Saturday after Ash Wednesday
Lectionary: 222
Lectionary: 222
Thus says the LORD:
If you remove from your midst oppression,
false accusation and malicious speech;
If you bestow your bread on the hungry
and satisfy the afflicted;
Then light shall rise for you in the darkness,
and the gloom shall become for you like midday;
Then the LORD will guide you always
and give you plenty even on the parched land.
He will renew your strength,
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring whose water never fails.
The ancient ruins shall be rebuilt for your sake,
and the foundations from ages past you shall raise up;
“Repairer of the breach,” they shall call you,
“Restorer of ruined homesteads.”
If you hold back your foot on the sabbath
from following your own pursuits on my holy day;
If you call the sabbath a delight,
and the LORD’s holy day honorable;
If you honor it by not following your ways,
seeking your own interests, or speaking with maliceB
Then you shall delight in the LORD,
and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth;
I will nourish you with the heritage of Jacob, your father,
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
If you remove from your midst oppression,
false accusation and malicious speech;
If you bestow your bread on the hungry
and satisfy the afflicted;
Then light shall rise for you in the darkness,
and the gloom shall become for you like midday;
Then the LORD will guide you always
and give you plenty even on the parched land.
He will renew your strength,
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring whose water never fails.
The ancient ruins shall be rebuilt for your sake,
and the foundations from ages past you shall raise up;
“Repairer of the breach,” they shall call you,
“Restorer of ruined homesteads.”
If you hold back your foot on the sabbath
from following your own pursuits on my holy day;
If you call the sabbath a delight,
and the LORD’s holy day honorable;
If you honor it by not following your ways,
seeking your own interests, or speaking with maliceB
Then you shall delight in the LORD,
and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth;
I will nourish you with the heritage of Jacob, your father,
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
Responsorial Psalm PS 86:1-2, 3-4, 5-6
R. (11ab) Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in
your truth.
Incline your ear, O LORD; answer me,
for I am afflicted and poor.
Keep my life, for I am devoted to you;
save your servant who trusts in you.
You are my God.
R. Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth.
Have mercy on me, O Lord,
for to you I call all the day.
Gladden the soul of your servant,
for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
R. Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth.
For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
abounding in kindness to all who call upon you.
Hearken, O LORD, to my prayer
and attend to the sound of my pleading.
R. Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth.
Incline your ear, O LORD; answer me,
for I am afflicted and poor.
Keep my life, for I am devoted to you;
save your servant who trusts in you.
You are my God.
R. Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth.
Have mercy on me, O Lord,
for to you I call all the day.
Gladden the soul of your servant,
for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
R. Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth.
For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
abounding in kindness to all who call upon you.
Hearken, O LORD, to my prayer
and attend to the sound of my pleading.
R. Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth.
Gospel LK 5:27-32
Jesus saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the customs
post.
He said to him, “Follow me.”
And leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him.
Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house,
and a large crowd of tax collectors
and others were at table with them.
The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples, saying,
“Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
Jesus said to them in reply,
“Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do.
I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.”
He said to him, “Follow me.”
And leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him.
Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house,
and a large crowd of tax collectors
and others were at table with them.
The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples, saying,
“Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
Jesus said to them in reply,
“Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do.
I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.”
Meditation: Jesus calls sinners to follow him
When your neighbor stumbles through sin or ignorance, do you
point the finger to criticize or do you lend a helping hand to lift him or her
up? The prophet Isaiah tells us that God repays each in kind. When we bless
others, especially those who need spiritual as well as physical and material
help, God in turn blesses us. When Jesus called a despised tax collector to be
his disciple he surprised everyone including Levi (also known as Matthew). The
religious leaders were especially upset with Jesus' behavior towards public
sinners like Levi. People in Palestine were divided into roughly two groups:
the orthodox Jews who rigidly kept the law and all its petty regulations, and
the rest who didn't keep all the minute regulations. The orthodox treated the
latter like second class citizens. They scrupulously avoided their company,
refused to do business with them, refused to give or receive anything from
them, refused to intermarry, and avoided any form of entertainment with them,
including table fellowship. Jesus' association with the latter,
especially with tax collectors and public sinners, shocked the
sensibilities of these orthodox Jews.
