A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday & Weekday Liturgy
BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (Series 22, n.15)
Lent Week 4: March 10-16, 2024
(The pastoral tool BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD: A LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY & WEEKDAY LITURGY includes a prayerful study of the Sunday liturgy from various perspectives. For the Lectio Divina on the liturgy of the past week: March 3-9, 2024 please go to ARCHIVES Series 21 and click on “Lent Week 3”.
Below is a LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY - WEEKDAY LITURGY: March 10-16, 2024.)
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March 10, 2024: FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT, YEAR B
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Is the Sacrament of God’s
Sacrificial Love”
BIBLE READINGS
2 Chr 36:14-16, 19-23 // Eph 2:4-10 // Jn 3:14-21
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Jn 3:14-21): “God sent his Son so that the world might be saved through him.”
We continue our spiritual journey to Easter glory. Nourished by the bread of the Word, we delve more deeply into the depths of God’s love. Today’s Gospel reading (Jn 3:14-21) contains a heartwarming message: “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”. God the Father radically revealed his love by offering his Son Jesus to us. Through the life-giving death of his Son on the cross, the abundant riches of his grace have been poured upon us. We now relish the promise of eternal life. Indeed, the liberation of all peoples from sin and death, through the Son’s sacrifice on the cross, demonstrates the power of divine love. Lent is a privileged time to praise the Father who sacrificed his beloved Son for us. In this season of conversion, we are called to honor God who gave his only Son to redeem us.
The following story, circulated through the Internet, is fascinating. It gives insight into God the Father’s total and sacrificing love for us.
After a few of the usual Sunday evening hymns, the Church’s pastor slowly stood up, walked over to the pulpit and, before he gave his sermon for the evening, he briefly introduced a guest minister who was in the service that evening. In the introduction, the pastor told the congregation that the guest minister was one of his dearest childhood friends and that he wanted him to have a few moments to greet the church and share whatever he felt would be appropriate for the service.
With that, an elderly man stepped up to the pulpit and began to speak. “A father, his son and a friend of his son were sailing off the Pacific coast”, he began, “when a fast approaching storm blocked any attempt to get back to the shore. The waves were so high, that even though the father was an experienced sailor, he could not keep the boat upright and the three were swept into the ocean as the boat capsized.”
The old man hesitated for a moment, making eye contact with two teenagers who were, for the first time since the service began, looking somewhat interested in his story. The aged minister continued with his story, “Grabbing a rescue line, the Father had to make the most excruciating decision of his life: to which boy would he throw the other end of the lifeline. He only had seconds to make the decision. The Father knew that his son was a Christian and he also knew that his son’s friend was not. The agony of his decision could not be matched by the torrent of waves.
As the Father yelled out, “I love you son!” he threw out the lifeline to his son’s friend. By the time the Father had pulled the friend back to the capsized boat, his son had disappeared beneath the raging swells into the black of night. His body was never recovered. By this time, the two teenagers were sitting up straight in the pew, anxiously waiting for the next words to come out of the old minister’s mouth.
“The father”, he continued, “knew his son would step into eternity with Jesus and he could not bear the thought of his son’s friend stepping into an eternity without Jesus. Therefore, he sacrificed his son to save the son’s friend. How great is the love of God that he should do the same for us. Our heavenly Father sacrificed his only begotten son that we could be saved. I urge you to accept his offer to rescue you and take hold of the lifeline he is throwing out to you in this service.”
With that, the old man turned and sat back down in his chair as silence filled the room (…) Within minutes after the service ended, the two teenagers were at the old man’s side. “That was a nice story”, politely stated one of them, “but I don’t think it was very realistic for a father to give up his only son’s life in hopes that the other boy would become a Christian.”
“Well, you’ve got a point there”, the old man replied, glancing down at his worn bible. A big smile broadened his narrow face. He once again looked up at the boys and said, “It sure isn’t very realistic, is it? But, I’m standing here today to tell you: that story gives me a glimpse of what it must have been like for God to give up his son for me. You see … I was the father and your pastor is my son’s friend.”
The Gospel reading (Jn 3:14-21) is situated in the context of Jesus’ dialogue with a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leading Jew. He comes to Jesus by night and asks him, “How can a grown man be born?” Jesus responds to the cautious but honest Jewish leader by teaching him how and why the birth from above can happen. The birth would be made possible through his passion, death, and resurrection, or his being “lifted up”. According to Jn 3:14: “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.” The elevated serpent in the desert mentioned by Jesus evokes an incident in Num 21:9 in which Moses fashions a bronze serpent which he puts on a pole. If anyone is bitten by a serpent, he looks at the bronze serpent and lives. The healing symbol of the elevated bronze serpent prefigures Jesus “lifted up” on the cross. He is the Savior who draws all peoples to himself.
Indeed, the gift of salvation is rooted in God’s pure and unmitigated love for the world. Our God is a saving God. Motivated by love, he has gifted the world with his own Son, not to condemn but to save the world. The whole of creation, and in particular its human inhabitants, is God’s “beloved” and the object of his redemptive plan. Our duty as recipients of this unmerited goodness is to believe and to respond to God’s offer of salvation with our whole mind, will and heart.
B. First Reading (2 Chr 36:14-16, 19-23): “The wrath and mercy of the Lord are revealed in the exile and revelation of his people.”
Nicholas Sparks’ novel “The Rescue” (cf. Reader’s Digest Select Editions, Large Type, p. 275-277) contains the poignant past of a firefighter, Taylor McAden. He was nine years old when it happened. One night, when he was unable to sleep, he went to the attic to play with his set of plastic soldiers. He did not realize that the house was on fire and did not answer when his parents frantically searched and yelled for him. The fire trapped him in the attic. He scrambled to the window crying for help. Taylor narrated:
My dad … my big strong dad came running across the lawn to the spot right beneath the window. By then most of the house was on fire. I remember him reaching up his arms, yelling, “Jump, Taylor! I’ll catch you! I’ll catch you, I promise!” But instead of jumping, I just started to cry all the harder … The more my dad called for me to jump, the more paralyzed I became. I can still see my father’s face when he realized I wasn’t going to jump … Then my father nodded ever so slightly, and we both knew what was he going to do … He finally turned and started running for the front door … By then the house was completely in flames … I remember seeing him rushing toward me. He was on fire. His skin, his arms, his face, his hair – just this human fireball rushing at me. He pushed me toward the window, saying, “Go, son.” He forced me out, holding on to my wrist until I was dangling above the ground. He finally let go … I watched my father pull his flaming arm inside … He never came back out … I didn’t mean to kill him.
