March 24, 2022 Thursday of the Third Week of Lent

 2022년 3월 24일 사순 제3주간 목요일  

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

<이 민족은 주 그들의 하느님의 말씀을 듣지 않은 민족이다.>

제1독서

예레미야서. 7,23-28
주님께서 이렇게 말씀하신다.
“나는 내 백성에게 23 이런 명령을 내렸다.
‘내 말을 들어라. 나는 너희 하느님이 되고 너희는 내 백성이 될 것이다.
내가 너희에게 명령하는 길만 온전히 걸어라. 그러면 너희가 잘될 것이다.’
24 그러나 그들은 순종하지도 귀를 기울이지도 않고,
제멋대로 사악한 마음을 따라 고집스럽게 걸었다.
그들은 앞이 아니라 뒤를 향하였다.
25 너희 조상들이 이집트 땅에서 나온 날부터 오늘에 이르기까지
나는 내 모든 종들, 곧 예언자들을 날마다 끊임없이 그들에게 보냈다.
26 그런데도 그들은 나에게 순종하거나 귀를 기울이지 않고,
오히려 목을 뻣뻣이 세우고 자기네 조상들보다 더 고약하게 굴었다.
27 네가 그들에게 이 모든 말씀을 전하더라도 그들은 네 말을 듣지 않을 것이고,
그들을 부르더라도 응답하지 않을 것이다.
28 그러므로 너는 그들에게 이렇게 말하여라.
‘이 민족은 주 그들의 하느님의 말씀을 듣지 않고
훈계를 받아들이지 않은 민족이다.
그들의 입술에서 진실이 사라지고 끊겼다.’”

복음

<내 편에 서지 않는 자는 나를 반대하는 자다.>

 루카. 11,14-23 

그때에 14 예수님께서 벙어리 마귀를 쫓아내셨는데,
마귀가 나가자 말을 못하는 이가 말을 하게 되었다.
그러자 군중이 놀라워하였다.
15 그러나 그들 가운데 몇 사람은,
“저자는 마귀 우두머리 베엘제불의 힘을 빌려
마귀들을 쫓아낸다.” 하고 말하였다.
16 다른 사람들은 예수님을 시험하느라고,
하늘에서 내려오는 표징을 그분께 요구하기도 하였다.
17 예수님께서는 그들의 생각을 아시고 이렇게 말씀하셨다.
“어느 나라든지 서로 갈라서면 망하고 집들도 무너진다.
18 사탄도 서로 갈라서면 그의 나라가 어떻게 버티어 내겠느냐?
그런데도 너희는 내가 베엘제불의 힘을 빌려 마귀들을 쫓아낸다고 말한다.
19 내가 만일 베엘제불의 힘을 빌려 마귀들을 쫓아낸다면,
너희의 아들들은 누구의 힘을 빌려 마귀들을 쫓아낸다는 말이냐?
그러니 바로 그들이 너희의 재판관이 될 것이다.
20 그러나 내가 하느님의 손가락으로 마귀들을 쫓아내는 것이면,
하느님의 나라가 이미 너희에게 와 있는 것이다.
21 힘센 자가 완전히 무장하고 자기 저택을 지키면
그의 재산은 안전하다.
22 그러나 더 힘센 자가 덤벼들어 그를 이기면,
그자는 그가 의지하던 무장을 빼앗고
저희끼리 전리품을 나눈다.
23 내 편에 서지 않는 자는 나를 반대하는 자고,
나와 함께 모아들이지 않는 자는 흩어 버리는 자다.”

March 24, 2022

Thursday of the Third 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

jer 7:23-28

Thus says the LORD: 
This is what I commanded my people:
Listen to my voice;
then I will be your God and you shall be my people.
Walk in all the ways that I command you,
so that you may prosper.

But they obeyed not, nor did they pay heed.
They walked in the hardness of their evil hearts
and turned their backs, not their faces, to me.
From the day that your fathers left the land of Egypt even to this day,
I have sent you untiringly all my servants the prophets.
Yet they have not obeyed me nor paid heed;
they have stiffened their necks and done worse than their fathers.
When you speak all these words to them,
they will not listen to you either;
when you call to them, they will not answer you.
Say to them:
This is the nation that does not listen
to the voice of the LORD, its God,
or take correction.
Faithfulness has disappeared;
the word itself is banished from their speech. 

