Monday 14
January 2013
First reading
Hebrews
1:1-6
At various times in the past and in
various different ways, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets; but in
our own time, the last days, he has spoken to us through his Son, the Son that
he has appointed to inherit everything and through whom he made everything
there is. He is the radiant light of God’s glory and the perfect copy of his
nature, sustaining the universe by his powerful command; and now that he has
destroyed the defilement of sin, he has gone to take his place in heaven at the
right hand of divine Majesty. So he is now as far above the angels as the title
which he has inherited is higher than their own name.
God
has never said to any angel: You are my Son, today I have become your
father; or: I will be a father to him and he a son to me. Again,
when he brings the First-born into the world, he says: Let all the angels of
God worship him.
When Jesus was on earth, Jesus
had emptied himself of all divine power and status (Phil 2:6). Because he was
obedient out of love until death, even death on a Cross, his Father raised him
in his human nature to the level of God. He is still man, but no longer like
us. He is filled with the very fullness of God in his humanity. At his birth,
he became like us. Now if we persevere in our faith, we will become like him in
glory. He is our High Priest and he is our Salvation. This is the theme of the
letter to the Hebrews. Revelation 3:21 says the same thing in different words.
Psalm
Psalm
96:1-2,6-7,9
All you angels, worship the Lord.
The Lord is king, let earth rejoice,
the many coastlands be glad.
His throne is justice and right.
All you angels, worship the Lord.
The skies proclaim his justice;
all peoples see his glory.
All you spirits, worship him.
All you angels, worship the Lord.
For you indeed are the Lord
most high above all the earth,
exalted far above all spirits.
All you angels, worship the Lord.
____________________
Gospel
Acclamation
cf.Ac16:14
Alleluia, alleluia!
Open our heart, O Lord,
to accept the words of your Son.
Alleluia!
Or
Mk1:15
Alleluia, alleluia!
The kingdom of God is close at hand:
repent and believe the Good News.
Alleluia!
____________________
Gospel
Mark
1:14-20
After John had been arrested, Jesus went
into Galilee. There he proclaimed the Good News from God. ‘The time has come’
he said ‘and the kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent, and believe the Good
News.’
As
he was walking along by the Sea of Galilee he saw Simon and his brother Andrew
casting a net in the lake – for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to
them, ‘Follow me and I will make you into fishers of men.’ And at once they
left their nets and followed him.
Going
on a little further, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John; they too
were in their boat, mending their nets. He called them at once and, leaving
their father Zebedee in the boat with the men he employed, they went after him.
The New Creation
The time
has come at last. God the Creator has come to live among us. To know him, to
become his disciple is to enter the Kingdom
of God Kingdom
of God
Tuesday 15
January 2013
First reading
Hebrews
2:5-12
God did not appoint angels to be rulers
of the world to come, and that world is what we are talking about. Somewhere
there is a passage that shows us this. It runs: What is man that you should
spare a thought for him, the son of man that you should care for him? For a
short while you made him lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and
splendour. You have put him in command of everything. Well then, if he has put
him in command of everything, he has left nothing which is not under his
command. At present, it is true, we are not able to see that everything has
been put under his command, but we do see in Jesus one who was for a
short while made lower than the angels and is now crowned with glory and
splendour because he submitted to death; by God’s grace he had to
experience death for all mankind.
As
it was his purpose to bring a great many of his sons into glory, it was
appropriate that God, for whom everything exists and through whom everything
exists, should make perfect, through suffering, the leader who would take them
to their salvation. For the one who sanctifies, and the ones who are
sanctified, are of the same stock; that is why he openly calls them brothers
in the text: I shall announce your name to my brothers, praise you in full
assembly.
The author is telling us that
Jesus, Son of God, lowered himself and became a man. The author applies psalm 8
to the Christ. Jesus is now raised to the glory of God in his humanity. We too
will one day share in that it glory if we are faithful to Jesus. We must not
think that God wanted Jesus to suffer and to die on the Cross. The suffering
imposed on Jesus by sinful men was not the will of God. However, Jesus did
learn in his human nature what it means to be the Son of God and faithful out
of love. As he lay dying on the Cross, he knew through experience the cost of
love. We too are to live in love, at whatever the cost. Religion is to live in
love.
