March 7, 2020 Saturday of the First Week of Lent

2020년 3월 7일 사순 제1주간 토요일 

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

제1독서

<너희는 너희 주 하느님의 거룩한 백성이 되어라.>
▥ 신명기. 26,16-19
모세가 백성에게 말하였다.
16 “오늘 주 너희 하느님께서 이 규정과 법규들을 실천하라고
너희에게 명령하신다.
그러므로 너희는 마음을 다하고 목숨을 다하여
그것들을 명심하여 실천해야 한다.
17 주님을 두고 오늘 너희는 이렇게 선언하였다.
곧 주님께서 너희의 하느님이 되시고,
너희는 그분의 길을 따라 걸으며,
그분의 규정과 계명과 법규들을 지키고,
그분의 말씀을 듣겠다는 것이다.
18 그리고 주님께서는 오늘 너희를 두고 이렇게 선언하셨다.
곧 주님께서 너희에게 말씀하신 대로,
너희가 그분 소유의 백성이 되고 그분의 모든 계명을 지키며,
19 그분께서는 너희를 당신께서 만드신 모든 민족들 위에 높이 세우시어,
너희가 찬양과 명성과 영화를 받게 하시고,
너희가 주 너희 하느님께서 말씀하신 대로
그분의 거룩한 백성이 되게 하시겠다는 것이다.”
 

복음

  마태오. 5,43-48
그때에 예수님께서 제자들에게 말씀하셨다.
43 “‘네 이웃을 사랑해야 한다.
그리고 네 원수는 미워해야 한다.’고
이르신 말씀을 너희는 들었다.
44 그러나 나는 너희에게 말한다.
너희는 원수를 사랑하여라.
그리고 너희를 박해하는 자들을 위하여 기도하여라.
45 그래야 너희가 하늘에 계신 너희 아버지의 자녀가 될 수 있다.
그분께서는 악인에게나 선인에게나 당신의 해가 떠오르게 하시고,
의로운 이에게나 불의한 이에게나 비를 내려 주신다.
46 사실 너희가 자기를 사랑하는 이들만 사랑한다면 무슨 상을 받겠느냐?
그것은 세리들도 하지 않느냐?
47 그리고 너희가 자기 형제들에게만 인사한다면,
너희가 남보다 잘하는 것이 무엇이겠느냐?
그런 것은 다른 민족 사람들도 하지 않느냐?
48 그러므로 하늘의 너희 아버지께서 완전하신 것처럼
너희도 완전한 사람이 되어야 한다.”

March 7, 2020

Saturday 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

Dt 26:16-19

Moses spoke to the people, saying:
"This day the LORD, your God,
commands you to observe these statutes and decrees.
Be careful, then,
to observe them with all your heart and with all your soul.
Today you are making this agreement with the LORD:
he is to be your God and you are to walk in his ways
and observe his statutes, commandments and decrees,
and to hearken to his voice.
And today the LORD is making this agreement with you:
you are to be a people peculiarly his own, as he promised you;
and provided you keep all his commandments,
he will then raise you high in praise and renown and glory
above all other nations he has made,
and you will be a people sacred to the LORD, your God,
as he promised." 

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 119:1-2, 4-5, 7-8

R. (1b) Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
Blessed are they whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of the LORD.
Blessed are they who observe his decrees,
who seek him with all their heart.
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
You have commanded that your precepts
be diligently kept.
Oh, that I might be firm in the ways
of keeping your statutes!
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
I will give you thanks with an upright heart,
when I have learned your just ordinances.
I will keep your statutes;
do not utterly forsake me.
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord! 

Gospel

Mt 5:43-48

Jesus said to his disciples:
"You have heard that it was said,
You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
But I say to you, love your enemies,
and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be children of your heavenly Father,
for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good,
and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.
For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?
Do not the tax collectors do the same?
And if you greet your brothers and sisters only,
what is unusual about that?
Do not the pagans do the same?

