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Thứ Năm, 15 tháng 2, 2018

FEBRUARY 16, 2018 : FRIDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY

Friday after Ash Wednesday
Lectionary: 221

Reading 1IS 58:1-9A
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!
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.

Verse Before The Gospel SEE AM 5:14
Seek good and not evil so that you may live,
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."


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?
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?
"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 LentTrue 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, FEBRUARY 16, MATTHEW 9:14-15
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 and thirst for you.

Friday 16 February 2018

Day of Abstinence. [St Gilbert].
Isaiah 58:1-9. Psalm 50(51):3-6, 18-19. Matthew 9:14-15.
A broken, humbled heart, O God, you will not scorn—Psalm 50(51):3-6, 18-19.
 ‘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.


Saint Gilbert of Sempringham
Saint of the Day for February 16
(c. 1083 – February 4, 1189)


Saint Gilbert of Sempringham’s Story
Gilbert was born in Sempringham, England, into a wealthy family, but he followed a path quite different from that expected of him as the son of a Norman knight. Sent to France for his higher education, he decided to pursue seminary studies.
He returned to England not yet ordained a priest, and inherited several estates from his father. But Gilbert avoided the easy life he could have led under the circumstances. Instead he lived a simple life at a parish, sharing as much as possible with the poor. Following his ordination to the priesthood he served as parish priest at Sempringham.
Among the congregation were seven young women who had expressed to him their desire to live in religious life. In response, Gilbert had a house built for them adjacent to the Church. There they lived an austere life, but one which attracted ever more numbers; eventually lay sisters and lay brothers were added to work the land. The religious order formed eventually became known as the Gilbertines, though Gilbert had hoped the Cistercians or some other existing order would take on the responsibility of establishing a rule of life for the new order. The Gilbertines, the only religious order of English origin founded during the Middle Ages, continued to thrive. But the order came to an end when King Henry VIII suppressed all Catholic monasteries.
Over the years a special custom grew up in the houses of the order called “the plate of the Lord Jesus.” The best portions of the dinner were put on a special plate and shared with the poor, reflecting Gilbert’s lifelong concern for less fortunate people.
Throughout his life, Gilbert lived simply, consumed little food, and spent a good portion of many nights in prayer. Despite the rigors of such a life he died at well over age 100.

Reflection
When he came into his father’s wealth, Gilbert could have lived a life of luxury, as many of his fellow priests did at the time. Instead, he chose to share his wealth with the poor. The charming habit of filling “the plate of the Lord Jesus” in the monasteries he established reflected his concern. Today’s Operation Rice Bowl echoes that habit: eating a simpler meal and letting the difference in the grocery bill help feed the hungry.


LECTIO DIVINA: MATTHEW 9,14-15
Lectio Divina: 
 Friday, February 16, 2018
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 neighbor.
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
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."
3) REFLECTION
Today s Gospel is a brief version of the Gospel which we already meditated on 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 practice and done in almost all religions. Jesus Himself practiced it during the forty days (Mt 4:2). But He did not insist His disciples 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, 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. The time which Jesus is with the disciples is the wedding feast. The 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 the religious authority will want to kill Him.
Fasting and abstinence from meat are universal practices. The Muslims have fasting during Ramadan, during which they don’t eat until the rising of the sun. For diverse reasons, people impose upon themselves some form of fasting. Fasting is an important means to control oneself and this exists in almost all religions. It is also appreciated by those who are health conscious.
The Bible has many references 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 helps to attain the freedom of mind, self-control, and perhaps a critical vision of reality. It is an instrument to free our mind and not allow one to be transported by any breeze. It is a means to take 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 to the Gospel is a one way journey, without returning, which demands losing one’s life in order to be able to possess and find all things in full liberty.
4) PERSONAL QUESTIONS
What form of fasting do you practice? And if you do not practice any, what is the form which you could practice?
How can fasting help me to better prepare 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 offenses;
wash me clean from my guilt,
purify me from my sin. (Ps 51,1-2)



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