The season of Lent invites us to recognize this deep truth: God’s tremendous love for you and me. The love of the father, the love of the Son, the love of Mother Mary. God's tremendous love for us is a tale as old as time, a narrative woven through the fabric of existence itself. It's a love that transcends understanding, a love that defies logic and a love that was vividly demonstrated through the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
A contemplation on the scene at the garden in Gethsemane helps us witness the depth of God's love as Jesus fervently prayed, knowing the agony that awaited him. He pleaded with God, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done" (Luke 22:42). Despite the fear and anguish, Jesus willingly surrendered to the Father's will out of love for humanity, for you and me. His passion began with this act of submission, marking the commencement of a journey that would culminate on the cross.
When we take time to enter into the journey where Jesus was led to Golgotha, staggering under the weight of the cross, we experience how every step echoed the resounding declaration of God’s love. With each lash of the whip and each thorn pressed into his brow, he bore the weight of humanity's sins. In his suffering, he embraced the brokenness of the world, offering redemption and reconciliation to all who would believe. His death on the cross was not merely an act of martyrdom but the pinnacle of God's love manifested in human form.
Yet, the story does not end at the cross. It is in the empty tomb that God's love shines most brilliantly. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the ultimate victory over sin and death, a testament to the incomprehensible depth of God's love. Through Christ's resurrection, we are offered the promise of new life, a life infused with hope, purpose and eternal significance. As the apostle Paul writes, "He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification" (Romans 4:25).
God's tremendous love for us is not confined to words or sentiments but is a love that is tangible, visceral and transformative. It is a love that pursues us relentlessly, even in our darkest moments. It is a love that stoops down to lift us up, that embraces us in our brokenness, and that offers forgiveness and redemption freely.
Through his passion, death and resurrection, Jesus Christ revealed the depths of God's love for humanity. It is a love that knows no bounds, a love that conquers all and a love that invites us into a relationship that transcends time and space. As we contemplate (a necessary act of prayer) the enormity of God's love demonstrated on the cross, may we be compelled to respond with hearts full of gratitude, devotion and awe. For in God's tremendous love, we find our truest identity and our deepest purpose: to love and be loved in return.
Fr. Amit D’Souza, SJ
Creighton Prep