Psalm
Psalm
8:2,5-9
You gave your Son power over the works
of your hand.
How great is your name, O Lord our God,
through all the earth!
What is man that you should keep him in
mind,
mortal man that you care for him?
You gave your Son power over the works
of your hand.
Yet you have made him little less than a
god;
with glory and honour you crowned him,
gave him power over the works of your
hand,
put all things under his feet.
You gave your Son power over the works
of your hand.
All of them, sheep and cattle,
yes, even the savage beasts,
birds of the air, and fish
that make their way through the waters.
You gave your Son power over the works
of your hand.
____________________
Gospel
Acclamation
Jm1:21
Alleluia, alleluia!
Accept and submit to the word
which has been planted in you
and can save your souls.
Alleluia!
Or
cf.1Th2:13
Alleluia, alleluia!
Accept God’s message for what it really
is:
God’s message, and not some human
thinking.
Alleluia!
____________________
Gospel
Mark
1:21-28
Jesus and his followers went as far as
Capernaum, and as soon as the sabbath came he went to the synagogue and began
to teach. And his teaching made a deep impression on them because, unlike the
scribes, he taught them with authority.
In
their synagogue just then there was a man possessed by an unclean spirit and it
shouted, ‘What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy
us? I know who you are: the Holy One of God.’ But Jesus said sharply, ‘Be
quiet! Come out of him!’ And the unclean spirit threw the man into convulsions
and with a loud cry went out of him. The people were so astonished that they
started asking each other what it all meant. ‘Here is a teaching that is new’
they said ‘and with authority behind it: he gives orders even to unclean
spirits and they obey him.’ And his reputation rapidly spread everywhere,
through all the surrounding Galilean countryside.
Child of God Now
Jesus proclaims God’s
Word and it cannot be resisted. His Word will cleanse the world of evil. Evil
had entered the synagogues through the scribes and teachers of the Law. They
had made religion a matter of Law and the number was beyond the capability of
anyone to observe. Jesus begins his ministry in the synagogue. He teaches with
power and authority. The man with the unclean spirit is symbolic of the evil in
the teaching of the scribes which has bound the people. Through the religion
they taught people were kept unclean and did not enjoy communion with God. Have
you met the powerful Word of Jesus which liberates us from a slavish observance
of rules and rituals to the freedom of the children of a loving Father in
heaven? Is religion for you an experience of being a beloved child of God in
God’s family the Church?
Wednesday 16
January 2013
First reading
Hebrews
2:14-18
Since all the children share the same
blood and flesh, Christ too shared equally in it, so that by his death he could
take away all the power of the devil, who had power over death, and set free
all those who had been held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death.
For it was not the angels that he took to himself; he took to himself descent
from Abraham. It was essential that he should in this way become completely
like his brothers so that he could be a compassionate and trustworthy high
priest of God’s religion, able to atone for human sins. That is, because he has
himself been through temptation he is able to help others who are tempted.
Jesus did not pay a debt to God
for our sins, as if God was a judge demanding reparation down to the last
penny. God is Love and he longed to be able to forgive us our sins. He also
longed to become one with the children he had created. He became human in every
way, just as we are human. He did this in order to overthrow Satan who had deceived
the entire human race. He came to
liberate us by being fully human and allowing Satan to tempt him in every way
that he tempts us. He would allow Satan to do whatever he could, but he would
be faithful to his Father until his last breath. In this way, Satan would lose
control over all those who chose to belong to Jesus. Jesus is truly our Brother,
the Son of Man. His Father seeing the loyalty and love of the Son of Man
readily forgives all who are one with him and gives them all the blessings of
the heavens. Now, every human being who is true to his or her conscience can
expect to share in the victory of Jesus over Satan.
Psalm
Psalm
104:1-4,6-9
The Lord remembers his covenant for
ever.
or
Alleluia!
Give thanks to the Lord, tell his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples.
O sing to him, sing his praise;
tell all his wonderful works!
