Fourth Sunday in Lent Reflection

Sunday 11th March 2018

In the fourth of our Sunday Lenten Reflections we hear from Fr Paul Daly on today’s Gospel Reading:

St. John, in his Gospel, loves to contrast opposites; light and darkness, believing and refusing to believe, salvation and condemnation, life and death. You might wish to notice how often these opposites are mentioned in this Sunday’s Gospel.

Notice the central place given to ‘light.’ Over these days of our Lenten springtime, the sun rises earlier each morning and sets later each evening. Who would want to go back to those dark mornings? Do we really prefer darkness to light? Only those with something to hide, or those who wish to go back to bed, do so.

But new light gives us new energy and vigour. If we live in the light we see more clearly, and that includes seeing ourselves more clearly. When I live in the shade I don’t see the dust that has gathered. When I turn ‘the big light’ on I see the specks of dust that need removing.

At this mid-point of our Lenten journey, maybe now is the time to let the light of Christ shine into our hearts. Where there is dust, let our Lenten journey call us to some spiritual spring-cleaning. Use these remaining days to prepare to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession), take your time with it, and see it as opening the windows of our hearts to the light of Christ who makes of our hearts what he makes of the earth around us at this time, a place of new growth and new life.

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