Wednesday - March 08, 2023
TODAY'S READINGS
Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent
Lectionary: 232
Reading I
Jer 18:18-20
The people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem said,
“Come, let us contrive a plot against Jeremiah.
It will not mean the loss of instruction from the priests,
nor of counsel from the wise, nor of messages from the prophets.
And so, let us destroy him by his own tongue;
let us carefully note his every word.”
Heed me, O LORD,
and listen to what my adversaries say.
Must good be repaid with evil
that they should dig a pit to take my life?
Remember that I stood before you
to speak in their behalf,
to turn away your wrath from them.
Responsorial Psalm 31:5-6, 14, 15-16
R. (17b) Save me, O Lord, in your kindness.
You will free me from the snare they set for me,
for you are my refuge.
Into your hands I commend my spirit;
you will redeem me, O LORD, O faithful God.
R. Save me, O Lord, in your kindness.
I hear the whispers of the crowd, that frighten me from every side,
as they consult together against me, plotting to take my life.
R. Save me, O Lord, in your kindness.
But my trust is in you, O LORD;
I say, “You are my God.”
In your hands is my destiny; rescue me
from the clutches of my enemies and my persecutors.
R. Save me, O Lord, in your kindness.
Verse Before the Gospel
I am the light of the world, says the Lord;
whoever follows me will have the light of life.
Gospel Mt 20:17-28
As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem,
he took the Twelve disciples aside by themselves,
and said to them on the way,
“Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem,
and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests
and the scribes,
and they will condemn him to death,
and hand him over to the Gentiles
to be mocked and scourged and crucified,
and he will be raised on the third day.”
Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Jesus with her sons
and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something.
He said to her, “What do you wish?”
She answered him,
“Command that these two sons of mine sit,
one at your right and the other at your left, in your kingdom.”
Jesus said in reply,
“You do not know what you are asking.
Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?”
They said to him, “We can.”
He replied,
“My chalice you will indeed drink,
but to sit at my right and at my left,
this is not mine to give
but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”
When the ten heard this,
they became indignant at the two brothers.
But Jesus summoned them and said,
“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them,
and the great ones make their authority over them felt.
But it shall not be so among you.
Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.
Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
**********************************
Embracing Your Specialness
Have
you ever had the feeling that you’ve been served enough? Not me! For years, I
would feel depressed on my birthday and on Mother’s Day, because these were the
days I was supposed to be served and yet I always ended up doing the dishes or
some other chore that served others. Even when my family treated me sweetly to
make those days special, it never felt like they served me enough.
One year I started a new tradition for celebrating my “specialness” as a person and as a mother. I decided that on any day when the focus is on me — or should be on me — I remember that every day is when God celebrates the life he has given to me and rejoices in my use of the talents he has given me. If perchance I receive special treatment from others, this is a bonus. It’s nothing more than an additional gift from God, coming to me through whomever God has chosen at that moment, like any other day of the year.
And you know what? This makes every day worth celebrating!
When others make us feel special, oh how quickly that feeling fades, doesn’t it?
We truly are happiest when we’re using our God-given talents and our unique personalities in ways that improve the lives of others. That’s because we’re fully alive in our specialness — a specialness that no one else has — when we unite with Jesus in being who we really are.
No one else ever did or ever will have what makes you you. However, the only way to experience this specialness is to use your uniqueness in ways that God designed you to use it — and that means in service to others, which glorifies God and helps his kingdom.
Otherwise, we’re like a kid who gets an enormous basket of chocolates for Easter and he tries to enjoy all of its deliciousness in one day, without sharing it. Soon, he gets sick. Where’s the fun in that?
This is why Jesus tells us in today’s Gospel passage that the greatest person is the one who serves all the rest.
Serving others doesn’t make us look good in the eyes of God — that’s not where our greatness comes from. To God, we’re already wonderful, simply because he made us each so unique, so special. Our greatness — our innate goodness put to good use — happens when we make a good difference in the world.
Today's Prayer
Create in me, Oh Lord, a spirit of humble service that seeks to glorify Your love and never allows itself be dominated by human ambitions. Amen.
The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”
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