Sometimes I hear people say, “I don’t know how you could miss it, it’s so obvious.” Well, I think very often, we can miss the obvious. For example, in the readings for Mass on the First Sunday of Lent, three times we are told how we can attain Heaven and be with God. But, do we always get it?
In Genesis 9:8-9, God said to Noah and his sons, “See I am now establishing my covenant with you and your
descendants after you. We ARE those descendants!! We are the people to whom God was referring. The covenant with Noah, which is often depicted as the rainbow, was not only meant for him, his family and friends, but for generations to come. The same God has made a covenant with you and me.
In 1 Peter 3:18, we are again reminded that God is there for us and gives us a pathway to follow. All we have to do is respond. In 1 Peter, we are called ‘Beloved’, a term of endearment, a term of relationship. We are told that Christ suffered for sins once so that we might be led to God.
In the Gospel of Mark, Chapter 1 verse 15, we are told how to reach the Kingdom of God: “The Kingdom of God is at hand, REPENT and BELIEVE in the Gospel”. The Kingdom is here and now, not after I die and go to Heaven.
As we begin our Lenten journey, we know straight from God that God wants us, we have a covenant with God, we are God’s beloved and if we repent and believe in the Word of God, we will be with God not only in this life but in the life to come.
Reflection: – What touched my heart in this reflection?
-Do I really believe that I am God’s beloved?
-What can I do this Lent do repent and believe even more deeply on the Word of God?
~by: Lorraine Campanelli, CLM Director