JESUS CHRIST TESTIMONY

THURSDAY WEEK FOUR IN LENT YEAR C

CHRIST CAME IN THE NAME OF GOD THE FATHER

First Reading Exeodus 32:7-14 

Moses pleads with the Lord his God to spare Israel Readings

The Lord spoke to Moses, ‘Go down now, because your people whom you brought out of Egypt have apostatised. They have been quick to leave the way I marked out for them; they have made themselves a calf of molten metal and have worshipped it and offered it sacrifice. “Here is your God, Israel,” they have cried “who brought you up from the land of Egypt!”’ the Lord said to Moses, ‘I can see how headstrong these people are! Leave me, now, my wrath shall blaze out against them and devour them; of you, however, I will make a great nation.’ Lectures

But Moses pleaded with the Lord his God. ‘Lord,’ he said ‘why should your wrath blaze out against this people of yours whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with arm outstretched and mighty hand? Why let the Egyptians say, “Ah, it was in treachery that he brought them out, to do them to death in the mountains and wipe them off the face of the earth”? Leave your burning wrath; relent and do not bring this disaster on your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, your servants to whom by your own self you swore and made this promise: I will make your offspring as many as the stars of heaven, and all this land which I promised I will give to your descendants, and it shall be their heritage for ever.’

So the Lord relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened. 

Gospel John 5 :31-47 You place your hopes on Moses but Moses will be your accuser

Jesus said to the Jews: ‘Were I to testify on my own behalf, my testimony would not be valid; but there is another witness who can speak on my behalf, and I know that his testimony is valid. You sent messengers to John, and he gave his testimony to the truth: not that I depend on human testimony; no, it is for your salvation that I speak of this.

John was a lamp alight and shining and for a time you were content to enjoy the light that he gave. But my testimony is greater than John’s: the works my Father has given me to carry out, these same works of mine testify that the Father has sent me. Besides, the Father who sent me bears witness to me himself. You have never heard his voice, you have never seen his shape, and his word finds no home in you because you do not believe in the one he has sent.

‘You study the scriptures, believing that in them you have eternal life; now these same scriptures testify to me, and yet you refuse to come to me for life! As for human approval, this means nothing to me. Besides, I know you too well: you have no love of God in you. I have come in the name of my Father and you refuse to accept me; if someone else comes in his own name you will accept him.

How can you believe, since you look to one another for approval and are not concerned with the approval that comes from the one God? Do not imagine that I am going to accuse you before the Father: you place your hopes on Moses, and Moses will be your accuser. If you really believed him you would believe me too, since it was I that he was writing about; but if you refuse to believe what he wrote, how can you believe what I say?’ Reflections

Loving Father, Moses performed miracle through you knowing his limitations as human. You empowered him having acknowledge his limitation to you when he encountered you. He was to prepare the way for the fulfilment of your promise to redeem mankind through the coming of your Son Jesus Christ. Till date we are in doubt of  Chirst divinity. Open our hearts Father to understand and to accept Him whom you sent as our redeemer. 

Father send us your Holy Spirit, Christ's promise to us, to teach us and make us understand. Make us humble like  Moses, may we seek the good  of all and be ready to intercede on their behalf through prayer and good deeds. 

Thank you Father for loving us. Reveal to us your calling in our life. May Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour come to our aid. Lord Jesus Christ make us meek and humble. May we listen, obey and follow you. Lord Jesus I trust in you. Blessed Virgin Mary pray for us. Saint Joseph pray for us. God's Holy Angels pray for us. My Angel Guardian pray for me. Guide and guard me. Be my protection. Thank you Jesus.

Pray the Holy Rosary. Blessed Virgin Mary Mother of Sorrows pray for us.

Your Birthday Saint: Saint Stephen of Mar Saba, Monk may he pray for you as you celebrate your birthday.

THE FATHER SOURCE OF LIFE MADE THE SON SOURCE OF LIFE

WEDNESDAY FORTH WEEK OF LENT YEAR C: I WILL NEVER FORGET YOU

First Reading Isaiah 49:8-15 On the day of salvation I will help you

Thus says the Lord:  At the favourable time I will answer you, on the day of salvation I will help you. (I have formed you and have appointed you as covenant of the people.) I will restore the land and assign you the estates that lie waste. I will say to the prisoners, ‘Come out’, to those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’ Readings

On every roadway they will graze, and each bare height shall be their pasture. They will never hunger or thirst, scorching wind and sun shall never plague them; for he who pities them will lead them and guide them to springs of water. I will make a highway of all the mountains, and the high roads shall be banked up. Lectures

Some are on their way from afar, others from the north and the west, others from the land of Sinim. Shout for joy, you heavens; exult, you earth! You mountains, break into happy cries! For the Lord consoles his people and takes pity on those who are afflicted.

