Wednesday, March 16, 2022 — Second Week of Lent — I am the light of the world, says the Lord. Whoever follows me will have the light of life — Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 20, 17-28

In today's Gospel, Jesus invites us to reflect on our motivation to be Christians. The answer is obvious: "We are Christians because we want to follow Jesus Christ". The normal way to follow Jesus is this: those who wish to follow Jesus must participate in his fate, in his martyrdom, in his Passion and this is what he indicates to us. Unfortunately, quite a few Christians are contaminated by the virus of the sons of Zebedee, diverting this path, wanting to follow Jesus Christ in the sole desire to participate immediately in his glory without first going through suffering. In any case, participation in the glory of Christ, as a reward, depends solely on God the Father.

Like Jesus Christ, Christians are executors of the Father's saving plan. In this case, we are invited by Jesus to participate in his mission of evangelization and this task could end with the passion that Jesus himself experienced and of which we warned. We are therefore invited to implore the grace of the Lord which will allow us to bravely face the mission that Jesus asks us to accomplish today.