Tag: repentance

“He passed through the midst of them and went away.” | Monday of the Third Week of Lent

From the responsorial psalm: “As the hind longs for the running waters, so my soul longs for you, O God. Athirst is my soul for the living God. When shall I go and behold the face of God?”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 13:1-9, today’s readings)

When the people in the synagogue heard this, they were all filled with fury. They rose up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong. But he passed through the midst of them and went away.

The people in the synagogue filled with fury are from Nazareth, where Jesus grew up. He had just finished reading the scroll in the synagogue, proclaiming as the Messiah, “Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” At first incredulous and amazed, they say, “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?” But as Jesus tells them that no prophet is accepted in his own native place and that their stubbornness is like that of Naaman’s, God’s message will serve people other than Israelites. In the first reading, God healed Naaman, a gentile, of leprosy. Jesus teaches that unless one’s faith is like the faith of the servant girl in the first reading, receiving God’s mercy becomes all the more difficult as we try to grasp what God wants to freely give.

God, help me understand how it is that Jesus passed through the midst of his own townspeople who wanted to hurl him off the brow of a hill. Among the crowd were people who knew Jesus as a child, an adolescent, and as the son of Joseph and Mary. To be a bearer of your message, Lord, sometimes means facing incredulity among acquaintances, neighbors, friends, and even family members. The faith of the little girl in the first reading gives powerful witness to your mercy, when she says “if only” Naaman would present himself to Elisha the prophet to be cured. Jesus passes through the crowd because you have other places for him to go, to people whose soul is “athirst 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.

Tile Mosaic of Jesus, Mary and Joseph at Baptismal Fount and Altar

“I have come in search of fruit.” | Third Sunday of Lent

From the responsorial psalm: “Merciful and gracious is the LORD, slow to anger and abounding in kindness. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him. The Lord is kind and merciful.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 13:1-9, today’s readings)

“‘For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree but have found none. So cut it down.'”

Jesus responds to people who tell him that Pontius Pilate had killed Galileans while they were offering sacrifices, mingling their blood with the sacrifices. Jesus challenges their belief that they died because of their sins, and he compares this incident to the people who died in Jerusalem when a tower fell on them. They were no more guilty than others, and Jesus says: “But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!” In the parable, the owner orders that the fig tree finally be cut down. But the gardener pleads for one more year, promising to cultivate and fertilize the soil in hopes of future fruit. If it still yields nothing, then it will be cut down. Representing the gardener, Jesus calls for repentance and conversion, urging people to use the time they have to to turn away from sin and return to the Lord with their whole heart.

God, help me hear and take to heart the explicit commandment of Jesus: “But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did.!” If I look at my life in relation to every good gift you have given me, like the tree in the parable, I have exhausted the soil and have little to show for it. Yet, the psalmist sings of your mercy (“so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him”), and the gardener asks for another year. For what purpose? “I shall cultivate the ground around it,” he says, “and fertilize it; it may bear fruit in the future.” Help me, Lord, live in your truth as your adopted son: in no other way do I stand secure but on the sacred ground of you whose name is I AM through the mercy of Jesus Christ your Son.

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

A physician for the sick. | Saturday after Ash Wednesday

From the responsorial psalm: “Incline your ear, O LORD; answer me, for I am afflicted and poor. Keep my life, for I am devoted to you; save your servant who trusts in you. You are my God. Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (5:27-32, today’s readings)

The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus said to them in reply, “Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do. I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.”

While Matthew is at work at the customs post, Jesus sees him and calls him. He simply says, “Follow me.” Leaving everything behind, Matthew gets up and follows him. The suddenness of his following is contrasted with the reaction of the Pharisees, who attend a banquet Matthew gives for Jesus in his house. Their hesitancy in following Jesus takes the form of accusation: “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” Rather than follow immediately as Matthew does, the Pharisees hold back as they rely on preconceived ideas of justice and mercy. Out of love, Jesus says to them that because we are sinners, we need to hear the call of the divine physician, who calls us each by name. Bearing the oppression of sin and the ruin it leaves in our path, we follow Jesus when we bring a contrite heart to him, who is “good and forgiving, abounding in kindness” to all who call upon him. To you, O Lord, we lift up our souls.

God, keep me in your truth today as you take me under your wing and guard my soul. Help me say yes to you and make clear to me the love of Jesus Christ your Son in his call to repentance. To say yes to you is to walk in your truth and participate in the mystery of your presence. Teach me to see how your love and mercy are alive in the Eucharist, the scriptures, the community of believers, the sacraments, prayer, and in the marginalized. Give me the grace to hear and respond to the call of Jesus to come to him, trusting only in him. As Saint John of God said, “We must not trust in ourselves, because we shall fall into sin a thousand times a day, but trust only in Jesus Christ.” Saint John of God, 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.