The failure of young Taylor to trust and to throw himself into his father’s waiting, rescuing arms proved disastrous. For many years, he would carry the specter of the dreadful accident. He was burdened with guilt for having refused his father’s saving hands. In a way, this is what happened to the people of Judah and Jerusalem when they negated Yahweh’s covenantal love – when they refused to trust and surrender themselves to his compassionate design, but instead “added infidelity to infidelity, practicing all the abominations of the nations and polluting the Lord’s temple which he had consecrated in Jerusalem” (2Chr 36:14).
This Sunday’s First Reading (2 Chr 36:14-16, 19-23) etches the disastrous consequences that result from not listening to the voice of God, echoed by the prophets he sent, and from the malice with which God’s chosen people treat his messengers. The Chronicler narrates in sweeping words the events that lead to the violent capture of Jerusalem and the ignominious Babylonian Exile. Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and his troops destroy Judah and Jerusalem in 587 B.C., sparing neither walls nor Yahweh’s temple, slaughtering the inhabitants and bringing the survivors as slaves into a hostile land. Their willful violation of God’s covenant relationship and alienation from his guiding hand become an experience of hell - a physical, moral and spiritual experience of intense destruction and desolation as a nation. Wallowing in the wreckage of sin and humiliation, the deeply chastised Jewish people weep in a foreign land, aching for God and their true home: “By the streams of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. On the poplars of that land we hung up our harps” (Ps 137:1-2).
The compassionate and merciful God, however, does not abandon his people in their self-inflicted misery. In his unmitigated love for his people, Yahweh uses King Cyrus of Persia to promote his healing design for them. In 538 B.C. after having conquered the Babylonian empire, Cyrus allows the Jewish exiles to return to Jerusalem and rebuild their temple. With exhortation and blessing, the great Persian ruler, Cyrus, thus proclaims in his edict: “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!” (v. 22-23). The edict of Cyrus, as cited by the Chronicler, ends in an exclamation of hope and blessing – in a note of triumph and liberation. As an instrument of God’s saving plan for his people, King Cyrus is a figure of the “messiah” – the anointed one - that God the Father would send in the fullness of time.
C. Second Reading (Eph 2:4-10): “Though dead in your transgressions, by grace you have been saved.”
The Second Reading (Eph 2:4-10) delineates not only the abundant riches of God’s mercy and grace, but also our dutiful response to his forgiving love. Once we fully realize how much God loves us, we respond wholeheartedly and spontaneously in loving deeds. Deeply conscious that we are recipients of the undeserved gift of God’s love, we are filled with thanksgiving and contribute to the wellbeing of the Church, humanity, the entire creation and the whole world.
The liturgical scholar Adrian Nocent remarks: “On this fourth Sunday, then, we contemplate the superabundant grace the Father has bestowed on us. We are saved by grace. This grace is inexhaustibly rich and makes our actions good in God’s sight. Such is the wealth of teaching given on this fourth Sunday of Lent. As we contemplate it, we must grasp the marvelous coherence of God’s plan of salvation. But more than that, we must ask ourselves how we are to live out the mystery in our everyday lives.”
Bob McGreevy endeavors to respond to the mystery of undeserved grace in his everyday life. His story illustrates how his openness to God’s grace and his experience of the divine goodness led to Bob’s beautiful act of charity on behalf of a poor and vulnerable gentleman (cf. Bob McGreevy, “Treated to a Blessing” in Amazing Grace for the Catholic Heart, ed. Jeff Cavins, et. al., West Chester: Ascension Press, 2004, p. 257-258).
Walking out into a crisp September afternoon, my mood soared. My co-workers and I had just completed the first milestone of a very important and complicated project. As an energy and environmental comfort specialist, I had sold a product for renovating the heating, cooling, lighting, and indoor air quality for a 220,000 square foot, ten-story building in Norristown, Pennsylvania.
“This deserves celebration”, I thought to myself as I walked into the convenience store next-door. As I looked at the shelves for something to treat myself to, a thought came to me: “Someone needs this more than I do.” It was not as if I was down to my last dollar and had to choose between buying myself something or giving to charity, but the thought seemed to be a direction – a prompting. Recently, I seem to be getting more direction from God in my life since I changed my morning prayer routine. My new routine involves sitting quietly and trying to be fully present to the Lord, to be open to what He wants me to do. I am no mystic. I do not hear audible voices, but I sense that this morning spiritual exercise has helped me to be more in tune with God’s plan for me each day. On this particular day, it would have been easy for me to brush the thought away and go ahead and buy myself a candy bar or cupcake. After all, the idea that interrupted my confectionary plans seemed totally subjective. I could choose to listen to this soft prodding or brush it aside. I turned on my heels and left the store.
Back outside, there were street maintenance vehicles and personnel working nearby. I watched what they were doing for a few minutes. A man alongside me explained that a transformer had blown the day before. The crew was working on the repair. As we were watching the scene, another man walked up to me and asked, “Can you spare fifty cents?” The middle-aged man looked homeless. He carried his belongings in a bag. He had probably slept outside on some park bench or in some doorway entrance. Despite his appearance, you could see that he was probably new to living on the streets. He was certainly down on his luck, but perhaps it was only a temporary situation. He had a pleading look in his eyes as he quietly said, “Even a dime would help.”
I reached into my pocket, and pulled out a twenty-dollar bill and gave it to him. The man looked at the bill and then back up at me, obviously surprised. Looking me square in the eyes, he said, “Thank you! You do not know how important this is to me.” He then turned and walked away with a livelier step than when he approached. I watched him pump his fist and mouth, “Yes!” That look in his eyes and that gesture of excitement gave me much more satisfaction that any treat could ever have offered.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
According to the evangelist John, “God so loved the world that he gave us his only Son …” (Jn 3:16). In the face of today’s world crisis, do we truly believe in the immensity of God’s love? Do we respond to his grandiose sacrifice by being channels of his self-giving love in today’s world?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Oh, compassionate God!
You so loved the world that you gave your only Son,
not to condemn the world,
but that we may have eternal life.
Thank you for the abundant riches of your love.
By your grace we have been saved and healed.
Help us to be intimately united with Jesus
and walk with him on the path to new life
Totally configured to Christ,
may we embrace a life of good deeds
and care for the poor and vulnerable.
They are the object of your providential love.
Help us all to live as your children.
May we reach our eternal destiny with you,
and with Jesus your Servant-Son and the Holy Spirit,
now and forever.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.
“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.” (Jn 3:16)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Pray that we may imitate more intensely the Father’s total and sacrificial love. In this Lenten season, assume more intensely the Catholic commitment to solidarity especially with the poor and vulnerable.
