Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent
(Isaiah 49:8-15; John 5:17-30)
As St. Patrick is the patron of Ireland, the words of the
characteristic Irish ballad, “Danny Boy,” may be recalled today. They tell of a parent calling for his or her
son who has left his homeland. The lad
may have gone off to war or perhaps to the United States. His return is not expected soon; indeed, the
parent expects to be dead when Danny comes back. When he does return, the parent asks that he visit
his/her grave to say an “Ave” or “Hail Mary.”
Danny is to pray for his parent’s eternal life. Jesus provides reason
for the prayer in today’s gospel.
In John’s account of the passion, Jesus is not tried by the
Jewish Sanhedrin. Nevertheless, he faces
Jewish interrogations throughout his ministry as in this passage. In fact, in the other gospels the Jews ask
Jesus what is at issue in today’s gospel: whether Jesus is God’s Son. His affirmative answer includes a declaration
that the Father has given him power to judge the dead. He will determine whether each dead person is
worthy or not of eternal life.
We pray that our dead loved ones will be just mercifully by
the Son of God. They were not perfect,
but they did do “good deeds,” the criterion for a positive judgment. As we pray the “Ave” or “Hail Mary” for our
dead, we also recommend ourselves for prayer.
We ask the Virgin to pray for us “now and at the hour of our death.”
