March 28th, By Hope Villareal: Sophomore

Monday, March 28, 2022
Hope Villareal: Sophomore
Isaiah 65: 17-21 (1st reading)
John 4: 43-54 (Gospel reading)
For Today's reflection I will be focusing on the first reading because that is what stood
out to me the most. In today’s first reading, the prophet Isaiah tells us about a new creation. A
creation of new heaven and a new earth. That the past shall not be remembered again, and there
shall always be happiness in the future. That Jerusalem will be a joy, to where there is no more
weeping and anything bad shall not come to her. A phrase that stands out to me while reflecting
on the reading is, “The things of the past shall not be remembered or come to mind. Instead,
there shall always be rejoicing and happiness in what I create.” The question I want to ask us is
this, do we as children of God think about the bad that happened to us in the past? Does it always
come to mind every day? Do we have happiness in our life? Do we have a positive outlook to the
future which God plans for us?
The next thing that comes to my mind as I reflect on the reading is the Speak Life
Campaign. Now, in this season of Lent, I believe that when we focus and reflect on the positive
and negative words we use during the Speak Life campaign every lunch time on Mondays and
Thursdays, every week until Lent is over, do we intentionally reflect on the hurtful words people
have used, including ourselves from the past. Or the words that can bring happiness and make us
forget about the past that can bring rejoicing in lives. When we intentionally focus on this
campaign, we shall come out of Lent with a renewed conviction that we are created to leave
behind the bad words that hurt us and hurt others and focus on the good words that lift us up in
the newness of the Resurrection and Easter, like in the terms of the first reading about forgetting
about the past.  Finally, something I leave with you today is, when you think about a new
creation, a new heaven, and a new earth. What is the new heaven and earth in your life as Christ

did for Jerusalem? Do you always think about your past and remember the bad or do you look to
the future, always seeking for happiness and rejoicing in your life?