Thursday - March 26, 2020
“You
learn to speak by speaking, to study by studying, to run by running, to work by
working, and just so, you learn to love by loving. All those who think to learn
in any other way deceive themselves.”
-St.
Francis de Sales
TODAY'S READINGS
March 26 2020
Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Lectionary: 247
Reading 1EX 32:7-14
The LORD said to Moses,
“Go down at once to your people
whom you brought out of the land of Egypt,
for they have become depraved.
They have soon turned aside from the way I pointed out to them,
making for themselves a molten calf and worshiping it,
sacrificing to it and crying out,
‘This is your God, O Israel,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt!’
The LORD said to Moses,
“I see how stiff-necked this people is.
Let me alone, then,
that my wrath may blaze up against them to consume them.
Then I will make of you a great nation.”
“Go down at once to your people
whom you brought out of the land of Egypt,
for they have become depraved.
They have soon turned aside from the way I pointed out to them,
making for themselves a molten calf and worshiping it,
sacrificing to it and crying out,
‘This is your God, O Israel,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt!’
The LORD said to Moses,
“I see how stiff-necked this people is.
Let me alone, then,
that my wrath may blaze up against them to consume them.
Then I will make of you a great nation.”
But Moses implored the LORD, his God, saying,
“Why, O LORD, should your wrath blaze up against your own people,
whom you brought out of the land of Egypt
with such great power and with so strong a hand?
Why should the Egyptians say,
‘With evil intent he brought them out,
that he might kill them in the mountains
and exterminate them from the face of the earth’?
Let your blazing wrath die down;
relent in punishing your people.
Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel,
and how you swore to them by your own self, saying,
‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky;
and all this land that I promised,
I will give your descendants as their perpetual heritage.’“
So the LORD relented in the punishment
he had threatened to inflict on his people.
“Why, O LORD, should your wrath blaze up against your own people,
whom you brought out of the land of Egypt
with such great power and with so strong a hand?
Why should the Egyptians say,
‘With evil intent he brought them out,
that he might kill them in the mountains
and exterminate them from the face of the earth’?
Let your blazing wrath die down;
relent in punishing your people.
Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel,
and how you swore to them by your own self, saying,
‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky;
and all this land that I promised,
I will give your descendants as their perpetual heritage.’“
So the LORD relented in the punishment
he had threatened to inflict on his people.
Responsorial Psalm106:19-20, 21-22, 23
(4a) Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
Our fathers made a calf in Horeb
and adored a molten image;
They exchanged their glory
for the image of a grass-eating bullock.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
They forgot the God who had saved them,
who had done great deeds in Egypt,
Wondrous deeds in the land of Ham,
terrible things at the Red Sea.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
Then he spoke of exterminating them,
but Moses, his chosen one,
Withstood him in the breach
to turn back his destructive wrath.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
Our fathers made a calf in Horeb
and adored a molten image;
They exchanged their glory
for the image of a grass-eating bullock.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
They forgot the God who had saved them,
who had done great deeds in Egypt,
Wondrous deeds in the land of Ham,
terrible things at the Red Sea.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
Then he spoke of exterminating them,
but Moses, his chosen one,
Withstood him in the breach
to turn back his destructive wrath.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
Verse Before The GospelJN 3:16
God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.
so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.
GospelJN 5:31-47
Jesus said to the Jews:
“If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is not true.
But there is another who testifies on my behalf,
and I know that the testimony he gives on my behalf is true.
You sent emissaries to John, and he testified to the truth.
I do not accept human testimony,
but I say this so that you may be saved.
He was a burning and shining lamp,
and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light.
But I have testimony greater than John’s.
The works that the Father gave me to accomplish,
these works that I perform testify on my behalf
that the Father has sent me.
Moreover, the Father who sent me has testified on my behalf.
But you have never heard his voice nor seen his form,
and you do not have his word remaining in you,
because you do not believe in the one whom he has sent.
