In light of the war in Iraq with all its TV coverage, my mind has been filled with images of so many brave men and women in our military services who courageously serve our country. Under the most stressful conditions, both physically and mentally, these soldiers perform their duties in a most extraordinary and heroic manner. Knowing that a sniper or terrorist could be just around the corner or over the hill ready to shoot and kill them in a heartbeat, they DO NOT cower from helping innocent civilians; by protecting their escape from hot-zones; by bringing them food and water; and by med-evac-ing the wounded out to mash units or hospital ships. They will be and are, to many of these repressed Iraqis, viewed as their savior. The bonds of an evil and wicked dictator and his regime are slowly being removed by the armed forces of this coalition and there are already signs of humanitarian aid being brought to those in need. So with all due respect, I salute our men and women of the armed forces.

When my wife Donna and I visited my daughter, out at Fort Leonardwood, Mo. -- a couple years ago -- I couldn't help but be impressed by the politeness and the genuine virtue so many of these young soldiers displayed. When ever we had to ask someone anything it was always, "Yes sir, and No mam! or Can I help you in any way, sir? And I sincerely believe that VIRTUE runs deep in many of them.

Back in April of 2000, there was a story about an enlisted soldier from Warwick, RI, in the Providence Journal. His name is Dean Johnson. He's a wonderful example of what I'm talking about.

By all accounts Dean is known by his friends and relatives as a Good Samaritan -- a person always ready and willing to help a friend or a stranger in need. He is described as a selfless person always sacrificing something for others. On April 9 of 2000 -- as he returned to his base at Fort Drum, New York -- he ran into an awful snowstorm as he traveled through upstate New York on Rt 90. He came across not only one -- but three instances of stranded vehicles. And as always, and as was his nature, he stopped to help, in each instance, those who were stranded. However, it was in helping the third family that Dean learned the real meaning of sacrifice. He got the stranded family into his vehicle -- and while setting out distress flares next to the abandoned car -- a tractor trailer jack-knifed out of control -- striking him rather than the family -- and amputating both his legs below the knees. It was because of this selfless act -- the motorist and his family were saved. Dean's LOVE OF NEIGHBOR and his heroic virtue was THEIR salvation.

This, my brothers and sisters, is a story all about LOVE and SALVATION. A story of an instance of unconditional love of neighbor which ended in the saving of three lives. Yet, our love is imperfect because as a fallen race we are imperfect. And our salvation is imperfect as well. God created us, as Fr. Stan said during this week's mission, in a state of original justice -- something that we lost through original sin. Yet through God's grace He calls us to strive for this lost perfection. However, even at our very best, we don't have what it takes to save our souls from the effects of original sin. We need a TRUE Savior who can reconcile us to the father and heal this "Original Wound".

In today's gospel we are told all about ULTIMATE LOVE and SALVATION -- about our TRUE Savior: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal life." Now -- Salvation -- that is, eternal happiness with God -- is where we're all potentially headed -- hopefully. However, what does St. Paul tell us about our salvation in today's second reading. He says, "By grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so no one may boast."

Now if we think about human nature, we can see what happens to so many of us. We do something good and we get all puffed up about it. When we see something heroic we might say out of pride, "Oh, if it could only be OUR accomplishment." We would love to point to OUR successes, OUR virtues and Our improvements -- OUR earnestness in trying so hard, OUR ardent confessions or even OUR nine first Fridays. But eternal SALVATION is not our own doing. It is not a result of our effort. Remember that St. Paul says, "no one may boast".

On the other hand, in our times of failure or discouragement we may lament, "Alas, we have accomplished nothing." If only we could have made ourselves more worthy, if only we had tried harder, if only we had succeeded in our task of self-perfection.

Unfortunately, more often than not we sadly miss the point. And in the process of looking to own strengths and in the course of our own pride, we stumble about in the dark, deprived of the hope that we had in our projects, stripped of plans that might have saved us, purged of the pretense that we had no need of redemption. We are unaware that, WHEN WE ACKNOWLEDGE the FUTILITY of OUR OWN efforts, we are AT THE MOMENT OF CONVERSION. It is the VERY INVITATION to ABANDONMENT TO DIVINE GRACE.

It's true, we can resist the hope, we can hate the light, we can fear the exposure to love and to the truth on which it rests. And our RESISTANCE can come BETWEEN US and the love of God revealed in Jesus Christ. We can REFUSE TO ACCEPT the grace that is always there.

As men and women of faith, our major labor and effort is NOT TO ACHIEVE OUR SALVATION. It is to ENTRUST OURSELVES TO IT. St. Paul says, "God is rich in mercy; because of his great love for us he brought us to life with Christ when we were dead in sin. By this favor you were saved."

As Lent continues, let our prayer be to "let go and let God". In this time of war, may our lives be filled with hope -- the hope for justice and mercy that peace may reign -- knowing and trusting that our Salvation has come in Christ Jesus. We have in Jesus, the only Savior we will ever need. Let us depend on His love and grace as we strive toward sanctity and holiness.