MARCH 15, 2013 : FRIDAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK OF LENT

Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Lectionary: 248

Reading 1 Wis 2:1a, 12-22

The wicked said among themselves,
thinking not aright:
“Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us;
he sets himself against our doings,
Reproaches us for transgressions of the law
and charges us with violations of our training.
He professes to have knowledge of God
and styles himself a child of the LORD.
To us he is the censure of our thoughts;
merely to see him is a hardship for us,
Because his life is not like that of others,
and different are his ways.
He judges us debased;
he holds aloof from our paths as from things impure.
He calls blest the destiny of the just
and boasts that God is his Father.
Let us see whether his words be true;
let us find out what will happen to him.
For if the just one be the son of God, he will defend him
and deliver him from the hand of his foes.
With revilement and torture let us put him to the test
that we may have proof of his gentleness
and try his patience.
Let us condemn him to a shameful death;
for according to his own words, God will take care of him.”
These were their thoughts, but they erred;
for their wickedness blinded them,
and they knew not the hidden counsels of God;
neither did they count on a recompense of holiness
nor discern the innocent souls’ reward.

Responsorial Psalm PS 34:17-18, 19-20, 21 and 23

R. (19a) The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.
The LORD confronts the evildoers,
to destroy remembrance of them from the earth.
When the just cry out, the LORD hears them,
and from all their distress he rescues them.
R. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted;
and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.
Many are the troubles of the just man,
but out of them all the LORD delivers him.
R. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.
He watches over all his bones;
not one of them shall be broken.
The LORD redeems the lives of his servants;
no one incurs guilt who takes refuge in him.
R. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.

Gospel Jn 7:1-2, 10, 25-30

Jesus moved about within Galilee;
he did not wish to travel in Judea,
because the Jews were trying to kill him.
But the Jewish feast of Tabernacles was near.

But when his brothers had gone up to the feast,
he himself also went up, not openly but as it were in secret.

Some of the inhabitants of Jerusalem said,
“Is he not the one they are trying to kill?
And look, he is speaking openly and they say nothing to him.
Could the authorities have realized that he is the Christ?
But we know where he is from.
When the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from.”
So Jesus cried out in the temple area as he was teaching and said,
“You know me and also know where I am from.
Yet I did not come on my own,
but the one who sent me, whom you do not know, is true.
I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me.”
So they tried to arrest him,
but no one laid a hand upon him,
because his hour had not yet come.

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Meditation: “His hour had not yet come”

What can hold us back from doing the will of God? Fear, especially the fear of death, can easily rob us of courage and the will to do what we know is right. Jesus met opposition and the threat of death with grace and determination to accomplish his Father’s will. Jesus knew that his mission, his purpose in life, would entail sacrifice and suffering and culminate with death on the cross. But that would not be the end. His “hour” would crush defeat with victory, condemnation with pardon and freedom, and death with glory and everlasting life. He willingly suffered and went to the cross for our sake, to redeem us from sin and to restore our relationship with God the Father. Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD) says: “Our Lord had the power to lay down his life and to take it up again. But we cannot choose how long we shall live, and death comes to us even against our will. Christ, by dying, has already overcome death. Our freedom from death comes only through his death. To save us Christ had no need of us. Yet without him we can do nothing. He gave himself to us as the vine to the branches; apart from him we cannot live.”
No one can be indifferent with Jesus for long. What he said and did – his signs and wonders – he did in the name of God. Jesus not only claimed to be the Messiah, God’s Anointed One. He claimed to be in a unique relationship with God and to know him as no one else did. To the Jews this was utter blasphemy. The religious authorities did all they could to put a stop to Jesus because they could not accept his claims and the demands he made. We cannot be indifferent to the claims which Jesus makes on us. We are either for him or against him. There is no middle ground. We can try to mold Jesus to our own ideas and preferences or we can allow his word to free us from our own ignorance, stubborn pride, and deception. Do you accept all that Jesus has said and done for you with faith and reverence or with disbelief and contempt? The consequences are enormous, both in this life and in eternity.
“Eternal God, who are the light of the minds that know you, the joy of the hearts that love you, and the strength of the wills that serve you; grant us so to know you, that we may truly love you, and so to love you that we may fully serve you, whom to serve is perfect freedom, in Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Prayer of Saint Augustine)

