One Walk

Dear Lord God, today on Holy Thursday this Lent is completed and the Holy Tritium of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday begins, the Holiest Days of our Church calendar. Lord this Lent, the only Lent that I have committed myself to daily Lenten meditation, scripture and prayer You have taken me on a journey, You have exposed me to new thoughts, ideas and facts about myself, Church and You have opened my mind and heart to new truths and secrets in Your Word and about my relationship with You. While there is still much to be contemplated and meditated over, now is the time where I must focus my mind, thoughts, emotions and being on walking with You, trying to place myself by Your side and imagine I am with You, the disciples and the Blessed Mother. Convicted by knowing that as I have failed You during my walk under the sun in my time, and the thought that I may have likely failed You even then with You in Your time as Peter, the disciples and O Lord yes even Judas. I look to open my mind and heart to each moment with the hope and prayer that in You I will find and be able to apply Your strength to the remainder of my walk under the sun. So as with Peter, John, Matthew, Luke, Mark and Paul and the other disciples this Easter I will truly rise a better disciple strengthened and empowered in and by You. Father, by the power of the Holy Spirit You anointed Your only Son Messiah and Lord of creation; You have given us a share in his consecration to priestly service for You and in Your Church. Help me to be a better disciple, a faithful witness in the world to the salvation Christ won for me and all those willing to turn to You through Him. Help me to truly die to my old self and ways with Jesus on the Cross and rise a new with Him on Easter, knowing I am forgiven and practicing forgiveness in unconditional love as Jesus did. I ask this through my Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Stations of the Cross http://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/stations/face.htm

Everyone — past, present, and future — will be judged. Now, then, is the time for mercy, while the time to come will be the time for justice only. For that reason, the present time is ours, but the future time will be God’s only!

— St. Thomas Aquinas

Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14

1 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 2 "This month shall be for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you. 3 Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month they shall take every man a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household; 4 and if the household is too small for a lamb, then a man and his neighbor next to his house shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old; you shall take it from the sheep or from the goats; 6 and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs in the evening. 7 Then they shall take some of the blood, and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat them. 8 They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. 11 In this manner you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD’s passover. 12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will smite all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD. 13 The blood shall be a sign for you, upon the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall fall upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. 14 "This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations you shall observe it as an ordinance for ever.

Bible Study: [2] This month: Abib, the month of "ripe grain." Cf Exodus 13:4; 23:15; 34:18; Deut 16:1. It occurred near the vernal equinox, March-April. Later it was known by the Babylonian name of Nisan. Cf Nehemiah 2:1; Esther 5:7.

Psalm 116:12-13, 15-18

12 What shall I render to the LORD for all his bounty to me? 13 I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD, 15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints. 16 O LORD, I am thy servant, the son of thy handmaid. Thou hast loosed my bonds. 17 I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the LORD. 18 I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people,

Bible Study: [Psalm 116] A thanksgiving in which the psalmist responds to divine rescue from mortal danger (Psalm 116:3-4) and from near despair (10-11) with vows and temple sacrifices (Psalm 116:13-14, 17-19). The Greek and Latin versions divide the psalm into two parts: Psalm 116:1-9 and 10-19, corresponding to its two major divisions.

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, "This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." 25 In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Bible Study: [23-25] This is the earliest written account of the institution of the Lord’s Supper in the New Testament. The narrative emphasizes Jesus’ action of self-giving (expressed in the words over the bread and the cup) and his double command to repeat his own action.

John 13:1-15

1 Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2 And during supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, 4 rose from supper, laid aside his garments, and girded himself with a towel. 5 Then he poured water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which he was girded. 6 He came to Simon Peter; and Peter said to him, "Lord, do you wash my feet?" 7 Jesus answered him, "What I am doing you do not know now, but afterward you will understand." 8 Peter said to him, "You shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no part in me." 9 Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!" 10 Jesus said to him, "He who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but he is clean all over; and you are clean, but not every one of you." 11 For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, "You are not all clean." 12 When he had washed their feet, and taken his garments, and resumed his place, he said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.

