Monday - February 27, 2023
“Fasting cleanses the soul, raises the mind, subjects one’s flesh to the spirit, renders the heart contrite and humble, scatters the clouds of concupiscence, quenches the fire of lust, kindles the true light of chastity.”
--St. Augustine
TODAY'S READINGS
Monday of the First Week of Lent
Lectionary: 224
Reading I
The LORD said to Moses,
"Speak to the whole assembly of the children of Israel and tell them:
Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy.
"You shall not steal.
You shall not lie or speak falsely to one another.
You shall not swear falsely by my name,
thus profaning the name of your God.
I am the LORD.
"You shall not defraud or rob your neighbor.
You shall not withhold overnight the wages of your day laborer.
You shall not curse the deaf,
or put a stumbling block in front of the blind,
but you shall fear your God.
I am the LORD.
"You shall not act dishonestly in rendering judgment.
Show neither partiality to the weak nor deference to the mighty,
but judge your fellow men justly.
You shall not go about spreading slander among your kin;
nor shall you stand by idly when your neighbor's life is at stake.
I am the LORD.
"You shall not bear hatred for your brother in your heart.
Though you may have to reprove him,
do not incur sin because of him.
Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your fellow countrymen.
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
I am the LORD."
Responsorial Psalm
R. (John 6:63b) Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul.
The decree of the LORD is trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple.
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
The precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart.
The command of the LORD is clear,
enlightening the eye.
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;
The ordinances of the LORD are true,
all of them just.
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
Let the words of my mouth and the thought of my heart
find favor before you,
O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
Verse Before the Gospel
Praise to you O Christ, King of eternal glory
Behold, now is a very acceptable time;
behold, now is the day of salvation.
Praise to you O Christ, King of eternal glory
Gospel
Jesus said to his disciples:
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory,
and all the angels with him,
he will sit upon his glorious throne,
and all the nations will be assembled before him.
And he will separate them one from another,
as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
Then the king will say to those on his right,
'Come, you who are blessed by my Father.
Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
For I was hungry and you gave me food,
I was thirsty and you gave me drink,
a stranger and you welcomed me,
naked and you clothed me,
ill and you cared for me,
in prison and you visited me.'
Then the righteous will answer him and say,
'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you,
or thirsty and give you drink?
When did we see you a stranger and welcome you,
or naked and clothe you?
When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?'
And the king will say to them in reply,
'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did
for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.'
Then he will say to those on his left,
'Depart from me, you accursed,
into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels.
For I was hungry and you gave me no food,
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
a stranger and you gave me no welcome,
naked and you gave me no clothing,
ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.'
Then they will answer and say,
'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty
or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison,
and not minister to your needs?'
He will answer them, 'Amen, I say to you,
what you did not do for one of these least ones,
you did not do for me.'
And these will go off to eternal punishment,
but the righteous to eternal life."
******************************
Moving Closer to Heaven as Sheep
Today’s first reading expands upon a portion of the Ten Commandments — the commandments about loving others, not about loving God. If we don’t love others, we don’t love God.
Why? Because he cares about everyone, even the worst of the worst. If we truly love him, we care about those whom he loves: everyone, even those who reject the truth about him, even those who reject us and cause us to suffer.
Jesus tells us in today’s Gospel passage that what we do to others we are actually doing to him. Why? Because he united himself to every sinner — even the most terrible sinners — when he came to earth as one of us and then offered himself as a sacrifice on the cross for our sins.
The worst of the worst people in our lives are the “least of these” whom we are to treat the way we’d like to treat Jesus, even if they don’t acknowledge what Jesus did for them.
Our love for others is our love for God. When we lie or speak falsely, we’re lying to Christ as he hangs on the cross. When we break a promise to a child, we profane the name of God, who is the Promise Keeper.
When we curse someone who cannot hear us or when we speak ill of others behind their backs, God hears us and takes it personally. When we make the blind stumble (for example, causing a sinner to sin more), God sees and holds us accountable.
When we judge others unfairly as if we knew everything about their hearts and motives, we judge God, who is the Judge. When we slander and complain about our relatives or ex-spouses, we slander God.
If we ignore our neighbor who is suffering when we are capable of helping, we turn our backs on the Lord who suffered tremendously.
When we recognize that someone is sinning, it’s right to try to reprove him, but if we prove our hatred for him by retaliating or holding a grudge, we are hating God, who is the Giver of Mercy.
And since we are to love our neighbors as ourselves, whenever we’re unkind to ourselves, we’re being cruel to God.
When we choose not to do good to others, we are refusing to do good to Jesus, and thus we become the accursed “goats” who are separated from him. Love means DOing something good for others and thus also for Jesus. The “sheep” in the story did good deeds — actions of caring — even to those who deserved it least.
One reason why DOing is so important is because it converts our feelings. It’s hard to hold a grudge while doing an act of kindness.
Today's Prayer
Lord, help me to recognize Your presence in those people I most want to avoid. Help me to willingly give myself without hesitation. Amen.
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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