Saturday
of the First Week of Lent
Lectionary: 229
Lectionary: 229
Moses
spoke to the people, saying:
“This day the LORD, your God,
commands you to observe these statutes and decrees.
Be careful, then,
to observe them with all your heart and with all your soul.
Today you are making this agreement with the LORD:
he is to be your God and you are to walk in his ways
and observe his statutes, commandments and decrees,
and to hearken to his voice.
And today the LORD is making this agreement with you:
you are to be a people peculiarly his own, as he promised you;
and provided you keep all his commandments,
he will then raise you high in praise and renown and glory
above all other nations he has made,
and you will be a people sacred to the LORD, your God,
as he promised.”
“This day the LORD, your God,
commands you to observe these statutes and decrees.
Be careful, then,
to observe them with all your heart and with all your soul.
Today you are making this agreement with the LORD:
he is to be your God and you are to walk in his ways
and observe his statutes, commandments and decrees,
and to hearken to his voice.
And today the LORD is making this agreement with you:
you are to be a people peculiarly his own, as he promised you;
and provided you keep all his commandments,
he will then raise you high in praise and renown and glory
above all other nations he has made,
and you will be a people sacred to the LORD, your God,
as he promised.”
Responsorial
Psalm PS 119:1-2, 4-5, 7-8
R.
(1b) Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
Blessed are they whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of the LORD.
Blessed are they who observe his decrees,
who seek him with all their heart.
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
You have commanded that your precepts
be diligently kept.
Oh, that I might be firm in the ways
of keeping your statutes!
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
I will give you thanks with an upright heart,
when I have learned your just ordinances.
I will keep your statutes;
do not utterly forsake me.
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
Blessed are they whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of the LORD.
Blessed are they who observe his decrees,
who seek him with all their heart.
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
You have commanded that your precepts
be diligently kept.
Oh, that I might be firm in the ways
of keeping your statutes!
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
I will give you thanks with an upright heart,
when I have learned your just ordinances.
I will keep your statutes;
do not utterly forsake me.
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
Gospel MT 5:43-48
Jesus
said to his disciples:
“You have heard that it was said,
You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
But I say to you, love your enemies,
and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be children of your heavenly Father,
for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good,
and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.
For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?
Do not the tax collectors do the same?
And if you greet your brothers and sisters only,
what is unusual about that?
Do not the pagans do the same?
So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
“You have heard that it was said,
You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
But I say to you, love your enemies,
and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be children of your heavenly Father,
for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good,
and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.
For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?
Do not the tax collectors do the same?
And if you greet your brothers and sisters only,
what is unusual about that?
Do not the pagans do the same?
So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Meditation: Love and
pray for your enemies
Do
you know the love that conquers every fear, sin, and selfish desire? God renews
his love for us each and every day. His love has the power to free us from
every form of evil - selfishness, greed, anger, hatred, jealously and envy.
'the distinctive feature of Jesus' life and the life of those transformed by
his redeeming love? It's grace - treating others, not as they deserve, but as
God wishes them to be treated - with loving-kindness and mercy. Jesus is God's
grace incarnate. His love is unconditional and is wholly directed towards our
good. God is good to all, the just and the unjust. His love embraces saint and
sinner alike. That's why Jesus willingly went to the cross for our sake, to
free us from the power of sin, ignorance, and prejudice. God's grace sets us
free from everything that would keep us from him and his love. How can we
possibly love as God loves and overcome evil with good? With God all things are
possible. He gives grace in abundance through the gift of the Holy Spirit, who
converts our hearts and minds and teaches us how to live according to God's
truth and love.
Was
Jesus exaggerating when he said we must be perfect as our heavenly Father is
perfect? The original meaning of "perfect" in Aramaic is
"completeness" or "wholeness" - not lacking in what is
essential. God gives us every good gift in Jesus Christ so that we may not lack
anything we need to carry out his will and to live as his sons and daughters.
He knows our frailty and sinfulness better than we do. And he assures us of his
grace and help to follow in his ways. In the cross of Jesus we see the way of
perfect love. Do you want to grow in the knowledge, wisdom, and love of God?
Ask the Holy Spirit to set your heart on fire with the love of God.
