How can I, on this Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent, reconcile the external forces that “#make” economic assistance contingent on policies, thereby blaming demographic growth instead of addressing our unsustainable consumerism, with the hope I find in witnessing even the humble Shepherd’s Purse at The Glenn making a tiny white bloom—as I continue to make time to pray for a miracle for Daniel, trusting that true contentment comes from within rather than from mere having—when the Gospel challenges me by asking, “Who do you make yourself out to be❓“
Gospel
Jesus said to the Jews:
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever keeps my word will never see death.”
So the Jews said to him,
“Now we are sure that you are possessed.
Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say,
‘Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.’
Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died❓
Or the prophets, who died❓
Who do you make yourself out to be❓“
Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is worth nothing;
but it is my Father who glorifies me,
of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’
You do not know him, but I know him.
And if I should say that I do not know him,
I would be like you a liar.
But I do know him and I keep his word.
Abraham your father rejoiced to see my day;
he saw it and was glad.”
So the Jews said to him,
“You are not yet fifty years old and you have seen Abraham❓”
Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you,
before Abraham came to be, I AM.”
So they picked up stones to throw at him;
but Jesus hid and went out of the temple area.
Lent Day 32 Lectio Divina on the word “make“
Each morning, I make my way across the fields at The Glenn, noticing the small, persistent signs of life—like the tiny white bloom of the Shepherd’s Purse. It’s not planted or pampered, yet it makes its presence known, quietly insisting on its worth. I wonder, in my own life, how often I dismiss something simple and sacred just because it doesn’t come wrapped in grandeur. I make time to notice these small witnesses, as they seem to carry more truth than the noise of the day.
The world makes demands on countries, on people, on faith—tying aid to ideologies, growth to guilt, and progress to policies that rarely reflect the dignity of life. I find myself resisting the pressure to accept these terms, trying instead to make space for what Pope Francis calls an “integral and shared development.” It’s not easy to stand firm when the current is strong, but if a flower can bloom against the odds, can’t I also make room for hope❓
In my prayer, I continue to make petitions for Daniel’s healing. Not out of desperation, but out of love. I make room in my heart each day for both the possibility of a miracle and the grace to accept what is. Fulton Sheen reminds me that peace is not about having, but being. So I try to make my soul a place of stillness, not panic. I do not want to be made bitter by suffering, but rather be made more merciful because of it.
And so I ask myself, as I read the Gospel and hear the question asked of Jesus: do I make myself into someone grasping for control, or someone shaped by trust❓ Do I make myself into a follower of comfort or a seeker of truth❓ When I walk in faith, even when it’s hard, even when it hurts—
At times, developing countries face forms of international pressure which make economic assistance contingent on certain policies of “reproductive health”. Yet “while it is true that an unequal distribution of the population and of available resources creates obstacles to development and a sustainable use of the environment, it must nonetheless be recognized that demographic growth is fully compatible with an integral and shared development”.[28] To blame population growth instead of extreme and selective consumerism on the part of some, is one way of refusing to face the issues.
FROM PARAGRAPH 50 OF THE ENCYCLICAL LETTER LAUDATO SI’ OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS ON CARE FOR OUR COMMON HOME