. This is our time to prepare for the Resurrection, a time to reflect on our lives and make sacrifices in the spirit of Jesus' ultimate sacrifice. In today's Gospel reading (Saint Luke 18:31-43), Jesus told the Apostles that they were going to go up to Jerusalem, where He would fulfill the prophecies of His sacrificial suffering and death. After this, He would rise again from the dead.

The Apostles were not yet able to understand what Jesus told them. It was only after the Resurrection that everything became clear in their understanding. When Our Holy Mother, the Church, tells us that it is time for our Lenten sacrifices and that the celebration of Jesus' Resurrection will follow these sacrifices, we do not readily understand. Why do we need to do penance and make sacrifices? We know the answer: "Jesus redeemed us without our cooperation, but He will not save us without our cooperation." The punishment of our sins is paid for, but the merits of Jesus will not be applied to us unless we cooperate with Jesus.

We need to follow Jesus to Calvary if we are to follow Him to the Resurrection and eternal happiness of Heaven. He insists that we deny ourselves and take up our daily cross to follow Him. We are to make our personal sacrifices and unite them with His. In this manner, our sacrifices become valuable, meritorious, and worthwhile in the eyes of God.

The dread of self-denial is real and is something that we need to work to overcome. We have the benefit of knowing the historical facts of Jesus' suffering, death, and Resurrection. We can see that our efforts do not need to be in vain. The fact is that everyone makes sacrifices. Every choice we make entails denying ourselves something else. We cannot do everything all the time, or we cannot enjoy everything all the time. When we choose to do or experience one thing, we sacrifice the potentiality of experiencing everything else.

What drives us to make choices and, therefore, sacrifices is love, faith, and trust. A young man in love will readily deny himself many things so that he may please the one whom he loves. The greater his love, the less painful the sacrifices become, or the more willingly he will embrace them. Similarly, our love for God and our faith in His plan for us should inspire us to make sacrifices during this Lenten Season. Let this love and faith be our guiding light as we journey towards the Resurrection.

Jesus' love for us is so great that He sacrificed His life in the most painful and brutal way possible. He did this willingly and knowingly, even happily. What He asks of us is that we return His love with our own love, that we return His Sacrifice with our own sacrifice.

Our love for God cannot compare with God's love for us, nor can our sacrifices compare with God's Sacrifice for us. We have no real way of quantifying these things, but we clearly understand that there can be no comparison of the finite works of men (creatures) with the infinite works of God (The Creator). What we are looking to accomplish is not quantity but rather completeness. Jesus gave Himself completely for us. We are asked to give ourselves or to live our lives completely for God. This completion is only made possible when we fulfill the first and greatest commandment: to love God with our whole being — heart, mind, soul, and body (completely); and with a love of preference — that is, we love God more than anything or anyone — even more than we love ourselves.

When this love is truly present in our hearts, we eagerly look forward to expressing our love in these meager, tangible ways of Lenten sacrifices. Love casts aside fear and doubt. Jesus wants this offering from each of us, and He asks this through Our Holy Mother, the Church, during this upcoming Lenten Season. If our faith and love are where they should be (complete, whole, and entire), then our Lenten penances are lovingly, eagerly, and cheerfully embraced.

Every pang of hunger that our fasting brings to our mind is quickly turned into a loving smile as we make this sacrifice to Jesus for the love of God. Every time we deliberately abstain from some good thing, we are not to be sad, gloomy, or withdrawn but instead filled with joy and hope because we do this for the love of Jesus and in imitation of Him. Every choice we make (or that is made for us) is a sacrifice. God allows us to make every use of our Free Will as an expression of love for Him. We can truly do all things for the love of God and love Jesus completely (with our whole being) as He loves us. Let this joy in sacrifice fill our hearts and guide us through this Lenten Season.

May the Immaculate Heart of Mary inspire, guide, and protect us!