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Trust; A Lenten Resolution

Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent

John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30 Jesus moved about within Galilee; but he did not wish to travel in Judea, because the Jews were trying to kill him. But the Jewish feast of Tabernacles was near. But when his brothers had gone up to the feast, he himself also went up, not openly but as it were in secret. So some of the inhabitants of Jerusalem said, "Is he not the one they are trying to kill? And look, he is speaking openly and they say nothing to him. Could the authorities have realized that he is the Christ? But we know where he is from. When the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from." So Jesus cried out in the Temple area as he was teaching and said, "You know me and also know where I am from. Yet I did not come on my own, but the one who sent me, whom you do not know, is true. I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me." So they tried to arrest him, but no one laid a hand upon him, because his hour had not yet come. Introductory Prayer: Jesus, I truly believe and hope in you and your Gospel. You have touched me by the example of trust you had in your Father’s plan. I adore you and thank you with my whole heart. Petition: Lord, help me to trust more in your divine providence. 1. A Way Out When Cornered: A cornered bear reacts by the instinct of self-preservation and fights until death. Christ, however, shows an altogether different attitude when challenged. He seems always to be calm and in control of every situation. He knows that not a single hair will fall from his head unless the Father deliberately permits it to occur. Many times our fears corner us to the point that we get spooked. To conquer our fears, we need to believe more, hope more, and love Christ much more.  2. The Force of Love: It is interesting to note that Jesus originally planned to stay behind in Galilee. But out of charity and trust in the Father’s will, Jesus set out on the perilous journey to Judea. Once there, he forgot the danger that loomed before him. Christ felt a renewed strength as he had compassion for the lost sheep in Judea. Nothing could diminish his resolve to feed the spiritually hungry, cure the sick, and teach the ignorant. Love gave Christ the capacity to give himself more. Love protects life from prejudices and complaints. 3. Proof of God’s Love: The soldiers tried to arrest Jesus, but they were thwarted. The Father had decided that his Son was not to be given up yet. Cancer, global warming, the nuclear bomb, terrorism and natural disasters – things that might seem to be threats to us – should not make us fearful. Trust is really trust! Jesus invites us to trust, and this is powerful. Saint Paul says, “All things work together for good for those who love God” (Romans 8:28).  The important thing in life is for us to keep our thoughts and efforts focused on God’s will and to go about doing good, generously serving others. “Seek his kingdom, and these other things will be given you besides” (Luke 12:31). Conversation with Christ: My Lord and Savior, I know that my vision is often short-sighted. Teach me to love and to trust. Enlarge my heart so that I can endure adverse situations and predicaments for the sake of my eternal salvation. Jesus, I trust in you! Resolution: Today when contradictions flare up at the workplace or at home, I will not sigh in despair. Rather, I will make an act of hope: “Long live Christ the King!”

www.regnumchristi.org

FRIDAY, MARCH 15
LENTEN WEEKDAY, DAY OF ABSTINENCE
JOHN 7:1-2, 10, 25-30
(Wisdom 2:1a, 12-22; Psalm 34)
KEY VERSE: "I did not come on my own, but the one who sent me, whom you do not know, is true" (v 28).
READING: The Jews celebrated three major feasts annually:Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. The Feast of Tabernacles was also known as the Feast of Booths (Hebrew, Sukkot).  During the seven day feast, the people dwelt in branched "booths" (or tents). This was a commemoration of the time when their ancestors lived in tents during their wilderness journey (Lev 23:43). During the celebrations, the people offered thanksgiving for the the temple, the place of worship given them to them in the Promised Land (1 Kgs 8:2; 12:32). Thanksgiving was also offered for the crops harvested that year (Deut 16:13; Ex 23:16). When some relatives of Jesus urged him to go to the feast and publicly perform his miracles, he knew that his life would be at risk. So Jesus went in secret and, while he was there, he taught in the temple. Some people knew Jesus' human origin. They knew that his home was in Nazareth; they knew his parents; and they knew his brothers and sisters (close relatives). There was no mystery about that. But they questioned whether he could possibly be the Messiah. Popular belief in that day held that the Messiah would appear suddenly and no one would know where he had come from. Jesus declared that he had not come on his own. He had been sent by God, the one whom they did not know.
REFLECTING: Am I growing in God's revelation through Jesus this Lent?
PRAYING: Lord Jesus, dwell with me throughout my life's journey.

www.daily-word-of-life.com

The Lord is near to broken hearts

His hour had not yet come.
We live in such a time-centred world today, with our eyes on the task at hand but also on the clock. As a mother of five children, it is essential for me to be structured and organised. It has taken me many years, with a lot of fine tuning from God, to balance that with flexibility. Perhaps my biggest lesson, though, has been to wait on God’s time.

