The Catholic Calendar for Saturday, April 1, 2006
Saturday of the Fourth Week of Lent

Scripture from today's Liturgy of the Word:
Jeremiah 11:18-20
Psalm 7:2-3, 9-12
John 7:40-53

A reflection on today's Sacred Scripture:

"So a Division Occurred in the Crowd Because of Him. . ."

The truth articulated above is the sad truth of much of Christianity. From the Pelagians, to the Arians, to the Protestant reformation, there are always those who are ready to tear away from others on the basis of His name.

Those who are prepared to accept Him at His word and for Who He is, will always follow Him. We say that He is the Christ. But others say that He was a great prophet, a teacher, a good man, a leader of the people, a man who never intended to be God, and so forth.

We live in the society and culture defined by the "division in the crowd" over and over again. We have split so many times that there are more than 22,000 Protestant denominations, with new ones cropping up every week or so.

This division is not from God. It is from us. It is from our deepest selves who fear to follow God as He calls. The division in the crowd can often be found within our own souls. We want to follow God, but we fear what we might be asked to do if it were so. Or perhaps we don't wish to surrender this or that material pleasure. Even today there is a division in the crowd.

But Christ comes to heal ALL division. At His death, the veil in the temple was torn apart--the separation of God from humanity had drawn to an end and the Holy Spirit was sent out to all. With Jesus, all division is brought together, if we will surrender to Him. If not, we continue to wound the body of our Sacred Lord.

Lent is a time to think hard about what we do that brings us together or tears us apart. What part does each one of us play in the body of Christ and how might we aid others in fulfilling their roles? The organs and cells of a body work together, so must it be in the mystical body of Christ.

Let us pray for an end to division--in ourselves, in the world, and in the Body. Let there be no more division amongst us for His name's sake.

- JuandelaCruz
(sriddle415 at yahoo dot com)

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