Monday, Fourth Week of Lent

Daily Readings for Lent
Today's readings: March 15, 2010
First Reading: Is 65:17-21;
Responsorial Psalm: 30:2 and 4, 5-6, 11-12a and 13b ;
Gospel: Jn 4:43-54 ;

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

 First Reading:  Is 65:17-21
Thus says the LORD:
Lo, I am about to create new heavens
and a new earth;
The things of the past shall not be remembered
or come to mind.
Instead, there shall always be rejoicing and happiness
in what I create;
For I create Jerusalem to be a joy
and its people to be a delight;
I will rejoice in Jerusalem
and exult in my people.
No longer shall the sound of weeping be heard there,
or the sound of crying;
No longer shall there be in it
an infant who lives but a few days,
or an old man who does not round out his full lifetime;
He dies a mere youth who reaches but a hundred years,
and he who fails of a hundred shall be thought accursed.
They shall live in the houses they build,
and eat the fruit of the vineyards they plant.

Responsorial Psalm  30:2 and 4, 5-6, 11-12a and 13b
R.          I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
I will extol you, O LORD, for you drew me clear
and did not let my enemies rejoice over me.
O LORD, you brought me up from the nether world;
you preserved me from among those going down into the pit.
R.      I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
Sing praise to the LORD, you his faithful ones,
and give thanks to his holy name.
For his anger lasts but a moment;
a lifetime, his good will.
At nightfall, weeping enters in,
but with the dawn, rejoicing.
R.        I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
“Hear, O LORD, and have pity on me;
O LORD, be my helper.”
You changed my mourning into dancing;
O LORD, my God, forever will I give you thanks.
R.        I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.

Gospel   Jn 4:43-54
At that time Jesus left [Samaria] for Galilee.
For Jesus himself testified
that a prophet has no honor in his native place.
When he came into Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him,
since they had seen all he had done in Jerusalem at the feast;
for they themselves had gone to the feast.
Then he returned to Cana in Galilee,
where he had made the water wine.
Now there was a royal official whose son was ill in Capernaum.
When he heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea,
he went to him and asked him to come down
and heal his son, who was near death.
Jesus said to him,
“Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.”
The royal official said to him,
“Sir, come down before my child dies.”
Jesus said to him, “You may go; your son will live.”
The man believed what Jesus said to him and left.
While the man was on his way back,
his slaves met him and told him that his boy would live.
He asked them when he began to recover.
They told him,
“The fever left him yesterday, about one in the afternoon.”
The father realized that just at that time Jesus had said to him,
“Your son will live,”
and he and his whole household came to believe.
Now this was the second sign Jesus did
when he came to Galilee from Judea.

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

Commentary: If I had to pick a favorite Gospel, which of course all are wonderful - duh, but if I had to pick a personal favorite, for me it would be the Gospel of John. The way he tells the wonderful story of God dwelling among us, through a man named Jesus - is a story of total faith. Not once as far as I can tell does John ever doubt that Jesus is indeed the Christ, the promised Messiah of the Jewish people. Of all the 12 apostles, John is the only one who is there at the foot of the cross with the virgin Mary, and Mary Magdeline.  If you think about it, imagine the difficulty of being there - it would be very easy to assume, this meant a brutal death sentence. Jesus was in fact getting crucified. Add to the hardship - all his close friends and family would have thought John was crazy and probably told him so. But John was given a rare and special kind of faith. John was the also listed as the one Jesus loved. He was probably our Lord's best friend.  And if you look closely at John's Gospel, it is a lot different than the other three.

In today's Gospel reading - there seems to be a moment when Jesus sounds really mad at those around him. The words are:

Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.

But this morning I wondered something for the first time. What if the words were uttered with total love and a feeling of longing? And I wondered if one could hear that in his voice? As with all the words in the Gospel - so much depends on our way we read the words in our hearts and in our minds. It is not just the words. I would not make any big deal of my early morning thoughts, but it was something I wondered. All these readings during Lent often make me wonder and yearn for a deeper understanding - but I can never know. I can only be left to wonder and yearn to understand.

Make sure you listen to Fr. Manning's words in the video reflections. They are wonderful words of holding onto hope and trusting in God's love when your faith feels weak and challenged by hardships. Wonderful words, but make sure you listen to his heart too.

Tuesday - Fourth Week of Lent

Today's readings: March 24, 2009
Reading One: Ez 47:1-9, 12;
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9 ;
Gospel: Jn 5:1-16;
go to this page (for all three sections listed above on one page) And here's an audio file; & reflections (video)

John's writing about Jesus in his Gospel is much different than the other three (Matthew, Mark & Luke, duh). John was different - he was the disciple Jesus loved, the only one we believe was not martyred for his faith, the only one at the foot of the cross, and Jesus tells John that Mary is his mother (and vica versa) while he is on the cross. For John, Jesus' divine origins are never in doubt. He tries to spell it out all mathematically, logically - like breadcrumbs, just follow the trail and stop being so hard in the head and heart. Over the past few days, we are given 3 signs that show that Jesus is all that He says He is. The first sign, was at the wedding at Cana, when Jesus turned the water into wine upon's Mary's request, and also her display of total faith (Do as He says), see John Chapter 2). The second sign was yesterday's reading, about the Royal Official and his sick son in Chapter Four. And today is the third sign, Jesus healing the blind paralytic in Chapter Five. I mean, the signs are not everyday happenings. And what is so amazing, is that big wigs in power don't deny these things happened. Their problem is that Jesus did this on the Sabbath (I am laughing as I think of Walter on The Big Lebowski, and his bowling tournament conflicts, but I digress). Anyway, it is a good practice to understand how John's Gospel is different, and why and to contemplate that as you read his words about Jesus.

