Wednesday Second Week of Lent

Daily Readings for Lent
Today's readings: March 23, 2011
First Reading: Jer 18: 18-20
Responsorial Psalm:  Ps 31:5-6, 14, 15-16 ;
Gospel:  Mt  20:17-28 ;

And here's an audio file and a video of a priest offering reflections.

Today's Gospel reading:


As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem,
he took the Twelve disciples aside by themselves,
and said to them on the way,
“Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem,
and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests
and the scribes,
and they will condemn him to death,
and hand him over to the Gentiles
to be mocked and scourged and crucified,
and he will be raised on the third day.”
Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Jesus with her sons
and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something.
He said to her, “What do you wish?”
She answered him,
“Command that these two sons of mine sit,
one at your right and the other at your left, in your kingdom.”
Jesus said in reply,
“You do not know what you are asking.
Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?”
They said to him, “We can.”
He replied,
“My chalice you will indeed drink,
but to sit at my right and at my left,
this is not mine to give
but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”
When the ten heard this,
they became indignant at the two brothers.
But Jesus summoned them and said,
“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them,
and the great ones make their authority over them felt.
But it shall not be so among you.
Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.
Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord

Daily Readings for Lent
Today's readings: March 25, 2010
First Reading: Is 7:10-14; 8:10;
Responsorial Psalm: 40:7-8a, 8b-9, 10, 11 ;
Second Reading: Heb 10:4-10;

Gospel: Lk 1:26-38 ;

And here's an audio file and a video of a priest offering reflections.

First Reading:  Is 7:10-14; 8:10 ;
The Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying:
Ask for a sign from the Lord, your God;
let it be deep as the nether world, or high as the sky!
But Ahaz answered,
“I will not ask! I will not tempt the Lord!”
Then Isaiah said:
Listen, O house of David!
Is it not enough for you to weary people,
must you also weary my God?
Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign:
the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son,
and shall name him Emmanuel,
which means “God is with us!”

Responsorial Psalm  40:7-8a, 8b-9, 10, 11 ; 
R.         Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
Sacrifice or oblation you wished not,
but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Holocausts or sin-offerings you sought not;
then said I, “Behold I come.”
R.        Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
“In the written scroll it is prescribed for me,
To do your will, O my God, is my delight,
and your law is within my heart!”
R.       Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
I announced your justice in the vast assembly;
I did not restrain my lips, as you, O Lord, know.
R.        Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
Your justice I kept not hid within my heart;
your faithfulness and your salvation I have spoken of;
I have made no secret of your kindness and your truth
in the vast assembly.
R.       Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.

Second Reading:  Heb 10:4-10 ;
Brothers and sisters:
It is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats
take away sins.
For this reason, when Christ came into the world, he said:
“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but a body you prepared for me;
in holocausts and sin offerings you took no delight.
Then I said, ‘As is written of me in the scroll,
behold, I come to do your will, O God.’”
First he says, “Sacrifices and offerings,
holocausts and sin offerings,
you neither desired nor delighted in.”
These are offered according to the law.
Then he says, “Behold, I come to do your will.”
He takes away the first to establish the second.
By this “will,” we have been consecrated
through the offering of the Body of Jesus Christ once for all.


Gospel   Lk 1:26-38
The angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin’s name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,
“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”
But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,
“Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his Kingdom there will be no end.”
But Mary said to the angel,
“How can this be,
since I have no relations with a man?”
And the angel said to her in reply,
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born
will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God.”
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.”
Then the angel departed from her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Commentary: The first chapter of Luke is chock full of interesting stories. One of the them concerns the line - How can this be? which is uttered by Mary, and also John the Baptist's father Zechariah. In each case, the audience is the archangel Gabriel. But while the words are the same, Gabriel's reaction is totally different. He listens to Mary and answers her question with sweetness. But the response to Zechariah is totally different. He is not offered the sweet answer, instead - he is made mute for the remainder of his wife's pregnancy and Gabriel leaves in a huff. Why? The intent of the heart. When Mary asked, she didn't understand and her words were offered in humility and tenderness. Zechariah was saying the words with a tone of - no way, this is a load of donkey doo. The same words - but the intent of the heart was known in the tone. Don't be too upset for Zechariah - that multiple month quiet time changed his heart, and when his son is born, we get the beautiful words he says to his baby boy called the Canticle of Zechariah, or the Benedictus. This prayer is said every day by priests, nuns and religious - first thing in the morning. It is also the favorite part of the Bible of a dear friend of mine who has been a priest for 35+ years. So, I wrote a song to the words from the canticle, and gave him a CD for Christmas a few years back. There are two versions in the archives - with a lot of time between recordings. You can find tone in the earlier version. When I sing it now, a year later from the last version, it is ridiculously more rocking and joyful. Ha, funny how that is.

