Friday - March 09, 2018
"Lent stimulates us to let the Word of God penetrate our life and in this way to know the fundamental truth: who we are, where we come from, where we must go, what path we must take in life..."
-- Pope Benedict XVI
March 9, 2018
Friday of the Third Week of Lent
Lectionary: 241
Reading 1HOS 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.
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 PsalmPS 81:6C-8A, 8BC-9, 10-11AB, 14 AND 17
R. (see 11 and 9a) 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.
the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.
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.
Verse Before The GospelMT 4:17
Repent, says the Lord;the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.
GospelMK 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.
"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.
------------------------------
TO LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR, FIRST LOVE YOURSELF
All of Jesus' teachings can be summed up in today's Gospel passage: "Love God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength, and love your neighbor as yourself."
When we love God fully, we can't help but love everyone else -- even the "neighbors" who make our lives difficult.
Think of the person you love the most. Is it the one who's the easiest to serve? Do you enjoy doing good deeds for him or her? This generous love is a reflection of your love for God.
Now think of the person you love the least. Is it someone you want to refuse to serve because of how he or she has hurt you? This is also a reflection of your love -- or lack of it -- for God.
Jesus never said that we have to enjoy doing good to our enemies. Hey, he didn't like being whipped and manhandled and jabbed and mocked and crucified, but that didn't stop him from offering himself as a sacrifice for you and for me and for the people we dislike. Since he did that for us, can we at least do small deeds of goodness that are no fun to do?
Mercy means choosing to do good whether we like it or not. To love with our whole heart, soul, mind and strength means choosing to let nothing prevent us from doing good, no matter how we might actually feel about it.
Love is not always a nice feeling. But love is always a choice that brings us into unity with the One Who Is Love.
As noted in today's first reading, on our journey of holiness we stumble in our treatment of others and sin. Then, when we ask God to forgive our iniquity, we blossom spiritually like beautiful lilies and we bear good fruit.
However, we are not capable of loving others more than we love ourselves. Jesus said, "Love your neighbor as you love yourself." Loving ourselves and doing good for our own selves (to get our needs met) gives us the confidence and freedom that we need in order to do good to others, especially when life is difficult.
Low self-esteem is not God's plan for you. Let him heal your wounded heart. Let him correct bad messages that have cut you down. Let him point out your goodness and giftedness. Spend time observing yourself through his eyes. Pay attention to how much he appreciates you. He sees your goodness even when you can't.
God loves you with his whole heart, his whole soul, his whole mind, and his whole strength!
-----------------------------
God Bless You.....
Rosary Family
The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”
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