Bible Study: [1-20] Washing of the disciples’ feet. This episode occurs in John at the place of the narration of the institution of the Eucharist in the synoptics. It may be a dramatization of Luke 22:27–"I am your servant." It is presented as a "model" ("pattern") of the crucifixion. It symbolizes cleansing from sin by sacrificial death. [1] Before the feast of Passover: this would be Thursday evening, before the day of preparation; in the synoptics, the Last Supper is a Passover meal taking place, in John’s chronology, on Friday evening. To the end: or, "completely."  [5] The act of washing another’s feet was one that could not be required of the lowliest Jewish slave. It is an allusion to the humiliating death of the crucifixion. [10] Bathed: many have suggested that this passage is a symbolic reference to baptism. The Greek root involved is used in baptismal contexts in 1 Cor 6:11; Eph 5:26; Titus 3:5; Hebrews 10:22.

Dear Lord God, today the words of St Francis de sales jump out at me with conviction, just as the Lenten Action did; ‘today is the day we remember Judas betraying the Lord. Ask the Lord for forgiveness for all your sins.’ In all the times I have heard the story of the last super I many times wonder about Judas and how the devil worked in him. Just has my CCD students ask innocent but deep questions like what if our Blessed Mother had said no to You. Lord God Your truths are often simple but deep, with the secrets hidden in the mystery of our relationship with You, reminding me that the knowledge and wisdom that I seek can only be found in You and with You through Jesus via the Holy Spirit that I know lives in me, thanks be to You Lord God. O Heavenly Father, as today’s Lenten Prayer states, in Your plan of salvation Your Son Jesus Christ accepted the cross and freed us from the power of the enemy and its effects on my relationship with You. Once again today You know what to say to me warning me to stay true to You and Your truths and teachings and not to let my vanity cause me to stumble. May I come to share the glory of His resurrection by again dying to myself, for He lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever and I know that through Him I will find what I seek under the sun, to walk righteously for You and in this preparation me for my eternal life with You. Amen

When we depart from the truth, we simultaneously and increasingly choose vanity. Vanity is the absence of truth. With it we stumble into Hell. Lucifer withdrew the eyes of his understanding from this infinitely lovable Object and lowered them at once to a consideration of his own beauty. The Supreme beauty should have been his continual focus. In failing to persevere in truth, he perished in vanity.

— St. Francis de Sales

Isaiah 50:4-9

4 The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him that is weary. Morning by morning he wakens, he wakens my ear to hear as those who are taught. 5 The Lord GOD has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious, I turned not backward. 6 I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard; I hid not my face from shame and spitting. 7 For the Lord GOD helps me; therefore I have not been confounded; therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame; 8 he who vindicates me is near. Who will contend with me? Let us stand up together. Who is my adversary? Let him come near to me. 9 Behold, the Lord GOD helps me; who will declare me guilty? Behold, all of them will wear out like a garment; the moth will eat them up.

Psalm 69:8-10, 21-22, 31, 33-34

8 I have become a stranger to my brethren, an alien to my mother’s sons. 9 For zeal for thy house has consumed me, and the insults of those who insult thee have fallen on me. 10 When I humbled my soul with fasting, it became my reproach. 21 They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. 22 Let their own table before them become a snare; let their sacrificial feasts be a trap. 31 This will please the LORD more than an ox or a bull with horns and hoofs. 33 For the LORD hears the needy, and does not despise his own that are in bonds. 34 Let heaven and earth praise him, the seas and everything that moves therein.

Matthew 26:14-25

14 Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15 and said, "What will you give me if I deliver him to you?" And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. 16 And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him. 17 Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the passover?" 18 He said, "Go into the city to a certain one, and say to him, `The Teacher says, My time is at hand; I will keep the passover at your house with my disciples.’" 19 And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the passover. 20 When it was evening, he sat at table with the twelve disciples; 21 and as they were eating, he said, "Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me." 22 And they were very sorrowful, and began to say to him one after another, "Is it I, Lord?" 23 He answered, "He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me, will betray me. 24 The Son of man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born." 25 Judas, who betrayed him, said, "Is it I, Master?" He said to him, "You have said so."

