Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 03-31-06

USCCB.org/New American Bible ^ | 03-31-06 | New American Bible

[Salvation]

March 31, 2006

Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent

Psalm: Friday 16

Reading I
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 law
and charges us with violations of our training.
He professes to have knowledge of God
and 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 from our paths as from things impure.
He calls blest the destiny of the just
and boasts that God is his Father.
Let us see whether his words be true;
let us find out what will happen to him.
For if the just one be the son of God, he will defend him
and deliver him from the hand of his foes.
With revilement and torture let us put him to the test
that we may have proof of his gentleness
and try his patience.
Let us condemn him to a shameful death;
for according to his own words, God will take care of him.”
These were their thoughts, but they erred;
for their wickedness blinded them,
and they knew not the hidden counsels of God;
neither did they count on a recompense of holiness
nor discern the innocent souls’ reward.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 34:17-18, 19-20, 21 and 23

R. (19a) The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.
The LORD confronts the evildoers,
to destroy remembrance of them from the earth.
When the just cry out, the LORD hears them,
and from all their distress he rescues them.
R. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted;
and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.
Many are the troubles of the just man,
but out of them all the LORD delivers him.
R. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.
He watches over all his bones;
not one of them shall be broken.
The LORD redeems the lives of his servants;
no one incurs guilt who takes refuge in him.
R. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.

Gospel
Jn 7:1-2, 10, 25-30

Jesus moved about within Galilee;
he did not wish to travel in Judea,
because the Jews were trying to kill him.
But the Jewish feast of Tabernacles was near.

But when his brothers had gone up to the feast,
he himself also went up, not openly but as it were in secret.

Some of the inhabitants of Jerusalem said,
“Is he not the one they are trying to kill?
And look, he is speaking openly and they say nothing to him.
Could the authorities have realized that he is the Christ?
But we know where he is from.
When the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from.”
So Jesus cried out in the temple area as he was teaching and said,
“You know me and also know where I am from.
Yet I did not come on my own,
but the one who sent me, whom you do not know, is true.
I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me.”
So they tried to arrest him,
but no one laid a hand upon him,
because his hour had not yet come.

[Salvation]

For your reading, reflection, faith-sharing, comments, questions, discussion.

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King of Endless Glory Ping!

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From Women for Faith and Family

Farewell to Alleluia and Gloria
During the penitential seasons of the Church, the Gloria and the Alleluia are not said or sung. The Gloria is sung only at the Mass on Holy Thursday, usually with great ceremony, organ and sometimes trumpets, and often with the ringing of bells. After the singing of the Gloria, musical instruments are to be silent until the Alleluia at the Easter Vigil. (Catholic families might imitate this solemn silence by not playing instrumental music in their homes at this time.)

In the Middle Ages and throughout the 16th century, the "burying" of the Alleluia was a solemn ritual on Septuagesima Sunday. A procession of children carrying a wooden plaque bearing the word "Alleluia" laid it at the feet of the statue of the Blessed Virgin, covering it with a purple cloth. It remained there until Easter at the Gospel procession, when the plaque was carried as the priest intoned the three Alleluias before the Easter Gospel. In Paris, a straw figure inscribed with the word was carried out of the choir at the end of the service and burned in the church yard.

Although the practice of literally removing the Alleluia from the Church may have disappeared, even today in some parish celebrations of the Easter Vigil an Alleluia card is carried in procession and placed in front of the altar during the singing of the first Alleluias before the Gospel for Easter.

The hymn Alleluia, Song of Gladness and the one that follows date from the early 9th and 10th centuries; both refer to the farewell to the Alleluia in the liturgy.

[Salvation]

From: Wisdom 2:1a, 12-22

Life Leads to Death (Continuation)

---

[1a] For they reasoned unsoundly, saying to themselves, [12] "Let us lie in
wait for the righteous man, because he is inconvenient to us and opposes our
actions; he reproaches us for sins against the law, and accuses us of sins
against our training. [13] He professes to have knowledge of God, and calls
himself a child of the Lord. [14] He became to us a reproof of our thoughts;
[15] the very sight of him is a burden to us, because his manner of life is
unlike that of others, and his ways are strange. [16] We are considered by
him as something base, and he avoids our ways as unclean; he calls the last
end of the righteous happy, and boasts that God is his father. [17] Let us
see if his words are true, and let us test what will happen at the end of
his life; [18] for if the righteous man is God's son, he will help him, and
will deliver him from the hand of his adversaries. [19] Let us test him with
insult and torture, that we may find out how gentle he is, and make trial of
his forbearance. [20] Let us condemn him to a shameful death, for, according
to what he says, he will be protected."

