2023년 3월 4일 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
<하늘의 너희 아버지처럼 완전한 사람이 되어야 한다.>
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 4, 2023
Saturday of the First Week of Lent
Daily Mass : http://www.catholictv.com/shows/daily-mass
: https://www.youtube.com/c/DailyTVMass
Bible : http://www.usccb.org/bible/
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://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
God allows the same mercy and love to be given to the just and the unjust, the kind and the wicked, and those who strive for goodness and those who don't. Honestly, loving those who have hurt me or mistreated me is not something I do well. How can we love someone who tramples our dignity because we are considered too old, not worthy, not the right skin color, not wanted, not good enough, or an easy target? How can we love someone who hurts us so profoundly that we can barely face another day? It is not easy. It leaves us feeling that there is no justice for the one who has felt persecuted. However, maybe God doesn't require us to forget our hurts. God might just be asking us to consider love as a point of healing for ourselves and others. God might be asking us to consider freeing ourselves from the bondage of hate and pain so we can rest. Yes…... I want to rest.
So, to all those who have ever put me down and kicked me while I was down, I pray for you. To all those who called me ugly at one point or another, I pray for you. To all those whose words and actions tore into my soul and left me wondering if there was still goodness in the world, I pray for you. I will try to love you by God's grace, but till then, I will pray for you. My prayers will be from a good place, not because I am righteous but because I am a child of God and I have chosen love. It is true for most of us that loving our enemies and praying for those who persecute us doesn't come as easy as we would like. However, could I really say that I observe and keep God's commandments with all my heart and soul if I pick and choose the most convenient commandments to follow and ignore the rest? Am I really walking in God’s ways and listening to God’s voice if I decide that I have been hurt too badly or persecuted too often to make room for much-needed prayer for the offenders? Can I really hold my head up high and rest comfortably in God’s love if I cannot see those who have hurt me in any way as lovable and as children of God too? Do they not also bear the face of God?
Yes, some of God’s children are naughty, to say the least, but I know that I am not always the just one, the good one, the forgiving one, the understanding one. Even though I try to live out my baptism and try my best to be a good person each day, I could also end up being someone's enemy or even persecuting another for any number of reasons, especially out of fear or pain. When I find myself in that dark place with the role of “enemy” or “persecutor,” I know I would crave love and mercy, even though it is undeserved. I know that my soul would long for prayers from anyone who would make room and see fit to forgive me and love me anyway.
Merciful God, we pray that those who have hurt us in whatever way may receive your mercy. Amen.
http://www.presentationministries.com/obob/obob.asp
ABBA
“This will prove that you are sons of your heavenly Father.” —Matthew 5:45
In this time of Lent, the Church emphasizes more than ever the command: “In a word, you must be made perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5:48). Like our Father, we must show love practically even to our persecutors and enemies (Mt 5:44-45).
Lent is traditionally a time of God the Father confirming His love for us as His sons and daughters. Before Jesus was led into the desert by the Holy Spirit (Mt 4:1), He heard His Father say: “This is My beloved Son. My favor rests on Him” (Mt 3:17). In the desert, Satan tempted Jesus to doubt that He was the beloved Son of God (Mt 4:3, 6). Jesus overcame these temptations and was confirmed in His Father’s love. During this Lent we, like Jesus, will be tempted to doubt the Father’s love for us. Yet we will be given the grace to overcome these temptations and to believe more than ever in the Father’s infinite love for us.
The Holy Spirit will grace us with confirmation of our Father’s love through our Lenten penances. Therefore, “keep your deeds of mercy secret, and your Father Who sees in secret will repay you” (Mt 6:4). “Whenever you pray, go to your room, close your door, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, Who sees what no man sees, will repay you” (Mt 6:6). “When you fast, see to it that you groom your hair and wash your face. In that way no one can see you are fasting but your Father Who is hidden; and your Father Who sees what is hidden will repay you” (Mt 6:17-18). Live a Lent in which you trust God the Father completely and let Him father you. Let the Holy Spirit cry out in your heart, “Abba” (“Father”) (Gal 4:6; Rm 8:15).
Prayer: Abba, give me humble faith to be secure in Your love.
Promise: “Provided you keep all His commandments...you will be a people sacred to the Lord, your God.” —Dt 26:18, 19
Praise: St. Casimir did not accept the position of king of Hungary, but chose to serve the King of kings.
http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/
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!
Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: 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)
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