Daily Reflection Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent

We're at this special time in Lent where we're nearing the finish line and the world is transforming around us. the days are longer, the sun shines a little warmer, and the buds are hinting at what is to come. I've always enjoyed how here, in the northeast, the liturgical seasons find an easy connection to the seasons and weather. Easter is just ahead of us, but the heavy days of Holy Week must be lived first. So we are reminded in today's Gospel to continually align ourselves, and check ourselves as we course correct throughout Lent.



Two themes in today's Gospel really stand out: the role of Scripture in our faith and the lure of human praise. Like many, I’ve often tried to “figure out” my faith—to make sense of God’s presence through reason alone. I’ve searched Scripture, hoping for that one passage that would make everything click, that would confirm beyond a doubt all that my heart already knows. But Jesus’ words challenge this approach:



“You search the Scriptures,

because you think you have eternal life through them;

even they testify on my behalf.

But you do not want to come to me to have life.”



It’s easy to read and analyze; it’s harder to surrender and truly encounter Jesus. Lent invites us to move beyond simply knowing about Him to actually knowing Him—through prayer, through stillness, through deepening our relationship in the way St. Ignatius taught: by imaginatively placing ourselves with Jesus, walking with Him, speaking with Him, listening.



Jesus also warns against seeking human praise over God’s. How often do we follow the crowd’s approval instead of God’s quiet call? This passage reminds me to be discerning—do those I admire reflect Christ’s love? Do they lead me closer to God? More importantly, do I seek affirmation from the world, or am I striving to live for God’s praise alone?



This Lent, I pray for the grace to not only read and reflect, but to draw near to Jesus in a deeper way—to listen, to pray, to love, and to let go of anything that keeps me from fully trusting in Him. Amen.