Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent - March 28, 2022
I
became a Catholic in my twenties. At the time of my conversion, several people
asked me why, of all the religions, had I chosen Catholicism. The question was
asked as if choosing a faith were similar to choosing from a menu at a
restaurant, and I recognized the question to be asking, “I understand a belief
in a god, but why would He become man, suffer, die and be buried?”
And
that is an excellent question. God in His omnipotence could have chosen any
other way to bring us up from the nether world and change our mourning into
dancing. Would God partner with us in our misery?
Today’s
Gospel helps me understand His incarnation. Jesus said to him, “Unless you
people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.”
Though
He could have done many other things, there was nothing more fitting or
convenient or beautiful than to give His life to lift us from the nether world.
Who could better give us signs and wonders than God himself in the flesh? We need God to save us, and we need God in
human form to establish faith and show us a way.
As
I reflect on my conversion, the physical encounters with faith were critical:
simply seeing the spire of my church from my office window, inhaling the smells
of incense and the church itself, hearing the distant sounds of bell ringing,
participating in the ritual of showing up in the body and going through the
routines of faith, appreciating the grace of a stranger and the comfort of a
friend. These are signs and wonders.
We
have intuitions about God. There is an order to the world that demands a
source. I think if we look for truth and an explanation, we will find them all
around us.
Q: What “signs and wonders” have I witnessed today that help me believe?
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