In 1986, I participated in a Renewal Program at our Generalate in Rome.

I flew from La Paz, Bolivia, to Lima, Peru, and then flew with KLM (the Royal Dutch Airline) to Amsterdam, and finally on to Rome. On the way home, I first went to see my family in Ontario, and it happened that the airline put me up in a hotel in Amsterdam for a night. After I was settled in the hotel, I went to the main desk and said, Can you please tell me how to get to the house of Anne Frank? So, the person at the desk gave me a map and indicated how to get there. I walked there, but at that hour it was closed, but I wanted to be prepared to go the next day. So, the next morning I returned to the house of Anne Frank, an experience that I appreciated very much. I thought of that story when I first read the gospel (John 12:20-33) earlier this week. In the gospel some of the Greeks come and say to Philip, We would like to see Jesus., just like I said I would like to see the house of Anne Frank. There were lots of things that I could have done or seen in Amsterdam, but I wanted to see that. The Greeks could have made many inquiries about Jesus, but their request was simple, We would like to see Jesus. I am sure that we had the opportunity as did the Greeks we would have also asked to see Jesus, and probably would have gone prepared with lots of questions, having heard about his wise teaching and miraculous acts. But Jesus does not WOW them with a great teaching , or with a miracle. Rather, he speaks to them about his suffering and death probably the last thing we would have expected to attract followers. Tonight/Today we also say to ourselves, I want to see Jesus. That is only natural, as his followers. We want to know all we can of him in a personal way, in order to experience him in a significant way. Where do we find Jesus? One of the answers we have already discovered because we are here at the Eucharist we put ourselves in the places and with the people who also seek Jesus. Where and how do we see Jesus here? First of all we see him in the assembly, recognizing the call of God to all of us to be followers of the Lord Jesus. In one another we should recognize Jesus as he lives in each one of us. When we gather together we share that life of Christ in each one of us, enhancing and encouraging one another in our discipleship. Second, we encounter in Christ in the person of the priest, as imperfect as I am. The Eucharist I offer to the Father, in union with Jesus, with the grace of the Holy Spirit. I offer the Eucharist for us all. My words and actions, at Mass and outside of Mass, should reflect the person of Christ in a special way through my ordination. A third way is we encounter Jesus in the gospels. He is the Word of God! We hear the Sacred Scriptures each Sunday, and in a particular way in the gospels the words of Jesus we are supported and challenged on our faith journey. This word enlightens us and guides us, hopefully helping us to go forth and transform the world, beginning with ourselves.

Finally, and most significantly, we see Jesus in the bread and wine his Body and Blood. Jesus becomes present on this altar, and when we receive him with faith and devotion he becomes a part of us, and we in turn become a part of him. This moment of encounter when we hear The Body of Christ and The Blood of Christ should be one of the greatest source of grace and power for us of our whole week. In the gospel Jesus tells us that when a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies it produces much fruit. That fruit, here and now, is his grace, and that fruit is also the life to come. To follow Jesus Christ means to die to ourselves to our selfishness, our independence, our pride, our sin so that we can rise with him and bear fruit the values and virtues of the kingdom of God. In particular, during the Lenten season we share in that paschal mystery dying and rising as we pray, fast and show charity to one another. That is how we bring the life of Jesus to the world. Just as he was lifted up from the earth on the cross of Calvary, we too will be lifted up to the extent that we conform our lives to the life of Jesus, that our lives and his intersect and we show forth that he is our Lord and Saviour. In the Second Reading St. Paul, in his Letter to the Hebrew (5:7-9) proclaims that the loud cries and tears of Jesus were a sign of obedience to his Father, and his single mindedness in doing the will of the Father. St. Paul tells us that when he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him. We will see Jesus in our obedience to God, and others will see Jesus in us to the extent that we are obedient to him. In the First Reading from the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah (31:31-34) God reveals through Jeremiah that he will make a covenant with the chosen people. He will establish that holy pact of faith and love with them that will be forever and one-hundred per cent. He says, I will place my law within them, and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Such beautiful and encouraging words! God enters into our lives. He wants to be seen! He wants to be experienced! He wants to be loved, obeyed and served! However, we must be open to that life of God, and to his revelation, just as we must be open to see Jesus. God is with us, bombarding us with grace and opportunities, but do we seek him, recognize him, accept him, and live with him? On this Fifth Sunday of the Lenten season our beautiful readings encourage us in our Lenten journey. Tonight/Today we are called to seek Jesus, and to look for him where he hangs out and in and with the people he hangs out with. We are those people, and Jesus wants us to be more closely united to him. His suffering and death were not for some of the people for some of the time, but for all of us all of the time. Are we willing to be for him, and with him, and in him, all of the time? Do we truly want to see Jesus?