Thursday of the First Week in Lent
Lectionary: 227
Lectionary: 227
Queen Esther, seized with mortal anguish,
had recourse to the LORD.
She lay prostrate upon the ground, together with her handmaids,
from morning until evening, and said:
“God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, blessed are you.
Help me, who am alone and have no help but you,
for I am taking my life in my hand.
As a child I used to hear from the books of my forefathers
that you, O LORD, always free those who are pleasing to you.
Now help me, who am alone and have no one but you,
O LORD, my God.
“And now, come to help me, an orphan.
Put in my mouth persuasive words in the presence of the lion
and turn his heart to hatred for our enemy,
so that he and those who are in league with him may perish.
Save us from the hand of our enemies;
turn our mourning into gladness
and our sorrows into wholeness.”
had recourse to the LORD.
She lay prostrate upon the ground, together with her handmaids,
from morning until evening, and said:
“God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, blessed are you.
Help me, who am alone and have no help but you,
for I am taking my life in my hand.
As a child I used to hear from the books of my forefathers
that you, O LORD, always free those who are pleasing to you.
Now help me, who am alone and have no one but you,
O LORD, my God.
“And now, come to help me, an orphan.
Put in my mouth persuasive words in the presence of the lion
and turn his heart to hatred for our enemy,
so that he and those who are in league with him may perish.
Save us from the hand of our enemies;
turn our mourning into gladness
and our sorrows into wholeness.”
Responsorial Psalm PS 138:1-2AB, 2CDE-3, 7C8
R. (3a) Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered
me.
I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart,
for you have heard the words of my mouth;
in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise;
I will worship at your holy temple
and give thanks to your name.
R. Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me.
Because of your kindness and your truth;
for you have made great above all things
your name and your promise.
When I called, you answered me;
you built up strength within me.
R. Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me.
Your right hand saves me.
The LORD will complete what he has done for me;
your kindness, O LORD, endures forever;
forsake not the work of your hands.
R. Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me.
I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart,
for you have heard the words of my mouth;
in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise;
I will worship at your holy temple
and give thanks to your name.
R. Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me.
Because of your kindness and your truth;
for you have made great above all things
your name and your promise.
When I called, you answered me;
you built up strength within me.
R. Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me.
Your right hand saves me.
The LORD will complete what he has done for me;
your kindness, O LORD, endures forever;
forsake not the work of your hands.
R. Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me.
Gospel MT 7:7-12
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Ask and it will be given to you;
seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds;
and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
Which one of you would hand his son a stone
when he asked for a loaf of bread,
or a snake when he asked for a fish?
If you then, who are wicked,
know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your heavenly Father give good things
to those who ask him.
“Do to others whatever you would have them do to you.
This is the law and the prophets.”
“Ask and it will be given to you;
seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds;
and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
Which one of you would hand his son a stone
when he asked for a loaf of bread,
or a snake when he asked for a fish?
If you then, who are wicked,
know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your heavenly Father give good things
to those who ask him.
“Do to others whatever you would have them do to you.
This is the law and the prophets.”
Meditation: Ask and you will receive from your
Father in heaven
Do you expect God to hear your prayers? Esther's
prayer on behalf of her people is a model for us. She prayed for help according
to God's promise to be faithful to his people. God wants us to remember his
promises and to count on his help when we pray.
Jesus wanted to raise the expectations of his
disciples when he taught them how to pray. Jesus' parable of the father feeding
his son illustrates the unthinkable! How could a loving father refuse to give
his son what is good; or worse, to give him what is harmful? In conclusion
Jesus makes a startling claim: How much more will the heavenly Father give to
those who ask!
Our heavenly Father graciously gives beyond our
expectations. Jesus taught his disciples to pray with confidence because the
Heavenly Father in his goodness always answers prayers. That is why we can
boldly pray:Give us this day our daily bread.
