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We have arrived at the third Sunday of Lent with beautiful readings that kind of capture everything we've been building up to through the readings of this week's masses, where we are speaking about the Old Testament Israel becoming the new spiritual Israel, the chosen people of God from every nation, from every tongue, from every creed, anyone who has received Jesus, the gift of the Father who so loved the world that he sends his only Son into the world. And by so doing, one has not only received eternal—or the possibility of eternal—life, but affiliation to the Church, God's kingdom on earth, the new chosen people of God.

Le letture di questa terza domenica di Quaresima ci mostrano il passaggio dall’antico Israele al nuovo Israele spirituale. Dio, che ha tanto amato il mondo da mandare il suo Figlio, ora chiama a far parte del suo popolo tutti coloro che accolgono Cristo con fede.

On this second Saturday of Lent, I'd like to reflect with you on the mercy of our Heavenly Father and the mercy of our Blessed Mother. Mercy figures prominent in today's readings, first from the Book of Micah, chapter seven, where we read: “Who is there like you, the God who removes guilt and pardons sin for the remnant of his inheritance; who does not persist in anger forever, but delights rather in clemency, and will again have compassion on us, treading underfoot our guilt. You will cast into the depths of the sea all our sins. You will show faithfulness to Jacob and grace to Abraham, as you have sworn to our fathers from days of old” (Micah 7:18–20).

Le letture di oggi ci parlano profondamente della misericordia di Dio. Il profeta Michea proclama: «Quale Dio è come te, che toglie l’iniquità e perdona il peccato… e getterà in fondo al mare tutti i nostri peccati» (Michea 7,18-20). Dio non si stanca di perdonare e desidera sempre rialzarci quando cadiamo.

As we continue to walk with our Lord on this second Friday of Lent, in today's readings we hear his piercing words of 2000 years ago which indicate the consummation of one age and the beginning of another. They are words which describe how God the Father, through the rejection of his only Son, God the Son, would extend an invitation to anyone who would accept his generous outpouring of grace and make of them his newly chosen, his treasured and holy people set apart to do his will in Christ.

Le letture di oggi ci mostrano un passaggio importante nella storia della salvezza: dal popolo dell’antica alleanza al nuovo popolo di Dio. Israele fu scelto dal Signore come popolo dell’alleanza, come leggiamo: «Se ascolterete la mia voce e custodirete la mia alleanza, sarete per me una proprietà particolare fra tutti i popoli» (Esodo 19,5-6). Tuttavia questa elezione era sempre legata alla fedeltà del cuore.

Today we celebrate in the Franciscan Order a life that was extraordinarily devoted to Christ, that of Saint Joseph. Saint John, Joseph of the cross, and the readings for his mass are taken from Philippians three and Matthew 19, as you will find on the printed version of our homily. And before we go into those readings, let me just give you a bit of a background as to who this beautiful saint was, some of his biographical details.

Oggi, nell’Ordine Francescano, celebriamo San Giovanni Giuseppe della Croce, un uomo totalmente donato a Cristo. Nato a Ischia nel 1654, entrò giovanissimo tra gli Alcantarini e visse una vita di austerità, preghiera, obbedienza, povertà e profonda umiltà, pur ricoprendo anche incarichi di responsabilità come guardiano e provinciale.

We are presented with yet another saint who stands out as a great model for us as we continue to delve deep into our relationship with the Lord. And that saint is Saint Casimir. It's an optional memorial, so we're going to take the opportunity to reflect on his life and how it can be applied to our Lenten journey.

San Casimiro, principe di Polonia e Lituania, visse nel XV secolo in un ambiente di potere e ambizione politica, ma si distinse per pietà, purezza e carità. Pur destinato al governo, scelse una vita di preghiera, austerità e devozione alla Vergine Maria, preferendo la santità al prestigio terreno.

I do hope that your Lenten journey so far is proving to be fruitful to your spiritual life and your continued progress in prayer, the most important element of our life. As you know, my brothers and sisters, during Lent we do not celebrate too many saints, feasts, and memorials because it is a penitential season. However, some saints do shine forth, and they are a bit of a breath of fresh air for us in that they give us some lighter spiritual contemplation during this ascetical period. Saint Joseph being one of them, for example, March 19th. And today I felt that this optional memorial to Saint Katharine Drexel is so important for us to consider, especially we who are Franciscans and Franciscan affiliated, because Saint Katharine Drexel had a beautiful connection to the friars.

Nel tempo di Quaresima celebriamo pochi santi, ma alcuni brillano come segni di speranza nel nostro cammino penitenziale. Tra questi vi è Santa Caterina Drexel, nata a Philadelphia nel 1858 in una famiglia immensamente ricca, ma profondamente segnata dalla sofferenza delle comunità native americane e degli afroamericani privati di adeguata istruzione.