The Lord remembers his covenant for
ever.
or
Alleluia!
Be proud of his holy name,
let the hearts that seek the Lord
rejoice.
Consider the Lord and his strength;
constantly seek his face.
The Lord remembers his covenant for
ever.
or
Alleluia!
O children of Abraham, his servant,
O sons of the Jacob he chose.
He, the Lord, is our God:
his judgements prevail in all the earth.
The Lord remembers his covenant for
ever.
or
Alleluia!
He remembers his covenant for ever,
his promise for a thousand generations,
the covenant he made with Abraham,
the oath he swore to Isaac.
The Lord remembers his covenant for
ever.
or
Alleluia!
____________________
Gospel
Acclamation
cf.Col3:16a,17
Alleluia, alleluia!
Let the message of Christ, in all its
richness,
find a home with you;
through him give thanks to God the
Father.
Alleluia!
Or
Jn10:27
Alleluia, alleluia!
The sheep that belong to me listen to my
voice,
says the Lord,
I know them and they follow me.
Alleluia!
____________________
Gospel
Mark
1:29-39
On leaving the synagogue, Jesus went
with James and John straight to the house of Simon and Andrew. Now Simon’s
mother-in-law had gone to bed with fever, and they told him about her
straightaway. He went to her, took her by the hand and helped her up. And the
fever left her and she began to wait on them.
That
evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were sick and those who were
possessed by devils. The whole town came crowding round the door, and he cured
many who were suffering from diseases of one kind or another; he also cast out
many devils, but he would not allow them to speak, because they knew who he
was.
In
the morning, long before dawn, he got up and left the house, and went off to a
lonely place and prayed there. Simon and his companions set out in search of
him, and when they found him they said, ‘Everybody is looking for you.’ He
answered, ‘Let us go elsewhere, to the neighbouring country towns, so that I
can preach there too, because that is why I came.’ And he went all through
Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out devils.
Raised to serve
The champion has come
onto the scene and rolls back the kingdom
of Satan
Thursday 17
January 2013
First reading
Hebrews
3:7-14
The Holy Spirit says: If only you
would listen to him today; do not harden your hearts, as happened in the
Rebellion, on the Day of Temptation in the wilderness, when your ancestors
challenged me and tested me, though they had seen what I could do for forty
years. That was why I was angry with that generation and said: How unreliable
these people who refuse to grasp my ways! And so, in anger, I swore that not
one would reach the place of rest I had for them. Take care, brothers, that
there is not in any one of your community a wicked mind, so unbelieving as to
turn away from the living God. Every day, as long as this ‘today’ lasts, keep
encouraging one another so that none of you is hardened by the lure of
sin, because we shall remain co-heirs with Christ only if we keep a grasp on
our first confidence right to the end.
Life is necessarily a life of
faith. God is apparently absent. He never appears or seems to take action
either for saints or against sinners. Meanwhile we are tempted to sin. It is
easy to get used to sin and to be hardened in it because nothing seems to
happen, whether we sin or we don’t. We are to keep a lively faith in the
presence of Jesus. On a practical level, we do this by daily prayer. We need to
learn to pray in silence, simply being in the presence of Jesus. It is through
this openness to him in constant prayer that we grow in knowledge, love and
service of Jesus. This is the way to be co-heirs with him of all the blessings
of the heavenly places (Eph. 1:2)
Psalm
Psalm
94:6-11
O that today you would listen to his
voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’
Come in; let us bow and bend low;
let us kneel before the God who made us:
for he is our God and we
the people who belong to his pasture,
the flock that is led by his hand.
O that today you would listen to his
voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’
O that today you would listen to his
voice!
‘Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
as on that day at Massah in the desert
when your fathers put me to the test;
when they tried me, though they saw my
work.
O that today you would listen to his
voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’
For forty years I was wearied of these
people
and I said: “Their hearts are astray,
these people do not know my ways.”
Then I took an oath in my anger:
“Never shall they enter my rest.”’
O that today you would listen to his
voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’
____________________
Gospel
Acclamation
Ps118:88
Alleluia, alleluia!