"Give
us, Lord, a humble, quiet, peaceable, patient, tender and charitable mind, and
in all our thoughts, words and deeds a taste of the Holy Spirit. Give us, Lord,
a lively faith, a firm hope, a fervent charity, and love of you. Take from us
all lukewarmness in meditation, dullness in prayer. Give us fervor and delight
in thinking of you and your grace, your tender compassion towards me. The
things we pray for, good Lord, give us grace to labor for: through Jesus Christ
our Lord. " (Prayer of Thomas More, 1478-1535)
 Be Perfect? |
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Saturday of the First Week of Lent
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Matthew
5:43-48
"You
have heard that it was said, ´You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.´
But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise
on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.
For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the
tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers only, what is
unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect, just as
your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus, you became a man in order to
show me, in your own flesh and blood, the way to holiness. In every word and
deed of yours recorded in the Gospel, you teach and reveal to me the secret
of a life worthy of eternity. I believe that you are with me now, and that
you will use these moments of prayer to increase my faith, hope and love.
Here I am, Lord, to know, love and serve you with all my heart. Amen.
Petition: Lord, help me to seek holiness out of love for you and
others. Amen.
1. “Be Perfect”: Who is telling us to be perfect? Christ the Word,
he through whom all things were made, through whom we came into being: our
Lord, our Creator, who from all eternity longs to see each one of us be made
perfect in love. This is not a suggestion; it is a command. He says it to his
disciples with energy, even knowing that for them alone it is impossible. For
God, though, nothing is impossible. We are reminded today that our
saintliness is a possibility; it is God’s plan. Miracles happen when we
believe. God is not through with any one of us yet. All God asks is that we
be perfect – not a whole life in one fell swoop – but, rather, every present
moment, one at a time. That is what I have – this present moment. This is
what I have to perfect.
2. Why Does God Command Us to Become Perfect? God’s demand that
we seek and strive after the perfection of holiness becomes more
understandable when we contemplate the increasingly dire situation of our
world. That world, so gravely in need of Christ’s salvation, is the starkest
and most palpable reason why any one of us should pursue holiness. What is
the value of Christian holiness in the world? One early Christian apologist
put it in these terms:
To
sum up all in one word –– what the soul is in the body, that are Christians
in the world. The flesh hates the soul, and wars against it, though itself
suffering no injury, because it is prevented from enjoying pleasures; the
world also hates the Christians, though in nowise injured, because they
abjure pleasures. The soul loves the flesh that hates it, and [loves also]
the members; Christians likewise love those that hate them” (From the Letter
to Diognetus).
3. Seeking Holiness is a Labor of Love: In a world of
shifting sands, we can offer solid ground; in a world of blind forces of
spiritual and material violence, we can offer the persuasive power of
Christian goodness. Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta was heard to say that
holiness is not the privilege of a few, but the obligation of all. When with
simple and profound faith, we delve into that link between our striving for
holiness and the salvation of souls, we can discover a new impetus and a new
strength. The challenge of seeking holiness can become a labor of love,
driven by a heart aflame with zeal for the salvation of all our brothers and
sisters.
Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, the
world needs men and women of God; the world needs saints. I know this. I know
you call me in a personal, urgent and insistent way to seek my holiness. For
the sake of my brothers and sisters, for their salvation, Lord, make me holy.
Amen.
Resolution: I will dedicate some time today to pray to Our
Lady and entrust to her, with living faith and childlike simplicity, the
entire project of my personal sanctification.
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SATURDAY, MARCH 15, MATTHEW 5:43-48
Lenten Weekday
(Deuteronomy 26:16-19; Psalm 119)
Lenten Weekday
(Deuteronomy 26:16-19; Psalm 119)
KEY VERSE: "But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you" (v 44).
