Tag: forviveness

“For which of these are you trying to stone me. . . ?” | Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent

From the responsorial psalm: “In my distress I called upon the LORD and cried out to my God; From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 10:31-42)

The Jews picked up rocks to stone Jesus. Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from my Father. For which of these are you trying to stone me. . . ?”If I do not perform my Father’s works, do not believe me; but if I perform them, even if you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may realize and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” Then they tried again to arrest him; but he escaped from their power.

As some of the Jews are trying to stone Jesus for blasphemy, for making himself God, he holds fast in the face of opposition to those who denounce his claim to divinity. Jesus challenges them with the validity of the scriptures and affirms his divine mission: “[C]an you say that the one whom the Father has consecrated and sent into the world blasphemes because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?” Because it was not yet the time, Jesus escaped from their power. We hear the foreshadowing of this in Jeremiah, an echo of Jesus’ victory over the powers of darkness that resounds to the present day: “But the LORD is with me, like a mighty champion: my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph.”

Father in heaven, hear the words of your Son that meet me where I am today: “I have shown you many good works from my Father.” When accused of blasphemy, Jesus remained steadfast in your consecration of him as he carries out the mission you sent him to accomplish. Give me the grace, Lord, to be confident of the many good works you reveal to me through your Son and help me remove any obstacles that would prevent me from allowing him to work through me today. “Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life; you have the words of everlasting life.”

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.

“Who do you make yourself out to be?” | Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent

Work with me, Lord, as I look to you. Help me call to mind the verse before the Gospel: “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.”

From the responsorial psalm: “Look to the LORD in his strength; seek to serve him constantly. Recall the wondrous deeds that he has wrought, his portents, and the judgments he has uttered. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 8:51-59)

Jesus said to the Jews: “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever keeps my word will never see death.” So the Jews said to him, “Now we are sure that you are possessed. Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.’ Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? Or the prophets, who died? Who do you make yourself out to be?”

Jesus makes two claims to his divinity in today’s Gospel. To the Jews who hear him, it is evidence that he is possessed or insane. Jesus also tells them, “Abraham your father rejoiced to see my day.” Before they question how that could be and pick up stones to throw at him, Jesus makes another claim to his divinity: “Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM.” Jesus leaves know doubt among those who hear his word that he is the Son of God. “If I glorify myself, my glory is worth nothing,” Jesus tells them before leaving, “but it is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ You do not know him, but I know him.”

God, strengthen my faith; help my unbelief. Just as some of the Jews in Jesus’ time failed to recognize that it was you who sent him, I sometimes question the divinity of your Son in my inner dialogue and actions. “Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died?” they ask. It is a question of superlatives, and the answer is yes. “I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages.” Yet, it is a constant challenge to commit to that truth, even as Jesus says outright that keeping his word is the means to a living relationship with you. Work with me, Lord, as I look to you. Help me call to mind the verse before the Gospel: “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.”

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.

“If God were your Father, you would love me.” | Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent

From the responsorial psalm: “‘Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever; And blessed is your holy and glorious name, praiseworthy and exalted above all for all ages.’ Glory and praise for ever!”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 8:31-42)

Jesus said to those Jews who believed in him, “If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How can you say, ‘You will become free’?” Jesus answered them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. A slave does not remain in a household forever, but a son always remains. So if the Son frees you, then you will truly be free.”

Jesus speaks to some of the Jews who believe in him. In a seemingly contradictory way, he tells them that they are trying to kill him because his word has no room among them. Jesus openly says that he is sent by the Father and tells them what he has seen and heard from him. But his hearers deny that they are enslaved to anyone or anything. “We are descendants of Abraham,” they tell Jesus, “and have never been enslaved to anyone.” Jesus replies, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works of Abraham. But now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God.” In the present, are there others who insist that they are free from sin, or are there times when we ourselves have no place for the word of the Lord?

God, help me understand today’s Gospel not as a long-ago story that ended in the death and resurrection of Jesus. It carries on today in the hearts of all people, where each of us has a choice to find a place for you there. Jesus saw a hesitancy among some of the people who believed in him, and the mark of true discipleship he made clear is an interior conviction to remain in his word, to choose truth, and to be set free in it. Help me act on this today as I recall the short verse before the Gospel: “Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart and yield a harvest through perseverance.”

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.

Solemnity of Saint Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Unwilling to expose Mary to shame and out of compassion, Joseph chose and intended to do what he thought was the best course of action. Help me see the example he sets in being pure and in willingly choosing to act mercifully.

From the responsorial psalm: “He shall say of me, ‘You are my father, my God, the Rock, my savior.’ “Forever I will maintain my kindness toward him, and my covenant with him stands firm. The son of David will live for ever.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 1:16, 18-21, 24a)

Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

Joseph’s intention, Matthew tells us, was to divorce Mary quietly because he was unwilling to expose her to shame. A righteous man with this intention, Joseph was open to hearing the voice of God. And he did, in a dream, through the voice of an angel. Although Joseph doesn’t say a word here, we know his intentions are rooted in mercy. Because of that, he is able to hear the Lord and receive guidance from him to do his will. Remaining close to Jesus even before he was born, hearing the angel speak his name, Joseph is an example for all who desire to hear God’s voice.

God, help me take in and remember the story of Joseph throughout the day. Unwilling to expose Mary to shame and out of compassion, he chose and intended to do what he thought was the best course of action. Help me see the example he sets in being pure and in willingly choosing to act mercifully. When I am faced with that choice, give me the grace to be kind and merciful, opening up further to you. “I will be a father to him,” you say to David through the prophet Nathan, “and he shall be a son to me.” Lord, teach me to be a means of your kindness and mercy. Saint Joseph, pray for us!

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.

“Neither do I condemn you.” | Monday of the Fifth Week of Lent

Lord, help me understand the purpose you have given me within my sphere of influence and the courage to serve you as Jesus served you in full knowledge and obedience to your new covenant, spoken through the prophets and fulfilled through Christ.

From the responsorial psalm: “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. Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 8:1-11)

Then Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She replied, “No one, sir.” Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more.”

As Jesus teaches people gathered around him in the temple area, the scribes and Pharisees bring a woman to him who has been caught in adultery. Knowing that Mosaic law prescribed that a woman caught in adultery was to be stoned, they make her stand in the middle and ask Jesus to judge her. They are testing him to have a reason to charge him with a transgression of the law. The Son of God, like his Father, is a just judge. He asks the one without sin to be the first to cast a stone. No one does because all have sinned. The crowd disperses one by one. What does Jesus teach in this that the crowd carries away with them? Under such a conviction of sin, Jesus helps us see in one another fellow sinners in need of forgiveness. There, we find a place where mercy flourishes where before only condemnation thrived. To the contrite heart set free from sin, the only command the Lord gives is to continue to live in freedom: “Go, and from now on do not sin any more.”

“Neither do I condemn you.” God, help me remember these words as I encounter others and relive past encounters where I am inclined to judge and condemn. It is an agony to experience from others a lack of forgiveness, yet those who fail to forgive experience even greater suffering. Give me the grace to be the first to walk away from judging others rather than to cast a stone.

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.