This online Bible Study presumes everyone to take some dedicated time during the day to read the Scripture passages (or listen to them during the daily Mass at church) and to meditate on the meaning of God’s word for the Church and each one of us individually. The daily reflections posted here can be used as an additional reading to support personal meditations. The posts will be available every morning each day.
The Church calls us to walk through Lent in a mindful way embracing practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.
These three pillars contain: love, mercy, and forgiveness, which God desires to grant us and which He desires us to offer to others. In this way, we can love our neighbors as He loves us.
By devoting more time to prayer, we speak the language of love with God, thus expressing our dedication and committment to our heavenly Father. Through almsgiving we practice mercy toward others (i.e., acts of mercy – see the section ‘Jesus’). Through fasting and practice of penance we express our need and desire for God’s compassion and forgiveness of our sins and trespasses.
The reflections in this Lent Bible Study will be focused on these three pillars of love, mercy, and forgiveness. We will search in the daily readings for God’s expressions and manifestations of His love, mercy, and forgiveness to mankind. As we grow to realize and appreciate God’s Goodness to us, despite our nothingness, we will be enkindled to strive for transformation in Christ and a change of our own willfulness, which will then bring us to a closer union with God.
May this Lent season bring a renewal to our ways of thinking and acting. Let it be a time of internal transformation of our hearts in Christ and for Christ.
Let us unite our prayers and efforts on this journey through the Lent season and thus prepare ourselves for a joyful celebration of Easter.
The Resurrection of the Lord (4/09/2023)
Christ Is Risen! Alleluia! Rejoice and Be Glad!
Thank you for following the Lent Bible Study and praying together. May God bless you for your perseverance and keeping your Lent resolutions.
Reflections on various faith related topics will be continued in the Blog section on this website.
Holy Saturday – At the Easter Vigil in the Holy Night of Easter (4/08/2023)
“Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.”
Daily Readings
It is worth realizing and admiring the incomprehensible depth of God’s wisdom. By forming all the works of His creation, He knew them already, how they will function, look like, relate to each other, serve one another (e.g., plants and seeds being food for birds and men). Oftentimes we take it all for granted, not realizing how much we owe our heavenly Father and how much we shall express our gratitude for all His care and love for us.
The second Reading tells the story of Abraham’s faith being put to test by God. God commands Abraham to sacrifice his only son Isaac as a burnt offering to the Lord. This story also prefigures God Himself offering His Son Jesus as a sacrifice for forgiveness of sins of the entire mankind. Isaac carries wood on his shoulders up the Mount Moriah, while Jesus was carrying the Cross to Calvary. Mt. Moriah and Mt. Calvary are believed to be on the same ridge, so Abraham was able to see the Calvary hill where Jesus would be dying centuries later. Abraham’s faith was very strong; he was hoping against hope. Yet, strengthened in his faith from the previous tests (when God promised to give him a son at his late age of 90 and He fulfilled His promise), so also this time, Abraham trusts in God’s words unconditionally. Because of Abraham’s obedience he received a great blessing: God promised to make his descendants as numerous as stars in the sky.
In each challenging situation in life, when we don’t understand why things are happening certain ways or when things seem hopeless, let us rely on God alone, let us trust Him unconditionally. He works in our lives the same way as He worked in Abraham’s life because we are descendants of Abraham. If we obey God’s command without questioning, we can surely expect to be blessed abundantly in due time, like Abraham – our father in faith.
The Gospel speaks of Jesus’ Resurrection and the women meeting an angel of God at the tomb where Jesus was laid. The story contains a lot of emotional momentum – we can only imagine what feelings were filling the women’s hearts: fear, anxiety, astonishment, awe, uncertainty, the unknown, confusion, curiosity, eagerness to share the news with the disciples, anticipation, but above all great joy, happiness, and love. When Jesus appears to them on their way, the first words He says are: “Do not be afraid.”
Jesus says the same words to us today as His first greeting after His Resurrection: Do not be afraid – I AM with you and will never leave you alone, regardless of where you are and what you are struggling with. I am with you to carry you through.
Filled with Easter joy and love, let us bring Christ and the good news of His Resurrection to other people and share His heavenly joy with everyone we encounter.
Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion (4/07/2023)
Divine Mercy Novena
in preparation for the Divine Mercy Sunday on 4/16.“Christ became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every other name.”
Daily Readings
In the Letter to the Hebrews St. Paul reminds us that Jesus Christ – our eternal High Priest and God Himself – is compassionate with our weaknesses because of sharing in our human nature, though He was sinless. The second Reading reiterates the message of the first Reading by pointing out that “he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.”
Let us approach the source of mercy and love which are contained in the suffering Heart of Jesus on the Cross to be cleansed from our sins and made righteous through the blood and water which poured forth from His Heart.
The Gospel speaks of the last moments of Jesus’ life on earth. Two events from the Gospel will be highlighted here. When Judas with a band of soldiers and guards from the chief priests and the Pharisees approached Jesus to arrest Him and heard Him say ‘I AM’, they all fell to the ground. This passage tells us how powerful was the speech of Jesus; His words were so strong that people fell to their knees by just listening to Him. It also emphasizes what Jesus told His disciples, as He explained, He is laying down His life - offering it for people out of His own will in obedience to the Father, his life is not being taken away from Him by people driven by wrong intentions. It is also worth pondering that Jesus used the words ‘I AM’ several times during His life, as He referred to the Father and taught about His mission as the Son of God. Despite that, and despite knowing the Scriptures very well, the group of unbelieving Jews was still greater than those who converted and came to believe in Him.
John’s description of Jesus Death and piercing of His Heart from which came forth Blood and Water contains a message not necessarily obvious to all Christians, but clearly understandable to the Jews. John emphasized the importance of this fact by saying: “An eyewitness has testified, and his testimony is true; he knows that he is speaking the truth, so that you also may come to believe.” The meaning of Blood and Water coming out from Jesus’ Heart relate to the temple altar in Jerusalem on which people’ sacrificial lambs were slaughtered by high priests in atonement for their sins. It was a common picture during Passover to see rivers of blood of sacrificial lambs flowing out in a drench out of the Jerusalem temple. That blood was further washed down the runnel with water coming from another runnel. When seeing Blood and Water coming forth from Jesus’ Heart, John instantly connected the dots and understood on the spot that Jesus is the Lamb offered on the Cross (Altar) as a sacrifice and ransom in forgiveness of sins of the world. That’s why his statement above is full of awe and zeal, exhorting people to believe in Christ because his testimony it true.
Lord, God, Who suffered for us offences and wounds, have mercy on us.
Holy Thursday - Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper (4/06/2023)
“I give you a new commandment, says the Lord: love one another as I have loved you.”
Daily Readings
The blood of the lamb on Passover night is lifesaving. Even more so, the Blood of Jesus Christ – the Lamb of God who gave His life as ransom for the humanity saves us from damnation. When we receive the Body and Blood of Christ, His Blood marks us with a seal of God’s people, the same way as the blood of a lamb marked the doorposts of Israelites in Egypt. The Blood of the Son of God has yet an incomparably greater merit. God will overlook our sins and trespasses on account of Jesus’ sufferings and His Blood He shed for us on the Cross. We are saved from the eternal damnation (i.e., destructive blow of God’s justice) because of Jesus’ Blood when we partake in it at the Holy Eucharist.
God establishes the Passover feast as a perpetual commemoration for all generations of Israel to come. The same way the Gentiles are to partake from the Body and Blood of Jesus at the Eucharist throughout all generations to express thanksgiving and gratitude to God for saving us from the slavery of sin through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and to have share in His promise.
In the second Reading from the Book of Corinthians St. Paul reminds the Gentiles of the night Jesus was betrayed and of the institution of the Holy Eucharist in the Upper Room. Jesus gave us His Body to eat and His Blood to drink (a new covenant of His Blood which doesn’t require bloody sacrificial offering of a lamb repeatedly by the high priest anymore). The Holy Eucharist is a bloodless sacrifice of thanksgiving of Jesus Christ when the Lord Himself as the High Priest offers Himself (His Body and Blood) to the Father in union with all the faithful.
Jesus said: “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me” and “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” The Lord’s instructions are clear: we shall remember Him and keep focused on Him (not on our weaknesses and unworthiness). It is His Blood and sacrificial offering for us that saves us and which we need to keep in mind, rather than being occupied with ourselves (i.e., be Christ-focused, not self-focused because remembrance of sins without forgiving oneself will only hinder the full participation in Jesus’ redemptive works).
