HOMELIES DE L'ANNEE C #Sunday

We are celebrating the Fifth Sunday of Lent. This coming joy should motivate us to greater perseverance in the life of conversion. God is merciful toward our sins; let us cooperate with his grace to help our brothers and sisters escape the yoke of their errors instead of judging them.

The father, in the parable of this Fourth Sunday of Lent, exults with joy at the return of his lost son (15:24). This is the same attitude displayed by the shepherd who goes in search of a single lost sheep, leaving the other 99 (15:6) and by the woman who found the coin in her house (15:9).

Our history is strewn with pitfalls that rob us of our happiness. Happiness is a light that attracts the gaze of every being. It is the meaning of our struggles for survival. Let us commit ourselves today to the desert with Christ to overcome temptation, the assurance of our Easter.

Today's Gospel opens our reflection on a right conscience. These short sentences read this Sunday invite us to act with discernment and judgment in order to produce good fruits capable of pleasing God and society. All this is only possible when our hearts conceal the treasure that should enlighten our actions. To this end, I propose these three steps.

If last Sunday we were in the baths of 4 beatitudes followed by 4 lamentations, today Christ shows us the way to follow to really reach these beatitudes. It is about this passage from the animal man to the spiritual man. An obligatory scheme to savor the effects of the Kingdom from now until everything is fulfilled at the end of time.

Around Jesus we are gathered to listen to him and experience the fulfillment of his signs. Let us make our hearts pure to welcome his Word, purify our hands to receive his body and prepare our tongue to sing his holiness.

Since the first Sunday of Advent, the entire Church has adopted an attitude of gentleness tinged with the calm of waiting. This is even noticeable in the liturgy of the Mass, which suspended the singing of Gloria during the time of Advent. Basically, it is not melancholy that is expressed when the Church adopts this attitude. Rather, it is an invitation to all the faithful to deepen their hope in the One who comes to dispel our darkness with the great light. This is why we meditate on his promises by adopting attitudes that reveal that we are not without hope in our existential journey.

We light the second Advent candle because we remain vigilant in the light. Despite the refusal of God observed in everyday life on the part of humans, God does not shirk his promises. The time of Advent invites us on this day to smooth the way for the Savior who comes. Let us ask for his grace during this celebration. At each period of history, God places watchmen to ensure the permanence of his promises. If we reject him, we destroy ourselves; when we destroy ourselves, he restores us if we return to him; when he welcomes us, we receive the mission of announcing his salvation to all. These are the three points that I share with you in this meditation.