Tuesday 4th week of Lent
"Jn 5:1-16"
One man was there, who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him and knew that he had been lying there a long time, he said to him, "Do you want to be healed?" The sick man answered him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is troubled, and while I am going another steps down before me." Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your pallet, and walk." And at once the man was healed, and he took up his pallet and walked.
Thirty-eight years persistently trying to get into that pool but no one helped him. We understand the man's complaint: "Sir, I have no man." No one ever told him 'Listen, forget the pool. I know a better solution: go to Jesus. He can and would love to help you...' We have friends to help, people who need our assistance to go to God. Lent is a time to bring people to God. It doesn't matter how bad they are or how long they have been in that state. They need a push.
During a retreat, a man heard this piece of advice: "Never let a day pass without talking to someone about God," and he decided to put it into practice. One night, arriving home, he remembered that he hadn't talked to anyone about God that day. At that moment he met a neighbour in the elevator. He hesitated for a moment because he wasn't very familiar with that man, but then he thought, 'This is going to be my last chance.' He turned to him and said: "Good night! I am going to say the rosary with my family in a few minutes; do you want me to pray for anything in particular?" The neighbour was shocked for an instant; then he said, "Please pray for my fiancée." He explained that they were going through a difficult patch in their relationship. They chatted a bit more and agreed to meet again. That was the beginning of a long friendship. Ten months later, in a ceremony in the parish, that neighbour – by now a close friend – and his fiancée became Catholic, received their first Holy Communion and Confirmation and got married all in one go! What would have happened if he hadn't decided to talk to that unknown person that God had placed in front of him in the elevator that night? The neighbour could have complained, 'No one has ever talked to me about God!' Holy Mary, Queen of Apostles, may I never miss any opportunities to bring people to your Son.