Because of your love give me life,
and I will do your will.
Alleluia!
Or
cf.Mt4:23
Alleluia, alleluia!
Jesus proclaimed the Good News of the
kingdom
and cured all kinds of sickness among
the people.
Alleluia!
____________________
Gospel
Mark
1:40-45
A leper came to Jesus and pleaded on his
knees: ‘If you want to’ he said ‘you can cure me.’ Feeling sorry for him, Jesus
stretched out his hand and touched him. ‘Of course I want to!’ he said. ‘Be
cured!’ And the leprosy left him at once and he was cured. Jesus immediately
sent him away and sternly ordered him, ‘Mind you say nothing to anyone, but go
and show yourself to the priest, and make the offering for your healing
prescribed by Moses as evidence of your recovery.’ The man went away, but then
started talking about it freely and telling the story everywhere, so that Jesus
could no longer go openly into any town, but had to stay outside in places
where nobody lived. Even so, people from all around would come to him.
I
do want to
Lepers were
more than outcasts. People considered them cursed by God and religious people
would even think it a virtue to despise them. This sickness is a symbol for sin
because in the end sin will cause us far worse disfigurement and suffering than
leprosy. The leper has the courage and confidence to approach Jesus. He could
approach no one else. “If you want to, you make me clean”. “I do want to, be
clean”. Of course Jesus wants to. This is the reason why he came to earth and why
he remains with us. He wants to heal us of our sins and the wounds of our sins
and fill us with the Holy Spirit who will give beauty to our life. Like the
leper, we need to approach Jesus despite what others may say. Jesus must become
a real Person for us and then he can touch us too.
Friday 18
January 2013
First reading
Hebrews
4:1-5,11
Be careful: the promise of reaching the
place of rest that God had for the Israelites still holds good, and none of you
must think that he has come too late for it. We received the Good News exactly
as they did; but hearing the message did them no good because they did not
share the faith of those who listened. We, however, who have faith, shall reach
a place of rest, as in the text: And so, in anger, I swore that not one
would reach the place of rest I had for them. God’s work was undoubtedly
all finished at the beginning of the world; as one text says, referring to the
seventh day: After all his work God rested on the seventh day. The text
we are considering says: They shall not reach the place of rest I had for
them. We must therefore do everything we can to reach this place of
rest, or some of you might copy this example of disobedience and be lost.
Whether we like it or not,
understand it or not, we journey on through life, day by day. Where is the end?
It is not simply death. God has a desire for each of us. We are to use the
faculties he has given us and search for the truth about life. We find the
truth in his Son, Jesus. He is the way, the truth and the life. To know him
through reading his Word, reflection and personal prayer is the way to find the
rest God has for us. This rest is peace in this life and joy with God in the
next.
Psalm
Psalm
77:3-4,6-8
Never forget the deeds of the Lord.
The things we have heard and understood,
the things our fathers have told us,
these we will not hide from their
children
but will tell them to the next
generation:
Never forget the deeds of the Lord.
the glories of the Lord and his might
and the marvellous deeds he has done,
that the next generation might know it,
the children yet to be born.
Never forget the deeds of the Lord.
They too should arise and tell their
sons
that they too should set their hope in
God
and never forget God’s deeds
but keep every one of his commands,
Never forget the deeds of the Lord.
so that they might not be like their
fathers,
a defiant and rebellious race,
a race whose heart was fickle,
whose spirit was unfaithful to God.
Never forget the deeds of the Lord.
____________________
Gospel
Acclamation
cf.Ep1:17,18
Alleluia, alleluia!
May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
enlighten the eyes of our mind,
so that we can see what hope his call
holds for us.
Alleluia!
Or
Lk7:16
Alleluia, alleluia!
A great prophet has appeared among us;
God has visited his people.
Alleluia!
