March 24th, Tuesday, Fourth Week of Lent

Ezekiel 47: 1-9, 12, Psalm 46: 2-3, 5-6, 8-9, John 5: 1-16

Up along the mountainside was a Stations of the Cross that spanned almost 5 kilometers. As a six year-old, I couldn’t make it to the first Station without being carried. The path was paved, but the uphill climb and the Philippine heat was brutal.

Near the fifth Station, my grandfather and I came across an elderly woman walking on her knees. As we approached, I noticed the trail of blood she was leaving behind. I stared at her over my grandfather’s shoulders as we passed by. She prayed as she continued to put one knee in front of the other.

At one of the Stations, we stopped for an extended rest. Through the heat rising from the pavement, I watched the shimmering Station image of Jesus being stripped of his garments. When the day finally began to cool, we continued.

The woman must have passed us by. She was at the medical hut beyond the last Station. She held up her skirt, Rosary clutched in hand, while a nurse cleaned her knees.

Every Lent, I remember and ask the question – Why did this woman do this?

Like Ezekiel being lead into deeper and deeper waters of the river, my question evolved over the years as I probed for a deeper understanding. At first I asked, “What great sin did this woman commit that she must repent in this way?” As I grew older, the question became, “What great need did she have that she must beg in this way?” More recently, the question grew into, “What great love this woman has, to persist through pain to show her devotion to God! How do I find that level of devotion in me?”

On his journey downriver, Ezekiel sees the richness of life increase as the water deepens. In my life, how rich a life can I imagine as my faith deepens?

Al Moreno, husband to Suzanne, father to Charlie and Faith