When the Pharisees challenged Jesus unorthodox behavior in
eating with public sinners, Jesus' defence was quite simple. A doctor doesn't
need to treat healthy people - instead he goes to those who are sick. Jesus
likewise sought out those in the greatest need. A true physician seeks healing
of the whole person - body, mind, and spirit. Jesus came as the divine
physician and good shepherd to care for his people and to restore them to
wholeness of life. The orthodox were so preoccupied with their own practice of
religion that they neglected to help the very people who needed the greatest
care. Their religion was selfish because they didn't want to have anything to
do with people not like themselves. Jesus stated his mission in unequivocal
terms: I came not to call the righteous, but to call sinners. Ironically
the orthodox were as needy as those they despised. All have sinned and
fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Do you thank the Lord
for the great mercy he has shown to you? And do you seek the good of all your
neighbors and show them mercy and kindness?
What does it mean to "leave all and follow the Lord"?
Bede the Venerable (673-735 AD), an Anglo-Saxon monk who wrote numerous
commentaries on the Scriptures, explains what it meant for Matthew and for us
to "follow" as disciples of the Lord Jesus:
"By 'follow' he meant not so much the movement of feet as
of the heart, the carrying out of a way of life. For one who says that he lives
in Christ ought himself to walk just as he walked, not to aim at earthly
things, not to pursue perishable gains, but to flee base praise, to embrace
willingly the contempt of all that is worldly for the sake of heavenly glory,
to do good to all, to inflict injuries upon no one in bitterness, to suffer
patiently those injuries that come to oneself, to ask God’s forgiveness for
those who oppress, never to seek one's own glory but always God's, and to
uphold whatever helps one love heavenly things. This is what is meant by
following Christ. In this way, disregarding earthly gains, Matthew attached
himself to the band of followers of One who had no riches. For the Lord
himself, who outwardly called Matthew by a word, inwardly bestowed upon him the
gift of an invisible impulse so that he was able to follow."
Are you ready to forsake all for the Lord Jesus Christ?
"Lord Jesus, our Savior, let us now come to you: Our hearts
are cold; Lord, warm them with your selfless love. Our hearts are sinful;
cleanse them with your precious blood. Our hearts are weak; strengthen them
with your joyous Spirit. Our hearts are empty; fill them with your divine
presence. Lord Jesus, our hearts are yours; possess them always and only
for yourself." (Prayer of Augustine, 354-430)
 A Christian Forgives |
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Saturday after Ash Wednesday
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Father Paul Hubert, LC
Luke 5:27-32
Jesus saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the customs
post. He said to him, "Follow me." And leaving everything behind,
he got up and followed him. Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his
house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were at table with
them. The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples, saying,
"Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?" Jesus
said to them in reply, "Those who are healthy do not need a physician,
but the sick do. I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but
sinners."
Introductory Prayer:Sunny
days, cloudy days and rainy days all come from you, Lord. You surprise us
each day as you make each day different to bring us closer to your coming, in
which we hope. Lord, your love explains everything and guides all things. I
wish to respond to your infinite mercy and love by loving you more each day.
Petition:Lord you know how
difficult it is for me to forgive. Help me to do so always.
1. The Ill Need a Doctor,
Not the Healthy: What a great reply: “I have not come to call the
righteous to repentance but sinners.” It is a statement open to all humanity
in need of redemption. It is an affirmation that shows us that God is not
exclusive. Christ has come for all sinners, and he extends to everyone his
call to repent and be transformed by his grace. It shows us that Christ wants
to reach everybody and forgive everybody. He is not like us, who discriminate
and hold grudges. When someone sins more, God makes particular efforts to
reach that person and offer his pardon and his elevating grace. What an
example for us to follow when we have difficult moments in our dealings with
others! Christ teaches us patience. Christ teaches us that we must love and
build bridges whenever the opportunity arises.