____________________
Gospel
Mark
2:1-12
When Jesus returned to Capernaum, word
went round that he was back; and so many people collected that there was no
room left, even in front of the door. He was preaching the word to them when
some people came bringing him a paralytic carried by four men, but as the crowd
made it impossible to get the man to him, they stripped the roof over the place
where Jesus was; and when they had made an opening, they lowered the stretcher
on which the paralytic lay. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, ‘My
child, your sins are forgiven.’ Now some scribes were sitting there, and they
thought to themselves, ‘How can this man talk like that? He is blaspheming. Who
can forgive sins but God?’ Jesus, inwardly aware that this was what they were
thinking, said to them, ‘Why do you have these thoughts in your hearts? Which
of these is easier: to say to the paralytic, “Your sins are forgiven” or to
say, “Get up, pick up your stretcher and walk”? But to prove to you that the
Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,’ – he turned to the
paralytic – ‘I order you: get up, pick up your stretcher, and go off home.’
And the man got up, picked up his stretcher at once and walked out in front of
everyone, so that they were all astounded and praised God saying, ‘We have
never seen anything like this.’
Moved by faith
They wanted to get to Jesus at any
cost. They knew that to get their friend to him was the only chance of
recovery. They had complete trust that Jesus would heal him. They took the
extraordinary means of getting onto the roof and then making an opening and
letting the man down through the roof in front of Jesus. Jesus is always moved
by faith. If we have trust in him he will always respond positively if it is
for our good. We must want to have this trust and pray to the Holy Spirit for
it. We can then enter into the presence of Jesus through prayer. Like the
paralytic, helpless before him, we will experience his healing word. We will be
relieved from whatever is binding us. Have you had the experience of the
paralytic before Jesus? Has he entered your life with a healing word?
Saturday 19
January 2013
First reading
Hebrews
4:12-16
The word of God is something alive and
active: it cuts like any double-edged sword but more finely: it can slip
through the place where the soul is divided from the spirit, or joints from the
marrow; it can judge the secret emotions and thoughts. No created thing can
hide from him; everything is uncovered and open to the eyes of the one to whom
we must give account of ourselves.
Since
in Jesus, the Son of God, we have the supreme high priest who has gone through
to the highest heaven, we must never let go of the faith that we have
professed. For it is not as if we had a high priest who was incapable of
feeling our weaknesses with us; but we have one who has been tempted in every
way that we are, though he is without sin. Let us be confident, then, in
approaching the throne of grace, that we shall have mercy from him and find
grace when we are in need of help.
We might thing that the Word of
God is the Bible. The Word of God is what God speaks to us in our hearts. We must
be open to this Word. When we sit in silent prayer with our minds fixed on him,
then he is able to speak to us. He will bring about in us the change that the
author says the Word of God will bring.
We can approach Jesus with
confidence, because we know that he loves us dearly and he is seated at the
right hand of God. He too has experienced this human life and can sympathise
with all the hardships we may be enduring.
Psalm
Psalm
18:8-10,15
Your words are spirit, Lord, and they
are life.
The law of the Lord is perfect,
it revives the soul.
The rule of the Lord is to be trusted,
it gives wisdom to the simple.
Your words are spirit, Lord, and they
are life.
The precepts of the Lord are right,
they gladden the heart.
The command of the Lord is clear,
it gives light to the eyes.
Your words are spirit, Lord, and they
are life.
The fear of the Lord is holy,
abiding for ever.
The decrees of the Lord are truth
and all of them just.
Your words are spirit, Lord, and they
are life.
May the spoken words of my mouth,
the thoughts of my heart,
win favour in your sight, O Lord,
my rescuer, my rock!
Your words are spirit, Lord, and they
are life.
____________________
Gospel
Acclamation
Ps118:36,29
Alleluia, alleluia!
Bend my heart to your will, O Lord,
and teach me your law.
Alleluia!
Or
Lk4:17
Alleluia, alleluia!
The Lord has sent me to bring the good
news to the poor,
to proclaim liberty to captives.
Alleluia!
____________________
Gospel
Mark
2:13-17
Jesus went out to the shore of the lake;
and all the people came to him, and he taught them. As he was walking on he saw
Levi the son of Alphaeus, sitting by the customs house, and he said to him, ‘Follow
me.’ And he got up and followed him.
