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Catholic Caucus: Sunday Mass Readings, 03-18-12, Fourth Sunday of Lent - Lætare Sunday
USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 0318-12 | Revised New American Bible

Posted on 03/17/2012 11:29:26 PM PDT by Salvation

March 18, 2012

Fourth Sunday of Lent

 

Reading 1 2 Chr 36:14-16, 19-23

In those days, all the princes of Judah, the priests, and the people
added infidelity to infidelity,
practicing all the abominations of the nations
and polluting the LORD's temple
which he had consecrated in Jerusalem.

Early and often did the LORD, the God of their fathers,
send his messengers to them,
for he had compassion on his people and his dwelling place.
But they mocked the messengers of God,
despised his warnings, and scoffed at his prophets,
until the anger of the LORD against his people was so inflamed
that there was no remedy.
Their enemies burnt the house of God,
tore down the walls of Jerusalem,
set all its palaces afire,
and destroyed all its precious objects.
Those who escaped the sword were carried captive to Babylon,
where they became servants of the king of the Chaldeans and his sons
until the kingdom of the Persians came to power.
All this was to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah:
"Until the land has retrieved its lost sabbaths,
during all the time it lies waste it shall have rest
while seventy years are fulfilled."

In the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia,
in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah,
the LORD inspired King Cyrus of Persia
to issue this proclamation throughout his kingdom,
both by word of mouth and in writing:
"Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia:
All the kingdoms of the earth
the LORD, the God of heaven, has given to me,
and he has also charged me to build him a house
in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.
Whoever, therefore, among you belongs to any part of his people,
let him go up, and may his God be with him!"

Responsorial Psalm Ps 137:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6.

R. (6ab) Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!
By the streams of Babylon
we sat and wept
when we remembered Zion.
On the aspens of that land
we hung up our harps.
R. Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!
For there our captors asked of us
the lyrics of our songs,
And our despoilers urged us to be joyous:
"Sing for us the songs of Zion!"
R. Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!
How could we sing a song of the LORD
in a foreign land?
If I forget you, Jerusalem,
may my right hand be forgotten!
R. Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!
May my tongue cleave to my palate
if I remember you not,
If I place not Jerusalem
ahead of my joy.
R. Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!

Reading 2 Eph 2:4-10

Brothers and sisters:
God, who is rich in mercy,
because of the great love he had for us,
even when we were dead in our transgressions,
brought us to life with Christ -by grace you have been saved-,
raised us up with him,
and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus,
that in the ages to come
He might show the immeasurable riches of his grace
in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
For by grace you have been saved through faith,
and this is not from you; it is the gift of God;
it is not from works, so no one may boast.
For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works
that God has prepared in advance,
that we should live in them.

Gospel Jn 3:14-21

Jesus said to Nicodemus:
"Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life."

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish
but might have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him.
Whoever believes in him will not be condemned,
but whoever does not believe has already been condemned,
because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
And this is the verdict,
that the light came into the world,
but people preferred darkness to light,
because their works were evil.
For everyone who does wicked things hates the light
and does not come toward the light,
so that his works might not be exposed.
But whoever lives the truth comes to the light,
so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.


TOPICS: Catholic; General Discusssion; Prayer; Worship
KEYWORDS: catholic; lent; prayer
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1 posted on 03/17/2012 11:29:33 PM PDT by Salvation
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To: All
Fourth Sunday of Lent -- Scrutinies

March 18, 2012

Fourth Sunday of Lent - Year A Scrutinies


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 appearance
but the LORD looks into the heart."
In the same way Jesse presented seven sons before Samuel,
but Samuel said to Jesse,
"The LORD has not chosen any one of these."
Then Samuel asked Jesse,
"Are these all the sons you have?"
Jesse replied,
"There is still the youngest, who is tending the sheep."
Samuel said to Jesse,
"Send for him;
we will not begin the sacrificial banquet until he arrives here."
Jesse sent and had the young man brought to them.
He was ruddy, a youth handsome to behold
and making a splendid appearance.
The LORD said,
"Thereanoint him, for this is the one!"
Then Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand,
anointed David in the presence of his brothers;
and from that day on, the spirit of the LORD rushed upon David."

Responsorial Psalm Ps 23: 1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6

R. (1) The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
R.
The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
He guides me in right paths
for his name's sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side
With your rod and your staff
that give me courage.
R.
The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
R.
The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

Reading 2 Eph 5:8-14

Brothers and sisters:
You were once darkness,
but now you are light in the Lord.
Live as children of light,
for light produces every kind of goodness
and righteousness and truth.
Try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.
Take no part in the fruitless works of darkness;
rather expose them, for it is shameful even to mention
the things done by them in secret;
but everything exposed by the light becomes visible,
for everything that becomes visible is light.
Therefore, it says:
"Awake, O sleeper,
and arise from the dead,
and Christ will give you light."

Gospel Jn 9:1-41 or 9:1, 6-9, 13-17, 34-38

As Jesus passed by he saw a man blind from birth.
His disciples asked him,
"Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents,
that he was born blind?"
Jesus answered,
"Neither he nor his parents sinned;
it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him.
We have to do the works of the one who sent me while it is day.
Night is coming when no one can work.
While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."
When he had said this, he spat on the ground
and made clay with the saliva,
and smeared the clay on his eyes,
and said to him,
"Go wash in the Pool of Siloam" —which means Sent—.
So he went and washed, and came back able to see.

His neighbors and those who had seen him earlier as a beggar said,
"Isn't this the one who used to sit and beg?"
Some said, "It is, "
but others said, "No, he just looks like him."
He said, "I am."
So they said to him, "How were your eyes opened?"
He replied,
"The man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes
and told me, 'Go to Siloam and wash.'
So I went there and washed and was able to see."
And they said to him, "Where is he?"
He said, "I don't know."

They brought the one who was once blind to the Pharisees.
Now Jesus had made clay and opened his eyes on a sabbath.
So then the Pharisees also asked him how he was able to see.
He said to them,
"He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see."
So some of the Pharisees said,
"This man is not from God,
because he does not keep the sabbath."
But others said,
"How can a sinful man do such signs?"
And there was a division among them.
So they said to the blind man again,
"What do you have to say about him,
since he opened your eyes?"
He said, "He is a prophet."

Now the Jews did not believe
that he had been blind and gained his sight
until they summoned the parents of the one who had gained his sight.
They asked them,
"Is this your son, who you say was born blind?
How does he now see?"
His parents answered and said,
"We know that this is our son and that he was born blind.
We do not know how he sees now,
nor do we know who opened his eyes.
Ask him, he is of age;
he can speak for himself."
His parents said this because they were afraid
of the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed
that if anyone acknowledged him as the Christ,
he would be expelled from the synagogue.
For this reason his parents said,
"He is of age; question him."

So a second time they called the man who had been blind
and said to him, "Give God the praise!
We know that this man is a sinner."
He replied,
"If he is a sinner, I do not know.
One thing I do know is that I was blind and now I see."
So they said to him,
"What did he do to you?
How did he open your eyes?"
He answered them,
"I told you already and you did not listen.
Why do you want to hear it again?
Do you want to become his disciples, too?"
They ridiculed him and said,
"You are that man's disciple;
we are disciples of Moses!
We know that God spoke to Moses,
but we do not know where this one is from."
The man answered and said to them,
"This is what is so amazing,
that you do not know where he is from, yet he opened my eyes.
We know that God does not listen to sinners,
but if one is devout and does his will, he listens to him.
It is unheard of that anyone ever opened the eyes of a person born blind.
If this man were not from God,
he would not be able to do anything."
They answered and said to him,
"You were born totally in sin,
and are you trying to teach us?"
Then they threw him out.

When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out,
he found him and said, ADo you believe in the Son of Man?"
He answered and said,
"Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?"
Jesus said to him,
"You have seen him,
the one speaking with you is he."
He said,
"I do believe, Lord," and he worshiped him.
Then Jesus said,
"I came into this world for judgment,
so that those who do not see might see,
and those who do see might become blind."

Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard this
and said to him, "Surely we are not also blind, are we?"
Jesus said to them,
"If you were blind, you would have no sin;
but now you are saying, 'We see,' so your sin remains.

or

As Jesus passed by he saw a man blind from birth.
He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva,
and smeared the clay on his eyes,
and said to him,
"Go wash in the Pool of Siloam" — which means Sent —.
So he went and washed, and came back able to see.

His neighbors and those who had seen him earlier as a beggar said,
"Isn't this the one who used to sit and beg?"
Some said, "It is, "
but others said, "No, he just looks like him."
He said, "I am."