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March 11, 2024: MONDAY – LENTEN WEEKDAY (4)
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Is the Font of Life and Joy”
BIBLE READINGS
Is 65:17-21 // Jn 4:43-54
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Jn 4:43-54): “Go your son will live.”
In today’s Gospel (Jn 4:43-54) Jesus heals a royal official’s dying son. This miracle of a “long distance cure” is brought about by the Lord’s spoken word. Jesus does nothing but speak a life-saving word. He tells the distraught father whose son in Capernaum is in near death: “You may go; your son will live.” The man believes what Jesus said to him and goes home to his son who indeed has been healed. The word spoken by Jesus at Cana, where he previously changed water into wine, is redemptive and life-giving. The Gospel episode focuses not on physical healing but on the powerful, efficacious word of Jesus. We are called to contemplate the deeper meaning of this healing “sign” and to believe that Jesus is the Messiah-Savior. Indeed, we need to be receptive to his very person and to welcome his life-giving word into our lives.
The following modern-day healing story gives insight into the various stages of a faith journey (cf. John Briley, Jr. M.D., “Medically Impossible” in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Stories of Faith, ed. Jack Canfield, et. al. Cos Cob: CSS, 2008, p. 13-16).
I remember it was almost Christmas because carols softly played on the radio in the nurses’ station. I walked into Jimmy’s room. A small seven-year old, he seemed dwarfed by the big, indifferent, mechanical hospital bed with its starchy sheets. He looked at me through suspicious eyes, hidden in a face puffed up from the use of steroids to control his kidney condition. “What are you gonna do to me now?” they seemed to ask. “What blood tests are you gonna order? Don’t you know they hurt, Doc?”
Jimmy has a disease called nephritic syndrome, and it was not responding to any therapy we had tried. This was his sixth month with the illness, his second week in the hospital. I was feeling guilty – I had failed him. As I smiled at him, my heart felt even heavier. The shadow of defeat had dulled his eyes. “Oh no”, I thought, “he’s given up.” When a patient gives up, your chances of helping that patient lower dramatically.
“Jimmy, I want to try something.” He burrowed into the sheets. “It’s gonna hurt?” “No, we’ll use the intravenous line that’s already in your arm. No new needles.” What I planned I had tried a few weeks earlier without success. I gave him intravenous Lasix, a drug that is supposed to “open up” the kidneys. This time I planned a new twist, which the nephrologist said probably would not work but was worth the try. A half hour before I injected the Lasix I would inject albumin, a simple protein that would draw water from the bloated cells into the bloodstream. Then, when I gave the Lasix, the water flooding the bloodstream might flow into and open up the kidneys. The problem was, if it didn’t, the “flooded” blood vessels could give Jimmy lung congestion until his body readjusted. I had discussed this with his parents. Desperate, they agreed to try.
So I gave albumin into his intravenous line. A half hour later I came back to give the Lasix. He was breathing harder and looked scared. I had an idea. I never believed in divine intervention, but Jimmy came from a very religious family. “You pray a lot?” I asked. “Yes”, he answered. “I pray every night. But I guess God don’t hear me.” “He hears you”, I replied, not knowing in all honesty if God did or didn’t, but Jimmy needed reassurance. And belief. “Try praying as I give this medication to you. Oh, and I want you to pretend you see your kidneys – remember all those pictures of them I showed you awhile back?” “Yes.” “Well, I want you to picture them spilling all the extra water in your body into your bladder. You remember the picture of your bladder I showed you?” I figured I might as well try visualization. This was in the early 1970s. Some articles had been written about visualization and some evidence existed that it worked – in some cases, anyway. “Yeah.” “Good. Start now. Concentrate on your kidneys.” I placed my hands there and shut my eyes, concentrating – just to show him how, you understand. Then injected the Lasix. Jimmy closed his eyes and concentrated, and mouthed a prayer.
What the heck. I also prayed, even though I knew it wouldn’t work. I did not believe in divine intervention. When I died I would have a few choice questions for God about why he allowed certain terrible things to happen to certain children. One of my friends suggested that when I did die, God would probably send me the other way to avoid me. But in for a penny, in for a pound.
“How long will it take to work?” the nurse asked as she adjusted the dripping intravenous line. I motioned to her to step from the room. “In a person with normal kidneys, maybe twenty minutes – fifteen minutes tops”, I replied. “With Jimmy, I’m hoping a half hour. But I have to tell you, it’s a real long shot. Stay with him. If he has trouble and needs oxygen, call me. I’ll be at the nurses’ station writing all this down.”
I sat down and opened Jimmy’s cold, metal-jacketed chart, almost cursing the irony of the Christmas carol on the radio: “Oh Holy Night”. Before I had scribbled one sentence, the nurse stuck out her head from Jimmy’s room. “A half hour to work?” she asked. “That’s what I said.” “Well, the floodgates have opened. He’s urinating like crazy. Within just two minutes he asked for the urinal. I’ve got to go to get another.”
Two minutes? Impossible. I went to the room as fast as my cane would allow me to walk. Jimmy had already filled the plastic yellow urinal. The nurse rushed in with another two. He grabbed one and started filling that one, too. He grinned at me, the light back in his blue eyes.
I left the room, a numbness coursing through my mind and body. It couldn’t be. If he diuresed – if his kidneys opened up – he was on a way to cure. No, it just could not happen that fast. Impossible – medically impossible. And yet … Was it sheer pharmacology and physiology breaking the rules? Was it the visualization?
I could clearly hear a fragment of a carol on the radio. I felt goosebumps. “Fall on your knees, oh hear the angel voices …” A paraphrase of the last line from Miracle on 34th Street came to me: “And then again maybe I didn’t do such a wonderful thing, after all.”
B. First Reading (Is 65:17-21): “No longer shall the sound of weeping or the sound of crying be heard.”
The Old Testament reading (Is 65:17-21) depicts the restoration of Jerusalem as a new creation. The prophet Isaiah transmits to the suffering chosen people the consoling words of God about the salvation of the remnant. The world will not be destroyed but transformed into “new heavens and a new earth”. The creative action of God is the font of joy. The Jerusalem he will “create” will be full of joy and its people will be happy. What he creates is the fullness of life. Babies will no longer die in infancy, and all people will live out their life span. This idyll of joy and peace gives delight both to God and his people. In Jesus Savior who saves the dying son of a royal official, the word of God once again calls “new heavens and a new earth” into being. The creative love of God at work in Jesus is font of life, healing, and joy.
We too are called to be a part of this idyll of love, joy, and peace. The following story, circulated on the Internet, gives us an insight into how we can be an instrument of the “new creation” and a font of joy.