Our heavenly Father even timed his son’s arrest to perfection. Without a doubt, he has also timed our day. When I have surrendered my time to God, I have discovered he is quite the ‘last minute’ king! I often believe that is God’s way of showing me his sense of humour. For me (little Miss Organised) it is often a waiting game - waiting on God’s hour for me. How do we hand our time to God today?

www.churchresources.info

March 15
St. Louise de Marillac
(d. 1660)

Louise, born near Meux, France, lost her mother when she was still a child, her beloved father when she was but 15. Her desire to become a nun was discouraged by her confessor, and a marriage was arranged. One son was born of this union. But she soon found herself nursing her beloved husband through a long illness that finally led to his death.

Louise was fortunate to have a wise and sympathetic counselor, St. Francis de Sales, and then his friend, the Bishop of Belley, France. Both of these men were available to her only periodically. But from an interior illumination she understood that she was to undertake a great work under the guidance of another person she had not yet met. This was the holy priest M. Vincent, later to be known as St. Vincent de Paul.
At first he was reluctant to be her confessor, busy as he was with his "Confraternities of Charity." Members were aristocratic ladies of charity who were helping him nurse the poor and look after neglected children, a real need of the day. But the ladies were busy with many of their own concerns and duties. His work needed many more helpers, especially ones who were peasants themselves and therefore close to the poor and could win their hearts. He also needed someone who could teach them and organize them.
Only over a long period of time, as Vincent de Paul became more acquainted with Louise, did he come to realize that she was the answer to his prayers. She was intelligent, self-effacing and had physical strength and endurance that belied her continuing feeble health. The missions he sent her on eventually led to four simple young women joining her. Her rented home in Paris became the training center for those accepted for the service of the sick and poor. Growth was rapid and soon there was need of a so-called rule of life, which Louise herself, under the guidance of Vincent, drew up for the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul (though he preferred "Daughters" of Charity).
He had always been slow and prudent in his dealings with Louise and the new group. He said that he had never had any idea of starting a new community, that it was God who did everything. "Your convent," he said, "will be the house of the sick; your cell, a hired room; your chapel, the parish church; your cloister, the streets of the city or the wards of the hospital." Their dress was to be that of the peasant women. It was not until years later that Vincent de Paul would finally permit four of the women to take annual vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. It was still more years before the company would be formally approved by Rome and placed under the direction of Vincent's own congregation of priests.
Many of the young women were illiterate and it was with reluctance that the new community undertook the care of neglected children. Louise was busy helping wherever needed despite her poor health. She traveled throughout France, establishing her community members in hospitals, orphanages and other institutions. At her death on March 15, 1660, the congregation had more than 40 houses in France. Six months later St. Vincent de Paul followed her in death.
Louise de Marillac was canonized in 1934 and declared patroness of social workers in 1960.

Comment:

In Louise’s day, serving the needs of the poor was usually a luxury only fine ladies could afford. Her mentor, St. Vincent de Paul, wisely realized that women of peasant stock could reach poor people more effectively, and the Sisters of Charity were born under her leadership. Today that Order continues to nurse the sick and aging and provide refuge for orphans. Many of its members are social workers toiling under Louise’s patronage. The rest of us must share her concern for the disadvantaged.

Patron Saint of:

Social workers

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Lectio: John 7, 1-2.10.25-30

Lectio:

Friday, March 15, 2013 

Lent Time

1) Opening prayer

Our God and Father,

we claim to be your sons and daughters,

who know that you love us,

and that you call us to live

the life of Jesus, your Son.