Added a gallery of some of my favorite paintings related to the Annunciation, including Da Vinci, Del Sarto, Fra Lippi, El Greco, Perugino, Costa, Tanner, and Raphael to name a few.

also - I re-recorded another song which recalls the moment of the Archangel Gabriel's Ave to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The song has some very, very old words (1st or 2nd century AD i think) - Redemptrix Mater, also known as Mother of the Redeemer. To check out some other songs from this year - go here, or last year, here.

Solemnity of Saint Joseph, Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Daily Readings for Lent
Today's readings: March 19, 2010
First Reading: 2 Sm 7:4-5a, 12-14a, 16;
Responsorial Psalm: Rom 4:13, 16-18, 22 ;
Second Reading: 2 Sm 7:4-5a, 12-14a, 16;
Gospel: Mt 1:16, 18-21, 24a or Lk 2:41-51a ;

And here's an audio file and a video of a priest offering reflections.

First Reading:  2 Sm 7:4-5a, 12-14a, 16
The Lord spoke to Nathan and said:
“Go, tell my servant David,
‘When your time comes and you rest with your ancestors,
I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins,
and I will make his kingdom firm.
It is he who shall build a house for my name.
And I will make his royal throne firm forever.
I will be a father to him,
and he shall be a son to me.
Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me;
your throne shall stand firm forever.’”

Responsorial Psalm  89:2-3, 4-5, 27 and 29
 R.         The son of David will live for ever.
The promises of the Lord I will sing forever;
through all generations my mouth shall proclaim your faithfulness,
For you have said, “My kindness is established forever”;
in heaven you have confirmed your faithfulness.
R.        The son of David will live for ever.
“I have made a covenant with my chosen one,
I have sworn to David my servant:
Forever will I confirm your posterity
and establish your throne for all generations.”
R.        The son of David will live for ever.
“He shall say of me, ‘You are my father,
my God, the Rock, my savior.’
Forever I will maintain my kindness toward him,
and my covenant with him stands firm.”
R.        The son of David will live for ever.

Second Reading:  Rom 4:13, 16-18, 22
Brothers and sisters:
It was not through the law
that the promise was made to Abraham and his descendants
that he would inherit the world,
but through the righteousness that comes from faith.
For this reason, it depends on faith,
so that it may be a gift,
and the promise may be guaranteed to all his descendants,
not to those who only adhere to the law
but to those who follow the faith of Abraham,
who is the father of all of us, as it is written,
I have made you father of many nations.
He is our father in the sight of God,
in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead
and calls into being what does not exist.
He believed, hoping against hope,
that he would become the father of many nations,
according to what was said, Thus shall your descendants be.
That is why it was credited to him as righteousness.

Gospel   Mt 1:16, 18-21, 24a
Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.
Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ. Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
“Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.”
When Joseph awoke,
he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and took his wife into his home.

or
Gospel   Lk 2:41-51a
Each year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover,
and when he was twelve years old,
they went up according to festival custom.
After they had completed its days, as they were returning,
the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem,
but his parents did not know it.
Thinking that he was in the caravan,
they journeyed for a day
and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances,
but not finding him,
they returned to Jerusalem to look for him.
After three days they found him in the temple,
sitting in the midst of the teachers,
listening to them and asking them questions,
and all who heard him were astounded
at his understanding and his answers.
When his parents saw him,
they were astonished,
and his mother said to him,
“Son, why have you done this to us?
Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.”
And he said to them,
“Why were you looking for me?
Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”
But they did not understand what he said to them.
He went down with them and came to Nazareth,
and was obedient to them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Commentary: Today we take a break from the Word related to the Passion of Christ to honor Jesus' father on Earth, St Joseph. The video reflections offered today say it better than I ever could, so please check them out.