The Origin of Evil and Death

---

[21] Thus they reasoned, but they were led astray, for their wickedness
blinded them, [22] and they did not know the secret purposes of God, nor
hope for the wages of holiness, nor discern the prize for blameless souls.

---

Commentary:

1:16-2:24 This section describes the way the ungodly think and behave, and
their error in so doing. Righteousness is immortal; but the ungodly think
that life ends at death and therefore they try to strike a bargain with death
(1:16-2:19). Moreover, they hound the righteous man because he thinks and
acts differently from the way they do (2:10?20). They have no idea what life
is all about (2:21?24).

1:16-2:9. The sort of thinking attributed here to the ungodly connects up
with materialistic and hedonist philosophies, maybe with Epicureanism. The
sacred writer probably also had in mind some Jews who, turning their backs
on their faith, fell victim to the materialism and scepticism associated
with certain streams of Greek thought. Philosophers of such schools based
their arguments on two verifiable facts: death is inevitable, and life is
short. They had no notion of immortality, and no faith, and therefore only
one policy seemed to make sense: seize every chance that life offers for
pleasure and enjoyment. It is reminiscent of the "Let us eat and drink, for
tomorrow we die" (Is 22:13; 1 Cor 15:32).

2:10-20. Not content with enjoying the pleasures of life, the ungodly go
further: they persecute the just man because he is a constant reproach to
them. They want to see if God, whom the just man calls his father, will
protect and rescue him. He calls God his father? Let us see what protection
God gives him. If God fails to come to his aid, then they are proved right,
and the just man wrong. Their words are echoed in the insults offered by
scribes and Pharisees to Jesus when he was on the cross (cf. Mt 27:40-43; Mk
15:31-32; Lk 23:35-37).

Interestingly, the just man calls himself a "child of God" (v. 13). This is
something new in Jewish thinking, because prior to this it was the entire
people of Israel or the king their representative who was considered a "son
of God" (cf. Ex 4:22; Deut 14:1; 32:6; Ps 2; Is 30:1, 9; Hos 11:1). But in
the later books of the Old Testament (for example, in Sir 23:4; 51:14) we
begin to see the fatherhood of God towards every just person. The title of
"child of God" is applied to all the righteous, and more properly to the
Messiah, who is the Righteous One.

As the RSV note "e" points out, the Greek word "pais" which it translates as
"child" can also mean "servant". The "servant" in the Old Testament acquires
special significance from the book of Isaiah forward, where the "Suffering
Servant" appears (cf. Is 52:13-53:12). This man will, through his suffering,
set Israel free of Its sins. This dual meaning of "pais" prepares the way
for the revelation of Jesus Christ, Son of God and Servant of the Lord.

2:21-24. The mistake of the ungodly is to think that nothing lies beyond
death. But this way of thinking stems from the wickedness of their lives
which prevents them from knowing God's purposes and causes them to despise
the way upright people live. The inspired author takes
issue with them and spells out God's plan for man and how death came to be
(vv. 23-24). But here again "death" has a far-reaching meaning: it means
losing that incorruptibility which, as the author sees it, lies beyond
physical death. The death that entered the world through the devil's envy,
the death experienced by those who belong to the devil's "party", means to
be reduced to nothing, to become "dishonored corpses" (4:18), through losing
the incorruptibility that comes from God. What the author is saying here
presupposes the Genesis account of how man was created in the image and
likeness of God (Gen 1:26) and therefore with a seed of immortality, and how
the devil tempted man to commit the original sin that resulted in the loss
of immortality (cf. Gen 3-4). But the author of Wisdom goes further than
that: he says that only those who belong to the devil lose the "immortality"
(which he terms "incorruption") of the human person as an entity made up of
soul and body. On the basis of this interpretation and in the light of the
resurrection of Jesus Christ, St Paul teaches that death, both physical and
spiritual, reaches all human beings through the sin committed by Adam; but
Christ, the new Adam, redeems all from death.

The devil, in Greek "diabolos", means "accuser, calumniator" and is the
usual translation given for the Hebrew "Satan". These verses do not quote
Genesis explicitly, but Genesis is in the background, for it is there we
find the serpent identified as God's enemy and man's. The New Testament
writer remind us that the devil was a murderer from the beginning (cf. Jn
8:44); and in its account of the battle between good and bad angels, the
book of Revelation will say: "The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient
serpent, who called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world"
(Rev 12:9).

---

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

[Salvation]

From: John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30


Jesus Goes Up to Jerusalem During the Feast of Tabernacles

---

[1] After this Jesus went about in Galilee; He would not go about in
Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him. [2] Now the Jews' feast of
Tabernacles was at hand. [10] But after His brethren had gone up to
the feast, then He also went up, not publicly but in private.