Give us the courage

to live this life consistently

not to show off, not to reprove others,

but simply because we know

that you are our Father

and we your sons and daughters,

brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

 2) Gospel Reading - John 7, 1-2.10.25-30

After this Jesus travelled round Galilee; he could not travel round Judaea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him.

As the Jewish feast of Shelters drew near, his brothers had left for the festival, he went up as well, not publicly but secretly.

Meanwhile some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, 'Isn't this the man they want to kill? And here he is, speaking openly, and they have nothing to say to him! Can it be true the authorities have recognised that he is the Christ? Yet we all know where he comes from, but when the Christ appears no one will know where he comes from.' Then, as Jesus was teaching in the Temple, he cried out: You know me and you know where I came from. Yet I have not come of my own accord: but he who sent me is true; You do not know him, but I know him because I have my being from him and it was he who sent me.

They wanted to arrest him then, but because his hour had not yet come no one laid a hand on him.

 3) Reflection

• Throughout the chapters from 1 to 12 of the Gospel of John, one discovers the progressive revelation which Jesus makes of himself to the disciples and to the people. At the same time and in the same proportion, the closing up and the opposition of the authority against Jesus increases, up to the point of deciding to condemn him to death (Jn 11, 45-54). Chapter 7, on which we are meditating in today’s Gospel, is a type of evaluation in the middle of the journey. It helps to foresee what will be the implication at the end.

• John 7, 1-2.10: Jesus decides to go to the feast of the Tabernacles in Jerusalem. The geography of the life of Jesus in the Gospel of John is different from the geography in the other three Gospels. It is more complete. According to the other Gospels, Jesus went only once to Jerusalem, the time when he was taken and condemned to death. According to the Gospel of John he went there at least two or three times to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. This is why we know that the public life of Jesus lasted approximately three years. Today’s Gospel informs us that Jesus directed himself more than once to Jerusalem, but not publicly; hidden because in Judah the Jews wanted to kill him.

• In this chapter 7 as well as in the other chapters, John speaks about the “Jews” and of “you Jews”, as if he and Jesus were not Jews. This way of speaking shows the situation of a tragic breaking which took place at the end of the first century between the Jews (Synagogue) and the Christians (Ecclesia). Throughout the centuries, this way of speaking in the Gospel of John contributes to make anti-Semitism grow. Today, it is very important to keep away from this type of polemics so as not to foster anti-Semitism. We can never forget that Jesus is a Jew. He was born a Jew, lives as a Jew and dies as a Jew. He received all his formation from the Jewish religion and culture.

• John 7, 25-27: Doubts of the people of Jerusalem regarding Jesus. Jesus is in Jerusalem and he speaks publicly to those who want to listen to him. People remain confused. They know that the authorities want to kill Jesus and he does not hide from them. Would it be that the authorities have come to believe in him and recognize that he is the Messiah? But how could Jesus be the Messiah? Everybody knows that he comes from Nazareth, but nobody knows the origin of the Messiah, from where he comes.

• John 7, 28-29: Clarification on the part of Jesus. Jesus speaks about his origin. “You know me and you know where I come from”. But what people do not know is the vocation and the mission which Jesus received from God. He did not come on his own accord, but like any prophet he has come to obey a vocation, which is the secret of his life. ”Yet, I have not come of my own accord but he who sent me is true, and you do not know him. But I know him, because I have my being from him and it was he who sent me”.

• John 7, 30: His hour had not yet come. They wanted to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, “because his hour had not yet come”. In John’s Gospel the one who determines the hour and the events which will take place are not those who have the power, but it is Jesus. He is the one who determines the hour (cf. Jn 2, 4; 4, 23; 8, 20; 12.23.27; 13, 1; 17, 1). Even up to the time when he was nailed to the Cross, it is Jesus who determines the hour of his death (Jn 19, 29-30).

 4) Personal questions

• How do I live my relationship with the Jews? Have I discovered sometimes some anti Semitism in me? Have I succeeded in eliminating it?

• Like in the time of Jesus, today also, there are many new ideas and opinions on things which refer to faith. What do I do? Am I attached firmly to the old ideas and close myself up in them, or do I try to understand the why, the reason for the novelty?

 5) Concluding Prayer

Yahweh ransoms the lives of those who serve him,

and there will be no penalty

for those who take refuge in him. (Ps 34,24)

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