Also included, some art related to St. Joseph (paintings) in the photo album.

And - another song for today - Happy Morning Song.

In scripture, Joseph does not utter one phrase. The man has no lines! Yet Joseph is a huge player, chosen to be the earthly father of the Son of God, and yet not one word was written down that he said. But you would imagine, Joseph was very, very good man. The two options of the Gospel seem to bear that out, of stories that tell about the man's decisions in times of great stress.

St. Joseph is my patron saint. Please pray for me that I might do better in understanding and delivering on the phrase - that I usually say it best, when I say nothing at all. Please, I beg you - pray that St. Joseph lends me a hand, and puts it over my mouth as needed. Thanks.

Friday, Third Week of Lent

Daily Readings for Lent
Today's readings: March 12, 2010
First Reading: Hos 14:2-10;
Responsorial Psalm: 81:6c-8a, 8bc-9, 10-11ab, 14 and 17 ;
Gospel: Mk 12:28-34 ;

And here's an audio file and a video of a priest offering reflections.

First Reading:  Hos 14:2-10
Thus says the LORD:
Return, O Israel, to the LORD, your God;
you have collapsed through your guilt.
Take with you words,
and return to the LORD;
Say to him, “Forgive all iniquity,
and receive what is good, that we may render
as offerings the bullocks from our stalls.
Assyria will not save us,
nor shall we have horses to mount;
We shall say no more, ‘Our god,’
to the work of our hands;
for in you the orphan finds compassion.”
I will heal their defection, says the LORD,
I will love them freely;
for my wrath is turned away from them.
I will be like the dew for Israel:
he shall blossom like the lily;
He shall strike root like the Lebanon cedar,
and put forth his shoots.
His splendor shall be like the olive tree
and his fragrance like the Lebanon cedar.
Again they shall dwell in his shade
and raise grain;
They shall blossom like the vine,
and his fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.
Ephraim! What more has he to do with idols?
I have humbled him, but I will prosper him.
“I am like a verdant cypress tree”–
Because of me you bear fruit!
Let him who is wise understand these things;
let him who is prudent know them.
Straight are the paths of the LORD,
in them the just walk,
but sinners stumble in them.

Responsorial Psalm  81:6c-8a, 8bc-9, 10-11ab, 14 and 17
R.         I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.
An unfamiliar speech I hear:
“I relieved his shoulder of the burden;
his hands were freed from the basket.
In distress you called, and I rescued you.”
R.        I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.
“Unseen, I answered you in thunder;
I tested you at the waters of Meribah.
Hear, my people, and I will admonish you;
O Israel, will you not hear me?”
R.       I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.
“There shall be no strange god among you
            nor shall you worship any alien god.
I, the LORD, am your God
who led you forth from the land of Egypt.”
R.        I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.
“If only my people would hear me,
and Israel walk in my ways,
I would feed them with the best of wheat,
and with honey from the rock I would fill them.”
R.       I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.

Gospel   Mk 12:28-34
One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him,
“Which is the first of all the commandments?”
Jesus replied, “The first is this:
Hear, O Israel!
The Lord our God is Lord alone!
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul,
with all your mind,
and with all your strength.
The second is this:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
There is no other commandment greater than these.”
The scribe said to him, “Well said, teacher.
You are right in saying,
He is One and there is no other than he.
And to love him with all your heart,
with all your understanding,
with all your strength,
and to love your neighbor as yourself
is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding,
he said to him,
“You are not far from the Kingdom of God.”
And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Commentary: During this period of Lent, the Word is very powerful, especially if you understand the context of the story, because all we get in these readings are short passages of much a bigger story. If you have taken the time to investigate the stories, the Word of God becomes very rich and fruitful. That said, the Word is also so powerful, that it still cuts straight to the heart, and writes on it in ways beyond our comprehension.

