Isaiah 65:17-21 / John 4:43-54
The season of Lent is a season of grace and blessings.
For those who are preparing for Baptism at Easter, it is a time of purification and enlightenment.
As those Elects go through the Scrutinies, they go through the purification of their past sins and they experience forgiveness and healing.
They are also enlightened as they let the light of God shine into the darkness of they lives and they walk towards that light.
Indeed, for the Elect, the season of Lent is an experience of joy and gladness.
But the blessings of joy and gladness is not only for the Elect but also for the whole Church.
God also wants to bless each of us with joy and gladness, just as God blessed His people with joy and gladness in the 1st reading.
It is also what the court official experienced in the gospel when his son recovered for the serious illness, just as Jesus had said he would.
Let us, like the Elects for Baptism, go through our purification and enlightenment through prayer, penance and alms-giving.
And we will receive the blessings of joy and gladness from God.