[25] Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, "Is not this the
man whom they seek to kill? [26] And here He is, speaking openly, and
they say nothing to Him! Can it be that the authorities really know
that this is the Christ? [27 Yet we know where this man comes from;
and when the Christ appears, no one will know where He comes from.
[28] So Jesus proclaimed, as He taught in the temple, "You know where I
come from? But I have not come of My own accord; He who sent Me is
true, and Him you do not know. [29] I know Him, for I come from Him,
and He sent Me." [30] So they sought to arrest Him; but no one laid
hands on Him, because His hour had not yet come.

---

Commentary:


1-2. The Jewish custom was for closer relatives to be called
"brothers", brethren (cf. notes on Matthew 12:46-47 and Mark 6:1-3).
These relatives of Jesus followed Him without understanding His
teaching or His mission (cf. Matthew 3:31); but because He worked such
obvious miracles in Galilee (cf. Matthew 15:32-39; Mark 8:1-10, 22-26)
they suggest to Him that He show Himself publicly in Jerusalem and
throughout Judea. Perhaps they wanted Him to be a big success, which
would have indulged their family pride.


2. The name of the feast recalls the time the Israelites spent living
under canvas in the wilderness (cf. Leviticus 23:34-36). During the
eight days the feast lasted (cf. Nehemiah 8:13-18), around the
beginning of autumn, the Jews commemorated the protection God had given
the Israelites over the forty years of the Exodus. Because it
coincided with the end of the harvest, it was also called the feast of
ingathering (cf. Exodus 23:16).


10. Because He had not arrived in advance of the feast (which was what
people normally did), the first caravans would have reported that Jesus
was not coming up, and therefore the members of the Sanhedrin would
have stopped planning anything against Him (cf. 7:1). By going up
later, the religious authorities would not dare make any move against
Him for fear of hostile public reaction (cf. Matthew 26:5). Jesus,
possibly accompanied by His disciples, arrives unnoticed at Jerusalem,
"in private", almost in a hidden way. Half-way through the feast, on
the fourth or fifth day, He begins to preach in the temple (cf. 7:14).


27. In this chapter we often see the Jews disconcerted, in two minds.
They argue with one another over whether Jesus is the Messiah, or a
prophet, or an impostor (verse 12); they do not know where He gets His
wisdom from (verse 15); they are short-tempered (verses 19-20); and
they are surprised by the attitudes of the Sanhedrin (verse 26).
Despite the signs they have seen (miracles, teaching) they do not want
to believe that Jesus is the Messiah. Perhaps some, thinking that He
came from Nazareth and was the son of Joseph and Mary, cannot see how
this fits in with the notion usually taken from Isaiah's prophecy
(Isaiah 53:1-8) about the Messiah's origin being unknown--except for
His coming from the line of David and being born in Bethlehem (cf.
Matthew 2:5 which quotes Micah 5:2; cf. John 7:42). In fact Jesus did
fulfill those prophetic predictions, though most Jews did not know it
because they knew nothing about His virginal birth in Bethlehem or His
descent from David. Others must have known that He was of the house of
David and had been born in Bethlehem, but even so they did not want to
accept His teaching because it demanded a mental and moral conversion
which they were not ready to make.


28-29. Not without a certain irony, Jesus refers to the superficial
knowledge these Jews had of Him: however, He asserts that He comes from
the Father who has sent Him, whom only He knows, precisely because He
is the Son of God (cf. John 1:18).


30. The Jews realized that Jesus was making Himself God's equal, which
was regarded as blasphemy and, according to the Law, was something
punishable by death by stoning (cf. Leviticus 24:15-16, 23).


This is not the first time St. John refers to the Jews' hostility (cf.
John 5:10), nor will it be the last (8:59; 10:31-33). He stresses this
hostility because it was a fact and perhaps also to show that Jesus
acts freely when, to fulfill the Father's will He gives Himself over to
His enemies when His "hour" arrives (cf. John 18:4-8). "He did not
therefore mean an hour when He would be forced to die, but one when He
would allow Himself to be put to death. For He was waiting for the
time in which He should die, even as He waited for the time in which He
should be born" (St. Augustine, "In Ioann. Evang., 31, 5).

---

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

[Salvation]

Office of Readings -- Awakening Prayer

[Salvation]

Office of Readings -- Awakening Prayer

Office of Readings

If this is the first Hour that you are reciting today, you should precede it with the Invitatory Psalm.

O God, come to my aid.
O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
 as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
 world without end.
Amen.

---

A suitable hymn may be inserted at this point.

Psalm 76 (77)

The history of salvation: the Lord's goodness, his people's infidelity (I)

Listen, my people, to my teaching;
 open your ears to the words of my mouth.
I shall open my mouth in explanation,
 I shall tell of the secrets of the past.