They brought the one who was once blind to the Pharisees.
Now Jesus had made clay and opened his eyes on a sabbath.
So then the Pharisees also asked him how he was able to see.
He said to them,
"He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see."
So some of the Pharisees said,
"This man is not from God,
because he does not keep the sabbath."
But others said,
"How can a sinful man do such signs?"
And there was a division among them.
So they said to the blind man again,
"What do you have to say about him,
since he opened your eyes?"
He said, "He is a prophet."

They answered and said to him,
"You were born totally in sin,
and are you trying to teach us?"
Then they threw him out.

When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out,
he found him and said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"
He answered and said,
"Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?"
Jesus said to him,
"You have seen him, and
the one speaking with you is he."
He said,
"I do believe, Lord," and he worshiped him.

2 posted on 03/17/2012 11:31:07 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: nickcarraway; NYer; ELS; Pyro7480; livius; ArrogantBustard; Catholicguy; RobbyS; marshmallow; ...

Praise to you, Lord, Jesus Christ, King of Endless Glory Ping!

If you aren’t on this ping list NOW and would like to be on it, please Freepmail me.



3 posted on 03/17/2012 11:34:15 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All

From: 2 Chronicles 36:14-16, 19-23

The Reign of Zedekiah (Continuation)


[14] All the leading priests and’ the people likewise were exceedingly unfaithful,
following all the abominations of the nations; and they polluted the house of the
LORD which he had hallowed in Jerusalem. [15] The LORD, the God of their fa-
thers, sent persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion
on his people and on his dwelling place; [16] but they kept mocking the messen-
gers of God, despising his words, and scoffing at his prophets, till the wrath of the
LORD rose against his people, till there was no remedy.

Deportation. Destruction of Jerusalem (Continuation)


[19] And they burned the house of God, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem,
and burned all its palaces with fire, and destroyed all its precious vessels. [20]
He took into exile in Babylon those who had escaped from the sword, and they
became servants to him and to his sons until the establishment of the kingdom
of Persia, [21] to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the
land had enjoyed its sabbaths. All the days that it lay desolate it kept sabbath,
to fulfill seventy years.

Cyrus’ Edict


[22] Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by
the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the LORD stirred up the spirit of
Cyrus king of Persia so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom
and also put it in writing: [23] ”Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The LORD, the
God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged
me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among
you of all his people, may the LORD his God be with him. Let him go up.”

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

36:21. The mention of Jeremiah (cf. Jer 25:1-12; 29:10) indicates that his book
was already seen in the Chronicler’s time as being prophetical and holy; and it
also underlines the fact that the exile was an event foreseen by God who kept
the land in a long “sabbath”, that is, a period of total rest, until the return of
those who constituted the true Israel. By refraining from any mention of the go-
vernorship of Gedaliah (cf. 2 Kings 25 :22-26) the writer avoids anything that
would imply divisions between these who were deported and those who stayed
on in Jerusalem.

36:22-23. The end of the book of Chronicles is identical with the start of that of
Ezra (Ezra 1:1-3) and the repetition was probably inserted when Chronicles was
finally separated from the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. But it does serve to re-
inforce the lesson, contained in the previous verses, that the exile does not mean
the end, and that everything will continue as before the exile, because those who
belong to the Lord’s people will return, and the key conviction of faith will endure
—that the Lord is with them, with all of those who, when this book was being
assembled, were members of the people.

*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.


4 posted on 03/17/2012 11:37:10 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All

From: Ephesians 2:4-10

Salvation As a Free Gift


[4] But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us,
[5] even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with
Christ (by grace you have been saved), [6] and raised us up with him, and made
us sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, [7] that in the coming ages
he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in
Christ Jesus. [8] For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not
your own doing, it is the gift of God [9] not because of works, lest any man should
boast. [10] For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,
which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

1-10. St Paul moves on to consider those who make up the Church—Jews and
Gentiles. Despite the sinful situation in which both found themselves (vv. 2-3),
God in is great mercy (vv. 4-5) has acted on them and made them to be like
Christ, now victorious and seated in heaven (vv. 6-7); this he has done through
the unmerited gift of faith (vv. 8-10).

4. God’s mercy is the greatest expression of his love because it shows the total
gratuitousness of God’s love towards the sinner, whereby instead of punishing
him he forgives him and gives him life. The words “God, who is rich in mercy”
have great theological and spiritual depth: they are a kind of summary of all St
Paul’s teaching about God’s approach to people who are under the rule of sin,
who are “by nature children of wrath”.

Bl. John Paul II chose these words of Scripture “dives in misericordia” — as the
title of one of his encyclicals, an encyclical which explores the divine dimension
of the mystery of Redemption. Here is how the Pope sums up biblical teaching
on mercy: “The concept of ‘mercy’ in the Old Testament has a long and rich his-
tory [...]. It is significant that in their preaching the prophets link mercy, which
they often refer to because of the people’s sins, with the incisive image of love
on God’s part. The Lord loves Israel with the love of a special choosing, much
like the love of a spouse (cf. e.g. Hos 2:21-25 and 15; Is 54:6-8) and for this rea-
son he pardons its sins and even its infidelities and betrayals. When he finds re-
pentance and true conversion, he brings his people back to grace (cf. Her 31:20;
Ezek 39: 25-29). In the preaching of the prophets “mercy” signifies a “special
power of love”, which “prevails over the sin and infidelity” of the chosen people
[...]. The Old Testament encourages people suffering from misfortune, especial-
ly those weighed down by sin—as also the whole of Israel, which had entered in-
to the covenant with God—”to appeal for mercy”, and enables them to count up-
on it” (”Dives In Misericordia”, 4).

In the New Testament also there are many references to God’s mercy, some-
times very touching ones, like the parable of the prodigal son (cf. Lk 15: 32);
others take a more dramatic form, for example, Christ’s sacrifice, the supreme
expression of the love of God, which is stronger than death and sin. “The ‘Cross
of Christ’, on which the Son, consubstantial with the Father, ‘renders full justice
to God’, is also ‘a radical revelation of mercy’, or rather of the love that goes
against what constitutes the very root of evil in the history of man: against sin
and death” (”ibid.”, 8).

5-6. The power of God works in the Christian in a way similar to that in which it
worked in Christ. St Paul here uses almost the same language as he did earlier
(cf. 1:20), to show how radical is the change produced in men by Christ’s salva-
tion.

Just as a dead person is unable to bring himself back to life, so those who are
dead through sin cannot obtain grace, supernatural life, by their own effort. Only
Christ, by means of the Redemption, offers us that new life which begins with
justification and ends with resurrection and eternal happiness in heaven. The
Apostle is speaking here of that life of grace, and therefore of our future resur-
rection and glorification with Christ in heaven; he refers to this as if it were an
accomplished fact, and the reason he does so is this: Jesus Christ is our head
and we form one body with him (cf. Gal 3:28), and therefore we share in the
head’s condition. Christ, after his resurrection, sits at the right hand of the Father.
“The body of Christ, which the Church is”, St Augustine comments, “must be at
the right hand, that is, in the glory of heaven, as the Apostle says: ‘we have been
raised up with him and made to sit with him in heaven.’ Even though our body is
not yet there, our hope is already placed there” (”De Agone Christiano”, 26).

From the moment of our incorporation into Christ by Baptism, his resurrection
and exaltation is something which is already present in us in an incomplete way:
“Thus by Baptism”, Vatican II teaches, “men are grafted into the paschal mys-
tery of Christ; they die with him, are buried with him, and rise with him (cf. Rom
6:4; Eph 2:6; Col 3:1; 2 Tim 2:11f). They receive the spirit of adoption as sons in
which ‘we cry, Abba, Father’ (Rom 8:15) and thus become true adorers such as
the Father seeks (cf. Jn 4:23)” (”Sacrosanctum Concilium”, 6). See the note on
Rom 6:9-10.

The Redemption has already been accomplished, and man has available to him
all the grace he needs for salvation: the gates of heaven are open wide; it is now
the responsibility of every individual to make room for grace in his soul, to avail
of grace to respond to our Lord’s call. Through Christ, “we have been reborn spi-
ritually, for through him we are crucified to the world,” St Zozimus comments.
“By his death that decree of death has been destroyed which Adam caused and
which was passed on to every soul—that sentence which we incur through our
descent, from which absolutely no one is free prior to being set free by Baptism”
(”Epist. ‘Tractoria’, Dz-Sch”, 231).

