Friday after Ash Wednesday
Lectionary: 221
Lectionary: 221
Thus says the Lord
GOD:
Cry out full-throated and unsparingly,
lift up your voice like a trumpet blast;
Tell my people their wickedness,
and the house of Jacob their sins.
They seek me day after day,
and desire to know my ways,
Like a nation that has done what is just
and not abandoned the law of their God;
They ask me to declare what is due them,
pleased to gain access to God.
“Why do we fast, and you do not see it?
afflict ourselves, and you take no note of it?”
Lo, on your fast day you carry out your own pursuits,
and drive all your laborers.
Yes, your fast ends in quarreling and fighting,
striking with wicked claw.
Would that today you might fast
so as to make your voice heard on high!
Is this the manner of fasting I wish,
of keeping a day of penance:
That a man bow his head like a reed
and lie in sackcloth and ashes?
Do you call this a fast,
a day acceptable to the LORD?
This, rather, is the fasting that I wish:
releasing those bound unjustly,
untying the thongs of the yoke;
Setting free the oppressed,
breaking every yoke;
Sharing your bread with the hungry,
sheltering the oppressed and the homeless;
Clothing the naked when you see them,
and not turning your back on your own.
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your wound shall quickly be healed;
Your vindication shall go before you,
and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer,
you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am!
Cry out full-throated and unsparingly,
lift up your voice like a trumpet blast;
Tell my people their wickedness,
and the house of Jacob their sins.
They seek me day after day,
and desire to know my ways,
Like a nation that has done what is just
and not abandoned the law of their God;
They ask me to declare what is due them,
pleased to gain access to God.
“Why do we fast, and you do not see it?
afflict ourselves, and you take no note of it?”
Lo, on your fast day you carry out your own pursuits,
and drive all your laborers.
Yes, your fast ends in quarreling and fighting,
striking with wicked claw.
Would that today you might fast
so as to make your voice heard on high!
Is this the manner of fasting I wish,
of keeping a day of penance:
That a man bow his head like a reed
and lie in sackcloth and ashes?
Do you call this a fast,
a day acceptable to the LORD?
This, rather, is the fasting that I wish:
releasing those bound unjustly,
untying the thongs of the yoke;
Setting free the oppressed,
breaking every yoke;
Sharing your bread with the hungry,
sheltering the oppressed and the homeless;
Clothing the naked when you see them,
and not turning your back on your own.
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your wound shall quickly be healed;
Your vindication shall go before you,
and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer,
you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am!
Responsorial PsalmPS 51:3-4, 5-6AB, 18-19
R. (19b) A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will
not spurn.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
R. A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
For I acknowledge my offense,
and my sin is before me always:
“Against you only have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight.”
R. A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
For you are not pleased with sacrifices;
should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it.
My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
R. A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
R. A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
For I acknowledge my offense,
and my sin is before me always:
“Against you only have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight.”
R. A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
For you are not pleased with sacrifices;
should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it.
My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
R. A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
Verse Before The GospelSEE AMOS 5:14
Seek good and not
evil so that you may live,
and the Lord will be with you.
and the Lord will be with you.
GospelMT 9:14-15
The disciples of
John approached Jesus and said,
“Why do we and the Pharisees fast much,
but your disciples do not fast?”
Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn
as long as the bridegroom is with them?
The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them,
and then they will fast.”
“Why do we and the Pharisees fast much,
but your disciples do not fast?”
Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn
as long as the bridegroom is with them?
The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them,
and then they will fast.”
Meditation: Fasting for the kingdom of God
Are you hungry for God? Hungering
for God and fasting for his kingdom go hand in hand. When asked why he and his
disciples did not fast Jesus used the vivid picture of a wedding celebration.
In Jesus' time the newly wed celebrated their honeymoon at home for a whole
week with all the guests! This was a time of great feasting and celebrating.
Jesus points to himself as the bridegroom and his disciples as
the bridegroom's friends. He alludes to the fact that God takes delight in his
people as a groom delights in his bride (Isaiah 62:5). To be in God's presence
is pure delight and happiness. But Jesus also reminds his followers that there
is a time for fasting and for humbling oneself in preparation for the coming of
God's kingdom and for the return of the Messianic King. The Lord's disciples
must also bear the cross of affliction and purification. For the disciple there
is both a time for rejoicing in the Lord's presence and celebrating his
goodness and a time for seeking the Lord with humility, fasting, and mourning
for sin. If we hunger for the Lord, he will not disappoint us. His grace draws
us to his throne of mercy and favor. Do you seek the Lord with confident trust
and allow his Holy Spirit to transform your life with his power and grace?
What kind of fasting is pleasing to God? Fasting
can be done for a variety of reasons - to gain freedom from some bad habit,
addiction, or vice, to share in the suffering of those who go without, or to
grow in our hunger for God and for the things of heaven. Basil the Great wrote:
"Take heed that you do not make fasting to consists only in abstinence
from meats. True fasting is to refrain from vice. Shred to pieces all your
unjust contracts. Pardon your neighbors. Forgive them their trespasses."
