Saturday in the Fourth Week of Lent

In a novel titled, “The Three Musketeers,” Alexandre Dumas popularizes their motto “All for one and one for all, united we stand divided we fall.”  Why is that?  Because if there is a devil, and I believe there is, his work is to divide.  There was division in the crowd because of Jesus.  It follows, that the devil was nearby, trying to conquer by dividing.

What does the motto of The Three Musketeers mean for us?  It’s the idea that friendships make the world go round.  Without friends, we will fall. Without friendship with Jesus we will seek it elsewhere.  In our times the disconnection and interpersonal remoteness brought about by the Internet makes it easy to have friends online while avoiding the daily connections with friends around us who we need to keep from falling.  Friends make our lives wonderful.  The best of these friends is Jesus.  Frequently talking with Jesus and listening to Him is more important than any other friendship.  As the Temple guards expressed it, “Never has anyone spoken like this!”