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Dear Lord God, O my Jesus I, stop, think about what happened what changed between Palm Sunday and Good Friday. How did the people go from cheering Messiah to crucify Him? But then I look at the weak man that I am and the ease of which I can be influenced by the things under the sun and I see that could have been me too. O Lord Jesus thank You for loving us, even when we do not love You. It is that unconditional love that breaks down the walls we put up around our heart. O Jesus I pray that this Easter Your love breaks down some more walls and others would know the power of Your love. All-powerful God, by the suffering and death of your Son, strengthen and protect us in our weakness. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Holy Spirit has both taught us and reminded us. He has taught us whatever it was that Christ did not teach to His Disciples, because they were not able to hear it; He reminded them of whatever the Lord had said to them, but which they could not remember, either because of its obscurity, or because they were slow of mind.

— St. Theophylactus

Isaiah 49:1-6

1 Listen to me, O coastlands, and hearken, you peoples from afar. The LORD called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name. 2 He made my mouth like a sharp sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me away. 3 And he said to me, "You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified." 4 But I said, "I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely my right is with the LORD, and my recompense with my God." 5 And now the LORD says, who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him, and that Israel might be gathered to him, for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD, and my God has become my strength — 6 he says: "It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth."

Psalm 71:1-6, 15, 17

1 In thee, O LORD, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame! 2 In thy righteousness deliver me and rescue me; incline thy ear to me, and save me! 3 Be thou to me a rock of refuge, a strong fortress, to save me, for thou art my rock and my fortress. 4 Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of the unjust and cruel man. 5 For thou, O Lord, art my hope, my trust, O LORD, from my youth. 6 Upon thee I have leaned from my birth; thou art he who took me from my mother’s womb. My praise is continually of thee. 15 My mouth will tell of thy righteous acts, of thy deeds of salvation all the day, for their number is past my knowledge. 17 O God, from my youth thou hast taught me, and I still proclaim thy wondrous deeds.

John 13:21-33, 36-38

21 When Jesus had thus spoken, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, "Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me." 22 The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke. 23 One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was lying close to the breast of Jesus; 24 so Simon Peter beckoned to him and said, "Tell us who it is of whom he speaks." 25 So lying thus, close to the breast of Jesus, he said to him, "Lord, who is it?" 26 Jesus answered, "It is he to whom I shall give this morsel when I have dipped it." So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. 27 Then after the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, "What you are going to do, do quickly." 28 Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. 29 Some thought that, because Judas had the money box, Jesus was telling him, "Buy what we need for the feast"; or, that he should give something to the poor. 30 So, after receiving the morsel, he immediately went out; and it was night. 31 When he had gone out, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of man glorified, and in him God is glorified; 32 if God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once. 33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, `Where I am going you cannot come.’ 36 Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, where are you going?" Jesus answered, "Where I am going you cannot follow me now; but you shall follow afterward." 37 Peter said to him, "Lord, why cannot I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you." 38 Jesus answered, "Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the cock will not crow, till you have denied me three times.

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Procession with Palms

Lk 19:28-40

28 And when he had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.

29 When he drew near to Beth’phage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples,

30 saying, “Go into the village opposite, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat; untie it and bring it here.

31 If any one asks you, `Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this, `The Lord has need of it.'”

32 So those who were sent went away and found it as he had told them.

33 And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?”

34 And they said, “The Lord has need of it.”

35 And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their garments on the colt they set Jesus upon it.

36 And as he rode along, they spread their garments on the road.

37 As he was now drawing near, at the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen,

38 saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

39 And some of the Pharisees in the multitude said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.”

40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

Source EWTN http://www.ewtn.com/ and http://www.ewtn.com/Devotionals/inspiration_04april2007.htm#1

