Wednesday March 22, 2023

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“As a beloved child of Father God, you were “co-missioned” to continue the ministry that Jesus began.”

Good News Reflection for:

Wednesday of the 4th Week of Lent
March 22, 2023

Today’s Prayer:

I want to be united to You, Jesus, as You are united to the Father, and do the good works that build your Kingdom of love and justice. Amen.

Subscribe to Today’s Saint Quote & Prayer:
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Today’s Readings:

Isaiah 49:8-15
Psalm 145:8-9, 13-14, 17-18
John 5:17-30
bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/032223.cfm
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
bible.usccb.org/podcasts/audio/daily-mass-reading-podcast-march-22-2023

How to experience greater unity with God

How unified are you to the Father’s will? Since you’ve been following Jesus, he’s been taking you deeper and deeper into the Father’s heart, because the two of them are one, as Jesus points out in today’s Gospel passage.

Oftentimes, we have a hard time understanding the triune nature of God, because we tend to compartmentalize the Three Persons in terms that we understand. We need to remember that when describing God, the word “persons” does not mean individual people, but three “characteristics” (for lack of a better word) of the same God, each with its own “persona”.

The persona of the Father can be described as the perfect parent, creator, and care-giver. The persona of Jesus can be described as God-become-flesh-like-us, our brother, the perfect example of how to relate to the Father. And the persona of the Holy Spirit can be described as the lover who flows from the perfect relationship that the Father and the Son have with each other, marrying us to their power and wisdom so that we can follow the Son’s example and joyfully obey the Father.

In loving Jesus, we also love the Father and his Holy Spirit. In obeying the Father, we hear the Holy Spirit and serve with Jesus. When we talk to one, we talk to all three.

Notice the kind of relationship that Jesus had with the Father and see yourself in it. Read again how Jesus described it, but this time see yourself as the Father’s child.

How unified are you with God? Can you say with Jesus, “I can do only what I see the Father doing, for whatever the Father does, I choose to do also”?

True unity is expressed in the final statement: “I am not seeking my own will, but the will of the Father who sent me.”

You, too, have been sent into this world by the Father. During your baptism, the Father commissioned you for ministry, just like he did with the baptism of Jesus.

As a beloved child of Father God, you were “co-missioned” — i.e., placed into mission with Jesus — to continue the ministry that the Son began, in the power of the Holy Spirit who helps you know and do the Father’s will.

Jesus blessed you for this task just before he ascended to heaven (see Mark 16:15). This commissioning rite is repeated at the end of every Mass when the priest, representing Jesus, sends us forth with words such as “go and live the Gospel.”

For more on this, watch our video “Take, Eat, Drink; Understanding the Mass: The Concluding Rites” @ https://gnm-media.org/17-take-eat-drink-understanding-mass-concluding-rites/.

© 2023 by Terry A. Modica

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