Those who know and trust in God's love, pray
with great boldness. Listen to what John Chrysostom, a 5th century church
father, has to say about the power of prayer:
"Prayer is an
all-efficient panoply [i.e. 'a full suit of armor' or 'splendid array'], a
treasure undiminished, a mine never exhausted, a sky unobstructed by clouds, a
haven unruffled by storm. It is the root, the fountain, and the mother of a
thousand blessings. It exceeds a monarch's power. ..I speak not of the prayer
which is cold and feeble and devoid of zeal. I speak of that which proceeds
from a mind outstretched, the child of a contrite spirit, the offspring of a
soul converted - this is the prayer which mounts to heaven. ..The power of
prayer has subdued the strength of fire, bridled the rage of lions, silenced
anarchy, extinguished wars, appeased the elements, expelled demons, burst the
chains of death, enlarged the gates of heaven, relieved diseases, averted
frauds, rescued cities from destruction, stayed the sun in its course, and
arrested the progress of the thunderbolt. In sum prayer has power to destroy
whatever is at enmity with the good."
Prayer
flows from the love of God; and the personal love we show to our neighbor is
fueled by the love that God has poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit
(Romans 5:5). Jesus concludes his discourse on prayer with the reminder that we
must treat our neighbor in the same way we wish to be treated by God and by
others. We must not just avoid doing harm to our neighbor, we must actively
seek his or her welfare. In doing so, we fulfill the law and the prophets,
namely what God requires of us - loving God with all that we have and are and
loving our neighbor as ourselves. The Holy Spirit is every ready to transform
our lives in Jesus' way of love. Do you thirst for holiness and for the
fire of God's love?
"Let me love you, my Lord and my God, and
see myself as I really am - a pilgrim in this world, a Christian called to
respect and love all whose lives I touch, those in authority over me or those
under my authority, my friends and my enemies. Help me to conquer anger with
gentleness, greed by generosity, apathy by fervor. Help me to forget myself and
reach out towards others." (Prayer attributed to Clement XI of Rome)
 Never Stop Seeking Holiness |
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Thursday of the First Week of Lent
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Father Alex Yeung, LC
Matthew 7:7-12
"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives;
and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asks for a loaf of bread,
or a snake when he asks for a fish? If you then, who are wicked, know how to
give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father
give good things to those who ask him. Do to others whatever you would have
them do to you. This is the law and the prophets.”
Introductory Prayer: Heavenly
Father, I take these moments to adore you and to enter into your loving
presence. I dare to tell you I believe in you, although you know how weak my
faith is. You are the reason for all my hope in life. Lord, I count on you as
I strive to love you more totally and to attain the holiness of life to which
you have called me. Amen.
Petition: Lord,
teach me how to pray.
1. The Shortcut to Holiness: As
Blessed Pope John Paul II reminds us, “The royal and indispensable wayto
advance on the path of holiness is prayer:being with the Lord, we become
friends of the Lord, his attitude gradually becomes our attitude and his
heart our heart” (Address to the Priests of the Diocese of Rome, March 6,
2003). Again we are confronted with that fundamental principle of our
sanctification: “He must increase, and I must decrease” (Cf. John 3:30).
Christ must become more and more in us. That’s what genuine prayer
accomplishes, if that prayer consists of a one-on-one conversation with the
Savior that engages heart, mind and will. Could it be the case that I am
seeking holiness without having firmly decided to anchor each day, indeed my
entire life, in prayer?
2. Trust Like Little Children: Why is
it that the prospect of our personal holiness seems so outlandish to us? Why
are we so inwardly reluctant to believe that God, the almighty, the
all-powerful, who created us from nothing, can also sanctify us? Maybe the
part that discourages us is our unwillingness to jump headlong into that part
of our sanctification that depends on us. But even here, Christ urges us to
pray with confidence: “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts
to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things
to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11). Is it too much to believe and trust
that God will strengthen our will in the pursuit of holiness? Will his grace
fail us if we ask for holiness with complete trust and childlike confidence?
3. What a Combination! Prayer,
holiness and apostolic fruitfulness are intrinsically linked. If we, as lay
apostles, wish to see fruit in all our apostolic endeavors, we know it will
depend in large part on our degree of holiness: our degree of real union with
God, the degree to which his divine life flows through us. That divine life,
given to us in baptism and increased through our sacramental life, can be
enhanced every day in personal prayer where our thirst for God is not
quenched, but rather greatly increased. We should pray always, so that prayer
will be the secret of our holiness and apostolic fruitfulness.
Prayer continues to be the greatest power on earth. It must be at the very center of our quest for holiness.
Conversation with Christ: Lord
Jesus, thank you for this time of prayer. Thank you for teaching me
interiorly, little by little every day, how to pray more perfectly. For the
sake of those men and women, my brothers and sisters, whose own salvation is somehow
mysteriously linked to my life and to my fidelity to you, give me holiness!