Do you hunger to know God more, to grow in his holiness, and to live the
abundant life of grace he offers you?
"Come Lord, work upon us, set us on fire
and clasp us close, be fragrant to us, draw us to your loveliness, let us love,
let us run to you." (Prayer
of St. Augustine)
FRIDAY AFTER ASH
WEDNESDAY, MATTHEW 9:14-15
Day of Abstinence
(Isaiah 58:1-9a; Psalm 51)
KEY VERSE: "Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast" (Mt 9:15).
TO KNOW: The followers of John the Baptist were curious to know why the disciples of Jesus did not fast as they and the Pharisees did. Jesus compared himself to a bridegroom at a marriage feast. This sign anticipated the Messianic banquet in which he would be united with his bride, the Church (Rv 19:7). Fasting and mourning were inappropriate at a wedding banquet as this was a time for rejoicing. When the "bridegroom was taken away" (Jesus passion, resurrection and ascension), then the people would fast. Jesus said that the old ways were incompatible with the new.
TO LOVE: Lord Jesus, help me to hunger for you.
TO SERVE: How can I help others open their minds and hearts to Jesus?
Day of Abstinence
(Isaiah 58:1-9a; Psalm 51)
KEY VERSE: "Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast" (Mt 9:15).
TO KNOW: The followers of John the Baptist were curious to know why the disciples of Jesus did not fast as they and the Pharisees did. Jesus compared himself to a bridegroom at a marriage feast. This sign anticipated the Messianic banquet in which he would be united with his bride, the Church (Rv 19:7). Fasting and mourning were inappropriate at a wedding banquet as this was a time for rejoicing. When the "bridegroom was taken away" (Jesus passion, resurrection and ascension), then the people would fast. Jesus said that the old ways were incompatible with the new.
TO LOVE: Lord Jesus, help me to hunger for you.
TO SERVE: How can I help others open their minds and hearts to Jesus?
Friday 20 February 2015
Day of penance.
Isaiah 58:1-9. A broken, humbled heart, O God, you will not scorn—Ps 50(51):3-6, 18-19. Matthew 9:14-15.
Isaiah 58:1-9. A broken, humbled heart, O God, you will not scorn—Ps 50(51):3-6, 18-19. Matthew 9:14-15.
‘Why do your disciples not
fast?’
In answering this question,
Jesus explains the difference between fleeting joy and the deep, quiet joy that
endures through trials and tribulations. He tells us that his companions
experience an inner joy that nothing can take from them, joy that enables them
to have faith and trust in him amid all the chances and changes of daily
living.
Jesus, I know the joy you
speak about. I know, too, the loneliness and pain of loss when I mistrust you.
I also know your unconditional love for me and the deep sense of belonging
which allows me to say ‘sorry’ and begin all over again. Deepen within me a
spirit of joy that will enable me to lead others to experience your love and
companionship as we journey together to the Father.
MINUTE MEDITATIONS
Soak It All In
|
Hail Mary, lowly handmaid of the Lord, Glorious Mother of Christ,
teach us to persevere in listening to the Word, and to be docile to the voice
of the Spirit, attentive to His promptings in the depths of our conscience and
to His manifestations in the events of history.
February
20
Blesseds Jacinta and Francisco Marto
(1910-1920; 1908-1919)
Blesseds Jacinta and Francisco Marto
(1910-1920; 1908-1919)
Between May 13 and October 13, 1917, three children, Portuguese
shepherds from Aljustrel, received apparitions of Our Lady at Cova da Iria,
near Fatima, a city 110 miles north of Lisbon. At that time, Europe was
involved in an extremely bloody war. Portugal itself was in political turmoil,
having overthrown its monarchy in 1910; the government disbanded religious
organizations soon after.
At the
first appearance, Mary asked the children to return to that spot on the
thirteenth of each month for the next six months. She also asked them to learn
to read and write and to pray the rosary “to obtain peace for the world and the
end of the war.” They were to pray for sinners and for the conversion of
Russia, which had recently overthrown Czar Nicholas II and was soon to fall
under communism. Up to 90,000 people gathered for Mary’s final apparition on
October 13, 1917.
Less than
two years later, Francisco died of influenza in his family home. He was buried
in the parish cemetery and then re-buried in the Fatima basilica in 1952.
Jacinta died of influenza in Lisbon, offering her suffering for the conversion
of sinners, peace in the world and the Holy Father. She was re-buried in the
Fatima basilica in 1951. Their cousin, Lucia dos Santos, became a Carmelite nun
and was still living when Jacinta and Francisco were beatified in 2000. Sister
Lucia died five years later. The shrine of Our Lady of Fatima is visited by up
to 20 million people a year.
Comment:
The Church is always very cautious about endorsing alleged apparitions, but it has seen benefits from people changing their lives because of the message of Our Lady of Fatima. Prayer for sinners, devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and praying the rosary—all these reinforce the Good News Jesus came to preach.
