From Destruction to Rebirth: The Cycles of Spiritual Growth

Julie South [00:00:03]:
Welcome to your catholic corner. I'm your show host, Julie south. Peace be with you. Your catholic corner helps Catholics spiritually prepare for each Sunday's mass starting midweek each week. You can listen to your catholic corner@yourcatholiccorner.com today we're uncovering biblical gems hidden in the books, starting with second chronicles, Paul's letter to the Ephesians and John's Gospel in catholic speak. We're in the fourth week of Lent in year B, which means there's just two more weeks until it's Easter. To kick off, we have this week's listener question of the week, and it's a big one. It's a doozy.

Julie South [00:00:52]:
It's great. It's what is reconciliation? Where is it mentioned in the Bible? And why don't other christian churches have it as well? Great question. Remember that when two or more are gathered in Jesus'name like we are now here with you and me, he is here with us. The Bible passages we're reading from today are two chronicles, chapter 36, verses 14 to 16, and then 19 through 23 Paul's letter to the Ephesians, chapter two, verses four to ten, and John's Gospel, chapter three, verses 14 through 221.

Julie South [00:01:37]:
But before that, a quick word about your catholic corner, just in case this is your first time here. Regardless of where you are on your spiritual journey, whether you've only just heard of that man called Jesus, you're new to Catholicism or you're a cradle Catholic, my prayer is that your catholic corner will help bring God's word to life in your heart through insights, reflections and practical applications that help deepen your relationship with God. Every Thursday we'll start preparing for mass by uncovering the richness hidden in each Sunday's Bible readings, from Old Testament prophecies to gospel parables. I invite you to join me and the parishioners of the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Hamilton, New Zealand, sponsors of your catholic corner so that together we can hear God's word and echo. Samuel, speak, Lord, your servant is listening. Now let's get back to today's show.

Julie South [00:02:38]:
This week's listener question of the week. What is reconciliation? Where is it mentioned in the Bible? And why don't other christian churches have it as well? As I said just now, great questions. Well, because there are three questions all rolled into one, and each answer is important and significant. I'm going to answer it in three parts over the next few weeks. Let's start off with what is reconciliation? Well, reconciliation, also known as confession or penance by some is one of the seven sacraments in the catholic tradition. And I'm sure you know that these are baptism, confirmation, Eucharist, which is also known as communion. Then we have penance, reconciliation, and confession. We have anointing of the sick.

Julie South [00:03:35]:
We have holy orders that's applicable to our clergy, and then we have matrimony. Reconciliation for Catholics is a really important way for us to be forgiven by God for our sins. We believe that through reconciliation, we are reconnected and reconnecting with God and the church community, our church community. Reconciliation is based on biblical accounts of Jesus forgiving people's sins. And it typically involves when you go into a reconciliation with the priest, you're asked to examine your conscience, to reflect on the sins. This can be on things that we've thought, things that we've done, maybe even things that we haven't done. For example, we could turn a blind eye to something where the right thing to have done would have been to take an action to help out. That can be considered a sin.

Julie South [00:04:38]:
And we then confess our sins to a priest, or to the priest. We pray as a way of expressing with the priest, of expressing our sorrow, and we ask for forgiveness. We receive God's absolution when the priest forgives your sins on behalf of God. And then we undertake an act of penance, like prayer or service to make up for our wrongdoing. I remember when I was going through my RCIA, my rite of catholic initiation for adults. Monsignor Arahol, who was the spiritual director of that program I was in, told us that in Greek, the translated word for sin actually means to miss the mark, to stray off course. So sinning in a biblical sense means that we're off the mark of how God wants us, you and me, to live our lives. Which the makes sense that to get back on the mark, we need to own up, to face up to God so he can forgive us and then we can get back on course.

Julie South [00:05:46]:
Now, I'm sure you've had the feeling where you've got the weight of having to admit to having done something or not done something. It's like a weight that you carry around until your can get it off your chest by letting someone know, or get it off your shoulders by letting someone know what you've done. This is what reconciliation, confession, or penance is all about. It's letting us get of our shoulders and our chests, our being off the mark with God as well as our hearts. And that's where we've earned, where we've all been off course with God. So when you think about it, when I think about it, it's a great way. Reconciliation is a great way for us to get back on course, to admit it, own up, take our punishment. And I use punishment in air quotes, which is usually when the priest tells us that we need to get closer to God through prayer and then being able to move on.