Amen.
Resolution: I will
renew my determination to make a daily prayer time, and make sure that this
becomes, or continues to be, a part of my daily routine.
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THURSDAY, MARCH 13, MATTHEW 7:7-12
Lenten Weekday
(Jonah 3:1-10; Psalm 51)
Lenten Weekday
(Jonah 3:1-10; Psalm 51)
KEY VERSE: "This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah" (v 29).
READING: When the people demanded a sign from Jesus as proof that his miracles were genuine, he accused them of lacking faith. He declared that the only sign he would give them would be the sign of Jonah's "death and resurrection" from the belly of a fish (Jonah 2). When Jonah was sent to preach to Nineveh in Assyria (Israel's enemy), the prophet was astonished when these pagan people repented and turned toward God (Jon 3:1-10). Jesus was a prophet greater than Jonah, yet the Gentiles were more receptive to his message than were his own people. Jesus noted that the Queen of Sheba had come from afar to learn the wisdom of King Solomon (1 Kgs 10:1-10). In contrast, Jesus, the wisdom of God, was spurned and rejected even though he came from God to offer them the gift of eternal life.
REFLECTING: Am I like Jonah, reluctant to speak God's words to unbelievers?
PRAYING: Lord Jesus, help me to repent of my sins and heed your words.
MINUTE MEDITATIONS
Holy Ambition
Holy ambition can lead a person to take leadership in projects to
promote peace, ensure justice, clothe the naked, and welcome the stranger. It
calls us to get involved in the deeds of love, service and justice that are
needed in the day-to-day world in which we live.
Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me
Lord, on the day I called for help you answered me.Today’s readings have a consoling theme, assuring us that when we turn to God for help our pleas are always heard. There’s also a deeper message. Jesus knows parents would never give their children something that is harmful. He reminds us, though, that while we aren’t perfect our heavenly Father loves us with an extravagant love, and knows what we need. The world encourages us to satisfy all our needs. But Jesus’ way is different. He taught his disciples to live simply rather than store up riches, and constantly encouraged them to treat others as they would like to be treated themselves. Today let us sit quietly before God and look deeply into our hearts to discern if what we want is really what we need.
March
13
St. Leander of Seville
(c. 550-600)
St. Leander of Seville
(c. 550-600)
he next time you recite the Nicene Creed at Mass, think of today’s
saint. For it was Leander of Seville who, as bishop, introduced the practice in
the sixth century. He saw it as a way to help reinforce the faith of his people
and as an antidote against the heresy of Arianism, which denied the divinity of
Christ. By the end of his life, Leander had helped Christianity flourish in
Spain at a time of political and religious upheaval.
Leander’s
own family was heavily influenced by Arianism, but he himself grew up to be a
fervent Christian. He entered a monastery as a young man and spent three years
in prayer and study. At the end of that tranquil period he was made a bishop.
For the rest of his life he worked strenuously to fight against heresy. The
death of the anti-Christian king in 586 helped Leander’s cause. He and the new
king worked hand in hand to restore orthodoxy and a renewed sense of morality.
Leander succeeded in persuading many Arian bishops to change their loyalties.
Leander
died around 600. In Spain he is honored as a Doctor of the Church.
LECTIO DIVINA:
MATTHEW 7,7-12
Lectio:
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Lent Time
1)
OPENING PRAYER
Lord, our God,
you are a generous Father,
who give us what is good for us
simply because you love us.
Gives us grateful hearts, Lord,
that we may learn from you
to give and share without calculation
but simply with love and joy,
as Jesus, your Son, did among us,
who lives with you and with us for ever.
you are a generous Father,
who give us what is good for us
simply because you love us.
Gives us grateful hearts, Lord,
that we may learn from you
to give and share without calculation
but simply with love and joy,
as Jesus, your Son, did among us,
who lives with you and with us for ever.
2)
GOSPEL READING - MATTHEW 7,7-12
Jesus said to his disciples: 'Ask, and it will be given to you;
search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. Everyone
who asks receives; everyone who searches finds; everyone who knocks will have
the door opened.
Is there anyone among you who would hand his son a stone when he
asked for bread? Or would hand him a snake when he asked for a fish?
If you, then, evil as you are, know how to give your children
what is good, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to
those who ask him!
