To imitate Christ in His obedience

John 12:20-33

"Let him follow me where I am."


It was by the obedience of Jesus that saved us from a direction of sin and death. Though Adam had sinned, the new Adam - Christ - recovered our life of grace by His obedience.

Many verses in today's gospel lend rich imagery to this virtue of Christian obedience: 

"Unless the grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies" 

"Let him follow me where I am" 

"It was for this that I came to this hour"

"Once I am lifted up from earth". 

All these verses can remind us of who Christ is to us by His obedience to the Father's will: 

Jesus is our Bread of Life 

His mission is to be an itinerant preacher calling us to be His disciples

His agony in the Garden of Gethsemani teaches us obedience that is a dying to self-will

His death on the Cross equates His obedience to the Father in their love for all of us.


Sin has entered our humanity ever since Eve obeyed the suggestion of the Evil One and Adam obeyed the suggestion of Eve. We know that this inherited sin lives in us when we are aware of the darkness of our rebelliousness to law or disrespect for authority - in whatever form they may require of our respective states of life. It can start with a small undisciplined desire, which if left unchecked, can lead us to all sorts of bad habits and vices. However, what Jesus has taught us is the solution to all these bad habits: to be vigilant over our senses and to desire to obey God's will to do what is good and upright. 

Healing from sin and evil is a lifelong process. But it is possible, with God's grace. All the Saints were aware of their sinfulness. The 43-year old French missionary, St. Louis-Marie de Montfort (1673-1716 A.D.), was aware of this even in his deathbed. But God gave Him the grace to be grateful when he exclaimed: "I shall sin no more". 

The Lenten season can be a time to practice obedience again. To pray, fast and give alms. Like St. Louis-Marie de Montfort, our fidelity to this practice can grant us the healing we need for both body and soul. We practice good habits one day at a time. And we imitate the obedience of Christ one day at a time. 

1st Sunday of Lent (B)

Inspire in Us the Practice of Good:

Reflections for Spiritual Growth and Self-Renewal, 1st Sunday of Lent (B), February 26, 2012

Liturgical readings

Genesis 9:8-15 Psalm 25 1 Peter 3:18-22 Mark 1:12-15

"Reform your lives and believe in the good news."

The gospel passage for this 1st Sunday of Lent (B) is comprised of only 4 verses; yet, in many Catholic bible translations, this passage is divided into two paragraphs: The Temptation of Jesus (verses 12-13) and The Beginning of Jesus' Galilean Ministry (verses 14-15). Mark's description of the temptation of Jesus is not as detailed as that of Matthew's version (Mt 4:1-11), nor of Luke's version (Lk 4:1-13). In Mark's version, there are no descriptive details of the Jesus' encounter with Satan. And the victory of Jesus over Satan's temptation is implied in the gospel of Mark.

Jesus was like us in every way except for sin. God was made flesh in Him to give us strength against sin and the practice of virtue. Because of the sin we inherited from Adam and Eve, we easily succumb to sin, either venial or mortal. Only Jesus in His purity can give us strength to obey God and His commands, follow His counsels and inspirations. Since we have been gifted with faith at our baptism, we have the responsibility to nurture this faith in Jesus. The quality of this faith is what can help us overcome temptations, such as the craving of the flesh, the concupiscence of the eyes, and the strong pull of worldly ambition - three temptations that can ruin and destroy our souls (as it almost did St. Augustine, before his conversion).

In one of his sermons, St. Augustine says that the battle against evil is "harsher for those who are young". He is speaking from experience and reflecting in his wisdom years. It is true. In old age, the seniors (seasoned Catholics) know well about this fight and have passed through it many times. Quoting St. Augustine, he says: "you have grown old in this combat...age has worn you of the fight". And the wise saint continues also to say that even old age can "wear out the foes". But St. Augustine knows the importance of vigilance, because he knows the ancient enemy still "does not cease to disturb the peace even of old age".

Points for reflection: What passages in the Bible or traditional Catholic prayers can help us overcome the temptations we encounter in daily life and work or leisure? What means can we take to avoid situations that can lead us to sin?

3rd Sunday of Advent (A), December 12, 2010

While the server of the web site is being restored, the Sunday Reflections at the web site will temporarily be posted here.

Inspire in Us the Practice of Good: Reflections for Spiritual Growth and Self-Renewal, 3rd Sunday of Advent (A) - December 12, 2010
Liturgical readings
Isaiah 35:1-6, 10
Psalm 146
James 5:7-10
Matthew 11:2-11

"Go back and report to John what you hear and see."

St. John the Baptist and Jesus our Lord. Both prophets; both martyred very harshly. John prepared the way for Jesus; Jesus prepares the Way for all of us. John decreases himself, that Christ may increase in the world; Jesus on the other hand commends John for his great role in the history of our salvation. How little we are compared to the stature of these two great men; and yet, we are also called to follow their footsteps in the many ways we can.

By our baptism in the Catholic Church, we share in the prophetic mission of Jesus. A prophet is one who speaks to God's people - one who announces the Good News, and one who denounces the evil of his times. John's prophetic mission was to help people turn from their evil ways and prepare themselves for the coming of Jesus. Then Jesus' prophetic mission was to proclaim liberty to captives, sight to the blind, and a year of favor from the Lord. By our baptism in Christ, we become a prophetic people. Our prophetic mission as people in ordinary life, is to be the "salt of the earth and the light of the world".

When we imagine what happened to the prophetic life of St. John the Baptist and that of Our Lord, we may say, "how can we follow in their footsteps since our lives are not as pure and as simple as John and Jesus were?" Though there are surely others in the Church who are called to make this same witness as John and Jesus (those who are gifted to become martyrs), our prophetic witness can be as simple as opting to follow and obey the stance of the Church as regards respect for life. By simply respecting life in all its stages (from womb, to its end in the tomb), we stand with Christ and the Church in the mission to see life as sacred and a gift from God.

Points for reflection: How do we already show our respect for life in all its stages? What other steps can I take so that we can show our love for God by our respect for people, who are not of the same class, educational background, culture, or belief as we are?