READING: Israel believed that their enemies were also enemies of God (Ps 139:21), but God did not command Israel to hate their enemies. Neither was Israel allowed to mistreat a "neighbor," that is, anyone who dwelled in the land -- a resident alien (Lv 19:17-18, 34). But Jesus took the law further. He said that it was no virtue to love only those who loved them; nonbelievers could do as much. Jesus asked his disciples to imitate their loving God who gave gifts of sun and rain to the just and unjust alike. Loving our enemies doesn't mean that we don't have any enemies; however, the Christian must never seek retaliation for any insult no matter how hostile. Those who plan evil against their enemies do not have love; consequently, they do not know God. Jesus' followers must strive to love even those who persecute them (Mt 5:11). Jesus showed us the supreme example of enemy love when he asked God to forgive those who were putting him to death (Lk 23:34).
REFLECTING: Do we as individuals or as a nation measure up to Jesus' command to forgive and pray for our enemies?
PRAYING: Lord Jesus, help me to forgive those who have injured me and to pray for their welfare.
PURIM BEGINS AT SUNSET
Purim is one of the most joyous and fun holidays on the Jewish calendar. It commemorates a time when the Jewish people living in Persia were saved from total destruction. The story of Purim is told in the Book of Esther who was taken to the house of Ahasuerus, King of Persia, to become part of his harem. King Ahasuerus loved Esther and made her his queen, but he did not know that she was a Jew. The villain of the story is Haman, an arrogant, evil adviser to the king. Esther's cousin Mordecai refused to bow down to Haman, so Haman plotted to destroy the Jewish people in revenge. Mordecai persuaded Esther to speak to the king on behalf of the Jewish people. Esther fasted for three days, then went to see the king. She told him of Haman's plot against her people. The Jewish people were saved, and Haman was hanged on the gallows he prepared for Mordecai.
Purim is celebrated on the 14th day of Adar, which usually comes in March. The word "Purim" means "lots" and refers to the lottery that Haman used to choose the date for the massacre. It is customary to boo and rattle groggers (noisemakers) whenever the name of Haman is mentioned in the service. The purpose of this custom is to "blot out the name of Haman." On Purim, Jews are also commanded to send out gifts of food or drink and to give charity. It is customary to hold carnival-like celebrations on Purim, to perform plays and parodies, and to hold beauty contests. Purim is not subject to the Sabbath-like restrictions that apply to many other holiday, but some sources indicate that ordinary business should not be conducted out of respect for the holiday.
MINUTE
MEDITATIONS
Grace Before Meals
When family and friends, or even strangers, come together to
celebrate a meal, they have the opportunity to say grace. And when God is
invited to the dinner table, miracles happen!
Happy are those who follow the law of the Lord!
You will be a people holy to the Lord.In today’s first reading, God establishes the covenant with his people. His laws were important then, and still are today. We know, though, that much more is required. The gospel reflects this sentiment by calling us to live in such a way that we truly are a ‘people holy to the Lord’. God gives the sun and the rain to us all regardless of our actions. Like God, we should live generously and graciously. Until we have a deep sense of God’s love for us, merely obeying the commandments will be our ultimate aim. One version of the first reading tells us we are ‘specially his own’. A particularly beautiful version calls us his ‘dearly held treasures’. Surely, with this in mind, we can extend ourselves. God is giving us his very best today, so how will we respond?
March
15
St. Louise de Marillac
(d. 1660)
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.
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
Social workers
LECTIO DIVINA:
MATTHEW 5,43-48
Lectio:
Saturday, March 15, 2014
Lent Time
1)
OPENING PRAYER
Lord God, from you comes the initiative of love.
You seek us out and you tell us:
“I am your God; you are my people.”
You love us in Jesus Christ, your Son.
God, may our response of love
go far beyond the demands of any law.
May we seek you and commune with you
in the deepest of our being
and may we express our gratitude to you
by going to our neighbour
with a love that is spontaneous like yours.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.
You seek us out and you tell us:
“I am your God; you are my people.”
You love us in Jesus Christ, your Son.
God, may our response of love
go far beyond the demands of any law.
May we seek you and commune with you
in the deepest of our being
and may we express our gratitude to you
by going to our neighbour
with a love that is spontaneous like yours.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.
2)
GOSPEL READING - MATTHEW 5, 43-48
'You have heard how it was said, You will love your neighbour
and hate your enemy. But I say this to you, love your enemies and pray for
those who persecute you; so that you may be children of your Father in heaven,
for he causes his sun to rise on the bad as well as the good, and sends down
rain to fall on the upright and the wicked alike.