So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect."

http://evangeli.net/gospel/tomorrow

 «Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you»

Fr. Joan COSTA i Bou
(Barcelona, Spain)

Today's Gospel exhorts us to the most perfect love. Love is wanting to do good to others, and here lies our personal fulfillment. We do not love for our own sake, but for the sake of doing good to our neighbor, and on doing it to improve as persons. The II Vatican Council said, «human beings cannot reach their prime but by sincerely giving themselves to others». Sainte Therese of the Infant Jesus said, ‘This is making an holocaust of our life’. Love is a human vocation. Our whole behavior, to be truly human, has to be the ｅxpression of the reality of our being while fulfilling our vocation for love. As John Paul II has written, «a man, cannot live without love. He becomes incomprehensible. His life does not make sense if love is not revealed to him, if he does not find love, if he does not experience love and makes it his, if he does not intensely participate in it».

Love has its foundation and reaches its highest form in God's love in Christ. We are invited to a dialogue with God. We exist for the love of God, Who created us, and for the love of God which keeps us, «and we can only say we live in full realization of the truth when we freely recognize this love and fully trust our Creator» (II Vatican Council): this is the most important reason of its dignity. In other words, human love must remain under the custody of Divine Love, which is where it comes from, where it finds its reflection and brings it to its fullest. This is why, love, when truly human, loves with God's heart and can even embrace its foe. Otherwise, one does not truly love. To such an extent that the exigency of our giving ourselves sincerely, becomes a divine precept: «For your part you shall be righteous and perfect in the way your heavenly Father is righteous and perfect» (Mt 5:48).

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

 

When I got to the end of the Gospel reading for today, I sighed. A big sigh. Jesus doesn’t make it easy. Be perfect. Love your enemies. In a time of polarizing partisanship with name-calling and filter bubbles, I tend to wrap myself in indignation and superiority over those I consider wrong and against what I stand for. And this particular Gospel comes at a particularly opportune time as my research work is examining ways to help journalists pop those filter bubbles and get people in conflict to talk to each other more about what brings them together than what separates them. The approach is a different one for many journalists as we tend to look for problems and conflicts. What happens if we look for solutions and what we all value?

Today’s Gospel makes me think of how I need that research work to spill into the rest of my life. I am thinking: Assume good intentions of everyone. Be open to people I may not agree with. That person I work with who can put me on edge – assume good intentions when that person offers a comment or asks a question. Be the person to compromise instead of pushing to make sure I win when a compromise helps all of us. Assuming good intentions changes the dynamic. I can feel a letting go of that indignation and superiority. And it’s a good feeling.

We might not feel we have enemies, but we all engage in little battles that keep us from being open and loving. Let’s drop that chip from our shoulders. Let’s be the first to reach out. Let’s say I was wrong. Let’s assume good intentions. God, I pray help me find the grace to seek out the ways large and small where I can reduce conflict, assume good intentions and love my enemies.  

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

REIGN-Y DAYS

"He rains on the just and the unjust." �Matthew 5:45

Once a teenager deliberately disobeyed her mother's midnight curfew and tiptoed into her house several hours later. Expecting a severe conflict, she entered her bedroom to find her bed neatly made, the sheets and blankets arranged the way she liked, and her favorite candy bar on her pillow. Stunned by this ｅxpression of unexpected love, she couldn't sleep. Weeping uncontrollably, all she could do was think of how much God and her mother loved her. That night, she surrendered her heart to Jesus and asked Him to be Lord of her life. This mother was imitating God, Who pours down gentle, life-sustaining rains on those who don't deserve His love (Mt 5:45). God sustains and blesses those who hate Him. This is like a continuous flow of water over a hard rock. The water relentlessly probes the rock for a crack. It may take many years, but eventually the water will split the rock and polish it smooth. "Love never fails" (1 Cor 13:8). "There is no limit to love's forbearance, to its trust, its hope, its power to endure" (1 Cor 13:7). When we love our enemies perfectly, as our Father loves them (Mt 5:44-45), God's love will reach their hearts (Rm 12:20), even if it seems like there is no sign of change. How can we have the ability to love those who hate us? Well, God's rain also falls on us, "the just" (Mt 5:45). "The love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit" (Rm 5:5). "Receive the Holy Spirit" (Jn 20:22). "Love your enemies" (Mt 5:44). "Prove that you are" children of God (Mt 5:45).