The Gospel tells us about Jesus washing the disciples’ feet at the Last Supper. Water symbolizes baptism and cleansing from sin, while drying them with the towel is like covering the new baptized with a white robe. It is Jesus Himself (the Light of the world) washing their feet (a symbolism of receiving the candle at baptism – the light of Christ). Peter initially refuses to have his feet washed by His Master and Lord, because in Jesus’ times this function of foot-washing was reserved for slaves. Jesus took the form of a slave for us, while cleansing from sins (through the baptismal fount) is the prerequisite to participate in Christs’ glory to come and His heavenly Kingdom.
Jesus instructs the disciples to follow His example in the relationship with other people to be witnesses to Christ. Through signs of mutual love, forgiveness, mercy and serving one another (regardless of the status and position) we will be distinguished from the world and able to recognize each other as Christs’ followers and God’s children. “I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.”
Wednesday of Holy Week (4/05/2023)
“Hail to you, our King; you alone are compassionate with our errors.”
Daily Readings
The Gospel reading is a part of the long reading we heard on the Palm Sunday. The passage of today reiterates the moments when Jesus announces that one of His disciples will betray Him. We see the divergence in behavior between the 11 disciples and Judas Iscariot. While all disciples call Jesus ‘Lord’ (the word indicates a closer/ more intimate relationship) (“Surely it is not I, Lord?”), Judas calls Jesus ‘Rabbi’ (i.e., Teacher) (the word indicates a more distant and formal relationship/ attitude) (“Surely it is not I, Rabbi?”).
In preparation for Christ’s Passion and Death let us make sure to remain very close to Jesus, to guard our hearts keeping them pure and filled with good intentions and love for God and our neighbors, avoiding sins and trespasses that would make us a betrayer of Jesus.
Tuesday of Holy Week (4/04/2023)
“Hail to you, our King, obedient to the Father; you were led to your crucifixion like a gentle lamb to the slaughter.”
Daily Readings
Through Christs’ Resurrection God makes all the baptized the flames of light in the world to carry His message of love and the promise of eternal life through the power of the Holy Spirit to the ends of the world.
The Gospel takes us to the Upper Room where Jesus announces to His disciples that one of them will betray Him. None of them dares to ask Jesus directly who this disciple is, as they are deeply distressed and troubled not to be the one who will betray their beloved Master. All of them are curious though. It is only John who has the privilege to ask Jesus (and to receive the response) as he rests on Jesus’ chest. The Gospel silently leads us to realize that John enjoyed a special favor in his relationship with Jesus; he was sitting next to Him, leaning on His Heart, and received the answer to his question instantly. This situation has a deeper meaning pointing out how important it is for each Christian to be close to Jesus’ Heart. Only those who rest on the Lord’s Heart can receive the response to their questions and troubles. Those who stay further away (and have a distance relationship with the Lord) most likely won’t even dare to ask Jesus for anything or about anything.
Let us strive to rest peacefully on Jesus’ Heart, to console Him when others reject Him, to love Him when others refuse and offend Him, to embrace Him when others strike Him. Let us be very close to Jesus during His Passion and Death during this Holy Week. If we do so, we will be very close with Him in His Resurrection to experience the fullness of His Resurrection Glory.
Monday of Holy Week (4/03/2023)
“Hail to you, our King; you alone are compassionate with our faults.”
Daily Readings
The Gospel tells the story of Mary anointing Jesus’ feet with costly perfumed oil (unknowingly anticipating His Death and burial). Mary performed an act of love and care for Jesus, while she was unjustly rebuked by Judas who exhibited the opposite attitude towards Jesus as he proved soon after that by betraying Jesus in front of the Jews.
Let us always imitate Mary with our offering of love, prayer and praise to God, so that they can rise before God’s throne like an incense, similarly like Mary’s anointing of Jesus’ feet filled the house with the fragrance of the oil.
Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion (4/02/2023)
“Christ became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name.”
Daily Readings
The second Reading from the Book of Philippians highlights Christs’ humility as He did not regard equality with God (even though He was God Himself), as He emptied Himself for our sake, giving everything up, becoming a slave, taking on human flesh, and becoming obedient to the point of death. Jesus’ sacrifice and offering of love is most perfect and unprecedented. That’s why it was not understood or comprehended by many Jews as the human brain can’t contain the depth of the sacred mystery of Christ’s suffering, Death and Resurrection. For His complete and obedient sacrifice, Jesus was exalted by the Father. As we die and rise with Christ and in Christ, so will we be exalted by God when we live our lives according to God’s holy Will, offering ourselves in loving service to God and our neighbors, carrying our crosses every day without murmuring, and imitating the life and the example of our Savior and Redeemer.
The Gospel Reading during Mass speaks about the events leading to Christ’ Passion and Death. The Gospel is very rich in information allowing the reader to experience the last moments of Jesus’ life, to walk with Him to Calvary and feel what He felt when betrayed and abandoned by His closest friends (disciples). We read about Peter and his prideful self-reliance and conviction that he will remain faithful to Jesus even if everyone forsook his Master. Peter’s behavior and self-reliance remind us of the Israelites in the desert who exclaimed that they will follow everything God commands, only to build a golden calf shortly after that. It teaches us to always turn to God and ask His help for we are unable to do anything on our own; we are not able to be faithful to God with our human strength but only through God’s grace.
Further we read about Jesus asking his disciples to remain with Him in prayer and keep vigilant at all times. Jesus asks the same of us nowadays; to come to Him and remain with Him at the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament or in front of the Tabernacle (i.e., the tradition of the Holy Hour in the Catholic Church). “He said to Peter, ‘So you could not keep watch with me for one hour? Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test.’ ”
Next the Gospel tells us about Jesus’ humble prayer and submission to God’s Will: “My Father, if it is not possible that this cup pass without my drinking it, your will be done!” Jesus gives us an example of a perfect prayer that we also shall practice when speaking to the Father: “Your Will be done, o Lord, not my will.”
We read about Judas’ betrayal of Jesus with a kiss, which is an expression of closeness, friendship, and love. Despite that, Jesus addresses Judas as a friend: “Friend, do what you have come for.” Jesus’ love is honest and true, it is unchanging and the same for all sinners regardless of their offenses and dishonesty with God Himself. Before we start to condemn Judas, we need to evaluate our own lives. How many times have we betrayed Jesus? How many times did we speak to Him in prayer adoring Him, receiving the Holy Communion, asking Him for favors, only to crucify Him with our sins the next moment. Let us ask God for His grace that we never betray Him again and always remain faithful and steadfast in our commitment and love to Him.
After Judas’ betrayal, we read about Peter’s betrayal of Jesus. Peter even cursed and swore: “I do not know the man.” Once again, we see the effects of fear which can lead the most devoted disciples to the most grievous trespasses.
The final passages of the Gospel describe Jesus’ Death on the Cross and the immediate effects of His sacrificial love: “... the veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom [indicating that the access to God’s Presence, preserved until then only to high priests, was now open through Jesus to everyone without exception]. The earth quaked, rocks were split, tombs were opened, and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised.”
Our Lord died for us to give us eternal life. In the waters of baptism, we die to sin and rise with Him into new life. Let us pray for the Catechumens joining the Catholic community this year, with thanksgiving to God for growing and strengthening His Church on earth.
Saturday of the fifth week of Lent (4/01/2023)
“Cast away from you all the crimes you have committed, says the LORD, and make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit.”
Daily Readings
The Gospel of John prepares us to enter the Paschal Mystery, portraying the events at the Jewish Sanhedrin and the high priest Caiaphas prophesying Jesus’ Death for the entire nation of Israel. The Gospel Reading denotes destructive effects and spillovers of fear and jealousy as the Pharisees are willing to kill Jesus – an innocent person – without any reason, but worried about their own prestige and placing their priorities on earthly matters rather than on the glory of God: “If we leave him alone, all will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our land and our nation.”
In the remaining final days of Lent let us prepare our hearts for the Easter season by placing all our hope, trust, and attention on the Kingdom of Heaven rather than on insignificant earthly attachments. As we await the promise of the Resurrection, let us grow in faith and hope of our eternal salvation in Christ and the inheritance that awaits us as a reward for our faithfulness to God and our trust in Him during our earthly journey.
Friday of the fifth week of Lent (3/31/2023)
“Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life; you have the words of everlasting life.”
