“[It] was for this purpose that I came to this hour” are Jesus’ words before entering into his passion and death. In this fifth week of Lent, we notice a shift in the Gospel readings from Jesus’ teaching on how his disciples are to live in the world, to greater focus on Jesus’ last days before his crucifixion. This is no coincidence. The Church does this to help us focus our attention to Christs’ last days on earth and guide us on how to enter into the mystery of the cross. In his letter to the Hebrews, St. Paul writes, “[W]hen Christ Jesus was in the flesh, he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death…” Christ knowing his death was near pleaded to God the Father to deliver him from it. In dying on the Cross , St. Paul tells us, Christ was obedient to the will of the Father and gained for us “eternal salvation.”
My brothers and sisters, how are we to find meaning in Christ's suffering and death in our own lives? We do not simply read about Christs’ life as if we were reading some event in history. More than this we reread them to enter into the mystery of our salvation. Let us ask ourselves these questions. What is God’s purpose for us? If it is not loving Him and doing what He asks of us, then what is it?