March 3, 2020 Tuesday of the First Week of Lent

2020년 3월 3일 사순 제1주간 화요일 

오늘의 복음 : http://info.catholic.or.kr/missa/default.asp 

제1독서

 이사야서. 55,10-11
주님께서 이렇게 말씀하신다.
10 “비와 눈은 하늘에서 내려와 그리로 돌아가지 않고
오히려 땅을 적시어 기름지게 하고 싹이 돋아나게 하여
씨 뿌리는 사람에게 씨앗을 주고 먹는 이에게 양식을 준다.
11 이처럼 내 입에서 나가는 나의 말도 나에게 헛되이 돌아오지 않고
반드시 내가 뜻하는 바를 이루며 내가 내린 사명을 완수하고야 만다.”

복음

 마태오. 6,7-15
그때에 예수님께서 제자들에게 말씀하셨다.
7 “너희는 기도할 때에 다른 민족 사람들처럼 빈말을 되풀이하지 마라.
그들은 말을 많이 해야 들어 주시는 줄로 생각한다.
8 그러니 그들을 닮지 마라.
너희 아버지께서는 너희가 청하기도 전에 무엇이 필요한지 알고 계신다.
9 그러므로 너희는 이렇게 기도하여라.
‘하늘에 계신 저희 아버지, 아버지의 이름을 거룩히 드러내시며
10 아버지의 나라가 오게 하시며
아버지의 뜻이 하늘에서와 같이 땅에서도 이루어지게 하소서.
11 오늘 저희에게 일용할 양식을 주시고
12 저희에게 잘못한 이를 저희도 용서하였듯이 저희 잘못을 용서하시고
13 저희를 유혹에 빠지지 않게 하시고 저희를 악에서 구하소서.’
14 너희가 다른 사람들의 허물을 용서하면,
하늘의 너희 아버지께서도 너희를 용서하실 것이다.
15 그러나 너희가 다른 사람들을 용서하지 않으면,
아버지께서도 너희의 허물을 용서하지 않으실 것이다.”

 

March 3, 2020 

Tuesday of the First Week of Lent 

Daily Readings — Audio

Daily Reflections — Video

http://www.usccb.org/bible/ 

Daily Mass : http://www.catholictv.com/shows/daily-mass 

Reading 1 

Is 55:10-11

Thus says the LORD:
Just as from the heavens
the rain and snow come down
And do not return there
till they have watered the earth,
making it fertile and fruitful,
Giving seed to the one who sows
and bread to the one who eats,
So shall my word be
that goes forth from my mouth;
It shall not return to me void,
but shall do my will,
achieving the end for which I sent it.

Responsorial Psalm 

Ps 34:4-5, 6-7, 16-17, 18-19

R. (18b) From all their distress God rescues the just.
Glorify the LORD with me,
let us together extol his name.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears. 
R. From all their distress God rescues the just.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.
R. From all their distress God rescues the just.
The LORD has eyes for the just,
and ears for their cry.
The LORD confronts the evildoers,
to destroy remembrance of them from the earth.
R. From all their distress God rescues the just.
When the just cry out, the LORD hears them,
and from all their distress he rescues them.
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted;
and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.
R. From all their distress God rescues the just.

Gospel 

Mt 6:7-15

Jesus said to his disciples:
"In praying, do not babble like the pagans,
who think that they will be heard because of their many words.
Do not be like them.
Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
"This is how you are to pray:
Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy Kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
"If you forgive men their transgressions,
your heavenly Father will forgive you.
But if you do not forgive men,
neither will your Father forgive your transgressions."

http://evangeli.net/gospel/tomorrow

 «When you pray, do not use a lot of words; your Father knows what you need»

Fr. Joaquim FAINÉ i Miralpech
(Tarragona, Spain)

Today, Jesus —the Son of God— teaches us how to behave like a son of God. A first aspect is our trust and the confidence we should have when we talk to him. But our Lord warns us: «When you pray, do not use a lot of words» (Mt 6:7). When we talk to our parents, we do not resort to complicate reasoning, nor to using a lot of words, but they simply ask for what they need. We should always know God will listen to us because God —who is also the Father— loves us and listens to us. In fact, to pray is not so much to inform God, but to ask him for all we need, as «Your Father knows what you need, even before you ask him» (Mt 6:8). We will not be good Christians if we do not pray, as a son cannot be a good son if he does not talk to his parents.