Daily Readings
The Gospel shows a great split among the Jews as some groups try to stone Jesus for stating the truth that He is the Son of God, while others believe in Him by seeing His works and listening to His words. Jesus appeals to the skeptical Jews to believe in Him on account of His miracles alone (His works) if they are unable to believe on account of His teachings (His words). In other words, Jesus calls them to believe in what they see with their own eyes (human senses) if the spiritual teaching is too difficult (i.e., their souls are unable to recognize the heavenly message). However, their blindness is too great as they refuse to accept Jesus altogether and try to arrest Him. The other more receptive group of Jews comes to realize that Jesus is the promised Messiah as they recall the words of John the Baptist he spoke about Christ. They began to believe on account of John’s words alone (words of a witness), not even on account of Jesus’ words or His works.
The Gospel points out the importance of our witnessing to Christ and its life-changing effects on others. Our witness as Christians with our actions, words, and deeds can lead many people to believe in God. Let us strive to be bright flames of Christ’s light and love in the world.
Thursday of the fifth week of Lent (3/30/2023)
“If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.”
Daily Readings
God extends a promise of countless blessings to each one of us if we keep His commandment of love, remaining faithful and trusting in Him. However, if we break God’s command by falling from grace (sinning), straying away, and relying on ourselves, God’s love cannot reach us the same way as when in the state of grace.
In the Gospel, Jesus reiterates the promise of God the Father from the Old Testament promising eternal life on the single condition of keeping His commandment/ words: “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever keeps my word will never see death.“ Perturbed Jews are not able to comprehend Jesus’ teachings interpreting them through the lens of their law and the teachings of the Old Testament. Jesus tries yet another time to convey who He is by using the Name of God the Father – the Great I AM: “Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM.” However, the hearts of the Jews are hardened and incapable of accepting the truth that Jesus is the promised Messiah announced in their Scriptures.
Nowadays we do know the truth that Jesus is the Messiah, and the only Way to the Father, the only Truth of our faith, and the only Life for eternity. Despite that, many people don’t accept this truth choosing to wander on their own misleading paths. Others accept Jesus’ teachings as mere theory, but don’t practice His words in action. As Jesus said, we need to keep His words (practice them) to be saved eternally. Let us strive every single day to be more faithful to the commandment of love for God and the neighbor, as imparted on us by our Savior out of His great mercy and love for us.
Wednesday of the fifth week of Lent (3/29/2023)
“Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart and yield a harvest through perseverance.”
Daily Readings
The Reading reminds us to always keep faithful to God and His commandments and God will manifest His faithfulness to us for our firm faith and reliance on Him. Faithfulness to God means our unwavering commitment, steadfastness in our promises and resolutions, perseverance in sufferings, patience in challenging situations, and trust in God in seemingly hopeless cases. God might be allowing certain situations to happen in our lives only for our good (which we don’t see or understand at that time) and to manifest His greater Glory in the future.
Nothing is impossible for God and He will deliver us from the greatest oppressors and in the most unlikely moment (sometimes when everything seems to be lost – like the three youth were protected by God only when they entered the burning furnace that was heated up seven times more than usual).
In the Gospel of the day, Jesus reiterates the message of faithfulness and trust in God: “If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” The reward for remaining steadfast in faith is freedom of God’s love and peace. Jesus’ teachings are so uniquely new to the Jews, they are unable to comprehend His words as they try to validate them with their law of the Old Testament. While the Jews vehemently affirm their heritage as God’s children, they refuse the Son of God Who stands in their midst. How often to we experience situations like this in our lives, and people stating their belief in God yet refusing to practice the commandment of love of God and neighbor in their daily lives.
As we continue in the final weeks of Lent, let us remain vigilant to be true witnesses of Christ’s love toward God and our neighbors. Let us persevere in our Lent resolutions to the end, thus proclaiming our faithfulness to God with our actions.
Tuesday of the fifth week of Lent (3/28/2023)
“The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower; all who come to him will live for ever.”
Daily Readings
In the Gospel Jesus explains to the Pharisees that they will die in sin (i.e., won’t experience eternal salvation) if they don’t believe in Him. Jesus also speaks about His death; however, His words/ language is not understood by the Jews. He prophesizes that everyone will get to realize that He is God: “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM.” [referring to the Name of God the Father as He appeared to Abraham in the burning bush]. Jesus’ words came to fulfillment, when everyone read the inscription above Jesus’ Head on the Cross: ‘Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews’, which was written in Hebrew, Latin and Greek. The acronym INRI (in Latin: “Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum”) is vocalized in Hebrew: “Yeshua Hanotsri Wemelek Hayehudim” making the Hebrew acronym YHWH, which again is vocalized as “Yahweh” (the Lord – the Great I AM), (Yod-he-waw-he).
Throughout His life Jesus has always pointed to the Father. Speaking about His death, Jesus refers to the Father again. His words of reliance on the Father bring Him consolation as he anticipates His sufferings and pains: “The one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do what is pleasing to him.”
Imitating Jesus, we shall always follow Him to the end, to be with Him on Calvary, stand at His Cross to console Him and be crucified with Him through our earthly sufferings, so we can win the glory of Heaven with Him and through His Resurrection. Jesus gives us an important instruction to always follow God’s Will as He followed the Father’s Will.
Monday of the fifth week of Lent (3/27/2023)
“I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked man, says the Lord, but rather in his conversion, that he may live.”
Daily Readings
The Gospel Reading tells us the story of the woman caught in adultery. Jesus is confronted by the Jews who rely on the law of Moses instructing to stone such women. Jesus says no word in response, but only writes on the sand with His finger. Jesus silently indicates that He is God and He writes a new law: a law of mercy, forgiveness, and love – a law that gives life to sinners and far exceeds the law of Moses. Jesus proves the power of His law of love right on the spot by forgiving the woman and setting her free not only from the hands of outraged people, but most importantly from the bondage of her sins.
Let us ponder over the greatness of God’s love for us. If sinful human beings with perverted minds did not condemn another sinner realizing that they are sinful as well, how much more shall we be assured of God’s forgiveness knowing that He came to earth for this exact purpose of saving us from sin and restoring us back to life in Him. Let us turn to Jesus with all our heart and express our gratitude for His unsurpassable goodness and love as we await His Easter Victory.
Fifth Sunday of Lent (3/26/2023)
“I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will never die.”
Daily Readings
The second Reading reiterates that only through God’s Spirit dwelling in us we will be able to inherit eternal life in Christ. This reading from the Book of Romans (New Testament) is a direct confirmation of God’s words from the Book of Ezekiel (Old Testament) showing that God’s plan of salvation stands firm and is unchanging.
The Gospel story pictures Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. Jesus weeps about Lazarus as his death (like death of every human) is the direct consequence of the Original Sin and its effects. Jesus shows the power of His Spirit that is able to raise the dead back to life restoring human functions and bodily abilities. At the same time, the Spirit of God living in us through Christ raises us from the death of our sins giving us new life and restoring our spiritual capacities to live for Christ and in Christ as His children each time we go to confession and receive Him in the Holy Communion.
The closing of the Gospel story is interesting to ponder over: “Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what he had done began to believe in him.” As people believed seeing Jesus’ miracles, so nowadays many people come to believe in God when experiencing supernatural healings on their bodies. More frequently though God is performing spiritual healing miracles in people’s hearts when they repent and make reparation, like we practice during this Lent season. Keeping this in mind, let us strive to be living witnesses of God’s Spirit dwelling in us, so that by the example of our restoration from sin and change of our lives, others might come to believe and desire a similar renewal of their lives through Christ at His Easter Resurrection.
Saturday – Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord (3/25/2023)
“The Word of God became flesh and made his dwelling among us; and we saw his glory.”
Daily Readings
The second Reading similarly proves God’s love as He sends His only Son with a mission to fulfill God’s Will. Through the sacrificial offering of Jesus’ Body and Blood on the Cross the perpetual animal offerings for forgiveness of sins as in the Jewish law of the Old Testament are completed and not needed any more.
As Jesus Christ consented to come to earth for the salvation of humanity, so Mary was also always following God’s Will, which culminated with Her obedient ‘Fiat’ on the Day of Annunciation.
The Gospel is the story of the Annunciation and Mary’s consent to God’s Divine Plan for her to become the Mother of God. God fulfills His promise He made to the prophets in the Old Testament – through Mary’s Annunciation and the Incarnation of the Divine Word He bestows a gift on the humanity that is impossible in human eyes. It is a gift so vast and unimaginable in its greatness that He urged King Ahaz to specify: “... let it be deep as the nether world, or high as the sky!”
Through Mary and the Annunciation God expressed His great love and mercy for us. By accepting God’s invitation Mary teaches us to trust and love God by following His holy Will: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”
Let us pray today to our Holy Mother Mary with the words of ‘Alma Redemptoris Mater’:
Mother of Christ, our hope, our patroness,
Star of the sea, our beacon in distress,
Guide to the shores of everlasting day,
God’s holy people on their pilgrim way.