For if you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Do
not even the tax collectors do as much? And if you save your greetings for your
brothers, are you doing anything exceptional?
Do not even the gentiles do as much? You must therefore be
perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.'
3)
REFLECTION
• In today’s Gospel we see how Jesus has interpreted the
commandment: “You shall not kill” in such a way that its observance may lead to
the practice of love. Besides saying “You shall not kill” (Mt 5, 21), Jesus
quoted four other commandments of the ancient law: you shall not commit
adultery (Mt 5, 27), You shall not bear false witness (Mt 5, 33), eye for eye,
and tooth for tooth (Mt 5, 38) and, in today’s Gospel: “You shall love your
neighbour and will hate your enemy” (Mt 5, 43), five times, Jesus criticizes
and completes the ancient way of observing these commandments and indicates the
new way to attain the objective of the law, which is the practice of love (Mt
5, 22-26; 5, 28-32; 5, 34-37; 5, 39-42; 5, 44-48).
• Love your enemies. In today’s Gospel Jesus quotes the ancient
law which says: “You will love your neighbour and hate your enemy”. This text
is not found like this in the Old Testament. It is rather a question of the
mentality of the time, according to which there was no problem in the fact that
a person hated his enemy. Jesus was not in agreement and says: “But I tell you
: For if you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Do not even the
tax collectors do as much? And if you save your greetings for your brothers,
are you doing anything exceptional? Do not even the gentiles do as much? You
must, therefore, set no bounds to your love, just as your heavenly Father sets
none to his”. And Jesus gives us the proof. At the hour of his death he
observed that which he preached.
• Father, forgive them, they do not know what they are doing. A
soldier takes the wrist of Jesus and places it on the arm of the cross, places
a nail and begins to hammer it in. Several times. The blood was flowing down.
The body of Jesus contorted with pain. The soldier, a mercenary, ignorant, far
from knowing what he was doing, and of what was happening around him, continued
to hammer as if it were a piece of the wall of his house and had to put up a
picture. At that moment Jesus prays for the soldier who tortures him and
addresses his prayer to the Father: “Father, forgive them! They know not what
they are doing!” He loved the soldier who killed him. Even wanting it with all
their strength, the lack of humanity did not succeed to kill in Jesus, humanity
and love! He will be imprisoned, they will spit on him, will laugh and make fun
of him, they will make of him a false king crowning him with a crown of thorns,
will torture him, will oblige him to go through the streets like a criminal,
hearing the insults of the religious authority, on Calvary they will leave him
completely naked in the sight of all. But the poison of the lack of humanity
did not succeed to attain the source of love and of humanity which sprang from
within Jesus. The water of the love which sprang from within was stronger than
the poison of hatred which was coming from without. Looking at that soldier,
Jesus felt sorrow and prayed for him and for all: “Father, forgive them! They
know not what they are doing!” Jesus, in solidarity, almost excuses those who
were ill treating and torturing him. He was like a brother who goes with his
murder brothers before the Judge and, he the victim of his own brothers, says
to the judge: “They are my brothers, you know they are ignorant. Forgive them!
They will become better!” He loved the enemy!
• Be perfect as perfect is your Father who is in Heaven. Jesus
does not simply want to frighten, because this would be useless. He wants to
change the system of human living together. The Novelty which he wants to
construct comes from the new experience which he has from God, the Father, full
of tenderness who accepts all! The words of threat against the rich cannot be
an occasion of revenge on the part of the poor. Jesus orders that we have the
contrary attitude: “Love your enemies!” True love cannot depend on what one
receives from others. Love should want the good of others independently of what
they does for me. Because this is the way God’s love is for us.
4)
PERSONAL QUESTIONS
• To love the enemies. Am I capable to love my enemies?
• Contemplate Jesus, in silence who at the hour of his death, he
loved the enemy who killed him.
5)
CONCLUDING PRAYER
How blessed are those whose way is blameless,
who walk in the Law of Yahweh!
Blessed are those who observe his instructions,
who seek him with all their hearts (Ps 119,1-2)
who walk in the Law of Yahweh!
Blessed are those who observe his instructions,
who seek him with all their hearts (Ps 119,1-2)
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