Friday - March 26, 2021
“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, 2021
Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Lectionary: 255
Reading 1
I hear the whisperings of many:
“Terror on every side!
Denounce! let us denounce him!”
All those who were my friends
are on the watch for any misstep of mine.
“Perhaps he will be trapped; then we can prevail,
and take our vengeance on him.”
But the LORD is with me, like a mighty champion:
my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph.
In their failure they will be put to utter shame,
to lasting, unforgettable confusion.
O LORD of hosts, you who test the just,
who probe mind and heart,
Let me witness the vengeance you take on them,
for to you I have entrusted my cause.
Sing to the LORD,
praise the LORD,
For he has rescued the life of the poor
from the power of the wicked!
Responsorial Psalm
R. (see 7) In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.
I love you, O LORD, my strength,
O LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer.
R. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.
My God, my rock of refuge,
my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold!
Praised be the LORD, I exclaim,
and I am safe from my enemies.
R. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.
The breakers of death surged round about me,
the destroying floods overwhelmed me;
The cords of the nether world enmeshed me,
the snares of death overtook me.
R. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.
In my distress I called upon the LORD
and cried out to my God;
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.
R. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.
Verse before the Gospel
Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life;
you have the words of everlasting life.
Gospel
The Jews picked up rocks to stone Jesus.
Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from my Father.
For which of these are you trying to stone me?”
The Jews answered him,
“We are not stoning you for a good work but for blasphemy.
You, a man, are making yourself God.”
Jesus answered them,
“Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, ‘You are gods”‘?
If it calls them gods to whom the word of God came,
and Scripture cannot be set aside,
can you say that the one
whom the Father has consecrated and sent into the world
blasphemes because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?
If I do not perform my Father’s works, do not believe me;
but if I perform them, even if you do not believe me,
believe the works, so that you may realize and understand
that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”
Then they tried again to arrest him;
but he escaped from their power.
He went back across the Jordan
to the place where John first baptized, and there he remained.
Many came to him and said,
“John performed no sign,
but everything John said about this man was true.”
And many there began to believe in him.
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Why Do You have Faith in Jesus?
Why do you have faith in Jesus? Early in his ministry, Jesus said: "By their fruits you will know them" (see Matt. 7:16-20). As he drew near to Calvary, he said, "By the fruits of my ministry you will know me" (today's Gospel passage). People won't put their faith in something that doesn't produce good fruits, or in other words, doesn't seem valuable.
Consider those around you who don't believe in Jesus or who don't go to church -- they have not yet discovered the value of having an active faith life.
What value do you see in Jesus? In the Eucharist? Many people are Catholics only because their parents were Catholic. All church-goers have their reasons for claiming to be Christian, but if it's not changing their lives into the image of Christ, something's missing. They are not living in faith. Even though they go to Mass, they haven't discovered the value of receiving the Eucharist and uniting themselves to the Body of Christ.
Our faith is often tested in order to expose whether or not we truly believe in Jesus and want to be like him. The test happens when we're persecuted for our faith or when God seems to let us down. In the face of adversity or when God doesn't make sense, why do we cling to our relationships with Jesus? When representatives of the Church do scandalous evils or when church is made boring and uninvolving, why do we continue to celebrate the Catholic faith?
Your answer reveals the value of your faith. That's your testimony! This is what will help non-believers discover the fruits that prove that Jesus is real and that he's a good and loving God.
Our faith grows when we examine why we follow Jesus. What are the fruits in your life that are evidence of his love for you? What signs of his goodness have you seen? In the midst of trials that threaten the stability of your faith, by recalling these fruits, you will strengthen your trust in God and lead others to him. This spiritual exercise puts our eyes back on Jesus instead of on the problems that obscure our view of him.
Do the people around you ask you to pray for them? Do they seek you out because they know that you care? Do they enjoy your visits? Do they seek your advice? Why are they putting their faith in you? It's because of the fruits of your faith that they see in your life! They've noticed that your faith helps you deal with problems. Your example sheds the light of Christ onto their difficult situations; it makes them wonder if they can experience the same inner peace.
When their need becomes greater than their pride, they will seek your spiritual help. However, it's not you they're putting their faith in. It's the Jesus in you.
A true evangelist is not necessarily one who's an expert in apologetics and Church doctrine, but one whose faith is based on real life experiences and who enjoys relating it to the needs of others.
Today's Prayer
Jesus, forgive me for the times that I was not a living witness to Your goodness and Your active presence in the world. Grant me the grace to be a bold witness to Your work in my life and in the world. Amen.
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The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”
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