Today we stopped at verse 16 in chapter five, but the next 28 verses are important, as Jesus explains how God the Father testifies to the divinity of Jesus, and that He is God's son. Same thing with John, there's never any question about this, Jesus being the Christ - John is just trying to get the exact words of what he heard Jesus says about it.

Also of note about today's Gospel, it continues the whole theme of joy that began on Sunday with laetare sunday. Laetare comes from the words often used to commence a mass - Laetare, Jerusalem - which roughly translates Rejoice, O Jerusalem. It also marks the halfway point in Lent. And indeed, there is so much to be joyful about if you have faith in God. With faith, you have extra resolve and hope, even in hopeless situations - because with God anything is possible, and if you place your trust in God, you are covered. He sets you free, He gives you strength and courage, and as you grow closer in love with Him, He loves you even more, or perhaps - He still loves you the same, you just are more aware of it. Either way, it is a wonderful feeling. So be joyful. And I hope you enjoy John's Gospel - his faith is contagious.

Ash Wednesday

Today's readings: February 25, 2009
Reading One: Jl 2:12-18 ;
Responsorial Psalm: 51:3-4, 5-6ab, 12-13, 14 and 17 ;
Reading Two: 2 Cor 5:20-6:2 ;
Gospel : Mt 6:1-6, 16-18 ;
go to this page(for all three sections listed above on one page)
And here's some audio file; & reflections (video)

The day began a little later than expected, waking up at 5:00 am in lieu of the usual 4:15 time, when my dog asks to go out and explore the wonderful things of the new day. Which worked out fine, as I stayed up late and took in the evening show of Slumdog Millionaire with a dear friend. Each of us had already seen it before, but it is the kind of movie you find all kinds of new things each time you watch it. Salim, a brother who is often less than a perfect brother his whole life, finds a way out of his mess in one final act of amazing sacrifice and generosity. His final words - God is Great, was a wonderful way to begin Lent (the movie ended about 12:01am).

This morning the day started with trying to do my best to figure out where and what to read in the new four volume set of the Divine Office. I have not had a chance to look over a companion book I got to help me, called The Divine Office for Dodos. Hmmm, maybe I should have done more research.

One of my greatest blessings is taking communion to the sick. If you are a Eucharist minister, by all means consider giving this ministry a try. I suspect you will have the same experience - where you find yourself blessed beyond description, and benefit from giving up just a little bit of your time, for the Love of Christ and God's children. I think for every baby step we take to get closer to Jesus, He takes 20 giant steps toward us. Why He has been so kind to one as undeserving as myself makes little sense to me, other than what scripture says about it. How He chooses the least to do wonderful things, so that you know the Glory comes from Him alone, and not from man. Since sharing my joy about this ministry is apeears to be direct opposition to what is written in the Gospel today (v. 3 & 4)... I certainly qualify as a lout. But please forgive me, my hope is that others find the joy in this service that comes with the territory. Since 99.9% of the people reading this have no clue who I am, I hope God forgives me too, and makes my intent for sharing this joy pure and full of love.

After a bit of reflection, I decided to go to the mountains on the first leg of my journey, off to Franklin, NC to St Francis of Assisi church where, God willing I will celebrate mass at 9:00am with one of my favorite priests in the Diocese of Western Carolina (I love all of you priests, don't worry :~). But Father Tien will always have a special place in my heart. The grace he received during his many years in prison in Vietnam shine like a glorious crown. His crime? Being a devout Catholic. Please find time today to pray for all priests and religious, giving thanks for the example they provide, the bread of life they assist in bringing to the faithful, and also the love they have for all us of little lambies.

Finally - I ask that you offer some prayers for George Mangan, aka Chief who died yesterday of cancer. He was my favorite teacher in high school, and passed quietly after many years of suffering. He not only taught me a lot about how to live, but also about how to die. A great man, May God welcome him home and may he rest in peace. I also ask that you say some prayers for Charlotte, still recovering from head injuries, Amanda, a nine year with brain cancer, Morgan, a five year old girl with serious digestive problems who was released from the hospital the other day, and Peter, a young teenager who became ill from too many years of being taunted by classmates for being different. And for young 33 year old man, the son of a friend who is pondering a vocation to the priesthood. Thank you, and please pray for me, that I might better serve Christ without fear, in a world that seems to take great umbrage in His words of kindness, mercy, forgiveness, generosity and love. May God bless you and keep you safe.