Julie South [00:06:46]:
When we reconcile with God through this special and this beautiful sacrament, us Catholics believe that grace has been restored to our soul. It means that we're back in good standing with God and the church. Priests are bound to confidentiality about anything learned during the rite of reconciliation, the act of confession, therefore. So you can see, hopefully, this sacrament, the sacrament of reconciliation, is a way for us catholic to experience God's mercy, be forgiven, and spiritually grow. We'll answer the rest of the other two parts of that next week and the week after this coming Sunday, the fourth Sunday of Lent. We're reading from two chronicles, chapter 36, verses 14 through 1619 through 23. Paul's letter to the Ephesians, chapter two, verses four to ten, and John's Gospel, chapter three, verses 14 through 21. Right.

Julie South [00:08:06]:
What's today's connecting theme between them? Is there one the two Bible passages, the first reading and John's Gospel are. So the second chronicles and John's Gospel are connected by the themes of sin, judgment, and salvation. So it's actually apt that we talked about reconciliation. I explained a little bit about what reconciliation is because we've got sin coming up today. In the passage from two chronicles, we hear about the sins of the jewish people, their idols, and their disobedience to God's messengers. Because of their actions, they faced the punishment of destruction and exile. However, even in the midst of that flagrant and absolute disobedience, God showed his mercy and compassion to them and allowed the people to return to Jerusalem and then rebuild the temple under the rule of Cyrus, who was the pagan king of Persia at the time. Here we have the pattern of sin, punishment, and then restoration being highlighted, followed then by God's forgiveness.

Julie South [00:09:23]:
This is what characterizes the relationship between God and his people throughout the Old Testament. Then in the gospel passage today, we have from John, we have John speaking of Jesus being lifted up. And that's a parallel or a parallel, for this is the bronze serpent that was lifted up by Moses in the desert. It refers to Jesus'crucifixion and resurrection as the means of rescue of salvation, or rescue and salvation for all people, for you, for me, for them, for us today, just as those who looked up at the bronze serpent that was lifted up, were healed. So too, all who believe in Jesus. And I'm hoping that you listening here today will have eternal life. This gospel passage emphasizes God's love for the world and the gift of salvation through faith in Jesus. The common theme in both passages is the love and the mercy of God and his offer of salvation, of being saved.

Julie South [00:10:40]:
Despite the sin and the disobedience of the people, God continues to reach out to them. He offers them a way to be saved and restored to a right relationship with him, an honorable and a loving relationship, a respectful relationship with him, a believing relationship. Both of these passages underscore, and they reinforce the need for our repentance and our faith in God's absolute provision for our forgiveness and our eternal life. So that's the connection between our Old Testament, the first Bible passage today, second chronicles, and the Gospel reading. This is for the fourth Sunday of Advent in year b in the catholic calendar. Now, with that as a backdrop, let's pray together the three Bible passages for this fourth Sunday of Lent in year b. The first reading is from the second, the book of the second chronicles. All the heads of the priesthood and the people, too, added infidelity to infidelity, copying all the shameful practices of the nations and defiling the temple that the Lord had consecrated for himself in Jerusalem.

Julie South [00:12:17]:
The Lord, the God of their ancestors, tirelessly sent the messenger after messenger, since he wished to spare his people and his house. But they ridiculed the messengers of God. They despised his words. They laughed at his prophets until at the last wrath of the Lord rose so high against his people that there was no further remedy. Their enemies burned down the temple of God, demolished the walls of Jerusalem, set fire to all its palaces, and destroyed everything of value in it. These survivors were deported by Nebuchadnezzar to Babylon. They were to serve him and his sons until the kingdom of Persia came to power. This is how the word of the Lord was fulfilled, that he spoke through Jeremiah.

Julie South [00:13:12]:
Until this land has enjoyed its sabbath rest, until 70 years have gone by, it would keep Sabbath throughout the days of its desolation. And in the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, to fulfill the word of the Lord that was spoken through Jeremiah, the Lord roused the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia, to issue a proclamation and to have it publicly displayed throughout his kingdom. Thus speaks Cyrus, king of Persia. The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has ordered me to build him a temple in Jerusalem, in Judah, whoever there is among you of all his people, mary, his God, be with him. Let him go up. The word of the Lord. A reading from Paul's letter to the Ephesians.

Julie South [00:14:18]:
God loved us with so much love that he was generous with his mercy when we were dead. Through our sins, he brought us to life with Christ. It is through grace that you have been saved, and raised us up with him and gave us a place with him in heaven, in Christ Jesus. This was to show for all the ages to come, through his goodness towards us in Christ Jesus, how infinitely rich he is in grace. Because it is by grace that you have been saved through faith, not by anything of your own, but by a gift from God, not by anything that you have done, so that nobody can claim the credit. We are God's work of art, created in Christ Jesus to live the good life as from the beginning he had meant us to live it. The word of the Lord. A reading from the gospel of St.

