As I read the readings for this Third Sunday of Lent I am reminded of my ‘former’ life.  I am a cradle Catholic which for me meant going to Sunday Mass, reciting the rosary and following the ‘rules’ or The Ten Commandments out of fear of God and going to Hell.  These practices were more mechanical rather than intentional.  In other words, I was ‘going through the motions.’  I’m not saying I didn’t have faith.  It was there.  The seed was planted.  The thing about a seed is that it has an outer shell which needs to break in order for it to sprout.  My seed broke open when I met Jesus.

I met Jesus when I opened the door of my heart to him.  Over the course of years Jesus waited patiently for me.  He nourished me in his gentle way as he spoke to me in the readings at Mass and gave himself to me in the Blessed Sacrament.  He was watering my ‘seed’ when I was just ‘going through the motions.’  When I encountered Jesus in a real way my ‘seed’ eventually broke open and started to sprout.  

My faith began to blossom as my relationship to Jesus grew.  Over time I realized I matter to Jesus.  He came down from his heavenly throne to give his life for me so I can spend eternity with him in Heaven.  In the second reading Saint Paul proclaims “Christ crucified”, and in the Gospel of Luke Jesus himself says, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.”  Jesus shows his love for me through his actions.  Jesus loves me.  Like St. Paul I will boast of Christ crucified because I love Jesus.  And following Jesus’ example I do my best to demonstrate my love for him in my actions. 

In my ‘former’ life I believed the Commandments were an imposition on me.  I didn’t want to be told what to do.  However, now that I know Jesus (and trust him) I realize the Commandments are for my well-being.  The first three Commandments guide me in my relationship to God, the next seven establish my relationship with my neighbor.  Out of love for Jesus I try as best I can to align my actions with these commands.  When I fail to follow the Commandments I know I’ve hurt my relationship with Jesus.  I go to him in the Sacrament of Reconciliation because he is compassionate and merciful, but mostly because I am sorrowful for having hurt him whom I love so dearly.  It’s no longer out of fear that I try to follow God’s moral law, but out of love for Jesus, my friend, who I know loves me.