The Lord's Prayer is the prayer that Jesus himself taught us, and it is just a compendium of our Christian life. Each time we say the Lord's Prayer we let the Father to take us by the hand and we ask him what we need everyday to become a better sons of God. We need not only the material bread, but —more than that— the Celestial Bread: «Let us beg we never lack the Eucharist bread». We need also to learn to forgive and to be forgiven: «To be able to receive the forgiveness God offers us, let us to address ourselves to the Father who loves us», as it is said in the Mass in the preliminary introduction to our Lord's Prayer.

During Lent, the Church is asking us to deepen in our prayers. «The prayer, our colloquy with God, is our best treasure, because it means (...) being united to him» (Saint John Crisostom). Oh Lord! I need to learn how to pray and how to draw specific benefits for my own life. Mostly to live the virtue of charity: the prayer gives me strength to live it better every day. And this is why I ask him daily to help me to forgive not only the small troubles I may have to face from others but, also, the offensive words and attitudes and, more than that, to bear no malice to my fellow men, so that I can sincerely tell them I have forgiven from the bottom of my heart those who are in debt with me. I will be able to achieve it because God's Mother will help me at all times.

http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html

 

Over the years that I have benefitted from Fr. Gillick’s spiritual direction here at Creighton University. I have come to better understand my relationship with God in terms of trust.  Not only can God’s people trust in God, but God wants to trust us.  The first reading in Isaiah today tells us that we can trust God’s word to be a fertile and fruitful seed that will achieve God’s ends.  But it seems to me that it works because God trusts us to sow that seed and to eat of its fruits.  I think that means we must participate in a relationship with God in God’s word for it to work.

I can see the same thing in the Psalm today.  God rescues those is distress, but the Lord invites us to look to the Lord and call upon God’s name in times of fear and distress; to participate in a relationship of trust that is evidenced in radiant joy even in the midst of distress at the hands of evildoers.  In these verses, I read that we can trust that God considers the just worthy of care and will rescue us from spiritual distress.  We can trust that God hears us.  Most of us are pretty sure of that.  That is why we pray.  But our prayers shouldn’t be just about asking, they should also be about listening for instructions on how we can be rescued. 

It seems to me that Jesus makes that point clear.  We are invited to pray to God like a Father that we trust to know what we need before we ask.  And yet, it seems to me that like an earthly Father, God wants to be able to trust us to not just be on the take.  Good parenting is about building relationships with children that help them make good decisions and building trust that they will be able to do that.  The Lord’s Prayer is not just a prayer asking for our daily bread in the sense of the food we need to sustain our bodies.  I think it also is a prayer for the spiritual bread that sustains our faith.  And while God invites us to ask for rescue from the distress of temptation and our trespasses against others, Jesus is also telling us about a relationship in which God expects us to also forgive those who trespass against us.  That is probably the most difficult thing for all of us to do and I think that is why Jesus clarified that petition further.  He added a conditional.  “If” is a big word here.  “If” you forgive, you will be forgiven. “If” you do not forgive, you will not be forgiven.  I think Jesus is telling us here that the word of God is more fertile and fruitful in achieving God’s ends in this world if God can trust us to participate in a relationship of responsibility with God.  I don’t think this prayer is intended to condemn us so much as it is a frank conversation with a God who loves us, but who expects something from us.  So, the question for me today is can God trust me to help achieve God’s will for this world?  That is going to be my Lenten theme for this year.

 http://www.presentationministries.com/obob/obob.asp

STUDYING FOR THE FINAL EXAM

"Subject us not to the trial." �Matthew 6:13

The phrase in the Our Father that we commonly say, "Lead us not into temptation," can also be translated in the Greek as "Do not subject us to the final test" (see Mt 6:13, RNAB). The final test is likely a definitive test of our faith. It may involve persecution, great pressure to deny Jesus and abandon our faith, or some distress or fear which tests our faith. Jesus said that even the chosen could not withstand the great time of trial if the Father hadn't mercifully shortened the days (Mk 13:20; Mt 24:22). It's difficult to determine whether Jesus was referring to the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. or a persecution yet to come, or both. Regardless, Jesus has made it clear that the one who perseveres to the end will be saved (Lk 21:19). The clear implication is that it's possible that we might not pass the test, and might not be saved. We must not grow apathetic or complacent. Instead, we must pray always for final perseverance and beg the Father to subject us not to the trial (Mt 6:13). The prospect of an overwhelming trial is frightening, but Jesus tells us: "Do not live in fear, little flock" (Lk 12:32; see also Mk 5:36). The Good News is that "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" (Rm 10:13). Call to Jesus. There is no other name by which we may be saved (Acts 4:12). To avoid our being overcome by fear of the intensity of the trial, Jesus continually reminds us of His Second Coming. We must fix our eyes on Jesus (Heb 3:1), hold our heads high (Lk 21:28), and cry out: Maranatha! "Come, Lord Jesus!" (Rv 22:20)

Prayer: Jesus, my Savior, save us all. "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen."