2. Those Who Oppose Christ Don’t Know
Him:Christ sets the example and sends us to evangelize people who
do not know him, or who offend him knowingly, half-knowingly, or even
unknowingly. Interestingly enough, it is those who oppose Christ whom he
calls the “righteous,” because they are inflexible, and their criteria cannot
be bent. Christ calls us, on the other hand, to forgive, as often as is
necessary (Luke 17:4). We need to learn how to forgive in a world that tells
us to be tough and not to let anything get past us.
3. From Love to Love: This
Gospel reminds us of the story of the adulterous woman who was brought before
Jesus. The Law of Moses was clear, yet Jesus knew that something had to be
changed in order for man to be able to reach heaven. He knew that only
forgiveness and love for everyone would unite all men in paradise. He knew
all men had sinned, and therefore they could not accuse someone else without
indirectly accusing themselves. That is why Christ answered to those who
accused the adulterous woman, “Let the one who is sinless cast the first
stone” (John 8:7). We are all sinners. We all need to be forgiven and to
forgive one another. We all need to allow love to invade our hearts so that
it may be the bond that reunites us.
Conversation with Christ:Thank
you, Lord, for giving me the solution to my life. Help me to forgive wholeheartedly
those who have done me wrong. Help me to love them, pray for them and do good
to them even though they hinder and harm me. Help me to strive tirelessly to
bring to the world your solution to division, discrimination, hatred and war.
Resolution:I will
think of the people I dislike or am indifferent to, and I will consider at
least one of their good qualities. If the opportunity arises, I will speak
well of them, and if I can, I will do a good deed for them.
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SATURDAY, MARCH 8, LUKE
5:27-32
Saturday after Ash Wedesday
(Isaiah 58:9b-14; Psalm 86)
Saturday after Ash Wedesday
(Isaiah 58:9b-14; Psalm 86)
KEY VERSE: "I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners" (v 32).
READING: Jews regarded tax collectors as sinners because they were suspected of exacting more than their due from their own people. Moreover, they were viewed as traitors because they worked for the occupying Roman government. Jesus accepted people as they were, and he invited a tax collector named Levi ("Matthew" in Mt 9:9) to leave his post and follow him as a disciple. In gratitude, Levi gave a banquet in Jesus' honor and invited a large number of people who were considered public sinners. When the religious leaders criticized Jesus because of his table fellowship with so called "sinners," he told them that he had not come for those who self-righteously believed they had no need for repentance, but for those who recognized their need to change their lives.
REFLECTING: Where do I need conversion in my life?
PRAYING: Lord Jesus, help me to scrutinize my faults, which I need to overcome this Lent.
Optional Memorial of
John of God, religious
John was born in Portugal on March 8,1495. The greater part of his life was spent as a wanderer, working as a shepherd, soldier, laborer and bookseller. When John finally settled in Granada around the age of forty he underwent a conversion and he decided to devote the rest of his life to caring for those in need. Before he died on March 8th, 1550, his fifty-fifth birthday, his selfless dedication to the sick brought him to be known as "John of God". By faithfully following his example, the Order of Brothers formed after his death, passed on John's way of serving. He gave what he had, begged for those who couldn't, carried those who could not walk, and converted both his patients and those who saw him work with them. It is called "Hospitality" and after five centuries it remains the charism of the Hospitaller Order of St. John of God. Canonized in 1690 he is patron saint of the sick, hospitals and nurses. His motto is: "Labor without stopping. Do all the good works you can while you still have the time."
MINUTE MEDITATIONS
Breaking Through
Most of religious history believed that humanity had to spill
blood (human or animal sacrifice) to get to God, but after Jesus some were able
to comprehend that actually God was spilling blood to get to us. That reversed
the engines of history forever, but the human mind still resists that reversal.
It is too good to be true!