There was once an elderly woman who lived in a violent, drug-ravaged, crumbling neighborhood in an old city. Her children had died before her. Time had left its mark on her too. She was no longer pretty in the eyes of the world. She had become wrinkled, stooped, thin and hollow-eyed. Her body was now half crippled with arthritis. Still, this little old lady continually brought joy to the community around her. Everyone called her "Granny" and she was a loving Grandmother to all. As she moved slowly down the street she would sing hymns and share smiles. She had a kind word for everyone. She gave her gentle laughter as a free gift to all. She offered encouragement, said prayers for, and brought hope to the disheartened. She went about doing good every chance she could. No one, after meeting her, left without the heart feeling lighter and the smile shining brighter. Her serenity and tranquility remained a mystery to the neighborhood, though. No one could figure out how someone who had lost and suffered so much could live so beautifully.
One day a curious little girl ran up to the tiny old woman shuffling along with her walker and called out to her. "How do you do it Granny?" she asked. "How do you love so freely? How do you live so happily? How do you give so much to all of us every day?" Granny just smiled at her and said, "Because God loves me child! Because He loves me, I love Him and you and everybody else!”
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. Do we commit ourselves in faith to the person of Jesus and believe in his efficacious, life-saving word?
2. Do we open our hearts to God’s creative action and the idyll of a “new creation”? Do we strive to be a font of joy, peace and healing for the people around us?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Loving God,
how wonderful you are!
You have forgiven our disobedience and infidelity
and make of us a “new creation”.
In Jesus Savior,
we experience what joy and peace there is
in your gift of life.
Help us to be open to that gift.
You are kind and merciful.
We adore and praise you, now and forever.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
“Your son will live.” (Jn 4:50) // “Lo, I am about to create new heavens and a new earth.” (Is 65:17)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
By your words of kindness and act of charity, lift up the spirit of a despondent person and allow him to experience the joy of God’s “new creation”.
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March 12, 2024: TUESDAY – LENTEN WEEKDAY (4)
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Is the Font of Healing”
BIBLE READINGS
Ez 47:1-9, 12 // Jn 5:1-16
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Jn 5:1-16): “Immediately the man became well.”
Our Lenten journey to Easter glory is full of signs of God’s life-giving power. In today’s Gospel (Jn 5:1-16), Jesus stands by the Sheep Gate at a pool called Bethesda. He sees a paralytic in a pitiful predicament. He has been ill for thirty-eight years and is unable to access the pool’s therapeutic waters. Jesus, the font of ultimate healing, commands the paralyzed man, “Rise, take up your mat, and walk.” Immediately, the man becomes well; he takes up his mat and walks. Jesus’ healing power surpasses the famed curative waters of Bethesda. From his very person springs forth true healing; his all-powerful words are sufficient to enable the paralytic to rise. He is freed from the illness that held him down for a lifetime. Moreover, Jesus invites the cured paralytic to make a total journey from brokenness to wholeness by inviting him to sin no more.
Lent is a privileged time to encounter Jesus, the wellspring of healing. Like the helpless paralytic of Bethesda, we, too, are objects of his concern. Jesus asks us, “Do you want to be well?” We thus present to him our helplessness and need for healing. By the power of his healing words, we who are broken become whole. We who are shackled by the effects of evil and sin are able to rise. Restored to health and the freedom of the children of God, we walk with Jesus along the narrow path that leads to eternal life.
The following story illustrates that miraculous healing continues to be experienced in the here and now (cf. Leti Martelli, “When You Walk Again” in Guideposts, February 2012, p. 50-54). The 15-year-old Lenny broke his neck in a snowboarding accident and was paralyzed from the chest down. His mom, Leti, prayed lengthily for his healing.
Maybe it was time for me to pray for something else – for fortitude to walk whatever path the Good Lord set for us and thank him for my son’s life. I looked down at my hand. I was clutching a prayer card that someone had given to us. On it was a picture of Padre Pio, an Italian friar born in the nineteenth century who went on to become a saint. Padre Pio’s simple advice to believers was: Pray, Hope and Don’t Worry. But how could I not worry? I tried everything and my son was not recovering. A bit of light filtered into Lenny’s room from his window and I held the card up to read the prayer printed on one side.
At the end of the prayer I was supposed to state what I was asking for. “I confidently beseech you, Lord, to grant me the grace of healing for my son.” I said those words over and over. The prayer was short. It seemed tiny compared to the monumental miracle we needed. I said the prayer until it seemed that I was saying it in my sleep.
I sat up with a jolt. I was awake now, because I realized that Lenny and I weren’t alone in the room. A figure stood by the door. I squinted to try to see more clearly. It wasn’t a doctor or a nurse. It was a man wearing a long robe made of rough fabric and tied around the waist by a rope. Okay, I thought, this is weird. There’s a friar in the room with me. I should have been freaking out. But I wasn’t. The figure radiated peace and calm. He walked slowly to Lenny’s bedside and stood looking down at my son. He then laid his hand on Lenny’s right leg, the one that always gave him the most trouble in therapy. The hand rested there for a moment, then the figure backed out of the room.
I let out a long breath. What on earth had just happened? I looked at the prayer card again. Pray, Hope and Don’t Worry. Relief began to trickle through me, then surged, as mysterious as the figure of the old friar who had just visited. For the first time in ages I did not feel worried. I leaned back, closed my eyes and dropped back to sleep.
The next day in the therapy room, two therapists put their arms around Lenny’s waist and shoulders. He stood, able to put weight on his legs. “Let’s try something new”, they said. “Okay”, said Lenny. “What do you want me to do?” “Walk.” Lenny took a step with his left foot, then another with his right. All of a sudden, before any of us quite realized what was happening, he was walking. Supported by the two therapists, he made it to the end of the hallway and then turned around. “Whoa”, he said, looking startled. “How did I get here?” A huge grin and he answered his own question. “I walked!” He headed back up the hall toward me. “Mom!” he cried. “I’m walking!” (…)
I still can’t say for certain what really happened that night in Lenny’s hospital room. Obviously God performed a miraculous work of healing. (…) Maybe Padre Pio did visit us that night, not so much to heal Lenny, as a reminder from God that healing was underway.