For Zion was saying, ‘The Lord has abandoned me, the Lord has forgotten me.’ Does a woman forget her baby at the breast, or fail to cherish the son of her womb? Yet even if these forget, I will never forget you.

Responsorial Psalm: The Lord is kind and full of compassion

Gospel John 5:17-30 The dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and all who hear it will live

Jesus said to the Jews, ‘My Father goes on working, and so do I.’ But that only made them even more intent on killing him, because, not content with breaking the sabbath, he spoke of God as his own Father, and so made himself God’s equal.  To this accusation Jesus replied: Reflections

‘I tell you most solemnly, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees the Father doing: and whatever the Father does the Son does too. For the Father loves the Sonand shows him everything he does himself, and he will show him even greater things than these, works that will astonish you. Thus, as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so the Son gives life to anyone he chooses; for the Father judges no one; he has entrusted all judgement to the Son, so that all may honour the Son as they honour the Father.Whoever refuses honour to the Son refuses honour to the Father who sent him.

I tell you most solemnly, whoever listens to my words, and believes in the one who sent me, has eternal life; without being brought to judgement he has passed from death to life. I tell you most solemnly, the hour will come in fact it is here already when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and all who hear it will live. For the Father, who is the source of life, has made the Son the source of life; and, because he is the Son of Man, has appointed him supreme judge.

Do not be surprised at this, for the hour is coming when the dead will leave their graves at the sound of his voice: those who did good will rise again to life; and those who did evil, to condemnation. I can do nothing by myself; I can only judge as I am told to judge, and my judging is just, because my aim is to do not my own will, but the will of him who sent me.’

God my heavenly Father you are the source of life. Father you made your Son Jesus Christ our source of life. My Father, my God you are full of mercy and compassion. Father I know at  the favourable time you will answer me, for on the day of salvation you will help me. Father I am your creature, you formed me  and  appointed me as covenant child. Father you will restore my glory you will comfort me. Thank you loving Father for loving me, for I know you will never forget me.

Lord Jesus Christ Son of God, be merciful to me, do not bring me to judgement. Have mercy Lord. Jesus I trust in you. Virgin Mary pray for me. Saint Joseph pray for me. My Guardian Angel pray for me. Protect me, guide and guard me. God's Holy Angels pray for me.

Pray the Holy Rosary. Virgin Mary, Mother of Christ pray for us.

Your Birthday Saint: Saint John Climacus, Abbot. May he pray for you as you celebrate your birthday.

 

THE WATER THE SOURCE OF LIFE

TUESDAY WEEK FOUR IN LENT YEAR C

DO YOU WANT TO BE WELL AGAIN?

First Reading Ezekiel 47:1-9,12  

Wherever the water flows, it will bring life and health

The angel brought me to the entrance of the Temple, where a stream came out from under the Temple threshold and flowed eastwards, since the Temple faced east. The water flowed from under the right side of the Temple, south of the altar. He took me out by the north gate and led me right round outside as far as the outer east gate where the water flowed out on the right-hand side. Lectures

The man went to the east holding his measuring line and measured off a thousand cubits; he then made me wade across the stream; the water reached my ankles. He measured off another thousand and made me wade across the stream again; the water reached my knees. He measured off another thousand and made me wade across again; the water reached my waist. He measured off another thousand; it was now a river which I could not cross; the stream had swollen and was now deep water, a river impossible to cross. Readings

He then said, ‘Do you see, son of man?’ He took me further, then brought me back to the bank of the river. When I got back, there were many trees on each bank of the river. He said, ‘This water flows east down to the Arabah and to the sea; and flowing into the sea it makes its waters wholesome. Wherever the river flows, all living creatures teeming in it will live. Fish will be very plentiful, for wherever the water goes it brings health, and life teems wherever the river flows. 

