Blessed Sacrament Parish
Amherstview, Ontario
Mission of Saint Bartholomew
Amherst Island, Ontario
Amherstview, Ontario
Mission of Saint Bartholomew
Amherst Island, Ontario
_________________________________________________________
3 Briscoe Street, Amherstview, Ontario K7N 1X2
(613) 389-2009 ~ bls@thehavens.ca
3 Briscoe Street, Amherstview, Ontario K7N 1X2
(613) 389-2009 ~ bls@thehavens.ca
Pastor's News & Notes
Directory
THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT: THE GARDENER
In these Lenten days of truth, we face the truth of who we are before God. We are called back to him by the love in his voice: love that 'tells it like it is', love that knows what yet can be, love that lifts us up, love that sets things right.
We undergo a transformation, moving from sin to holiness, from darkness to light, from selfishness to love, from our own preoccupations to God.
The parable of The Gardener deals with the reality of whether or not we are bearing good fruit for the Kingdom of God. It issues a warning to any and all who would approach life as if there were no accountability. The Lord, quoting some tragedies of the day, calls for a level of repentance and responsibility that can cry out on our behalf for the Mercy of God. In our own day he might well have used the recent calamities and natural disasters as examples of our common vulnerability in this world.
Yet, the Lord also expands on the desire of God for all to be saved. The 'gardener' hears the land owner complain of no fruit after three years. The fig tree is threatened with being cut down. The 'gardener' asks for one more year. Hopefully, with some extra care and attention, the tree could be saved.
It is interesting to recall that Mary Magdalene thought Jesus to be the gardener on the morning of his resurrection. It may have looked like Jesus' work with men and women for three years public ministry was not bearing any fruit. Yet, in the end, with some extra work, with the Pascal offering and the gift of the Holy Spirit, the disciples were changed, the Church was born and good fruit followed down to our own day. May the Lord in his mercy tend us and work with us so that we too might bear good fruit and provide a harvest for God's Kingdom with nourishment for all we meet.
All of these images, along with our prayers and all our works of the entire Lenten Season are part of our journey with Jesus and are a preparation for us to enter more completely into the sacred remembering of Holy Week and the joyful days of Easter.
__________________
Some further reflections on the Lenten Season can be found at ChurchYear.net. Click the following link and have a look around:
http://www.churchyear.net/ashwednesday.html
In these Lenten days of truth, we face the truth of who we are before God. We are called back to him by the love in his voice: love that 'tells it like it is', love that knows what yet can be, love that lifts us up, love that sets things right.
We undergo a transformation, moving from sin to holiness, from darkness to light, from selfishness to love, from our own preoccupations to God.
The parable of The Gardener deals with the reality of whether or not we are bearing good fruit for the Kingdom of God. It issues a warning to any and all who would approach life as if there were no accountability. The Lord, quoting some tragedies of the day, calls for a level of repentance and responsibility that can cry out on our behalf for the Mercy of God. In our own day he might well have used the recent calamities and natural disasters as examples of our common vulnerability in this world.
Yet, the Lord also expands on the desire of God for all to be saved. The 'gardener' hears the land owner complain of no fruit after three years. The fig tree is threatened with being cut down. The 'gardener' asks for one more year. Hopefully, with some extra care and attention, the tree could be saved.
It is interesting to recall that Mary Magdalene thought Jesus to be the gardener on the morning of his resurrection. It may have looked like Jesus' work with men and women for three years public ministry was not bearing any fruit. Yet, in the end, with some extra work, with the Pascal offering and the gift of the Holy Spirit, the disciples were changed, the Church was born and good fruit followed down to our own day. May the Lord in his mercy tend us and work with us so that we too might bear good fruit and provide a harvest for God's Kingdom with nourishment for all we meet.
All of these images, along with our prayers and all our works of the entire Lenten Season are part of our journey with Jesus and are a preparation for us to enter more completely into the sacred remembering of Holy Week and the joyful days of Easter.
__________________
Some further reflections on the Lenten Season can be found at ChurchYear.net. Click the following link and have a look around:
http://www.churchyear.net/ashwednesday.html
