March 26, 2022 Saturday of the Fourth Week of Lent

2022년 3월 26일 사순 제3주간 토요일 

 

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

<내가 바라는 것은 희생 제물이 아니라 신의다.>

제1독서

호세아 예언서. 6,1-6
1 자, 주님께 돌아가자.
그분께서 우리를 잡아 찢으셨지만 아픈 데를 고쳐 주시고
우리를 치셨지만 싸매 주시리라.
2 이틀 뒤에 우리를 살려 주시고 사흘째 되는 날에 우리를 일으키시어
우리가 그분 앞에서 살게 되리라.
3 그러니 주님을 알자. 주님을 알도록 힘쓰자.
그분의 오심은 새벽처럼 어김없다.
그분께서는 우리에게 비처럼, 땅을 적시는 봄비처럼 오시리라.
4 에프라임아, 내가 너희를 어찌하면 좋겠느냐?
유다야, 내가 너희를 어찌하면 좋겠느냐?
너희의 신의는 아침 구름 같고
이내 사라지고 마는 이슬 같다.
5 그래서 나는 예언자들을 통하여 그들을 찍어 넘어뜨리고
내 입에서 나가는 말로 그들을 죽여 나의 심판이 빛처럼 솟아오르게 하였다.

6 정녕 내가 바라는 것은 희생 제물이 아니라 신의다.
번제물이 아니라 하느님을 아는 예지다. 

 

복음

<바리사이가 아니라 세리가 의롭게 되어 집으로 돌아갔다.>

 루카. 18,9-14
그때에 9 예수님께서는 스스로 의롭다고 자신하며
다른 사람들을 업신여기는 자들에게 이 비유를 말씀하셨다.
10 “두 사람이 기도하러 성전에 올라갔다.
한 사람은 바리사이였고 다른 사람은 세리였다.
11 바리사이는 꼿꼿이 서서 혼잣말로 이렇게 기도하였다.
‘오, 하느님! 제가 다른 사람들,
강도 짓을 하는 자나 불의를 저지르는 자나 간음을 하는 자와 같지 않고
저 세리와도 같지 않으니, 하느님께 감사드립니다.
12 저는 일주일에 두 번 단식하고 모든 소득의 십일조를 바칩니다.’
13 그러나 세리는 멀찍이 서서 하늘을 향하여
눈을 들 엄두도 내지 못하고 가슴을 치며 말하였다.
‘오, 하느님! 이 죄인을 불쌍히 여겨 주십시오.’
14 내가 너희에게 말한다.
그 바리사이가 아니라 이 세리가 의롭게 되어 집으로 돌아갔다.
누구든지 자신을 높이는 이는 낮아지고
자신을 낮추는 이는 높아질 것이다.” 

March 26, 2022

 Saturday 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

Hos 6:1-6

"Come, let us return to the LORD,
it is he who has rent, but he will heal us;
he has struck us, but he will bind our wounds.
He will revive us after two days;
on the third day he will raise us up,
to live in his presence.
Let us know, let us strive to know the LORD;
as certain as the dawn is his coming,
and his judgment shines forth like the light of day!
He will come to us like the rain,
like spring rain that waters the earth."

What can I do with you, Ephraim?
What can I do with you, Judah?
Your piety is like a morning cloud,
like the dew that early passes away.
For this reason I smote them through the prophets,
I slew them by the words of my mouth;
For it is love that I desire, not sacrifice,
and knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. 

 

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 51:3-4, 18-19, 20-21ab

R. (see Hosea 6:6) It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
R. It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.
For you are not pleased with sacrifices;
should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it.
My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
R. It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.
Be bountiful, O LORD, to Zion in your kindness
by rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem;
Then shall you be pleased with due sacrifices,
burnt offerings and holocausts.
R. It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice. 

 

Gospel

Lk 18:9-14

Jesus addressed this parable
to those who were convinced of their own righteousness
and despised everyone else.
"Two people went up to the temple area to pray;
one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector.
The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself,
'O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity - 
greedy, dishonest, adulterous - or even like this tax collector.
I fast twice a week,
and I pay tithes on my whole income.'
But the tax collector stood off at a distance
and would not even raise his eyes to heaven
but beat his breast and prayed,
'O God, be merciful to me a sinner.'
I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former;

for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled,

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

 

 Jesus here gives the example of two men who are seemingly polar opposites, and yet each of them exists to some extent in each of us – and Jesus encourages us to choose the self-admitted sinner to be more of a model for us than the self-satisfied Pharisee.  Such a preference is countercultural, counterintuitive, and simply far from logical outside of a religious context – but the Gospel is quintessentially religious, calling into question all the values of a material reality which is indeed too often and too profoundly “red in tooth and claw” (Tennyson, “In Memoriam”).

This Gospel reading’s final verse, “Everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled while the one who humbles himself shall be exalted,” generalizes this taking the road less traveled.  Jesus draws the conclusion for the parable, but that last verse invites us to be dissatisfied with the obvious and logical in every aspect of our lives, especially our religious lives, and to go beyond our past under the direction and in the strength of the Spirit whom Jesus gives us. 