Promise: "Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him." —Mt 6:8

Praise: St. Katharine Drexel gave up luxury by using a $7 million inheritance to found an order of nuns to serve underprivileged Native Americans and African-Americans

 http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/

 Your heavenly Father knows what you need

Do you believe that God's word has power to change and transform your life today? Isaiah says that God's word is like the rain and melting snow which makes the barren ground spring to life and become abundantly fertile (Isaiah 55:10-11). God's word has power to penetrate our dry barren hearts and make them springs of new life. If we let God's word take root in our heart it will transform us into the likeness of God himself and empower us to walk in his way of love and holiness.

Let God's word guide and shape the way you judge and act
God wants his word to guide and shape the way we think, act, and pray. Ambrose (339-397 AD), an early church father and bishop of Milan, wrote that the reason we should devote time for reading Scripture is to hear Christ speak to us. "Are you not occupied with Christ? Why do you not talk with him? By reading the Scriptures, we listen to Christ."

We can approach God our Father with confidence
We can approach God confidently because he is waiting with arms wide open to receive his prodigal sons and daughters. That is why Jesus gave his disciples the perfect prayer that dares to call God, Our Father. This prayer teaches us how to ask God for the things we really need, the things that matter not only for the present but for eternity as well. We can approach God our Father with confidence and boldness because the Lord Jesus has opened the way to heaven for us through his death and resurrection.

When we ask God for help, he fortunately does not give us what we deserve. Instead, God responds with grace, mercy, and loving-kindness. He is good and forgiving towards us, and he expects us to treat our neighbor the same. God has poured his love into our hearts through the gift of the Holy Spirit who has been given to us (Romans 5:5). And that love is like a refining fire - it purifies and burns away all prejudice, hatred, resentment, vengeance, and bitterness until there is nothing  left but goodness and forgiveness towards those who cause us grief or harm.

The Lord's Pray teaches us how to pray
Consider what John Cassian (360-435 AD), an early church father who lived for several years with the monks in Bethlehem and Egypt before founding a monastery in southern Gaul, wrote about the Lord's Prayer and the necessity of forgiving one another from the heart:

"The mercy of God is beyond description. While he is offering us a model prayer he is teaching us a way of life whereby we can be pleasing in his sight. But that is not all. In this same prayer he gives us an easy method for attracting an indulgent and merciful judgment on our lives. He gives us the possibility of ourselves mitigating the sentence hanging over us and of compelling him to pardon us. What else could he do in the face of our generosity when we ask him to forgive us as we have forgiven our neighbor? If we are faithful in this prayer, each of us will ask forgiveness for our own failings after we have forgiven the sins of those who have sinned against us, not only those who have sinned against our Master. There is, in fact, in some of us a very bad habit. We treat our sins against God, however appalling, with gentle indulgence - but when by contrast it is a matter of sins against us ourselves, albeit very tiny ones, we exact reparation with ruthless severity. Anyone who has not forgiven from the bottom of the heart the brother or sister who has done him wrong will only obtain from this prayer his own condemnation, rather than any mercy."

Do you treat others as you think they deserve to be treated, or do you treat them as the Lord has treated you - with mercy, steadfast love, and kindness?

"Father in heaven, you have given me a mind to know you, a will to serve you, and a heart to love you. Give me today the grace and strength to embrace your holy will and fill my heart and mind with your truth and  love that all my intentions and actions may be pleasing to you. Help me to be kind and forgiving towards my neighbor as you have been towards me."

Psalm 34:4-7, 16-19

4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.
5 Look to him, and be radiant; so your faces shall never be ashamed.
6 This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.
16 The face of the LORD is against evildoers, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
17 When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The LORD is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit.
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous; but the LORD delivers him out of them all.

A Daily Quote for Lent: Pardon your brother and sister, by Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

"Pardon, that you may be pardoned. In doing this, nothing is required of the body. It is the will that acts. You will experience no physical pain - you will have nothing less in your home. Now in truth, my brothers and sisters, you see what an evil it is that those who have been commanded to love even their enemy do not pardon a penitent brother or sister." (quote from Sermon 210,10)

  

More Homilies

February 20, 2018 Tuesday of the First Week of Lent