Responsorial Psalm

ps 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9

R. (8) If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;
let us acclaim the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us joyfully sing psalms to him.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us bow down in worship;
let us kneel before the LORD who made us.
For he is our God,
and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Oh, that today you would hear his voice:
“Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
as in the day of Massah in the desert,
Where your fathers tempted me;
they tested me though they had seen my works.”
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts. 

Gospel

lk 11:14-23

Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute,
and when the demon had gone out,
the mute man spoke and the crowds were amazed.
Some of them said, “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons,
he drives out demons.”
Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven.
But he knew their thoughts and said to them,
“Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste
and house will fall against house.
And if Satan is divided against himself, 
how will his kingdom stand?
For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons.
If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul,
by whom do your own people drive them out?
Therefore they will be your judges.
But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons,
then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.
When a strong man fully armed guards his palace,
his possessions are safe.
But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him,
he takes away the armor on which he relied
and distributes the spoils.
Whoever is not with me is against me,
and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”

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

 

 Imagine standing in a crowd while Jesus cures a man who is mute by casting out a demon that had caused the malady. The men next to you at once begin to shout, “he drives out demons by the power of the prince of demons.” Jesus reasons with the hecklers pointing out that the evil one wanted this man to suffer; Jesus reversed this condition, and the man spoke. If Jesus were “in league with the devil” would he do good? He would not; he could not. Jesus healed in the name of God. “The kingdom of God is upon you,” he said. He added, “whoever is not with me is against me.” By extension, whoever is not with the evil one is against the evil one.

Miracles continue to occur in our times. We often “harden our hearts” and let the anxieties caused by our environment to prevail. We will not even be open to the works of God that are so clearly revealed to us. I ask myself, how I would react if I were in a crowd that saw Jesus curing a person? Would I at once jump into the fray on the negative side of the argument? People were on edge and anxious. Would I shout “hoax, a trick, the work of the evil one!” at Jesus? Crowds, once moving in a negative direction, tend to draw by standers along. Crowds have not changed too much in our time.

During lent, I have considered how God moves in my life. On reflection, I find that I do not wait for a miracle to “force” me to notice God. I believe that God surrounds all of us with miracles; I thank God for them. I am certain that God is reflected in miraculous ways in all things. I have become increasingly aware that the limitless scope and complexity of our surroundings provide a path to the divine. If we consider that life itself exists in any being, we are aware of something miraculous.

The focus of the Gospel for today is the cure of a man who was mute. St. Luke, who seems to have been a physician, was aware that there was not a cure for the man’s condition. He tells us that Jesus cured the man by casting out a demon; the man then spoke. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, could cure miraculously. He encountered a manifest state of chaos and imposed order. He removed suffering and brought peace to the afflicted. Why did the crowd react with taunts and jeers? Were they (and are we) unwilling to be aware of God’s gifts and our inherent debt to Him? Are we willing to attribute more power to the devil than to God? I feel and see the majesty of God in our wondrous surroundings, and in each other. Listen and observe and we will hear the voice of our God even in the stillness and the seeming emptiness of deep prayer. Harden not your hearts, for He is our God.

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

SATAN-BUSTERS

“When someone stronger than he comes and overpowers him, such a one carries off the arms on which he was relying and divides the spoils.” —Luke 11:22

Lent is the imitation of Jesus’ forty days in the desert where He overcame the temptations of Satan and cast him out (Mt 4:3-11). We should not only imitate Jesus in resisting temptation but also in driving Satan out. Furthermore, we should disarm and despoil Satan (Lk 11:22) and bring down his strongholds (2 Cor 10:4), especially through use of the weapons of prayer and fasting (Mt 17:21, NAB; Gospel of Life, 100).

Satan should be trying to hide from us because he knows we’re “out to get him” by the power of Jesus. Yet most Christians aren’t “out to get Satan” because they don’t realize the extent of their authority over him. Imagine a highway patrolman stopping a driver for speeding and also finding drugs in the car. What if the patrolman just wrote out a speeding ticket but failed to arrest the driver and confiscate the drugs! That patrolman would have failed to fully use his authority.

Many Christians are like that! We resist the devil and may even expel him, but God has given us the weapons to do much more. In the name of Christ and by His power, we can attack the gates of hell (Mt 16:18), disarm and despoil Satan, bring down his strongholds, make a public spectacle of him (Col 2:15), quickly crush him (Rm 16:20), and put him at Jesus’ feet (Heb 10:13).

