Friday March 12

Third Week of Lent

 

Conversion to God in Love

 

Introduction

Many human endeavors fail because God is left out of the picture. Israel wanted to go her own way, relying on her resources and alliances with the mighty of the day. The mighty are toppled by mightier ones, and everything collapses. People today try to establish prosperity and happiness, but at the expense of others, with the force of arms or relying on gadgets, money, or palliatives. We cannot be saved without God. Salvation lies in love of God and is expressed in love of our neighbor. The rule of life of Christians is: Love God with your whole being, and your neighbor as yourself; see God in your neighbor and see also a bit of yourself in your neighbor.

 

Opening Prayer

Lord our God,
all throughout history people have experienced
that we cannot be happy
if we rely merely on our own insights and resources.
God, do not let us idolize
anything made with our own hands,
but may we humbly seek
justice, truth and happiness
in cooperation and communion with you,
as you taught us through Jesus Christ
who lives with you and the Holy Spirit
for ever and ever.

 

Reading 1: Hos 14:2-10

Thus says the LORD:
Return, O Israel, to the LORD, your God;
you have collapsed through your guilt.
Take with you words,
and return to the LORD;
Say to him, “Forgive all iniquity,
and receive what is good, that we may render
as offerings the bullocks from our stalls.
Assyria will not save us,
nor shall we have horses to mount;
We shall say no more, ‘Our god,’
to the work of our hands;
for in you the orphan finds compassion.”

I will heal their defection, says the LORD,
I will love them freely;
for my wrath is turned away from them.
I will be like the dew for Israel:
he shall blossom like the lily;
He shall strike root like the Lebanon cedar,
and put forth his shoots.
His splendor shall be like the olive tree
and his fragrance like the Lebanon cedar.
Again they shall dwell in his shade
and raise grain;
They shall blossom like the vine,
and his fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.

Ephraim! What more has he to do with idols?
I have humbled him, but I will prosper him.
“I am like a verdant cypress tree”–
Because of me you bear fruit!

Let him who is wise understand these things;
let him who is prudent know them.
Straight are the paths of the LORD,
in them the just walk,
but sinners stumble in them.

 

Responsorial Psalm: Ps  81:6C-8A, 8BC-9, 10-11AB, 14 AND 17

(see 11 and 9a) I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.
An unfamiliar speech I hear:
“I relieved his shoulder of the burden;
his hands were freed from the basket.
In distress you called, and I rescued you.”
R. I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.

“Unseen, I answered you in thunder;
I tested you at the waters of Meribah.
Hear, my people, and I will admonish you;
O Israel, will you not hear me?”
R.  I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.

“There shall be no strange god among you
nor shall you worship any alien god.
I, the LORD, am your God
who led you forth from the land of Egypt.”
R.  I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.

“If only my people would hear me,
and Israel walk in my ways,
I would feed them with the best of wheat,
and with honey from the rock I would fill them.”
R.  I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.

 

Verse before the Gospel: Mt 4:17

Repent, says the Lord;
the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.

 

Gospel: Mk 12:28-34

One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him,
“Which is the first of all the commandments?”
Jesus replied, “The first is this:
Hear, O Israel!
The Lord our God is Lord alone!
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul,
with all your mind,
and with all your strength.
The second is this:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
There is no other commandment greater than these.”
The scribe said to him, “Well said, teacher.
You are right in saying,
He is One and there is no other than he.
And to love him with all your heart,
with all your understanding,
with all your strength,
and to love your neighbor as yourself
is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding,
he said to him,
“You are not far from the Kingdom of God.”
And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Intercessions

• That Christians everywhere may not be people of legalisms and outward observances, but people with a heart who do what they have to do and more, because they are God’s children, we pray:
• That the nations of the world may respect and love one another and build peace and progress on the basis of justice and equitable sharing, we pray:
• That our anemic and dried-up love may become rich and spontaneous, like a fresh breath of life and joy brightening the lives of those around us and a wordless song of praise to God, we pray:

 

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord, our God and Father,
we are gathered here for this eucharist
to celebrate the coming among us
of your life and love through your Son.
May our offering be the recognition
that you loved us
before we could love you.
Help us to express our grateful love to you
by extending our hands to all
who are called to be brothers and sisters
of Jesus Christ, our Lord and brother for ever.

 

Prayer after Communion

Lord, our God and Father,
you have broken for us
the life-giving bread of your Son.
By the strength of the eucharist,
may we love you, our living God,
with all that is in us
and our neighbor far and near
as much as we love ourselves.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.

 

Blessing

To love God with all your heart and to love your neighbor as yourself is much more important than any ritual sacrifices. It is true worship! May God bless you, that Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

 

Commentary

We are in the heart of Lent. It is the time when the Church invites us most insistently to deepen the living out of our Christian faith. Fridays in particular are dedicated to meditating on the Passion of Our Lord by praying the Stations of the Cross.

Friday is also the day on which the practice of charity as the fruit of fasting are most recommended. Another important commitment to live Lent is not to neglect the reading and meditation of the Word of God.
Let me quote Pope Francis from his Angelus prayer on 26 October 2014
“You cannot love God without loving your neighbour and you cannot love your neighbour without loving God. In effect, the visible sign a Christian can show, in order to witness his love for God to the world and to others, to his family, is the love he bears for his brothers, is the love of his people. The Commandment to love God and neighbour is the first, not because it is at the top of the list of Commandments. Jesus does not place it at the pinnacle but at the centre, because it is from the heart that everything must go out and to which everything must return and refer.

In the Old Testament, the requirement to be holy, in the image of God who is holy, included the duty to care for the most vulnerable people, such as the stranger, the orphan and the widow (cf. Ex 22:20-26). Jesus brings this Covenant law to fulfilment, He who unites in Himself, in His flesh, divinity and humanity, a single mystery of love.

Now, in the light of this Word of Jesus, love is the measure of faith and faith is the soul of love. We can no longer separate a religious life, a pious life, from service to brothers and sisters, to the real brothers and sisters that we encounter.”…