Virgin, in you God made his dwelling place,
Mother of all the living, full of grace,
Blessed are you: God’s word you did believe,
Your “Yes” undid the “No” of sinful Eve.
Daughter of God, who bore his holy One,
Dearest of all to Christ, your loving Son,
Show us his face, O Mother, as on earth,
Loving us all, you gave our Savior birth.
Friday of the fourth week of Lent (3/24/2023)
“One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.”
Daily Readings
The Gospel highlights Jesus’ teachings in the temple and His broken heart when experiencing unbelief of the Jews about the Son of God. Jesus is speaking openly to the crowds about the truth because He Himself is the only Truth. The last sentence of this Gospel passage teaches us about patience, endurance, and the need to trust in God’s perfect judgments and timing. “So they tried to arrest him, but no one laid a hand upon him, because his hour had not yet come.” Whatever people plan and desire to do, they are unable to perform anything without God’s grace (God’s perfect Will in the case of positive and good actions) or God’s permission (God’s permissive Will in the case of negative or ‘unfavorable’ things in life). Therefore, when proclaiming Christ with our daily lives, when imitating His example and actions we shall never worry about people’s reactions and judgements. We shall firmly keep focused on Jesus and trust Him without wavering because only God Himself can see our hearts and intentions.
Thursday of the fourth week of Lent (3/23/2023)
“God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.”
Daily Readings
Their behavior is not different from ours in these days as we walk through Lent. How many of the Catholics are still keeping faithful to their Lenten resolutions in the 4th week of Lent? How many people have given up and returned to their easy habits (idols)?
God suggests to Moses He will destroy the Israelite nation and raise a new great nation that will be more faithful. It is only because of Moses’ plea for mercy that God relents from the just punishment of Israelites. Moses pleads on behalf of the people, repenting for them, while the Israelites don’t even express their contrition at that moment. The story tells us clearly that it takes only so little on our part as to ask God for His forgiveness and mercy and He is ready to grant it. It also emphasizes the power of priestly prayers on behalf of the faithful and the entire Church.
The Gospel of the day is a continuation of yesterday’s reading in which Jesus instructs the Jews about His mission and the Father’s Will. Jesus seems to refer to the Old Testament making an allusion to the unfaithfulness of the Israelites in the past as well: “But you have never heard his voice nor seen his form, and you do not have his word remaining in you ...” and “... For if you had believed Moses, you would have believed me because he wrote about me.” Thus, Jesus points out their hypocrisy as they believe to gain eternal life on account of merely reading the Scripture, while rejecting the words of the Scripture and Jesus Himself Who is announced by the Scripture as the promised Messiah.
Let us make an effort to come closer to God in the remaining weeks of Lent by attending the daily Mass more frequently, praying the Stations of the Cross, devoting more time to prayer and Scripture readings, evaluating our daily actions and readiness to help others.
Wednesday of the fourth week of Lent (3/22/2023)
“I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord; whoever believes in me will never die.”
Daily Readings
In the Gospel of the day, Jesus speaks to the Jews about His union of love and works with God the Father. “My Father is at work until now, so I am at work.” While God rested from work after creating the world, He started His work of salvation already when Adam and Eve were dispelled from Paradise. Jesus, who is One with the Father, would not grow weary or rest from His work (performing corporal and spiritual miracles) even on the sabbath.
Jesus speaks about the unity of the Divine love between God the Father and the Son, God’s mighty power of rising the dead (‘silently’ indicating at the same time His own Resurrection), and God’s justice and mercy. Jesus also renews His promise of eternal life on account of faith in Him: “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life and will not come to condemnation but has passed from death to life.” The promise is firm as it is sealed with the word “Amen” pronounced by Jesus twice and at the beginning of the sentence. Jesus concludes His teaching in that Gospel passage by expressing His conformity with the Father and His holy Will. Thus, God’s promise as of old to save the humanity stands firm and is substantiated by Jesus Christ, His works and mission of salvation on earth.
Both the Reading and the Gospel contain the message of love and mercy and God’s call to all people to come to Him to partake in eternal life. As we draw closer to Easter, God’s message in the Readings is not a strict and direct call to repentance anymore, but rather an invitation and a promise of love and eternal happiness through Jesus Christ.
Let us continue to offer our Lenten sacrifices for repentance of sinners. Let us imitate our heavenly Father and our Lord Jesus Christ and thus be living examples of our faith, which will draw others to desire to experience God’s great love and mercy in their own lives.
Tuesday of the fourth week of Lent (3/21/2023)
“A clean heart create for me, O God; give me back the joy of your salvation.”
Daily Readings
The Gospel also refers to the living Water as we read about Christ healing the sick man at the pool Bethesda at the Sheep Gate. The crippled man can be viewed as each one of us — crippled by sin, unable to stand on his own feet without Jesus. When Jesus asks the man if he wants to be well, interestingly, the man doesn’t confirm but rather responds with an excuse why he is not healed by now (after a long time of sitting at the pool). Jesus asks us also individually during this Lent season if we want to be healed from our spiritual sickness. How do we respond to His invitation? Do we enthusiastically and trustfully ask Jesus for healing? Or do we look for excuses in our lives why we fell behind in our faith and devotion to Him? Or maybe we even calculate if we want to be healed at all because we got so comfy in our sinfulness that getting up seems too much of an effort and an ‘uncomfortable’ change altogether?
The healing story of the crippled man at the Pool Bethesda is closely related to the Sunday reading speaking about the healing of a blind man washing off in the Pool of Siloam. There are several interesting aspects in these stories: both men go to the water (symbolizing life of Christ) to be restored to health. When asked by the Pharisees, neither of them knows who Jesus is or where He is from. Both are despised and rejected by the Pharisees (thrown out from their presence), and finally both are being sought out for the second time by Jesus (they don’t search for Jesus on their own to learn more about Him). Jesus teaches us that: He is the only source of life and healing, and that we will be despised, ridiculed, and rejected by others for proclaiming His Gospel. However, He will find us in these troubles to encourage and strengthen us (even if we fail to run to Him immediately in our weakness).
The difference between these two handicapped men in the Gospel is: the blindness of the first man was not because of his or his parents’ sins, while the crippled man was afflicted because of his sin and exhorted by Jesus not to sin again. Speaking in spiritual terms: sometimes we might live our life in spiritual blindness out of ignorance (not because of bad choices). Some people are spiritually blind because they have never gotten a chance to learn about and know Jesus Christ in their entire life (e.g., because of the country they were born). On the contrary, sin (a result of bad choices) cripples us and our way of thinking, speaking, reasoning, and prevents us from walking straight through life. Thus, in order to be able to walk, we need to avoid sin. While physical blindness affects only one of the five senses in the human body, a crippled person is affected on the entire body, not able to move at all. Jesus will heal any sin, but He instructs us that falling into sin again (after having experience the saving power of God’s love and mercy) will cause even a greater harm to the soul because of irresponsible dealing with God’s grace and conscious choices of the wrongdoing (“Look, you are well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse may happen to you.”)
The Gospel of today once again highlights God’s forgiveness, mercy, and love for all those who repent and desire to be healed. Only stubborn persistence in pride and unwillingness to change one’s life makes it impossible for God to cleanse the soul in His living water through His Passion, Cross, and Easter Resurrection.
Let us look around, in our families, workplaces, living environments, and try to help our brothers and sisters who might be spiritually blind or crippled and unwilling to undertake any Lent exercises, hindering a renewal of their lives in Christ at Easter.
Monday — Solemnity of Saint Joseph, spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary (3/20/2023)
“Blessed are those who dwell in your house, O Lord; they never cease to praise you.”
Daily Readings
In the second Reading, St. Paul speaks to the Romans about Abraham’s righteousness based solely on unconditional faith in God. God promises great graces not only to those who follow the law, but to those who believe and trust in God’s words (through Jesus Christ). Abraham’s faith was unprecedented as he hoped against all hope; trusting in God’s promise beyond human reasoning. He knew there is nothing impossible for God, regardless of what the human brain dictates as common-sense. Also in Abraham’s case, faith alone was the key to a greater generational blessing for him and his descendants.