“Go your way; your faith has saved you.”| Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

From the responsorial psalm: “Then they said among the nations, ‘The LORD has done great things for them.’ The LORD has done great things for us; we are glad indeed. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mk 10:46-52)

But he kept calling out all the more, “Son of David, have pity on me.” Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you.” He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus. Jesus said to him in reply, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man replied to him, “Master, I want to see.” Jesus told him, “Go your way; your faith has saved you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way.

As Bartimaeus persists in calling out to Jesus, something inside him changes. He hears that Jesus of Nazareth approaches and recognizes the divinity of Jesus. “Son of David, have pity on me.” Although blind, Bartimaeus knows who Jesus is and that he can heal him, make whole what is partial. Although others tried to silence him, he kept calling out all the more. “Son of David, have pity on me.” Throwing off his cloak, Bartimaeus springs up to go to Jesus. With a word, Jesus restores his sight, and Bartimaeus follows him on the way. The faith of Bartimaeus restores him, makes him whole, and sets him on the way to salvation.

God, help me see, even if I don’t want to see or am afraid of what I might see. Bartimaeus said, “Master, I want to see.” I’m not sure I have what Bartimaeus had in that desire. Yet, like him, I cry out to you for your mercy. What would you have me see about myself, about my relationship with you, about my ability to hear your voice and do what is pleasing in your sight? Help me trust that when I call out to you, you hear me and provide what I need. Throughout the day, help me recall the prayer of the psalmist, who asks you to restore in overflowing grace what is sorely lacking: “Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like the torrents in the southern desert. Those that sow in tears shall reap rejoicing.”

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.

Perpetual adoration live stream Kolbe Shrine.

“It may bear fruit in the future.” | Saturday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time

From the responsorial psalm: “I rejoiced because they said to me, “We will go up to the house of the LORD.” And now we have set foot within your gates, O Jerusalem. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 13:1-9)

And he told them this parable: “There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard, and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none, he said to the gardener, ‘For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree but have found none. So cut it down. Why should it exhaust the soil?’ He said to him in reply, ‘Sir, leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it; it may bear fruit in the future. If not you can cut it down.’”

Before sharing this parable with his listeners, Jesus responds to their interpretation about Pilate’s brutal act toward Jewish people, concluding that this is a demonstration of God’s treatment of the worst sinners. Jesus calls all who would hear him to turn away from sin and toward God: “I tell you,” he says, “if you do not repent, you will all perish.” In the parable, the fig tree symbolizes Israel. In judgment of Israel, God possesses both the truth of justice and the truth of mercy. Instead of cutting it down, the gardener asks to care for it another year, nurturing it so that it ultimately bears fruit. In God’s perfect judgment, he does the same for us, showing mercy to the contrite time and again in spite of our sins.

God, help me today remain faithful to you. Faithful to your plan for me and trusting in your mercy, give me the grace to remain in you. I don’t want to be the one who exhausts the soil but instead who produces fruit from the gifts of your grace and mercy. Jesus, I trust in you! Blessed Virgin Mary, 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.

Perpetual adoration live stream Kolbe Shrine.

“Make an effort to settle the matter on the way.” | Friday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time

From the responsorial psalm: “Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD? or who may stand in his holy place? He whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean, who desires not what is vain. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 12:54-59)

Jesus said to the crowds, “Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? If you are to go with your opponent before a magistrate, make an effort to settle the matter on the way; otherwise your opponent will turn you over to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the constable, and the constable throw you into prison. I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.”

Jesus points out to the crowds that people can predict the weather but fail to recognize who is present before them and the urgent message he bears. The spiritual realities that people don’t see, Jesus brings to light so they can see them as clearly as they know that a storm is coming from an approaching storm cloud. What is necessary, Jesus says, is repentance and reconciliation. Doing anything else is self-enslavement to some human power. To reconcile with one another in facing disputes is to open our hearts to the Father of mercies and live in relationship with others through him.

God, you know me well; my shortcomings and hesitations and fears you know. Yet you remain faithful to me, though I fail to do the same. Give me discernment to know your will and courage to follow it with confidence. I look up at the night sky and marvel at how it all came to be; yet it is. Help me be steadfast in seeking you, who are being itself, as I strive through Christ your Son to do what pleases you, as Saint Paul said, “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace.”

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

Perpetual adoration live stream Kolbe Shrine.

“There is something greater than Solomon here.” | Monday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time

From the responsorial psalm: “Who is like the LORD, our God, who looks upon the heavens and the earth below? He raises up the lowly from the dust; from the dunghill he lifts up the poor. Blessed be the name of the Lord forever.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 11:29-32)

“At the judgment the queen of the south will rise with the men of this generation and she will condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and there is something greater than Solomon here. At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because at the preaching of Jonah they repented, and there is something greater than Jonah here.”