B. First Reading (Ez 47:1-9, 12): “I saw water flowing from the temple, and all who were touched by it were saved.”
When my dad was sick with cancer, my family would go in pilgrimage to a Marian shrine in Novaliches, Philippines, where a devotee, grateful for the healing received, had built a poor man’s replica of the Grotto in Lourdes, France. We would attend the Mass, pray the rosary and the novena, and make the Stations of the Cross. My dad was too weak to make the Stations of the Cross spread throughout a grassy hillside, but he would take a bath at the springs. Water from the Grotto in Lourdes, France, had been poured into the wellspring of the local Grotto, which greatly comforted the sick devotees. Bathing in that water was, for my dad, an act of faith in the healing power of God and a sign of total surrender to the divine saving will. I also remember the delicious, sweet guavas and the bottles of fresh milk (from carabao, a water buffalo) that the farmers were selling outside the shrine. We would buy bunches of guava fruits and some bottles of carabao’s milk. We would boil the milk until a creamy stuff formed. My sick dad loved to eat that creamy stuff and drink the pasteurized sweetish milk, which I believe is the best in the world.
This teenage experience enables me to savor vividly the beauty and the hope that today’s Old Testament reading (Ez 47:1-9, 12) offers. God’s life-giving power is imaged in the flowing temple water that purifies and makes the trees fruitful. The prophet Ezekiel has a series of visions of the restoration of a new Israel to its homeland. The vision of the healing and life-giving waters that flow from the temple is the climax and a fitting conclusion to his visions. New life flows from the presence of God forever in the midst of his people. The vision of abundance and plenitude that was given to the prophet Ezekiel finds fulfillment in the person of Jesus Christ, the healing water of salvation. Our Lord Jesus is the font of healing and of joy. In him is the life-generating and healing river of the Spirit.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. What is our response to Jesus’ question, “Do you want to be well”? Do we allow his healing words to touch us and heal us of our infirmity?
2. Are you willing to open your heart to the healing and life-giving waters that flow from God’s temple?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Loving Father,
we thank you for the wellspring
that flows from your temple.
It revitalizes the dead desert sea
and makes the trees on the river banks sturdy and fruitful.
Your Son Jesus is the new font of life.
In him is the healing river of the Spirit.
Let our life be steeped in the water of life he brings.
We bless and adore you, dear Father, now and forever.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.
“Do you want to be well?” (Jn 5:6) // “They shall be watered by the flow from the sanctuary.” (Ez 47:12)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Pray for God’s healing grace for you and the people in your midst. Be an instrument of God’s healing for them by your kind deeds, consoling words and inspiring actions. Do something for the infirm, especially those who are unable to walk.
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March 13, 2024: WEDNESDAY – LENTEN WEEKDAY (4)
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Incarnates God’s Faithful Love”
BIBLE READINGS
Is 49:8-15 // Jn 5:17-30
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Jn 5:17-30): “As the Father raises the dead and gives them life so also does the Son give life to those whom he chooses.”
In the Gospel reading (Jn 5:17-30) we hear that Jesus is the object of contention. The Jewish authorities begin to persecute Jesus because he healed the crippled man at Bethesda and thus broke the Sabbath law. Moreover, he claimed that God is his own Father and thus made himself equal to God. Jesus does not deny the accusation, but reiterates his filial connection with God. He answers them, “My Father is always working, and I too must work.” The unceasing work of God is to give and sustain life. As the Son of God, Jesus cannot do otherwise. Hence, the Sabbath law does not have authority to prevent Jesus from healing a paralytic. His compassionate “work” on behalf of the sick is grounded in God’s nature as life-giver. The Jews believe that God rested from work on the Sabbath, but that he never rested from the work of giving life to creation, since creation would cease to exist had God done so.
The season of Lent invites us to embrace the life-giving work of the Father and the Son. We are invited to gaze more intently on the ongoing miracle of life, which results from their creative activity. Jesus continues to dispense to us the gift of life that comes from the bosom of God. Just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, in the same way the Son gives life to those he wants to. We are recipients of the gift of “new life” not only on the day of resurrection, but even in the “here and now”. We simply have to be receptive. We ought to be thankful for all the gifts that our gracious God continues to bestow on us in his Son Jesus.
The following story inspires us to be receptive to the miracle of life and the unceasing creative activity of God (cf. Brian Doyle, “March 15 Reflection” in Daily Guideposts 2010, p. 86).
I was visiting a grade school, as is wont, on the general theory that these are the beings who are going to own the world pretty soon and I want to stay on their good side. And as a salty, testy, thankful older man, it’s my duty and joy to try to connect to as many kids as possible and remind them that we are inundated by the profligate generosity of the Maker. Maybe we all don’t celebrate that quite enough, being also inundated by worries and bills and car troubles and back pains.
In this classroom I was blathering on and on about the sea of miracles, and a girl – it’s always girls who ask the piercing questions – raised her hand and said, “Yes, sir, but have you personally experienced miracles? Or is this just a lecture?”
There was a long pause, and I said with dawning wonder, “Oh, child, yes; oh, dear Lord, yes, yes, yes! I have seen bears the size of cars. I have heard whales moaning in dark oceans. I have had a child say, “I love you more than I could ever figure out words for my love, Dad.” I have been graced by burly brothers. I have had sicknesses that looked to be the cause of gravestone engravings, but here I am, cheerfully mumbling in your classroom. Here I am and that is a miracle beyond accounting, and here you are and that is even a cooler miracle, because you are young and strong and possible in ways that I am not any more. Yes, my young friend, I have seen miracles. Every moment of every day. Every breath. Yes. Any more questions?”
B. First Reading (Is 49:8-15): “I have given you as a covenant to the people, to restore the land.”
Today’s Old Testament Reading (Is 49:8-15) depicts with poignant beauty God’s protestation of love to a people crying out in despair that they had been abandoned and forsaken. To his anguished people exiled in Babylon, the Lord God spoke these consoling words: “Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you.” The love of God surpasses that of a mother for her child. God would never forsake his Chosen People, though they themselves had forsaken him. Deeply chastised and painfully humbled by the Exile experience, they would become the object of divine mercy that transcends anything we could ever imagine.
The biblical scholar Eugene Maly comments: “God has always been faithful to his people; he had never forgotten them. Our first reading presents God in the tender image of a mother, and the people of God in the image of a nursing infant. Isaiah makes it clear that God’s love is ever greater than the image presented … While the people of God were in exile in Babylon, God still loved them; their release was a sign of compassion. He had never abandoned them, and they had no reason to lament … All through their punishment, God had remembered them and had now liberated them from bondage. Isaiah’s message is that we are to trust God even when the days are darkest, for God does not abandon his people.”
Jesus Savior incarnates the Father’s love that is beyond telling. The Christian disciples continue to make present in today’s world God’s tenderness and faithful love. Through them the Lord God comforts his people and shows mercy to the afflicted. The following story of Sr. Mary Rose of the Covenant House, America’s largest shelter for homeless and runaway kids, gives insight into this (cf. Sr. Mary Rose McGeady, Sometimes God Has a Kid’s Face, Covenant House, 2010, p. 35-38).
