on the threshold of god's glory
"The Lord is with me, like a mighty Champion: my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph." —Jeremiah 20:11
In this year of God the Father in preparation for the Great Jubilee, we are on the threshold of what may prove to be two of the most important weeks of our time on earth. In Holy Week, the Triduum, and the Easter octave, we will see Jesus do the works of His Father and come "to realize what it means that the Father is in" Jesus and Jesus in Him (Jn 10:38). In the next two weeks, many will come to believe in Jesus (Jn 10:42).
However, the amazing graces of Holy Week, the Triduum, and the Easter season are not uncontested. Like Jeremiah, we may be denounced and have to face "terror on every side" (Jer 20:10). With Jesus, we may feel as if we are being stoned — not with rocks but with insulting words, multiple problems, and mounting stress (see Jn 10:31).
Don't let yourself be manipulated into missing out on the sorrows and joys of the next two weeks. Fix your eyes on Jesus (Heb 12:2). Clear your schedule as much as possible. Give God prime time in personal, family, and communal prayer. Be reconciled with God and with those who have hurt you. Go to Confession. Try to go to Mass each day, and read the daily Scriptures before and after each Mass. Make these next two weeks a life-changing retreat and a world-changing celebration. "Now is the acceptable time! Now is the day of salvation!" (2 Cor 6:2)
Prayer: Father, in the next two weeks do more than I can ever ask for or imagine (Eph 3:20).
Promise: "Sing to the Lord, praise the Lord, for He has rescued the life of the poor from the power of the wicked!" —Jer 20:13
Praise: Although he came to Jesus late in life, Richard proceeded to give all he had for God's glory (see 1 Cor 10:31).
Nihil Obstat: Reverend Robert L. Hagedorn, July 23, 1998
Imprimatur: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, July 27, 1998