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.
AlleluiaSEE AM 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).
Humble yourself before the Lord your God
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?
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?
Fast and hunger for more of God and his righteousness
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?
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)
A Daily Quote for Lent: True fasting, by Augustine of Hippo,
354-430 AD
"All the endeavors for fasting are concerned not
about the rejection of various foods as unclean, but about the subjugation of
inordinate desire and the maintenance of neighborly love. Charity especially is
guarded - food is subservient to charity, speech to charity, customs to
charity, and facial expressions to charity. Everything works together for
charity alone." (excerpt from Letter 243, 11)
FRIDAY, MARCH 3,
MATTHEW 9:14-15
Friday after Ash Wednesday
(Isaiah 58:1-9a; Psalm 51)
Friday after Ash Wednesday
(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 (Rev 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 death, resurrection and ascension), then the people would fast. Jesus said that the old ways were incompatible with the new.
TO LOVE: How can I help others open their minds and hearts to Jesus?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, help me to hunger for you.
Optional Memorial of Saint
Katharine Drexel
Katharine Drexel was the daughter of a wealthy railroad entrepreneur and philanthropist She was taught from an early age to use her wealth for the benefit of others. Interested in the condition of Native Americans, she asked Pope Leo XIII to send more missionaries to Wyoming for her friend, Bishop James O'Connor. The pope replied, "Why don't you become a missionary?" Katharine visited the Dakotas, met the Sioux chief, and spent millions of the family fortunes to aid Indian missions. She entered the novitiate of the Sisters of Mercy and later founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored, now known simply as the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA. By 1942 she had a system of Catholic schools for African Americans in 13 states, 40 mission centers, 23 rural schools, 50 Indian missions, and Xavier University in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, the first United States university for blacks. Following a heart attack, she spent her last twenty years in prayer and meditation. The Shrine of Saint Katharine is located at the motherhouse of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, Pennsylvania, USA.
WORLD DAY OF PRAYER
World Day of prayer is a worldwide ecumenical movement of Christian women who come together in prayer each year – the first Friday of March.The movement has been initiated and carried out by women in more than 170 countries and regions. It is a movement which brings together women of various races, cultures and traditions in closer fellowship, understanding and action throughout the year. Through the World Day of Prayer, women affirm that prayer and action are inseparable and that both have immeasurable influence in the world. Women around the world are encouraged:
* to become aware of the whole world and no longer live in isolation
* to be enriched by the faith experience of Christians of other countries and cultures
* to take up the burdens of other people and pray with and for them
* to become aware of their talents and use them in the service of society.
Friday 3 March 2017
Fri 3rd. Day of Penance. St Cunegund
. Is 58:1-9a; Mt 9:14-15
In this special Lenten series – Darkness to
light: An intimate journey with Jesus – our guest writer
looks to the Gospel stories for answers to the questions that many of us ask
when faced with difficult times.
'The time will come for the bridegroom to
be taken away ...'
The message in these early readings for
Lent is consistently grim: yesterday we heard that Jesus will suffer greatly
and be rejected and put to death. Today we hear that in the midst of the
wedding, fragrant with love and joy and promise, when all seems perfect bliss,
soldiers might burst in and take the bridegroom away. We are beyond shocked,
beyond disbelieving. How can God do this? Is this the perverse way of a
sadistic God, as the new atheists argue? But then I realise that I am alive.
I have not been taken away. Only the bridegroom has been taken away: his love is such that he lets himself be taken away by the powers of darkness so that we may live in light. This deepening understanding of such great love, now known but soon to be lost, only increases my tears. Lord, help me stay close to you on this way of living and dying.
I have not been taken away. Only the bridegroom has been taken away: his love is such that he lets himself be taken away by the powers of darkness so that we may live in light. This deepening understanding of such great love, now known but soon to be lost, only increases my tears. Lord, help me stay close to you on this way of living and dying.
ST. KATHARINE DREXEL
On March 3, the universal Church celebrates the feast of St.
Katharine Drexel, a Philadelphia heiress who abandoned her family’s fortune to
found an order of sisters dedicated to serving the impoverished African
American and American Indian populations of the United States.
Katharine was born November 26, 1858, into a wealthy and
well-connected banking family. The family's wealth, however, did not prevent
them from living out a serious commitment to their faith.
Her mother opened up the family house three times a week to feed
and care for the poor, and her father had a deep personal prayer life. Both
parents encouraged their daughters to think of the family's wealth not as their
own, but as a gift from God which was to be used to help others.
During the summer months, Katharine and her sisters would teach
catechism classes to the children of the workers on her family’s summer estate.
The practice would prepare her for a life of service, with a strong focus on
education and attention to the poor and vulnerable.
While traveling with her family through the Western U.S.,
Katharine witnessed the poor living conditions of the Native Americans.
Eventually, while still a laywoman, she would give much of her own money to
fund the missions and schools in these seriously deprived areas.
Eventually, however, the young heiress would give more than just
funding to these much-needed missions and schools. She would decide to devote
her whole life to the social and spiritual development of black and American
Indian communities.
The inspiration for this work came to her during a visit to Rome,
where she was granted an audience with Pope Leo XIII. During that time,
Katharine had been considering a vocation to cloistered contemplative life as a
nun. But when she asked Pope Leo XIII to send missionaries to Wyoming, he told
Katharine she should undertake the work herself.
In February of 1891, she made her first vows in religious life –
formally renouncing her fortune and her personal freedom, for the sake of
growing closer to God in solidarity with the victims of injustice.
Although African-Americans had been freed from slavery, they
continued to suffer serious abuse, and were often prevented from obtaining even
a basic education. Much the same situation held in the case of the native
American Indians, who had been forcibly moved into reservations over the course
of the 19th century.
Katharine founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, for the
purpose of living with these communities while helping them acquire education
and grow in faith.
Between 1891 and 1935 she led her order in the founding and
maintenance of almost 60 schools and missions, located primarily in the
American West and Southwest. Among the prominent achievements of Drexel and her
order is New Orleans' Xavier University, the only historically black Catholic
college in the U.S.
Katharine was forced into retirement for the last 20 years of her
life after she suffered a severe heart attack. Although she was no longer able
to lead her order, she left the sisters with her charism of love and concern
for the missions.
She died on March 3, 1955 and was canonized by Pope John Paul II
on October 1, 2000.
LECTIO DIVINA:
MATTHEW 9,14-15
Lectio Divina:
Friday, March 3, 2017
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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