8-9. Salvation is the work of God, a gratuitous gift of God: it originates in God’s
mercy. It acts in man by means of faith, that is, by man’s acceptance of the sal-
vation offered him in Jesus Christ. But even faith, St Paul tells us, is a divine gift;
man cannot merit it by his own efforts alone; it is not exclusively the outcome of
human freedom; at all stages, from the very beginning, recognition and accep-
tance of Christ as Savior means that God’s grace is at work.

On the basis of this passage in Ephesians and other passages of Scripture, the
Church has taught: “According to the passages of Sacred Scripture and the ex-
planations of the Holy Fathers [specified] we, with God’s help must believe and
preach the following: The free will of man was made so weak and unsteady
through the sin of the first man that, after the Fall, no one could love God as was
required, or believe in God, or perform good works for God unless the grace of
divine mercy anticipated him [...]. Even after the coming of Christ this grace of
faith is not found in the free will of all who desire to be baptized but is conferred
through the generosity of Christ, according to what has already been said and
according to what the Apostle Paul teaches: ‘It has been granted to you that for
the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake’
(Phil 1:29). And also: ‘he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion
at the day of Jesus Christ’ (Phil 1:6). And again: ‘By grace you have been saved
through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God’ (Eph 2:8). And
the Apostle says of himself: ‘As one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy’ (1
Cor 7:25; cf. 1 Tim 1:13) [...]. And Scripture says further: ‘What have you that
you did not receive?’ (1 Cor 4:7). And again: ‘Every good endowment and every
perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights’ (Jas 1:17). And
again: ‘No one can receive anything except what is given from heaven’ (Jn 3:27)”
(Second Council of Orange, “De Gratia”, conclusion).

The Second Vatican Council provides the same teaching: “’By faith man freely
commits his entire self to God [...]; before this faith can be exercised, man must
have the grace of God to move and assist him; he must have the interior help of
the Holy Spirit, who moves the heart and converts it to God, who opens the eyes
of the mind and ‘makes it easy for all to accept and believe the truth’ (”De Gratia”,
can . 7; “Dei Filius”)’’ (”Dei Verbum”, 5).

When St Paul says that faith does not come from works (v. 9), he is referring to
things man can do on his own, without the help of grace. If faith did come from
works, then man would have something to boast to God about, something which
would bring salvation without dependence on Christ—which would be inadmissible,
because then our Lord’s death would make no sense, nor would even the Incar-
nation of the Word, whom “God has made our wisdom, our righteousness and
sanctification and redemption; therefore, as it is written, ‘Let him who boasts,
boast of the Lord”’ (1 Cor 1:30-31). See also the notes on Jas 2:14; Rom 3:20-31;
9:31.

10. The Christian became a new creation — “we are his workmanship” — when he
was inserted into Christ at Baptism (cf. 2 Cor 5:17). Once justified by Baptism,
he should live in a manner consistent with his faith, that is, with his new life. The
life of grace in fact moves him to do those good works which God wishes to see
performed (he had already laid down that this should be so) and which perfect the
work of salvation. Deeds, works, prove the genuineness of faith: “faith by itself, if
it has no works, is dead” (Jas 2:17). Without these works — the practice of the
theological and moral virtues—not only would faith be dead; our love for God and
neighbor would be false.

Having said that, it is also true that to bring about this renewal in man God
counts on man’s readiness to respond to grace and on his carrying out “good
works”.

Christian Tradition has always taught that the fruits of faith are a proof of its vita-
lity. For example, this is what St Polycarp has to say: “It does my heart good to
see how the solid roots of your faith, which have such a reputation ever since ear-
ly times, are still flourishing and bearing fruit in Jesus Christ [...]. Many desire to
share in your joy, well knowing that it is by the will of God that you are saved
through Jesus Christ” (”Letter to the Philippians”, chap. 1).

*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.


5 posted on 03/17/2012 11:38:00 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All

From: John 3:14-21

The Visit of Nicodemus (Continuation)


[Jesus said to Nicodemus,] [14] And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilder-
ness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, [15] that whoever believes in Him may
have eternal life.”

[16] “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes
in Him should not perish but have eternal life. [17] For God sent the Son into the
world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.
[18] He who believes in Him is not condemned; He who does not believe is con-
demned already, because He had not believed in the name of the only Son of
God. [19] And this is the judgment, that the light has come into world, and men
loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. [20] For every
one who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds
should be exposed. [21] But he who does what is true comes to the light, that it
may be clearly seen that his deeds have been wrought in God.”

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

14-15. The bronze serpent which Moses set up on a pole was established by
God to cure those who had been bitten by the poisonous serpents in the desert
(cf. Numbers 21:8-9). Jesus compares this with His crucifixion, to show the va-
lue of His being raised up on the cross: those who look on Him with faith can ob-
tain salvation. We could say that the good thief was the first to experience the
saving power of Christ on the cross: he saw the crucified Jesus, the King of Is-
rael, the Messiah, and was immediately promised that he would be in Paradise
that very day (cf. Luke 23:39-43).

The Son of God took on our human nature to make known the hidden mystery of
God’s own life (cf. Mark 4:11; John 1:18; 3:1-13; Ephesians 3:9) and to free from
sin and death those who look at Him with faith and love and who accept the cross
of every day.

The faith of which our Lord speaks is not just intellectual acceptance of the truths
He has taught: it involves recognizing Him as Son of God (cf. 1 John 5:1), sharing
His very life (cf. John 1:12) and surrendering ourselves out of love and therefore
becoming like Him (cf. John 10:27; 1 John 3:2). But this faith is a gift of God (cf.
John 3:3, 5-8), and we should ask Him to strengthen it and increase it as the A-
postles did: Lord “increase our faith!” (Luke 17:5). While faith is a supernatural,
free gift, it is also a virtue, a good habit, which a person can practise and thereby
develop: so the Christian, who already has the divine gift of faith, needs with the
help of grace to make explicit acts of faith in order to make this virtue grow.

16-21. These words, so charged with meaning, summarize how Christ’s death is
the supreme sign of God’s love for men (cf. the section on charity in the “Intro-
duction to the Gospel according to John”: pp. 31ff above). “`For God so loved the
world that He gave His only Son’ for its salvation. All our religion is a revelation of
God’s kindness, mercy and love for us. `God is love’ (1 John 4:16), that is, love
poured forth unsparingly. All is summed up in this supreme truth, which explains
and illuminates everything. The story of Jesus must be seen in this light. `(He)
loved me’, St. Paul writes. Each of us can and must repeat it for himself — `He
loved me, and gave Himself for me’ (Galatians 2:20)” (Paul VI, “Homily on Cor-
pus Christi”, 13 June 1976).

Christ’s self-surrender is a pressing call to respond to His great love for us: “If it
is true that God has created us, that He has redeemed us, that He loves us so
much that He has given up His only-begotten Son for us (John 3:16), that He
waits for us — every day! — as eagerly as the father of the prodigal son did (cf.
Luke 15:11-32), how can we doubt that He wants us to respond to Him with all
our love? The strange thing would be not to talk to God, to draw away and forget
Him, and busy ourselves in activities which are closed to the constant promp-
tings of His grace” (St. J. Escriva, “Friends of God”, 251).

“Man cannot live without love. He remains a being that is incomprehensible for
himself, his life is senseless, if love is not revealed to him, if he does not encoun-
ter love, if he does not experience it and make it his own, if he does not partici-
pate intimately in it. This [...] is why Christ the Redeemer `fully reveals man to
himself’. If we may use the _expression, this is the human dimension of the mys-
tery of the Redemption. In this dimension man finds again the greatness, dignity
and value that belong to his humanity. [...] The one who wishes to understand
himself thoroughly [...] must, with his unrest and uncertainty and even his weak-
ness and sinfulness, with his life and death, draw near to Christ. He must, so to
speak, enter into Him with all his own self, he must `appropriate’ and assimilate
the whole of the reality of the Incarnation and Redemption in order to find himself.
If this profound process takes place within him, he then bears fruit not only of
adoration of God but also of deep wonder at himself.

How precious must man be in the eyes of the Creator, if he `gained so great a
Redeemer’, (”Roman Missal, Exultet” at Easter Vigil), and if God `gave His only
Son’ in order that man `should not perish but have eternal life’. [...]

`Increasingly contemplating the whole of Christ’s mystery, the Church knows
with all the certainty of faith that the Redemption that took place through the
Cross has definitively restored his dignity to man and given back meaning to his
life in the world, a meaning that was lost to a considerable extent because of sin.
And for that reason, the Redemption was accomplished in the paschal mystery,
leading through the Cross and death to Resurrection” (Bl. John Paul II, “Redemp-
tor Hominis”, 10).

