March 5
Saturday after Ash Wednesday
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Give a Mass Offering
Mass Intentions
9:00 AM – Beverly Fayette / Joyce Kotch
Prayer for Spiritual Communion
My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the most Blessed Sacrament. I love You above all things and I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot now receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there, and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen.
Readings
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 malice-- 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
Psalms 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 Acclamation
Ezekiel 33:11
R. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ, King of endless glory!
I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked man, says the Lord,
but rather in his conversion, that he may live.
R. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ, King of endless glory!
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.”
“Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth.”
Reflection
The Gospel of Luke today reminds us that Jesus did not come to call the righteous but the sinners. Surprisingly, many people have difficulty accepting this. Years ago, one person said to me that if the sinners were in Heaven, then they would just as soon not be there. This shows a lack of understanding and acceptance in who Jesus is. We are all sinners, so Christ has come for all of us, and we should be glad if Jesus takes us into the Heavenly Kingdom along with all the other sinners.
I suppose the issue is that we as human beings can always make an excuse for our sins, but we often feel free to judge those who commit sins against us. We must remember that the great majority of sin eventually develops into habit. We all know how difficult it is to break bad habits, and how difficult it is to establish good habits. Today, perhaps we need to look at ourselves through the eyes of those around us. What do they think of our sin? Are we ready to change how we live our life? It is only through prayer that we come to know who we really are.
God bless,
Fr. John
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