Wednesday Fifth Week of Lent

Daily Readings for Lent
Today's readings: March 24, 2010
First Reading: Dn 3:14-20, 91-92, 95;
Responsorial Psalm: 102:2-3, 16-18, 19-21 ;
Gospel:  Jn 8:12-20 ;

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

First Reading:  Dn 3:14-20, 91-92, 95 ;
King Nebuchadnezzar said:
“Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
that you will not serve my god,
or worship the golden statue that I set up?
Be ready now to fall down and worship the statue I had made,
whenever you hear the sound of the trumpet,
flute, lyre, harp, psaltery, bagpipe,
and all the other musical instruments;
otherwise, you shall be instantly cast into the white-hot furnace;
and who is the God who can deliver you out of my hands?”
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered King Nebuchadnezzar,
“There is no need for us to defend ourselves before you
in this matter.
If our God, whom we serve,
can save us from the white-hot furnace
and from your hands, O king, may he save us!
But even if he will not, know, O king,
that we will not serve your god
or worship the golden statue that you set up.”
King Nebuchadnezzar’s face became livid with utter rage
against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
He ordered the furnace to be heated seven times more than usual
and had some of the strongest men in his army
bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
and cast them into the white-hot furnace.
Nebuchadnezzar rose in haste and asked his nobles,
“Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?”
“Assuredly, O king,” they answered.
“But,” he replied, “I see four men unfettered and unhurt,
walking in the fire, and the fourth looks like a son of God.”
Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed,
“Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
who sent his angel to deliver the servants who trusted in him;
they disobeyed the royal command and yielded their bodies
rather than serve or worship any god
except their own God.”


Responsorial Psalm  Daniel 3:52, 53, 54, 55, 56;
R.         Glory and praise for ever!
“Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever;
And blessed is your holy and glorious name,
praiseworthy and exalted above all for all ages.”
R.         Glory and praise for ever!
“Blessed are you in the temple of your holy glory,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.
R.         Glory and praise for ever!
“Blessed are you on the throne of your kingdom,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.”
R.         Glory and praise for ever!
“Blessed are you who look into the depths
from your throne upon the cherubim;
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.”
R.         Glory and praise for ever!
“Blessed are you in the firmament of heaven,
praiseworthy and glorious forever.”
R.         Glory and praise for ever!

Gospel   Jn 8:31-42
Jesus said to those Jews who believed in him,
“If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples,
and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham
and have never been enslaved to anyone.
How can you say, ‘You will become free’?”
Jesus answered them, “Amen, amen, I say to you,
everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin.
A slave does not remain in a household forever,
but a son always remains.
So if the Son frees you, then you will truly be free.
I know that you are descendants of Abraham.
But you are trying to kill me,
because my word has no room among you.
I tell you what I have seen in the Father’s presence;
then do what you have heard from the Father.”
They answered and said to him, “Our father is Abraham.”
Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children,
you would be doing the works of Abraham.
But now you are trying to kill me,
a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God;
Abraham did not do this.
You are doing the works of your father!”
So they said to him, “We were not born of fornication.
We have one Father, God.”
Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me,
for I came from God and am here;
I did not come on my own, but he sent me.”

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Commentary:  How I love the story of Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Huh? Yeah, those are the men's names, which were changed to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego when they were taken captive and sent to Babylon as slaves after the Kingdom of Israel was squashed following a period when they fell apart, not only from each other - but they also fell out of their relationship with God. God did not stop loving them, as we see in the story - but the people fell out of love with their God. And soon after, they fell apart amongst themselves and the 12 Kingdoms of Israel were divided. (here's a link to an old song about this fiery furnace story).

As I recall this story, and also a good bit of text in the Old Testament - so much of ye Olde, is steeped in anger, retribution and hate. There is song called The River of Babylon, which recalls the period of time, and also this sentiment of resentment and anger. The original song - is psalm 137. When I was younger, my first introduction to the song was on vinyl from a band called The Melodians. Later on, the song was re-recorded by Jimmy Cliff, Boney M and many others. Here's the Melodians version, on vinyl.



