Saturday, April 9, 2022
Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Jeremiah,
Chapter 26, verse 19
Have you ever been around people who cannot handle the truth! Speaking the truth got Jeremiah in dire straits. Unmoving, the temple officials and elders trashed Jeremiah nonetheless they were too afraid to kill him.
Dire Straits[1]
At the
beginning of Jehoiakim's reign, God tells Jeremiah to stand in the court of the
temple and speak to all the people and cities of Judah. They're getting another
chance to repent. Maybe they'll actually listen this time. If the people don't
finally come to their senses, God's going to do the same thing to Jerusalem
that he did to Shiloh up north: it'll be devastated, but the priests and
prophets don't want to hear it, and they threaten to kill Jeremiah. The king's
officials come to the temple, and the priests and prophets tell them about what
Jeremiah had just prophesied. They think he should die for it. Jeremiah says that he's only saying what God
has made him say. If they want to kill him they can go right ahead, but
innocent blood will be on their hands. The officials and the people agree that
Jeremiah shouldn't be put to death. Some of the elders point out that Micah
prophesied about Jerusalem's destruction during Hezekiah's reign and Hezekiah
didn't kill him. And besides, God changed his mind and actually didn't
destroy Jerusalem that time. Maybe that'll happen again.
Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent[2]
Prayer. MAY Thy right hand defend Thy
suppliant people, we beseech Thee, O Lord, and worthily instruct them, being
purified in Thy sight, that by present consolation it may profit for future
good things.
EPISTLE. Jer. xviii.
18-23.
In
those days the impious Jews said: Come, and let us invent devices against
Jeremias: for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the
wise, nor the word from the prophet: come, and let us strike him with the tongue,
and let us give no heed to all his words. Give heed to me, O Lord, and hear the
voice of my adversaries. Shall evil be rendered for good, because they have
digged a pit for my soul?
Remember
that I have stood in Thy sight, to speak good for them, and to turn away Thy
indignation from them. Therefore, deliver up their children to famine, and
bring them into the hands of the sword: let their wives be bereaved of
children, and widows: and let the husbands be slain by death: let their young
men be stabbed with the sword in battle. Let a cry be heard out of their
houses: for Thou shalt bring the robber upon them suddenly: because they have
digged a pit to take me, and have hid snares for my feet. But Thou, O Lord,
knowest all their counsel against me unto death: forgive not their iniquity,
and let not their sin be blotted out from Thy sight: let them be overthrown
before Thy eyes; in the time of Thy wrath do Thou destroy them, O Lord our God.
GOSPEL. John xii.
10-36.
At that time a
great multitude, that was come to the festival-day, when they had heard that
Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm-trees and went forth to.
meet Him, and cried: Hosanna, blessed is He that cometh in the name of the
Lord, the King of Israel. And Jesus found a young ass, and sat upon it, as it
is written; Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold thy King cometh sitting on an
ass’s colt. These things His disciples did not know at the first: but when Jesus
was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of Him, and
that they had done these things to Him. The multitude therefore gave testimony,
which was with Him when He called Lazarus out of the grave, and raised him from
the dead. For which reason also the people came to meet Him: because they heard
that He had done this miracle The Pharisees therefore said among themselves: Do
you see that we prevail nothing? behold, the whole world is gone after Him, Now
there were certain gentiles among them who came up to adore on the
festival-day. These therefore came to Philip, who was of Bethsaida of Galilee,
and desired him, saying: Sir, we would see Jesus. Philip cometh and telleth
Andrew. Again, Andrew and Philip told Jesus. But Jesus answered them, saying:
The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Amen, amen, I say to
you, unless the grain of wheat falling into the ground die, itself remaineth
alone. But if it dies, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life
shall lose it: and he that hateth his life in this world, keepeth it unto life
eternal. If any man minister to Me, let him follow Me: and where I am, there
also shall My minister be. If any man minister to Me, him will My Father honor.
Now is My soul troubled. And what shall I say?
