Tag: judgment

“Your son will live.” | Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent

From the responsorial psalm: “Hear, O LORD, and have pity on me; O LORD, be my helper.” You changed my mourning into dancing; O LORD, my God, forever will I give you thanks. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 4:43-54, today’s readings)

They told him, “The fever left him yesterday, about one in the afternoon.” The father realized that just at that time Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live,” and he and his whole household came to believe. Now this was the second sign Jesus did when he came to Galilee from Judea.

The first sign John refers to is the transformation of water into wine at the wedding at Cana. During this time, the disciples come to believe in him as he reveals his glory to them. The second sign occurs when Jesus heals the dying son of a royal official in Capernaum. He heals him from a distance when he says these words: “You may go; your son will live.” Jesus heals those who are close to him, who come to him for divine assistance and healing, but he also heals those who remain at a distance. This is the same Lord who creates a new heaven and a new earth, as we hear in Isaiah, and who is present before us in the Eucharist. “Sing praise to the LORD, you his faithful ones, and give thanks to his holy name.”

God, all thanks and praise to you! In sending Jesus Christ, your Son, you created a new heaven and a new earth. You said through Isaiah, “There shall always be rejoicing and happiness in what I create.” Regardless of whether doubt overtakes me or how I question how your will works throughout the day, you are with me always and are the giver of every good gift. The verse before the Gospel says, “Seek good and not evil so that you may live, and the LORD will be with you.” Be with me, Lord, so that I see your lovingkindness and good will as it unfolds in my lifetime, given to me now so that I might have it as a foretaste in this life, one day rejoicing forever in your presence in the life of the world to come.

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.

“He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him.” | Fourth Sunday of Lent

From the responsorial psalm: “Look to him that you may be radiant with joy, and your faces may not blush with shame. When the poor one called out, the LORD heard, and from all his distress he saved him. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 15:1-3, 11-32, today’s readings)

“’Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.’” So he got up and went back to his father.”

The verse before the Gospel draws on the words of the prodigal son: I will get up and go to my Father and shall say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. He has squandered all he has and finds himself exhausted in his attempt to take to himself all that he believes belongs to him. He said to his father, “Give me the share of your estate that should come to me.” Yet, having spent the whole share of his inheritance in self-indulgence, he hungers with a hunger that goes beyond physical starvation. With a contrite heart, he returns to his father, who runs off to meet him while he was still a long way off. Sharing this parable with the Pharisees who complain, Jesus invites everyone who hears it to return with contrite hearts to the Father’s merciful embrace.

God, strengthen my assurance in your boundless love for me. Although I turn my back to you, you never do the same to me. Your mercy goes out to meet me where I am, from a long way off. Give me the humility to recognize that all good gifts come from you, and that I can do nothing without them. The son who returns to the father “comes to his senses.” Lord, let me be reconciled to you and glorify you through your Son; in Christ, make me of me a new creation.

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.

“The one who humbles himself will be exalted.” | Saturday of the Third Week of Lent

From the responsorial psalm: “Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness; in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense. Thoroughly wash me from my guilt and of my sin cleanse me. It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 18:9-14, today’s readings)

“But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’ I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Jesus addresses a parable to people who believe themselves to be righteous and who despise others. They are the kind of people, Jesus says, who look at others as they pray, thinking: “O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity—greedy, dishonest, adulterous—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.” Jesus speaks concretely about those who are in actuality greedy, dishonest, and adulterous, but he also speaks to every one of us as sinners, who at one time or another say as we look on others, “Thank God I am not like them.” The tax collector in the parable is certain to have said and done the same. His contrite plea for mercy sets him apart from the Pharisee. Humbling himself before God, he receives mercy as Hosea describes: “He will come to us like the rain, like spring rain that waters the earth.”

God, help me be thankful today for the gifts you give me and for the good gifts you give to every person you made in your image. Jesus speaks to the people “convinced of their own righteousness” and to ones who have “despised everyone else.” For the times when I have been that person, the psalmist offers this prayer: “My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit; a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.” Give me the grace, Lord, to recognize a surge of righteousness and turn instead to you. From the Gospel acclamation: “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.

“Not seven times but seventy-seven times.” | Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 18:21-35)

When [the king] began the accounting, a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount. Since he had no way of paying it back, his master ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, his children, and all his property, in payment of the debt. At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said, “Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.” Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan.

Jesus tells Peter a parable in response to his question: “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” After Jesus relates the story of the king who shows compassion and forgives the servant, he then reveals the shadow side of the servant, which emerges as he encounters a fellow servant who owes him a much smaller debt. “Pay back what you owe,” he demands. And although the fellow servant begged for him to be patient in paying back the debt, the servant refused and had him put in prison. When the fellow servants reported to the king what they had witnessed, he had the servant brought before him and, as Matthew tells us, handed him over to torturers until he paid back his entire debt. Jesus finishes by saying, “So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart.” Can the words of Jesus on the necessity of forgiveness be any clearer?