If you listen to the song, and open up the words of the original, psalm 137 - yikes, you can see what I mean. This is one angry song on many levels. It is also a very tender song on other levels. Such is the world of the Old Testament, and the old covenant - where the letter of the law rules.

Jesus comes on the scene, and turns everything upside down. He gives the world a New Covenant, not just the chosen people as described in the Old Testament, it is for all God's children. What is important is not the letter of the law, but the intent of the heart toward the law and love we share, not only with God but with each other too. He turns it all upside down - Love your enemies and pray for them. (wow, this is some powerful medicine too, with healing power beyond the realm of healthcare reform hahaha). Jesus' advice is spelled out in Gospels, and the upside down nature is made clear in The Beatitudes, and the world of intent of the heart being the new law in the New Covenant.

Let me end this yammering (sorry, a little self deprecation and laughter is a good thing)... with one line from today's Gospel.

you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

The truth hurts, or the truth will set you free. If the truth is the truth, it never changes. The only difference on whether the truth will hurt, or whether the truth will set you free - is a person's reaction to the truth. If you are already mostly free, remember that your greatest talent is the capacity to love, and that this talent is a gift from God. Use it with reckless abandon and live a life beyond your wildest dreams. If you are struggling with the guilt of sinfulness (and we all are in some capacity) and caught in a prison of stress and torment, don't blame others - but see it in a new way. Change. In your crisis, You have been blessed with a huge opportunity to love, and to grow in faith. Ask God for help, how He loves such prayers - just ask, help me to love You perfectly God, and to love your children like You do. And go dancing in the fire.

And another song for the day. SDG - soli dei gloria. (if you hate it, blame me. if you like it, SDG - which is Latin for: all glory to God alone).

Saturday Fourth Week of Lent

Daily Readings for Lent
Today's readings: March 20, 2010
First Reading: Jer 11:18-20;
Responsorial Psalm: 7:2-3, 9bc-10, 11-12 ;
Gospel: Jn 7:40-53 ;

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

First Reading:  Jer 11:18-20
I knew their plot because the LORD informed me;
at that time you, O LORD, showed me their doings. Yet I, like a trusting lamb led to slaughter,
had not realized that they were hatching plots against me:
“Let us destroy the tree in its vigor;
let us cut him off from the land of the living,
so that his name will be spoken no more.”
But, you, O LORD of hosts, O just Judge,
searcher of mind and heart,
Let me witness the vengeance you take on them,
for to you I have entrusted my cause!

Responsorial Psalm  7:2-3, 9bc-10, 11-12
 R.        O Lord, my God, in you I take refuge.
O LORD, my God, in you I take refuge;
save me from all my pursuers and rescue me,
Lest I become like the lion’s prey,
to be torn to pieces, with no one to rescue me.
R.        O Lord, my God, in you I take refuge.
Do me justice, O LORD, because I am just,
and because of the innocence that is mine.
Let the malice of the wicked come to an end,
but sustain the just,
O searcher of heart and soul, O just God.
R.        O Lord, my God, in you I take refuge.
A shield before me is God,
who saves the upright of heart;
A just judge is God,
a God who punishes day by day.
R.        O Lord, my God, in you I take refuge.

Gospel   Jn 7:40-53
Some in the crowd who heard these words of Jesus said,
“This is truly the Prophet.”
Others said, “This is the Christ.”
But others said, “The Christ will not come from Galilee, will he?
Does not Scripture say that the Christ will be of David’s family
and come from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?”
So a division occurred in the crowd because of him.
Some of them even wanted to arrest him,
but no one laid hands on him.
So the guards went to the chief priests and Pharisees,
who asked them, “Why did you not bring him?”
The guards answered, “Never before has anyone spoken like this man.”
So the Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived?
Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him?
But this crowd, which does not know the law, is accursed.”
Nicodemus, one of their members who had come to him earlier, said to them,
“Does our law condemn a man before it first hears him
and finds out what he is doing?”
They answered and said to him,
“You are not from Galilee also, are you?
Look and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.”
Then each went to his own house.