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Dear Lord God, today Your message is clear, in and through my love for Jesus I will continue to find what I need to be molded into His image, untied from my old ways under the sun that only hold me back, freed to serve Your will and fulfill Your purpose for me. O Eternal Trinity, Godhead, mystery deep as the sea, you could give me no greater gift than the gift of yourself. For you are a fire ever burning and never consumed, which itself consumes all the selfish love that fills my being. Yes, you are a fire that takes away the coldness, illuminates the mind with its light, and causes me to know your truth. And I know that you are beauty and wisdom itself. The food of angels, you gave yourself to man in the fire of your love..(Saint Catherine of Siena). O Lord God, as iron is fashioned by fire and on the anvil, so in the fire of suffering and under the weight of trials, our souls receive that form which our Lord desires them to have. For as my Lord Jesus told us, “Unless you do penance you shall all likewise perish. Whoever does not renounce all that he has, cannot be my disciple. The Christian must take up his Cross daily and follow Christ. Walk in the spirit and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. St. Paul says, those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If you live according to the flesh, you will die. Whoever seeks to lose his life, will gain it. Whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Many live as enemies of the Cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly. And their glory is their shame, with minds set on earthly things. If anyone will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. You have died and your life is hid with Christ in God. Enter by the narrow gate for the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction and those who enter it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. Unless the grain of wheat fall into the ground and die, it remains alone; but if it dies, it will produce much fruit.” Hear, Lord, the prayers we offer from contrite hearts. Have pity on us as we acknowledge our sins. Lead us back to the way of holiness. Protect us now and always from the wounds of sin. May we ever keep safe in all its fullness the gift your love once gave us and your mercy now restores. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

O Heavenly Father today I take time to thank you for all the blessings You have given me; Your love and the secrets that You share with me through Your Word and this time together each day, for Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior who teaches and walks with me, for the Holy Spirit who guides me and opens my eyes to myself, and the words and examples of the all Prophets and Saints. For all the gifts under the sun, my Annie, Kelly, Ricki, Shaun and Haley Ann. For Mom, Dub, Dad and Peggy, for Ralph, Judi, Theresa, Kevin, Justin, Dylan and John, for Anthony and Julie, for Aurora and Phil, for Mike, Julie and Avery, for Rosie, Walter, Joseph and Deanna, for Dottie Tommy and Valen, for Titi Evelyn Fernando, Cindy, Pablo, Lisa and PJ, for Coco and Nana, for Abuelita and Abuelito. For all the opportunities and for forgiving me for being such a poor and weak steward. For this Easter season which continue the work we have begun which is the mold me into the form which You my Lord God desires me to have. Amen

As iron is fashioned by fire and on the anvil, so in the fire of suffering and under the weight of trials, our souls receive that form which our Lord desires them to have.

— St. Madeline Sophie Barat

Ezekiel 37:21-28

21 then say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all sides, and bring them to their own land; 22 and I will make them one nation in the land, upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all; and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms. 23 They shall not defile themselves any more with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions; but I will save them from all the backslidings in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 24 “My servant David shall be king over them; and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall follow my ordinances and be careful to observe my statutes. 25 They shall dwell in the land where your fathers dwelt that I gave to my servant Jacob; they and their children and their children’s children shall dwell there for ever; and David my servant shall be their prince for ever. 26 I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; and I will bless them and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. 27 My dwelling place shall be with them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 28 Then the nations will know that I the LORD sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary is in the midst of them for evermore.“

Jeremiah 31:10-13

10 “Hear the word of the LORD, O nations, and declare it in the coastlands afar off; say, `He who scattered Israel will gather him, and will keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock.’ 11 For the LORD has ransomed Jacob, and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him. 12 They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion, and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the LORD, over the grain, the wine, and the oil, and over the young of the flock and the herd; their life shall be like a watered garden, and they shall languish no more. 13 Then shall the maidens rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old shall be merry. I will turn their mourning into joy, I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.9o

John 11:45-56

45 Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him; 46 but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council, and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. 48 If we let him go on thus, every one will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation.” 49 But one of them, Ca’iaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all; 50 you do not understand that it is expedient for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation should not perish.” 51 He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus should die for the nation, 52 and not for the nation only, but to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. 53 So from that day on they took counsel how to put him to death. 54 Jesus therefore no longer went about openly among the Jews, but went from there to the country near the wilderness, to a town called E’phraim; and there he stayed with the disciples. 55 Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover, to purify themselves. 56 They were looking for Jesus and saying to one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think? That he will not come to the feast?”