Prayer: Father, make me perfect in love (Mt 5:48).

Promise: "Today the Lord is making this agreement with you: you are to be a people peculiarly His own." —Dt 26:18

Praise: St. Perpetua was a noblewoman of Carthage in North Africa. St. Felicity was her loyal slave and an expectant mother. Both were catechumen-martyrs.

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

 Love and pray for your enemies

Do you know the love that conquers every fear, sin, and selfish desire? God renews his love for us each and every day. His love has the power to free us from every form of evil - selfishness, greed, anger, hatred, jealously and envy. In Jesus' teaching on the law he does something quite remarkable and unheard of. He transforms the old law of justice and mercy with grace (favor) and loving-kindness.

Grace and loving-kindness
God is good to the unjust as well as the just. His love embraces saint and sinner alike. God seeks our highest good and teaches us to seek the greatest good of others, even those who hate or cause ill-will. Our love for others, including those who are ungrateful or selfish towards us, must be marked by the same kindness and mercy which God has shown to us. It is easier to show kindness and mercy when we can expect to benefit from doing so. How much harder when we can expect nothing in return. Our prayer for those who do us ill both breaks the power of revenge and releases the power of love to do good in the face of evil.

How can we possibly love as God loves and overcome evil with good? With God all things are possible. He gives power and grace to those who believe and accept the gift of the Holy Spirit. His love conquers all, even our hurts, fears, prejudices and griefs. only the cross of Jesus Christ can free us from the tyranny of malice, hatred, revenge, and resentment and gives us the courage to return evil with good. Such love and grace has power to heal and to save from destruction. Do you know the power of Christ's redeeming love and mercy?

Perfect - made whole
Was Jesus exaggerating when he said we must be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:48)? Jesus' command seems to parallel two passages from the Old Testament Scriptures. The first is where God instructed Abraham to "be perfect" or "blameless" before God (Genesis 17:1). The original meaning of "perfect" in Hebrew and the Aramaic dialect is "completeness" or "wholeness" - "not lacking in what is essential."

The second passage that seems to parallel Jesus' ｅxpression, "be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect" is the command that God gave to Moses and the people of Israel to "be holy, for I am holy" (Leviticus 11:44,45; 19:2). God made each of us in his image and likeness (Genesis 1:26,27). That is why he calls us to grow in maturity and wholeness so we can truly be like him - a people who love as he loves and who choose to do what is good and to reject what is evil and contrary to his will (Ephesians 4:13-16).

God knows our sinfulness and weaknesses better than we do - and he assures us of his love, mercy, and help. That is why he freely gives us his power, strength, and gifts so that we may not lack anything we need to do his will and to live as his sons and daughters (2 Peter 1:3). Do you want to grow in your love for God and for your neighbor? Ask the Holy Spirit to purify and transform you in the image of the Father that you may walk in the joy and freedom of the Gospel.

"Lord Jesus, your love brings freedom and pardon. Fill me with your Holy Spirit and set my heart ablaze with your love that nothing may make me lose my temper, ruffle my peace, take away my joy, nor make me bitter towards anyone."

Psalm 119:1-8

1 Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD!
2 Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart,
3 who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways!
4 You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently.
5 O that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes!
6 Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.
7 I will praise you with an upright heart, when I learn your righteous ordinances.
8 I will observe your statutes; O forsake me not utterly!

A Daily Quote for Lent: The gift to love all people - even enemies, by Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

"Beg God for the gift to love one another. Love all people, even your enemies, not because they are your brothers and sisters but that they may become such. Love them in order that you may be at all times on fire with love, whether toward those who have become your brothers and sisters or toward your enemies, so that by being beloved they may become your brothers and sisters." (excerpt from Sermon on 1 John 10,7)

  

More Homilies

February 24, 2018 Saturday of the First Week of Lent