Jesus demands that we have faith in Him as a first prerequisite to sharing in His
love. Faith brings us out of darkness into the light, and sets us on the road to sal-
vation. “He who does not believe is condemned already” (verse 18).

“The words of Christ are at once words of judgment and grace, of life and death.
For it is only by putting to death that which is old that we can come to newness
of life. Now, although this refers primarily to people, it is also true of various world-
ly goods which bear the mark both of man’s sin and the blessing of God. [...] No
one is freed from sin by himself or by his own efforts, no one is raised above him-
self or completely delivered from his own weakness, solitude or slavery; all have
need of Christ, who is the model, master, liberator, savior, and giver of life. Even
in the secular history of mankind the Gospel has acted as a leaven in the inte-
rests of liberty and progress, and it always offers itself as a leaven with regard to
brotherhood, unity and peace” (Vatican II, “Ad Gentes”, 8).

*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.


6 posted on 03/17/2012 11:38:51 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
Scripture readings taken from the Jerusalem Bible, published and copyright © 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman & Todd

Mass Readings


First reading 2 Chronicles 36:14-16,19-23 ©
All the heads of the priesthood, and the people too, added infidelity to infidelity, copying all the shameful practices of the nations and defiling the Temple that the Lord had consecrated for himself in Jerusalem. The Lord, the God of their ancestors, tirelessly sent them messenger after messenger, since he wished to spare his people and his house. But they ridiculed the messengers of God, they despised his words, they laughed at his prophets, until at last the wrath of the Lord rose so high against his people that there was no further remedy.
  They burned down the Temple of God, demolished the walls of Jerusalem, set fire to all its palaces, and destroyed everything of value in it. The survivors were deported by Nebuchadnezzar to Babylon; they were to serve him and his sons until the kingdom of Persia came to power. This is how the word of the Lord was fulfilled that he spoke through Jeremiah, ‘Until this land has enjoyed its sabbath rest, until seventy years have gone by, it will keep sabbath throughout the days of its desolation.’
  And in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, to fulfil the word of the Lord that was spoken through Jeremiah, the Lord roused the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia to issue a proclamation and to have it publicly displayed throughout his kingdom: ‘Thus speaks Cyrus king of Persia, “the Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth; he has ordered me to build him a Temple in Jerusalem, in Judah. Whoever there is among you of all his people, may his God be with him! Let him go up.”’

Psalm Psalm 136:1-6 ©
O let my tongue cleave to my mouth if I remember you not!
By the rivers of Babylon
  there we sat and wept,
  remembering Zion;
on the poplars that grew there
  we hung up our harps.
O let my tongue cleave to my mouth if I remember you not!
For it was there that they asked us,
  our captors, for songs,
  our oppressors, for joy.
‘Sing to us,’ they said,
  ‘one of Zion’s songs.’
O let my tongue cleave to my mouth if I remember you not!
O how could we sing
  the song of the Lord
  on alien soil?
If I forget you, Jerusalem,
  let my right hand wither!
O let my tongue cleave to my mouth if I remember you not!
O let my tongue
  cleave to my mouth
  if I remember you not,
if I prize not Jerusalem
  above all my joys!
O let my tongue cleave to my mouth if I remember you not!

Second reading Ephesians 2:4-10 ©
God loved us with so much love that he was generous with his mercy: when we were dead through our sins, he brought us to life with Christ – it is through grace that you have been saved – and raised us up with him and gave us a place with him in heaven, in Christ Jesus.
  This was to show for all ages to come, through his goodness towards us in Christ Jesus, how infinitely rich he is in grace. Because it is by grace that you have been saved, through faith; not by anything of your own, but by a gift from God; not by anything that you have done, so that nobody can claim the credit. We are God’s work of art, created in Christ Jesus to live the good life as from the beginning he had meant us to live it.

Gospel Acclamation Jn3:16
Glory and praise to you, O Christ!
God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son:
everyone who believes in him has eternal life.
Glory and praise to you, O Christ!

Gospel John 3:14-21 ©
Jesus said to Nicodemus:
‘The Son of Man must be lifted up
as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,
so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.
Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost
but may have eternal life.
For God sent his Son into the world
not to condemn the world,
but so that through him the world might be saved.
No one who believes in him will be condemned;
but whoever refuses to believe is condemned already,
because he has refused to believe in the name of God’s only Son.
On these grounds is sentence pronounced:
that though the light has come into the world
men have shown they prefer darkness to the light
because their deeds were evil.
And indeed, everybody who does wrong
hates the light and avoids it,
for fear his actions should be exposed;
but the man who lives by the truth comes out into the light,
so that it may be plainly seen that what he does is done in God.’

7 posted on 03/17/2012 11:51:42 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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Following the Truth: Lent: Becoming Uncomfortable About Being Comfortable [Catholic and Open]
Following the Truth: Spiritual Exercises – Week One [of Lent] In Review
Clerical Narcissism and Lent
Content of Pope's Lenten spiritual exercises revealed
How Lent Can Make a Difference in Your Relationship with God (Ecumenical Thread)
A Call from the FSSP French District: offer up your Lent for Catholic Unity [Catholic Caucus]
A Call from the FSSP French District: offer up your Lent for Catholic Unity [Catholic Caucus]
On the 40 Days of Lent
Christians Tailor Lent Outside Catholic Traditions
Christians Tailor Lent Outside Catholic Traditions
Lent, A Time to Shoulder Our Christian Responsibilities
Consecrate this Lent to Jesus through Mary, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity [Catholic Caucus]
Opinion: Lent for Baptists [Ekoomenikal]

Ash (or Clean) Monday - Lent Begins (for some Catholics) - February 20, 2012
[Why I Am Catholic]: Lent And Holy Week (A Primer) [Catholic Caucus]
Lent, A Time to Give from the Heart [Catholic caucus}
Learning the beatitudes during Lent -- use your Rosary to learn the Beatitutdes [Catholic Caucus]
Lenten Ember Days: March 16th, 18th, and 19th, 2011 (Catholic/Orthodox Caucus)
St. Vincent Ferrer - Sermon for the First Sunday of Lent [Ecumenical]
Pope describes ‘Lenten road’ that leads to renewal
St. Andrew of Crete, Great Canon of Repentance - Tuesday's portion (Orthodox/Latin Caucus)
The Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete (Monday's portion) [Orth/Cath Caucus]
Penance and Reparation: A Lenten Meditation(Catholic/Orthodox Caucus)
For Lent - Top 10 Bible Verses on Penance
Cana Sunday: Entrance into Great Lent
2011 Catechetical Homily on the opening of Holy and Great Lent
8 Ways to Pray During Lent [Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]
Baptists, Lent, and the Reformation Rummage Sale
So What Shall We Do during These Forty Days of Lent? [Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]
Lenten Traditions (Catholic Caucus)
Are You Scrupulous? A Lenten Homily by John Cardinal O’Connor
Blow the Trumpet! Call the Assembly! The Blessings of Fasting
Lenten Challenges

Lent and the Catholic Business Professional (Interview)
Temptations Correspond to Our Vulnerabilities: Biblical Reflection for 1st Sunday of Lent
A Lenten “Weight” Loss Program
On the Lenten Season
Lent 2010: Pierce Thou My Heart, Love Crucified [Catholic Caucus]
US seminarians begin Lenten pilgrimage to Rome's ancient churches
Conversion "is going against the current" of an "illusory way of life"[Pope Benedict XVI for Lent]
vanity] Hope you all make a good Lent [Catholic Caucus]
Lent -- Easter 2010, Reflections, Prayer, Actions Day by Day
Stational Churches (Virtually visit one each day and pray)
40 Ways to Get the Most Out of Lent!
What to Give Up (for Lent)? The List
On the Spiritual Advantages of Fasting [Pope Clement XIII]
Christ's temptation and ours (Reflection for the First Sunday of Lent)
Pope Benedict XVI Message for Lent 2010 (Feb 15 = Ash Monday & Feb 17 = Ash Wednesday)
Whatever happened to (Lenten) obligations? [Prayer, Fasting, Almsgiving]Archbishop John Vlazny
Vatican Presents Lenten Website: LENT 2009
A Scriptural Way of the Cross with Meditations by Saint Alphonsus Liguori (Lenten Prayer/Devotional)
Prayer, Fasting and Mercy by St. Peter Chrysologus, Early Church Father [Catholic Caucus]
History of Lent (Did the Church always have this time before Easter?)