All that we have heard and know –
 all that our fathers told us –
 we shall not hide it from their descendants,
but will tell to a new generation
 the praise of the Lord, and his power,
 and the wonders that he worked.

He set up a covenant with Jacob,
 he gave a law to Israel;
he commanded our ancestors to pass it on to their children,
 so that the next generation would know it,
 the children yet to be born.
They shall rise up and tell the story to their children,
 so that they put their trust in God,
so that they do not forget the works of God,
 so that they keep his commandments;
so that they do not become like their fathers,
 rebellious and troublesome,
a generation of fickle hearts,
 of souls unfaithful to God.

The sons of Ephraim, the bowmen,
 fled when it came to battle;
they did not keep their covenant with God,
 they refused to follow his law.
They forgot his deeds
 and the wonders he had shown them.
In front of their ancestors he had worked his wonders,
 in the land of Egypt, in the plains of Tanis.
He divided the sea and led them across,
 he held back the waters as if in a bag.
He led them in a cloud by day;
 and through the night, in the light of fire.
He split the rock in the desert
 and gave them water as if from bottomless depths.
He brought forth streams from the rock
 and made the waters flow down in rivers.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
 as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
 world without end.
Amen.

---

Psalm 76 (77)

Still they insisted on sinning against him,
 they stirred up the wrath of the Most High in the desert.
They put God to the test in their hearts,
 asking for food, their desire.
They spoke out against God, saying
 “Can God lay a table in the wilderness?”
He struck the rock, and the waters poured out,
 and the streams were full to overflowing;
“But can he give us bread?
 Can he give meat to his people?”
The Lord heard all this, and he flared up in anger.
 Fire blazed against Jacob,
 his wrath rose up against Israel.
All this, because they had no faith in God,
 they had no trust in his saving power.

He commanded the clouds nevertheless,
 and opened the doors of the heavens.
Manna rained down for them to eat:
 he gave them the bread of heaven.
Men ate the food of angels;
 he gave them provisions in abundance.
In heaven he stirred up the east wind,
 he brought the south wind, by his power:
he rained meat on them as if it were dust,
 winged birds, like the sands of the sea,
to fall in the middle of their camp,
 all around their tents.
They ate and were full to bursting,
 and so he gave them their desire.
In the middle of their enjoyment,
 when the food was still in their mouths,
the wrath of God rose up against them,
 and slew the healthiest among them,
 and laid low the flower of Israel.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
 as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
 world without end.
Amen.

---

Psalm 76 (77)

All this – and still they sinned,
 still they had no faith in his wonders.
He made their days vanish in a breath,
 their years in a headlong rush.
Whenever he was killing them, they sought him,
 repented and came back to him at dawn:
they remembered that God is their helper,
 that God, the Most High, is their saviour;
but their speech to him was only flattery:
 they lied to him with their tongues,
their hearts were dishonest towards him,
 they did not keep his covenant.
But the Lord is merciful:
 he forgives sin, he does not destroy.
Always he turned aside his anger,
 held back from unleashing all his wrath.
He remembered that they were flesh –
 a breath, that goes and does not return.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
 as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
 world without end.
Amen.

---

Reading	Numbers 14:1 - 25 ©
The people complain; Moses intercedes
At this, the whole community raised their voices and cried aloud, and the people wailed all that night. Then all the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole community said, ‘Would that we had died in the land of Egypt, or at least that we had died in this wilderness! Why does the Lord bring us to this land, only to have us fall by the sword, and our wives and young children seized as booty? Should we not do better to go back to Egypt?’ And they said to one another, ‘Let us appoint a leader and go back to Egypt’. Before the whole assembled community of the sons of Israel, Moses and Aaron fell down, face to the ground. Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, two of those who had reconnoitred the country, tore their garments; and they said to the entire community of the sons of Israel, ‘The land we went to reconnoitre is a good land, an excellent land. If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into this land and give it to us. It is a land where milk and honey flow. Do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of this land; we shall gobble them up. Their tutelary shadow has gone from them so long as the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them.’ The entire community was talking of stoning them, when the glory of the Lord appeared at the Tent of Meeting to all the sons of Israel. And the Lord said to Moses: ‘How long will this people insult me? How long will they refuse to believe in me despite the signs I have worked among them? I will strike them with pestilence and disown them. And of you I shall make a new nation, greater and mightier than they are.’ Moses answered the Lord: ‘But the Egyptians already know that you, by your own power, have brought this people out from their midst. They have said as much to the inhabitants of this country. They already know that you, the Lord, are in the midst of this people, and that you show yourself to them face to face; that it is you, the Lord, whose cloud stands over them, that you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. If you destroy this people now as if it were one man, then the nations who have heard about you will say, “the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land he swore to give them, and so he has slaughtered them in the wilderness”. No, my Lord! It is now you must display your power, according to those words you spoke, “the Lord is slow to anger and rich in graciousness, forgiving faults and transgression, and yet letting nothing go unchecked, punishing the father’s fault in the sons to the third and fourth generation”. In the abundance, then, of your graciousness, forgive the sin of this people, as you have done from Egypt until now.’ The Lord said, ‘I forgive them as you ask. But – as I live, and as the glory of the Lord fills all the earth – of all the men who have seen my glory and the signs that I worked in Egypt and in the wilderness, who have put me to the test ten times already and not obeyed my voice, not one shall see the land I swore to give their fathers. Not one of those who slight me shall see it. But my servant Caleb is of another spirit. Because he has obeyed me perfectly, I will bring him into the land he has entered, and his race shall possess it. (The Amalekite and the Canaanite dwell in the plain.) Tomorrow you will turn about and go back into the wilderness, in the direction of the Sea of Suph.’