Along the river, on either bank, will grow every kind of fruit tree with leaves that never wither and fruit that never fails; they will bear new fruit every month, because this water comes from the sanctuary. And their fruit will be good to eat and the leaves medicinal.’

Gospel John 5:1-3,5-16  The healing at the pool of Bethesda

There was a Jewish festival, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now at the Sheep Pool in Jerusalem there is a building, called Bethzatha in Hebrew, consisting of five porticos; and under these were crowds of sick people blind, lame, paralysed waiting for the water to move. One man there had an illness which had lasted thirty-eight years, and when Jesus saw him lying there and knew he had been in this condition for a long time, he said, ‘Do you want to be well again?’ ‘Sir,’ replied the sick man ‘I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is disturbed; and while I am still on the way, someone else gets there before me.’ Jesus said, ‘Get up, pick up your sleeping-mat and walk.’ The man was cured at once, and he picked up his mat and walked away.  Reflections

Now that day happened to be the sabbath, so the Jews said to the man who had been cured, ‘It is the sabbath; you are not allowed to carry your sleeping-mat.’ He replied, ‘But the man who cured me told me, “Pick up your mat and walk.”’ They asked, ‘Who is the man who said to you, “Pick up your mat and walk”?’ The man had no idea who it was, since Jesus had disappeared into the crowd that filled the place. After a while Jesus met him in the Temple and said, ‘Now you are well again, be sure not to sin any more, or something worse may happen to you.’ The man went back and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had cured him. It was because he did things like this on the sabbath that the Jews began to persecute Jesus.

The healing power of God. God is the source of life. His healing power flows through us like a river. Father come heal us of every form of sickness. We are sick, Father we are in need of your mercy and healing. Our sins are before you, set us free. Deliver us Father from every bondage that may render us paralyzed. 

Thirty-eight years of bondage? We are like the man in today's Gospel.  We are paralyzed and may not realize our need for healing and freedom. We are in bondage of sin, bondage of sickness, spiritual bondage, alcohol bondage, bondage of poverty, drug bondage, jealousy, bondage of greed and avarice.  Holy Spirit reveal to us whatever that may hold us bondage all the years of our existence. Lord Jesus come set us free.  

Lord Jesus Christ your are the Source of Life. Lord you are my healer. Lord Jesus Christ I want to be well again. Come heal me. Come set me free from every bondage. Lord Jesus thank you for loving me. Jesus I trust in you. Virgin Mary pray for me. Saint Joseph pray for me. God's Holy Angels pray for me. My Guardian Angel pray for me. Guide and guard me. Be my protection.

Pray the Holy Rosary: Virgin Mary Queen of Peace pray for us.

Your Birthday Saint: Saint Ludovico of Casoria, Priest. May he pray for you as you celebrate your birthday.

NO MORE WEEPING

MONDAY WEEK FOUR IN LENT YEAR C: YOUR SON WILL LIVE

First Reading Isaiah 65:17-21 Readings

Be glad and rejoice for ever at what I am creating

Thus says the Lord: Now I create new heavens and a new earth, and the past will not be remembered, and will come no more to men’s minds. Be glad and rejoice for ever and ever for what I am creating, because I now create Jerusalem ‘Joy’ and her people ‘Gladness.’ I shall rejoice over Jerusalem and exult in my people. 

No more will the sound of weeping or the sound of cries be heard in her; in her, no more will be found the infant living a few days only, or the old man not living to the end of his days. To die at the age of a hundred will be dying young; not to live to be a hundred will be the sign of a curse. They will build houses and inhabit them, plant vineyards and eat their fruit. Lectures

Responsorial Psalm: I will praise you, Lord, you have rescued me

Gospel John 4:43-54 Go home: your son will live

Jesus left Samaria for Galilee. He himself had declared that there is no respect for a prophet in his own country, but on his arrival the Galileans received him well, having seen all that he had done at Jerusalem during the festival which they too had attended. Reflections

He went again to Cana in Galilee, where he had changed the water into wine. Now there was a court official there whose son was ill at Capernaum and, hearing that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judaea, he went and asked him to come and cure his son as he was at the point of death. Jesus said, ‘So you will not believe unless you see signs and portents!’ ‘Sir,’ answered the official ‘come down before my child dies.’ 