God, from what I have learned through experience, complete forgiveness is impossible when I rely only on my own capacity. In those moments when I meet with unforgiveness, complete what I can’t accomplish if left to myself. Give me the grace needed to be merciful with others just as you are merciful with me. How often, Lord, must I forgive my brother? I can’t fathom the number; let me trust in the constant aid of your mercy.

From the responsorial psalm: “Remember that your compassion, O LORD, and your kindness are from of old. In your kindness remember me, because of your goodness, O LORD. Remember your mercies, O Lord.”

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.

Monday of the Third Week of Lent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 4:24-30)

Jesus said to the people in the synagogue at Nazareth: “Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place. “

In his hometown at the synagogue in Nazareth, Jesus has just read from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, proclaiming that through him the scripture is fulfilled in their hearing. But when Jesus reminds the people of the prophets Elijah and Elisha, they become angry because Jesus makes clear that God’s grace is meant for all people, including non-Israelites. They rise up to drive Jesus out of town to hurl him headlong over the edge of a hill, but his time had not come. “But he passed through the midst of them,” Luke tells us, “and went away.” The inclusive nature of God’s plan meant that even among his closest family and neighbors Jesus faced opposition and hard-heartedness even as God is so willing to pour upon his people grace and salvation.

God, open my heart today to the opportunities you present to me to receive your grace and be a means of grace to others. Just as Naaman wrestled with pride and his own expectations before being healed in the Jordan by your grace, I have to confront and renounce my own expectations about how you operate through the ministry of others, especially through the people closest to me. Help me see beyond the mundane that in my own hometown, abroad, and within my family I will find the opportunity both to bear and to hear your message—”to bring glad tidings to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free.” Give me your grace, Lord, to receive it and give it away.

From the responsorial psalm: “Send forth your light and your fidelity; they shall lead me on And bring me to your holy mountain, to your dwelling-place. Athirst is my soul for the living God.”

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.

“The temple of his body.” | Third Sunday of Lent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 2:13-25)

The Jews said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and you will raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body. Therefore, when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they came to believe the Scripture and the word Jesus had spoken.

As Jesus drives out the merchants and money changers from the temple, he drives out with them what they sold: oxen, sheep, and doves. To those who sold doves, the offering of the poor, he said: “Take these out of here, and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.” In order to identify himself as the new temple, Jesus cleansed the temple of its baggage. “Destroy this temple,” he says to the Jews who look for a sign from him, “and in three days I will raise it up.” Jesus is the sign and the signified, the temple of the body, the one who points to the Father and the temple where the Father dwells. John concludes the passage by bringing the context of the Passover to Jesus’ actions in the temple. During that time, John tells us, “many began to believe in his name when they saw the signs he was doing.”

Father in heaven, help me recognize in Jesus the temple of the body. True God and true man, Jesus knows human nature and from that nature spoke the command to love you above all else and love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Teach me, Lord, to see that wherever you dwell, there is holiness unblemished by material concerns and a call for true reverence and worship. Give me the grace to comprehend what I have in the Blessed Sacrament—that the body of Christ is there in the real presence. Keep me in your care, Lord, with the conviction to keep holy what is holy and worship you in reverence with my whole heart.

From the responsorial psalm: “The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the command of the LORD is clear, enlightening the eye. Lord, 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.

“He was lost and has been found.” | Saturday of the Second Week of Lent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 15:1-3, 11-32)

The father said to him, “My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours. But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.”

In the Parable of the Prodigal Son, Jesus responds to the Pharisees in a way that is relevant for all of us. As the passage begins, the Pharisees criticize Jesus because of the tax collectors and sinners who are drawn to him and listen to him. In the parable, the son demands his inheritance and then squanders it within days, living loosely and sinfully. After spending all he has, a severe famine strikes and the son finds employment tending swine. Far from home and at last coming to his senses, the son says to himself: “I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.'” While the son is a long way off from his house, the father sees him and runs out to meet him and embraces and kisses him. Then they begin celebrating with a feast. The older son, disturbed by what this might mean, questions his father. The mercy the father shows for both sons is just and proportional. So it is with God: his mercy is inexhaustible and available to all who humbly seek him and repent.

God, this message is meant for all; it is a universal call to repentance, not for the sake of wallowing in weakness but to see and experience the mercy you extend to all. Help me see that this story is meant for all but also your word speaking to me personally. The prodigal son recognizes wrongdoing and the need to return home to the father; the father forgives the son and celebrates his return in the joy of reconciliation. Thank you, Father, for your mercy; in your mercy restore me!

