Sisters of St. Francis of the Holy Cross in Green Bay, WI
Reflection for April 8, 2019

Reflection for April 8, 2019

Who has 'loved you back to life'?

Jesus shows us how genuine concern for others is the way out of darkness

by Sister Lynne Marie Simonich

For those parishes with a Rite of Chistian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) process this Lent, the Gospel used will be the raising of Lazarus from the dead. Those not involved with the RCIA will hear about Jesus forgiving a woman caught in adultery. There is a connection between these two Gospel passages. 

I was in a parish several years ago and knew a family that went through quite an ordeal.  The mom and dad were expecting their second child. Their 7-year-old daughter was very excited waiting for a new brother or sister. The day came for a trip to the hospital where a baby boy was delivered. The little family waited in the hospital room for the baby to be brought in. However, a nurse came in to tell them the sad news that their son didn’t make it. Something went wrong. The nurse brought in their son so they could all hold him and have their “good-byes”. The grief in that room was overwhelming. Each of the family members held this precious baby in their arms, kissing him, rubbing his arm and saying “I love you”. Their son was taken away and the family was left to mourn together. 

Not long after this, the nurse came running in. Their son was alive! She saw the sheet covering him move and then heard him cry! The doctor was examining him, not sure what happened. Soon the doctor came in with their son, alive and well. He gave their son to his mother and said there was no medical explanation for what happened. He believed that the family had  “loved him back to life”. Loved back to life! 

I think that is what happened to Lazarus and the woman caught in adultery. Jesus loved them back to life … Lazarus brought back from the darkness of the tomb and the woman brought back from the darkness of sin. 

What can we do to love others back to life -- the neighbor who lost his or her job; the little child whose grandmother died; the husband or wife watching his or her spouse suffer from dementia; the teenager who was injured in a school sport; the parents who lost a child to drug addiction or violence?  What can we do?

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Comments: 

CommentBubbleAn incredibly moving story! ... loved the child "back to life". What can we do? A lot! What should we do? Make more of a "deliberate" effort from Him through us to love others lives back to life... ~ Michael V

CommentBubbleWow! What a beautiful moving story. Brought me to tears. God give me the strength to love all my family members this much. God Bless all the Sisters. ~ Randy

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