Saturday - March 30, 2019
“The Eucharist is the secret of my day. It gives strength and meaning to all my activities of service to the Church and to the world.”
--Pope Saint John Paul II
“The Eucharist is the secret of my day. It gives strength and meaning to all my activities of service to the Church and to the world.”
--Pope Saint John Paul II
March 30 2019
Saturday of the Third Week of Lent
Lectionary: 242
Reading 1HOS 6:1-6
"Come, let us return to the LORD,
it is he who has rent, but he will heal us;
he has struck us, but he will bind our wounds.
He will revive us after two days;
on the third day he will raise us up,
to live in his presence.
Let us know, let us strive to know the LORD;
as certain as the dawn is his coming,
and his judgment shines forth like the light of day!
He will come to us like the rain,
like spring rain that waters the earth."
What can I do with you, Ephraim?
What can I do with you, Judah?
Your piety is like a morning cloud,
like the dew that early passes away.
For this reason I smote them through the prophets,
I slew them by the words of my mouth;
For it is love that I desire, not sacrifice,
and knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
it is he who has rent, but he will heal us;
he has struck us, but he will bind our wounds.
He will revive us after two days;
on the third day he will raise us up,
to live in his presence.
Let us know, let us strive to know the LORD;
as certain as the dawn is his coming,
and his judgment shines forth like the light of day!
He will come to us like the rain,
like spring rain that waters the earth."
What can I do with you, Ephraim?
What can I do with you, Judah?
Your piety is like a morning cloud,
like the dew that early passes away.
For this reason I smote them through the prophets,
I slew them by the words of my mouth;
For it is love that I desire, not sacrifice,
and knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
Responsorial PsalmPS 51:3-4, 18-19, 20-21AB
R. (see Hosea 6:6) It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
R. It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.
For you are not pleased with sacrifices;
should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it.
My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
R. It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.
Be bountiful, O LORD, to Zion in your kindness
by rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem;
Then shall you be pleased with due sacrifices,
burnt offerings and holocausts.
R. It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
R. It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.
For you are not pleased with sacrifices;
should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it.
My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
R. It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.
Be bountiful, O LORD, to Zion in your kindness
by rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem;
Then shall you be pleased with due sacrifices,
burnt offerings and holocausts.
R. It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.
Verse Before The GospelPS 95:8
If today you hear his voice,
harden not your hearts.
harden not your hearts.
GospelLK 18:9-14
Jesus addressed this parable
to those who were convinced of their own righteousness
and despised everyone else.
"Two people went up to the temple area to pray;
one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector.
The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself,
'O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity —
greedy, dishonest, adulterous — or even like this tax collector.
I fast twice a week,
and I pay tithes on my whole income.'
But the tax collector stood off at a distance
and would not even raise his eyes to heaven
but beat his breast and prayed,
'O God, be merciful to me a sinner.'
I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former;
for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled,
and the one who humbles himself will be exalted."
to those who were convinced of their own righteousness
and despised everyone else.
"Two people went up to the temple area to pray;
one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector.
The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself,
'O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity —
greedy, dishonest, adulterous — or even like this tax collector.
I fast twice a week,
and I pay tithes on my whole income.'
But the tax collector stood off at a distance
and would not even raise his eyes to heaven
but beat his breast and prayed,
'O God, be merciful to me a sinner.'
I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former;
for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled,
and the one who humbles himself will be exalted."
******************************
The Healing Shadow of Jesus
When is a saint not a sinner? Certainly not when he thinks he's guiltless!
A saint is anyone who has chosen to follow Jesus to heaven. We are all saints! However, Jesus points out in this Saturday's Gospel reading that there's pride in claiming to do all the right things and using this to prove that we are righteous. A truly holy person knows that he or she can be tempted to sin and continually relies on strength from the Holy Spirit while putting energy into a real effort to be holy.
So let me rephrase the question: When is a saint living out his true identity instead of living like a sinner? When he repents, of course.
In Saturday's first reading, we can identify with the affliction as well as with the desire to return to God: Until we're healed by his forgiveness, we're afflicted with the sorrow and regret of realizing how easily we stumble on our journey of faith. We want to be godly, and so, if we really take an honest look at how unlike Jesus we sometimes are, we feel wretched. We dislike ourselves. We're disappointed with ourselves.
Such feelings are too uncomfortable to live. So how do we cope? Most of us stop thinking about our wretchedness.
This is why Saturday confession lines in church are short. We'd rather live in the illusion that we don't need the Sacrament of Reconciliation than feel the affliction of our wretchedness.
However, the fact is, God doesn't look at us and see ugly wretches. No, when he looks at us, he sees Jesus on the cross in his affliction. Remember, Jesus substituted himself for us. He who never sinned took our sins upon himself.
By placing ourselves behind Jesus, we have a great advantage! When God our Father looks at us, it is through the filter of Christ's blood. He recognizes us as a holy child who wants to be free of sin. And so he is very pleased with us.
So be the saint that you truly are by choosing to rise above the daily weaknesses that make you vulnerable to temptation. Choose to rely on the Holy Spirit for strength. And in the midst of falling prey to sin, rather than feel ashamed of your guilt, put your faith in Jesus on the cross. Look up at Jesus and thank him for taking your punishment.
Then, step into the confessional and ask Jesus to give you the power of his Holy Spirit to overcome your sins and to avoid them in the future.
And then, step into Mass fully aware of how easily you sin and receive God's forgiveness in the Penitential Rite that the priest leads us through soon after the celebration begins.
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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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