#lenten season
Brothers and sisters: Whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come. And all this is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and given us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. So we are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.
~2 Corinthians 5:17-21~
Azariah stood up in the fire and prayed aloud: “For your name’s sake, O Lord, do not deliver us up forever, or make void your covenant. Do not take away your mercy from us, for the sake of Abraham, your beloved, Isaac your servant, and Israel your holy one, to whom you promised to multiply their offspring like the stars of heaven, or the sand on the shore of the sea. For we are reduced, O Lord, beyond any other nation, brought low everywhere in the world this day because of our sins.
We have in our day no prince, prophet, or leader, no burnt offering, sacrifice, oblation, or incense, no place to offer first fruits, to find favor with you. But with contrite heart and humble spirit let us be received; as though it were burnt offerings of rams and bullocks, or thousands of fat lambs, so let our sacrifice be in your presence today as we follow you unreservedly; for those who trust in you cannot be put to shame. And now we follow you with our whole heart, we fear you and we pray to you. Do not let us be put to shame, but deal with us in your kindness and great mercy. Deliver us by your wonders, and bring glory to your name, O Lord.” (Daniel 3:2; 3:11-20)
The Solemnity of St. Joseph
St. Joseph pray for us!
The people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem said, “Come, let us contrive a plot against Jeremiah. It will not mean the loss of instruction from the priests, nor of counsel from the wise, nor of messages from the prophets. And so, let us destroy him by his own tongue; let us carefully note his every word.”
“Heed me, O LORD, and listen to what my adversaries say. Must good be repaid with evil that they should dig a pit to take my life Remember that I stood before you to speak in their behalf, to turn away your wrath from them”. ~Jeremiah 18:18-20~
The Second Sunday of Lent
We are living in a world where man worships power, prestige, money, status, even man itself, all but the true source…God! We are failing to humble ourselves before the Almighty God and thank Him for all that we have in our lives. This also includes our gifts and talents. We can say that we believe in God and that we love God. However, when God looks at our hearts, what does He see? “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.” (Mark 7:6). Our whole life should be a perpetual worship to God; therefore, all that we do should be for the greater glory of God.
“Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the Lord, your God” (Joel 2:13).
Ever walk by a mirror on Ash Wednesday? Surprise! You forgot all about the big cross of ashes on your forehead. As easy as it is to forget the ashes we received, it’s even easier for us to forget our good intentions for the Lenten season. Human beings are creatures of habit. Sometimes, even the good things we do become habitual–as we see in today’s Old Testament reading. It had become mere routine for the Israelites to rend (tear) their garments and use ashes as an outward sign of inner repentance. That’s why the prophet Joel tells them that God wants them to “rend their hearts.” Repentance is more than an outward sign. It needs to be real. Heartfelt.
