“Make a New Covenant” By Jim Bayne

 “Make a New Covenant” By Jim Bayne

Fifth Sunday of Lent

See, days are coming—oracle of the LORD—when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. (Jeremiah 31:31)

A clean heart create for me, God; renew within me a steadfast spirit. Do not drive me from before your face, nor take from me your holy spirit. (Ps 51:12-13)

In the days when he was in the flesh, he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. (Hebrews 5:7)

“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but it produces much fruit if it dies. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life. (John 12:23-25

Piety

All-powerful God, I want to be committed to you. Let me abide in you and your glory. Help me stay focused on your word and rest on your promises. Fill me with faith that doesn’t falter, Hope that is everlasting, and love overflowing. Your gift of Jesus was the greatest gift of love. Allow me to share that truth with others. Amen. [Based on 1 COR 13:13] DailyPrayerGuide.net

Study

Before beginning any project, it is crucial first to establish the goal to be accomplished. This week, God sets the goal he wants us to strive for:

I will place my law within them and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

So, the goal is obvious: God desires to have a loving relationship with us. It is important to note here that the relationship is not just with you or me. The desired relationship is with “My People.”  

So, what is the plan for “We, God’s People,” reaching this goal of a loving relationship with God? The psalmist tells us that to establish this relationship with God, we need to have a clean heart and a steadfast spirit. This spirit is not just any spirit; it is the Holy Spirit. We must not let anything get between our face and the face of God. In other words, we need to keep our eyes on the prize.

The reading from Hebrews and the Gospel tells us that reaching our goal of a relationship with God will not be a walk in the park. We must stay in close contact with God all along the way and not hesitate to call out to him for help when we need it. That is going to be just about every day. If you have any doubt about that, reflect upon this past year. There is a reason that Jesus asked if he could pass up the cup that the Father was offering him. There will be days on our journey when we, too, will want to pass up the cup.

The challenges each of us faces can be many and varied. It is the same with “we” as a community. Physical, mental, or sexual abuse in the family or work environment, chronic pain or illness, systemic racism, poverty is just a few of the challenges.  

In addition to these physical and mental challenges, we all face challenges in our spiritual lives. We live in a time when for many, our religious institutions no longer seem to offer meaningful supports in our efforts to reach our spiritual goals. Most churches continue to see steady annual declines in membership and participation—those who remain divide along ideological lines. The pandemic witnessed a drop of some 110,000 children in Catholic schools. Many elementary and high schools have had to close. These are indeed difficult days.

Action

Here are some actions we can take to help us work our way through the challenges that come our way, both physical and spiritual. First and foremost, we must be willing to persevere. To persevere, we need companions on the journey. For those of us who are a part of the Cursillo community, we know how important it is to have a weekly group reunion. It is essential to open our group reunions to people who have not yet made a Cursillo weekend during these difficult times. The weekend can come later after we get through the pandemic. It is more important to get people into a group than to get them through a weekend.

Second, we need to bring energy and passion to our endeavors to establish and maintain a relationship with God. Our group can provide some of that energy and love. Still, we also need a personal prayer life if we ever expect to develop our own intimate and personal relationship with God. All of the great spiritual masters devote at least an hour a day to prayer and contemplation. We need that time alone with God.

We also need to know and understand how Jesus, the ultimate role model for the life journey, did it. Scripture is the fundamental source, but countless other resources can help us better understand what we read in scripture. In Cursillo, we call this Study.

Finally, we need to reach out and touch the people around us the way Jesus did all the time. Jesus never met a stranger. Each encounter with “The Other” is an opportunity to touch the hand of Jesus. Our parishes offer many different ways in which we can be involved in serving other people. Check your parish website or the Sunday bulletin for ideas. For example, parishes rarely have enough CCD teachers.