Beginning of Lent
Lent (Catholic Encyclopedia - Caucus Thread)
At Lent, let us pray for the Pope (Muslim converts ask us to pray for the pope)
Daily Lenten Reflections 2009
LENTEN STATIONS [Stational Churches for Lent] (Catholic Caucus)
40 Days for Life campaign is now under way (February 25 - April 5]
This Lent, live as if Jesus Christ is indeed Lord of your life
Reconciliation, forgiveness, hope – and Lent
Intro to Fast and Abstinence 101
Lent: Why the Christian Must Deny Himself (with Scriptural references)
40 Ways to Improve Your Lent
Everything Lent (Lots of links)
The Best Kind of Fasting
Getting Serious About Lent
Lent Overview
Meditations on the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ [Devotional]
On Lent... and Lourdes (Benedict XVI's Angelus address)
Lent for Newbies
Lent -- 2008 -- Come and Pray Each Day
Lent: Why the Christian Must Deny Himself

Lenten Workshop [lots of ideas for all]
Lent and Reality
Forty Days (of Lent) [Devotional/Reflections]
Pope Benedict takes his own advice, plans to go on retreat for Lent
GUIDE FOR LENT - What the Catholic Church Says
Message of His Holiness Benedict XVI for Lent 2008
40 Days for Life: 2008 Campaigns [Lent Registration this week]
Vatican Web Site Focuses on Lent
Almsgiving [Lent]
Conversion Through Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving [Lent]
Lenten Stations -- Stational Churches - visit each with us during Lent {Catholic Caucus}
Something New for Lent: Part I -- Holy Souls Saturdays
Reflections for Lent (February, March and April, 2007)
Lent 2007: The Love Letter Written by Pope Benedict
Pre-Lent through Easter Prayer and Reflections -- 2007
Stations of the Cross [Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]
For study and reflection during Lent - Mind, Heart, Soul [Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]
Ash Wednesday and the Lenten Fast-Family observance Lenten season [Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]
Pre-Lenten Days -- Family activities-Shrove Tuesday (Mardi Gras)[Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]
40 Ways to Get the Most Out of Lent! [Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]

Lenten Fasting or Feasting? [Catholic Caucus]
Pope's Message for Lent-2007
THE TRUE NATURE OF FASTING (Catholic/Orthodox Caucus)
The Triduum and 40 Days
The Three Practices of Lent: Praying, Fasting. Almsgiving
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)
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]
Kids and Holiness: Making Lent Meaningful to Children
Ash Wednesday
All About Lent

8 posted on 03/17/2012 11:52:45 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
Welcome to 40 Days for Life: 40 Days for Life kicks off February 22 in 258 locations!
9 posted on 03/17/2012 11:53:31 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
Prayers for The Religion Forum (Ecumenical)
10 posted on 03/18/2012 12:00:07 AM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
Continue to Pray for Pope Benedict [Ecumenical]
11 posted on 03/18/2012 12:00:43 AM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
Image Detail
 
Jesus, High Priest
 

We thank you, God our Father, for those who have responded to your call to priestly ministry.

Accept this prayer we offer on their behalf: Fill your priests with the sure knowledge of your love.

Open their hearts to the power and consolation of the Holy Spirit.

Lead them to new depths of union with your Son.

Increase in them profound faith in the Sacraments they celebrate as they nourish, strengthen and heal us.

Lord Jesus Christ, grant that these, your priests, may inspire us to strive for holiness by the power of their example, as men of prayer who ponder your word and follow your will.

O Mary, Mother of Christ and our mother, guard with your maternal care these chosen ones, so dear to the Heart of your Son.

Intercede for our priests, that offering the Sacrifice of your Son, they may be conformed more each day to the image of your Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Saint John Vianney, universal patron of priests, pray for us and our priests

This icon shows Jesus Christ, our eternal high priest.

The gold pelican over His heart represents self-sacrifice.

The border contains an altar and grapevines, representing the Mass, and icons of Melchizedek and St. Jean-Baptiste Vianney.

Melchizedek: king of righteousness (left icon) was priest and king of Jerusalem.  He blessed Abraham and has been considered an ideal priest-king.

St. Jean-Baptiste Vianney is the patron saint of parish priests.


12 posted on 03/18/2012 12:01:59 AM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: Salvation
Pray a Rosary each day for our nation.

Pray the Rosary

1.  Sign of the Cross:  In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

2.  The Apostles Creed:  I BELIEVE in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day He rose again. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. From thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

3.  The Lord's Prayer:  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 who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

4. (3) Hail Mary:  HAIL Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and in the hour of our death. Amen. (Three times)

5. Glory Be:  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.

Fatima Prayer: Oh, my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of your mercy.

Announce each mystery, then say 1 Our Father, 10 Hail Marys, 1 Glory Be and 1 Fatima prayer.  Repeat the process with each mystery.

End with the Hail Holy Queen:

Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve! To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears! Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us; and after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus!

O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary! Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Final step -- The Sign of the Cross

 

The Mysteries of the Rosary

By tradition, Catholics meditate on these Mysteries during prayers of the Rosary.
The biblical references follow each of the Mysteries below.


The Glorious Mysteries
(Wednesdays and Sundays)
1.The Resurrection (Matthew 28:1-8, Mark 16:1-18, Luke 24:1-12, John 20:1-29) [Spiritual fruit - Faith]
2. The Ascension (Mark 16:19-20, Luke 24:50-53, Acts 1:6-11) [Spiritual fruit - Christian Hope]
3. The Descent of the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:1-13) [Spiritual fruit - Gifts of the Holy Spirit]
4. The Assumption [Spiritual fruit - To Jesus through Mary]
5. The Coronation [Spiritual fruit - Grace of Final Perseverance]

or

Pray a Rosary each day for our nation.

Pray the Rosary

1.  Sign of the Cross:  In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

2.  The Apostles Creed:  I BELIEVE in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day He rose again. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. From thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

3.  The Lord's Prayer:  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 who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

4. (3) Hail Mary:  HAIL Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and in the hour of our death. Amen. (Three times)

5. Glory Be:  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.

Fatima Prayer: Oh, my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of your mercy.

Announce each mystery, then say 1 Our Father, 10 Hail Marys, 1 Glory Be and 1 Fatima prayer.  Repeat the process with each mystery.

End with the Hail Holy Queen:

Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve! To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears! Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us; and after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus!

O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary! Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Final step -- The Sign of the Cross

 

The Mysteries of the Rosary

By tradition, Catholics meditate on these Mysteries during prayers of the Rosary.
The biblical references follow each of the Mysteries below.


The Sorrowful Mysteries
(Tuesdays and Fridays)
1. The Agony in the Garden (Matthew 26:36-46, Luke 22:39-46) [Spiritual fruit - God's will be done]
2. The Scourging at the Pillar (Matthew 27:26, Mark 15:15, John 19:1) [Spiritual fruit - Mortification of the senses]
3. The Crowning with Thorns (Matthew 27:27-30, Mark 15:16-20, John 19:2) [Spiritual fruit - Reign of Christ in our heart]
4. The Carrying of the Cross (Matthew 27:31-32, Mark 15:21, Luke 23:26-32, John 19:17) [Spiritual fruit - Patient bearing of trials]
5. The Crucifixion (Matthew 27:33-56, Mark 15:22-39, Luke 23:33-49, John 19:17-37) [Spiritual fruit - Pardoning of Injuries]

13 posted on 03/18/2012 12:03:35 AM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All



~ PRAYER ~

St. Michael, the Archangel, defend us in battle
 Be our protection against the wickedness
and snares of the devil;
May God rebuke him, we  humbly pray,
 and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host,
 by the power of God,
 Cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits
who prowl through the world seeking the ruin of souls.
 Amen
+

14 posted on 03/18/2012 12:04:42 AM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
God Save Our Country web site (prayer warriors)
Prayer Chain Request for the United States of America
Pray for Nancy Pelosi
Prayer and fasting will help defeat health care reform (Freeper Prayer Thread)
Prayer Campaign Started to Convert Pro-Abortion Catholic Politicians to Pro-Life
[Catholic Caucus] One Million Rosaries
Non-stop Rosary vigil to defeat ObamaCare

From an Obama bumper sticker on a car:

"Pray for Obama.  Psalm 109:8"

Psalm 109:8

    "Let his days be few; and let another take his place of leadership."

PLEASE JOIN US -

Evening Prayer
Someone has said that if people really understood the full extent of the power we have available through prayer, we might be speechless.
Did you know that during WWII there was an advisor to Churchill who organized a group of people who dropped what they were doing every day at a prescribed hour for one minute to collectively pray for the safety of England, its people and peace?  


