April 8
Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Give a Mass Offering
Mass Intentions
7:45 AM – Patricia Moran / John & Lois MacDonough
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
Jeremiah 20:10-13
I hear the whisperings of many: “Terror on every side! Denounce! let us denounce him!” All those who were my friends are on the watch for any misstep of mine. “Perhaps he will be trapped; then we can prevail, and take our vengeance on him.” But the LORD is with me, like a mighty champion: my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph. In their failure they will be put to utter shame, to lasting, unforgettable confusion. O LORD of hosts, you who test the just, who probe mind and heart, Let me witness the vengeance you take on them, for to you I have entrusted my cause. Sing to the LORD, praise the LORD, For he has rescued the life of the poor from the power of the wicked!
Responsorial Psalm
Psalms 18:2-3a, 3bc-4, 5-6, 7
R. (see 7) In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.
I love you, O LORD, my strength,
O LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer.
R. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.
My God, my rock of refuge,
my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold!
Praised be the LORD, I exclaim,
and I am safe from my enemies.
R. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.
The breakers of death surged round about me,
the destroying floods overwhelmed me;
The cords of the nether world enmeshed me,
the snares of death overtook me.
R. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.
In my distress I called upon the LORD
and cried out to my God;
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.
R. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.
Gospel Acclamation
See John 6:63c, 68c
R. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ, King of endless glory!
Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life;
you have the words of everlasting life.
R. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ, King of endless glory!
Gospel
John 10:31-42
The Jews picked up rocks to stone Jesus. Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from my Father. For which of these are you trying to stone me?” The Jews answered him, “We are not stoning you for a good work but for blasphemy. You, a man, are making yourself God.” Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, ‘You are gods”‘? If it calls them gods to whom the word of God came, and Scripture cannot be set aside, can you say that the one whom the Father has consecrated and sent into the world blasphemes because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? If I do not perform my Father’s works, do not believe me; but if I perform them, even if you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may realize and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” Then they tried again to arrest him; but he escaped from their power.
He went back across the Jordan to the place where John first baptized, and there he remained. Many came to him and said, “John performed no sign, but everything John said about this man was true.” And many there began to believe in him.
“In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.”
Reflection
In our first reading from Jeremiah, we see the anguish of a prophet on display. Recall that Jeremiah, like Moses, had a great intimacy with God. It was no mistake that Jesus was mistaken specifically for “Jeremiah” when referred to as “one of the prophets.” Jeremiah endured great suffering, people wanted to see him destroyed (sounds like Jesus)—hence why we hear from Jeremiah many lamentations, questioning “why is this happening to me,” “You duped me, Lord,” literally at times standing in the mud with Israel questioning and reconciling how it could be in their time of exile that they lost their land that the Lord promised to them.
Ultimately people reject Jeremiah for his message that fidelity to the covenant has not been held up on their end. Pride, ignorance, injustice, and abiding in sin has led them to this place of exile. Not a welcomed message to hear—yet Jeremiah continued to proclaim the words of the Lord, to speak to them and open their hearts to be able to receive words of hope.
Have you ever felt like Jeremiah? Ever question why you are in the situation you are in? Have you questioned the Lord’s fidelity to you? Has this led you to the point of great distress or despair?
We can have confidence that the Lord’s Victory will always come in the end, and the lasting or enduring Hope that comes from this truth can sustain us in the midst of prolonged or intense suffering, grief, fear, and pain. The heart of the Psalmist knows this to be true, Jeremiah knew this to be true, Jesus embodies what trust in this looks like. “In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.”
In the Gospel today, Jesus again continues to teach the association that his good works and all the good works that come through him are from his Heavenly Father. As Jesus is about to mount the wood of the Cross, we have before us the model for us to persevere with faith through whatever pain, grief, or suffering that torments us, and see Jesus offer it all back to the Father—because ultimately we see that Jesus doesn’t end with the Cross and grave, but rather with the power of death destroyed: The Resurrection.
Stay close to the Lord and his Resurrected Life which he extends to us anew each day. (Don’t forget this is still true, even in Lent!) The Resurrection is celebrated on the Altar every day, and the power of the Resurrection is there for us to help us as we navigate the struggles and pains of our life now. These struggles will end, but the Resurrected life will not.
Peace,
Fr. Foley
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