INTRODUCTION TO HOMILIES FOR 3RD, 4TH AND 5TH SUNDAYS OF LENT

The Easter season is a time for mystagogy. The new Christians, born again at Easter, have been made Christian by the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist. After a week’s celebration of Easter, the new Christian comes back for the period of mystagogy – in other words, the entering more deeply into the mysteries of Christ so as to live these mysteries in everyday life. On the third, fourth and fifth weeks of Lent, these new Christians encountered five wonderful New Testament characters: the woman of Samaria, the man born blind, Martha, Mary and Lazarus. John’s Gospel draws on these stories because he wants to introduce the new Christian in the Johannine community of the early Church to people who have moved through the same spiritual experiences described in the Gospel of John. What are these spiritual experiences? As they learned at Eastertime to live the paschal mystery, they too lived their paschal mystery. The Lord’s paschal mystery was his dying and rising for the salvation of the world. The new Christian in John’s community, like the woman from Samaria, have moved from sin to grace, and with the man born blind they have moved from darkness to light, and with Lazarus they have moved from death to life, eternal life with God the Father and all his saints. The three following homilies reflect on those transitions.