“…The church has made an option for the poor which is understood as a ‘special form of primacy in the exercise of Christian charity, to which the whole tradition of the church bears witness.’

This option – as Benedict XVI has taught – ‘is implicit in our Christian faith in a God who became poor for us, so as to enrich us with his poverty.’ This is why I want a church which is poor and for the poor. They have much to teach us. Not only do that share in the ‘sensus dei’, but in their difficulties they know the suffering Christ. We need to let ourselves be evangelized by them. The new evangelization is an invitation to acknowledge the saving power at work in their lives and to put them in the center of the church’s pilgrim way. We are called to  find Christ in them, to lend our voice to their causes, but also to be their friends, to listen to them, to speak for them and to embrace the mysterious wisdom which God wishes to share with us through them.”

On this Third Sunday of Lent, St. Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians says: “For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.” When we hear the word “foolish” we generally think of something as being a little crazy. When St. Paul uses the word, it makes us stop and ask the question, what is “real” wisdom and where does it come? Its author is none other than God, the Creator. Sometimes the real “fools” are those who think that they know everything and are really lacking in true wisdom, knowledge and experience. This is an interesting quote from St. Paul – stop and think it over.

This Sunday, our Elect experience the  first of three Scrutinies during the 5:00 Mass. These are rites that are meant to heal weaknesses and to strengthen the calling of these individuals as they move toward baptism and full participation in the life of the church. They can also be effective in the lives of all those who are participating in the Mass at which they are celebrated. Our prayers continue to accompany both the elect as well as those who are the candidates. Soon, we will be “one” at the Eucharistic table.

-Fr. Andrew Reitz, O.F.M.