On the solemnity of St. Joseph, spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Gospel reminds us of Joseph’s encounter with an angel who instructs him to take Mary into his house for she was with child by the Holy Spirit. While other prophets and patriarchs received God’s promise of Christ, Joseph was chosen to care for the promised and long-awaited Messiah. Also Joseph (like David and Abraham) relied on faith as the only driver of his action. He didn’t reason, evaluate, speak a word or question; he just believed and obeyed God’s command brought to him by the angel. Joseph is the first among the patriarchs to learn about the name of the Messiah, thus it is also an unprecedented stage in the chronology of our faith.
Through their vivid faith, King David and Abraham paved the road for future generations of Gentiles to follow Jesus through faith alone. This should serve as an encouragement to us and a promise that when we believe and trust in God unconditionally and with living faith, He will work miracles in our lives, unfathomable to human understanding.
Fourth Sunday of Lent (3/19/2023)
“I am the light of the world, says the Lord; whoever follows me will have the light of life.”
Daily Readings
In the Gospel from yesterday Jesus was gently indicating not to judge others based on appearances. In today’s first Reading, God repeats this teaching directly to Samuel instructing him about another son of Jesse: “Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature, because I have rejected him ... Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance, but the LORD looks into the heart.” God points out our human inability to assess people, their intentions, and their virtues, which are hidden in human hearts. David — the youngest of Jesse’s sons with the lowliest task of tending sheep in the field — was exalted by God to the highest rank of the king of Israel. This story teaches us that people who are most despised, rejected, refused, or overlooked might be the greatest tools in God’s Divine plans. We will be able to recognize and find the goodness in people’s hearts (or detect their evil intentions) when we are conformed to God’s Will. The more we are conformed to God and His precepts, the more we will be able to see with the eyes of Christ rather than with our human eyes, human thinking, and reasoning. However, if we are conformed to the broken and sinful ways of the secular world, we will repeat the mistakes of the world in our lives setting on a downfall spiral of judgments and unfriendliness. The story teaches us to be reliant on God alone by listening to His words. Only in this way we can avoid mistake of unjust judgments which harm not only others but also our own souls.
The second Reading bridges the first Reading and the Gospel. In the letter to the Ephesians, St. Paul emphasizes that we can have light only in Christ and through Him, when we get transformed into Him. Children of light (children of God) can be easily recognized in the world by their actions and fruits: goodness, righteousness, truth, transparency, honesty, and openness. Those who are walking in darkness are called in the Reading ‘sleepers’ and ‘dead’. It is never too late to turn to the light of Jesus Christ: “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.” He is coming at Easter and at every Eucharist. He is waiting for all of us to accept His royal invitation to the heavenly banquet of love in the Holy Eucharist.
The image of the Light of Christ comes again in the Gospel Reading. Jesus restores the sight to the blind man (gives him light) by putting mud (dark matter) on his eyes and instructs him to wash in the Pool of Siloam. This is a visible restoration of the human sense of sight by washing off the mud with water. It also shows the spiritual aspect of washing off the darkness of sin (which blinds our human ability to see clearly or see at all).
The Gospel also reveals the pride of the Pharisees who considered themselves to know everything best and were always waiting to be consulted. In their sinful pride, however, they were spiritually blind and unable to recognize Jesus’ goodness. They didn’t realize that godly actions can be inspired and performed only with God’s grace and His help. The stubbornness and unbelief of the Pharisees indicates not only their blindness but also closed hearts unwilling to find ‘the good’, but rather looking for ‘the bad’ in others, and any argument to condemn Jesus for His acts of love and mercy.
The story displays a ‘battle scene’ between the letter of the law (healing on the sabbath) and the commandment of love and mercy. It shows the struggle of those confirmed to the law of the Old Testament (and justification through God’s justice alone) to recognize and accept the new way of God’s love (and justification through His mercy in the first place). At the final moments of the encounter, the Pharisees seem to realize that Jesus is speaking about them as ‘the blind’. Instead of taking the opportunity to reevaluate their behavior and ask Jesus for His help to understand better, they get offended and continue to persist in their old ways (thus preventing their own conversion).
An interesting aspect in the story is the behavior of the blind man’s parents who prefer to stay out of the picture, out of fear not to be expelled from the synagogue. They don’t take any stance but use tangible facts of healing they witnessed in their son as their defense before the Pharisees. They decide to remain silent rather than to witness loudly and boldly about God’s Goodness, Mercy, and Love. Fear is not from God; it is a tool of the devil to keep us from doing good works for God. In our contemporary times we need to remain vigilant and conformed to God’s teachings. We need to ask God for His strength and grace, so that we can always be decisive and relentless witnesses, standing up for His Truth without compromise. Let us pray for God’s grace that we can always remain in His Light and become His light to the world. Let us make every effort to bring others (who are still blind with the darkness of sin and the lies of the secular world) to come to Christ — Who is the Light of the world.
Saturday of the third week of Lent (3/18/2023)
“If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.”
Daily Readings
On the other hand, God’s words to Israel tribes are full of concern about their weakness. God repeats His expectation and desire for love and knowledge of His paths (that come through faith in Jesus Christ) rather than sacrifices and burnt offerings (the fulfillment of the letter of the law with no true commitment of hearts).
In the Gospel Jesus uses the parable of a Pharisee and a tax collector praying in the temple, to speak about God’s love and mercy. The Gospel ties directly to the Reading from the prophet Hosea. The Pharisee was following the law, however faithfully and strictly, it made him proud about himself and self-reliant on his own works and sacrifices to God. As the Gospel says, the Pharisee spoke the prayer to himself rather than to God, although he was seemingly addressing God with his words. He didn’t come to the temple to receive God’s love, but to assert himself and prove to God how well he is doing and how much better he is than other people. He came to be justified by God’s justice alone. On the contrary, the tax collector came to pray to God (not to himself) and gained God’s compassion and forgiveness through his humility alone. He came to receive God’s love and mercy (not to offer any sacrifice because he had nothing worthy to offer; he understood his sinfulness and was able to recognize that the material wealth he possessed as a tax collector was nothing compared to spiritual wealth that he was lacking). He came to be justified by God’s mercy and love alone, as he could not stand God’s justice anyways.
The Pharisee is a representation of the Jewish nation in the Old Testament, while the tax collector (while a Jew strictly speaking, in the parable) can be seen as a representation of the Gentiles and the New Testament in which salvation comes only through Jesus Christ and His love and mercy (not through following the law alone or justification through God’s just justice).
The Gospel teaches us to be mindful and watchful not to judge people based on appearances for only God knows people’s hearts and intentions. How often during the day do we make quick judgments of others (mostly silently in our minds) wondering why they behave this or that way, why they are proud, self-focused, or self-righteous. Sometimes we might be right; other times God may open our eyes to see how wrong, short-sighted, and subjective we are in our judgments. Instead of judging others, we shall strive to justify them, because even if we are ‘right’ in a certain matter, we forget that other people’s actions might stem from their ignorance, not purposeful behavior to do ‘the bad’ or to make wrong decisions. Also, we need to evaluate our own actions frequently and ask ourselves if we maybe disturb others unintentionally (out of our ignorance). We need to repent each day with our daily exam of conscience so that we can keep humble before God and are able to walk on the paths of His holy righteousness.
Friday of the third week of Lent (3/17/2023)
“Repent, says the Lord; the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Daily Readings
God promises His abundant love to Israelites (and all repentant sinners in our times): “I will love them freely; for my wrath is turned away from them.” God’s free love means boundless love with no restrictions and no remembrance of past trespasses and sins. God further extends His great gentleness to Israelites and great blessings if they repent: “I will be like the dew for Israel: he shall blossom like the lily; ... His splendor shall be like the olive tree and his fragrance like the Lebanon cedar. They shall blossom like the vine, and his fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.” God’s promise of love is incomprehensible to our human understanding. Despite wicked deeds and sins, despite Israel forsaking Him and turning away from Him, God is so good and merciful that He will restore each repentant heart to the fullness of beauty and love, as if they never committed any trespasses whatsoever.
As prophet Hosea emphasizes, God’s ways are straight — they are clear and easily understandable to those who are prudent (and listen to God’s voice). To be restored to graces, simple conditions need to be met: repentance and humility before God. Those who refuse God do not understand this teaching and stumble because they are stubborn, proud, and unwilling to admit their fault and repent.
By expressing our humility and true contrition before our heavenly Father, we show that we love Him and need Him.
Jesus teaches us about love for God in today’s Gospel. Our love should be pure (with no idols or attachments to the lures of the world). We must love God with all our being (body, mind, and soul) and with the greatest intensity possible (i.e., with all the strength of our heart, mind, and soul). Once we are filled with this deep love for God in all areas of our human being, we will love ourselves as God created us, without paying attention to what we maybe don’t like about ourselves. And when we love ourselves with God’s love, we shall then love our neighbors as ourselves, not paying attention to their faults but rather looking for the good in them recognizing that they are our brothers and sisters in faith.
