4TH WEEK OF LENT

Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe. 

If you’ve ever played “peekaboo” with a baby, you know how fun it is. Nothing can compete with the child’s surprise and delight when you take your hands from your eyes and say the magic words! But did you know that games like peekaboo are essential for a child’s intellectual development as well? They help teach children something called “object permanence”—the understanding that a person or object still exists even if it’s hidden from view.

As adults, we need to develop a spiritual type of object permanence. We all yearn to see God and to know that he is right here with us. We would all love to see miracles in our lives. But God isn’t immediately visible, and miracles don’t always happen. So the lack of concrete evidence may lead us to wonder if God is truly present.

But just like a good parent, God wants to help us learn that he is “hidden” but still present. And one of the ways he does this is through the grace of the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, Matrimony, and Holy Orders.

We may think of these sacraments as just singular events that happened in our past. But the truth is that the graces God poured out on those special days remain with us always. They empower us to live out the new life we received in each sacrament.

For instance, the grace of Matrimony remains with a husband and wife every day. It helps them to love one another no matter the circumstance. The grace of Confirmation helps us continue to live in the power and confidence of the Holy Spirit every day. It’s through these graces that we can lift up our hearts in prayer, place our faith in the Lord, and experience him working in our lives.

Jesus’ words to the royal official in today’s reading—“Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe”—don’t have to apply to you (John 4:48). Because of the grace of the sacraments that God has poured into your heart, you can believe every single day. Even on those days when he seems absent, he is standing by your side!

“Thank you, Father, for the grace of your sacraments, which help me believe in your constant presence in my life!”

Isaiah 65:17-21
Psalm 30:2, 4-6, 11-13
John 4:43-54