Father save Me
from this hour. But for this cause I came unto this hour. Father glorify Thy
name. A voice therefore came from heaven: I have both glorified it and will
glorify it again. The multitude therefore that stood and heard said that it
thundered. Others said, an angel spoke to Him. Jesus answered, and said: This
voice came not because of Me, but for your sakes. Now is the judgment of the
world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up
from the earth, will draw all things to Myself. (Now this He said, signifying
what death He should die.) The multitude answered Him: We have heard out of the
law, that Christ abideth forever: and how sayest Thou: The Son of man must be
lifted up? Who is this Son of man?
Jesus therefore said to them: Yet a little while the light is among you. Walk whilst you have the light, that the darkness overtake you not. And he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. Whilst you have the light, believe in the light, that you may be the children of light. These things Jesus spoke, and He went away, and hid Himself from them
Timeline of Holy Week[3]
· Saturday Before Palm Sunday: Jesus
arrives in Bethany Six Days Before Passover (Jn12:1)
· Stays with Lazarus, Mary and Martha (His Judean Home)
· Possibly the Supper and Anointing in Bethany At the Home of Simon The
Leper Where Jesus Is Anointed by Mary. (Mt 26:6-13; Mk 14:3-9; Jn 12:1-8)
Mary of Bethany and Judas[4]
Let us examine the two noteworthy
characters who play dissimilar roles in the Lord's passion. One fills us with
solace and comfort, the other with uneasiness and wholesome fear. Their
juxtaposition produces a powerful effect by way of contrast. The two characters
are Mary of Bethany and Judas. Jesus is in the house of Lazarus, at dinner.
Mary approaches, anoints the feet of her Savior for His burial and dries them
with her hair. Judas resents her action and resolves upon his evil course.
These two persons typify man's relation to Christ. He gives His Body to two
types of individuals: to Magdalene’s to be anointed, to Judases to be kissed;
to good persons who repay Him with love and service, to foes who crucify Him.
How movingly this is expressed in the Lesson: "I gave My body to those who
beat Me, and My cheeks to those who plucked them. I did not turn away My face
from those who cursed and spit upon Me." The same must hold true of His
mystical Body. Down through the ages Christ is enduring an endless round of
suffering, giving His body to other Mary’s for anointing and to other Judases
to be kissed, beaten, and mistreated. St. Augustine explains how we can anoint
Christ's body:
Anoint
Jesus' feet by a life pleasing to God. Follow in His footsteps; if you have an
abundance, give it to the poor. In this way you can wipe the feet of the Lord.
The poor are, as it were, the feet of
the mystical Christ. By aiding them we can comfort our Lord in His mystical
life, where He receives Judas' kisses on all sides-the sins of Christians. The
Gospel account may be understood in a very personal way. In everyone's heart,
in my own too, there dwell two souls: a Judas-soul and a Mary-soul. The former
is the cause of Jesus' suffering, it is always ready to apostatize, always
ready to give the traitor's kiss. Are you full master over this Judas-soul
within you?
Your Magdalen-soul is a source of
comfort to Christ in His sufferings. May the holy season of Lent, which with
God's help we are about to bring to a successful conclusion, bring victory over
the Judas-soul and strengthen the Magdalen-soul within our breasts.
Aids in Battle[5]Know the nature of
devils
·
What
a terrible revolution in their whole being: In their intellect, no thoughts but
of crime! In their will, no love but for evil! (Democrates?)
·
There
is no repentance for the angels after their fall, just as there is no
repentance for men after death.
·
Christ
gave the Devil power over Himself so that he might be tempted and led into
danger and persecuted even to the point of death, so that He might in this way
liberate us from the Devil’s power.
·
In
the Book of Genesis, we find a precise description of lie and falsification of
the truth about God, which Satan (under the form of a serpent) tries to
transmit to the first representatives of the human race: God is jealous of his
own prerogatives and therefore wants to impose limitations on man (see Gn 3:
5). Satan invites the man to free himself from the imposition of this yoke by making
himself “like God.”
