Two-Minute Homily by Fr Frank Jones for the Third Sunday of Lent 2024. “There are really only two things we need to do in Lent. And that is prayer and love, simple.”
- Two-Minute Homily Transcript
Two-Minute Homily Transcript
Author: Archdiocese of Brisbane
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. In the gospel of this Sunday in Lent we hear very strongly the words of Jesus, take this out of here, you’re turning my Father’s house into a marketplace. Then following we hear the beautiful line, zeal for God’s house. This time of Lent is exactly about this eagerness, this zeal, for God’s house. And where is God’s house? It’s within you and me.Our bodies are his temple, our minds and our souls are connected to that temple, they’re all one. And what the Lord asks of us in this season of Lent is to make room for him. To declutter our lives especially our internal life with all the things that are unnecessary and that prevent us from hearing the voice of God. The voice that speaks of love and peace, the voice that helps us come back to our true selves. There are really only two things we need to do in Lent. And that is prayer and love, simple.
Carlo Carretto who I was reading about just the other day, he was a wonderful Frenchman who gave his life in social justice and service to the poor and especially the young of France. And then he heard a deeper call by Jesus himself to go out into the desert, into the Sahara in Africa and the call was of two things, the Lord asked of Carlo just the two simple things I spoke about earlier, I want your prayer and your love, I don’t need your work, I just want your prayer and your love. So in this season of Lent let us follow that call.
When Carlo was walking into the desert he met a man, his name was Kada, a Muslim who was poor and he was very cold as you know it’s very cold at night in the desert and he asked Carlo for a blanket. Carlo said, I’m sorry but I can’t give you any blanket. Later that night when Carlo was trying to sleep he couldn’t sleep Carlo had two blankets and he was afraid to give one of them to Kada because he thought he would freeze in the desert. And the Lord spoke very clearly to him during the night you see I’m calling you to prayer and to love because you needed to love Kada, you needed to give him what he desired, which was the warmth of a blanket and you think your love for me is strong and yet you weren’t able to give one blanket.
So all of us in Lent are called to a deeper personal relationship with God. To give up all that we don’t need and to leave the space for him to come and dwell within us. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.