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Dear Lord God, through this Lenten Season I have chosen to try and focus on learning while growing in and with You. You know that I entered this season of Lent asking that You show me what You want me to do; that You help me come out of these 40 days with a clearer understanding of Your will for me and how I can fulfill Your purpose. Today’s reflection uses the words of Saint Teresa to remind me that ‘if Christ Jesus dwells in a man as His friend and noble leader, that man can endure all things, for Christ helps and strengthens us and never abandons us. He is a true friend. And I clearly see that is we expect to please Him and receive an abundance of His graces, God desires that these graces must come to us from the hands of Christ, through His most sacred humanity, in which God takes delight. All blessings come to us through our Lord. He will teach us, for in beholding His life we find that he is the best example. What more do we desire from such a good friend at our side? Unlike our friends in the world, He will never abandon us when we are troubled or distressed. Blessed is the one who truly loves him and always keeps Him near. Whenever we think of Christ we should recall the love that led Him to bestow on us so many graces and favors, and also the great love God showed in giving us in Christ a pledge of his love; for love calls for love in return. Let us strive to keep this always before our eyes and to rouse ourselves to love him. For is at some time the Lord should grant us the grace of impressing his love on our hearts, all will become easy for us and we shall accomplish great things quickly and without effort.’ Her words are followed by today’s Lenten Action; which is to ‘Think about what God is asking of you in your current situation.’ As Holy week begins I cannot help but look at myself and ask myself if I have achieved what I hoped and prayed for this Lent; well one thing You have made cleared is that this is not the right way to look at myself nor question to ask myself. The question must be have I achieved what You wanted me to, and when I look at myself do I reflect Your image, the image of Jesus Christ. So I pray today’s Lenten prayer and cry out, ‘O my God! Source of all mercy! I acknowledge Your sovereign power. While recalling the wasted years that are past, I believe that You, Lord, can in an instant turn this loss to gain. Miserable as I am, yet I firmly believe that You can do all things. Please restore to me the time lost, giving me Your grace, both now and in the future.‘ Despite all that surrounds me, help me to make each day of this coming week equal in knowledge and wisdom to all the others to date this Lent. Help me to prepare to rise with You on Easter morning renewed, committed, and prepared to understand, accept and act as You will. I ask this in Jesus name, to who belongs all the honor and glory. Amen.

Irrational feeding darkens the soul and makes it unfit for spiritual experiences.

— St. Thomas Aquinas

Jeremiah 20:10-13

10 For I hear many whispering. Terror is on every side! "Denounce him! Let us denounce him!" say all my familiar friends, watching for my fall. "Perhaps he will be deceived, then we can overcome him, and take our revenge on him." 11 But the LORD is with me as a dread warrior; therefore my persecutors will stumble, they will not overcome me. They will be greatly shamed, for they will not succeed. Their eternal dishonor will never be forgotten. 12 O LORD of hosts, who triest the righteous, who seest the heart and the mind, let me see thy vengeance upon them, for to thee have I committed my cause. 13 Sing to the LORD; praise the LORD! For he has delivered the life of the needy from the hand of evildoers.

Psalm 18:2-7

2 The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. 3 I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies. 4 The cords of death encompassed me, the torrents of perdition assailed me; 5 the cords of Sheol entangled me, the snares of death confronted me. 6 In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears. 7 Then the earth reeled and rocked; the foundations also of the mountains trembled and quaked, because he was angry.

Bible Study: [Psalm 12] Of David. A royal thanksgiving for a military victory, duplicated in 2 Sam 22. Thanksgiving psalms are in essence reports of divine rescue. The psalm has two parallel reports of rescue, the first told from a heavenly perspective (Psalm 18:5-20), and the second from an earthly perspective (Psalm 18:36-46). The first report adapts old mythic language of a cosmic battle between sea and rainstorm in order to depict God’s rescue of the Israelite king from his enemies. Each report has a short hymnic introduction (Psalm 18:2-4, 32-36) and conclusion (Psalm 18:21-31, 47-50).

