Saturday 12TH April – Saturday of the 5th week of Lent
Reflection: John 11:45-56
THE RANSOM FOR OUR SINS
“The Son of man has not come to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). Ransom is a consideration paid or demanded for the release of someone from captivity. It has its root in the Latin word “redemptio” – meaning Redemption. Christ’s mission involved restoring man to God by redeeming him from sin and infusing divine life into him. To redeem man from sin, Christ had to offer His own life as a ransom, that man may have life in abundance (John10:10). Caiaphas, the High Priest, asserted the ransom Christ must pay to gather into unity the scattered Children of God.
Dear Friends, Christ paid the debt He did not owe because we owed a debt we could not pay. Out of the abundance of Love we have received, we who have been ransomed must offer ourselves as a ransom for our brethren (1 John 3: 16). Each time we lift the cross from another’s back, each time we assist our colleagues in some small tasks, each time we lend a hand in anyway, it matters not to whom; we are assisting Christ to pay the ransom for others. Each time we offer ourselves (our time, talents and treasures) as a ransom for others, we lift the awful weight of the cross that crushes the back of Jesus.
Let us make a firm decision today to be ready to give ourselves, comfort etc that others may have life.
Prayer: Lord I offer myself as a Living sacrifice to you, please use me for your own glory. Amen.
KNOW YOUR FAITH: CCC 74 – Transmission of divine revelation
God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” that is, of Christ Jesus. Christ must be proclaimed to all nations and individuals, so that this revelation may reach to the ends of the earth.
HIDE A TREASURE: “The king will answer, ‘Truly I say to you: whenever you did this to these little ones who are my brothers and sisters, you did it to me’ Matthew 25:40 CCB
Readings for today: Ezekiel 37:21-28, Canticle: Jeremiah 31:10-13, John 11:45-56
Catholic Devotional for Youth 