INTENTIONS OF THE HOLY FATHER FOR
MARCH 2010
INTENTIONS OF THE HOLY FATHER FOR
MARCH 2010
1) General Intention:
That the world economy may be managed according to the principles of justice and equity, taking into account the real needs of peoples, especially the poorest;
2) Mission Intention:
That the Churches in Africa may be signs and instruments of reconciliation and justice in every part of that continent.
THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT
March 7, 2010
Merciful and gracious is the Lord, slow to
anger
and abounding in kindness. —Psalm 103:8
READINGS:
Daily
Bible Readings
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New
American Bible
It is one of the glories of the Bible that it can embrace many meanings in
a single passage.
— St. Thomas Aquinas —
“I am profitably engaged in reading the Bible.
Take all that you can of this book upon reason and the balance by faith,
and you will live and die a better person...
the Bible is the best book which God has given to man."
— Abraham Lincoln —
. A Few Minutes of Prayer in the Home
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SUNDAY READINGS:
First Reading — The LORD God appears to Moses and directs him to go and deliver the Israelites from Egypt (Exodus 3:1-8a, 13-15) or Exodus 17:3-7.
Psalm — The Lord is kind and merciful (Psalm 103) or Psalm 95.
Second Reading — We are not to grumble like the people with Moses in the desert (1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12) or Romans 5:1-2, 5-8.
Gospel — If you do not repent, you will all perish (Luke 13:1-9) or John 4:5-42 [5-15, 19b-26, 39a, 40-42].
TODAY’S GOSPEL COMMENTARY
PROCLAIMING THE GOSPELS OF THE SCRUTINIES
The Language of Sin & Salvation, by Victoria M. TarfunoThe gospels proclaimed on these Sundays have served as the core of the church’s Lenten meditations probably since before we have records of such things, certainly for the last fourteen centuries. The stories of the Samaritan woman at the well, the man born blind and the raising of Lazarus from the grave have provided a language of symbols and archetypes with which to speak of the mysteries of sin and salvation. With this language, we can examine sin in all its dimensions: the personal, the communal, and the systemic. We can ponder the ways in which we have been perpetrators of sin, and ways in which we have been its victims. We can delve into the vastness of the redemption we have been granted in Christ by speaking the language of thirst and water, of isolation and community, of light and darkness, of blindness and sight, of death and life, of bondage and freedom. The readings that accompany these gospels amplify these symbols and provide further imagery such as the desert, water from a rock, and anointing.
FIRST SCRUTINYThe Samaritan Woman (John 4:5-42), by Thomas H. Morris
Conversion is what is done to us by God that allows the possibility of our full humanity to emerge. It is not what we do for God. In the protection of our security—however we name it: self-sufficiency, fear, control, isolation, success at all costs—we boldly walk to the well of life. And we encounter live-giving water that will also demand from us confrontation with our truth—and with our personal evil—and surrender it for forgiveness and freedom. Such surrender has a cost: a restored lifestyle, a return to authentic living with others, and the offering of this gift of freedom to others. The cost is a new way of being in love. Do we want to risk drinking from a new well, one that will change us?
SCRIPTURE MEDITATION:
FRUITFUL OR PRODUCTIVE?
“Yes,” said Joel, “I’m hooked on productivity. I run a business, and my wife and I have three young children. I have to produce and my employees have to produce if we’re to accomplish anything. My days are jam-packed. If there’s any time left over I spend it with my family.” Joel’s thinking on productivity received a shake-up at a men’s retreat. The retreat leader asked a question. “When you think of Jesus, do you think of him with a daily to-do list? (‘Three people healed today. Two fast comebacks to the scribes and Pharisees. One really great parable told. Oh yes, and dinner for 5,000. And I got the disciples to distribute the leftovers. A very good day. Well done, me’).” Joel listened intently. “Jesus spoke wisely and constantly extended mercy and grace. He might now and then retreat from the crowds, yet when he was with people, he was really with them. He saw needs that others could not see. He loved people well. But was he productive? Productivity can become a mind-set of constantly moving forward. Being busy, not at times and in moderation, but as a lifestyle. Productivity seeks what fruitfulness claims as its starting point—the assurance of God’s presence and love.” Fruitfulness, Joel saw, allows you to be fully present in the moment. Fruitfulness is deeply rooted in the soil of God’s grace. Fruitfulness requires a fundamental trust in the Holy Spirit, like compost around the roots of the fig tree in today’s Gospel. The Spirit is working at all times and in all places and, if we allow it, is at work in us—busy or not.
READINGS FOR THE WEEKMonday: 2 Kgs 5:1-15b; Lk 4:24-30
Tuesday: Dn 3:25, 34-43; Mt 18:21-35
Wednesday: Dt 4:1, 5-9; Mt 5:17-19
Thursday: Jer 7:23-28; Lk 11:14-23
Friday: Hos 14:2-10; Mk 12:28-34
Saturday: Hos 6:1-6; Lk 18:9-14
Sunday: Jos 5:9a, 10-12; Ps 34; 2 Cor 5:17-21; Lk 15:1-3, 11-32
For SAINT OF THE DAY, Go to:
http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/SaintofDay/default.asp
Saint Index => http://www.catholic.org/saints/stindex.php
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