Today’s readings speak of an essential quality for the Christian steward— hope. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “Hope is thetheological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven andeternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ’s promises andrelying not on our own strength but on the help of the grace of the HolySpirit (CCC 1817).” In many ways, this is the very definition of astewardship way of life — focusing on eternity as we live our daily livesand relying on God to provide for our needs and satisfy our deepestlongings for meaning and happiness right now.

Our readings today remind us that God always has our best interests in mind. No matter what is going on in our lives, God is with us.

In our Gospel today, Jesus and His disciples are traveling in a boat when heavy winds and violent waves begin to overwhelm the boat. Jesus was there sleeping in the boat in the midst of this horrific storm.

As we enter back into Ordinary Time, our readings today remind us that heaven is our true home and that we cannot make it there without God’s assistance.

In our First Reading, the prophet Ezekiel foretells the coming of the Kingdom of God. We can see that Jesus is the Seder that will become refuge for all people. He will humble the proud, lift up the lowly and produce good fruit in the weakened. It is God who does the wondrous works.

Today we celebrate Corpus Christi — the Body and Blood of Christ. Jesus’ Body and Blood was sacrificed for us on Calvary, but before that excruciating event, He humbly bound Himself to human hands in the Eucharist. As St. Thomas Aquinas expresses, “In this sacrament sins are purged away, virtues are increased, the soul satiated with an abundance of every spiritual gift. No other sacrament is so beneficial.”

Our Gospel today recounts the Last Supper. As Jesus ate the Passover meal with His apostles, He broke bread, telling them, “This is my Body,” and again, poured wine, saying, “This is my Blood… which will be shed for many.” In this moment, Jesus sacrificially gave us Himself in the Eucharist by foreshadowing His passion, death and resurrection.

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.