Jesus confirms this new commandment of love to be more efficacious than burnt offerings and sacrifices of the Jewish law. Jesus offers us a new way of loving God, with our living hearts and souls, with our active acts of mercy toward others rather than by attending only to the letter of the law.
May our love for God and the neighbor be deeply engraved in our hearts, minds, and souls as we continue our Lenten journey together.
Thursday of the third week of Lent (3/16/2023)
“Even now, says the LORD, return to me with your whole heart, for I am gracious and merciful.”
Daily Readings
Let us pray for all who strayed away and departed from God, for the grace of enlightenment, repentance, healing, and safe return to God Who is the only promise of salvation and happiness.
In the Gospel of the day, Jesus drives out a demon from a mute man restoring his speech. Jesus is questioned by the crowds, while His works and miracles are mistrusted. The Gospel story teaches us the following lessons:
— There is nothing impossible for God — He can heal us from any disease (bodily, spiritual, and mental) in any circumstances.
— Jesus is the King of Kings and His power is above any other powers of this world (This shall encourage us to resist fears when facing challenges or difficulties in our lives. Jesus can overcome everything if only we listen to Him and follow His words).
— Only when we stay close to Jesus, we will remain strong and steady amidst the storms of this world. Those who refuse Him and His teachings will be scattered, confused, with no purpose or goal in life, and destined to a downfall.
Let us keep close to Jesus, listen to His words, and follow His commandments of love, mercy, and forgiveness everyday of our lives, and particularly during this Lenten season.
Wednesday of the third week of Lent (3/15/2023)
“Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life; you have the words of everlasting life.”
Daily Readings
The ministry and leadership of Moses in the desert is nowadays carried on by priests who instruct and educate the faithful to obey God’s commandments and to follow His Will to enter the land (heavenly Kingdom) God promised us as an inheritance through His Son and our Lord Jesus Christ. Moreover, Moses’ teachings seem universal. In our contemporary times, when we worship God faithfully and give witness to Him before the secular world, we will be respected and admired by others for our perseverance and commitment (even if only in the silence of their hearts, while maybe suffering persecutions externally at the same time). People will say about us: these Christian believers are “truly a wise and intelligent people,” because there is no other God that is so close to us when we call upon him.
Jesus confirms the validity and importance of the law given by God to the Jewish nation by emphasizing that He came to fulfill the law, not to abolish it. Because the salvation comes from the Jews, the Jewish law contains everything that needs to take place until God’s salvation plan is fully accomplished. Because Jesus never broke the law, a person who does break it/ commits sin (and becomes a bad example to others by teaching them to do the same), counters God’s Will that has not yet been fulfilled. They will be the least in Heaven. On the contrary, those who obey the commandments will be called the greatest in Heaven because not only do they comply with God’s rules, but they imitate Christ with their actions and behavior.
Tuesday of the third week of Lent (3/14/2023)
“Even now, says the LORD, return to me with your whole heart; for I am gracious and merciful.”
Daily Readings
Azariah’s prayers is a call for God’s deliverance and mercy on account of their trust. It can be seen as a prayer in spirit, a prophecy of the new way of worshipping, as explained by Christ Himself (in the readings of the 3rd Sunday of Lent). It is a prayer of trust in God’s mercy (based on faith in Jesus Christ) which is more efficacious than a prayer of animal offerings (as prescribed by the Jewish law in the Old Testament). Azariah’s prayer represents prayers of Christians nowadays (and our prayers) in times of difficulty and affliction as well as in times of repentance when we ask God: “... with contrite heart and humble spirit let us be received; ... for those who trust in you cannot be put to shame.”
The Gospel continues the message of mercy. Jesus instructs Peter to forgive not only seven times but seventy-seven times. Number seven in the Bible is often explained as the number of God’s perfection. Peter thus asks Jesus about perfect forgiveness, while Jesus implies that the more we forgive, the more mercy we share, and consequently the more mercy we can receive from God. Mercy means love, and thus, when forgiving 77 times we can reach perfection both in mercy and in love already on earth. Jesus’ answer can also be interpreted as an invitation to a greater self-denial, when we decide to not focus on counting offences and the times we forgive but be charitable and generous in granting mercy. Jesus wants us to forgive without remembering the past and the hurts, for as willingly we forgive, so we will be forgiven by our heavenly Father.
Jesus explains His point with a parable of a wicked servant who was ready to receive mercy from his master but failed to grant mercy to his servant in the same misery. He acted as a hypocrite, we could say. St. Peter Chrysologus said: “If you hope for mercy, show mercy ... If you ask for yourself what you deny to others, your asking is a mockery.”
Let us keep constant in our Lenten observances, devoting our time to prayer, fasting, and almsgiving (acts of mercy). Only in this way we will remain faithful to our heavenly Father and can hope to obtain His forgiveness and mercy during our earthly life and at the end of our earthly journey.
Monday of the third week of Lent (3/13/2023)
“I hope in the LORD, I trust in his word; with him there is kindness and plenteous redemption.”
Daily Readings
Jesus refers to this event in the Gospel of Luke when teaching the Jews in His native town of Nazareth and grieving about lack of faith: “... no prophet is accepted in his own native place.” In a sense, Jesus also prophesizes His own sufferings and rejection by His nation that will condemn Him to death. Jesus teaches in the synagogue that both the prophet Elijah and Elisha were able to perform miracles and/or cure only foreigners (Gentiles) because of their strong faith even though they didn’t belong to God’s chosen Jewish nation. The people in the synagogue were unable to accept the truth Jesus spoke of them regarding their weak faith. They were not honest with themselves, but preferred to remain in their blindness, self-righteousness, and narrow-mindedness.
Through these examples Jesus instructs us that God does not differentiate among religions, cultures, races, etc. but accepts every sinner who comes with a repentant heart and asks for His mercy. Faith combined with contrition is the only prerequisite to receiving forgiveness and experiencing the healing power of God’s mercy, manifested in corporal and/or spiritual healings and miracles.
As we walk through the Lenten season asking God to heal us from our sins, trespasses, vices, and imperfections, let us renew our faith and pray for the increase of our trust in God, so that we can experience the miracle of healing and resurrection of our hearts and minds with Christ at Easter.
Third Sunday of Lent (3/12/2023)
“Lord, you are truly the Savior of the world; give me living water, that I may never thirst again.”
Daily Readings
As the Israelites were asking in the desert: “Is the LORD in our midst or not?”, the same way people were questioning (and were split in their opinions) at Golgotha if Jesus was the promised Messiah or not. On the Cross, God proved His Presence with us in the Person of Jesus Christ Who represented God the Father (the Great I AM). The Israelites in the desert didn’t get to see the living God with their human eyes, but only experienced His powerful and mighty signs. The Jews in Jesus’ time received the grace to see the True God with their own human eyes (in addition to His mighty works and miracles He performed). The Presence of God the Father with His people was confirmed by Jesus in another Scripture passage (John 8:28): “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I Am.”
The second Reading from the Book of Romans reminds us that as sinners we have never deserved nor have been worthy of God’s love. Yet He died for us on the Cross, thus giving us an undeniable proof of His great compassion, forgiveness, mercy, and love for us. With this proof of love (like a signature, i.e., the covenant of love) we shall have no doubt about His blessings and forgiveness to all who approach Him with repentant hearts. As St. Paul writes: “... we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”, as we are justified by our faith in Him alone and His works of salvation for us on the Cross. And because we trust in the promise of our salvation (which is a firm foundation and a basis of our faith), we can have hope to receive this promised salvation (i.e., we can anticipate it come to us as a fruit of our faith in Christ). It is through the power of the Holy Spirit that we can worship God in truth and in union with Christ’ sufferings on the Cross.
Both readings lead us to the Gospel and the story of Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman. Before Jesus called out from the Cross: “I thirst”, He said it first to the woman in today’s Gospel. Jesus thirsts for souls to come to Him. He thirsts for you and me (to come closer to Him), and for every single soul in the world that got lost. Jesus Himself confirms the spiritual meaning of His words by another statement later in the Gospel: “The reaper is already receiving payment and gathering crops for eternal life ...” By transforming the heart of the Samaritan woman, Jesus is already reaping the fruits of His mission on earth for the glory of God. Jesus can already experience the joy of souls being converted as He teaches about the Holy Spirit that will be the guide for believers to worship God in Spirit and truth in the future, prophesying that the worship through the Holy Spirit (that was poured out only after Jesus’ Resurrection and is poured out in the waters of Baptism) will be pleasing to God: “... the Father seeks such people to worship him.” This passage teaches us that God doesn’t desire people to only follow strict rules and observances of the law just out of habit or obligation. Rather, He longs for pure and honest hearts to follow Him with selfless and unconditional love, which we can offer Him only through our communion with Jesus Christ and His self-sacrificial oblation of love on the Cross.
