April 11, 2025 - Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent

Artist Sister Mary of the Compassion, OP (1908-1977)

“He sees you when you’re sleeping, he knows when you’re awake, he knows if you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness' sake.” No, this is not a misprint of an Advent reflection being published during the Lenten season. Rather, these lines from the Christmas song “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town” by John Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie can relate well to the readings for today.

In the first reading, we hear Jeremiah calling out to God after being persecuted earlier on in the chapter. In his crying out to God, he recounts how “All those who were my friends are on the watch for any misstep of mine” (Jeremiah 20: 10). He preached on the message of God—which was not received well—which parallels the Jews wanting to stone Jesus in the Gospel. In both instances, Jesus and Jeremiah have people looking beyond the good works they both have done and are only focusing on what they deem to be wrong. Although both men speak truth that comes from God, the persecutors choose to only see one side of the story.  

It can be difficult to continue to speak the Truth or live out a good Christian life when there are various eyes on each of us that are ready to persecute anybody that does not align with their ideals. In the same manner that Jeremiah cries out to God in the first reading, we are reminded in the Responsorial Psalm that “in my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice” (Psalm 18). No matter the circumstances we may face, God is listening and watching over us, whether we are awake, asleep, bad, or good. We can take solace in knowing “the Lord is with me, like a mighty champion: my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph” (Jeremiah 20:11). God will never abandon us.

These readings remind us that He wants us not only to call on Him in distress but also to communicate with Him in moments of joy through prayer. We should not be intimidated in knowing that God is always watching. He is always looking at us with love, and He has the best plan for us that He wants to show us, as He knows us better than we know ourselves. Presented with the Truth, we are called to not only speak about it but live it out ourselves. The lives we live should not be based on appeasing the perception of others but should be focused on responding to the love we have been first given by God, as He wants us to dwell with Him in Heaven.  

Pardon the offenses of your peoples, we pray, O Lord, and in your goodness set us free from the bonds of the sins we have committed in our weakness. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. (Roman Missal)

Brian Cadag, Seminarian for the Archdiocese of Newark

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