When
Jesus was at dinner in his house, a number of tax collectors and sinners were
also sitting at the table with Jesus and his disciples; for there were many of
them among his followers. When the scribes of the Pharisee party saw him eating
with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does he eat
with tax collectors and sinners?’ When Jesus heard this he said to them, ‘It is
not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick. I did not come to call the
virtuous, but sinners.’
Friend of sinners
Today Jesus proclaims the purpose of
his coming to earth. It is to call sinners, to seek and save the lost as Luke
will put it. He sits and eats with sinners and the Pharisees will call him ‘the
friend of sinners’. If ‘bad company spoils good morals’, then why does Jesus
eat with sinners? Jesus believes that his goodness will influence sinners to
abandon sin and open themselves to God’s blessings. He is correct. Levi is an
example of the sinners who were moved by Jesus and became saints. If we sit
sincerely and without any cover-up in the presence of Jesus each day then he
will transform us too. Under his loving grace we will abandon sin and be filled
with the Holy Spirit. God works in the heart of one who comes to Jesus in this
way. Do you daily seek the company of Jesus?
Friday 15
February 2013
Readings at Mass
First reading
Isaiah
58:1-9
Thus says the Lord:
Shout for all you are worth,
raise your voice like a trumpet.
Proclaim their faults to my people,
their sins to the House of Jacob.
They seek me day after day,
they long to know my ways,
like a nation that wants to act with
integrity
and not ignore the law of its God.
They ask me for laws that are just,
they long for God to draw near:
‘Why should we fast if you never see it,
why do penance if you never notice?’
Look, you do business on your fast-days,
you oppress all your workmen;
look, you quarrel and squabble when you
fast
and strike the poor man with your fist.
Fasting like yours today
will never make your voice heard on
high.
Is that the sort of fast that pleases
me,
a truly penitential day for men?
Hanging your head like a reed,
lying down on sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call fasting,
a day acceptable to the Lord?
Is not this the sort of fast that
pleases me
– it is the Lord who speaks –
to break unjust fetters and
undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and break every yoke,
to share your bread with the hungry,
and shelter the homeless poor,
to clothe the man you see to be naked
and not turn from your own kin?
Then will your light shine like the dawn
and your wound be quickly healed over.
Your integrity will go before you
and the glory of the Lord behind you.
Cry, and the Lord will answer;
call, and he will say, ‘I am here.’
Religiosity is one thing. True religion
is something else. Religiosity, we can say, is when we do religious practices
for our own satisfaction. We are the centre of religiosity. With true religion,
God is the centre. We worship him in spirit and in truth. We obey his Laws and
we try to love as
He loves. We should listen to
Isaiah today.
Psalm
Psalm
50:3-6,18-19
A humbled, contrite heart, O God, you
will not spurn.
Have mercy on me, God, in your kindness.
In your compassion blot out my offence.
O wash me more and more from my guilt
and cleanse me from my sin.
A humbled, contrite heart, O God, you
will not spurn.
My offences truly I know them;
my sin is always before me
Against you, you alone, have I sinned;
what is evil in your sight I have done.
A humbled, contrite heart, O God, you
will not spurn.
For in sacrifice you take no delight,
burnt offering from me you would refuse,
my sacrifice, a contrite spirit.
A humbled, contrite heart you will not
spurn.
A humbled, contrite heart, O God, you
will not spurn.
____________________
Gospel
Acclamation
cf.Ps129:5,7
Glory and praise to you, O Christ!
My soul is waiting for the Lord,
I count on his word,
because with the Lord there is mercy
and fullness of redemption.
Glory and praise to you, O Christ!
Or
cf.Amos5:14
Glory and praise to you, O Christ!
Seek good and not evil so that you may
live,
and that the Lord God of hosts may
really be with you,
because with the Lord there is mercy
and fullness of redemption.
Glory and praise to you, O Christ!
____________________
Gospel
Matthew
9:14-15
John’s disciples came to Jesus and said,
‘Why is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not?’ Jesus
replied, ‘Surely the bridegroom’s attendants would never think of mourning as
long as the bridegroom is still with them? But the time will come for the
bridegroom to be taken away from them, and then they will fast.’