The Samaritan woman was honest with Jesus about her sins, didn’t try to hide anything, repented when seeing His non-judgmental (but rather justifying) attitude towards her, and was forgiven and cleansed from all her sins, guilt, and shame. Once experiencing the truth and love of Christ, she ran to tell everyone in town about the Messiah she met. The encounter with Jesus and the transformation of her heart made her a witness and an apostle of Christ. She was justified by Christ’s love and the Truth set her free. The Samaritan woman can serve as an example to all of us to be honest with ourselves and God about our mistakes, sins, and trespasses. When we sincerely repent and desire a conversion of our hearts, God won’t refuse His mercy, because He said: I thirst, give me a drink, give me your soul, so I can fill it with my love and mercy.
Another insight is the behavior of the town people who came to Jesus upon hearing the woman’s testimony. They believed first on account of her words and only after that they got to see Jesus in person. They are also witnesses to us. We live and walk through life in faith based on written Scripture testimonies passed down to us by the apostles of Christ. We believe in Jesus Christ the only Truth, without seeing Him face to face yet. But our faith gives us the promise of seeing Him in person one day when our hope of eternal life will be fulfilled in Heaven.
Let us remain strong in faith, especially during this Lent season. Let us hope with all our hearts for the salvation of souls and the world. Let us anticipate seeing Christ — our Savior in the heavenly glory when He calls us back Home.
Saturday of the second week of Lent (3/11/2023)
“I will get up and go to my father and shall say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.”
Daily Readings
The reading sets the background for the Gospel and parable of the prodigal son. It contains a message of sincere repentance by the frivolous and irresponsible son as well as overflowing mercy of the father, who never wearied to wait and longingly look out for his son, hoping and trusting for his return in the end.
The story is a plea for mercy by the son (desire to receive the father’s mercy) and an act of father’s mercy (desire to grant mercy to the son). We don’t know whose desire for mercy was greater; the son’s desire to be forgiven or the father’s desire to forgive the son. In the end, both desires met, and mercy triumphed over sin. The father’s mercy was abundant and wouldn’t be less generous if the son took more money from him in his youthful stupidity or remained away from home for a longer time. The father’s mercy would be the same if not even greater because of his growing longing for the son to realize his mistake and to return home.
The parable also emphasizes that the safest, loving, and most abounding place to be altogether is the father’s house. No other place in the world can provide happiness, satisfaction, safety, and protection as can be found under the father’s roof, despite the lures of the world trying to convince us otherwise. The son recognizes it only after he has tasted the curse of sin and its effects in the big world; after he has been cheated, mistreated, and disregarded as soon as his money (the only thing that the world values) was gone. Back in the father’s house, wealth and richness abounded and was continuous for it had a firm long-standing foundation and was built on love and care for the entire household family and the servants.
The restoration of the son to graces is instantaneous, with the father questioning nothing, asking nothing, wanting no explanation or vocal repentance (in the father’s eyes, the behavior of his son and his return was the only necessary condition to receive his royal status back). The father himself states that the contrition of the son occurred on two levels: spiritual (re-birth to life from spiritual death and blindness) and physical (the lost sheep was found): “... this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again, he was lost, and has been found.”
While the prodigal son didn’t even need to ask the father for his mercy, but was granted it almost by default, the father needed to plead mercy for the younger son with his older son. Interestingly, the older son who was always faithful and never broke father’s trust was concerned more about material benefits (partying with his friends etc.) than spiritual benefits of being in the father’s presence. Even though (or maybe exactly because) he never left the father’s house and didn’t get to experience the darkness of sin, he was unable to realize the blessing of always remaining in with his father in the purity of his heart and actions and keeping the laws of his house. The prodigal son did have the ability to recognize the goodness of his father because he tasted the wickedness of the world which was so much contrasted with his father’s love. By refusing to show his mercy to his younger brother, the older son completely missed out to express his gratitude to the father for the grace of never leaving him. The blessing of living with the father, being in his presence and partaking from the bounty of his care, love, and goodness without interruption was but the greatest grace possible and the reason to feel most happy. The older son failed to realize his blessing and to pity his younger brother for the years he lost when he foolishly chose to be away from the goodness and love of their father.
The father’s words to the older son are overpowering in his love and confirmation of his steadfastness: “My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours.” He emphasized that all his wealth and bounty always belonged to the older brother, and nothing was ever concealed from him to take. It is only the older brother himself who didn’t use his share of blessing in the proper way while under the father’s roof; he didn’t live in freedom of spirit with the father, but rather under a self-imposed restraint of not utilizing the father’s blessings.
The parable is rich in information and lessons. It teaches us that God will never refuse His mercy to any sinner who repents and returns to Him even after having committed serious mistakes and sins. There is no limit to God’s mercy, no condition to forgiveness but humility and repentance.
Furthermore, it underlines that living in God’s Presence (following His commandments) is the safest and most secure choice for our lives. While the world will be tempting us with empty promises and flashing lights, they are but vanity and illusion that will take us on a wrong path of spiritual and physical denigration and destruction.
Also, the parable instructs us to be always thankful and appreciative of the blessing to be the child of God, and not be deceived by empty statements of the world trying to convince us that something else could be more beneficial and rewarding. Only God Himself and living in His Presence and Love is the greatest reward for us.
The parable also tells us to live in the freedom of God’s children, asking Him for His graces and blessings, and not be afraid to partake from God’s goodness which is our inheritance in Christ.
Let us always express our sorrow and repentance even for the smallest offences and sins we commit against God. Let us also pray for our brothers and sisters in faith who left God and chose the path of prodigal children. May God’s grace bring them to realize their mistake and move them to repentance and a safe return into the Father’s arms.
Friday of the second week of Lent (3/10/2023)
“God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son; so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.”
Daily Readings
Joseph’s brothers became jealous of him (most beloved by their father) and desired to shed his blood, which would be comparable with the sin of Kain killing his brother Abel out of envy. Their wish was to remove Joseph from their lives and satisfy their evil longing for ‘revenge’ because of their unsatisfied vainglory. By selling Joseph to Egypt for cheap money, they believed to have alleviated the source of their ‘problem’ (as they perceived him in their sinful minds). However, their smallest, lowliest, most despised, and rejected brother became the greatest blessing both to them and to many people in the region during the seven years of drought which came upon the world years later. It was Joseph who oversaw grain sales in Egypt — he became the giver of bread feeding the hungry with earthly food.
Similarly, the tenants in the Gospel parable represent the chief priests and the Jewish nation that refused Jesus and went so far to shed His blood. It was Judah in the Old Testament who suggested to sell Joseph to Ishmaelites for 20 pieces of silver rather than to kill him, and it was Judas in the New Testament who betrayed and sold Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Like Joseph’s brothers, the chief priests also believed that by killing Jesus they will be freed from their ‘problem’ (as they portrayed Jesus), but little did they expect the greatness of God’s action through Jesus’ Passion, Death, and Resurrection. Jesus — the most beloved Son of God, most humble and meek among all people, was rejected, despised, and dishonored by His own nation (brothers). But He became the greatest blessing both for the Jewish nation (still not acknowledged to this day by many orthodox Jews) and to Gentiles around the world. Jesus became the Bread of Life to satisfy the hunger of human souls with heavenly food.
Both readings make us aware of the grievous sin of jealousy which stems from insecurity, low self-esteem, and pride (the desire to be the first one, the best one, most visible, esteemed and acknowledged in human eyes). As we walk through Lent, let us be vigilant to refuse such vices and temptations. Let us remain humble, meek, generous, open-hearted to all people in need, prayerful, and always trusting in the Lord. Our trust and reliance on God will disperse temptations and will keep us focused on our Lenten observances.
Thursday of the second week of Lent (3/9/2023)
“Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart and yield a harvest through perseverance.”
