Wednesday
of the third week of lent
Daily
Reading for Wednesday, March 26th, 2014
Reading 1, Deuteronomy
4:1, 5-9
1 'And now, Israel, listen to
the laws and customs which I am teaching you today, so that, by observing them,
you may survive to enter and take possession of the country which Yahweh, God of
your ancestors, is giving you.
5 Look: as Yahweh my God commanded
me, I have taught you laws and customs, for you to observe in the country of
which you are going to take possession.
6 Keep them, put them into
practice, and other peoples will admire
your wisdom and
prudence. Once they know what all these laws are, they will exclaim,
"No other people is as wise and prudent as this great nation!"
7 And indeed, what great
nation has its gods as near as Yahweh our God is to
us whenever we call to him?
8 And what great nation has
laws and customs as upright as the entirety of this Law which
I am laying down for you today?
9 'But take care, as you value
your lives! Do not forget the things which you yourselves have seen, or let
them slip from your heart as long as you live; teach them, rather, to your children and to
your children's children.
Responsorial
Psalm, Psalms 147:12-13, 15-16, 19-20
12 Praise Yahweh, Jerusalem,
Zion, praise your God.
15 He sends his word to the
earth, his command runs quickly,
16 he spreads the snow like
flax, strews hoarfrost like ashes,
19 He reveals his word to
Jacob, his statutes and judgements to Israel.
20 For no other nation has he
done this, no other has known his judgements.
Gospel, Matthew
5:17-19
17 'Do not imagine that I have
come to abolish the Law or
the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete them.
18 In truth I
tell you, till heaven and
earth disappear, not one dot, not one little stroke, is to disappear from theLaw until
all its purpose is achieved.
19 Therefore, anyone who
infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do
the same will be
considered the least in the kingdom of Heaven; but the person who
keeps them and teaches them will be
considered great in the kingdom of Heaven.
Meditation: "Whoever relaxes one of the commandments "
Do you view God's law negatively or positively? Jesus' attitude
towards the law of God can be summed up in the great prayer of Psalm 119:
"Oh, how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day." For the
people of Israel the "law" could refer to the ten commandments or to
the five Books of Moses, called the Pentateuch, which explain the commandments
and ordinances of God for his people. The "law" also referred to the
whole teaching or way of life which God gave to his people. The Jews in Jesus'
time also used it as a description of the oral or scribal law. Needless to say,
the scribes added many more things to the law than God intended. That is why
Jesus often condemned the scribal law. It placed burdens on people which God
had not intended. Jesus, however, made it very clear that the essence of God's
law - his commandments and way of life, must be fulfilled.
Jesus taught reverence for God's law - reverence for God
himself, for the Lord's Day, reverence or respect for parents, respect for
life, for property, for another person's good name, respect for oneself and for
one's neighbor lest wrong or hurtful desires master us. Reverence and respect
for God's commandments teach us the way of love - love of God and love of
neighbor.
The transforming work of the Holy Spirit
What is impossible to men and women is possible to God and those who put their faith and trust in God. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit the Lord transforms us and makes us like himself. We are a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) because "God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us" (Romans 5:5). God gives us the grace to love as he loves, to forgive as he forgives, to think as he thinks, and to act as he acts.
What is impossible to men and women is possible to God and those who put their faith and trust in God. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit the Lord transforms us and makes us like himself. We are a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) because "God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us" (Romans 5:5). God gives us the grace to love as he loves, to forgive as he forgives, to think as he thinks, and to act as he acts.
The Lord loves justice and goodness and he hates every form of
wickedness and sin. He wants to set us free from our unruly desires and sinful
habits, so that we can choose to live each day in the peace, joy, and
righteousness of his Holy Spirit (Romans 14: 17). To renounce sin is to turn
away from what is harmful and destructive for our minds and hearts, and our
very lives. As his followers we must love and respect his commandments and hate
every form of sin. Do you love and revere the commands of the Lord?
"Lord Jesus, grant this day, to direct and sanctify, to
rule and govern our hearts and bodies, so that all our thoughts, words and
deeds may be according to your Father's law and thus may we be saved and
protected through your mighty help."
 To Keep or To Abolish… |
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Wednesday of the
Third Week of Lent
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Matthew 5:17-19
Jesus said to his disciples: "Do not
think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to
abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the
law, until all things have taken place. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the
least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least
in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments
will be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven."
Introductory Prayer: Lord, as I journey through Lent I have a
great desire to be close to you. I know that I am your creature and that I
owe you all glory and homage. I want to glorify you by following your
teaching. I need you to help me see clearly the truth of your teaching and to
love you in return. Here I am Lord, hungry for you alone. I know that you
will not turn me away empty-handed.
Petition: Lord, teach me what it means to fulfill the
law.
1. The Spirit Fulfills the Mere
Letter: We can speak of
fulfilling the law in two ways: by doing everything that is asked or by
completing that which is missing. Jesus completes the law of the Old
Testament with the new law of love – to love one another as he has loved us.
