My friend Sheryl Coronel posted this after former president Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the International Criminal Court: “It is proof that God’s love does not discriminate. . . . It is also proof that God loves even the unjust that Duterte’s freedom has been taken from him. Perhaps in the silence of his quarters, stripped of his power and influence, he can finally hear the voice of God. Here is a man determined to go to hell. But Jesus did not come to condemn but to save. This is proof that He has intervened in the life of Duterte, offering to him a chance to reflect, to repent, to come back to God.”

You may or may not agree with my friend’s stand depending on your political bias. But her post made me realize that what we sometimes think as punishment could actually be God’s mercy at work. God’s nature is not to punish. If it was, then He would have left us to our sins and not sent His Only Son. God’s nature is to redeem. He wants to save us. So even His justice is actually His mercy to set us on the right path. 

Rissa Kawpeng (rissakawpeng@gmail.com)

reflect

God’s justice and mercy are two sides of the same coin. What you think is an unfortunate incident in your life could very well be God’s intervention to bring about results beyond what you ever wished for. 

Father, have mercy on me, a sinner. Amen.

 St. Cyril of Jerusalem, bishop and Doctor of the Church, pray for us.

Isaiah affirms that God will never forget His people. Our feeling of abandonment is a result of our sins. This truth is a part of our understanding of God’s unfailing and unconditional love for us. However, God’s love will be fully effective in our lives depending on how we respond to Him.

⁸ Thus says the Lord: In a time of favor I answer you, on the day of salvation I help you; and I have kept you and given you as a covenant to the people, to restore the land and allot the desolate heritages, ⁹ saying to the prisoners: Come out! To those in darkness: Show yourselves! Along the ways they shall find pasture, on every bare height shall their pastures be. ¹⁰ They shall not hunger or thirst, nor shall the scorching wind or the sun strike them; for he who pities them leads them and guides them beside springs of water. ¹¹ I will cut a road through all my mountains, and make my highways level. ¹² See, some shall come from afar, others from the north and the west, and some from the land of Syene. ¹³ Sing out, O heavens, and rejoice, O earth, break forth into song, you mountains. For the Lord comforts his people and shows mercy to his afflicted. ¹⁴ But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me.” ¹⁵ Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you.

Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 145:8-9, 13-14, 17-18

R: The Lord is gracious and merciful.

⁸ The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness. ⁹ The Lord is good to all and compassionate toward all his works. (R) ¹³ The Lord is faithful in all his words and holy in all his works. ¹⁴ The Lord lifts up all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. (R) ¹⁷ The Lord is just in all his ways and holy in all his works. ¹⁸ The Lord is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth. (R)

Gospel | John 5:17-30

Jesus knows that what He is saying is difficult for the leaders and the people to accept. However, we can never hide from the truth. What Jesus is telling the people is essential to our understanding of the gift of salvation. If we reject what Jesus is saying, we will not be drawn into the dynamic of salvation as God intends.

Gospel Acclamation

I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord; whoever believes in me will never die.

¹⁷ Jesus answered the Jews: “My Father is at work until now, so I am at work.” ¹⁸ For this reason they tried all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the sabbath but he also called God his own father, making himself equal to God. ¹⁹ Jesus answered and said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, the son cannot do anything on his own, but only what he sees his father doing; for what he does, the Son will do also. ²⁰ For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything that he himself does, and he will show him greater works than these, so that you may be amazed. ²¹ For just as the Father raises the dead and gives life, so also does the Son give life to whomever he wishes. ²² Nor does the Father judge anyone, but he has given all judgment to the Son, ²³ so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. ²⁴ Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life and will not come to condemnation, but has passed from death to life. ²⁵ Amen, amen, I say to you, the hour is coming and is now here when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. ²⁶ For just as the Father has life in himself, so also he gave to the Son the possession of life in himself. ²⁷ And he gave him power to exercise judgment, because he is the Son of Man. ²⁸ Do not be amazed at this, because the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice ²⁹ and will come out, those who have done good deeds to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked deeds to the resurrection of condemnation. ³⁰ “I cannot do anything on my own; I judge as I hear, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will but the will of the one who sent me.”

Reflect

Do you have doubts or questions about God’s gift of salvation? 

What aspect of salvation do you find difficult to accept or understand?

Read the Bible in one year! Read GENESIS 22 - 24 today.

I once came across a moving Facebook post. It featured a picture of a chubby little boy and this message: “A child who loses parents is called an orphan. A person who loses a spouse is called a widow or widower. But what do you call a parent who loses a child? There’s no word for it because no word can capture the pain.” The post ended with, “It’s been eight years since we lost you, but it still feels like yesterday.” It struck a deep chord in me.

This grief reminded me of a Ukrainian man who lost his wife and children in a bombing. People in such moments often feel utterly forsaken. It mirrors the feelings of the Israelites during Isaiah’s time, who believed that God had abandoned them. But God’s message through Isaiah is one of hope and love: “I will never forget you.”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus offers a similar assurance of hope. He says, “Whoever hears My word and believes in the one who sent Me has eternal life . . . he will pass from death to life.” Jesus reveals His intimate relationship with the Father, emphasizing that the Father’s work continues in Him. He is not distant but actively working to save and give life.

This promise of life is not just for the future—it begins now. Jesus speaks of a spiritual resurrection—a new life for those who listen to His Word. For those feeling burdened, broken, or lost, His words offer profound reassurance.

In moments of loss, like the grieving parent or the suffering Ukrainian man, the Gospel reminds us that God is never absent. Jesus is actively bringing life and healing to the wounded. His work continues, inviting us to trust and find hope in His promise of eternal life. 

Fr. Toto Cerada, SDB

reflection questions

This Lent, how can you deepen your trust in Jesus’ promise of life and healing? What areas of your life need His saving Word and presence?

Lord, open my heart to Your life-giving Word. Help me trust in Your promise of eternal life and healing. Strengthen my faith and renew my hope. Amen.

Today, I pray for: _________________________________________________________