Reflection for Feria Quinta infra Hebdomadam Passionis
Readings: Daniel 3:25, 34–45 and Luke 7:36–50
“For there is no confusion to those who trust in Thee.”
— Daniel 3:40
As we enter deeper into Passiontide, the Church turns our gaze both to the fire of tribulation and the fire of love — both of which consume, purify, and ultimately prepare the soul for the mystery of the Cross. Today’s readings juxtapose two moments of desperate appeal: one in the fiery furnace of Babylon, and the other in the quiet intimacy of a Pharisee’s home. And yet both reveal the same truth — that God is ever merciful to the penitent heart, especially in the hour of trial.
1. The Fiery Furnace and the Sacrifice of a Contrite Heart (Daniel 3:25, 34–45)
Azarias, cast with his companions into the furnace for their fidelity to the Law of God, lifts his voice not in anger or protest, but in humble confession: “In a contrite heart and humble spirit, let us be accepted” (Dan. 3:39). It is a liturgical prayer of deep repentance, echoing the psalms: “A sacrifice to God is an afflicted spirit; a contrite and humbled heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise” (Ps. 50:19).
St. Cyprian of Carthage comments on such suffering:
“To suffer for the Name of Christ is not a loss but a gain, not a punishment but a crown. The furnace that destroys the chaff purifies the gold.”
(De Lapsis, 13)
And in the midst of this plea, the Lord sends His Angel — a foreshadowing of the Incarnation — to walk with the three young men in the fire, making the flames as a “moist whistling wind.” This is not mere deliverance from physical harm, but a sign of the presence of God with His faithful in tribulation. This, too, is a figure of the Passion — where the Son of God does not take away the Cross, but walks into the furnace of death with us.
2. The Tears of the Penitent Woman and the Silence of the Proud (Luke 7:36–50)
In stark contrast to the blinding fire of Babylon, the Gospel brings us into a dimly lit supper at the house of Simon the Pharisee. The scene is quiet, even uncomfortable — a woman of the city, known to be a sinner, breaks into the dinner, kneels, and weeps over the feet of Christ.
St. Ambrose marvels at the audacity of her love:
“She poured forth her faith, she poured forth her tears — and the sins of many years were washed away in a single moment.”
(Expositio Evangelii secundum Lucam, VI.7)
The Lord reads the heart of Simon and exposes the proud man’s cold hospitality — no water, no kiss, no oil. The woman, by contrast, offers all three in tears, kisses, and ointment. She is the living image of Azarias in the fire: no sacrifice in hand but the humility of a crushed heart.
St. Gregory the Great teaches:
“The more the heart is inflamed with divine love, the more it is cleansed by the fire of contrition. Tears are the bath of the soul.”
(Homiliae in Evangelia, 33)
3. The Fire That Saves
The young men in Babylon are saved through fidelity and prayer; the woman in the Gospel is saved through tears and love. Both are consumed — one in flames, the other in sorrow — and both are redeemed. It is not their own merit that saves them, but the mercy of God who walks in the fire and welcomes the brokenhearted.
Let us, too, in this Passiontide, ask for this grace — to not run from the fire of purification, nor from the humiliations that reveal our sins. Let us be like the woman who knew what she was, and so knew Who He was. For as Our Lord tells her, “Thy faith hath made thee safe; go in peace.”
Prayer:
O Lord, in this time of holy Passiontide, grant us the courage to enter the furnace with Thee, to offer Thee the sacrifice of a humble heart, and to bathe Thy feet with tears of love. As Thou didst save Azarias from the fire, and Mary Magdalene from her sins, so also deliver us, that we may rise with Thee in the joy of Easter morn. Amen.