Catechism
of the Catholic Church
PART ONE:
THE PROFESSION OF
FAITH
SECTION
ONE
"I
BELIEVE" - "WE BELIEVE"
CHAPTER TWO-GOD COMES TO MEET MAN
Article 3 SACRED SCRIPTURE
III. The Holy Spirit, Interpreter of Scripture
109 In Sacred Scripture, God speaks to man in a human way. To interpret Scripture correctly, the reader must be attentive to what the human authors truly wanted to affirm, and to what God wanted to reveal to us by their words.
110 In order to discover the sacred authors' intention, the reader must take into account the conditions of their time and culture, the literary genres in use at that time, and the modes of feeling, speaking and narrating then current. "For the fact is that truth is differently presented and expressed in the various types of historical writing, in prophetical and poetical texts, and in other forms of literary expression."
111 But since Sacred Scripture is inspired, there is another and no less important principle of correct interpretation, without which Scripture would remain a dead letter. "Sacred Scripture must be read and interpreted in the light of the same Spirit by whom it was written."
The Second Vatican Council indicates three criteria for interpreting Scripture in accordance with the Spirit who inspired it.
112 Be especially attentive "to the content and unity of the whole Scripture". Different as the books which compose it may be, Scripture is a unity by reason of the unity of God's plan, of which Christ Jesus is the center and heart, open since his Passover.
The phrase "heart of Christ" can refer to Sacred Scripture, which makes known his heart, closed before the Passion, as the Scripture was obscure. But the Scripture has been opened since the Passion; since those who from then on have understood it, consider and discern in what way the prophecies must be interpreted.
113 2. Read the Scripture within "the living Tradition of the whole Church". According to a saying of the Fathers, Sacred Scripture is written principally in the Church's heart rather than in documents and records, for the Church carries in her Tradition the living memorial of God's Word, and it is the Holy Spirit who gives her the spiritual interpretation of the Scripture (". . . according to the spiritual meaning which the Spirit grants to the Church").
114 3. Be attentive to
the analogy of faith. By "analogy of faith" we mean the
coherence of the truths of faith among themselves and within the whole plan of
Revelation.
The senses of Scripture
115 According to an ancient tradition, one can distinguish between two senses of Scripture: the literal and the spiritual, the latter being subdivided into the allegorical, moral and anagogical senses. the profound concordance of the four senses guarantees all its richness to the living reading of Scripture in the Church.
116 The literal sense is the meaning conveyed by the words of Scripture and discovered by exegesis, following the rules of sound interpretation: "All other senses of Sacred Scripture are based on the literal."
117 The spiritual sense. Thanks to the unity of God's plan, not only the text of Scripture but also the realities and events about which it speaks can be signs.
1. the allegorical sense. We can acquire a more profound understanding of
events by recognizing their significance in Christ; thus, the crossing of the
Red Sea is a sign or type of Christ's victory and also of Christian Baptism.
2. the moral sense. the events reported in Scripture ought to lead us to act
justly. As St. Paul says, they were written "for our instruction".
3. the anagogical sense (Greek: anagoge, "leading"). We can view
realities and events in terms of their eternal significance, leading us toward
our true homeland: thus, the Church on earth is a sign of the heavenly
Jerusalem.
118 A medieval couplet summarizes the significance of the four senses:
The Letter speaks of deeds; Allegory to faith;
The Moral how to act; Anagogy our destiny.
119 "It is the task of exegetes to work, according to these rules, towards a better understanding and explanation of the meaning of Sacred Scripture in order that their research may help the Church to form a firmer judgement. For, of course, all that has been said about the manner of interpreting Scripture is ultimately subject to the judgement of the Church which exercises the divinely conferred commission and ministry of watching over and interpreting the Word of God."
But I would not believe in the Gospel, had not the
authority of the Catholic Church already moved me
Daily
Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Today's Fast: Purity
·
54 Day Rosary
for Priest’s and Religious Day 49
·
Litany of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus
·
Manhood of
the Master-week 7 day 7
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
· Make reparations to the Holy Face
·
30Days with St. Joseph Day 21
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