We face death every day. Whether it comes with the actual death of someone we love (or someone we don’t even know), a failed relationship, the loss of a job, a broken dream, or pondering our own mortality, death is always around us. What does death say to us? What we believe about our death experiences is going to say volumes about how we live our lives. Jesus comes to us today just as he did many years ago to people who were struggling with loss and death and wondering what to do. He calls us out of our tombs, where we have been closed up in fear and despair, and shouts, “Come out!” Jesus leads us out of death and gives us hope. There is always hope. There is always transformation. Although we may not always see where the road of life is taking us or see God’s presence with us on our journey, we will be brought to a new place and be given new life. Walk with God and listen to Him call you. Tomorrow, there awaits another surprise.

Seeing is much more than just a function of our eyes. We can look at something with clear vision but not really see it. Often what we think we see is colored by our presuppositions, prejudices, assumptions, and needs. We judge things by appearance, but God looks into the heart. God’s sight has a much wider range and far greater depth. Receiving things or people just based on appearance can lead us to erroneous and hurtful judgments. We think we are seeing clearly, but we are not. Allowing God to restore our sight so that we can truly see is a worthy goal for our Lenten journey. Look within and look without. What do you see? Allow God to complete the picture for you. Ask Him to give you the insight to look into someone’s heart. Don’t draw hasty conclusions or presume you know the truth. Be open and humble enough so that you can receive the sight that only God can give.

In today's Gospel, Jesus purifies the temple area because it is being misused as a marketplace. He becomes angry at their lack of reverence for God. He spills the coins of the money changers and overturns tables, saying, “Take these out of here, and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.”

The First Reading from Genesis is the infamous story of God putting Abraham to the test. God commands Abraham to offer his son, Isaac, to the Lord as a sacri#ce. Abraham obeys the Lord. Yet, a messenger of the Lord cries out at the last moment to stop him. Because of Abraham’s faithfulness and surrender to the Lord, he is blessed abundantly.

St. Peter reminds us in our Second Reading of the blessings we receive from Christ’s Passion, Death and Resurrection — “Christ suffered for sins once… that he might lead you to God.” And again, “[Baptism] is… an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”

In our Gospel, a leper knelt before Jesus and said, “If you wish, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out and touched this diseased man and healed him. He then encouraged the man to show himself to the priest and offer himself a cleansing, referencing what was commanded in the Law of Moses. By completing these rituals, this man might be reinstituted into the community.

The First Reading from Genesis is the infamous story of God putting Abraham to the test. God commands Abraham to offer his son, Isaac, to the Lord as a sacri#ce. Abraham obeys the Lord. Yet, a messenger of the Lord cries out at the last moment to stop him. Because of Abraham’s faithfulness and surrender to the Lord, he is blessed abundantly.

St. Peter reminds us in our Second Reading of the blessings we receive from Christ’s Passion, Death and Resurrection — “Christ suffered for sins once… that he might lead you to God.” And again, “[Baptism] is… an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”

In our Gospel, a leper knelt before Jesus and said, “If you wish, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out and touched this diseased man and healed him. He then encouraged the man to show himself to the priest and offer himself a cleansing, referencing what was commanded in the Law of Moses. By completing these rituals, this man might be reinstituted into the community.