March 26
Saturday of the Third Week of Lent
Give a Mass Offering
Mass Intentions
9:00 AM – Deceased Members of Cathedral Candle Co.
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
Hosea 6:1-6
“Come, let us return to the LORD, it is he who has rent, but he will heal us; he has struck us, but he will bind our wounds. He will revive us after two days; on the third day he will raise us up, to live in his presence. Let us know, let us strive to know the LORD; as certain as the dawn is his coming, and his judgment shines forth like the light of day! He will come to us like the rain, like spring rain that waters the earth.”
What can I do with you, Ephraim? What can I do with you, Judah? Your piety is like a morning cloud, like the dew that early passes away. For this reason I smote them through the prophets, I slew them by the words of my mouth; For it is love that I desire, not sacrifice, and knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalms 51:3-4, 18-19, 20-21ab
R. (see Hosea 6:6) It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
R. It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.
For you are not pleased with sacrifices;
should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it.
My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
R. It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.
Be bountiful, O LORD, to Zion in your kindness
by rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem;
Then shall you be pleased with due sacrifices,
burnt offerings and holocausts.
R. It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.
Gospel Acclamation
Psalms 95:8
R. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ, King of endless glory!
If today you hear his voice,
harden not your hearts.
R. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ, King of endless glory!
Gospel
Luke 18:9-14
Jesus addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else. “Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity — greedy, dishonest, adulterous — or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’ But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’ I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
“It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.”
Reflection
“O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity—greedy, dishonest, adulterous—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.” This quote, uttered by the Pharisee to himself as he looked at those around him speaks of how haughty he really is. Are we like the Pharisee?
In all likelihood, yes, we are all like the Pharisee in some way. How often do we criticize others in our own mind? I am afraid that most human beings do this more than we realize. We often feel justified in criticizing others. All of this criticism speaks of our communal lack of humility and empathy for those around us. Christ warns us against this, and suggests that we remove the plank from our own eye before we attempt to remove the splinter in the eye of another.
Perhaps, in place of criticism of the other person, we can ask God to be merciful to us, because we are imperfect. We do sin, and we see the sins of others. Let us not be weakened by this but be strengthened in the fact that all things, including the renunciation of sin and the ability to respect one another, are possible with God.
God bless,
Fr. John
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