GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY : Thursday - March 05, 2020

Thursday - March 05, 2020

TODAY'S READINGS

 

March 05 2020

 

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Thursday of the First Week in Lent
Lectionary: 227

Reading 1EST C:12, 14-16, 23-25

Queen Esther, seized with mortal anguish,
had recourse to the LORD.
She lay prostrate upon the ground, together with her handmaids,
from morning until evening, and said:
“God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, blessed are you.
Help me, who am alone and have no help but you,
for I am taking my life in my hand.
As a child I used to hear from the books of my forefathers
that you, O LORD, always free those who are pleasing to you.
Now help me, who am alone and have no one but you,
O LORD, my God.

“And now, come to help me, an orphan.
Put in my mouth persuasive words in the presence of the lion
and turn his heart to hatred for our enemy,
so that he and those who are in league with him may perish.
Save us from the hand of our enemies;
turn our mourning into gladness
and our sorrows into wholeness.”

Responsorial Psalm138:1-2AB, 2CDE-3, 7C-8

R.    (3a)  Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me.
I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart,
for you have heard the words of my mouth;
in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise;
I will worship at your holy temple
and give thanks to your name.
R.    Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me.
Because of your kindness and your truth;
for you have made great above all things
your name and your promise.
When I called, you answered me;
you built up strength within me.
R.    Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me.
Your right hand saves me.
The LORD will complete what he has done for me;
your kindness, O LORD, endures forever;
forsake not the work of your hands.
R.    Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me.

Verse Before The GospelPS 51:12A, 14A

A clean heart create for me, O God;
give me back the  joy of your salvation.

GospelMT 7:7-12

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Ask and it will be given to you;
seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds;
and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
Which one of you would hand his son a stone
when he asked for a loaf of bread,
or a snake when he asked for a fish?
If you then, who are wicked,
know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your heavenly Father give good things
to those who ask him.

“Do to others whatever you would have them do to you.
This is the law and the prophets.”

Will God Always Answer Our Prayers?

In today's Gospel passage, Jesus is assuring us that we can rely on our Father who is in heaven; we can ask for his help and it will be given to us.

To convince us of this, he reminds us of the good that we do for our children. Certainly, our Father loves us like that and even more! Of course he won't give us anything as useless as a stone when we've asked for something good (the loaf of bread).

So, why do we doubt that he's going to always give us everything we need? Why do we fear that he might not care enough about us?

Where Jesus lived, bread was baked in a shape similar to stones. His listeners probably chuckled at the idea of frying rocks for dinner. And they knew it was absurd to mistake a poisonous snake for a real meal, even though the "barbut" fish that they ate looked kind of like a serpent.

Think of snakes the next time you ask God for help. Why would Perfect Love mistakenly -- or deliberately -- substitute something harmful for something good?

Doubt creeps in because God doesn't always answer our prayers the way we want him to. We need to remind our doubting minds that he's not ignoring us. He's not too busy. He's not punishing us. He's not unkind or unloving in any way. God always gives us what he knows is best for us, at the perfect time, and in a way that benefits everyone who's affected by it.

True prayer involves giving God our love and our trust so completely that we can say, "Here's my request, Daddy. Answer it any way you choose, even if it's not the way I want it or expect it. I thank you now, before my prayer is answered, because I know you're already working on a plan that's very good."

Queen Esther knew this. That's why she could confidently pray, as we see her do in today's first reading, "Save us by your power, and help me, who am alone and have no one but you, O Lord." She was a Jew married to a pagan king who was about to destroy all the Jews in his territory. By God's power working through her, the people were saved.

We can overcome our doubts by thanking God as the Psalmist did in today's responsorial: "Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me." On the day! We don't actually see it that soon (not usually), but we know God is immediately -- that very day -- taking action to help us.

Prayer doesn't control God; prayer helps us trust God. When we don't trust God, we take matters into our own hands, and that's usually how we fall into sin. But when we remember that we can trust God, resisting sin becomes easier.

Today's PrayerPraised be to You, Lord, for Your Father's love! Give me a child's heart to trust You and to love my neighbors as You love me. Amen.

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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!”