The condemnation of Jesus ought to have stirred the crowd to repentance. Although Luke doesn’t describe the crowd’s response to these words, it seems likely that the teaching fell on deaf ears. Jesus reveals to the crowd two ways that God has shown his signs in the past, in the wisdom of Solomon, sought by the Queen of Sheba and in the repentance of the Ninevites, who heard and responded to Jonah’s message. The something greater here that Jesus refers to is not another sign but what every prophet points to—that which is, the Great I AM, the very presence of God in flesh and blood. God has given signs, but the crowd rejects them. What Jesus calls evil is the deliberate choice of the people.

God, help me see your goodness, whether I see it in a sign fulfilled or in the peaceful indwelling of the Holy Spirit. If a sign or signs point to you throughout the day, I will welcome them. Still, if I know you are near by every good gift you give me, by your grace, let me rest in the truth of that faith; I don’t need signs. For the times when I have no awareness of your presence, give me the grace, now and then, to trust that you are near. Guard my heart as I hear other voices that may call me away from you. Help me keep in mind the Gospel acclamation: “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” Saint Callistus I, 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.

Perpetual adoration live stream Kolbe Shrine.

“Something greater than Solomon here.” | Wednesday of the First Week of Lent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 11:29-32)

“At the judgment the queen of the south will rise with the men of this generation and she will condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and there is something greater than Solomon here. At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because at the preaching of Jonah they repented, and there is something greater than Jonah here.”

Jesus refers to Jonah and Solomon as he speaks to the crowd about the need for repentance. He compares their time to his own. In Jonah’s time, as we read in the first reading, the people repented as Jonah announced the Lord’s message, including the king of Nineveh. In Solomon’s time, the queen of the South, also known as the Queen of Sheba heard about the wisdom of Solomon and traveled a great distance to see him with her own eyes. Jesus, referring to himself as the Messiah, tells the crowd, “there is something greater than Solomon here.” But the people of his own time would not believe him. Among the same crowd, Jesus says: “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”

God of mercy, help me recognize what Jesus tells the crowd about repentance. In the daily struggle to remain in you as I acknowledge the limits of my ability to be merciful, strengthen me with your grace; call me to you. In the words of Saint Peter Damian: “If indeed the devil is so powerful that he is able to hurl you into the depths of vice, how much more effective is the strength of Christ to restore you to the lofty position from which you have plummeted.” Lord, let me remain in your word; keep me in your care!

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. A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.” Saint Peter Damian, 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.

Tuesday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 11:20-24)

Jesus began to reproach the towns where most of his mighty deeds had been done, since they had not repented. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you.”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus reproaches the cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum for their lack of repentance. Despite witnessing his mighty works, they fail to believe in him. His response highlights the seriousness of rejecting his message and is a reminder of the consequences of unbelief. Today’s reading also makes clear the responsibility of people and communities to respond to the message of Jesus and to embrace the gift of salvation he offers. As the Cathechism of the Catholic Church says, “Believing in Jesus Christ and in the One who sent him for our salvation is necessary for obtaining that salvation.” 

God, the words from today’s Gospel were spoken long ago to people in a specific time and place in history. Yet, I want to resist the conclusion that the importance of Jesus’ judgment is relegated to the past. How clearly Jesus calls for repentance, not for the sake of punishment but to draw me to him. The mighty deeds Jesus had done were enough to wake them up and see his divinity. Even more is the burden on me to return to you with my whole heart, believing in his death and resurrection and partaking of his body and blood in the Eucharist. Help me take seriously the words of your Son.

From the Gospel acclamation: “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” Lord, give me the grace today to hear your voice, repentant and desiring to return to you with my whole heart.

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.

https://youtu.be/2W-KSOPWWBY
EWTN Polska | Adoracja z Niepokalanowa

Saturday after Ash Wednesday

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke

The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus said to them in reply, “Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do. I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus calls Levi, a tax collector, to follow him, and Levi responds by giving a great banquet for Jesus. When criticized by the Pharisees for eating with sinners, Jesus says that he came to call sinners, not the righteous, to repentance. He says, “Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do.” It is nothing short of wholeness that Jesus invites Matthew into. Luke tells us that Matthew left everything behind. The result of that, as the first reading from Isaiah says, is renewed strength: “Then light shall rise for you in the darkness, and the gloom shall become for you like midday . . . He will renew your strength, and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring whose water never fails.”

God, help me understand what Matthew came to learn. In inviting Matthew to follow you, you brought him into healing and wholeness. Let me see in that an invitation for me as well and the conversion that results from recognizing my need for your Son, the Divine Physician. As in the Responsorial Psalm, I pray for this recognition. “Incline your ear, O LORD, answer me, for I am afflicted and poor.” Give me the grace today to put pride and self-reliance aside to receive your mercy. As French priest Father Jacques Philippe suggests, self-emptying allows you, Lord, space to work within me: “We have a hard time accepting that we are poor of heart. To receive everything from the mercy of God—to accept that God is our source of richness and not ourselves—requires a great poverty of heart.”

Lord, bestow on me the poverty of heart that makes room for you for me to follow you and do your will.

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.

Readings