There is now a group of people organizing the same thing here in America. If you would like to participate: Every evening at 9:00 PM Eastern Time (8:00 PM Central) (7:00 PM Mountain) (6:00 PM Pacific), stop whatever you are doing and spend one minute praying for the safety of the United States, our troops, our citizens, and for a return to a Godly nation. If you know anyone else who would like to participate, please pass this along. Our prayers are the most powerful asset we have.    Please forward this to your praying friends.


15 posted on 03/18/2012 12:05:11 AM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
 
March Devotion: Saint Joseph

Since the 16th century Catholic piety has assigned entire months to special devotions. Due to the solemnity of Saint Joseph on March 19, this month is devoted to this great saint, the foster father of Christ. "It greatly behooves Christians, while honoring the Virgin Mother of God, constantly to invoke with deep piety and confidence her most chaste spouse, Saint Joseph. We have a well grounded conviction that such is the special desire of the Blessed Virgin herself." --Pope Leo XIII

FOR OUR WORK
Glorious Saint Joseph, pattern of all who are devoted to toil, obtain for me the grace to toil in the spirit of penance, in order thereby to atone for my many sins; to toil conscientiously, putting devotion to duty before my own inclinations; to labor with thankfulness and joy, deeming it an honor to employ and to develop, by my labor, the gifts I have received from Almighty God; to work with order, peace, moderation, and patience, without ever shrinking from weariness and difficulties; to work above all with a pure intention and with detachment from self, having always before my eyes the hour of death and the accounting which I must then render of time ill-spent, of talents unemployed, of good undone, and of my empty pride in success, which is so fatal to the work of God. All for Jesus, all through Mary, all in imitation of thee, 0 Patriarch Joseph! This shall be my motto in life and in death. Amen.

OFFERING TO SAINT JOSEPH
O great Saint Joseph, thou generous depositary and dispenser of immortal riches, behold us prostrate at thy feet, imploring thee to receive us as thy servants and as thy children. Next to the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, of which thou art the faithful copy, we acknowledge that there is no heart more tender, more compassionate than thine.

What, then, have we to fear, or, rather, for what should we not hope, if thou dost deign to be our benefactor, our master, our model, our father and our mediator? Refuse not, then, this favor, O powerful protector! We ask it of thee by the love thou hast for Jesus and Mary. Into thy hands we commit our souls and bodies, but above all the last moments of our lives.

May we, after having honored, imitated, and served thee on earth, eternally sing with thee the mercies of Jesus and Mary. Amen.

FOR THE INTERCESSION OF SAINT JOSEPH
O Joseph, virgin-father of Jesus, most pure spouse of the Virgin Mary, pray every day for us to the same Jesus, the Son of God, that we, being defended by the power of His grace and striving dutifully in life, may be crowned by Him at the hour of death.

Prayer Source: Prayer Book, The by Reverend John P. O'Connell, M.A., S.T.D. and Jex Martin, M.A., The Catholic Press, Inc., Chicago, Illinois, 1954

St. Joseph
St. Joseph was an ordinary manual laborer although descended from the royal house of David. In the designs of Providence he was destined to become the spouse of the Mother of God. His high privilege is expressed in a single phrase, "Foster-father of Jesus." About him Sacred Scripture has little more to say than that he was a just man-an expression which indicates how faithfully he fulfilled his high trust of protecting and guarding God's greatest treasures upon earth, Jesus and Mary.

The darkest hours of his life may well have been those when he first learned of Mary's pregnancy; but precisely in this time of trial Joseph showed himself great. His suffering, which likewise formed a part of the work of the redemption, was not without great providential import: Joseph was to be, for all times, the trustworthy witness of the Messiah's virgin birth. After this, he modestly retires into the background of holy Scripture.

Of St. Joseph's death the Bible tells us nothing. There are indications, however, that he died before the beginning of Christ's public life. His was the most beautiful death that one could have, in the arms of Jesus and Mary. Humbly and unknown, he passed his years at Nazareth, silent and almost forgotten he remained in the background through centuries of Church history. Only in more recent times has he been accorded greater honor. Liturgical veneration of St. Joseph began in the fifteenth century, fostered by Sts. Brigid of Sweden and Bernadine of Siena. St. Teresa, too, did much to further his cult.

At present there are two major feasts in his honor. On March 19 our veneration is directed to him personally and to his part in the work of redemption, while on May 1 we honor him as the patron of workmen throughout the world and as our guide in the difficult matter of establishing equitable norms regarding obligations and rights in the social order.

Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch.

St. Joseph is invoked as patron for many causes. He is the patron of the Universal Church. He is the patron of the dying because Jesus and Mary were at his death-bed. He is also the patron of fathers, of carpenters, and of social justice. Many religious orders and communities are placed under his patronage.

Patron: Against doubt; against hesitation; Americas; Austria; Diocese of Baton Rouge, Louisiana; California; Belgium; Bohemia; bursars; cabinetmakers; Canada; Carinthia; carpenters; China; Church; confectioners; craftsmen; Croatian people (in 1687 by decree of the Croatian parliament) dying people; emigrants; engineers; expectant mothers; families; fathers; Florence, Italy; happy death; holy death; house hunters; immigrants; interior souls; Korea; laborers; Diocese of La Crosse, Wisconsin; Archdiocese of Louisville, Kentucky; Diocese of Manchester, New Hampshire; Mexico; Diocese of Nashville, Tennessee; New France; New World; Oblates of Saint Joseph; people in doubt; people who fight Communism; Peru; pioneers; pregnant women; protection of the Church; Diocese of San Jose, California; diocese of Sioux Falls, South Dakota; social justice; Styria, Austria; travelers; Turin Italy; Tyrol Austria; unborn children Universal Church; Vatican II; Viet Nam; Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston West Virginia; wheelwrights; workers; working people.

Symbols: Bible; branch; capenter's square; carpenter's tools; chalice; cross; hand tools; infant Jesus; ladder; lamb; lily; monstrance; old man holding a lily and a carpenter's tool such as a square; old man holding the infant Jesus; plane; rod.

Things to Do:

Prayer to St. Joseph

Pope Pius X composed this prayer to St. Joseph, patron of working people, that expresses concisely the Christian attitude toward labor. It summarizes also for us the lessons of the Holy Family's work at Nazareth.

Glorious St. Joseph, model of all who devote their lives to labor, obtain for me the grace to work in the spirit of penance in order thereby to atone for my many sins; to work conscientiously, setting devotion to duty in preference to my own whims; to work with thankfulness and joy, deeming it an honor to employ and to develop by my labor the gifts I have received from God; to work with order, peace, moderation, and patience, without ever shrinking from weariness and difficulties; to work above all with a pure intention and with detachment from self, having always before my eyes the hour of death and the accounting which I must then render of time ill spent, of talents wasted, of good omitted, and of vain complacency in success, which is so fatal to the work of God.

All for Jesus, all through Mary, all in imitation of you, O Patriarch Joseph! This shall be my motto in life and in death, Amen.

Another prayer to St. Joseph:
To thee, O blessed Joseph, do we fly in our tribulation, and, having implored the help of thy most holy Spouse, we confidently invoke thy holy patronage also. Through that charity which bound thee to the Immaculate Virgin Mother of God, and through the paternal love with which thou didst embrace the Child Jesus, we humbly beseech the graciously to regard the inheritance which Jesus Christ has purchased by His Blood, and with thy power and strength aid us in our necessities.

O most watchful Guardian of the Holy Family, defend the chosen children of Jesus Christ; O most loving Father, ward off from us every contagion of error and corrupting influence; O our most mighty protector, be propitious to us, and from Heaven assist us in this our struggle against the power of darkness; and as once thou didst rescue the Child Jesus from death, so now protect God’s Holy Church from the snares of Her enemies and from all adversity.

Shield too, each one of us by thy constant protection, so that, supported by thine example and strengthened by thine aid, we may be able to live a holy life, to die a holy death, and to obtain eternal happiness in Heaven. Amen.

