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April 11, 2014Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent   Reading 1 Jer 20:10-13 I hear the whisperings of many:“Terror on every side!Denounce! let us denounce him!”All those who were my friendsare on the watch for any misstep of mine.“Perhaps he will be trapped; then we can prevail,and take our vengeance on him.”But the LORD is with me, like a mighty champion:my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph.In their failure they will be put to utter shame,to lasting, unforgettable confusion.O LORD of hosts, you who test the just,who probe mind and heart,Let me witness the vengeance you take on...

“And Forgive Us Our Trespasses . . .” (The Lord’s Prayer) Today we continue our series on the Lord’s Prayer with the Fifth Petition, “And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” By the way, since this is the last of our Wednesday midweek services, and we’re only up to the Fifth Petition, you may be wondering how we’re going to finish out the Lord’s Prayer. Don’t worry. We’ll do the Sixth Petition, “And lead us not into temptation,” next week on Holy Thursday; the Seventh Petition, “But deliver us from evil,” on Good Friday;...

April 10, 2014Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent    Reading 1 Gn 17:3-9 When Abram prostrated himself, God spoke to him:“My covenant with you is this:you are to become the father of a host of nations.No longer shall you be called Abram;your name shall be Abraham,for I am making you the father of a host of nations.I will render you exceedingly fertile;I will make nations of you;kings shall stem from you.I will maintain my covenant with youand your descendants after youthroughout the ages as an everlasting pact,to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.I...

April 9, 2014Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent    Reading 1 Dn 3:14-20, 91-92, 95 King Nebuchadnezzar said:“Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,that you will not serve my god,or worship the golden statue that I set up?Be ready now to fall down and worship the statue I had made,whenever you hear the sound of the trumpet,flute, lyre, harp, psaltery, bagpipe,and all the other musical instruments;otherwise, you shall be instantly cast into the white-hot furnace;and who is the God who can deliver you out of my hands?”Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered King Nebuchadnezzar,“There is no need for us...

April 8, 2014Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent    Reading 1 Nm 21:4-9 From Mount Hor the children of Israel set out on the Red Sea road,to bypass the land of Edom.But with their patience worn out by the journey,the people complained against God and Moses,“Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert,where there is no food or water?We are disgusted with this wretched food!” In punishment the LORD sent among the people saraph serpents,which bit the people so that many of them died.Then the people came to Moses and said,“We have sinned...

April 7, 2014Monday of the Fifth Week of Lent    Reading 1 Dn 13:1-19, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62 In Babylon there lived a man named Joakim,who married a very beautiful and God-fearing woman, Susanna,the daughter of Hilkiah;her pious parents had trained their daughteraccording to the law of Moses.Joakim was very rich;he had a garden near his house,and the Jews had recourse to him oftenbecause he was the most respected of them all. That year, two elders of the people were appointed judges,of whom the Lord said, “Wickedness has come out of Babylon:from the elders who were to govern the people...

“Raising Lazarus--and Other Things as Well” (John 11:1-53)Today we come to another one of those memorable chapters in the Gospel of John. So far during this Lenten season we’ve had: John 3, Jesus and Nicodemus; John 4, Jesus and the Samaritan woman; and John 9, Jesus heals the man born blind. Now today we have John 11, Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. But that’s not all Jesus raises here in this chapter, as we’re about to hear. Thus our theme today: “Raising Lazarus--and Other Things as Well.” The chapter opens with Jesus far away from Lazarus. He only hears...

April 6, 2014Fifth Sunday of Lent   Reading 1 Ez 37:12-14 Thus says the Lord GOD: O my people, I will open your graves and have you rise from them, and bring you back to the land of Israel.Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and have you rise from them, O my people!I will put my spirit in you that you may live, and I will settle you upon your land; thus you shall know that I am the LORD.I have promised, and I will do it, says the LORD. Responsorial...

In today’s Gospel We hear the story of the raising of Lazarus from the dead. The story is a significant turning point in the ministry of Jesus for, as we shall see, it because of this incident that the Temple Leadership in Jerusalem resolves to have Jesus killed.As is proper with all the gospel accounts we must not see this as merely an historical happening to people 2000 years ago. Rather we must recall that I am Lazarus, I am Martha and Mary. This is also the story of how Jesus is acting in my life.Let’s look at this Gospel...