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Commentary: Today's readings all seem to revolve around the intent of the heart. For those people who are pure of heart, they see Jesus as a great prophet or the Messiah, a tender and loving lamb who will be led to slaughter for the love of his brothers and sisters, all revolving around His profound and divine love of God. For those who are less than pure of heart, and enamored with their own authority or putting too much trust in their own wisdom, they are unable to have Jesus' loving message penetrate the stone around their hearts.

How do you receive these words? I ask this of myself too. Do I always listen well to what others are saying? Or have I grown too wise in my own opinion? Most of these issues get settled with a positive result when I quietly pray to have God take the stone off my heart, so that I might receive all the love that He has put into this wonderful world for all of our benefit. And I say a simple prayer, that came to me out of nowhere one day at mass. God please forgive me, because I have not spread the mercy to others, that compares to the mercy you have shown to me. Forgive me and help me do better. Thanks.

Tuesday, Fourth Week of Lent

Daily Readings for Lent
Today's readings: March 16, 2010
First Reading: Ez 47:1-9, 12;
Responsorial Psalm: 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9 ;
Gospel: Jn 5:1-16 ;

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

 First Reading:  Ez 47:1-9, 12
The angel brought me, Ezekiel,
back to the entrance of the temple of the LORD,
and I saw water flowing out
from beneath the threshold of the temple toward the east,
for the facade of the temple was toward the east;
the water flowed down from the right side of the temple,
south of the altar.
He led me outside by the north gate,
and around to the outer gate facing the east,
where I saw water trickling from the right side.
Then when he had walked off to the east
with a measuring cord in his hand,
he measured off a thousand cubits
and had me wade through the water,
which was ankle-deep.
He measured off another thousand
and once more had me wade through the water,
which was now knee-deep.
Again he measured off a thousand and had me wade;
the water was up to my waist.
Once more he measured off a thousand,
but there was now a river through which I could not wade;
for the water had risen so high it had become a river
that could not be crossed except by swimming.
He asked me, “Have you seen this, son of man?”
Then he brought me to the bank of the river, where he had me sit.
Along the bank of the river I saw very many trees on both sides.
He said to me,
“This water flows into the eastern district down upon the Arabah,
and empties into the sea, the salt waters, which it makes fresh.
Wherever the river flows,
every sort of living creature that can multiply shall live,
and there shall be abundant fish,
for wherever this water comes the sea shall be made fresh.
Along both banks of the river, fruit trees of every kind shall grow;
their leaves shall not fade, nor their fruit fail.
Every month they shall bear fresh fruit,
for they shall be watered by the flow from the sanctuary.
Their fruit shall serve for food, and their leaves for medicine.”

Responsorial Psalm  46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9
R.        The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
God is our refuge and our strength,
an ever-present help in distress.
Therefore we fear not, though the earth be shaken
and mountains plunge into the depths of the sea.
R.       The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
There is a stream whose runlets gladden the city of God,
the holy dwelling of the Most High.
God is in its midst; it shall not be disturbed;
God will help it at the break of dawn.
R.        The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
The LORD of hosts is with us;
our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
Come! behold the deeds of the LORD,
the astounding things he has wrought on earth.
R.        The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob.

Gospel   Jn 5:1-16
There was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
Now there is in Jerusalem at the Sheep Gate
a pool called in Hebrew Bethesda, with five porticoes.
In these lay a large number of ill, blind, lame, and crippled.
One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years.
When Jesus saw him lying there
and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him,
“Do you want to be well?”
The sick man answered him,
“Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool
when the water is stirred up;
while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me.”
Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your mat, and walk.”
Immediately the man became well, took up his mat, and walked. Now that day was a sabbath.
So the Jews said to the man who was cured,
“It is the sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to carry your mat.”
He answered them, “The man who made me well told me,
‘Take up your mat and walk.’“
They asked him,
“Who is the man who told you, ‘Take it up and walk’?”
The man who was healed did not know who it was,
for Jesus had slipped away, since there was a crowd there.
After this Jesus found him in the temple area and said to him,
“Look, you are well; do not sin any more,
so that nothing worse may happen to you.”
The man went and told the Jews
that Jesus was the one who had made him well.
Therefore, the Jews began to persecute Jesus
because he did this on a sabbath.