‘Go home,’ said Jesus ‘your son will live.’ The man believed what Jesus had said and started on his way; and while he was still on the journey back his servants met him with the news that his boy was alive. He asked them when the boy had begun to recover. ‘The fever left him yesterday’ they said ‘at the seventh hour.’ The father realised that this was exactly the time when Jesus had said, ‘Your son will live’; and he and all his household believed. 

This was the second sign given by Jesus, on his return from Judaea to Galilee.

My God, my Father in heaven I praise and worship you. Father I give you thanks for fulfilling your promise through the coming of your Son Jesus Christ. Father thank you for your love and mercy. Thank you Father for forgetting the past and not call to mind my sins. Thank you for the new things you are creating in my life. Thank you for joy, no more weeping and sorrow. Thank you Father for the gift of life. Thank you for redeeming me for I am blessed not cursed.

Lord Jesus Christ thank you for loving me. Jesus I trust in you. Virgin Mary pray for me. Saint Joseph pray for me. My Guardian Angel pray for me. Guide and Guard me. God's Holy Angels pray for me. 

Pray the Holy Rosary. Mary Mother of Christ bring us to your Son Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour.

Your Birthday Saint: Saint Sixtus III, Pope. May he pray for you as you celebrate your birthday.

FATHER I HAVE SINNED AGAINST YOU

FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT YEAR C 

LAETARE SUNDAY :  I HAVE SLAVED FOR YOU  

First Reading Joshua 5:9-12 

The Israelites celebrate their first Passover in the Promised Land  The Lord said to Joshua: Readings

‘Today I have taken the shame of Egypt away from you.’ The Israelites pitched their camp at Gilgal and kept the Passover there on the fourteenth day of the month, at evening in the plain of Jericho. On the morrow of the Passover they tasted the produce of that country, unleavened bread and roasted ears of corn, that same day. From that time, from their first eating of the produce of that country, the manna stopped falling. And having manna no longer, the Israelites fed from that year onwards on what the land of Canaan yielded.

Responsorial Psalm: Taste and see that the Lord is good

Second Reading Second Corinthians 5:17-21 God reconciled himself to us through Christ

For anyone who is in Christ, there is a new creation; the old creation has gone, and now the new one is here. It is all God’s work. It was God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the work of handing on this reconciliation. In other words, God in Christ was reconciling the world to himself, not holding men’s faults against them, and he has entrusted to us the news that they are reconciled. So we are ambassadors for Christ; it is as though God were appealing through us, and the appeal that we make in Christ’s name is: be reconciled to God. For our sake God made the sinless one into sin, so that in him we might become the goodness of God.  lectures

Gospel Luke 15:1-3,11-32 The prodigal son

The tax collectors and the sinners were all seeking the company of Jesus to hear what he had to say, and the Pharisees and the scribes complained. ‘This man’ they said ‘welcomes sinners and eats with them.’ So he spoke this parable to them: 

A man had two sons. The younger said to his father, “Father, let me have the share of the estate that would come to me.” So the father divided the property between them. A few days later, the younger son got together everything he had and left for a distant country where he squandered his money on a life of debauchery. 

‘When he had spent it all, that country experienced a severe famine, and now he began to feel the pinch, so he hired himself out to one of the local inhabitants who put him on his farm to feed the pigs. And he would willingly have filled his belly with the husks the pigs were eating but no one offered him anything. Then he came to his senses and said, “How many of my father’s paid servants have more food than they want, and here am I dying of hunger! I will leave this place and go to my father and say: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as one of your paid servants.” So he left the place and went back to his father...................Reflections

My Father, my God I have sinned against you. Father take away my reproach, take away my shame. Make me your child again. Thank you loving Father for anyone who is in Christ is transformed for you reconciled us to yourself through Jesus Christ so that we too maybe reconciled with our fellow creatures. 

Father give me a forgiven heart, a forgiving spirit. Let me never begrudge my fellow creatures. Remove from my heart every judgemental spirit. Give me a compassionate heart. Forgiveness and reconciliation brings peace and unity,  and unforgiveness brings disunity. Let me rejoice in the transformation of my brethren for good. May I never be so self-righteous that I condemn my brothers and sisters in Christ. Give me an understanding heart. Give me a heart of flesh.  Let me never say Father I have slaved for you in rendering services in your house, and in serving humanity. Father I beg of you through Jesus Christ my Lord. Lord Jesus Christ make my heart like yours.

