FEBRUARY 21, 2015 : SATURDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY

Saturday after Ash Wednesday
Lectionary: 222

Reading 1IS 58:9B-14

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.

Responsorial PsalmPS 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.

Verse Before The GospelEZ 33:11

I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked man, says the Lord,
but rather in his conversion, that he may live.

GospelLK 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.”

www.usccb.org

Meditation: Reaction to Jesus' words

When resistance and opposition to God's word rears it head how do you respond? With fear and doubt? Or with faith and courage? The prophet Jeremiah was opposed by his own people because the words he spoke in God's name did not sit right with them. They plotted to silence him and to "cut him off from the land of the living" (Jeremiah 11:19).  Jeremiah responded with meekness and prophetic insight "like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter" (Jeremiah 11:18).

No one can be indifferent for long when confronted with Jesus and his claim to be the Messiah and Savior of the world. Jesus' message and the miraculous signs he performed caused division for many in Israel. Some believed he was a prophet, some the Messiah, and some believed he was neither. The reaction of the armed officers was bewildered amazement. They went to arrest him and returned empty-handed because they never heard anyone speak as he did. The reaction of the chief priests and Pharisees was contempt. The reaction of Nicodemus was timid. His heart told him to defend Jesus, but his head told him not to take the risk.

Who is Jesus for you? And are you ready to give him your full allegiance? There will often come a time when we have to take a stand for the Lord Jesus and for the truth of the Gospel - the good news of God's kingdom and the free gift of salvation which Jesus came to bring us. To stand for Jesus and his kingdom may provoke mockery and opposition. It may even entail suffering and hardship - such as the loss of job, reputation, or life.

There are fundamentally only two choices that determine the course of our lives and the final destiny that awaits us: the choice to live for God's kingdom of peace, joy, and righteousness or the pursuit of the world's kingdom which stands in opposition to God's authority and commandments. We can choose to obey God's word and promise of blessing or we can choose to follow the voice of those who promise success and happiness apart from God's truth and laws. The costly grace and freedom - which the Lord Jesus offers to those who embrace the cross for his sake - leads to joy and blessing in this life as well as the promise of eternal happiness with God. Cheap grace - which tries to bypass the cross for the sake of being my own master and the ruler of my own destiny - leads to emptiness and endless futility. Who do you choose to be the master and ruler of your life and destiny?

"Lord Jesus, your Gospel brings joy and freedom. May I be loyal to you always, even though it produce a cross on earth, that I may share in your crown of victory for all eternity".

www.dailyscripture.net

Forgiveness: The First Step to Love

February 21, 2015. Saturday after Ash Wednesday

By 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 Doctor Who Cures the Sick:  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. We Must Evangelize the Sick: 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. Forgiveness Can Only Come from Love and Lead 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.

www.regnumchristi.org

SATURDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY, LUKE 5:27-32
(Isaiah 58:9b-14; Psalm 86)

KEY VERSE: "I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners" (v 32).
TO KNOW: 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.
TO LOVE: Lord Jesus, help me to examine my faults, which I need to overcome this Lent.
TO SERVE: Where do I need conversion in my life?

Optional Memorial of Peter Damian, bishop and doctor of the Church

Peter Damian gave up his teaching to become a Benedictine monk. Peter founded hermitages, and was occasionally called on by the Vatican to make peace between arguing monastic houses, clergymen, and government officials. As Cardinal-Bishop of Ostia, Peter Damian tried to restore discipline among priests and religious who were becoming more and more of the world. A prolific correspondent, he wrote dozens of sermons, seven biographies (including a one of Saint Romuald), and poetry, including some of the best Latin of the time. He tried to retire to being a monk, but was routinely recalled as papal legate. He was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1828.

www.togetherwithgodsword.com

Saturday 21 February 2015

St Peter Damian. 
Isaiah 58:9-14. Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may be faithful in your sight—Ps 85(86):1-6 Luke 5:27-32.

Readings

Gladden the soul of your servant.

Jesus challenged the established norms and rules of his society, especially through his treatment of the poor and needy or outcasts such as tax collectors as in this story of Levi. The receivers of his loving attention are so full of gratitude that they celebrate with a feast.

How do we celebrate our protection by the one who is so gracious to us? Do we cultivate the practice of gratitude for the gifts of life and love? Do we throw a party for birthdays as the gift of life and another year of grace? Do we look out for those less fortunate than us? As Jesus is our leader, let us share that God-given joy of the Holy Spirit with everyone.

www.pray.com.au

MINUTE MEDITATIONS 

Kindness in Action

Spend time listening to someone who needs to talk. Encourage someone who may be experience trials. Offer to pray for them and their needs.

— from Seven Saints for Seven Virtues 

February 21
St. Peter Damian
(1007-1072)

Maybe because he was orphaned and had been treated shabbily by one of his brothers, Peter Damian was very good to the poor. It was the ordinary thing for him to have a poor person or two with him at table and he liked to minister personally to their needs.

Peter escaped poverty and the neglect of his own brother when his other brother, who was archpriest of Ravenna, took him under his wing. His brother sent him to good schools and Peter became a professor.

Already in those days Peter was very strict with himself. He wore a hair shirt under his clothes, fasted rigorously and spent many hours in prayer. Soon, he decided to leave his teaching and give himself completely to prayer with the Benedictines of the reform of St. Romuald (June 19) at Fonte Avellana. They lived two monks to a hermitage. Peter was so eager to pray and slept so little that he soon suffered from severe insomnia. He found he had to use some prudence in taking care of himself. When he was not praying, he studied the Bible.

The abbot commanded that when he died Peter should succeed him. Abbot Peter founded five other hermitages. He encouraged his brothers in a life of prayer and solitude and wanted nothing more for himself. The Holy See periodically called on him, however, to be a peacemaker or troubleshooter, between two abbeys in dispute or a cleric or government official in some disagreement with Rome.

Finally, Pope Stephen IX made Peter the cardinal-bishop of Ostia. He worked hard to wipe out simony (the buying of church offices), and encouraged his priests to observe celibacy and urged even the diocesan clergy to live together and maintain scheduled prayer and religious observance. He wished to restore primitive discipline among religious and priests, warning against needless travel, violations of poverty and too comfortable living. He even wrote to the bishop of Besancon, complaining that the canons there sat down when they were singing the psalms in the Divine Office.

He wrote many letters. Some 170 are extant. We also have 53 of his sermons and seven lives, or biographies, that he wrote. He preferred examples and stories rather than theory in his writings. The liturgical offices he wrote are evidence of his talent as a stylist in Latin.

He asked often to be allowed to retire as cardinal-bishop of Ostia, and finally Alexander II consented. Peter was happy to become once again just a monk, but he was still called to serve as a papal legate. When returning from such an assignment in Ravenna, he was overcome by a fever. With the monks gathered around him saying the Divine Office, he died on February 22, 1072.

In 1828 he was declared a Doctor of the Church.

Comment:

Peter was a reformer and if he were alive today would no doubt encourage the renewal started by Vatican II. He would also applaud the greater emphasis on prayer that is shown by the growing number of priests, religious and laypersons who gather regularly for prayer, as well as the special houses of prayer recently established by many religious communities.

Quote:

“...Let us faithfully transmit to posterity the example of virtue which we have received from our forefathers” (St. Peter Damian).

www.americancatholic.org

LECTIO DIVINA: LUKE 5,27-32

Lectio: 

 Saturday, February 21, 2015

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.

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)

www.ocarm.org