John 10:31-42

31 The Jews took up stones again to stone him. 32 Jesus answered them, "I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of these do you stone me?" 33 The Jews answered him, "It is not for a good work that we stone you but for blasphemy; because you, being a man, make yourself God." 34 Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your law, `I said, you are gods’? 35 If he called them gods to whom the word of God came (and scripture cannot be broken), 36 do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, `You are blaspheming,’ because I said, `I am the Son of God’? 37 If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; 38 but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father." 39 Again they tried to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands. 40 He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John at first baptized, and there he remained. 41 And many came to him; and they said, "John did no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true." 42 And many believed in him there.

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Dear Lord God, what amazes and mystifies me in reading the words of the Saints is that their express the same urgency, emotions, trials and tribulations throughout the centuries. Today’s Lenten Reflection we read that St. Bonaventure once said that the day you no longer burn with love and concern for souls, many others will die of the cold. Where can we go to increase our love? To whom can we turn to find help? I am convinced that the Holy Spirit has raised up hopes in this century to focus our attention and to concentrate our devotion upon the Holy Family. Because in the Holy Family we are going to find the source of strength. We are going to find the encouragement we need when we have distressful losses on all sides. The Holy Family is the place where we go when we feel like weak nobodies, incapable of withstanding the onslaught of the enemies of the Church, because Christ has raised up the Holy Family as the model of the Christian home, to be sure, but as the nucleus of the New Covenant Church-family of God showing that through detachment, through renunciation, through poverty, through mortification, through trials and sufferings, the war will be won. The Savior will be born and salvation will spill out in all directions and cover the earth. (Scott Hahn) O Lord You do show and teach us that the soul of man is timeless, its needs, wants, desires have not changed; nor has the answer to our sorrows or the way to peace and happiness. It is in Your ways and through Jesus Christ’s teachings by way of the Holy Spirit. We must be surrounded and in Jesus, and we must have concern and love for the souls of our fellow man. We must be buried in prayer from them. O Lord so many of us with You in our life’s still struggle, that is all the more reason we must pray for those who still have not opened the door to their hearts to Jesus. O Jesus, who out of love for me were willing to submit to Your own creatures, teach me to obey blindly. Help me to light a path to You for those You place in my path. You hear my thoughts, You know my prayers, hear me Lord, for the sake of His sorrowful passion have mercy on us and on the whole world. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Laetáre, Jerúsalem: et convéntum fácite, omnes qui dilígites eam: gaudéte cum laetítia, qui in tristítia fuístis: ut exsultétis, et satiémini ab ubéribus consolatiónis vestrae. Rejoice, O Jerusalem: and come together all you that love her: rejoice with joy, you that have been in sorrow: that you may exult, and be filled from the breasts of your consolation.

— Introit, Laetáre Sunday, St. Andrew’s Missal, 1945

Genesis 17:3-9

3 Then Abram fell on his face; and God said to him, 4 "Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come forth from you. 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you. 8 And I will give to you, and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God." 9 And God said to Abraham, "As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations.

Psalm 105:4-9

4 Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his presence continually! 5 Remember the wonderful works that he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he uttered, 6 O offspring of Abraham his servant, sons of Jacob, his chosen ones! 7 He is the LORD our God; his judgments are in all the earth. 8 He is mindful of his covenant for ever, of the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations, 9 the covenant which he made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac,

John 8:51-59

51 Truly, truly, I say to you, if any one keeps my word, he will never see death." 52 The Jews said to him, "Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, as did the prophets; and you say, `If any one keeps my word, he will never taste death.’ 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you claim to be?" 54 Jesus answered, "If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing; it is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say that he is your God. 55 But you have not known him; I know him. If I said, I do not know him, I should be a liar like you; but I do know him and I keep his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he was to see my day; he saw it and was glad." 57 The Jews then said to him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?" 58 Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am." 59 So they took up stones to throw at him; but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple.

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