Lord Jesus I trust in you. Virgin Mary pray for me. Saint Joseph pray for me. My Angel Guardian pray for me. Guide and guard me. Be my protection. God's Holy Angels pray for me.

Your Birthday Saint: Saint Rupert, Bishop. May he pray for you as you celebrate your birthday. 

Pray the Holy Rosary: May Our Blessed Mother Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ pray for us.

THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD IS BETTER THAN SACRIFICE

SATURDAY THIRD WEEK IN LENT: LOVE NOT SACRIFICE

First Reading Hosea 5: 15-6,6 

What I want is love, not sacrifice and holocausts Readings

The Lord says this:

They will search for me in their misery. ‘Come, let us return to the Lord.

He has torn us to pieces, but he will heal us; he has struck us down, but he will bandage our wounds; after a day or two he will bring us back to life, on the third day he will raise us and we shall live in his presence. Let us set ourselves to know the Lord; that he will come is as certain as the dawnhis judgement will rise like the light, he will come to us as showers come, like spring rains watering the earth.’ Lectures

What am I to do with you, Ephraim? What am I to do with you, Judah? This love of yours is like a morning cloud, like the dew that quickly disappears. This is why I have torn them to pieces by the prophets, why I slaughtered them with the words from my mouth, since what I want is love, not sacrifice; knowledge of God, not holocausts.

Responsorial Psalm : What I want is love, not sacrifice

Gospel Luke 18-9-14 The tax collector, not the Pharisee, went home justified

Jesus spoke the following parable to some people who prided themselves on being virtuous and despised everyone else: ‘Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax collector. 

The Pharisee stood there and said this prayer to himself, “I thank you, God, that I am not grasping, unjust, adulterous like the rest of mankind, and particularly that I am not like this tax collector here. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes on all I get.” The tax collector stood some distance away, not daring even to raise his eyes to heaven; but he beat his breast and said, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” 

This man, I tell you, went home again at rights with God; the other did not. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the man who humbles himself will be exalted.’ Reflections

Give me a loving heart God my Father. Father make me know your way. Teach me and direct my path. Give me insight to your word. Make my spirit yearn for you. I want to know you, I ask of you God my Father to be with me. Give me a sincere spirit, a humble heart, a heart full of love and compassion. Father all you ask of me is LOVE. Father for the love you, love of my fellow creatures and things created by you is better than sacrifice. I love you Lord my strength.

Lord Jesus Christ thank you so much for loving me. Lord Jesus I trust in you. Virgin Mary pray for me. Saint Joseph pray for me. My Angel guardian pray for me, be my guide and guard.  God's Holy Angels pray for me.

Pray the Holy Rosary: Honor the Mother of Christ the Blessed Virgin Mary. Love her Son Jesus Christ.

Your Birthday Saint: Saint Ludgar, Bishop. May he pray for you as you celebrate your birthday.

 

FEAST OF THE ANNUNCIATION OF THE LORD

 First Reading Isaiah 7:10-14,8:10

The maiden is with child

The Lord spoke to Ahaz and said, ‘Ask the Lord your God for a sign for yourself coming either from the depths of Sheol or from the heights above.’ ‘No,’ Ahaz answered ‘I will not put the Lord to the test.’

 

Then Isaiah said:

‘Listen now, House of David:

are you not satisfied with trying the patience of men

without trying the patience of my God, too?

The Lord himself, therefore,

will give you a sign.

It is this: the maiden is with child

and will soon give birth to a son

whom she will call Immanuel,

a name which means “God-is-with-us.”’

 Second Reading Hebrew 10:4-10

 God's will was for us to be made holy by the offering 

of his body made once and for all by Jesus Christ.

 

Bulls’ blood and goats’ blood are useless for taking away sins, and this is what Christ said, on coming into the world:

You who wanted no sacrifice or oblation,

prepared a body for me.

You took no pleasure in holocausts or sacrifices for sin;

then I said,

just as I was commanded in the scroll of the book,

‘God, here I am! I am coming to obey your will.’

 Notice that he says first: You did not want what the Law lays down as the things to be offered, that is: the sacrifices, the oblations, the holocausts and the sacrifices for sin, and you took no pleasure in them; and then he says: Here I am! I am coming to obey your will. He is abolishing the first sort to replace it with the second. And this will was for us to be made holy by the offering of his body made once and for all by Jesus Christ.

