March 5, 2026
Thursday of the Second Week
of Lent
Lectionary: 233
Reading
1
Thus says the
LORD:
Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings,
who seeks his strength in flesh,
whose heart turns away from the LORD.
He is like a barren bush in the desert
that enjoys no change of season,
But stands in a lava waste,
a salt and empty earth.
Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
whose hope is the LORD.
He is like a tree planted beside the waters
that stretches out its roots to the stream:
It fears not the heat when it comes,
its leaves stay green;
In the year of drought it shows no distress,
but still bears fruit.
More tortuous than all else is the human heart,
beyond remedy; who can understand it?
I, the LORD, alone probe the mind
and test the heart,
To reward everyone according to his ways,
according to the merit of his deeds.
Responsorial
Psalm
R. (40:5a) Blessed
are they who hope in the Lord.
Blessed the man who follows not
the counsel of the wicked
Nor walks in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the company of the insolent,
But delights in the law of the LORD
and meditates on his law day and night.
R. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
He is like a tree
planted near running water,
That yields its fruit in due season,
and whose leaves never fade.
Whatever he does, prospers.
R. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
Not so, the wicked, not so;
they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
For the LORD watches over the way of the just,
but the way of the wicked vanishes.
R. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
Verse
Before the Gospel
Blessed are they
who have kept the word with a generous heart
and yield a harvest through perseverance.
Gospel
Jesus said to the
Pharisees:
"There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen
and dined sumptuously each day.
And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores,
who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps
that fell from the rich man's table.
Dogs even used to come and lick his sores.
When the poor man died,
he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham.
The rich man also died and was buried,
and from the netherworld, where he was in torment,
he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off
and Lazarus at his side.
And he cried out, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me.
Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue,
for I am suffering torment in these flames.'
Abraham replied, 'My child,
remember that you received what was good during your lifetime
while Lazarus likewise received what was bad;
but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented.
Moreover, between us and you a great chasm is established
to prevent anyone from crossing
who might wish to go from our side to yours
or from your side to ours.'
He said, 'Then I beg you, father, send him
to my father's house,
for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them,
lest they too come to this place of torment.'
But Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the prophets.
Let them listen to them.'
He said, 'Oh no, father Abraham,
but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'
Then Abraham said,
'If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets,
neither will they be persuaded
if someone should rise from the dead.'"
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/030526.cfm
Commentary on Jeremiah 17:5-10
The theme of
today’s Mass concerns priorities and is about our responsibilities to those
around us. It deals with Cain’s question: “Am I my brother’s keeper?” and the
story of the beggar (Lazarus) and the rich man.
In the First
Reading, Jeremiah makes a strong contrast between two kinds of people:
- those who think they are
self-sufficient, who are immersed in the material world and ignore the
place of God in their lives. They feel they ‘have it made’; and
- those who put all their trust in God
and in the way of life that God suggests.
The lives of the
first type are basically arid and empty:
They shall be
like a shrub in the desert…
They have no eye
for what is really good. Surrounded by luxuries and pleasures, they unwittingly
live in a desert. They measure their lives by what they have—not by what they
themselves are, and even less by what they are in their relationships with
others.
The second group
of people are:
…like a tree
planted by water,
sending out its roots by the stream.
It shall not fear when heat comes,
and its leaves shall stay green;
in the year of drought it is not anxious,
and it does not cease to bear fruit.
Such people may
lead lives of great material simplicity, but are in touch with a deeper source
of wealth: God’s truth, wisdom and love.
Finally, there is
the warning about our ‘gift’ for self-deception. Verse 11, not quoted (for some
reason) in today’s reading, is very appropriate:
Like the
partridge hatching what it did not lay,
so are all who amass wealth unjustly;
in midlife it will leave them,
and at their end they will prove to be fools.
You can’t take it
with you and, while you have it, you need to share it with those who are
genuinely deprived. This is clearly the message of today’s Gospel as well.
It is very easy to
be persuaded that happiness lies in having things, having status, having power.
But God is not interested in things that impress externally; he only judges
what goes on in the depths of the heart. Where do I stand in all this? Where do
I put my trust? In what are my values?
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Commentary on Luke 16:19-31
In today’s Gospel,
we have illustrated in parable form two of Luke’s beatitudes:
Blessed are you
who are hungry now, for you will be filled. (Luke 6:21)
and
…woe to you who
are rich, for you have received your consolation. (Luke 6:24)
The linkage with
the First Reading is obvious.
On the one hand,
you have a rich man dressed in purple and fine linen, both signs of great
wealth. He also has a good table and enjoys the choicest of foods every day.