Prayer:  Father, may I fully use all the weapons You have given me to triumph over Satan.

Promise:  “Walk in all the ways that I command you, so that you may prosper.” —Jer 7:23

Praise:  Pablo overcame his addiction by praying the St. Michael prayer whenever he was tempted.

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

 

 What is the best protection which brings lasting security to our lives? Scripture tells us that true peace and security come to those who trust in God and obey his word. "Obey my voice and walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you" (Jeremiah 7:23). The struggle between choosing to do good or evil, yielding to my will or God's will, God's way or my way, cannot be won by human strength or will-power alone. Our enemy, the devil, conspires with the "world" (whatever is opposed to God and his truth and righteousness) and our "flesh" (whatever inclines us to yield to hurtful desires and wrongdoing), to draw us away from the peace, joy, and security which God provides for those who put their trust in him.

Peter the Apostles tells us, Our adversary, the devil prowls the earth seeking the ruin of souls (1 Peter 5:8-9). The devil is opposed to God and he seeks to draw us away from God's plan and will for our lives. God offers us grace (his merciful help and strength) and protection (from Satan's lies and deception) if we are willing to obey his word and resist the devil's lies and temptations. Because you have made the Lord your refuge, the Most High your habitation, no evil shall befall you, no scourge come near your tent. For he will give his angels charge of you to guard you in all your ways (Psalm 91:9-11). The Lord offers us the peace and security of his kingdom which lasts forever and which no other power can overcome.

God's kingdom brings healing and freedom from the destructive forces of sin and Satan
Jesus' numerous exorcisms brought freedom to many who were troubled and oppressed by the work of evil spirits. Jesus himself encountered personal opposition and battled with Satan when he was put to the test in the wilderness just before his public ministry (Luke 4:1-13). He overcame the evil one through his obedience to the will of his Father. Some of the Jewish leaders reacted vehemently to Jesus' healings and exorcisms and they opposed him with malicious slander. How could he get the power and authority to release individuals from Satan's power? They assumed that he had to be in league with Satan. They attributed his power to Satan rather than to God.

Jesus answers their charge with two arguments. There were many exorcists among the Jews in Jesus' time. So Jesus retorted by saying that they also incriminate their own kin who cast out demons. If they condemn Jesus they also condemn themselves. In his second argument he asserts that no kingdom divided against itself can survive for long? We have witnessed enough civil wars in our own time to prove the destructive force at work here for the annihilation of whole peoples and their land. If Satan lends his power against his own forces then he is finished. How can a strong person be defeated except by someone who is stronger? Jesus asserted his power and authority to cast out demons as a clear demonstration of the reign of God.

Jesus' reference to the finger of God points back to Moses' confrontation with Pharoah and his magicians who represented Satan and the kingdom of darkness (see Exodus 8:19). Jesus claims to be carrying on the tradition of Moses whose miracles freed the Israelites from bondage by the finger of God. God's power is clearly at work in the exorcisms which Jesus performed and they give evidence that God's kingdom has come.

Is Jesus the Master of your life?
Jesus makes it clear that there are no neutral parties. We are either for Jesus or against him, for the kingdom of God or against it. There are two kingdoms in opposition to one another - the kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness under the rule of Satan. If we disobey God's word, we open to door to the power of sin and Satan in our lives. If you want to live in freedom from sin and Satan, then your "house" - your life and possessions (all that you rely upon for livelihood, peace, and security) - must be occupied by Jesus where he is enthroned as Lord and Savior. Is the Lord Jesus the Master of your home, heart, mind, and will?

O Lord, our God, grant us, we beseech you, patience in troubles, humility in comforts, constancy in temptations, and victory over all our spiritual foes. Grant us sorrow for our sins, thankfulness for your benefits, fear of your judgment, love of your mercies, and mindfulness of your presence; now and for ever. (Prayer by John Cosin)

Psalm 95:1-2,6-9

1 O come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
6 O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!
7 For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. O that today you would hearken to his voice!
8 Harden not your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
9 when your fathers tested me, and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.

Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: God's help for our complete conversion, by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

"When we transform our old life and give our spirit a new image, we find it very hard and tiring to turn back from the darkness of earthly passions to the serene calm of the divine light. We must ask God to help us that a complete conversion may be brought about in us." (excerpt from Commentary on Psalm 6,5)

  

More Homilies

March 11, 2021 Thursday of the Third Week of Lent