Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Jeremiah, Chapter 10, Verse 5-7
5
Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field are they, they cannot speak; They must be
carried about, for they cannot walk. Do not FEAR
them, they can do no harm, neither can they do good. 6 No one is like you,
LORD, you are great, great and mighty is your name. 7 Who would not fear you, King of the nations, for it is
your due! Among all the wisest of the nations, and in
all their domains, there is none like you.
Our
idols are not real they are like scarecrows appearing real but are not. Yet,
even in our foolishness the Lord our God calls us to His service. This is the
message of St. Therese of Lisieux that we are all called, and we should have
great confidence and humility seeking to bring the kingdom in small ways and
asking our Lord to multiply our efforts. The greatest way we can bring about
the Kingdom is in our own families.
Yes,
families are under attack from a secular world, a media that continually pushes
instant gratification and sensuality and of course Satan and his followers.
The final battle between the Lord and the reign of
Satan will be about marriage and the family. Don’t be afraid because Our
Lady has already crushed his head and anyone who works for the sanctity of
marriage and the family will always be fought and opposed in every way. (Sister Lucia of Fatima)
Our
Lord will not abandon us and tells us to trust in him.
Entrust
everything to Me and do nothing on your own, and you will always have
great freedom of spirit. No circumstances or events will ever be able to
upset you. Set little store on what people say. Let everyone judge you as
they like. Do not make excuses for yourself, it will do you no
harm. (Diary of Sister Faustina, 1685)
Devotion to the Trinity[1]
The Trinity is the sum, substance,
subject, and object of our prayer. We are baptized in the name of the Father,
the Son and the Holy Spirit. One God, who is three persons, is a mystery too
deep for anyone to fathom. St. Teresa of Avila had a vision on the Trinity she
stated, “What was represented to me were
three distinct persons, for we can behold and speak to each one. Afterward I
reflected that only the Son took human flesh, through which this truth of the
Trinity was seen. These persons love, communicate with, and know each other…and
this is a very great truth…In all three persons there is no more than one will,
one power, and one dominion, in such a way that one cannot do anything without
the others.” St. John Paul II stated
also, “God in his deepest mystery is not
a solitude but a family, since he has in himself fatherhood, sonship, and the
essence of family, which is love.” We are created for the sake of love.
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of
Christian faith and life. It is the mystery of God in Himself. It is therefore
the source of all the other mysteries of faith, the light that enlightens them.
It is the most fundamental and essential teaching in the "hierarchy of the
truths of faith". The whole history of salvation is identical with the
history of the way and the means by which the one true God, Father, Son and
Holy Spirit, reveals himself to men "and reconciles and unites with
himself those who turn away from sin". God the Father sent the Son so that
we might receive the Spirit. God became what we are, so that we might become
what He is. He assumed our nature, so that we might share in His. Heaven is
nothing other than the sharing, that communion, and it has begun with our
baptism. All the sacraments and all Catholic liturgies are about the Blessed
Trinity. We have been taken up into the life of the Trinity, even now. We do
not have to wait to live in heaven, Heaven has come to us—though we still await
the day of consummation, when we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He
is (Jn. 3:2). Our very nature speaks of the trinity through our Mind, emotions
and will. Will to serve!
Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent[2]
Prayer. GRANT, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, that the dignity of human nature, wounded by intemperance, may be reformed by healthful abstinence.
EPISTLE. Daniel iii. 34-45.
In those days Azarias prayed to the Lord, saying: O Lord our God, deliver us not up forever, we beseech Thee, for Thy name’s sake, and abolish not Thy covenant. And take not away Thy mercy from us for the sake of Abraham Thy beloved, and Isaac Thy servant, and Israel Thy holy one: to whom Thou hast spoken promising that Thou wouldst multiply their seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand that is on the seashore. For we, O Lord, are diminished more than any nation, and are brought low in all the earth this day for our sins. Neither is there at this time prince, or leader, or prophet, or holocaust, or sacrifice, or oblation, or incense, or place of first fruits before Thee, that we may find Thy mercy: nevertheless, in a contrite heart and humble spirit let us be accepted. As in holocausts of rams, and bullocks, and as in thousands of fat lambs: so, let our sacrifice be made in Thy sight this day, that it may please Thee: for there is no confusion to them that trust in Thee. And now we follow Thee with all our heart, and we fear Thee, and seek Thy face. Put us not to confusion, but deal with us according to Thy meekness, and according to the multitude of Thy mercy. And deliver us according to Thy wonderful works, and give glory to Thy name, O Lord: and let all them be confounded that show evils to Thy servants, let them be confounded in all Thy might, and let their strength be broken. And let them know that Thou art the Lord, the only God, and glorious over all the world, O Lord our God.
