First Reading
Isaiah 58:9b-14
Thus says the LORD:
If you remove from your midst oppression,
false accusation and malicious speech;
If you bestow your bread on the hungry
and satisfy the afflicted;
Then light shall rise for you in the darkness,
and the gloom shall become for you like midday;
Then the LORD will guide you always
and give you plenty even on the parched land.
He will renew your strength,
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring whose water never fails.
The ancient ruins shall be rebuilt for your sake,
and the foundations from ages past you shall raise up;
“Repairer of the breach,” they shall call you,
“Restorer of ruined homesteads.”
If you hold back your foot on the sabbath
from following your own pursuits on my holy day;
If you call the sabbath a delight,
and the LORD’s holy day honorable;
If you honor it by not following your ways,
seeking your own interests, or speaking with maliceB
Then you shall delight in the LORD,
and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth;
I will nourish you with the heritage of Jacob, your father,
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 86:1-2, 3-4, 5-6
R. (11ab) Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth.
Incline your ear, O LORD; answer me,
for I am afflicted and poor.
Keep my life, for I am devoted to you;
save your servant who trusts in you.
You are my God.
R. Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth.
Have mercy on me, O Lord,
for to you I call all the day.
Gladden the soul of your servant,
for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
R. Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth.
For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
abounding in kindness to all who call upon you.
Hearken, O LORD, to my prayer
and attend to the sound of my pleading.
R. Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth.
Gospel
Luke 5:27-32
Jesus saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the customs post.
He said to him, “Follow me.”
And leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him.
Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house,
and a large crowd of tax collectors
and others were at table with them.
The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples, saying,
“Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
Jesus said to them in reply,
“Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do.
I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.”
REFLECTION
SOURCE: One Bread One Body
TITLE: FAST APPROACHING
Jesus "saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at his customs post. He said to him, 'Follow Me.' Leaving everything behind, Levi stood up and became His follower." –Luke 5:27-28
Our Lenten fasting can be used by the Lord to transform Levis into Matthews and to convert whole strata of society. Even the hardest hearts can be opened, and even areas of our society which are openly anti-Christian can become openly Christian. Imagine TV news anchors, celebrities, and billionaires proclaiming on their TV programs that they have accepted Jesus as Lord of their lives.
Yes, the Lord can work through this Lenten fast, as promised by the prophet Isaiah, but there are several conditions:
"if you remove from your midst oppression, false accusation and malicious speech" (Is 58:9),"if you bestow your bread on the hungry and satisfy the afflicted" (Is 58:10), and"if you hold back your foot on the sabbath from following your own pursuits on My holy day" (Is 58:13).
If we satisfy these conditions, "then light shall rise for you in the darkness, and the gloom shall become for you like midday" (Is 58:10). "The ancient ruins shall be rebuilt for your sake, and the foundations from ages past you shall raise up; 'Repairer of the breach,' they shall call you, 'Restorer of ruined homesteads' " (Is 58:12).
Fasting, indicative of a life totally in submission to the Lord, will be used to do the humanly impossible and transform the world. "Would that today you might fast so as to make your voice heard on high!" (Is 58:4)
PRAYER: Father, send the Spirit to teach me to fast.
PROMISE: "Then you shall delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth." –Is 58:14
PRAISE: St. John of God died a happy death. He passed into eternal life with Jesus while kneeling in prayer before the Church altar.
...may the good Lord bless His word in our hearts...
No comments:
Post a Comment