Gospel Luke 1:26-38 'I am the handmaid of the Lord'

 

The angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. 

He went in and said to her, ‘Rejoice, so highly favoured! The Lord is with you.’ She was deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting could mean, but the angel said to her, ‘Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God’s favour. Listen! You are to conceive and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David; he will rule over the House of Jacob for ever and his reign will have no end.’ 

Mary said to the angel, ‘But how can this come about, since I am a virgin?’ ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you’ the angel answered ‘and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God. Know this too: your kinswoman Elizabeth has, in her old age, herself conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible to God.’ ‘I am the handmaid of the Lord,’ said Mary ‘let what you have said be done to me.’ And the angel left her. Reflections

Pray the Holy Rosary. Blessed Virgin Mary bring us to your Son Jesus Christ.  Lord Jesus Christ I trust in you.  Saint Joseph pray for us.

DIVIDED KINGDOM CANNOT STAND

THURSDAY WEEK THREE OF LENT

First Reading(s) Jeremiah 7:23-28 

Here is the nation that will not listen to the voice of the Lord its God

These were my orders: Listen to my voice, then I will be your God and you shall be my people. Follow right to the end the way that I mark out for you, and you will prosper. But they did not listen, they did not pay attention; they followed the dictates of their own evil hearts, refused to face me, and turned their backs on me. From the day your ancestors came out of the land of Egypt until today, day after day I have persistently sent you all my servants the prophets. Lectures

But they have not listened to me, have not paid attention; they have grown stubborn and behaved worse than their ancestors. You may say all these words to them: they will not listen to you; you may call them: they will not answer. So tell them this, “Here is the nation that will not listen to the voice of the Lord its God nor take correction. Sincerity is no more, it has vanished from their mouths.”(Psalm 12)

Responsorial Psalm: O that today you would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts

Gospel Luke 11:14-23  Know that the kingdom of God has overtaken you 

Jesus was casting out a devil and it was dumb; but when the devil had gone out the dumb man spoke, and the people were amazed. But some of them said, ‘It is through Beelzebul, the prince of devils, that he casts out devils.’ Others asked him, as a test, for a sign from heaven; but, knowing what they were thinking, he said to them, ‘Every kingdom divided against itself is heading for ruin, and a household divided against itself collapses.

So too with Satan: if he is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand?  since you assert that it is through Beelzebul that I cast out devils. Now if it is through Beelzebul that I cast out devils, through whom do your own experts cast them out? Let them be your judges then. But if it is through the finger of God that I cast out devils, then know that the kingdom of God has overtaken you.

So long as a strong man fully armed guards his own palace, his goods are undisturbed; but when someone stronger than he is attacks and defeats him, the stronger man takes away all the weapons he relied on and shares out his spoil.

‘He who is not with me is against me; and he who does not gather with me scatters.’ Refelctions

My God may your Kingdom come. Father your reign supreme over all. My God, my Father open my ears to hear and listen to your voice  you are my God for I am your child. May I follow the right way that you mark out for me that I may prosper. I want to pay attention to listen, to hear your voice and do not follow the dictates of my own heart.  I turn to you God my Father make me listen and obey your Son Jesus Christ my Lord. Lord Jesus Christ I turst in you.

Pray the Holy Rosary. May the Blessed Virgin Mary pray for us. Saint Joseph pray for us. God's Holy Angels pray for us.

My Guardian Angel pray for me. Guide and guard me. Be my protection.

Your Birthday Saint: Saint Catherine of Sweden. May she pray for you as you celebrate your birthday today.

THE LAW AND THE AIM

Wednesday, Third Week of Lent: The law will achieve its purpose

First Reading Deuteronomy 4:1,5-9.  Keep these laws and observe them

Moses said to the people:  Readings 

‘Now, Israel, take notice of the laws and customs that I teach you today, and observe them, that you may have life and may enter and take possession of the land that the Lord the God of your fathers is giving you. 

‘See, as the Lord my God has commanded me, I teach you the laws and customs that you are to observe in the land you are to enter and make your own. Keep them, observe them, and they will demonstrate to the peoples your wisdom and understanding. When they come to know of all these laws they will exclaim, “No other people is as wise and prudent as this great nation.” And indeed, what great nation is there that has its gods so near as the Lord our God is to us whenever we call to him? And what great nation is there that has laws and customs to match this whole Law that I put before you today? 