'So always treat others as you would like them to treat you;
that is the Law and the Prophets.
3)
REFLECTION
• The Gospel today gives a part of the Sermon on the Mountain,
the New Law of God which has been revealed to us by Jesus. The Sermon on the
Mountain has the following structure:
a) Mathew 5, 1-16: The entrance door: the Beatitudes (Mt 5,
1-10) and the mission of the disciples: to be the salt of the earth and the
light of the world (Mt 5, 12-16).
b) Mathew 5, 17 a 6, 18: The new relationship with God: The new
justice (Mt 5, 17-48) which does not expect the reward for practicing alms
giving, for praying and fasting (Mt 6, 1-18).
c) Mathew 6, 19-34: The new relationship with the goods of the
earth:(Mt 6, 19-21), do not look at the world with a diseased eye (Mt 6,
22-23), do not serve God and money (Mt 6, 24), do not be concerned about food
and drink (Mt 6, 23-34).
d) Mathew 7, 1-23: The new relationship with persons: do not
look for the splinter in your brother’s eye (Mt 7, 1-5); do not throw your
pearls in front of pigs (Mt 7, 6); the Gospel today: do not be afraid to ask
things from God (Mt 7, 7-11); and the Golden Rule (Mt 7, 12); choose the hard
and narrow roads (Mt 7, 13-14), beware of false prophets (Mt 7, 15-20).
e) Mathew 7, 21-29: Conclusion: do not only speak but practice
also (Mt 7, 21-23); the community built on this basis will resist the storm (Mt
7, 24-27). The result of these words is a new conscience before the Scribes and
the Doctors (Mt 7, 28-29).
• Mathew 7, 7-8: The three recommendations of Jesus. The three
recommendations: to ask, to seek and to knock: “Ask and you shall receive; seek
and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you!” A person is asked.
The response depends both on the person as well as on the insistence with which
it is asked. To seek is done oriented by some criteria. The better the
criteria, the more certainty one can have of finding what one is looking for.
To knock at the door is done with the hope that there will be someone on the
other side of the door, at home. Jesus completes the recommendation offering
the certainty of the response: “Ask and you shall receive; seek and you shall
find; knock and it will be opened; because anyone who asks receives, and anyone
who seeks will find and to anyone who knocks the door will be opened”. That
means that when we ask God, he listens to our petition. When we seek God, he
allows Himself to be found (Is 5, 5-6). When we knock on the door of God’s
house, he opens the door for us.
• Mathew 7, 9-11: The question of Jesus to the people. “Is there
anyone among you who would hand his son a stone when he asked for bread? Or
would hand him a snake when he asked for a fish?” Here appears the simple and
direct way which Jesus has for teaching the people the things of God to the people.
Speaking to the parents, He connects himself to the daily experience. Between
the lines of the question one can guess the response the people yelled out:
“No!” because nobody gives a stone to a son who asks for bread. There is no
father and no mother who would give a snake to the son when he asks for a fish.
And Jesus draws the conclusion: “If you, then, evil as you are, know how to
give your children what is good, how much more will your Father in heaven give
good things to those who ask him!” Jesus calls us evil to stress the certainty
of being listened to by God when we ask Him for something. And this, because if
we who are not saints, know how to give good things to our children, how much
more the Father in heaven. This comparison has as its objective to take away
from our heart any doubt concerning the prayer addressed to God with trust. God
will listen! Luke adds that God will give the Holy Spirit (Lk 11, 13).
• Mathew 7, 12: The Golden Rule. "So always treat others as
you would like them to treat you; that is the Law and the Prophets.” This is
the summary of all the Old Testament, of the Law and the Prophets. And this is
the summary of everything which God wants to tell us, the summary of all the
teaching of Jesus. This Golden Rule is not found only in the teaching of Jesus,
but also, in one way or other, in all religions. This responds to the most
profound and more universal sentiment of the human being.
4)
PERSONAL QUESTIONS
• Ask, seek, knock on the door: How do you pray and speak with
God?
• How do you live the Golden Rule?
5)
CONCLUDING PRAYER
Lord I praise your name for your faithful love and your
constancy;
your promises surpass even your fame.
You heard me on the day when I called,
and you gave new strength to my heart. (Ps 138, 2-3)
your promises surpass even your fame.
You heard me on the day when I called,
and you gave new strength to my heart. (Ps 138, 2-3)
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