April 5, 2014Saturday of the Fourth Week of Lent    Reading 1 Jer 11:18-20 I knew their plot because the LORD informed me;at that time you, O LORD, showed me their doings. Yet I, like a trusting lamb led to slaughter,had not realized that they were hatching plots against me:“Let us destroy the tree in its vigor;let us cut him off from the land of the living,so that his name will be spoken no more.” But, you, O LORD of hosts, O just Judge,searcher of mind and heart,Let me witness the vengeance you take on them,for to you I...

April 4, 2014Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent    Reading 1 Wis 2:1a, 12-22 The wicked said among themselves, thinking not aright:“Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us;he sets himself against our doings,Reproaches us for transgressions of the lawand charges us with violations of our training.He professes to have knowledge of Godand styles himself a child of the LORD.To us he is the censure of our thoughts; merely to see him is a hardship for us,Because his life is not like that of others,and different are his ways.He judges us debased;he holds aloof...

“Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread” (The Lord’s Prayer) We continue with our Lenten series on the Lord’s Prayer, “Lord, Teach Us to Pray.” Tonight we come to the Fourth Petition, “Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread.” So finally we get around to praying for our own needs! Remember, up to this point, the first three petitions of the Lord’s Prayer all have been about God’s concerns: “Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done.” Those are Jesus’ top priorities for us to pray, and of course rightly so. That at the forefront of our...

April 3, 2014Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent    Reading 1 Ex 32:7-14 The LORD said to Moses,“Go down at once to your peoplewhom you brought out of the land of Egypt,for they have become depraved.They have soon turned aside from the way I pointed out to them,making for themselves a molten calf and worshiping it,sacrificing to it and crying out,‘This is your God, O Israel,who brought you out of the land of Egypt!’The LORD said to Moses,“I see how stiff-necked this people is.Let me alone, then,that my wrath may blaze up against them to consume them.Then I...

April 2, 2014Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent  Reading 1 Is 49:8-15 Thus says the LORD:In a time of favor I answer you,on the day of salvation I help you;and I have kept you and given you as a covenant to the people,To restore the landand allot the desolate heritages,Saying to the prisoners: Come out!To those in darkness: Show yourselves!Along the ways they shall find pasture,on every bare height shall their pastures be.They shall not hunger or thirst,nor shall the scorching wind or the sun strike them;For he who pities them leads themand guides them beside springs of...

April 1, 2014Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent    Reading 1 Ez 47:1-9, 12 The angel brought me, Ezekiel,back to the entrance of the temple of the LORD,and I saw water flowing outfrom beneath the threshold of the temple toward the east,for the façade of the temple was toward the east;the water flowed down from the right side of the temple,south of the altar.He led me outside by the north gate,and around to the outer gate facing the east,where I saw water trickling from the right side.Then when he had walked off to the eastwith a measuring cord...

March 31, 2014Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent    Reading 1 Is 65:17-21 Thus says the LORD:Lo, I am about to create new heavensand a new earth;The things of the past shall not be rememberedor come to mind.Instead, there shall always be rejoicing and happinessin what I create;For I create Jerusalem to be a joyand its people to be a delight;I will rejoice in Jerusalemand exult in my people.No longer shall the sound of weeping be heard there,or the sound of crying;No longer shall there be in itan infant who lives but a few days,or an old man...

March 30, 2014Fourth Sunday of Lent    Reading 1 1 Sm 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a The LORD said to Samuel:“Fill your horn with oil, and be on your way.I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have chosen my king from among his sons.” As Jesse and his sons came to the sacrifice, Samuel looked at Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’s anointed is here before him.”But the LORD said to Samuel: “Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature, because I have rejected him.Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the...

As Catholic Come Home states on a commercial, people can always "ask God to edit their life story and create the ideal ending.” This online platform launched a new website full of resources to help people discover how Confession can improve their spiritual lives. It's called GoodConfession.com, and its promotional video compares sin to a "heavy burden” one gets rid of thanks to Confession. GoodConfession offers users a guide to identify what temper they have, as well as different models to examine their conscience, depending on whether they are married, single or teenagers. One of the most interesting parts...

March 29, 2014Saturday of the Third Week of Lent    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...

March 28, 2014Friday of the Third Week of Lent    Reading 1 Hos 14:2-10 Thus says the LORD:Return, O Israel, to the LORD, your God;you have collapsed through your guilt.Take with you words,and return to the LORD;Say to him, “Forgive all iniquity,and receive what is good, that we may renderas offerings the bullocks from our stalls.Assyria will not save us,nor shall we have horses to mount;We shall say no more, ‘Our god,’to the work of our hands;for in you the orphan finds compassion.” I will heal their defection, says the LORD,I will love them freely;for my wrath is turned...