St. Augustine of Hippo had to grapple with the mystery of the Blessed Trinity. How can the three Divine persons be in one God? As he tried to look for answers to this query, he encountered a child on a seashore digging a small hole. What are you doing he asked the child. The child answered him: "I will transfer the whole ocean into this small hole." St. Augustine said in reply: "That's impossible or preposterous."

I am reminded of a famous adage or quote: "Promises are made to be broken." I suppose this is true for us humans. We have made a lot of promises to people, but how many times have we broken them? This is not so with Jesus. He always fulfills His word and promise. He said this in His Last Supper discourse to His disciples: "I will ask the Father and he will give you another Paraclete - to be with you always: the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept..." (Jn 14:16) "When the Paraclete comes, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father - whom I myself will send from the Father - he will bear witness on my behalf. (Jn 15:36) If I fail to go, the Paraclete will never come to you." (Jn 16:7)

Fr. Flor McCarthy, SDB, the author of the New Sunday & Holy Day Liturgies, has a beautiful anecdote to share with us. When Jesus returned to heaven after His death and resurrection, the Archangel Gabriel was surprised to see Him back soon. "Back so soon?" Gabriel said to Jesus. "Well, I would have stayed longer but they crucified me," Jesus replied. "Oh so, they crucified You," said Gabriel. "That means You failed." "Not necessarily," said Jesus.

In order for us to understand well and deeply this particular Gospel account, it is necessary and expedient to know the context where this particular passage is located in the whole Gospel. Where was Jesus? What was he doing? To whom is this particular passage is addressed? What were the circumstances or situations the disciples faced?

In last Sunday's of readings, we reflected one of the most beautiful descriptions of Jesus being the Good Shepherd. We Catholics have many titles to address Jesus and these are embedded in our devotions to honor Him like the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Diving Mercy, the Black Nazarene (famous in the Philippines), The Holy Child, the Redeemer and Christ the King.

Every Fourth Sunday of Easter is called the "Good Shepherd Sunday" because the readings are centered on the attitudes and attributes of a Good Shepherd. Jesus is presented as the "Good Shepherd" par excellence. In fact, this is one of the most beautiful descriptions of Jesus. The early Christians depict this well. I remember, when went down to the catacombs in Rome, several years ago, a saw a statue of a Roman boy carrying a sheep on his shoulder which aptly describes Jesus as the Good Shepherd.

One of the most dramatic appearance stories of Jesus in the Gospels is the appearance of Jesus on the road to Emmaus. The two disciples were walking on the road to Emmaus, sad, disgruntled and downcast. Why? Because their expectation of Jesus from Nazareth whom they considered as a prophet with mighty word and deed before God and people was not met. And they were hoping that he would redeem Israel and how the chief priests and scribes handed him to be crucified.

If you want information, I will always say: "Google it". You can practically get all information in the Google platform. I considered it to be the modern day Encyclopedia. According to Google, the "Divine Mercy Sunday originates from the private revelations of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, a Polish nun who recorded in her diary that Jesus a wanted feast day dedicated to his profound mercy on the Sunday after Easter.” St. Pope John Paul II formally established it on April 30, 2000, thus it is celebrated annually throughout the Catholic Church on the Second Sunday of Easter.

Among the women disciples of Jesus that I admire most is Mary Magdalene. Why? Because she was a very courageous woman. She was not afraid of darkness. She went alone to the tomb of Jesus very early in the morning. Indeed, she profoundly missed the loving presence of Jesus. Her action expressed her deep love of Him. But when she saw the stone removed in the tomb, she immediately dashed to report the incident to Peter and John by saying: "They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don't know where they put him." (Jn 20:2)

It is important and expedient to recall Christ’s entry to Jerusalem. It shows the determination of Jesus to fulfill His Father’s plan to save the world by taking the role of the suffering servant. Jesus’ determination in doing so shows this by riding in a donkey, which is a sign of humility. The people waved palms and place their cloaks on Jesus’ way and they acclaimed him as the “Son of David,” a royal title that evokes the dignity and pride of David, especially of what he did for the people of Israel. But this will be the same crowd who would jeer and shout: “Crucify him! Crucify him!” after five days. Why a drastic change of attitude towards Jesus?

Time flies so fast. We have done the first scrutiny and the second scrutiny for our Elect. Back in the Philippines, we seldom have this rite because we don't have catechumens. We are blessed to have catechumens in our parishes. Let us join our catechumens and elect as they journey towards Easter.

At the 4:00pm Mass last Saturday, we held the first scrutiny to our Catechumens. I told them that they are like Jesus who thirsts for water...not just for the element of water that quenches our thirst, but for the faith (Baptism) and the Holy Spirit who guarantees eternal life. And in the process, they gradually discover Jesus as the ordinary man, the prophet, the Messiah and the Savior of the world. And the secret is just they have to be attentive and be focused on Jesus, especially on his words - the words of Jesus that lead to the truth. Like the Samaritan woman, who was able to proclaim Jesus as the Savior of the world to her people.

It is interesting to note that the word "Lent" comes from the old English term "Lencten" which means springtime. Indeed, Lent is the time of spiritual renewal, a kind of spiritual "springtime" wherein we try our best to allow our souls and spirits to bring forth shoots of hope, vigor, purpose and holiness. Let us allow Christ to transfigure us into a new man or person who understand that it is necessary for us to undergo suffering and pain in order to transverse into life.

One of the ways to keep the spirit of Lent is to gaze at Jesus, to listen to his words, and to follow his ways. Last Sunday, he taught us how to overcome our temptations by not giving in to human desires and wants, but focusing on the Word of God. Allowing it to convict us. By avoiding the occasion of sin, and avoiding "short-cuts" devoid of pain and suffering. And by totally being dependent on God, asking the Holy Spirit to help us overcome our temptations and sins.