You search the Scriptures,
because you think you have eternal life through them;
even they testify on my behalf.
But you do not want to come to me to have life.
“If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is not true.
But there is another who testifies on my behalf,
and I know that the testimony he gives on my behalf is true.
You sent emissaries to John, and he testified to the truth.
I do not accept human testimony,
but I say this so that you may be saved.
He was a burning and shining lamp,
and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light.
But I have testimony greater than John’s.
The works that the Father gave me to accomplish,
these works that I perform testify on my behalf
that the Father has sent me.
Moreover, the Father who sent me has testified on my behalf.
But you have never heard his voice nor seen his form,
and you do not have his word remaining in you,
because you do not believe in the one whom he has sent.
You search the Scriptures,
because you think you have eternal life through them;
even they testify on my behalf.
But you do not want to come to me to have life.
“I do not accept human praise;
moreover, I know that you do not have the love of God in you.
I came in the name of my Father,
but you do not accept me;
yet if another comes in his own name,
you will accept him.
How can you believe, when you accept praise from one another
and do not seek the praise that comes from the only God?
Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father:
the one who will accuse you is Moses,
in whom you have placed your hope.
For if you had believed Moses,
you would have believed me,
because he wrote about me.
But if you do not believe his writings,
how will you believe my words?”
moreover, I know that you do not have the love of God in you.
I came in the name of my Father,
but you do not accept me;
yet if another comes in his own name,
you will accept him.
How can you believe, when you accept praise from one another
and do not seek the praise that comes from the only God?
Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father:
the one who will accuse you is Moses,
in whom you have placed your hope.
For if you had believed Moses,
you would have believed me,
because he wrote about me.
But if you do not believe his writings,
how will you believe my words?”
******************************
How Bright is Your Light?
Today's Gospel reading explains that Jesus was persecuted because he spoke the truth uncompromisingly, and because his whole life was a testimony to that truth. A barometer of how well our lives reflect his is whether or not we're being persecuted. When we are truly shining as light in the darkness, those who prefer the darkness react against us. Their eyes need time to adjust.
Think of how you react when you're sleeping in a dark room and someone turns on the lights. Do you smile and say, "Thank you"? Not most of us. Startled, we react with hatred for the light, even if we know it's time to wake up.
When your life testifies to the truth of God, the light of Christ in you startles people out of their sleep. They will bury themselves deeper under the covers of their darkness, because it feels like a security blanket. But your continual light will seep through even the thickest blanket fibers.
Then, if they really want to remain in darkness, they will try to find a way to shut off your light. Stand strong but take your bright light elsewhere. Give them time to adjust their vision. Keep praying for them. Keep loving them. Eventually, the darkness will cause them to stumble and their sufferings will make them want to change.
In the meanwhile, what should we do with the sufferings we endure from persecutions? Do we want to join our persecutors in the darkness by fighting back unlovingly? Do we protect ourselves through compromise, forsaking the truth? Do we try to cope by complaining?
We will find peace and healing only by taking our complaints to God (and him alone) and by focusing on how the persecutions are uniting us to Christ.
Like Jesus, we can offer our sufferings as a sacrifice for those who live in darkness. Jesus did not overcome his persecutors by defending himself. Rather, he trusted that his sufferings would eventually conquer the darkness. We can do this, too. The love we have for our persecutors and the union we have with Jesus will make a difference. Our patient endurance will help the eyes of those in darkness to adjust to the light so that their hearts will finally accept the truth.
If you're not being persecuted for your faith, your light's not shining very brightly. But if your light is that bright, appreciate how good this is and rejoice in it! The truth is worth being persecuted for. It's a sign that your life is filled with Christ.
Today's Prayer:
Forgive me, Lord, because too often I don't reflect Your light, because I am afraid of persecution. Strengthen my will so that no one and nothing may ever stop me from testifying about Your love. Amen.
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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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