And the Spirit is lovingly imaginative about where it craves to take us, dreaming dreams for our lives that we could never conceive of for ourselves. 

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

MISPLACED CONFIDENCE

“What can I do with you, Ephraim? What can I do with you, Judah?” —Hosea 6:4

The Israelite worshippers sang a hymn which expressed their confidence that God would respond favorably to their offerings and sacrifices: “He will heal us...He will bind our wounds...He will raise us up, to live in His presence...as certain as the dawn is His coming” (Hos 6:1-3). Jesus painted a similar picture in today’s Gospel reading. The Pharisee offered sacrifices of tithes, fasting, and a life of holy deeds (Lk 18:11-12). Just as his ancestors did, he prayed confidently to God, offering another splendid sacrifice of prayer and holiness. The Israelites and Pharisee in the readings were confident that God was delighted with offerings and prayers. However, God reacts to these beautiful hymns and prayers with frustration and disgust! He laments: “What can I do with you?” (Hos 6:4)

We are right to approach God confidently. The Lord approves this attitude (see 2 Cor 3:12; 5:6-8). However, when we place our confidence in the power of our own efforts to move God, we are “like a morning cloud...that early passes away” (Hos 6:4). We fade away and God is left to exclaim: “What can I do with you?” (Hos 6:4)

On the other hand, when we place all our confidence in Him and none in ourselves (Lk 18:13), then we truly have knowledge of God (Hos 6:6). Now God can say to us: “What can I do with you? I will do with you greater works than Jesus Himself did” (see Jn 14:12).

Prayer:  “O God, be merciful to me, a sinner” (Lk 18:13).

Promise:  “It is love that I desire, not sacrifice, and knowledge of God rather than holocausts.” —Hos 6:6

Praise:  Jesus set Sam free from an addiction to pornography. Now Sam is active in the fight to defend life.

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

 

 How can we know if our prayer is pleasing to God or not? The prophet Hosea, who spoke in God's name, said: "I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice" (Hosea 6:6). The prayers and sacrifices we make to God mean nothing to him if they do not spring from a heart of love for God and for one's neighbor. How can we expect God to hear our prayers if we do not approach him with humility and with a contrite heart that seeks mercy and forgiveness? We stand in constant need of God's grace and help. That is why Scripture tells us that "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6; Proverbs 3:34).

Jesus reinforced this warning with a vivid story of two people at prayer. Why did the Lord accept one person's prayer and reject the other's prayer? Luke gives us a hint: despising one's neighbor closes the door to God's heart. Expressing disdain and contempt for others is more than being mean-minded. It springs from the assumption that one is qualified to sit in the seat of judgment and to publicly shame those who do not conform to our standards and religious practices. Jesus' story caused offense to the religious-minded Pharisees who regarded "tax collectors" as unworthy of God's grace and favor. How could Jesus put down a "religious person" and raise up a "public sinner"?

Jesus' parable speaks about the nature of prayer and our relationship with God. It does this by contrasting two very different attitudes towards prayer. The Pharisee, who represented those who take pride in their religious practices, exalted himself at the expense of others. Absorbed with his own sense of self-satisfaction and self-congratulation, his boastful prayer was centered on his good religious practices rather than on God's goodness, grace, and pardon. Rather than humbling himself before God and asking for God's mercy and help, this man praised himself while despising those he thought less worthy. The Pharisee tried to justify himself before God and before those he despised; but only God can justify us. The tax collector, who represented those despised by religious-minded people, humbled himself before God and begged for mercy. His prayer was heard by God because he had true sorrow for his sins. He sought God with humility rather than with pride.

This parable presents both an opportunity and a warning. Pride leads to self-deception and spiritual blindness. True humility helps us to see ourselves as we really are in God's eyes and it inclines us to seek God's help and mercy. God dwells with the humble of heart who recognize their own sinfulness and who acknowledge God's mercy and saving grace. I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and humble spirit (Isaiah 57:15). God cannot hear us if we boast in ourselves and despise others. Do you humbly seek God's mercy and do you show mercy to others, especially those you find difficult to love and to forgive?

Lord Jesus, may your love and truth transform my life - my inner thoughts, intentions, and attitudes, and my outward behavior, speech, and actions. Where I lack charity, kindness, and forbearance, help me to embrace your merciful love and to seek the good of my neighbor, even those who cause me ill-favor or offense. May I always love as you have loved and forgive others as you have forgiven.

Psalm 51:1-4, 16-19

1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!
3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned, and done that which is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless in your judgment.
16 For you have no delight in sacrifice; were I to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased.
17 The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
18 Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem,
19 then will you delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on your altar.

Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: God's mercy is our only hope, by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

"Driven out of paradise by You and exiled in a distant land, I cannot return by myself unless You, O Lord, come to meet me in my wandering. My return is based on hope in your mercy during all of my earthly life. My only hope, the only source of confidence, and the only solid promise is your mercy." (excerpt from Commentary on Psalm 24,5)

  

More Homilies

March 21, 2020 Saturday of the Third Week of Lent