Father Jorge Miró shares with Exaudi readers his commentary on today’s Gospel, Sunday, March 10, 2024, titled “Rebirth means opening oneself to the love of God, letting oneself be loved by Him.”

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Today we celebrate the Sunday called laetare, of joy, because we sing in the entrance antiphon: Celebrate Jerusalem, rejoice with it, all you who love it.  Rejoice in her joy, you who mourned for her. You will suck at her breasts, and you will be satisfied with her comforts (cf. Is 66, 10).

What is the cause of so much joy? The Word has given us the answer: in the Gospel, we have heard that God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son so that everyone who believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. And Saint Paul has also told us: God, rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, while we were dead to sins, has made us alive with Christ—by pure grace, you are saved—he has raised us with Christ Jesus, and has seated us in heaven with him.

This is the cause of our joy: the faithfulness of God, the certainty that there is nothing and no one that can separate us from the love of God. The certainty that death has been defeated.

God, in his infinite love, offers us salvation freely: by grace you are saved, through faith. And this does not come from you: it is a gift from God. Nor does it come from works, so that no one can boast.

God invites us to leave the slavery of sin and rebuild our history from his mercy. God gives his love without limits. He has not sent his Son to condemn, but to save. He asks us, however, to believe and love the light so that our works may be done according to his will.

The Word of God presents us with Christ crucified as the light and salvation of the world, the light that truly illuminates our lives, the light that can help us find the authentic meaning of life.

But this salvation has to be accepted. When the light came, men preferred darkness to light. Being reborn implies, consequently, an entire attitude of conversion. Being reborn means opening yourself to the love of God, letting yourself be loved by Him. It means letting yourself be transformed by the Holy Spirit, the only one who can truly change your heart.

The Word of God that we proclaim today invites you to come out of the darkness and seek the light that is Christ. It invites you to examine your own life in the light of the teaching of Jesus Christ and the Church, and to see if it adjusts to the light that is Christ, or if there are still dark areas, full of darkness, that need to be illuminated.

It is important that you discover that the light of Christ must illuminate your entire life: all aspects and all areas of your life must be illuminated by the light of Christ. No corner of your life can escape this light. If you are a Christian you must be so in everything you think, say and do, because we are His work. He has created us in Christ Jesus, so that we may devote ourselves to good works.

Come Holy Spirit! (cf. Luke 11, 13).

Happy Sunday! Happy Eucharist!