Jesus fulfills the law not by simply fulfilling each of the many precepts,
but by showing where all of the precepts have their end: in loving God above
all things. When we obey the law of love we are fulfilling all of the laws –
we are bringing them to their natural end.
2. The All-Encompassing New Law: The law of love reaches to the ends of the
earth. There is no created being in the universe that is outside the law of
love that Jesus has come to teach us. There is no being, not even the
smallest, that escapes the demand of this law. When Jesus uses the metaphor, “the
smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter,” he is showing us the
completeness of this law. Love and its demands reach to the farthest ends of
the universe, to the smallest created being, and to the end of time. Am I
convinced in my heart and in my actions that the law of love asks me to love
all people – not just my family, friends and those who rub me the right way?
3. Seeking Perfection: The commandments of the old law as
exemplified in the Ten Commandments (e.g. Thou shall not kill; Thou shall not
commit adultery; etc.) are grave transgressions but easy to define, referring
as they do to external actions. Christ’s commandments (e.g. to not show
anger; to not lust in the heart; to forgive our enemies; etc.) have more
subtle expressions, and because of this often times they are more difficult
to obey. Living these commandments with the proper motivation and a
considerate, dedicated attitude is what makes a person great. Having love as
the motivation of all of our actions not only helps us make it to heaven, but
also will win us a greater share in God’s happiness and glory there.
Conversation with Christ: Thank you, Lord, for this time of prayer. Do
not let me be content simply to do the minimum that my faith asks of me. Do
not let me be content simply with avoiding grave sin. Help me to live the
fullness of the law of charity. I want this Lent to be a time of growth in
love.
Resolution: When I am obeying the laws of the Church I will stop to reflect how they fit into the greater law of love. |
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 26, MATTHEW 5:17-19
Lenten Weekday
(Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9; Psalm 147)
Lenten Weekday
(Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9; Psalm 147)
KEY VERSE: "But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven" (v 19b).
READING: Like Moses, Jesus taught his followers that the law of God had lasting validity and must be obeyed. Jesus emphasized the permanency of God's law by saying that not even the tiniest flourish (yod) of the smallest letter (iota) in the Hebrew alphabet would pass from the law until its fulfillment in the final age. Jesus' dispute with the religious leaders was not with the Mosaic Law itself, but with their legalistic interpretation. Jesus deepened the meaning of the law through his words and works. He said that those who taught others that justice and charity was the true purpose of God's law, and practiced it by loving God and one another, would inherit a place in God's kingdom. Those who willfully disregarded God's law would be excluded from God's reign.
REFLECTING: Do I give good example by my respect for God's law?
PRAYING: Lord Jesus, help me to be guided by God's law in all I do.
MINUTE MEDITATIONS
Gift of Salvation
God our Father, thank you for setting this glorious plan of
salvation into action! Through your Son, we have true freedom from bondage and
a full membership in your family. Help me to see Jesus’s great gift in a new
way this Lent.
Praise the Lord, Jerusalem
Both Moses and Jesus speak of laws.Moses says, ‘Observe them, so that you may have life.’ Jesus says, ‘I have come to complete the Law until its purpose is achieved.’ Often, we resent laws, saying they restrict freedom. But the banks of a river are what keep it flowing fast. Their restriction preserves the river, otherwise we have a swamp, a stagnant marsh. Thus there is no freedom from the laws, only freedom within them. Jesus takes the Mosaic law and breathes Gospel life and love into it. O yes, Lord, it does restrict - love is patient before it can be kind: patient with aggressive phone callers, others’ insensitivities, the occasional bore. But your assurance restores our serenity: ‘As long as you did it to one of these, you did it to me.’
March
26
Blessed Didacus Joseph of Cadiz
(d. 1801)
Blessed Didacus Joseph of Cadiz
(d. 1801)
Born in Cadiz, Spain, and christened Joseph Francis, the youth
spent much of his free time around the Capuchin friars and their church. But
his desire to enter the Franciscan Order was delayed because of the difficulty
he had with his studies. Finally he was admitted to the novitiate of the
Capuchins in Seville as Brother Didacus. He later was ordained a priest and
sent out to preach.
His gift
of preaching was soon evident. He journeyed tirelessly through the territory of
Andalusia of Spain, speaking in small towns and crowded cities. His words were
able to touch the minds and hearts of young and old, rich and poor, students
and professors. His work in the confessional completed the conversions his
words began.
This
unlearned man was called "the apostle of the Holy Trinity" because of
his devotion to the Trinity and the ease with which he preached about this
sublime mystery. One day a child gave away his secret, crying out:
"Mother, mother, see the dove resting on the shoulder of Father Didacus! I
could preach like that too if a dove told me all that I should say."
Didacus
was that close to God, spending nights in prayer and preparing for his sermons
by severe penances. His reply to those who criticized him: "My sins and
the sins of the people compel me to do it. Those who have been charged with the
conversions of sinners must remember that the Lord has imposed on them the sins
of all their clients."
It is
said that sometimes when he preached on the love of God he would be elevated
above the pulpit. Crowds in village and town squares were entranced by his
words and would attempt to tear off pieces of his habit as he passed by.