Jesus
the Bridegroom
The
readings are teaching us the spirit of Lent and indeed of the Christian life.
On Wednesday, we learnt how to pray, fast and share our goods. On Thursday, we
learnt that in order to be a disciple we must deny our selfish and sinful
desires and embrace the values of Jesus. Today we learn that being a Christian
is not a matter of joining an organisation and following rules. Jesus is the
Bridegroom. We the community of his followers is the bride. This implies that
Jesus calls each of us to a relationship of intimacy. Bride and groom belong to
each other, share the same life, and have the same ambitions. Each one lives
and works for the other. The joys and sorrows of one are the joys and sorrows
of the other. So it should be with you and Jesus. Are you ready to cultivate
this attitude during Lent?
Saturday 16
February 2013
Readings at Mass
First reading
Isaiah
58:9-14
The Lord says this:
If you do away with the yoke,
the clenched fist, the wicked word,
if you give your bread to the hungry,
and relief to the oppressed,
your light will rise in the darkness,
and your shadows become like noon.
The Lord will always guide you,
giving you relief in desert places.
He will give strength to your bones
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water
whose waters never run dry.
You will rebuild the ancient ruins,
build up on the old foundations.
You will be called ‘Breach-mender’,
‘Restorer of ruined houses.’
If you refrain from trampling the
sabbath,
and doing business on the holy day,
if you call the Sabbath ‘Delightful’,
and the day sacred to the Lord ‘Honourable’,
if you honour it by abstaining from
travel,
from doing business and from gossip,
then shall you find your happiness in
the Lord
and I will lead you triumphant over the
heights of the land.
I will feed you on the heritage of Jacob
your father.
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
In everyday life, the love of our
neighbour comes first. We cannot see God, but we can see our neighbour. How we
treat others is how we treat God. We are to see God in everyone – they are made
in the likeness of God and loved by God. We are to love them and serve them
because God does and we are his children. We bring our life to God on Sundays.
That day we are to be the children of God – not that we are not during the
week, but on Sundays we can put aside our daily struggle to live and be his
children. It is a day to rejoice in the Lord for all he is doing for us.
Psalm
Psalm
85:1-6
Show me, Lord, your way so that I may
walk in your truth.
Turn your ear, O Lord, and give answer
for I am poor and needy.
Preserve my life, for I am faithful;
save the servant who trusts in you.
Show me, Lord, your way so that I may
walk in your truth.
You are my God, have mercy on me, Lord,
for I cry to you all the day long.
Give joy to your servant, O Lord,
for to you I lift up my soul.
Show me, Lord, your way so that I may
walk in your truth.
O Lord, you are good and forgiving,
full of love to all who call.
Give heed, O Lord, to my prayer
and attend to the sound of my voice.
Show me, Lord, your way so that I may
walk in your truth.
____________________
Gospel
Acclamation
cfPs94:8
Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word
of God!
Harden not your hearts today,
but listen to the voice of the Lord.
Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word
of God!
Or
Ezk33:11
Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word
of God!
I take pleasure, not in the death of a
wicked man
– it is the Lord who speaks –
but in the turning back of a wicked man
who changes his ways to win life.
Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word
of God!
____________________
Gospel
Luke
5:27-32
Jesus noticed a tax collector, Levi by
name, sitting by the customs house, and said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And leaving everything
he got up and followed him.
In
his honour Levi held a great reception in his house, and with them at table was
a large gathering of tax collectors and others. The Pharisees and their scribes
complained to his disciples and said, ‘Why do you eat and drink with tax
collectors and sinners?’ Jesus said to them in reply, ‘It is not those who are
well who need the doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the virtuous,
but sinners to repentance.’
Fast from Sin
Jesus sees Levi. He is a sinner who lives by exploitation
and violation of the Law. Jesus looks into his heart and sees his repentant
spirit. He calls him and Levi gets up and follows him. He leaves behind his
sinful life. If he can give a banquet for so many people then Levi is a wealthy
man. However, he leaves everything for Jesus’ sake. This is not a sacrifice but
a joy. He now has no interest in wealth but in following Jesus. We sinners can
have confidence in a God of compassion. He asks nothing of us, except to love
and to create a kingdom of love. Levi gives a banquet for Jesus but Jesus is
the one who invites him to the banquet with God. Are you ready to get up, leave
your sin, and follow Jesus this Lent? Do you despise ‘sinners’ like the
Pharisees?