St. Joseph, Foster Father, Novena [Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]
Patron of a “Happy Death” A Special Role for St. Joseph [Catholic/Orhtodox Caucus]
Lists Every Catholic Should be Familiar With: The 7 Sorrows and 7 Joys of St. Joseph
Catholic Group Blasts Pelosi For Invoking St. Joseph on Pro-Abortion Health Care Bill
THE SEVEN SORROWS AND SEVEN JOYS OF ST. JOSEPH
Joseph, Mary and Jesus: A Model Family
Season of Announcement - Revelation to Joseph

In hard times, don't forget about the humble carpenter Joseph
Saint Joseph: Complete submission to the will of God (Pope Benedict XVI) (Catholic/Orthodox Caucus)
St. Joseph as Head of the Holy Family (Catholic/Orthodox Caucus)
St. Joseph, Patron of a Peaceful Death [Catholic Caucus]
Octave: St. Joseph, A 'Man’s Man', Calling Men to Jesus
St. Teresa de Avila's Devotion to St. Joseph (Catholic Caucus)
Catholic Men's National Day of Prayer, MARCH 15, 2008, The Solemnity of St. Joseph (Catholic Caucus)
The Role and Responsibility of Fatherhood - St. Joseph as Model
St. Joseph - Foster Father of Jesus
Some divine intervention in real estate-[Bury St. Joseph Statues in Ground]

Many Turn To Higher Power For Home Sales
St. Joseph the Worker, Memorial, May 1
Catholic Devotions: St. Joseph the Worker
Nothing Will Be Denied Him (St. Joseph)
The Heart of a Father [St. Joseph]
St. Joseph's DAY
Quemadmodum Deus - Decree Under Blessed Pius IX, Making St. Joseph Patron of the Church
Father & Child (An Evangelical Minister preaches on St. Joseph)
March 19 - Feast of St. Joseph - Husband of Mary - Intercessor of civil leaders
St. Joseph's Spirit of Silence

St. Joseph's Humility (By St. Francis de Sales)
St. Joseph [Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary], Solemnity, March 19
St Joseph’s Paternal Love
The Heart of St. Joseph
MORE THAN PATRON OF HOMES, IT'S TIME FOR ST. JOSEPH TO GAIN HIGHEST OF RECOGNITION [Fatherhood]
The Importance of Devotion to St. Joseph
St. Francis de Sales on St. Joseph (Some Excerpts for St. Joseph's Day 2004)
St. Joseph: REDEMPTORIS CUSTOS (Guardian Of The Redeemer)
(Saint) Joseph the Patriarch: A Reflection on the Solemnity of St. Joseph
How I Rediscovered a "Neglected" Saint: Work of Art Inspires Young Man to Rediscover St. Joseph

16 posted on 03/18/2012 12:05:52 AM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All

March 2012

Pope's intentions

General Intention: Contribution of Women. That the whole world may recognize the contribution of women to the development of society.

Missionary Intention: Persecuted Christians. That the Holy Spirit may grant perseverance to those who suffer discrimination, persecution, or death for the name of Christ, particularly in Asia.


17 posted on 03/18/2012 12:06:31 AM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
Arlington Catholic Herald

GOSPEL COMMENTARY JN: 3:14-21
Extremists
By Fr. Jerry J.Pokorsky

The art of politics differs considerably from the art of religion.

The politician desires the power of office to “serve the common good” (one hopes) by representing the people. At worst, he desires to accumulate power and the perquisites of office. The politician is beholden to the people (or, in some countries, to the men with the guns) to gain and retain office. His “political package” must have popular appeal (or popular fear) or he loses office.

The man of religion, a priest or bishop or deacon, on the other hand, desires to be a mediator of God in the service of His people. A priest is beholden to God and retains office by participating in God’s fatherhood as known through the teaching of Christ and His Church. Sometimes the “priestly package” of Church teaching has a wide popular appeal (such as ministering to the sick, the poor and the dispossessed). Other times, the appeal is quite narrow, the teaching unpopular. In recent generations, a good deal of Church teaching has become widely unpopular and increasingly considered “extreme.”

It is usually not complimentary to refer to someone as an “extremist.” Extremist views are not mainstream views. The views of “extremists” are often described as “over the top” or “pushing the envelope.” Extremists may insist, for example, the earth is flat, or argue flying saucer conspiracy theories … or hold that contraception is evil. People are uncomfortable around extremists. Extremists often disrupt conversation with awkward comments and opinions at social events such as weddings and dinner parties. They may be prone to anger and suicide bombing.

Is it really possible to be an “extremist Catholic”?

Like anyone else, Catholics can be “extreme” or “fanatical” by being pharisaical or uncharitable in otherwise correct moral judgments or in ugly condescension. Like the Pharisees who criticized the Lord for healing on the Sabbath, it is possible to be obsessed with one truth of the Faith to the exclusion of others. But such extreme behavior is not Catholic; it is a true violation of the integrity of authentic Catholic virtue.

Catholic teaching always demands more, and, in a certain sense, there is an important place for “extremism.” For example, it is better for a spouse to be “extremely faithful” rather than “moderately faithful.” It is better to be “extremely generous” rather than “moderately generous.” Christ desires much of us, even to the point of extremes: greater fidelity; more self-sacrifice; abundant generosity; and, as Blessed Teresa of Kolkata says, loving in the extreme “until it hurts.” Christ Himself, in this sense, was an extremist: “Greater love than this no man has than to give up his life for his friends” (Jn 15:13).

Contrast this religious “extremism” to the extreme caution of politicians. In a dire warning to politicians supporting the Church, a recent newspaper headline asserted, “GOP on losing side of birth control.” This result of the newspaper poll of voters refers of course to President Obama’s attempt to force Catholic institutions (under severe financial penalties for noncompliance) to pay for contraceptives in their employee health care plans. According to the poll, a strikingly large percentage of people “agree with Obama’s stance that his contraception mandate is about women’s health care.” The pollster advises, “Drop this baby right now. Drop it. This is not a winner.” (The pollster apparently did not catch the irony in his wording.) Not only does “moderate” politics not mix well with religion, it does not mix well with good morality. The message of this pollster is taken from the Pontius Pilate political playbook: Politicians must be careful always to please the crowds, and it is easier to smear practicing Catholics as “extreme” than to engage them in rational debate.

In this week’s Gospel, we are reminded that our religion is not about politics of the world; it is about Christ: “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. Whoever believes in Him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned … .” Hence, we need not please the crowds; we only need to please Christ. Perhaps this is extreme in the eyes of the world.

But after all, we ought to be fanatics about one thing: our salvation in Christ Who loves us.

Fr. Pokorsky is pastor of St. Michael Parish in Annandale.


18 posted on 03/18/2012 12:14:16 AM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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The Work of God

  God loved the world so much Catholic Gospels - Homilies - Matthew, Luke, Mark, John - Inspirations of the Holy Spirit

Year B

 -  Fourth Sunday of Lent

God loved the world so much

God loved the world so much Catholic Gospels - Matthew, Luke, Mark, John - Inspirations of the Holy Spirit John 3:14-21

14 And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
17 "Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
18 Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
19 And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.
20 For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed.
21 But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God."

Inspiration of the Holy Spirit - From the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Fourth Sunday of Lent - God loved the world so much When I told Nicodemus that the Son of Man had to be lifted up just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, I was recalling the past when people offended God and their punishment was to be bitten by deadly serpents. So Moses made a serpent of bronze, and put it upon a pole; anyone bitten would have to look at the serpent of bronze to live. Numbers 21:8-9

I was declaring to the world that I was going to be crucified and die. I predicted that I was going to be exposed to everyone like a cursed dead serpent, so that by paying for your sins with my death you could find life in me through the forgiveness of yours sins.

And just as sin and death came to the world through the first man, so grace and life comes from the Son of Man, a title that I gave myself to represent the whole human race. Since the offense committed against the eternal God could not be repaid by anything of this world, so I was sent to the world to pay with my human and divine nature the punishment assigned to everyone which is death.

But God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

I did not come to condemn the world since it was already condemned by sin, I came to save it through my living sacrifice by which you obtained the forgiveness of your sins, to show you the love of God for His creation.

This is why I am still present in the Sacrifice of the Mass, providing my blood to cleanse you from your sins. The Holy Scriptures testify: "They will look on the one whom they have pierced." Zech 12:10

Make yourself worthy to be purified, eat of my flesh and drink of my blood to live.

I invite everyone to believe in me, to believe in my word, to believe in my suffering and death for your sins, to believe in the power of God that I have, believe that I will raise you up on the last day.

I am the light of the world, a light that dissipates the darkness of sin. Those who do not believe are missing out on the gift of God, they are condemning themselves since they prefer to live in darkness.

Come to the light my little child, do not be afraid, confess your sins, purify yourself in my blood and see with the eyes of the spirit the wonders that I present to you.

Author: Joseph of Jesus and Mary


19 posted on 03/18/2012 12:17:45 AM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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Archdiocese of Washington

 

The readings in today’s Mass speak to us of our desperate condition, and how God’s abiding love has not only set us free, but also lifted us higher. God was not content to restore us to some earthy garden, paradise though it was. No, he has so loved the world that he sent his Son who has opened heaven itself for us and given us a new, transformed and eternal life. Lets look at these readings from three perspectives and see how God lifts us higher by his powerful love.

