Saturday - March 28, 2020
"As
Lent is the time for greater love, listen to Jesus' thirst...'Repent and
believe' Jesus tells us. What are we to repent? Our indifference, our hardness
of heart. What are we to believe? Jesus thirsts even now, in your heart and in
the poor -- He knows your weakness. He wants only your love, wants only the
chance to love you."
--
Blessed Teresa of Calcutta
TODAY'S READINGS
March 28 2020
Saturday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Lectionary: 249
Reading 1JER 11:18-20
I knew their plot because the LORD informed me;
at that time you, O LORD, showed me their doings.
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.”
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!
searcher of mind and heart,
Let me witness the vengeance you take on them,
for to you I have entrusted my cause!
Responsorial Psalm7:2-3, 9BC-10, 11-12
R. (2a) 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.
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.
Verse Before The GospelLK 8:15
Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart
and yield a harvest through perseverance.
and yield a harvest through perseverance.
GospelJN 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.
“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.”
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.
******************************
Turn Your COVID-19 Cross into Redemption for Lost Souls
Comfort in the midst of suffering comes when we thank Christ for the pains he endured for our sake and then offer to him our pains, our heartaches, and all the hardships caused by the coronavirus pandemic -- with a special purpose in mind. When we offer our sufferings as a gift of solidarity with Christ's mission, we experience a comfort and even a joy that is inexplicable.
Remember, Jesus suffered so that we could be healed. That was his mission. He suffered so that we could be rescued from the destruction of our sins and have access to eternal life with our Father.
By offering our hardships to Jesus as a gift of solidarity, we discover meaning and value in our crosses.
Before COVID-19 existed, many of us looked at how sinful the world has become and wondered what God was going to do about. Some have hoped that the Second Coming of Christ would come soon and wipe evil from the Earth. If the evil has bothered us enough, we might have prayed something like the final verse of Saturday's first reading: "Let me witness the vengeance you take on them, for to you I have entrusted my cause!"
The world-wide pandemic might be God's vengeance, and if it is, it's a great gift of his mercy. God is never revengeful for the sake of getting even, nor does he take delight in seeing that evil-doers finally get what they deserve.
God's vengeance is always an act of mercy. I believe that in the world-wide COVID-19 crisis, he is saying:
"Enough! I have stopped you on your path to Hell to get your attention. I am giving you a season of Lenten penance because you are not yet penitent for rejecting Me and My ways. This is a rare blessing. Use this opportunity to seek salvation. I offer you hope and love and freedom from the misery caused by your own sinfulness. Let Me rescue you, but if you continue to reject My offer, you will continue to suffer from your self-destructive ways, and this could lead to a total and complete death."
To those of us who are followers of Christ, he says:
"This is a rare blessing for you, too. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make a bigger difference in saving souls. As you grieve the loss of receiving Me in the Holy Eucharist, grieve for those who reject Me and are turning away from the Holy Eucharist. Offer up the sacrifices that you're now enduring -- offer them for the sake of their redemption. When My people do this as a body, the devil will lose many souls."
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God Bless You.....
The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day
through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”
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