---

Reading	From an Easter letter by Saint Athanasius, bishop
The Paschal sacrament brings together in unity of faith those who are far away
Brethren, how fine a thing it is to move from festival to festival, from prayer to prayer, from holy day to holy day. The time is now at hand when we enter on a new beginning: the proclamation of the blessed Passover, in which the Lord was sacrificed. We feed as on the food of life, we constantly refresh our souls with his precious blood, as from a fountain. Yet we are always thirsting, burning to be satisfied. But he himself is present for those who thirst and in his goodness invites them to the feast day. Our Saviour repeats his words: If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. He quenched the thirst not only of those who came to him then. Whenever anyone seeks him he is freely admitted to the presence of the Saviour. The grace of the feast is not restricted to one occasion. Its rays of glory never set. It is always at hand to enlighten the mind of those who desire it. Its power is always there for those whose minds have been enlightened and who meditate day and night on the holy Scriptures, like the one who is called blessed in the holy psalm: Blessed is the man who has not followed the counsel of the wicked, or stood where sinners stand, or sat in the seat of the scornful, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. Moreover, my friends, the God who first established this feast for us allows us to celebrate it each year. He who gave up his Son to death for our salvation, from the same motive gives us this feast, which is commemorated every year. This feast guides us through the trials that meet us in this world. God now gives us the joy of salvation that shines out from this feast, as he brings us together to form one assembly, uniting us all in spirit in every place, allowing us to pray together and to offer common thanksgiving, as is our duty on the feast. Such is the wonder of his love: he gathers to this feast those who are far apart, and brings together in unity of faith those who may be physically separated from each other.

A concluding prayer may follow here.

[Salvation]

Reflections, Prayers, Actions, Questions and Answers for Lent 2006

[Salvation]

Here are some other links about Lent:

The History of Lent

The Holy Season of Lent -- Fast and Abstinence

The Holy Season of Lent -- The Stations of the Cross

Lent and Fasting

Mardi Gras' Catholic Roots [Shrove Tuesday]

Ash Wednesday

All About Lent

Kids and Holiness: Making Lent Meaningful to Children

Why We Need Lent

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI FOR LENT 2006

Lent a Time for Renewal, Says Benedict XVI

Why You Should Celebrate Lent

Getting the Most Out of Lent

Lent: A Time to Fast From Media and Criticism Says President of Pontifical Liturgical Institute

Give it up (making a Lenten sacrifice)

[Salvation]

Please pray for Father Andy who fits the description held in Wisdom -- that of being maligned in his diocese through no fault of his own. Also let pray for Father Altier.

Friday, Fourth Week of  Lent

"Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us." (Wisdom 2:12)

Reflection.

There is a general rule concerning all special graces granted to any human being. Whenever the divine favor chooses someone to receive a special grace, or to accept a lofty vocation, God adorns the person chosen with all the gifts of the Spirit needed to fulfill the task at hand. 
This general rule is especially verified in the case of Saint Joseph, the foster-father of our Lord, and the husband of the Queen of our world, enthroned above the angels. He was chosen by the eternal Father as the trustworthy guardian and protector of his greatest treasures, namely, his divine Son and Mary, Joseph's wife. He carried out this vocation with complete fidelity until at last God called him, saying "Good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord." 
Remember us, Saint Joseph, and plead for us to your foster child. Ask your most holy bride, the Virgin Mary, to look kindly upon us, since she is the mother of Him who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns eternally. ....Saint Bernardine of Siena

[Salvation]

Friday, March 31, 2006
Lenten Weekday

First Reading: Psalm: Gospel:

Wisdom 2:1, 12-22 Psalm 34:17-21, 23 John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30 Save me, O God, by Thy name and in Thy strength deliver me: O God, hear my prayer; give ear to the words of my mouth. -- Psalm liii. 3,4

[Salvation]

