Friday, March 29, 2019

Friday in the Third Week of Lent-No Meat today

Joshua, Chapter 4, Verse 23-24

²³ For the LORD, your God, dried up the waters of the Jordan in front of you until you crossed over, just as the LORD, your God, had done at the Red Sea, drying it up in front of us until we crossed over,²⁴ in order that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, and that you may fear the LORD, your God, forever.”

Often times we are afraid of shadows but when are eyes are fixed on the promise of God we are filled with optimism. When Joshua crossed the Jordan, he had a representative from each tribe take up a stone from the river to immortalize the day God stopped the Jordan and to recall the day Israel received the promise of God. So today I would like you to reflect what has been the 12 most memorial events for you in the past year in order to focus ourselves on the light rather than the shadows.

So, what are the 12 memorial stones of your life you would like to present to the Lord? Are there some areas you need help from the Lord in order to be successful?

Emotional: How have I grown in love?
Mental: Have I developed any new paradigms?
Physical: Have I overcome a physical weakness?
Spiritual: Have I developed Holy Fear and walked with the Lord? Have I developed any new virtues?
Career: Have I progressed in my career or aided someone in theirs?
Family: Have I had family successes and been open to new life?
Financial: Have I made progress in stewardship of the resources that God has given me?
Learning: Has my mind been open to the Lord and new learning?
Community: Has there been success in areas where I work with my local community?
Church: Has there been growth in my participation with my parish?
Environment: Have I done my part to be environmentally responsible?
Companionship: Have I listened, been nurturing, and positive?

Remember when you finish reflecting to thank the Lord for your successes and have a grateful heart.

Friday in the Third Week of Lent[1]

Prayer. LOOK down on our fasts, we beseech Thee, O Lord, with merciful favor, that, as we abstain from food in body, so we may fast from vice in mind.

EPISTLE. Numbers xx. 2-13.

In those days, the children of Israel came together against Moses and Aaron: and making a sedition, they said: Would God we had perished among our brethren before the Lord. Why have you brought out the Church of the Lord into the wilderness, that both we and our cattle should die? Why have you made us come up out of Egypt, and have brought us into this wretched place which cannot be sowed, nor bringeth forth figs, nor vines, nor pomegranates, neither is there any water to drink?

And Moses and Aaron leaving the multitude, went into the tabernacle of the covenant, and fell flat upon the ground, and cried to the Lord, and said: O Lord God, hear the cry of this people, and open to them Thy treasure, a fountain of living water, that being satisfied they may cease to murmur. And the glory of the Lord appeared over them. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Take the rod, and assemble the people together, thou and Aaron thy brother, and speak to the rock before them, and it shall yield waters. And when thou hast brought forth water out of the rock, all the multitude and their cattle shall drink. Moses therefore took the rod, which was before the Lord, as He had commanded him. And having gathered to gether the multitude before the rock, he said to them: Hear, ye rebellious and incredulous: Can we bring you forth water out of this rock?

And when Moses had lifted up his hand, and struck the rock twice with the rod, there came forth water in great abundance, so that the people and their cattle drank. And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron: Because you have not believed Me, to sanctify Me before the children of Israel, you shall not bring these people into the land which I will give them. This is the water of contradiction, where the children of Israel strove with words against the Lord, and He was sanctified in them.

GOSPEL. John iv. 5-42.

At that time Jesus came to a city of Samaria which is called Sichar; near the land which Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore being wearied with His journey, sat thus on the well. It was about the sixth hour. There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus saith to her: Give Me to drink. For His disciples were gone into the city to buy meats. Then that Samaritan woman saith to Him: How dost Thou, being a Jew, ask of me to drink, who am a Samaritan woman? For the Jews do not communicate with the Samaritans. Jesus answered, and said to her: If thou didst know the gift of God, and Who He is that saith to thee, Give Me to drink; thou perhaps wouldst have asked of Him, and He would have given thee living water. The woman saith to Him: Sir, thou hast nothing wherein to draw, and the well is deep: from whence then hast Thou living water? Art Thou greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?

Jesus answered, and said to her: Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again; but he that shall drink of the water that I will give him shall not thirst forever: but the water that I will give him shall become in him a fountain of water springing up into life everlasting. The woman saith to Him: Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come hither to draw. Jesus saith to her: Go, call thy husband, and come hither. The woman answered and said I have no husband. Jesus said to her: Thou hast said well, I have no husband: for thou hast had five husbands: and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband. This thou hast said truly. The woman saith to him: Sir, I perceive that Thou art a prophet. Our fathers adored on this mountain, and you say that at Jerusalem is the place where men must adore. Jesus saith to her: Woman, believe Me, that the hour cometh when you shall neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem adore the Father. You adore that which you know not: we adore that which we know; for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true adorers shall adore the Father in spirit and in truth. For the Father also seeketh such to adore Him. God is a spirit, and they that adore Him must adore Him in spirit and in truth. The woman saith to Him: I know that the Messias cometh (Who is called Christ): there fore when He is come, He will tell us all things. Jesus saith to her: I am He Who am speaking with thee. And immediately His disciples came: and they wondered that He talked with the woman. Yet no man said: What seekest Thou, or why talkest Thou with her?