Julie South [00:15:36]:
John. Jesus said to Nicodemus, the son of man must be lifted up as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him. Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave his only son, so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost, but may have eternal life. For God sent his son into the world not to condemn the world, but so that through him the world might be saved. No one who believes in him will be condemned. But whoever refuses to believe is condemned already, because he has refused to believe in the name of God's only son. On those grounds is sentence pronounced that though the light has come into the world, men have shown they prefer darkness to the light because their deeds were evil. And indeed, everybody who does wrong hates the light and avoids it for fear his actions should be exposed.

Julie South [00:16:43]:
But the man who lives by the truth comes out in the light, so that it may be plainly seen that what he does is done in God. The gospel of the Lord was God saying to you. Remember that we each hear God differently depending on what's going on in your lives at the time. What God is saying to me might not be what God is saying to you. In two chronicles, we see that even after disaster and exile, there was still a chance for the people to redeem themselves and rebuild. This gives hope that I think, that no matter the mistakes we make, we can acknowledge them, make amends, and start over, because those people back then did some pretty rotten things. Also, countries and communities and God still forgave. Countries and communities can also recover after hard times when people work together.

Julie South [00:18:03]:
So therefore, to me, the message is not to lose hope. Renewal is always possible. But what meaning does that have for us today? Well, perhaps we can perhaps reflect on past mistakes that we have made and take steps to make amends, to seek forgiveness, maybe even to forgive others. And we can practice forgiveness, letting go of guilt and blame to start fresh. Because after all, if God can forgive us, why can't we forgive others? Then? In Paul's letter to the Ephesians, we're told that our value isn't just in our achievements, but in who we're created to be. That's pretty powerful. I'll say that again. We're told that our value isn't just in our achievements, but in who we're created to be.

Julie South [00:19:07]:
Everyone has goodness to offer, regardless of who they are, regardless of their status, regardless of where they come from. It encourages living to serve others through love and grace, and that both of those things can positively change communities. There's hope. The message is that our lives have purpose, even in hard times. So what does that have for us today? Well, we could put up our hands and volunteer and may idea even say at your local parish. I know that at the cathedral where I am, we are always looking for helpers at mass. There are quite a lot of jobs to do to allow mass to go ahead, to happen, to happen smoothly. So I'd like to encourage you to put your hand up and volunteer to be part of the community, really part of it.

Julie South [00:20:12]:
And then also, and I'm sure you do this, but it's a takeaway that today I got for us to treat all people with dignity, regardless of their background. And then finally, in John's gospel, we have the metaphor presenting faith or conviction as an inner light that offers strength and healing. The key message is that belief has power to uplift us. In the darkest of times, when we live by the ideals of love and service, we're able to guide our actions towards good. The message then is that despite challenges, there's always hope within if we seek it when we look for it. Okay, Julie, all very well and good. What does that mean for us today? Well, we can express gratitude for all our blessings every single day, however large or small, that we have in our lives. And we can show love by doing selfless things for others actions where we seek no reward or no thanks.

Julie South [00:21:30]:
So, in general, for example, this coming week, God might be asking us to find the light or the goodness in dark times and situations. You will know whether that applies to you to support others going through personal crises, you may have somebody in your world who's suffering right now and then to live guided by ideals, the ideals of grace, service and unconditional love. All simple but not necessarily easy things. The main ideas, I think, are to see that there's possibility after loss. We can act all act charitably to build community and we can find purpose in service. We can spread hope and inspiration, and we can let God's love lead the way. So what about you? What was God saying to you this week through these men? I hope you found all this interesting and helpful. I hope this podcast helps you prepare and maybe even understand, just a teeny, tiny, incy wincy dinky little bit better, the wonderful word of God and the catholic faith.

Julie South [00:23:04]:
Thank you for spending the last half an hour or so of your life with God and me. I pray that each of these Bible passages has been able to make the difference that God wishes for you today in their own way, in your life. Thank you for getting this far. Can I ask you to do me a huge favor? Please? If you enjoyed today's show, can you please help me spread God's word about your catholic corner? All you have to do is tell three of your friends and family about this podcast so they can hopefully benefit as well. Letting them know how to do that is really easy. Just invite them to visit yourcatholiccorner.com and there they can subscribe and follow the show. It's free, it doesn't cost anything. Thank you very much.

Julie South [00:23:59]:
Wherever you are, I pray that God's glass of love overflows in your heart and your life, and that when you're ready, you're able to accept God's invitation to you to join him to share in Holy Communion this week at your local parish. And finally, I'd like to say thank you to the parishioners of the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Hamilton, Godzone, New Zealand, who helped me bring this podcast to you today. This is Julie south signing off until next week. Peace be with you. God bless.