I have always loved the Book of Hosea, which tells the story of a good man named Hosea, who married a women named Gomer who ran off to go chase after her own selfish desires. This marriage is used as a way of understanding our own relationship with God. The whole story has these two levels, Hosea, the cuckolded husband, and Gomer who runs away but later comes home to love Hosea. And on another level, it describes the people of Israel and their relationship with God. Hosea can get very angry, but he is also a man of profound tenderness. Hosea's words offered in Chapter 11 are so tender and gentle. If we saw God as yearning for us as our loving parent and healer, who loves us with this kind of tenderness, wouldn't we all long to be held in those loving arms? Here is a part of the poetry offered in chapter 11.

When Israel was a child I loved him, out of Egypt I called my son.
The more I called them, the farther they went from me,
Sacrificing to the Baals and burning incense to idols.
Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk, who took them in my arms;
I drew them with human cords, with bands of love;
I fostered them like one who raises an infant to his cheeks;
Yet, though I stooped to feed my child, they did not know that I was their healer.

And in the Gospel reading today - Jesus gives us the explicit directions on how to get home to such a wonderful, gentle and loving God. You have just two rules, that will take a lifetime to fully enjoy and manifest in ways beyond our understanding and imagination. 1) Love God with all your heart, with all your understanding, and with all your strength. and 2) Love your neighbor as yourself. And though this task is impossible to do perfectly on our own, God is with us the whole journey - to love us, encourage us, help us, and heal us when we fall. And it is also our job - to do these same things for each other.

Finally - another song for the day - Hosea.

Wednesday, Third Week of Lent

Daily Readings for Lent
Today's readings: March 10, 2010
First Reading: Dt 4:1, 5-9;
Responsorial Psalm: 147:12-13, 15-16, 19-20 ;
Gospel: Mt 20:17-28 ;

And here's an audio file and a video of a priest offering reflections.

First Reading:  Dt 4:1, 5-9
Moses spoke to the people and said:
“Now, Israel, hear the statutes and decrees
which I am teaching you to observe,
that you may live, and may enter in and take possession of the land
which the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you.
Therefore, I teach you the statutes and decrees
as the LORD, my God, has commanded me,
that you may observe them in the land you are entering to occupy.
Observe them carefully,
for thus will you give evidence
of your wisdom and intelligence to the nations,
who will hear of all these statutes and say,
‘This great nation is truly a wise and intelligent people.’
For what great nation is there
that has gods so close to it as the LORD, our God, is to us
whenever we call upon him?
Or what great nation has statutes and decrees
that are as just as this whole law
which I am setting before you today?
“However, take care and be earnestly on your guard
not to forget the things which your own eyes have seen,
nor let them slip from your memory as long as you live,
but teach them to your children and to your children’s children.”

Responsorial Psalm  147:12-13, 15-16, 19-20
R.          Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion.
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates;
he has blessed your children within you.
R.        Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
He sends forth his command to the earth;
swiftly runs his word!
He spreads snow like wool;
frost he strews like ashes.
R.        Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
He has proclaimed his word to Jacob,
his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.
He has not done thus for any other nation;
his ordinances he has not made known to them.
R.        Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.

Gospel   Mt 5:17-19
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter
will pass from the law,
until all things have taken place.
Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments
and teaches others to do so
will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.
But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments
will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Commentary: eh, yeh yeh.  When we get into these types of readings, it often seems like all I can do is upset people. The funny thing about rules and culture, from a historical standpoint - is that since people have been writing about their world, society goes from doing a better job of following rules, to re-writing the rules, paying the price, and then returning to doing a better job of having more defined rules.

There's a comment I remember that said it very well. I could not find the quote, or who said it... but it basically went lke this. We do not like rules, because they hurt. We make rules, because breaking these rules hurts a lot more.

Jesus gave us just two rules. 1) Love God with all your heart, mind and soul. 2) Love each other as I loved you. That's it. But when you get older and a bit wiser, and learn the consequences of writing your own rule script - you realize that all those old rules in the 10 commandments, did not go away. Jesus just simplified it. And, once you understand that God and man did not make rules to inhibit you, but to help you live more full and fruitful lives, it is easier to accept them. The rules were created not to limit you, but for the love of you. Now - just so you do not think I am being self righteous about all this, do as Jesus says, not as I do, or have done. Thank God for His mercy.