Finally, the tears began to form in her eyes, and she decided to take a chance. Dana decided to trust in us. “I used to live in a real house”, she said. “I had a mother and a father and five brothers”, she said. “That was a long time ago”, she said. “Then, last year, my dad decided to leave. He just walked out one day … he didn’t even tell me he was going anywhere … he just left. My mother … my mother couldn’t take it anymore. She tried to get a job … but it all got to be too much. About two months ago, she sat me down and told me I had to leave. ‘You’re 16, Dana’, she said. ‘You’re the oldest … I can’t afford all of you … you’re going to have to leave.’ I looked at her like she was kidding. I mean, leave for what, Sister? Go where? I’m 16 … it’s not like I know a million places to go. But my mother kept telling me I had to get out. ‘You can make it, Dana’, my mother said. ‘You’re strong like me. Pack up your things. I’m sorry, you have to go.’”
As she poured out her story, the tears began rolling down Dana’s cheeks in streams. They were angry, pained, disbelieving tears of a 16-year-old girl who suddenly found herself all alone, on the street, by herself. I grabbed her hand and told her again how glad I was she had found us. (…)
I made sure our staff took extra special care of Dana tonight. We got her some brand-new pajamas, and I made sure she got a room right near one of her counselors, so she could see someone by her all night. (…) I do know one thing. We’re going to do everything humanly possible to help her, and try to rebuild her life (and as we’re doing all we humanly can, I’m going to be praying extra hard to God for His help too).
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. Do we believe and trust in the ceaseless life-giving activity of God? Do we wish to embrace the life-giving work of Jesus, the Son of God?
2. In moments of despondency or distress, do I ever cry out with reproach: “The Lord has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me”? What do I do to trust in God’s faithful love?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Loving God,
you love us tenderly and constantly,
as a mother loves the child in her womb,
but with a love that surpasses all we could ever imagine.
We are your chosen people.
You will never forget or forsake us.
We thank you for your Son Jesus Christ,
the full revelation of your saving love.
He trusted in you even in the face of the “gathering storm”.
Help us to trust in you and to rely on the name of Christ.
He lives and reigns, forever and ever.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.
“For just as the Father raises the dead and gives life, so also does the Son give life to whomever he wishes.” (Jn 5:17-30) // “Even should a mother forget I will never forget you.” (Is 49:15)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Today take time to see the miracle of life within and around you. Pray that by our life of loving service we may clearly image the faithful love of God. Be attentive to the urgent needs of our brothers and sisters and assist them in any way you can.
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March 14, 2024: THURSDAY – LENTEN WEEKDAY (4)
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Is Our Mediator and We Are His Witnesses”
BIBLE READINGS
Ex 32:7-14 // Jn 5:31-47
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Jn 5:31-47): “The one who will accuse you is Moses in whom you have placed your hope.”
In the Gospel (Jn 5:31-47) we hear that as Jesus comes closer to the end of his life, the Jewish authority’s hostility grows fierce and the opposition is more threatening. Basically, the issue is whether Jesus is truly God-Messiah. Jesus responds by presenting astounding witnesses on his behalf. John the Baptist is the burning lamp that points to him as the true light. The Baptist testifies about Jesus, “He is the Son of God!” Though John is a significant witness, Jesus has an even greater witness: God the Father himself. The deeds that Jesus carried out in obedience to the Father manifest that he truly comes from God. Moreover, the Father gives further witness to Jesus by an inner voice that is discovered by those who are responsive to divine grace. Those who oppose Jesus are spiritually blind. Their understanding is so warped that they are unable to perceive the witness of God in the Scriptures and Moses. It is ironic that they reject Jesus as God-Messiah, but easily accept charlatans whose credentials accord with their preconceived ideas. There is no need for Jesus to condemn them. They stand self-denounced by their hardness of heart.
The following story shows that a simple, receptive heart is necessary for truly knowing Christ (cf. Anthony De Mello, The Song of the Bird, New York: Image Books, 1984, p. 112). We are witnesses of Christ. Our personal transformation testifies to his saving presence in our life.
A dialogue between a recent convert and an unbelieving friend:
“So you have been converted to Christ?”
“Yes.”
“Then you must know a great deal about him. Tell me: what country was he born in?”
“I don’t know.”
“What was his age when he died?”
“I don’t know.”
“How many sermons did he preach?”
“I don’t know.”
“You certainly know very little for a man who claims to be converted to Christ!”
“You are right. I am ashamed at how little I know about him. But this much I know. Three years ago I was a drunkard. I was in debt. My family was falling to pieces. My wife and children would dread my return home each evening. But now I have given up drink; we are out of debt; ours is now a happy home. All this Christ has done for me. Thus much I know of him!”
To really know … That is, to be transformed by what one knows.
B. First Reading (Ex 32:7-14): “Relent in punishing your people.”
Today’s Old Testament reading presents Moses as a mediator who intercedes for the erring Israelites. His mediation is meant to turn the divine wrath away from the chosen people. Rescued by God from slavery, they now have become idolatrous. They have foolishly built a gold bull-calf to worship in place of the true God. The Lord God intends to wipe them out and begin a new nation from Moses. The ministry of mediation of Moses is courageous and persuasive. He asks God to change his mind and not to bring disaster up on the people. Moses carries out his role of mediation by appealing to the honor of God’s name before the pagan nations. To have the Israelites die in the wilderness would only provoke the ridicule of the Lord’s enemies in Egypt. Likewise Moses reminds God of his promises to the patriarchs. To abandon the Israelites now is to renege on the promises he made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to make of them a great nation and to lead them to their eternal possession. So the Lord relented and did not bring upon his people the punishment he had threatened.
The ministry of mediation of Moses finds exquisite fulfillment in Jesus Christ who reconciled men with God. The Christian disciples are also called to a life of mediation and intercession on behalf of today’s world. They are called to be peacemakers and to help people evade the path of evil and self-destruction. The following story gives us a glimpse into what we can do (cf. Mike McGarvin, Papa Mike, Fresno: Poverello House, 2003, p. 74).
There weren’t many who hit the streets with me, but quite a few helped by preparing the food. Two of these early volunteers were John Graham, a man who would later become a board member, and his wife Barbara, who would cook chili to hand out.
Another volunteer, Frank Stommel, came from the local Newman Center. Frank was originally from Holland, and he spent a good part of World War II dragging his family all over Europe as he fled the Nazis. He’d seen a lot of hard things in his life, but a more loving man you couldn’t find anywhere. Frank was one of those unique people who overflow with warmth.