GOSPEL. Luke vii. 36-50.
At that time one of the Pharisees desired Him to eat with him. And He went into the house of the Pharisee and sat down to meat. And behold a woman that was in the city a sinner, when she knew that He sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment: and standing behind at His feet, she began to wash His feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head, and kissed His feet, and anointed them with the ointment. And the Pharisee, who had invited Him, seeing it, spoke within himself, saying: This man if He were a prophet, would know surely who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth Him: that she is a sinner. And Jesus answering, said to him: Simon, I have somewhat to say to thee. But he said: Master, say it. A certain creditor had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And whereas they had not wherewith to pay, he forgave them both. Which therefore of the two loveth him most?
Simon answering said I suppose that he to whom he forgave most. And He said to him: Thou hast judged rightly. And turning to the woman, He said unto Simon: Dost thou see this woman?
I entered into thy house, thou gavest Me no water for My feet: but she with tears hath washed My feet, and with her hairs hath wiped them. Thou gavest Me no kiss: but she, since she came in, hath not ceased to kiss My feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint but she with ointment hath anointed My feet. Wherefore I say to thee: Many sins are forgiven her, because she hath loved much. But to whom less is forgiven, he loveth less. And He said to her: Thy sins are forgiven thee. And they that sat at meat with Him began to say within themselves: Who is this that forgiveth sins also?
And He said to the woman: Thy faith hath made thee safe: go
in peace.
Lenten Calendar
Read: The Servant Songs, Day Four:
(Within the Book of the Prophet Isaiah we encounter four poetic sections known as the Songs of the Suffering Servant. The specific identity of this Servant of the Lord remains the topic of scholarly debate. Perhaps it refers to the prophet Isaiah himself, perhaps the entire nation of Israel, or possibly the promised Messiah. Christian faith sees these prophetic utterances fulfilled in the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus the Lord.
Because of the Christian identification of the Suffering Servant with Jesus, the four Servant Songs become a way of encountering the Lord during this Lenten Season. Not only do they give us a sense of the commitment and endurance that characterized his messianic ministry, but they become a way of touching the bruised face of the Messiah, of hearing the resolute determination that sustained him in the midst of trial, and of rejoicing with him in God’s ultimate vindication of his calling and service.)
The fourth song proclaims the salvific value of the Servant’s innocent suffering that will justify many and blot out their offenses.
Reflect: Today we reflect on the last of the four Servant Songs.
Pray: Take time with the fourth Servant Song today. Read from Isaiah 52:13 to Isaiah 53:12.
Act: Here the
prophet proclaims the “prosperity” of God’s servant, but it is not a
worldly prosperity accomplished through human wisdom. “Who would believe what we have heard?” God’s silent and afflicted
servant prospers through a life given to God as an offering for sin. Through
suffering, the servant acquires great wealth and “offspring”
before God: many are justified before God, iniquity is removed, wounds are
healed, and sinners receive an intercessor. The servant prospers in what is
true wealth to 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
I.
Christ - The Unique Word of Sacred Scripture
101 In order to reveal himself to men, in the condescension of his
goodness God speaks to them in human words: "Indeed the words of God,
expressed in the words of men, are in every way like human language, just as
the Word of the eternal Father, when he took on himself the flesh of human
weakness, became like men."
102 Through all the words of Sacred Scripture, God speaks only one
single Word, his one Utterance in whom he expresses himself completely:
You recall that one and the same Word of God extends
throughout Scripture, that it is one and the same Utterance that resounds in
the mouths of all the sacred writers, since he who was in the beginning God
with God has no need of separate syllables; for he is not subject to time.
103 For this reason, the Church has always venerated the Scriptures as
she venerates the Lord's Body. She never ceases to present to the faithful the
bread of life, taken from the one table of God's Word and Christ's Body.
104 In Sacred Scripture, the Church constantly finds her nourishment
and her strength, for she welcomes it not as a human word, "but as what it
really is, the word of God". "In the sacred books, the Father who is
in heaven comes lovingly to meet his children and talks with them."
Daily
Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Today's Fast: Holy
Bishops and Cardinals
· 54 Day Rosary for Priest’s and Religious Day 47
· Litany of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus
·
Manhood of
the Master-week 7 day 5
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
· Make reparations to the Holy Face
·
30
Days with St. Joseph Day 19
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