He died
in 1801 at age 58, a holy and revered man. He was beatified in 1894.
Comment:
Didacus was such a poor student that the Observant Franciscans wouldn’t have him. When Capuchin Franciscans finally took him into their order and eventually ordained him, he proved to be a powerful preacher—to everyone’s surprise. As we often do, Didacus’s contemporaries expected little from someone with a slow mind. Didacus proved to them that intelligence is not the only measure. The person who has a loving heart, a listening ear and a wealth of compassion is, in the long run, much wiser.
Didacus was such a poor student that the Observant Franciscans wouldn’t have him. When Capuchin Franciscans finally took him into their order and eventually ordained him, he proved to be a powerful preacher—to everyone’s surprise. As we often do, Didacus’s contemporaries expected little from someone with a slow mind. Didacus proved to them that intelligence is not the only measure. The person who has a loving heart, a listening ear and a wealth of compassion is, in the long run, much wiser.
LECTIO DIVINA:
MATTHEW 5,17-19
Lectio:
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Lent Time
1)
OPENING PRAYER
Lord our God,
your prophets remind us
in season and out of season
of our responsibilities toward you
and toward the world of people.
When they disturb and upset us,
let it be a holy disturbance
that makes us restless, eager to do your will
and to bring justice and love around us.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.
your prophets remind us
in season and out of season
of our responsibilities toward you
and toward the world of people.
When they disturb and upset us,
let it be a holy disturbance
that makes us restless, eager to do your will
and to bring justice and love around us.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.
2)
GOSPEL READING - MATTHEW 5, 17-19
'Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the
Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete them. In truth I tell you,
till heaven and earth disappear, not one dot, not one little stroke, is to
disappear from the Law until all its purpose is achieved.
Therefore, anyone who infringes even one of the least of these
commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in
the kingdom of Heaven; but the person who keeps them and teaches them will be
considered great in the kingdom of Heaven.
3)
REFLECTION
• Today’s Gospel (Mt 5, 17-19) teaches how to observe the law of
God in such a way that its practice indicates in what its complete fulfilment
consists (Mt 5, 17-19). Matthew writes in order to help the communities of the
converted Jews to overcome the criticism of the brothers of their own race who
accused them saying: You are unfaithful to the Law of Moses”. Jesus himself had
been accused of infidelity to the Law of God. Matthew has the clarifying
response of Jesus concerning his accusers. Thus, he gives some light to help
the communities solve their problems.
• Using images of daily life, with simple and direct words,
Jesus had said that the mission of the community, its reason for being, is that
of being salt and light! He had given some advice regarding each one of the two
images. Then follow two or three brief verses of today’s Gospel.
• Matthew 5, 17-18: Not one dot, nor one stroke is to disappear
from the Law. There were several different tendencies in the communities of the
first Christians. Some thought that it was not necessary to observe the laws of
the Old Testament, because we are saved by faith in Jesus and not by the
observance of the Law (Rm 3, 21-26). Others accepted Jesus, the Messiah, but
they did not accept the liberty of spirit with which some of the communities
lived the presence of Jesus. They thought that being Jews they had to continue
to observe the laws of the Old Testament (Acts 15, 1.5). But there were
Christians who lived so fully in the freedom of the Spirit, who no longer
looked at the life of Jesus of Nazareth, nor to the Old Testament and they even
went so far as to say: ”Anathema Jesus!” (1 Co 12, 3). Observing these
tensions, Matthew tries to find some balance between both extremes. The
community should be a space, where the balance can be attained and lived. The
answer given by Jesus to those who criticized him continued to be actual for
the communities: “I have not come to abolish the law, but to complete it!” The
communities could not be against the Law, nor could they close up themselves in
the observance of the law. Like Jesus, they should advance, and show, in
practice, which was the objective which the law wanted to attain in the life of
persons, that is, in the perfect practice of love.
• Matthew 5, 17-18: Not one dot or stroke will disappear from
the Law. It is for those who wanted to get rid of all the law that Matthew
recalls the other parable of Jesus: “Anyone who infringes even one of the least
of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the
least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but the person who keeps them and teaches them
will be considered great in the Kingdom of Heaven”. The great concern in
Matthew’s Gospel is to show that the Old Testament, Jesus of Nazareth and the
life in the Spirit cannot be separated. The three of them form part of the same
and unique project of God and communicate to us the certainty of faith: The God
of Abraham and of Sarah is present in the midst of the community by faith in
Jesus of Nazareth who sends us his Spirit.
4)
PERSONAL QUESTIONS
• How do I see and live the law of God: as a growing horizon of
light or as an imposition which limits my freedom?
• What can we do today for our brothers and sisters who consider
all this type of discussion as obsolete and not actual? What can we learn from
them?
5)
CONCLUDING PRAYER
Praise Yahweh, Jerusalem,
Zion, praise your God.
For he gives strength to the bars of your gates,
he blesses your children within you. (Ps 145,12-13)
Zion, praise your God.
For he gives strength to the bars of your gates,
he blesses your children within you. (Ps 145,12-13)
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