While the rich man is sometimes called Dives, this is simply the
Latin word for ‘rich’. In reality, the rich man is nameless. In spite of all
his money, he is a nobody.
At the same time
you have a poor man called Lazarus. He was hungry and longed, like the dogs, to
pick up the scraps that might fall from the dining table. The dogs even licked
his sores. Dogs were abhorrent to Jews, so this was a particularly degrading
thing to happen.
What is striking
about this scene is that nothing seems to be happening. The rich man is eating,
the poor man is sitting and waiting. There are no words between them. The poor
man is not abused or chased away, he is simply ignored—as if he did not exist.
Truly I tell
you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of
mine, you did it to me. (Matt
25:40)
Then both men die.
Lazarus is brought by angels to the bosom of Abraham. But the rich man is
condemned to an existence of great suffering in Hades, the place of the dead.
The rich man now begs for even the slightest relief from the man he ignored in
his lifetime. But it is now too late.
The rich man had
his chance and he blew it. He had his life of ‘good things’ and he now knows
just how ‘good’ they really were. It is now Lazarus’ turn to have the really
good thing, the companionship of his God.
The rich man begs
on behalf of his brothers that they be warned. Abraham replies to him:
They have Moses
and the prophets [i.e.
the whole Jewish religious tradition]; they should listen to them.
The rich man
responds:
…but if someone
from the dead goes to them, they will repent.
To which Abraham
replies:
If they do not
listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if
someone rises from the dead.
This is surely a
reference to Jesus himself, and to the many Jews who refused to believe in him
even after his resurrection. There are people today who want some special signs
from God in order to believe. We have the Good News of the New Testament and
the living, experienced presence of Jesus among us. We do not need any more. We
have all the guidance we need to lead the kind of life which will ensure we
spend our future existence in the company of Lazarus.
And that life is
measured not by wealth, status or power, but in a life of caring and sharing
relationships. In a world of extreme consumerism, hedonism and individualism,
today’s readings have a very important message. Those who are truly rich are
those who enrich the lives of others.
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https://livingspace.sacredspace.ie/l1025g/
Thursday,
March 5, 2026
Season of Lent
Opening Prayer
Lord our God, many of us never had it so
good, and so we have become smug and self-satisfied, happy in our own little
world. God, may our ears remain open to Your word and our hearts to You and to
our brothers and sisters. Do not allow us to forget You, or to place our trust
in ourselves. Make us restless for You through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Gospel Reading - Luke 16: 19-31
Jesus said to the Pharisees: "There was
a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously
each day. And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with
sores, who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the
rich man's table. Dogs even used to come and lick his sores. When the poor man
died, he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also
died and was buried, and from the netherworld, where he was in torment, he
raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he cried
out, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his
finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering torment in these
flames.' Abraham replied, 'My child, remember that you received what was good
during your lifetime while Lazarus likewise received what was bad; but now he
is comforted here, whereas you are tormented. Moreover, between us and you a
great chasm is established to prevent anyone from crossing who might wish to go
from our side to yours or from your side to ours.' He said, 'Then I beg you,
Father, send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers, so that he may
warn them, lest they too come to this place of torment.' But Abraham replied,
'They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.' He said, 'Oh no,
Father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'
Then Abraham said, 'If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither
will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.'"
Reflection
Every time that
Jesus has something important to communicate, He creates a story and tells a
parable. In this way, through reflection on an invisible reality, He leads
those who listen to Him to discover the invisible call of God, who is present
in life. A parable is meant to make us think and reflect. For this reason, it
is important to pay attention to even the smallest details. In the parable in
today’s Gospel there are three persons: the poor Lazarus, the rich man without
a name, and Father Abraham. In the parable, Abraham represents the thought of
God.
The rich man without a name
represents the dominating ideology of that time.
Lazarus represents the silent cry of the poor in the time of
Jesus and in all times.
•
Luke 16: 19-21: The situation of the rich man
and the poor man. The two extremes of society. On the one side, aggressive
richness; on the other, the poor man without resources, without rights, covered
with wounds, without anybody to accept him, to receive him, except the dogs
which came to lick his wounds. What separates both of them is the closed door
of the rich man’s house. For the rich man, there is no acceptance nor pity
concerning the poor man at his door. But the poor man has a name; the rich man
does not. That is, the poor man has his name written in the book of life, not
the rich one. The poor man’s name is Lazarus. It means God helps. And through
the poor man, God helps the rich man who could have a name in the book of life.
