Wednesday 4th Week of Lent
Isaiah 49:8-15 John 5:17-30
The WORD in Other Words by Fr Gary Bacol SVD (Argentina)
Whenever I hear confessions I also feel people‘s pains especially when they find it difficult to forgive themselves for the pain they caused to their loved ones. It‘s hard to console them with words; I only listen attentively to their laments.
I believe the gesture of listening is enough to “bring them back to life” as they unburden. At the end of every confession, before the absolution, I always ask them to pray the Lord‘s Prayer and contemplate every word especially the part that says, “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.”
In today‘s Gospel, Jesus said, “the son cannot do anything on his own, but only what he sees his father doing.” Giving life is what He saw his Father doing. So, Jesus brought back the dead to life. He also brought back to life the people living in sin by forgiving them.
All of us are sinners. We easily fall into sin. Jesus said in the Gospel, “I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life and will not come to condemnation, but has passed from death to life.” In the season of Lent, through the sacrament of reconciliation, let us turn back to God, the source of and giver of life.
Éditions Verbum Bible 
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