Frank came along about the time I was starting to burn out. If he hadn’t shown up, I may not have been able to keep it going. He had a thick accent, and half the time the street guys couldn’t understand him. But they understood that he accepted them and cared about them. Frank’s a big bear of a man with a twinkle in his eye, and he threw himself into the work. He’d scare me sometimes, because he was absolutely fearless. He trusted God to take care of him, but my faith wasn’t as deep as his. I worried about him.
One time a big melee started near where he was serving. Frank waded into the middle of it, saying something like, “Friends, friends, de gude Lord vants you to love each other, not fight. Let’s settle down, now.” Amazingly, they did. I think they were stupefied by this big Dutchman who boldly stepped between them and spoke in what surely seemed to be a language from outer space.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. Do we truly accept the presence of Jesus in our life as true God and Savior? How do we give witness to Jesus?
2. What does the ministry of mediation and intercession of Moses say to you? Did you ever carry out this ministry on behalf of others?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
O loving Father,
we thank you for the gift of the mediation of Moses.
Above all, we give you thanks for your Son Jesus Christ
who brought to fulfillment
this role of covenant mediation upon the cross.
Teach us to love
and to intercede for the people
who foolishly refuse your love.
You are merciful and compassionate.
We adore and praise you, now and forever.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.
“The Father who sent me has testified on my behalf.” (Jn 5:37) // “So the Lord relented in the punishment he had threatened to inflict on his people.” (Ex 32:14)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Commit yourself to the study of the Scriptures and to acquire a deeper understanding of the presence of Christ in your life. // Open up today’s newspaper and, after reading some of the local, national, and world events, lift up your hands in prayer for the people and the world that need to be brought back to God.
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March 15, 2024: FRIDAY – LENTEN WEEKDAY (4)
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Is the Just One”
BIBLE READINGS
Wis 2:1a, 12-22 // Jn 7:1-2; 10:25-30
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Jn 7:1-2; 10:25-30): “They tried to arrest him, but his hour had not yet come.”
Today’s Gospel reading (Jn 7:1-2, 10, 25-30) depicts another conflict situation in the life of Jesus. The Jews celebrate the feast of Tabernacles or Sukkoth, an annual autumn celebration of thanksgiving for the yearly harvest and for the historic Exodus miracles of the water and the pillar of fire. Jesus, the font of living water and the light of the world, makes a private appearance in Jerusalem for this festival. Though he wants to be incognito, people recognize him just the same and a controversy ensues. Since they know his family origin, they doubt whether he is the Messiah. Their superficial knowledge of his person prevents them from recognizing the astounding truth that he is truly the one sent by God as the Savior of the world. Jesus is the “hidden” Messiah. His divine origin could be perceived only by “believers” who trust in him.
The adversaries try to seize him, but cannot since his “hour” has not yet come. At the autumn festival in Jerusalem, the “gathering storm” quickens. The mounting hostility precipitates him closer to his passion and death on the cross. As his disciples, it is our duty to stand by him and endure the “gathering storm” that will break loose on Good Friday.
The “gathering storm” of hostility continues to accompany the Christian disciples in today’s world. Our commitment can be a reproach to the world and our moral principles can generate opposition. The following news article gives us a glimpse into the “gathering storm” that we must endure (cf. San Jose Mercury News, March 6, 2012, p. A2).
Cameron creates controversy by stating views on gay rights: Kirk Cameron, the star of the 1980s sitcom “Growing Pains”, told Piers Morgan in an interview broadcast Friday, that homosexuality is “unnatural … I think that it’s detrimental and ultimately destructive to so many of the foundations of civilization.”
Well, it’s a good thing for civilization that homosexuality has only been around for a couple of years, or we’d be in real trouble by now.
Cameron said, “Marriage was defined by God a long time ago. Marriage is almost as old as dirt, and it was defined in the garden between Adam and Eve – one man, one woman for life till death do you part. So I would never attempt to try to redefine marriage. And I don’t think anyone else should, either. So do I support the idea of gay marriage? No, I don’t.”
When asked what he would do if one of his six kids told him, “I’m gay”, Cameron responded, “I’d sit down and I’d have a heart to heart with them, just like you’d do with your kids.” Morgan retorted, “I’d say, ‘That’s great, son, as long as you’re happy.’ What would you say?” Cameron said, “I wouldn’t say, ‘That’s great, son, as long as you’re happy.’ There are all sorts of issues we need to wrestle through in our life … Just because you feel one way doesn’t mean we should act on everything we feel.”
Herndon Graddick of gay rights group GLAAD, said Cameron “sounds even more dated than his 1980s TV character” and he “is out of step with a growing majority of Americans, particularly people of faith who believe that their gay and lesbian brothers and sisters should be loved and accepted based on their character and not condemnation because of their sexual orientation.”
Morgan defended Cameron to TMZ saying that he was “pretty brave” for speaking out. “I felt that he was honest to what he believed”, Morgan said, “and I don’t think he was expecting the furor that it created.”
B. First Reading (Wis 2:1a, 12-22): “Let us condemn him to a shameful death.”
I was born in the Philippines, in a small town near the slopes of the majestic Mayon Volcano that is renowned for its perfect cone. When I reminisce about the little town where I was born, I also remember our hardworking houseboy named Julian. A no-nonsense orphan, it was his dream to go to school. My parents made arrangements so that he could be a working student. One day, when he was going to school to pay his tuition, his half-brother accosted him, asking for money. The half-brother grew up with bad companions and was involved in gambling and drinking. He detested Julian’s clean character. For him Julian, the “good boy”, was obnoxious. When he threatened Julian with a gun, the latter refused to give up his hard-earned money and his dream of a better future. The half-brother shot him to death. Our quiet neighborhood was convulsed by the dreadful violence inflicted on an innocent lovable boy.
The conflict between good and evil is verified again and again in human experience. The life of Julian gives insight into the “just one” referred to in today’s Old Testament reading (Wis 2:1a, 12-22). The life of the “just one” is a reproach to those who do evil. The authors of the Days of the Lord, vol. 5, comment: “Those who do evil are intolerant of contradiction, whatever its form. They strive to silence it. But nothing is more unbearable to them than the living reproach and permanent challenge of the life of just persons in their midst … By not living like everyone else, the just become marginal … Through their very lives, led in conformity with God’s law, the just denounce the misconduct of the impious.” The unmerited injustice suffered by the “just one” mentioned by the Book of Wisdom adds poignancy and intensity to the figure of Jesus, the Suffering Servant-Messiah. While the figure of the “just one” who patiently withstands insults and torture points to Jesus, the wicked ones who sought the destruction of the “just one” anticipate those who seek the suffering and death of Jesus.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. Do I stand by Jesus in the “gathering storm” of controversy that his person and teaching generate?
