February 7, 2008
As you know, the liturgical season of Lent started yesterday - Ash Wednesday. It seems rather ironic that we were just celebrating Jesus' birth about a month ago, yet now, we have begun to commemorate His passion.
We typically commemorate a person's death by recalling the life that he once lived. Since Jesus is fully human, we commemorate His death the same way. However, Jesus is also fully divine. It is His divinity - it is the very fact that He was, is, and will always be God - that allowed Him to save us from our sins. It is therefore insufficient to say that we commemorate His death merely in remembrance of the physical life that He lived , for we also commemorate His death in remembrance of His ultimate sacrifice, which shows the unconditional love that He has for each and every one of us.
Lent, of course, is the season that allows us to prepare for this commemoration. As we journey through this season of preparation, may we always remember God's unconditional love for us. Finally, may we always resist temptation, just as Jesus did in the desert, so that we may "turn away from sin, and be faithful to the Gospel."
Author: Frolin S. Ocariza, Jr.