The woman therefore left her water-pot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men there: Come, and see a man Who has told me all things whatsoever I have done. Is not He the Christ?
They went therefore out of the city and came unto Him. In the mean time the disciples prayed Him, saying: Rabbi, eat. But He said to them: I have meat to eat which you know not. The disciples therefore said one to another: Hath any man brought Him to eat? Jesus saith to them: My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me, that I may perfect His work. Do not you say. there are yet four months, and then the harvest cometh?

Behold I say to you, lift up your eyes, and see the countries, for they are already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life everlasting: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. For in this is the saying true: that it is one man that soweth, and it is another that reapeth. I have sent you to reap that in which you did not labor, others have labored, and you have entered into their labors. Now of that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him, for the word of the woman giving testimony: He told me all things whatsoever I have done. So, when the Samaritans were come to Him, they desired Him that He would tarry there. And He abode there two days. And many more believed in Him because of His own word. And they said to the woman: We now believe, not for thy saying: for we ourselves have heard Him and know that this is indeed the Saviour of the world.

Lenten Calendar

Read: The Seven Penitential Psalms, Day Four:

(During times when we wish to express repentance and especially during Lent, it is customary to pray the seven penitential psalms. The penitential designation of these psalms dates back to the seventh century. Prayerfully reciting these psalms will help us to recognize our sinfulness, express our sorrow and ask for God’s forgiveness.) Today we will focus on Psalm 51.

Reflect: Read this reflection on Psalm 51—The Miserere: Prayer of Repentance.

Pray: “Have mercy on me, God, in accord with your merciful love; in your abundant compassion blot out my transgressions.” (Ps 51:3, NABRE)

Act: In this chapter, the psalmist acknowledges his sins to the Lord, and asks God to cleanse him from sin and unrighteousness. With faith in God’s purity and faithfulness, he asks to be washed and cleansed, so that his heart may be made pure. Listen to a recording of Psalm 51 as you follow along with your Bible.

Manuel for Men[2]-A Call to Battle

· No culture—deeply Christian though it may be—is immune to the corruption of half-truths and hidden sin.

· “There can be no genuine solution of the ‘social question’ apart from the Gospel.” With this Exhortation, I gladly make his words my own; there is no solution to our cultural decline apart from the gospel of Jesus.

· “Behold, I make all things new” (Rv 21:5)—that all things old and tired, sinful and broken, are renewed in His incarnation, death, and resurrection. Could this possibly be true? The answer is a resounding yes! A true Catholic man stakes his whole life on this proposition—that all is made new in Jesus Christ.

· Catholic men across the centuries have responded to the call to enter the battle, ever ancient and ever new, and I have confidence that you will respond alike to fill the breach in our time. Be confident! Be bold! Forward, into the breach!

Aids in Battle [3] The Power of the Holy Spirit

In the Holy Spirit we have from God a mighty Ally and Protector, a great Teacher of the Church, a mighty Champion on our behalf. We must not be afraid of the demons, nor of the Devil himself; for more powerful than those is the One who fights for us. But we must open our doors to Him, for He goes about seeking those who are worthy and searching for those on whom He may bestow His gifts. ST. CYRIL OF JERUSALEM

Tutelage of the Holy Spirit[4]

Being baptized in Christ is the only requirement for receiving the Holy Spirit, but to grow in the Spirit there are certain things that are necessary, and these are a few of them.

§ A genuine desire to be holy I always use the word 'holy' to mean living a life pleasing to God in every possible way, not just in those matters you consider expedient; and obeying his commandments to the fullest extent that you are capable of. Holiness has to be your goal and you must be prepared to do whatever it takes to attain it, which includes a total, unwavering commitment. The course is gruelling and if you aren't committed, you will crash out in no time.

§ Heartfelt repentance: You have to be genuinely sorry for your sins. It doesn't matter that you might be constrained by sin at this point — part of the Holy Spirit's role is to take away the constraints and free you of sin, which will happen in time — but what is important at this stage is that you be truly sorry for the offences that you have committed against God and be determined never to sin against him anymore.

§ Honesty and courage: Another requirement is honesty, more with ourselves than with anybody else, and the courage to face up to who we really are. Most of us put up facades for public display and have been doing it for so long we have ended up even fooling ourselves. The Holy Spirit is going to rip the masks apart, albeit gently, and reveal things about you that you will not like to see. If you aren't willing to face up to the truth of who you are and be ready to remedy yourself without justification, you aren't going to make much progress.

§ Love for God: A vital requirement is a genuine love for God, translatable into action. Love for God is something that will grow as you grow in him, but what you need is a basic element of it to begin with, because it is only love for God that will help you make a lot of the tough decisions that you will be called to make as you progress through this school. The more love for God that you have, the more you will be prepared to do for him, which will, consequently, make it that much easier for you.