The Church is always very cautious about endorsing alleged apparitions, but it has seen benefits from people changing their lives because of the message of Our Lady of Fatima. Prayer for sinners, devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and praying the rosary—all these reinforce the Good News Jesus came to preach.
Quote:
In his homily at their beatification, Pope John Paul II recalled that shortly before Francisco died, Jacinta said to him, “Give my greetings to Our Lord and to Our Lady and tell them that I am enduring everything they want for the conversion of sinners.”
In his homily at their beatification, Pope John Paul II recalled that shortly before Francisco died, Jacinta said to him, “Give my greetings to Our Lord and to Our Lady and tell them that I am enduring everything they want for the conversion of sinners.”
LECTIO DIVINA:
MATTHEW 9,14-15
Lectio:
Friday, February 20, 2015
Lent Time
1)
OPENING PRAYER
Lord of the Covenant,
we have not to fear your judgment
if like you we become rich in mercy
and full of compassion for our neighbour.
May we not only know that you ask us
but practice with sincere hearts
to share our food with the hungry
and to loosen the bonds of injustice,
that through us your light may shine
and your healing spread far and wide.
Be with us in your goodness.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
we have not to fear your judgment
if like you we become rich in mercy
and full of compassion for our neighbour.
May we not only know that you ask us
but practice with sincere hearts
to share our food with the hungry
and to loosen the bonds of injustice,
that through us your light may shine
and your healing spread far and wide.
Be with us in your goodness.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
2)
GOSPEL READING - MATTHEW 9, 14-15
Then John's disciples came to him and said, 'Why is it that we
and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not?'
Jesus replied, 'Surely the bridegroom's attendants cannot mourn
as long as the bridegroom is still with them? But the time will come when the
bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.
3)
REFLECTION
• Today’s Gospel is a brief version of the Gospel on which we
already meditated in January, when the same theme of fasting was proposed to us
(Mk 2, 18-22), but there is a small difference. Today, the Liturgy omits the
whole discourse of the new piece of cloth on an old cloak and the new wine in
an old skin (Mt 9, 16-17), and concentrates its attention on fasting.
• Jesus does not insist on the practice of fasting. Fasting is a
very ancient use, practiced in almost all religions. Jesus himself practiced it
during forty days (Mt 4, 2). But he did not insist with the disciples to do the
same. He leaves them free. For this reason, the disciples of John the Baptist
and of the Pharisees, who were obliged to fast, want to know why Jesus does not
insist on fasting.
• While the bridegroom is with them, therefore, they do not need
to fast. Jesus responds with a comparison. When the bridegroom is with the
friends of the spouse, that is, during the wedding feast, it is not necessary
for them to fast. Jesus considers himself the spouse. The disciples are the
friends of the spouse. During the time in which Jesus was with the disciples,
is the wedding feast. One day will come in which the spouse will no longer be
there. Then, they can fast if they so desire. In this phrase Jesus refers to
his death. He knows and he becomes aware that if he continues along this path
of freedom, of liberty, the religious authority will want to kill him.
• Fasting and abstinence from meat are universal practices which
are actual. The Muslims have the fasting of the Ramadan, during which they
neither eat, nor should they eat until the rising of the sun. Always more and
for diverse reasons, persons impose upon themselves some form of fasting.
Fasting is an important means to control oneself, and to dominate oneself, and
this exists in almost all religions. It is also appreciated by sportsmen.
• The Bible has many reference to fasting. It was a way of
making penance and of attaining conversion. Through the practice of fasting,
Christians imitated Jesus who fasted during forty days. Fasting tends to attain
the freedom of mind, self-control, a critical vision of reality. It is an
instrument to maintain our mind free and not allow oneself to be transported by
any breeze. Thanks to fasting, it increases the clearness of mind. It is a
means that helps to take a better care of health. Fasting can be a form of
identification with the poor who are obliged to fast the whole year and eat
meat very rarely. There are also those who fast in order to protest.
• Even if fasting and abstinence are no longer observed today,
the basic objective of this practice continues to remain unchanged and is a
force which should animate our life: to participate in the Passion, Death and
Resurrection of Jesus. Surrender one’s own life in order to be able to possess
it in God. Become aware or conscious of the fact that the commitment with the
Gospel is a one way journey, without returning, which demands losing one’s life
in order to be able to possess and to find all things in full liberty.
4)
PERSONAL QUESTIONS
• Which is the form of fasting which you practice? And if you do
not practice any, which is the form which you could practice?
• How can fasting help me to prepare better for the celebration
of Easter?
5)
CONCLUDING PRAYER
Have mercy on me, O God, in your faithful love,
in your great tenderness wipe away my offences;
wash me clean from my guilt,
purify me from my sin. (Ps 51,1-2)
in your great tenderness wipe away my offences;
wash me clean from my guilt,
purify me from my sin. (Ps 51,1-2)
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