Catholic Culture

Collect:
Father, our source of life, you know our weakness. May we reach out with joy to grasp your hand and walk more readily in your ways. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Recipes:

• » Easter Soup with Leftover Lamb

Activities:

• » Liturgy of Easter Sunday and the Octave of Easter

Prayers:

• » Prayer for the Fourth Week of Lent
• » Lent Table Blessing 4
• » Annunciation Novena

March 31, 2006

Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent

Guided by the teachings of the Church through its admirable liturgy and the interior action of the Holy Spirit, souls ought to penetrate, to feel and almost to live, during these holy days, the unutterable sufferings of Jesus, immense as man's iniquity, the justice of God, and the love of His Heart. Souls ought to venerate and love that purity which impelled by divine love, is transformed into inconceivable pain for blotting out the sins of the world. —Liturgical Preludes, Most Reverend Luis M. Martinez, D.D.

The Station is in the church of St. Eusebius, priest of Rome, who suffered for the faith in the Arian persecution under the emperor Constantius.

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Meditation - The Purity of Jesus
There is no purity like that of Jesus, and consequently, no horror for sin like His. The hatred for sin — which in God is infinite but without suffering — is immense in Jesus by reason of the hypostatic union; and on account of His human nature, so exquisitely sensitive to suffering, it is sorrow, bitterness and immolation.

Jesus' ineffable purity was in contact with sin for thirty-three years, not with one sin only but with all the sins of the whole world; not from afar, but closely united to them; not like something alien, but in a certain sense, as if those sins were His own; because ". . . the Lord hath laid on him the iniquities of us all." Who can comprehend the dreadful meaning of this Scriptural sentence? With even greater audacity, St. Paul says: "For our sakes he made him to be sin, who knew nothing of sin, so that in him we might become the justice of God."

That is, the purity of Jesus, totally foreign to sin, was laden by God with our sins so that we, sons of wrath, might be justified in Jesus.

But only God knows the immense horror, the unspeakable suffering and the indescribable confusion that this strange fellowship of sinlessness and sin produced in the Sacred Heart. The Scripture speaks of the sufferings that beset the holy Victim as "the sorrows of hell." Obviously infinite purity projected upon sin as justice and as hate produces hell; but when that ineffable purity contacted the world's sins to take them away, what could result but an abyss of suffering in Jesus' ever spotless soul?

What humiliation for Jesus to feel Himself responsible for all our iniquities! What a struggle in His Heart between love for His Father which made Him abhor sin, and love of mankind which impelled Him to cover our guilt with His perfection and His pain! Here is the secret of our Redemption as well as the mystery of its deepest dolors. Rightly did Jesus present to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque His thorn torn Heart wounded by a spear, surmounted by a cross!

Excerpted from Liturgical Preludes, Most Reverend Luis M. Martinez, D.D.

Things to Do:

• Today is a day of abstinence from meat. Try one of the meatless dishes for dinner tonight from our recipes section.

[Salvation]

**Guided by the teachings of the Church through its admirable liturgy and the interior action of the Holy Spirit, souls ought to penetrate, to feel and almost to live, during these holy days, the unutterable sufferings of Jesus, immense as man's iniquity, the justice of God, and the love of His Heart.**

I have been feeling this tension building in the readings as they seem to be more intense to me. But then I thought maybe I was being TOO sensitive.

[Salvation]

Lauds -- Morning Prayer

Morning Prayer (Lauds)

If this is the first Hour that you are reciting today, you should precede it with the Invitatory Psalm.

O God, come to my aid.
O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
 as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
 world without end.
Amen.

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A suitable hymn may be inserted at this point.

Psalm 50 (51)

God, have mercy on me

Take pity on me, Lord, in your mercy; in your abundance of mercy wipe out my guilt.
Wash me ever more from my guilt and cleanse me from my sin.

For I know how guilty I am: my sin is always before me.

Against you, you alone have I sinned, and I have done evil in your sight.
Know this, so that you may give just sentence and an unbiased judgement.

See, I was conceived in guilt, in sin my mother conceived me;
but you love truth in the heart, and deep within me you have shown me your wisdom.

You will sprinkle me with hyssop, and I will be made clean; you will wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
You will make me hear the sound of joy and gladness; the bones you have crushed will rejoice.

Turn your face away from my sins and wipe out all my transgressions;
create a pure heart in me, God, put a steadfast spirit into me.

Do not send me away from your presence, or withdraw your holy spirit from me;
give me again the joy of your salvation, and be ready to strengthen me with your spirit.

I will teach the unjust your ways, and the impious will return to you.
Free me from the guilt of bloodshed, God, God my saviour, and my voice will glory in your justice.

Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will proclaim your praise;
for you do not delight in sacrifices: if I offered you a burnt offering, it would not please you.
The true sacrifice is a broken spirit: a contrite and humble heart, O God, you will not refuse.

Be pleased, Lord, to look kindly on Sion, so that the walls of Jerusalem can be rebuilt,
Then indeed you will accept the proper sacrifices, gifts and burnt offerings; then indeed will bullocks be laid upon your altar.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
 as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
 world without end.
Amen.

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Canticle	Tobit 13
Thanksgiving for the freeing of the people
Bless the Lord, his chosen ones: all of you, praise his greatness. Keep feast-days of rejoicing and proclaim his holy name. Jerusalem, holy city: he will punish you for what you have done. Thank the Lord for his good deeds, and bless the eternal king,  so that in you, once more, with gladness, your tabernacle may be built,  so that in you he may make all exiles rejoice,  so that in you he may care for the distressed for all ages, for ever. Your bright light will shine out to the ends of the earth:  many nations will come to you from afar. From the farthest corners of the world they will come to your holy name  carrying gifts in their hands for the King of heaven. Generation on generation, they will proclaim their joy  and the name of the chosen city will endure for ever. So rejoice and be glad among the children of the just,  for they will be brought together and bless the eternal Lord. Happy are those who love you, fortunate those who rejoice in your peace. My soul, bless the Lord, the great King,  for in Jerusalem his house will be built,  to stand for ever. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,  world without end. Amen.

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Psalm 147 (147B)

God, the foundation of Jerusalem

Praise the Lord, Jerusalem — Sion, praise your God.

For he has strengthened the bars of your gates, he has blessed your children.
He keeps your borders in peace, he fills you with the richest wheat.
He sends out his command over the earth, and swiftly runs his word.
He sends down snow that is like wool, frost that is like ashes.

He sends hailstones like crumbs — who can withstand his cold?
He will send out his word, and all will be melted; his spirit will breathe, and the waters will flow.
He proclaims his word to Jacob, his laws and judgements to Israel.
He has not done this for other nations: he has not shown them his judgements.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
 as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
 world without end.
Amen.

A short Bible reading and responsory may follow here.

Canticle	Benedictus
The Messiah and his forerunner
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has come to his people and brought about their redemption. He has raised up the sign of salvation in the house of his servant David, as he promised through the mouth of the holy ones, his prophets through the ages: to rescue us from our enemies and all who hate us, to take pity on our fathers, to remember his holy covenant and the oath he swore to Abraham our father, that he would give himself to us, that we could serve him without fear – freed from the hands of our enemies – in uprightness and holiness before him, for all of our days. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High: for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his path, to let his people know their salvation, so that their sins may be forgiven. Through the bottomless mercy of our God, one born on high will visit us to give light to those who walk in darkness, who live in the shadow of death; to lead our feet in the path of peace. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,  world without end. Amen.

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Some short prayers may follow here, to offer up the day's work to God.

Our Father, who art in Heaven,
 hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
 thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
 and forgive us our trespasses
 as we forgive those that trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation,
 but deliver us from evil.

A concluding prayer may follow here.

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May the Lord bless us and keep us from all harm; and may he lead us to eternal life.

A M E N

[Salvation]

Regnum Christi

The Intimate Knowledge of Christ
March 31, 2006

A lack of knowledge of the Scriptures is a lack of knowledge of Christ.

Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Father Barry O’Toole, LC

John 7:1-2,10,25-30
Jesus moved about within Galilee; but he did not wish to travel in Judea, because the Jews were trying to kill him. But the Jewish feast of Tabernacles was near. When his brothers had gone up to the feast, he himself also went up, not openly but as it were in secret. So some of the inhabitants of Jerusalem said, "Is he not the one they are trying to kill? And look, he is speaking openly and they say nothing to him. Could the authorities have realized that he is the Christ? But we know where he is from. When the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from." So Jesus cried out in the Temple area as he was teaching and said, "You know me and also know where I am from. Yet I did not come on my own, but the one who sent me, whom you do not know, is true. I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me." So they tried to arrest him, but no one laid a hand upon him, because his hour had not yet come.

Introductory Prayer: I kneel before you Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named. Grant me in accord with the riches of your glory to be strengthened with power through your Spirit in my inner self. May Christ dwell in my heart through faith; that, rooted and grounded in love, I may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that I may be filled with all your fullness (Cf. Ephesians 3:14-19).

Petition: Lord, help me to know you better in order to love you more intimately and perfectly.