From the responsorial psalm: “He will not always chide, nor does he keep his wrath forever. Not according to our sins does he deal with us, nor does he requite us according to our crimes. The Lord is kind and merciful.”

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.

Friday of the Second Week of Lent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 21:33-43, 45-46)

Therefore, I say to you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit.” When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they knew that he was speaking about them. And although they were attempting to arrest him, they feared the crowds, for they regarded him as a prophet.

The parable Jesus tells the Pharisees represents the repeated rejection and mistreatment of God’s chosen messengers throughout salvation history. The servants in the parable sent by the landowner represent the prophets who were sent to the people of Israel to reconcile them with God through repentance. Instead of responding positively to their message, though, the tenants respond with violence and disregard for their authority, just as the religious leaders rejected the landowner’s son, Jesus the Messiah. In this parable, Jesus calls us to be receptive to his word and to be faithful disciples in obedience to the Father as his people.

God, help me understand the meaning of this parable as it relates to me in the modern day. Throughout salvation history, you have spoken to your chosen people through the prophets and through your commandments. Jesus is the fulfillment of the law and the prophets. Give me the grace to see the big picture: you sent your messengers first, and they were mistreated. In the fullness of time, you sent Jesus, whom they rejected and killed. Jesus paid the ultimate price for us; what greater love is there? Help me listen out for you in the scriptures and as you speak to me through the events of this day. Let me hear your voice, Lord!

Verse before the Gospel: “God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son; so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal 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.

“If someone should rise from the dead.” | Thursday of the Second Week of Lent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 16:19-31)

And [the rich man] cried out, “Father Abraham, have pity on me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering torment in these flames.” Abraham replied, “My child, remember that you received what was good during your lifetime while Lazarus likewise received what was bad; but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented.”

In this parable directed to the Pharisees, Jesus paints a stark contrast between the lives of two men: a rich man and a beggar named Lazarus. Lazarus, covered in sores, longs for the scraps discarded by the rich man. But after their deaths, their fates dramatically reverse. The rich man ends up in the netherworld, a place of torment, while Lazarus is carried by angels to the bosom of Abraham and exists in comfort and peace. The rich man, in his torment, sees Lazarus in the distance and calls out to Abraham for mercy, but Abraham explains that a great chasm separates them, making it impossible for Lazarus to help him. Abraham affirms that if the brothers of the rich man do not listen to the teachings already available to them—just as some who witnessed Christ’s resurrection are not persuaded—even a miraculous sign would not convince them. The reversal of fortune that the rich man experiences is a reminder that however great earthly wealth and status become, they count for nothing in one’s eternal destiny.

God, just as Lazarus lay at the door of the rich man unnoticed, opportunities large and small lie at my feet day after day, placed there by you, which I can choose to see or not see. The poverty that Lazarus experienced, though punishing to the body and to spirit, was nothing like the absolute state of destitution that the rich man experienced after death. Lord, give me the grace today—and whenever you present the opportunity to me—to recognize in the moment the need for compassion, justice, and attentiveness to your teachings. Teach me your mercy, Lord!

From the responsorial psalm: “Blessed are they who hope in the Lord. He is like a tree planted near running water, that yields its fruit in due season, and whose leaves never fade. Whatever he does, prospers.”

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.

“You do not know what you are asking.” | Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 20:17-28)

Jesus said in reply, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?” They said to him, “We can.” He replied, “My chalice you will indeed drink, but to sit at my right and at my left, this is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”

Jesus tells the disciples about his coming passion, death, and resurrection. The mother of James and John approaches Jesus and asks him, “Command that these two sons of mine sit, one at your right and the other at your left, in your kingdom.” It is as if there is a misunderstanding between what she asks Jesus and what Jesus has just told the disciples. To drink the chalice that Jesus drinks and to sit at his right hand means to take on his suffering and participate in his passion. Greatness of that kind is not what a mother would ask for her sons, yet it is the same servanthood that Christ calls them to—a dying to oneself. “Just so,” Jesus says to the disciples, “the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

God, you know me better than I know myself. Give me the wisdom to know when I am in the midst of making worldly ambition—or even undue control over the course of the next hour—an end in itself. Help me discern whether my aims are selfish or whether my sole aim is to know and act on your will. Jesus speaks of greatness, what it looks like through your eyes: “whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant.” Give me clarity of mind today to stop and notice when you place in front of me an opportunity to practice humble service and selfless love. Help me see as you see.

From the responsorial psalm: “You will free me from the snare they set for me, for you are my refuge. Into your hands I commend my spirit; you will redeem me, O LORD, O faithful God. Save me, O Lord, in your kindness.”

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.