‘But take care what you do and be on your guard. Do not forget the things your eyes have seen, nor let them slip from your heart all the days of your life; rather, tell them to your children and to your children’s children.’ Lectures

Gospel Matthew 5:17-19 

I have not come to abolish the Law and the Prophets but to complete them  Reflections

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete them. I tell you solemnly, till heaven and earth disappear, not one dot, not one little stroke, shall disappear from the Law until its purpose is achieved. Therefore, the man who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the kingdom of heaven; but the man who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the kingdom of heaven.’

Loving Father you have been our refuge through all generation. Teach me to observe your decrees, to obey your law. Give me wisdom make me upright in heart.  Help me loving Father to hold on inspite all fears and uncertainties around me, and to let go whatever that is a stumbling block in my life that may keep me away from your presence Father. 

Lord Jesus Christ I trust in you. Virgin Mary pray for me. Saint Joseph pray for me. My Guardian Angel pray for me. Guide and guide me. God's Holy Angels pray for me.

Your Birthday Saint: Saint Turibius of Mogrovejo, Bishop. May he pray for you as you celeberate your birthday.

Pray the Holy Rosary. Blessed Virgin Mary pray for us. Bring us to your Son Jesus Christ.

GRANT US DELIVERANCE LORD

First Reading Daniel 3:25,34-43 Azariah stood in the heart of the fire, and he began to pray:

Oh! Do not abandon us for ever, for the sake of your name; do not repudiate your covenant, do not withdraw your favour from us, for the sake of Abraham, your friend, of Isaac your servant, and of Israel your holy one, to whom you promised descendants as countless as the stars of heaven and as the grains of sand on the seashore. Lectures

Lord, now we are the least of all the nations, now we are despised throughout the world, today, because of our sins. We have at this time no leader, no prophet, no prince, no holocaust, no sacrifice, no oblation, no incense, no place where we can offer you the first-fruits and win your favour.

But may the contrite soul, the humbled spirit be as acceptable to you as holocausts of rams and bullocks, as thousands of fattened lambs: such let our sacrifice be to you today, and may it be your will that we follow you wholeheartedly, since those who put their trust in you will not be disappointed.

And now we put our whole heart into following you, into fearing you and seeking your face once more. Do not disappoint us; treat us gently, as you yourself are gentle and very merciful.

Grant us deliverance worthy of your wonderful deeds, let your name win glory, Lord.

Responsorial Psalm Remember your mercy Lord

 Gospel Matthew 18:21-35 To be forgiven, you must forgive Reflections

Peter went up to Jesus and said, ‘Lord, how often must I forgive my brother if he wrongs me? As often as seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘Not seven, I tell you, but seventy-seven times.

‘And so the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who decided to settle his accounts with his servants. When the reckoning began, they brought him a man who owed ten thousand talents; but he had no means of paying, so his master gave orders that he should be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, to meet the debt.

At this, the servant threw himself down at his master’s feet. “Give me time” he said “and I will pay the whole sum.” And the servant’s master felt so sorry for him that he let him go and cancelled the debt. Now as this servant went out, he happened to meet a fellow servant who owed him one hundred denarii; and he seized him by the throat and began to throttle him. “Pay what you owe me” he said.

His fellow servant fell at his feet and implored him, saying, “Give me time and I will pay you.” But the other would not agree; on the contrary, he had him thrown into prison till he should pay the debt. His fellow servants were deeply distressed when they saw what had happened, and they went to their master and reported the whole affair to him.

Then the master sent for him. “You wicked servant,” he said “I cancelled all that debt of yours when you appealed to me. Were you not bound, then, to have pity on your fellow servant just as I had pity on you?” And in his anger the master handed him over to the torturers till he should pay all his debt. And that is how my heavenly Father will deal with you unless you each forgive your brother from your heart.’

Loving Father do not abandon us for ever, for the sake of your holy name do not repudiate your covenant, do not withdraw your favour from us. Father grant us your deliverance

Your Birhday Saint: Saint Nicholas Owen. May he pray for you as you celebrate your birthday today.

Lord Jesus Christ I trust in you. Virgin Mary pray for me. Saint Joseph pray for me. My Guardian Angel pray for me. Protect and guide me.

Pray the Holy Rosary: Mary Queen of Peace pray for us.