Daily Readings
The Gospel continues to unveil the mercy message as it brings up the well-known story of a rich man and poor Lazarus lying at the rich man’s house begging for food. The story highlights the destruction of wealth if not well applied. Wealth and material possessions as such are not despised in the Gospel, but rather the behavior of the rich man who missed to show mercy toward the needy, but relied on himself feeding his own ego, trusting in himself, desiring to satisfy his own needs alone while looking down at Lazarus who was poor and didn’t ‘measure up’ to his rich status. The lack of mercy led the rich man to spiritual blindness and dryness of his heart on earth, and ultimately to eternal punishment after his death. On the other hand, Lazarus who endured his earthly sufferings with patience and humility (practicing virtue in his material poverty) received an eternal reward of the heavenly happiness after his death. The prideful rich man remained proud, even in the flames of eternal punishment, as he calls on Abraham to send Lazarus to bring him a drop of water. He still views and treats Lazarus as an unworthy one (a slave) to serve him, even though their places have changed now.
During this Lent, let us strive to grow in virtue by self-monitoring our habits and responses to people and situations every day. Let us choose humility and combat pride, let us go for patient endurance in sufferings and difficulties and defeat impatience and discouragement, let us trust in God and rely on Him wholeheartedly while refusing to succumb to anxieties and fears. Let us practice mercy and generosity to those in need and reject selfishness and insecurity. Let us follow God’s perfect Will in everything and thus become His perfect and obedient children as He wants us to be.
Wednesday of the second week of Lent (3/8/2023)
“I am the light of the world, says the Lord; whoever follows me will have the light of life.”
Daily Readings
A similar setting is unfolded in the Gospel reading as Jesus (the Lion of the tribe of Judah /Rev 5:5/) is going with His disciples to Jerusalem teaching and preparing them for His Passion and Death. He prophecies His sufferings and plots of high priests and scribes against Him. The Reading story doesn’t end abruptly (as is the case with the first Reading and the prayer of Jeremiah) but presents a bold request of the mother of Jesus’ two disciples John and James for her sons to be seated at the places of honor (at Jesus’ right and left hand in His Kingdom). It is surprising that when Jesus speaks about His upcoming suffering, emptying, and offering Himself selflessly for the humanity (anticipating it in His spirit with anxiety, we could assume), others approach Him to ask for honors, appreciation, and acknowledgment for themselves. The selfless love of Jesus is juxtaposed with prideful self-love of humans. Jesus will die for these vices on the Cross, and in all His humility, with patience and peace, He instructs His disciples to follow His path of service to others instead of self-seeking desires. Jesus echoes the Gospel message of yesterday in which he emphasized the need to be humble in order to be exalted by God the Father.
Both readings show the same pattern of human wicked behavior: condemning others without a cause, plotting to kill them without a reason, and searching for arguments by carefully watching each word they speak. Because of the Original Sin this wrongful behavior has been perpetuated, and so it remains to this day. How often do we experience persecutions, false and unjust accusations, people plotting or watching for the wrong step of their neighbors. It is not surprising to experience it even from people close to us, as it was the case in life of Jeremiah and Jesus, both accused unjustly and conspired against by their own nation. If we happen to experience wrong treatment, we shall follow the path of humility as Jesus taught us. This means to remain silent and meek, forgiving, and merciful asking God to enlighten our persecutors in truth. In this way, we will know for sure we can truly be called the children of God when we imitate Jesus in our daily lives spreading around His love and peace.
Tuesday of the second week of Lent (3/7/2023)
“Cast away from you all the crimes you have committed, says the LORD, and make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit.”
Daily Readings
God reassures each one of us that there is no sin He wouldn’t cleanse, and there is no sinner whom He wouldn’t forgive once we ask for His mercy and forgiveness. God leaves the choice in our hands, though, because He respects the free will, He gave us. God can’t force anyone to receive His mercy and love, even though He desires so much to grant His gifts to all His children.
In this secular world where nothing is available for free, we could wonder why people refuse free gifts of love and mercy offered by God. The reason is pride that has been chasing mankind since the Original Sin of Adam and Even in Paradise. Pride, self-righteousness, material possessions and wealth blind humans, blocking their view of what is really important in life, namely spiritual merits and godly virtues.
In the Gospel, Jesus addresses the same issue by bringing up the example of scribes and Pharisees who are false witnesses to the Jewish law, as they require people to follow it, while they omit to conform to it themselves. Jesus pinpoints their desire to be esteemed in human eyes, take distinguished seats at banquets, be respected, honored, and acknowledged. He identifies their behavior and actions stem from pride, self-focus, and vanity. Jesus teaches us a different way — a way of humility and meekness, submission to God’s Will, dying to self (and fleshly desires and vices) and living a life of service to others, honoring God alone as the only Father and Jesus Christ as the only Master and Teacher. For God Who sees each human heart will exalt the humble and He will disparage those who exalt themselves. Let us strive to live a humble life, so that we can be rewarded and exalted by God in His heavenly Glory.
Monday of the second week of Lent (3/6/2023)
“Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life; you have the words of everlasting life.”
Daily Readings
The Gospel ties directly to the Reading. Jesus instructs us to be merciful to our neighbors like our heavenly Father is merciful (i.e., without limitations). Jesus gives us practicalities of merciful actions: avoiding judgement and condemnation of others but offering forgiveness and generosity. Jesus promises that when we share ourselves and our gifts with our brothers and sisters, we will never lack, but our reward will be an overflowing blessing greater than what we have given to others. Our mercy toward our neighbor will determine God’s mercy toward us.
It happens so often in our lives that we see other people’s faults and areas in which they need to change (according to our personal judgment), yet we overlook our own faults. Instead of examining our own actions, determining the areas that need to be changed/ improved, and making a plan to implement changes, we rather keep occupied with other people. Our human nature stained with the Original Sin moves us, almost by default, to point the finger at others and away from ourselves. We prefer our mistakes and sins to remain hidden before God and others (the same way as Adam and Eve were hiding before God after they disobeyed Him) instead of being honest with ourselves, God, and others about our weaknesses and mistakes. Honesty combined with a contrite heart and a desire to improve is an expression of humility. Humility is a virtue which is very pleasing to God. It will secure us His mercy and forgiveness. With God’s grace, our humility toward others will open their eyes and move them to desire the same virtue, so that mercy and forgiveness can be perpetuated among the Church members and make the Holy Church grow in holiness.
Second Sunday of Lent (3/5/2023)
“From the shining cloud the Father’s voice is heard: This is my beloved Son, hear him.”
Daily Readings
The Reading is about faith, trust in God and His word, and obedience. Abram believes in God, trusts in His word, and follows God’s Will. He gives us an example for our lives: to believe in God unreservedly every step in our lives, to trust in His mercy and goodness, and to obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit when He calls us to act.
The Reading has also a deeper spiritual meaning. God calls us out of our old lands of life, to leave behind old rusty (and sometimes spiritually unhealthy) habits or patterns of behavior, and to start a new journey (a new beginning in our lives) with God and under His watchful guidance. The Lenten season offers this opportunity in a very distinct way. The journey with God requires faith, trust, and obedience, and thus it won’t be easy, but the land of milk and honey is waiting ahead of us as it was waiting for Abram.
The second Reading from the letter of Timothy brings reassurance of a victory in our journey of life (and journey of Lent) which is bestowed on us through Christ alone. Therefore, when we commit to following God’s Will wholeheartedly, with deep faith and trust, we shall rely only on Christ’s strength, power, and grace (for we are unable to accomplish anything on our own).
In the Gospel we read the story of Jesus’ Transfiguration on Mt. Tabor in the presence of three disciples: Peter, James, and John. Jesus was preparing His disciples step by step for His Passion and Resurrection by showing them, in this case, the heavenly glory that is promised to all who believe, are transformed, and resurrected with Christ and in Christ. This visible sign of the heavenly Kingdom reassured the disciples in their commitment to Christ (and the right choice they made when they left their lives and families to follow Him wherever He went).
The Transfiguration on Mt. Tabor can also be explained in relation to the Holy Eucharist. On Mt. Tabor, Jesus’ human body was illuminated with bright heavenly Light and Power so great that human beings were unable to stand but fell to the ground trembling. His body became transcendent (it took the heavenly form). Jesus is so close and real at every Eucharist when the earthly tangible species of bread and wine become spiritual/ heavenly Body and Blood of our Lord. By consuming His heavenly Body and Blood, we become like Him, we are transformed into His likeness while still here on earth, we carry a sign of Christ as He is alive in us.
Let us continue in our commitment to God, to follow Him in strong faith, trusting Him every day and obeying His commands (like Abram). Let us manifest and prove our commitment by frequent participation in the Holy Eucharist and receiving the Most Sacred Body and Most Precious Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ to be nourished and strengthened on our journey through Lent and through our lives.
