Are you ready for a trim? In today's Gospel, we hear the familiar teaching of the vine and the branches. Jesus reminds us that if we remain close to him-living in humility, following God's law, loving our neighbor-we will notice a positive change in our life and the lives of those around us.

Today's Gospel occurs in the middle of Jesus' ministry. At first, Jesus' words seem to be about the value of self-sacrifice in a leader. "I am the Good Shepherd. I will lay down my life for the sheep." The Apostles likely would have accepted these words easily enough. But then comes something more strange. "I lay down my life in order to take it up again. I have power to lay it down and power to take it up again." Only later, when Jesus opened the Scriptures to them after his resurrection, would the Apostles understand his words. Only then would they understand why such an act was necessary for the salvation of the world.

"Why do questions arise in your hearts?" After the Resurrection, the Apostles experienced their fair share of incredulity. Jesus had died-John had been there-and now the tomb was empty. What should they believe? Was the Jesus before them truly real? And who was Jesus really? It's no surprise that the Apostles were initially "startled and terrified" to the extent that they "thought that they were seeing a ghost." Jesus has compassion on his confused friends. Once he affirms his non-ghostly identity--"look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself"--Jesus gets down to business.

The first light of Easter dawn had begun to creep over the horizon. The steadfast women from Friday's gory events are returning again to the body of their Lord. "Who will roll back the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?" How quickly we return to mundane concerns and how thoroughly God wants to surprise us! Imagine the utter shock upon seeing the stone rolled away, the tomb empty, and a stranger clothed in light proclaiming the impossible. "You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; he is not here." He is risen indeed and the world will never be the same.

Our humanity bleeds through today's Gospel passages in more ways than one. We see both elation and fall, hope in the midst of the darker sides of our natures. If we allow it, these Gospels hold a mirror to our own fickle hearts. The crowds cry "Hosanna" and the Apostles profess allegiance unto death. In a manner of days -- even hours -- Jesus is betrayed, abandoned, denied, condemned, tortured, and executed. As God, he could have stopped this horrific narrative from unfolding, but he doesn't. He allows free will to play itself out.

Now there were some Greeks among those who had come to worship at the feast. They came to Philip and asked him, 'Sir, we would like to see Jesus.'" It has begun. News of Jesus has spread beyond native-born, Aramaic-speaking Jews. We don't know if the Greeks mentioned here heard of Jesus from fellow travelers or if news of this intriguing rabbi had reached all the way to their home. What we do know is that this interaction spurred an interesting comment from Jesus: "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified." In other words, it has begun. The time has come for the message to move beyond the geographic bounds of Israel.

Why is the world the way it is? We all wonder that from time to time. Each successive generation projects rose-hued longing on the past and casts furtive glances at the impending future. We see forces beyond our control in nature and in the newspaper. The world is changing and we're being pulled out with the tide.

We all have things in our lives that don't belong there. Maybe it's the poor way we allow someone to treat us, maybe it's a habitual sin, maybe it's a pattern of thought or attitude that traps us in a cycle of regret, anger, or an inability to forgive. Jesus has bold words for us today: "Take these out of here."

How are your Lenten resolutions? By the time week two rolls around, plenty of well-meaning people have skipped, neglected, or outright forgotten their Lenten resolutions at least once. It can be easy to start excusing our Lenten commitments altogether.

Last week we saw Jesus driven into the desert. This Sunday, we see Jesus leading his disciples to an equally barren place: he "led them up a high mountain apart by themselves." But what happens there? "And he was transfigured before them and his clothes became dazzling white." Today's Gospel reminds us of the goal. We don't enter into the desert for the sake of suffering, but for the sake of transformation.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Once again, the Pasch of the Lord draws near! In our preparation for Easter, God in his providence offers us each year the season of Lent as a “sacramental sign of our conversion”.[1] Lent summons us, and enables us, to come back to the Lord wholeheartedly and in every aspect of our life.

We may not like it, but generosity and risk often go hand-in-hand. At least, that's what Jesus shows us in today's Gospel as a leper approaches him for healing. Until the nineteenth century, lepers were shunned to the margins of society for fear of spreading the disease. To touch a leper was to risk becoming unclean yourself. In today's Gospel, Jesus defies convention. "Moved with pity, he reached out his hand, [and] touched him." The leper is healed! But this is not the only risk Jesus takes.

For most of us, the dynamic between prayer and action is imperfect. Breakfast needs to be made and the kids dressed. Work demands our energy and additional responsibilities fill our evenings and weekends. Then there's the football game or a new TV series to stream. After all, don't we need to relax?