But the rich man does not allow himself to be helped by the poor man, because
he keeps his door closed. The beginning of this parable is a faithful mirror of
what was happening during the time of Jesus and the time of Luke. It is a
mirror of everything that is happening today in the world!
•
Luke 16: 22: The change which reveals the hidden
truth. The poor man died and was carried away by the angels into Abraham’s
embrace. The rich man also died and was buried. In the parable the poor man
dies before the rich one. This is a warning for the rich. During the time when
the poor man is alive and at the door, there is still the possibility of
salvation for the rich man. But when the poor man dies, the only instrument of
salvation for the rich man also dies. Now, the poor man is in Abraham’s embrace.
The embrace of Abraham is the source of life, where the people of God were
born. Lazarus, the poor man, is part of the people of Abraham, from which he
was excluded when he was before the rich man’s door. The rich man, who believes
that he is a son of Abraham, does not go toward Abraham’s embrace! The
introduction to the parable ends here. Now its significance begins to be
revealed, through the three conversations between the rich man and Father
Abraham.
•
Luke 16: 23-26: The first conversation. In the
parable, Jesus opens a window on the other side of life, the side of God. It is
not a question of Heaven. It is a question of the life which only faith
generates and which the rich man, who
has no faith, cannot see. It is only in the light of death
that this ideology disintegrates; then appears as what the true value of life
is. On the part of God, without the deceptive thinking of the ideology, things
change. The rich man sees Lazarus in the arms of Abraham and asks to be helped
in his suffering. The rich man discovers that Lazarus is his only possible
benefactor.
But now it is too late! The nameless rich man is pious,
because he recognizes Abraham and calls him Father. Abraham responds and calls
him son. In reality, this word of Abraham is addressed to all the rich who are
alive. In so far as they are alive, they have the possibility of becoming sons
and daughters of Abraham if they know how to open the door to Lazarus, the poor
man, the only one who in God’s name can help them. Salvation for the rich man does
not consist in Lazarus giving him a drop of fresh water to refresh his tongue,
but rather, that he, the rich man, open the closed door to the poor man so as
fill the great abyss that exists.
•
Luke 16: 27-29: The second conversation. The
rich man insists: “Then, Father, I beg you to send Lazarus to my father’s
house, because I have five brothers!” The rich man does not want his brothers
to end in this place of suffering. Lazarus, the poor man, is the only true
intermediary between God and the rich. He is the only one, because it is only
to the poor that the rich have to return what they had and, thus, re-establish
the justice which has been damaged! The rich man is worried for his brothers
but was never concerned about the poor! Abraham’s response is clear: “They have
Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them!” They have the Bible! The rich
man had the Bible. He knew it by heart. But he was never aware that the Bible
had something to do with the poor. The rich man’s key to understanding the
Bible is the poor man sitting at his door!
•
Luke 16: 30-31: The third conversation. “No,
Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent!” The rich
man recognizes that he is wrong, he has committed an error, because he speaks
of repenting, something which he never heard during his life. He wants a
miracle, a resurrection! But this type of resurrection does not exist. The only
resurrection is that of Jesus. Jesus, risen from the dead comes to us in the
person of the poor, of those who have no rights, of those who have no land, of
those who have no food, of those who have no house, of those who have no
health. In his final response, Abraham is clear and convincing: “If they will
not listen either to Moses or to the prophets, they will not be convinced even
if someone should rise from the dead!” The conversation ends this way and is
the end of the parable!
The key to understanding the sense of the Bible is the poor
Lazarus, sitting before the door! God presents Himself in the person of the
poor, sitting at our door, to help us cross the enormous abyss which the rich
have created. Lazarus is also Jesus, the poor and servant Messiah, who was not
accepted, but whose death changed all things radically. And everything changes
in the light of the death of the poor. The place of torment, of torture, is the
situation of the person without God. Even if the rich man thinks that he has
religion and faith, in fact, he is not with God, because he does not open the
door to the poor, as Zacchaeus did (Lk 19: 1-10).
Personal Questions
•
How do we treat the poor? Do they have a name?
In my attitude toward them, am I like Lazarus or like the rich man?
•
When the poor come in contact with me, do they
hear the Good News?
•
Who do I consider are the poor? There are many
kinds of poverty. Identifying these kinds of poverty should cause us to expand
who we help, rather than limit us to “giving a donation” and not becoming
personally involved.
Concluding Prayer
How blessed is anyone who rejects the advice
of the wicked and does not take a stand in the path that sinners tread, nor a
seat in company with cynics, but who delights in the law of Yahweh and
meditates on His law, day and night. (Ps 1: 1-2)
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