2. How do we respond to the permanent challenge of the just persons in our midst? Is the life of the “just one” a reproach to our sinful ways, or is it an invitation to conversion? Are we ready to embrace the paschal destiny of the “Just One” par excellence?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Loving Lord,
we thank you for your Son Jesus Christ,
the “Just One” par excellence.
He is a living reproach to our evil ways.
He invites us to conversion.
Give us the grace to welcome him
so that we may have the wisdom and strength to return to you,
our loving and merciful Father.
Help us to be united
with the paschal destiny of Christ, our Savior.
He lives and reigns, forever and ever.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.
“They tried to arrest him.” (Jn 7:30) // “Let us beset the just one.” (Wis 2:12)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Pray for the just whose life of integrity is a living reproach to those who do evil. Nurture the Christian call to goodness and justice by getting acquainted with the life and sacrifices of today’s persecuted Christians. Be ready to make your own courageous stand for the Christian faith.
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March 16, 2024: SATURDAY – LENTEN WEEKDAY (4)
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Was Persecuted”
BIBLE READINGS
Jer 11:18-20 // Jn 7:40-53
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Jn 7:40-53): “The Christ will not come from Galilee, will he?”
In today’s Gospel (Jn 7:40-53), the controversy continues to swirl around Jesus as to whether he is the Messiah. The crowd is divided. Some enthuse that he is the Prophet. Others believe he is the Messiah. But others refute this, arguing that the Messiah will not come from Galilee, but from David’s line – from Bethlehem. Others want to arrest him, but no one lays a hand on him. As the “storm” of hostility gathers, we see some people making an effort to defend him. The temple guards ordered to arrest Jesus come back empty-handed because his words touched them. They report to the chief priests and Pharisees, “Never before has anyone spoken like this one.” The religious leaders scorn them for being so easily deceived. Encouraged by the action of the guards, the “closet Christian”, Nicodemus, made an effort to defend Jesus by reminding the chief priests and Pharisees that according to the law, they cannot condemn a person before hearing him and finding what he has done. His honest effort to protect Jesus, however, is of no avail.
Lent is a time to delve into our Christian duty to make a defense for Jesus. Courage and fortitude are given by God to those who opt to stand by Jesus Christ when our faith is challenged. The following article gives insight into the courage of those who choose to stand by Jesus (cf. Jon Sweeny, “March 17 Reflection” in Daily Guideposts 2010, p. 88).
St. Patrick is one of the handful of saints that everyone seems to know by name. We all know about the parades, concerts and parties that are held today to commemorate him and celebrate the Irish heritage, and most of us know that, according to legend, he drove the snakes out of Ireland. But the stories that have come down about him are much richer than that.
His life was full of contests with the Druids, the Celtic magician-priests who opposed his attempts to spread Christianity in Ireland. In one story, Patrick resolved to celebrate Easter on the hill of Slane in what is today County Meath. He climbed to the top of the hill and lit the paschal fire. The king of Ireland was holding a festival in his palace across the way, and it was the custom that no fire should be lit unless one was first seen lit at the royal house. So when the king’s Druids saw Patrick’s fire, they said to the king, “Unless this fire is quenched tonight, it will never be quenched. And the one who kindled it will seduce all the people of your realm.” So the king took nine chariots and drove to the hill of Slane.
When Patrick saw the chariots, he quoted Psalm 20:7. The Druids challenged Patrick, but Patrick was up to the task and he converted at least one of them on the spot. Then, at Patrick’s prayer, darkness fell and the earth quaked and the Druids and the chariots fled.
What stands out for me in this story is Patrick’s confidence, his assurance that no matter what the challenge, he would prevail. It was a confidence that rested not on any abilities of his own, but on his faith in God, who is always able to do the unexpected.
B. First Reading (Jer 11:18-20): “I am like a trusting lamb led to slaughter.”
Today’s Old Testament reading (Jer 11:18-20) presents the persecuted Jeremiah entrusting his cause to God. Jeremiah was appalled to realize that his enemies were making plots against his life. They wanted to kill him so that he would stop proclaiming God’s message and thus be forgotten by all. He was as vulnerable as a trusting lamb taken out to be killed. Jeremiah therefore prayed to God, who is a just judge and who probes one’s thought and feelings, to vindicate him. This death threat caused the suffering Jeremiah to reflect on the meaning of life and his mission as a prophet. The figure of Jeremiah as a rejected and persecuted prophet points to Jesus, the Suffering Servant of Yahweh.
The disciples of Jesus Christ continue to live out the pathos of persecution and rejection. The modern-day martyrs, like Jeremiah and Jesus, place their cause in the hands of God (cf. Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan, Testimony of Hope, Boston: Pauline Books and Media, 2000, p. 113).
Martyrs for the Faith: The Armenian Catholic bishop of Mardin, Monsignor Maloyan, a man of peace, was unjustly accused, arrested, and forced to march at length with a contingent of Christians. Some proposed that he renounce his faith in order to save himself. He responded: “We will die, but we will die for Jesus.” He died a martyr with his faithful in 1925.
Martyrs for ethnic hatred: At the seminary of Buta in a Burundi tormented by ethnic wars, forty Hutu and Tutsi seminarians were massacred together on April 30, 1996, by Hutu guerrillas. They had been told to divide themselves into two groups – Hutus and Tutsi. By doing so, the Hutus would have saved their lives, but they refused to separate themselves from their companions and all were killed.
We cannot describe the wonders of grace in so many of our brothers and sisters whose suffering is known only to God. Brothers and sisters, we will not forget you!
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. Am I ready to stand by Jesus and make a defense for my faith?
2. What experiences do you have of being persecuted for the sake of your faith? What does it mean to entrust one’s cause to God?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Loving Jesus,
help me to stand by you.
Give me strength to make a defense for my faith
and to defend the weak and defenseless.
Help me to trust in your power.
In the hour of darkness, please give me light.
In the hour of fear, be my comfort and protection.
Grant me the voice of truth and the power to speak for justice.
Teach me to share your saving Word to the nations.
You live and reign, forever and ever.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
“Does our law condemn a person before it hears and finds out what he is doing?” (Jn 7:51) // “To you I have entrusted my cause.” (Jer 11:20)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
By your self-giving and personal dedication to daily duties, replicate in your life the loving sacrifice of Jeremiah and Jesus.
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Prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret Tapang PDDM
PIAE DISCIPULAE DIVINI MAGISTRI
SISTER DISCIPLES OF THE DIVINE MASTER
60 Sunset Ave., Staten Island, NY 10314
Tel. (718) 494-8597 // (718) 761-2323
Website: WWW.PDDM.US