The mystery of our new life in Christ

On Friday of the Third Week of Lent our Church invites us to first read and reflect on a passage from the book of Exodus (35:30---36:1; 37:19) entitled "The making of the sanctuary and the arch". Our treasure, which follows, is from the Moral Reflections on Job by Saint Gregory the Great, pope. Doctor of the Church; born at Rome about 540; died 12 March 604. Saint Gregory is certainly one of the most notable figures in Ecclesiastical History. He has exercised in many respects a momentous influence on the doctrine, the organization, and the discipline of the Catholic Church. To him we must look for an explanation of the religious situation of the Middle Ages; indeed, if no account were taken of his work, the evolution of the form of medieval Christianity would be almost inexplicable. And further, in so far as the modern Catholic system is a legitimate development of medieval Catholicism, of this too Gregory may not unreasonably be termed the Father. Almost all the leading principles of the later Catholicism are found at any rate in germ, in Gregory the Great. The Moral Reflections on Job is a commentary on the Book of Job by Saint Gregory the Great, written between 578 and 595. It began when Saint Gregory was at the court of Emperor Tiberius II in Constantinople but finished only several years after he had returned to Rome.  It is Saint Gregory's major work, filling some 35 books or 6 volumes. If everything God created was good, why does Isaiah say God created evil? The Hebrew word translated as "evil" in Isaiah 45:7 has two applications in the Bible. The term can be used in the sense of moral evil, such as wickedness and sin, or it can refer to harmful natural events, calamity, misfortune, adversity, affliction, or disaster. It is in this second sense that Isaiah speaks, and his meaning is reflected in most modern Bible translations of Isaiah 45:7: "I make success and create disaster"; "I make well-being and create calamity"; "I send good times and bad times". God does not create moral evil. For one thing, moral evil is not a "thing" to be made but a choice or intent contrary to God's good purposes, His holy character, and His law. Moral evil does not conform to God and His will. God is good, holy, and loving; therefore, His plans and purposes are good, holy, and loving. As Ruler of the universe, God sometimes creates calamity to accomplish His will. He brought disaster to discipline His people when they turned their backs on Him and refused to repent. The Book of Exodus, the second book of the Pentateuch, takes its name from a Greek word meaning "departure," highlighting the defining event of Israel's history: the Lord's deliverance of His people from slavery in Egypt. Its Hebrew title, Shemoth — "Names" — comes from its opening line, reminding us that God's saving work unfolds within real history, among real persons whom He knows and calls. Exodus continues the sacred story where Genesis ends. The descendants of Jacob, once welcomed in Egypt, find themselves oppressed and enslaved. Into this suffering, God reveals Himself not as distant, but as the One who hears the cry of His people. Through Moses, He performs mighty works, freeing Israel and leading them through the Red Sea — an event the Church has long recognized as a powerful foreshadowing of Baptism and redemption. Yet liberation is only the beginning. At Mount Sinai, God establishes His covenant with Israel. The Law (torah) given through Moses is not merely a set of rules but the framework of a relationship. God saves first; then He teaches His people how to live in the freedom He has given. The moral, civil, and ritual laws form Israel into a holy nation, called to reflect God's own holiness before the world. A striking portion of Exodus is devoted to the tabernacle, the portable sanctuary where God chooses to dwell among His people. This reveals the deeper purpose of salvation: communion. God does not simply rescue Israel from something — He rescues them for something — life in His presence. Even when Israel falls into rebellion, we witness repentance, covenant renewal, and divine mercy. The book culminates with the construction of the tabernacle and the descent of the cloud, the visible sign of God's glorious presence. In Exodus, we see the foundations of Israel's identity: a people redeemed, covenanted, instructed, and indwelt by God. For Catholics, the book speaks not only of ancient history but of the enduring pattern of salvation: God delivers, God binds Himself to His people, God teaches, and God remains with them.