Tuesday 26
February 2013
Readings at Mass
____________________
First reading
Isaiah
1:10,16-20
Hear the word of the Lord,
you rulers of Sodom;
listen to the command of our God,
you people of Gomorrah.
‘Wash, make yourselves clean.
Take your wrong-doing out of my sight.
Cease to do evil.
Learn to do good,
search for justice,
help the oppressed,
be just to the orphan,
plead for the widow.
‘Come now, let us talk this over,
says the Lord.
Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.
‘If you are willing to obey,
you shall eat the good things of the
earth.
But if you persist in rebellion,
the sword shall eat you instead.’
The prophets constantly stress
that true religion involves justice and sharing. Justice involves giving to
people what is their right to have. The first right that everyone has is the
right to respect and dignity. They have a right to a sufficient share in this
world’s goods. The world has been given to everyone and not just to a few. However
the world’s wealth is in the hands of a few while the majority are deprived. We
are not only to practice justice but also to work for justice. Likewise we are
to share what we have with those who do not have. It is the teaching of the
Bible that what we do not need, we do not own and must share with others.
Psalm
Psalm
49:8-9,16-17,21,23
I will show God’s salvation to the
upright.
‘I find no fault with your sacrifices,
your offerings are always before me.
I do not ask more bullocks from your
farms,
nor goats from among your herds.
I will show God’s salvation to the
upright.
‘But how can you recite my commandments
and take my covenant on your lips,
you who despise my law
and throw my words to the winds,
I will show God’s salvation to the
upright.
‘You do this, and should I keep silence?
Do you think that I am like you?
A sacrifice of thanksgiving honours me
and I will show God’s salvation to the
upright.’
I will show God’s salvation to the
upright.
____________________
Gospel
Acclamation
Mt4:17
Glory and praise to you, O Christ!
Repent, says the Lord,
for the kingdom of heaven is close at
hand.
Glory and praise to you, O Christ!
Or
Ezk18:31
Glory and praise to you, O Christ!
Shake off all your sins – it is the
Lord who speaks –
and make yourselves a new heart and a
new spirit.
Glory and praise to you, O Christ!
____________________
Gospel
Matthew
23:1-12
Addressing the people and his disciples
Jesus said, ‘The scribes and the Pharisees occupy the chair of Moses. You must
therefore do what they tell you and listen to what they say; but do not be
guided by what they do: since they do not practise what they preach. They tie
up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but will they lift a finger
to move them? Not they! Everything they do is done to attract attention, like
wearing broader phylacteries and longer tassels, like wanting to take the place
of honour at banquets and the front seats in the synagogues, being greeted
obsequiously in the market squares and having people call them Rabbi.
‘You,
however, must not allow yourselves to be called Rabbi, since you have only one
master, and you are all brothers. You must call no one on earth your father,
since you have only one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor must you allow
yourselves to be called teachers, for you have only one Teacher, the Christ.
The greatest among you must be your servant. Anyone who exalts himself will be
humbled, and anyone who humbles himself will be exalted.’
Jesus mocks external
show
Pride is everything God is not.
Lucifer, created from nothing, claimed equality with God: “I will not serve,”
he said. Anyone who claims to be more than nothing deceives himself. The only
One who is Someone emptied himself and became a servant out of love. “The Son
of Man has not come to be served, but to serve” True disciples of Jesus
acknowledge that they are nothing and that everything they are is God’s gift.
In the community of the Church, humility must be a distinguishing mark. It may
be necessary to distinguish people’s roles with names but no one is superior to
anyone else. Your Excellency, Your Grace, My Lord are titles which we do not
find in the Gospel. The danger is that if we embrace the title we will also
embrace the mentality that goes with it. Do you show deep respect for everyone
in the Church?
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