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Commentary: Today's Gospel continues on the theme of healing by God's divine love and by faith in Jesus. The crippled man by the pool does wish to healed, but every time he tries to go to the pool, someone takes the spot. So I ask myself - why was there no one to help this poor man? And then Jesus comes and merely asks him if he wishes to be healed, and the man replies yes. I wonder how joyous this man must have been - to have someone just talk to him and ask him if he needs help. He was invisible for all those years, to all the people around him. But because of Jesus' divine and healing love, he was healed.

Which brings us to the response of the people at the temple. Was there response, thank you God for healing this poor man, our brother? No - the response was to condemn Jesus for healing on the Sabbath.

Indeed, it is our job to follow Jesus, and be ready with a helping hand - especially during Lent. We all need each other, and the love we have in our hearts was meant to be shared. So many times, it is the little things that later on have a big impact.

Last evening, for 7th grade religious education - we talked about the Beatitudes. And we talked about how Jesus was bringing us a New Covenant, a new promise and a new law. One of the highlights of the lesson plan was about the intent of the heart  and how God knows the intent of the heart. In this world, you will often be misjudged and poorly treated by others, just as Jesus was - but God will know the intent of the heart.
While I try and do some preparation, it is not a personal strength. Yet I know God will help me, fill me with the Holy Spirit because I beg Him to help me to bring these kids closer to Him, and to His love, in hopes of assisting to make their joy complete. And each March,  I prepare by bringing in some small plants to remind the kids how God makes great things happen for those who put in some effort.

And I recalled a time years many ago, when I brought in some small plants to the kids, to help them understand such things, and how God helps these little plants grow and blossom, just like He does for them. Well, in a class many years ago - there was a little girl who was struggling with weight loss and self esteem issues. By the time confirmation had rolled around, she was about 70 pounds and not doing so well. That was the first year I started to give out plants. Nothing big, but as is often the case, it is just the small stuff that has the big rewards. And how deeply I love those kids.

About a year later, I received a card that was sent to the church. It was from the mother of that little girl. She wrote to say thank you, and tell me her daughter initially did not take good care of the plant, and was just letting it wither away. And then she decided to tend it, give it some water, and planted it outside so it could gather in the sunshine and the rain God poured down from heaven. The plant began to flourish, and so did the little girl - who saw how her little act of love had helped this plant. And she began eating better, and began to love herself more and more. And others too.The mother was profoundly thankful - for a little tomato seeding that bore great fruit.

When I read this - as you might imagine it made my heart burst with joy. I was so thankful to God, who had done all this and for his wonderful love. He has more than enough love for everyone. God is love. And I was so honored in his infinite generosity, to allow little me to participate in His plan. Do we not all have an amazing love inside of us? And do we not, by virtue of this love, have within us the capacity to do wonderful acts of healing, just by loving others. Especially people like the poor man at the edge of the pool in today's Gospel. Each year I learn how much power there is in loving, in a just a simple smile offered to someone who has not received a big smile for so long, long time. We are all equal in our capacity to love. When we reflect on the Gospel about the talents - what talent do we possess that is greater than our capacity to love? And how do we use this most precious gift? Lots of people are struggling, be generous with this gift.

Finally - another song for the day - this one is called Hobo Song. It is a real sad song about people down on their luck. And while the song's lyrics say it differently - just remember, it is never too late. Re-read the Gospel. Put your faith in God and in His beloved Son Jesus - nothing is impossible for God.

And let's not forget about the prize. Allowing God to make our joy complete.