RELIGION AND ART

"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 his presence. Let us know, let us strive to know the Lord; as certain as the dawn is his coming, and his judgement shines forth like the light of the day! He will come to us like rain, like spring rain that waters the earth." What can I do with you, Ephraim? What ca 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. Readings Psalm 51

One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, "which commandment is the first of all?" Jesus answered, "The first is 'Hear , O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. 'The second is this, 'You shall love your neighbour as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." .... Readings

But this command I gave them, "Obey my voice, and I will be your God, you shall be my people; walk only in the way that I command you, so that it may be well with you." Yet they did not or incline their ear, but, stubbornness of evil will, walked on their own counsels, looked backward rather than forward. From the day that your ancestors came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have persistently sent all my servants the prophets to them, day after day; yet they did not listen to me, or pay attention, but they stiffened their necks. They did worse than their ancestors did. So you shall speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you. You shall call to them, but they will not answer you. You shall say to them: This is the nation that did not obey the voice of the Lord their God, and did not accept discipline; truth has perished it is cut off from their lips. Readings Psalm 51

Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock that belongs to you, which lives in a forest in the midst of a garden land; let them feed in Bashan and Gilead as in the days of old. As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt, show us marvelous things. Who is like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of your possession? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in showing clemency. He will again have compassion upon us; he will tread our iniquities under foot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. You will show faithfulness to Jacob and unswerving loyalty to Abraham, as you have sworn to our ancestors from the days of old. Readings

Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people: "Hear another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a tower.  The he leased it to tenants and went on a journey. When the vintage time drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to obtain his produce. But the tenants seized the servants and one thy beat, another the killed, and a third they stoned. Again he sent other servants, more numerous than the first ones, but they treated them in the same way. Finally, he sent his son to them, thinking, "They will respect my son.' But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, "This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance. Readings Psalm 13

Thus says the Lord: Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals and make mere flesh their strength, whose hearts turn away from the Lord. They shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when relief comes. They shall live in the parched places of the desert, in an uninhabited salt land. Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit. The heart is devious above all else; it is perverse - who can understand it? I the Lord test the mind and search the heart, to give all according to their ways, according to the fruit of their doings. Jeremiah 17:5-10

Heed me, O LORD, and listen to what my adversaries say. Must good be repaid with evil that they should dig a pit to take my life? Remember that I stood before you to speak in their behalf, to turn away your wrath from them. Reading s

ST. JOSEPH The LORD spoke to Nathan and said: "Go, tell my servant David, 'When your time comes and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins, and I will make his kingdom firm. It is he who shall build a house for my name. And I will make his royal throne firm forever. I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me, your throne shall stand firm forever. Readings images of St. Joseph

Jesus said to his disciples: "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. "Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you. Luke 6:36-38 Readings

The Lord God took Abram outside and said, "Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can. Just so, "he added, "shall your descendants be." Abram put his faith in the Lord, who credited it to him as an act of righteousness.    Readings Lord increase my faith.

This very day the Lord your God is commanding you to observe these statutes and ordinances; so observe them diligently with all your hear and with all your soul.  Today you have obtained the the the Lord's agreement: to be your God; and for you to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, his commandments, and his ordinances, and to obey him. Today the Lord has obtained your agreement to be his treasured people, as he promised you, and to keep his commandments; for him to set you high above all nations that he has made, in praise and in fame and in honor; and for you to be a people holy to the Lord your God, as he promised. Deut. 26:16-19 Readings Beautiful Saviour

Thus says the Lord God: If the wicked man turns away from all the sins he committed, if he keeps all my statutes and does what is right and just, he shall surely live, he shall not die. None of the crimes he committed shall be remembered against him; he shall live because of the virtue he has practiced. Do I indeed derive any pleasure from the death of the wicked? says the Lord God. Do I not rather rejoice when he turns from evil way that he may live?... Ezekiel 18:21-28 Readings

Jesus said to his disciples: "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you would hand his son a stone when he asked for a loaf of bread, or a snake when he asked for a fish? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him. "Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the law of the prophets."  Matt. &:7-12 Readings

When the crowds were increasing, Jesus began to say, "This generation is an evil generation; it asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so the Son of Man will be to this generation. The queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the people of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, and see, something greater than Solomon is here! The people of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah, and see, something greater than Jonah is here! Luke 11:29-32 Readings Reflections

Shout out, do not hold back! Lift up your voice like a trumpet! Announce to my people their rebellion, to the house Jacob their sins. Yet day after day they seek me and delight to know my ways, as if they were a nation that practiced righteousness and did not forsake the ordinance of their God; they ask of me righteous judgments, they delight to draw near to God. "Why do we fast, but you not see? .... Isa. 59:1-9 Readings Psalm 51

Moses said to the people: "Today I have set before you life and prosperity, death and doom. If you obey the commandments of the LORD, your God, which I enjoin on you today, loving him, and walking in his ways, and keeping his commandments, statutes and decrees, you will live and grow numerous, and the LORD, your God. will bless you in the land you are entering to occupy..... Deut. 30:15-20 Readings Seeking Heaven alone

Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming, it is near. A day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackness spread upon the mountains are great and powerful army comes; their like has never been from of old, nor will be again after them in ages to come.... Rend your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the LORD, your god, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing. Readings Psalm 51 Ash Wednesday

To keep the law is a great obligation and who observes the commandments sacrifices a peace offering. In works of charity one offers the fine flour, and when he gives alms he presents his sacrifice of praise. To refrain from evil pleases the Lord, and to avoid injustice is an atonement. Appear not before the Lord empty-handed, for all that you offer is fulfillment of the precepts. The just one's offering enriches the altar and rises as a sweet odor before the Most High. The just one's sacrifice is most pleasing, nor will it ever be forgotten.......  Trust not in sacrifice of the fruits of extortion. For he is a God of justice who knows no favorites. Sir. 35:1-12

To the penitent God provides a way back he encourages those who are losing hope and has chosen for them the lot of truth. Return to him and give up sin, pray to the Lord and make your offences few. Turn again to the Most High and away from your sin, hate intensely what he loathes, and know the justice and judgments of God, stand firm in the say set before you in prayer to the Most High God who in the nether world can glorify the Most High in place of the living who offer their praise before death .... Sir. 17:20-24

When a sieve is shaken, the husks appear; so do one's faults when one speaks. As the test of what the potter molds is in the furnace, so in tribulation is the test of the just. The fruit of a tree shows the care it has had; so too does ones's speech disclose the bent of one's mind. Praise no one before he speaks, for it is then the people are tested. Sir. 27:4-7 Readings

God from the earth created man, and in his own image he made him. He makes man return to earth again, and endows him with a strength of his own. Limited days of life he gives him, with power over all things else on earth. He puts the fear of him in all flesh, and gives him rule over beasts and birds.  He created for them counsel, and a tongue and eyes and ears and an inventive heart, and filled them with understanding.  He created in them knowledge of the spirit. With wisdom he fills their heart; good and evil he shows them. Sir. 17:1-5 Readings

If you are polite and courteous, you will enjoy the friendship of many people. Exchange greetings with many, but take advice from only one person out of a thousand.  When you make friends, don't be too quick to trust them; make sure that they have proved themselves. Some people will be your friends only when it is convenient for them, but they won't stand by you in trouble. Sir. 6:5-17 Readings