Teach me your way, O Lord, that I
may be faithful in your sight
You will be like a watered garden ...The readings today open our eyes to others who walk a different road from us. They invite us to be open and accepting of all we meet, without judgement. The prophet Isaiah suggests, ‘If you deprive yourself for the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted ... your darkest hour will be like the noon.’ Luke describes how Jesus continued to associate with people society did not approve of when he attended the feast provided by Levi the tax collector. Today let us reflect on our views of the people our society chooses to overlook because of their appearance or behaviour. Do we believe prisoners have rights? Are we willing to stop and talk to a beggar on our city streets? Can we be a ‘restorer of streets to be lived in’ as Isaiah suggests?
March
8
St. John of God
(1495-1550)
St. John of God
(1495-1550)
Having given up active Christian belief while a soldier, John was
40 before the depth of his sinfulness began to dawn on him. He decided to give
the rest of his life to God’s service, and headed at once for Africa, where he
hoped to free captive Christians and, possibly, be martyred.
He was
soon advised that his desire for martyrdom was not spiritually well based, and
returned to Spain and the relatively prosaic activity of a religious goods
store. Yet he was still not settled. Moved initially by a sermon of St.
John of Avila (May 10), he one day engaged in a public beating of himself,
begging mercy and wildly repenting for his past life.
Committed
to a mental hospital for these actions, John was visited by St. John, who
advised him to be more actively involved in tending to the needs of others
rather than in enduring personal hardships. John gained peace of heart, and
shortly after left the hospital to begin work among the poor.
He
established a house where he wisely tended to the needs of the sick poor, at
first doing his own begging. But excited by the saint’s great work and inspired
by his devotion, many people began to back him up with money and provisions.
Among them were the archbishop and marquis of Tarifa.
Behind
John’s outward acts of total concern and love for Christ’s sick poor was a deep
interior prayer life which was reflected in his spirit of humility. These
qualities attracted helpers who, 20 years after John’s death, formed the
Brothers Hospitallers, now a worldwide religious order.
John
became ill after 10 years of service but tried to disguise his ill health. He
began to put the hospital’s administrative work into order and appointed a
leader for his helpers. He died under the care of a spiritual friend and
admirer, Lady Ana Ossorio.
Stories:
The archbishop called John of God to him in response to a complaint that he was keeping tramps and immoral women in his hospital. In submission John fell on his knees and said: "The Son of Man came for sinners, and we are bound to seek their conversion. I am unfaithful to my vocation because I neglect this, but I confess that I know of no bad person in my hospital, except myself alone, who am indeed unworthy to eat the bread of the poor." The archbishop could only trust in John's sincerity and humility, and dismissed him with deep respect.
The archbishop called John of God to him in response to a complaint that he was keeping tramps and immoral women in his hospital. In submission John fell on his knees and said: "The Son of Man came for sinners, and we are bound to seek their conversion. I am unfaithful to my vocation because I neglect this, but I confess that I know of no bad person in my hospital, except myself alone, who am indeed unworthy to eat the bread of the poor." The archbishop could only trust in John's sincerity and humility, and dismissed him with deep respect.
Comment:
The utter humility of John of God, which led to a totally selfless dedication to others, is most impressive. Here is a man who realized his nothingness in the face of God. The Lord blessed him with the gifts of prudence, patience, courage, enthusiasm and the ability to influence and inspire others. He saw that in his early life he had turned away from the Lord, and, moved to receive his mercy, John began his new commitment to love others in openness to God’s love.
The utter humility of John of God, which led to a totally selfless dedication to others, is most impressive. Here is a man who realized his nothingness in the face of God. The Lord blessed him with the gifts of prudence, patience, courage, enthusiasm and the ability to influence and inspire others. He saw that in his early life he had turned away from the Lord, and, moved to receive his mercy, John began his new commitment to love others in openness to God’s love.
Quote:
The archbishop called John of God to him in response to a complaint that he was keeping tramps and immoral women in his hospital. In submission John fell on his knees and said: “The Son of Man came for sinners, and we are bound to seek their conversion. I am unfaithful to my vocation because I neglect this, but I confess that I know of no bad person in my hospital except myself alone, who am indeed unworthy to eat the bread of the poor.” The archbishop could only trust in John’s sincerity and humility, and dismissed him with deep respect.