I. THE PASSION FOR OUR PURIFICATION - Note that many of the texts in today’s reading speak of the passion God has to set things right in our life, and in this world. Note some aspects from the readings of God’s ardent love and persistent work to lift us higher:

ProblemsIn those days, all the princes of Judah, the priests, and the people added infidelity to infidelity, practicing all the abominations of the nations and polluting the LORD’’s temple.

And thus we see our repeated infidelity, our worldliness, and our impurity. It is not as though we have had just a few bad moments, we have been persistent and consistent in our sinfulness. The cup of human human wickedness never seems drained. This is what God is dealing with, and what we experience in the long, and often sad tale of human history.

Are there good chapters? Sure.

But any honest look at human history will also reveals to us that there is something deeply wrong and flawed with human nature. We are living in a fallen world, governed by a fallen angel and we have fallen natures. Thrice fallen! This is our condition and this is what God is dealing with.

But God does not remove his love and remains a ardent lover of us.

ProphetsEarly and often did the LORD, the God of their fathers, send his messengers to them, for he had compassion on his people and his dwelling place. But they mocked the messengers of God, despised his warnings, and scoffed at his prophets, until the anger of the LORD against his people was so inflamed that there was no remedy.

God’s first recourse is to call us through the prophets and through his word. Like any loving Father, he does not seek merely to punish, but to instruct so as to avoid punishing. Perhaps we will hear and amend our ways.

Have we? Is the presence of God’s word among us a saving remedy? Again the answer is mixed, but poor.

To some extent Jesus’ call to love has led to greater healing in this world. The light of faith which once informed the Western world gave birth to hospitals, greater love for the poor, greater respect for the dignity of the human person, the University system, and the scientific method. The warlike barbarians of ancient Europe were given faith and many found unity in the bosom of the Church and in more stable governments, and respect for just law.

But it also remains true that too much of human history, even in the Christian era is marked by violence, war, unforgiveness, injustice, unchastity, and a lack of commitment to the truth of the Gospel.

Yet, God continues to send his prophets in and through the Church. Can the World really say that John Paul the Great and Benedict XVI have not been prophets? Mother Teresa, Padre Pio, Fulton Sheen, CS Lewis, and countless others.

In all our ruinous state, God does not remove his love and remains a ardent lover of us.

PunishmentsTheir enemies burnt the house of God, tore down the walls of Jerusalem, set all its palaces afire, and destroyed all its precious objects. Those who escaped the sword were carried captive to Babylon, where they became servants of the king of the Chaldeans and his sons until the kingdom of the Persians came to power.

Punishment is not an act of venting anger for God; he is not seeking vengeance.

The purpose of punishment is to allow us to experience in smaller ways the effects of our sin, lest something worse befall us. And thus the ancient Babylonians afflicted Israel and God punished, purified his people.

So too for us, God may well permit great suffering to come upon us, not to vent his anger, but to summon us to repentance, lest something worse befall us, namely eternal hell fire.

But, truth be told, we are a hard case. Any look at the decline of the West and you’d think we’d have come to our senses by now. Our families are ruined, our birthrates are devastated, our educational system is in steep decline, our economies are way off the hook, we have a debts we cannot pay, we seem incapable of chastity or of making commitments and keeping them. Yet still we stubbornly persist in our path away from God and the gospel of truth and freedom.

Will we recover our senses, or will we vanish like empires before us? It remains to be seen. But the Church will persist, and though punished, and pruned, she will endure.

For In all our ruinous state, God does not remove his love and remains a ardent lover of us.

PurposeAll this was to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah: “Until the land has retrieved its lost Sabbaths, during all the time it lies waste it shall have rest while seventy years are fulfilled.

Sin causes damage and that damage must be repaired. We must come to understand that sin is not just the breaking of abstract rules, it causes real harm.

The Christian term “reparation” refers to the repair that must be made for the damage sin causes. The verse used here in today’s readings talk about healing the breach that sin has caused.

Thus, while God never withholds his love, it remains true that he must journey well out in the wayward paths we have trod and lead us back. This a work of God’s, not just a wave of the hand, not just a legal declaration.

We have done more than disobey a legal precept, we have strayed far off and a repairing journey must be made. The Lord himself will shepherd us back!

For In all our ruinous state, God does not remove his love and remains a ardent lover of us.

PerseveringFor God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.

And thus is fulfilled the great and passionate love God has for us. For In all our ruinous state, God does not remove his love and remains a ardent lover of us.

His own Son comes to find us in our wayward places and leads us back.

For In all our ruinous state, God does not remove his love and remains a ardent lover of us.

PromotionGod, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with Christ – for by grace you have been saved – raised us up with him.

And thus is our redeemed state even greater than our original justice. We have been raised up with Christ. Grace has brought us higher than we ever were before.

Now, no mere earthly garden is granted, but heaven itself.

For In all our ruinous state, God does not remove his love and remains a ardent lover of us.



II. THE PART WE PLAY – This great act of God is offered to us. But God does not force it upon us, he invites, he offers. The part we play is to accept what God offers. And we do this by faith. And while there is a mysterious interplay between our freedom and God’s grace, it remains true that faith is our part. The door to our heart is opened from the inside, from within our heart. Faith, while a grace, also engages our freedom.

And thus we hear the Lord say today: Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed. But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.

Here too the stakes are high. Belief leads to salvation, refusal to believe to condemnation, a condemnation by one’s own choice.

Why is this?

Because again, faith is more than a juridical act, or a theoretical adherence to intellectual constructs. Belief is also more than lip service. To have faith is to come to a trusting surrender to the work of God. It is a transformative relationship with the Lord that effects real and saving changes in us. Without these changes and surrender to the power of God’s love to transform us we simply cannot endure the presence of a holy God. But the relationship that saves and transforms, must be freely accepted by us.

The Lord soberly assess that those who refuse his gift do so because they prefer darkness to light, the world and its values to the Kingdom of Heaven and its values. In this way they condemn themselves, it is not God who condemns, it is they themselves who have chosen something or someone other than God.

The part we play is critical. Choose the Lord!

III. THE PATH TO THE PLACE – Note that this new life, this higher place to which we are raised with Christ is described as a walk in new works:

[God] brought us to life with Christ…raised us up with him, For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so no one may boast. For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should walk in them.

Thus note that the Love of God lifts us higher, higher than we’ve ever been lifted before. The text say that we have been raised up with Christ and that we walk in a whole new way. Here “walk” refers to the whole direction and destination of our life. Our whole manner of navigating this world changes. Our decisions, and how we regard the “signals” of this world, are wholly different. Now that we are no longer heading “southward in sin,” we ignore southbound routes, and all the signs pointing to them. Now we set our sights on the route “northward and upward to glory.” And all the signs and routes that go there are on our itinerary.

Note too that our “works” are also changed. For now they become not our will and our works, but the works and the will of God who acts in and through us. The new life we receive is not our gift to God, it is His gift to us. Thus we see sin put to death, and a whole new behavior come alive. This is not our work, that we should boast, it is the work of God and his grace that causes it.

And thus we see that God so loved the world that he did not only forgive us our sins, he has lifted us even higher, bestowing on us a wholly new and transformed life. Now we are not summoned merely to a natural goodness, but a supernatural goodness; not merely to human perfection, but to Godly perfection; ours is not merely an earthly garden, but a heavenly kingdom.

Yes, Lord, Your love is lifting me higher, than I’ve ever been lifted before! God so loved the world that he gave us his only beloved Son. And his Son as lifted us higher, brought us not merely back to life, but to eternal life, to the fullness of life. This is the life that Jesus died to give us.

Lay hold of this love that lifts us higher that we’ve ever been lifted before.

OK, I know the song isn’t religious. But transpose it to the higher key, like the Song of Songs does the Bible. Consider these lyrics as referring to the Lord and how his love quenches all our desires and lifts us higher:

Your love, is liftin’ me higher
Than I’ve ever been lifted before
So keep it up, quench my desire
And I’ll be at your side forevermore.

Now once I was downhearted
Disappointment was my closest friend
But then you came and he soon departed
And you know he never showed his face again
That’s why your love…is  liftin’ me, higher, and higher….

I’m so glad I finally found you
Yes, that one in a million
And with your loving arms around me
I can stand up and face the world


20 posted on 03/18/2012 12:23:24 AM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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