We commemorate the Lord’s Passion on Fridays.  Let us fast and pray, today, with a pious and reverent heart, and meet Jesus in Eucharistic Adoration. 

We hope you did have a chance yesterday to bring the light of Christ to the family member whom the Heavenly Father has revealed to you.  No matter how it goes, do give thanks to the Heavenly Father for the inspiration and giving you the courage and opportunity to start your acts of love in Lent.  Please don’t be discouraged if it turns out not as expected, but rather, offer your expectations to God and He will lead the way. Keep on praying for wisdom and perseverance, persist with your acts of love, and your family members would surely be moved by your love.

Wisdom comes from the Word of God, and the wisdom of God far surpasses human wisdom.

So, if you wish your acts of love would bear more fruits in this Lenten season, spend at least 15 minutes daily to encounter God through meditating on the Word of God, listen to Him in silence, and live out the inspirations and teachings He gives you.

In addition, Lent is the best season of the year to help us develop an intimate relationship with God, and advance in virtues and holiness, while it also provides a good opportunity for establishing good spiritual habits. Please don’t let this, once a year, golden opportunity slip away easily.

In order to succeed, we must first have a goal.  For us Christians, our ultimate goal and greatest mission in life would be expanding God’s Kingdom on earth.   The first step is to instill hope of the Risen Christ in people’s lives, and then, step by step, guide them to establish a real and personal relationship with Christ.  During this Lenten season, let us fix our gaze on the paschal candle, which symbolizes the Good News of salvation and resurrection.  Let Christ, who is the True Light, lead us on the path of personal sanctification and to becoming a true evangelizing community! 

Why should we evangelize as a community rather than as individuals?

Let us focus back on the image of the Service of Light, the Lucernarium, at the Easter Vigil.  Yesterday, we mentioned that in the Service of Light, the priest’s candle was first lit by the paschal candle, followed by the candles in the hands of the faithful next to him. Thanks to everyone’s participation, the light is spread to every member of the congregation in the entire church. Assuming that each church member passes the light onto two persons: one to two, two to four, four to eight, eight to sixteen, and so forth. In this way, if it takes ten seconds to light a candle, lighting the candles of more than 500 people doesn’t take two minutes. If this candle-lighting responsibility were placed on the priest alone, even if it takes him only five seconds to light a candle, the whole process of lighting everyone’s candle would take more than 40 minutes! Even the most devout churchgoer won’t be able to stand it!

This example illustrates the reason why we need to evangelize as a community.  This is also the main reason why our Lord Jesus Christ first called His disciples before He started His public ministry, and later on built the Church.

We need to understand that only through exponential growth can the Kingdom of God be established and grow healthily in this world, and only in this way can we resist and counter the spread of evil forces in the world and the invasion of individuals, families, communities, and churches by dark forces.

In the face of the chaotic situation in this world, and the state of spiritual and mental dryness of mankind, such as feeling lost, hopeless, disoriented, even suffering from depression or anxiety, etc., our only solution and way out is to unite and take responsibility together. This is also what the Lord Jesus Christ expects of us as His followers.

The success of exponential growth completely relies on the active participation of everyone. Just imagine, if some  members of the congregation refuse to pass the candlelight during the Service of Light, the ritual will not be complete, the liturgy cannot continue smoothly, and unnecessary disputes may arise.

Therefore, we must understand that, under the “principle of exponential growth”, it is unnecessary and not recommended for us to either do our own things independently or to shoulder and complete all the missions God has entrusted to the community by oneself. We should not feel pressured, because it is the Holy Spirit who brings our missions to fruition, not by our own effort. But the Holy Spirit needs the active participation of every member of the Church to fulfill the mission entrusted to us by our Heavenly Father. Besides, what we are talking about here is not some great mission, or some grand ideas of evangelization. What we are advocating here is that we should not only expect God to solve all our personal and the world’s problems, quench the thirst of everyone, and untie all the knots in the world for us.

There is only one way to untie the knots, that is, we cooperate with the Holy Spirit, contribute our humble five loaves and two fishes, surrender ourselves wholeheartedly, and let Christ perform miracles as He wishes.

Reflection

What goals have you set for yourself during this Lent? You are now invited to ask the Holy Spirit for clear guidance.

Do you feel powerless and disappointed in the face of your problems and those of the world? Do you believe that God has empowered you to relieve yourself and the world of problems?

Please pray in silence and listen to God, and ask Him to reveal to you what your offering of five loaves and two fishes should be today.

Today’s Prayer

Dear Abba Father, please forgive me when I sometimes doubt that You have really given me the ability and resources to solve the problems I face. Sometimes, I would hesitate to offer my five loaves and two fishes, thinking that nothing can be changed by my contribution. Please open my eyes during this Lent. Let me know the role You want me to play in building the kingdom of heaven on earth, how to actively respond to it and put it into practice, and grant me also the spirit of sacrifice of my Lord Jesus. May my humble offering serve the needs of the church community. I ask these in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

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