The archbishop called John of God to him in response to a complaint that he was keeping tramps and immoral women in his hospital. In submission John fell on his knees and said: “The Son of Man came for sinners, and we are bound to seek their conversion. I am unfaithful to my vocation because I neglect this, but I confess that I know of no bad person in my hospital except myself alone, who am indeed unworthy to eat the bread of the poor.” The archbishop could only trust in John’s sincerity and humility, and dismissed him with deep respect.
Patron Saint of:
Booksellers
Firefighters
Heart patients
Hospitals
Nurses
Printers
Sick
Booksellers
Firefighters
Heart patients
Hospitals
Nurses
Printers
Sick
LECTIO DIVINA:
LUKE 5,27-32
Lectio:
Saturday, March 8, 2014
Lent Time
1)
OPENING PRAYER
Lord our God, merciful Father,
when you call us to repentance,
you want us to turn to people
and to build up peace and justice among us all.According to your promise,
let us become, with your strength,
lights for those in darkness,
water for those who thirst,
rebuilders of hope and happiness for all.
May we thus become living signs
of your love and loyalty,
for you are our God for ever.
when you call us to repentance,
you want us to turn to people
and to build up peace and justice among us all.According to your promise,
let us become, with your strength,
lights for those in darkness,
water for those who thirst,
rebuilders of hope and happiness for all.
May we thus become living signs
of your love and loyalty,
for you are our God for ever.
2)
GOSPEL READING - LUKE 5, 27-32
When he went out after this, he noticed a tax collector, Levi by
name, sitting at the tax office, and said to him, 'Follow me.' And leaving
everything Levi got up and followed him.
In his honour Levi held a great reception in his house, and with
them at table was a large gathering of tax collectors and others.
The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples and
said, 'Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?'
Jesus said to them in reply, 'It is not those that are well who
need the doctor, but the sick. I have come to call not the upright but sinners
to repentance.'
3)
REFLECTION
• Today’s Gospel presents the same theme on which we reflected
in January in the Gospel of Mark (Mk 2, 13-17). But, this time it is only the
Gospel of Luke which speaks and the text is much shorter, concentrating its
attention on the principal supper which is the call and conversion of Levi and
what the conversion implies for us who are entering into the time of Lent.
• Jesus calls a sinner to be his disciple. Jesus calls Levi, a
tax collector, and he, immediately, left everything, follows Jesus and begins to
form part of the group of the disciples. Immediately, Luke says that Levi had
prepared a great banquet in his house. In the Gospel of Mark, it seemed that
the banquet was in Jesus’ house. What is important here is the insistence on
communion of Jesus with sinners, around the table, which was a forbidden thing.
• Jesus did not come for the just, but for sinners. The gesture
of Jesus causes great anger among the religious authority. It was forbidden to
sit at table with tax collectors and sinners, because to sit at table with
someone meant to treat him, consider him as a brother! With his way of doing
things, Jesus was accepting the excluded and was treating them as brothers of
the same family of God. Instead of speaking directly with Jesus, the Scribes of
the Pharisees speak with the disciples: Why do you eat and drink with tax
collectors and sinners? And Jesus answers: It is not those that are well who
need the doctor; I have come to call not the upright, but sinners to
repentance!” The consciousness of his mission helps Jesus to find the response
and to indicate the way for the announcement of the Good News of God. He has
come to unite the dispersed people, to reintegrate those who are excluded, to
reveal that God is not a severe judge who condemns and expels, but rather he is
Father/Mother who accepts and embraces.
4)
PERSONAL QUESTIONS
• Jesus accepts and includes the persons. Which is my attitude?
• Jesus’ gesture reveals the experience that he has of God the
Father. Which is the image of God which I bear and express to others through my
behaviour?
5)
CONCLUDING PRAYER
Listen to me, Yahweh, answer me,
for I am poor and needy.
Guard me, for I am faithful,
save your servant who relies on you. (Ps 861-2)
for I am poor and needy.
Guard me, for I am faithful,
save your servant who relies on you. (Ps 861-2)
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