March 7
Monday of the First Week of Lent
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Give a Mass Offering
Mass Intentions
7:45 AM – John P. Lynn / Sister
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
Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18
The LORD said to Moses, “Speak to the whole assembly of the children of Israel and tell them: Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy.
“You shall not steal. You shall not lie or speak falsely to one another. You shall not swear falsely by my name, thus profaning the name of your God. I am the LORD.
“You shall not defraud or rob your neighbor. You shall not withhold overnight the wages of your day laborer. You shall not curse the deaf, or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but you shall fear your God. I am the LORD.
“You shall not act dishonestly in rendering judgment. Show neither partiality to the weak nor deference to the mighty, but judge your fellow men justly. You shall not go about spreading slander among your kin; nor shall you stand by idly when your neighbor’s life is at stake. I am the LORD.
“You shall not bear hatred for your brother in your heart. Though you may have to reprove him, do not incur sin because of him. Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your fellow countrymen. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.”
Responsorial Psalm
Psalms 19:8, 9, 10, 15
R. (John 6:63b) Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul.
The decree of the LORD is trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple.
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
The precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart.
The command of the LORD is clear,
enlightening the eye.
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;
The ordinances of the LORD are true,
all of them just.
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
Let the words of my mouth and the thought of my heart
find favor before you,
O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
Gospel Acclamation
2 Corinthians 6:2b
R. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ, King of endless glory!
Behold, now is a very acceptable time;
behold, now is the day of salvation.
R. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ, King of endless glory!
Gospel
Matthew 25:31-46
Jesus said to his disciples: “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’ Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’ Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’ He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’ And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
“Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.”
Reflection
Today we see in the words of God, a way to live our lives that is honest and upright. One of the main questions we have in our minds and our hearts is “How can we spend our lives in order to gain eternal life?” We are told point blank by both God and Jesus that we should serve others and take care of those who are less fortunate than we.
In the book of Leviticus, God speaks through Moses about how we can attain the holiness that God seeks for us. He even tells us why we should be holy, saying “Be holy as I the Lord, your God am holy.” His point is simply this; if God is a holy person, and we want to follow Him and ultimately be with Him, we should do our best to seek holiness. How can we seek this holiness? He gives us that answer too, telling us that if we stay away from dishonest things like stealing and lying, if we deal with our neighbors and the people who work with and for us in a positive and respectful way, if we deal with those who harm us without revenge and reprisals, then we can gain eternal life in the presence of God. This is perhaps the most important thing we can ever do, and we can teach our loved ones to do the same with our example.
Jesus takes this call to be holy to a higher level in the gospel, telling us that our very lives are at stake in terms of where we will spend eternity. He says very clearly that those who take care of the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the sick and imprisoned will go to heaven and those who do not will go to eternal punishment. The voice of God is clear. Let us live our lives in love for each other no matter how hard that may be to do. The stakes could not be higher.
Stay strong,
Deacon Dare
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