1. Knowing Christ Through the Scriptures.  Most of the Jews of Jesus’ time knew the Scriptures quite well. Thus, when the Magi arrived looking for the newborn King of the Jews, they knew how to direct the Magi to Bethlehem. All of Israel anxiously awaited the coming of the Messiah, yet surprisingly, no one accompanied the Magi to Bethlehem to see him. Thus Jesus could rightly complain, “You know me and also know where I am from. Yet I did not come on my own, but the one who sent me, whom you do not know, is true.” They knew many things about the Messiah but since they did not know him or the Father who sent him, their “knowledge” was actually an obstacle to recognizing the Christ when he came. A lack of knowledge of the Scriptures is a lack of knowledge of Christ. But reading and studying them is not enough; we must meditate upon them and live them in our thoughts, desires and actions. We must use Scripture as a means of uniting ourselves to the person of Christ. With what attitude do I approach the Scriptures? Do I get bored because it is just the same thing I hear every Sunday? Or do I seek a “new way” to live the words I have heard so many times before?

2. Knowing Christ Through Contemplation.  Contemplation of the mysteries of Christ’s life, especially the incarnation, passion, death and resurrection of Jesus, is a privileged means of obtaining a profound experience of Christ. As we contemplate these mysteries of Christ’s life, observing all of the extraordinary things he did and who it was that was doing them, the question comes to our minds: Why did he do them? “For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven….” It all comes down to love. How can he love me to the extreme of giving his life for me? Here we touch the greatest mystery of God. But by contemplating his love for me, I grow in the knowledge of him because “God is love” (1 John 4:8).

3. Knowing Christ Through the Eucharist.  “Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end” (John 13:1).  Because he loved us so much and so greatly desired to be with us, he devised a way of departing while at the same time remaining with us. He gave us the Eucharist. Whenever we are able to get to a church or chapel, we are able to be with him and personally speak with him. I know no better way of growing in the knowledge and love of Christ than frequently visiting and receiving him in the Eucharist, even every day when possible.

Dialogue with Christ: Lord, I long to be with you. I desire to know you better and love you as you have loved me. Help me discover you more intimately in the Scriptures, in contemplation and in the Eucharist. Never let me be parted from you.

Resolution: I will pray the Stations of the Cross today as a way of contemplating and accompanying Christ in the mystery of his passion and death.

[Salvation]

Homily of the Day

Homily of the Day

Title:	What Words Will Your Life Speak in the End?
Author:	Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.
Date:	Friday, March 31, 2006

Wis 2:1,12-22 / Jn 7:1-2,10,25-30

Who’s really “got” it? Who’s on the cutting edge? We wonder about that all the time. Am I being left behind? Am I just treading water in a tiny pond that’s already been passed by? Anxieties about our professional life, about our financial future, and about what we “bring to the table,” can torture us and make us want to die - or at least hide far, far away. In part, our questions are fair, for it’s true that at times the world is passing us by and we need to get going fast and make some course changes.

But as often as not, that is not the question. The question is deeper: What am I in myself? Can I trust in the goodness and integrity that God has helped me build? When there’s no one out there cheering me on, can I continue to press forward because I know that I have set a right course? Can I do that even in the face of ridicule or sneering silence?

Today’s reading from the Old Testament book of Wisdom reminds us that a good person’s life speaks for itself, no matter what the crowds say. It may be that, for a time, the roar of the crowd will overwhelm the quiet testimony of a good life. But if we wait till all the shouting is done, the good person’s life will speak its own words into the silence.

May you be one whose life speaks great words of wisdom, truth, and love into the silence.

 

[Salvation]

Pray for A Voice in the Desert

The Archbishop's Response - with a commentary
Response of Fr. Altier and Fr. Welzbacher, pastor

Is this the reason Father Altier was silenced?
Father Altier innocent of any impropriety
About Father Altier and the Desert Voice Website
A Statement from the Webmaster at Desert Voice

The Lord is merciful and loving,
slow to anger and full of compassion.
                                      ~ Psalm 103:8

email@desertvoice.org

In obedient compliance with the expressed written request of Most Reverend Harry J. Flynn Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA Father Altier’s homilies and spiritual presentations can no longer be published on www.desertvoice.org or broadcast on Relevant Radio. This action of the Archbishop is not related to any scandal or sexual misconduct on the part of Father Robert Altier. We regret any inconvenience and humbly ask for your prayers. All concerns should be directed in a spirit of charity to: Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis  Most Reverend Harry J. Flynn 226 Summit Avenue Saint Paul, MN, USA 55102 (651) 291-4400 communications@archspm.org

[Nihil Obstat]

Thank you for these posts.

[MILESJESU]

Dear Freepers in Christ,

It seems that Freeper "Gamecock" is intent on attacking the Catholic Church, Catholic Apologists, and anything to do with the Catholic Faith.

Check out his latest thread today. "Ten Objections to Sola Scriptura".

This is Anti- Catholicism at its worst on FR.

In Jesus and Mary,

[Salvation]

I am very aware of his mindset. Pray for him.