Daily Catholic Reflection: Friday, March 28, 2025, Friday of the Third Week of Lent

 

LENT SERIES DAY 24: FRIDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK OF LENT (Almsgiving) (https://youtu.be/lplASeORG1E) 

Hos 14:2-10

Ps 81:6c-8a, 8bc-9, 10-11ab, 14 and 17

Mk 12:28-34                         Full Readings

Saint Catherine of Bologna

Challenges to the Greatest Commandment

When Jesus was asked by the Scribe of which the greatest commandment is, Jesus replies with an impeccable Rabbinic answer, bringing together two texts from different books of the Bible. First is Deuteronomy 6.5, recited by every faithful Jew three times a day, ‘And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, mind and strength’, as straightforward a priority as you could wish. But the exciting thing about the answer is that Jesus couples that with another text from Leviticus 19.18, ‘And you shall love your neighbour as yourself’. The command is not new, but it is only staggering that Jesus puts it on a level with the love for God. By this he clearly states the greatest commandment: love for God with our whole being and love for neighbour as we love ourselves. But this greatest commandment faces some challenges today. 

Daily Catholic Reflection: Thursday, March 27, 2025, Thursday of the Third Week of Lent

LENT SERIES DAY 23: THURSDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK OF LENT (Fasting According to God's Instructions) (https://youtu.be/cP7nU1CjDvs) 

Jer 7:23-28

PS 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9

Lk 11:14-23                Full Readings

Saint Gregory of Narek

Listening to God's Voice

Dear brethren, listening is a virtue in itself, for it is only when we listen that we can learn and understand. Listening to the voice of God keeps us informed, wise, and safe. Rebellious people never listen because they are stubborn. The Lord rejects those who harden their hearts and rebuff His voice, but He blesses those who listen and adhere to His voice. Today, God calls us to believe in Him and to gather with Him. Let us therefore heed the voice of God and lead holy lives as a people. The Jews in the first reading did not heed the voice of God and what he was telling them, and finally their temple was destroyed, and many were taken to exile. “O that today you would listen to His voice, harden not your hearts!

Daily Catholic Reflection: Sunday, March 23, 2025, Third Sunday of Lent Year C

LENT SERIES DAY 19: THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT (When Should I Pray/When Should we Pray?) (https://youtu.be/XajuH2eT8Oc) 

Exodus 3:1-8a, 13-15

Psalm 103: 1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8, 11.

1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12

Luke 13:1-9                   Full Readings

Saint Turibius of Mogrojevo

God's Second Chances

 In the First Reading, we continue to review some of the most important moments in the history of salvation. Last week, we heard the story of how God elevated one of his promises to Abram to a covenant: Abram would become the father of a great nation. This week, we learn about God’s plan to save the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob from slavery in Egypt and lead them to the land promised to Abram. When Moses asks God what his name is, God responds: “I am who am” (Exodus 3:14). This name reveals something about God’s nature as well as his fidelity. He is without beginning or end. He is eternal and the creator of all that exists. He will be there for his children and accompany Moses on the mission to save his people. God is faithful to his covenant promises and wills that through Abraham’s descendant, all people can enjoy the merciful blessing of the forgiveness of their sins and become his sons and daughters.

Daily Catholic Reflection: Friday, March 21, 2025, Friday of the Second Week of Lent

 

LENT SERIES DAY 17: FRIDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK OF LENT (How can we pray better during this lent?) (https://youtu.be/-eKX2Hn3bmo) 

Gn 37:3-4, 12-13a, 17b-28a

Ps 105:16-17, 18-19, 20-21

Mt 21:33-43, 45-46                       Full Readings

Blessed John of Parma

Using Our Talents for the Kingdom

Brethren, the Patriarch Joseph, presented in the first reading, was a dreamer. He incurred the wrath of his brothers by telling them his dreams and because their father showed him greater love than he showed them. They retaliated by selling him into slavery. Jesus incurred the wrath of his fellow Jews because he was the Son of God and told them so. They retaliated by getting him crucified. Great good came out of the evil done to Joseph and Jesus. God used Joseph to save his people from famine. The same God used the death of Jesus for the salvation of the world. That is what always happens when we are made to suffer unjustly, and we refuse to respond with hatred or bitterness. God always writes straight on crooked lines.

Daily Catholic Reflection: Thursday, March 20, 2025, Thursday of the Second Week of Lent

LENT SERIES DAY 16: THURSDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK OF LENT (How can we pray better during this lent?) (youtube.com)

Jer 17:5-10

Ps 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6

Lk 16:19-31                             Full Readings

Saint Salvator of Hortza

Desire Charity in Your Richness

Brethren, what would you prefer: to be rich only physically and miss heaven, or to be rich spiritually and attain eternal life? In the Gospel reading today, we are presented with the contrast of the rich man and Lazarus. The rich man enjoyed life here on earth with his riches without thinking of the others, while Lazarus suffered and even longed to eat from the leftovers of the rich man, which the rich man refused him. When they died, Lazarus attained eternal life and the rich man eternal fire. The only happiness the rich had was here on earth—the happiness that did not last. Let us endeavour to look for everlasting happiness by enriching our spiritual life.

Daily Catholic Reflection: Wednesday, March 19, 2025, Solemnity of Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary

LENT SERIES DAY 15: WEDNESDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK OF LENT (What is Contemplative Prayer) #brwilson (youtube.com)

2 Samuel 7:4-5a.12-14a, 16

Ps 89:2-3, 4-5, 27, 

Romans 4: 13, 16-18, 22, 

Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24a or Lk 2:41-51a                    Full Readings

Saint Joseph, the Husband of Mary 

The Proto Saint Joseph

Brethren, what a Great Man, St Joseph is! He was made great not because of any privileges but because of the choices he made in life. Today’s Gospel refers to him as a “righteous man” and as a man who “did as the angel of the Lord commanded him.” Thus, his greatness is primarily on account of his moral righteousness and obedience to the will of God. The first reading proclaims an everlasting kingdom and how God decided to grant it to a “son of David.” The Gospel proclaims the accomplishment of the promise made to David: one of his descendants has fulfilled the words of Nathan beyond all expectations. The second reading speaks of Abraham, the man who placed his trust in God. Like Abraham, Joseph too believed that the dreams of God would be fulfilled. Abraham and Joseph prove that whoever puts their trust in God will never be disappointed.

Daily Catholic Reflection: Sunday, March 16, 2025, Second Sunday of Lent, Year C

LENT SERIES DAY 12: SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT (Why Should We Pray?) // Br Wilson #brwilson #lentseries (youtube.com)

Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18

Psalm 27:1, 7-8, 8-9, 13-14.

Philippians 3:17—4:1 or Philippians 3:20—4:1

Luke 9:28b-36                                                    Full Readings 

Saint Clement Mary Hofbauer

A Taste of Heavenly Glory

Brethren, every year the Gospel reading for the Second Sunday of Lent recounts Jesus’ Transfiguration on Mount Tabor. We are invited to climb this mountain during Lent. Mountain climbing is hard, but when we reach the top, we see things differently. The air is cleaner, the light is clearer, we come closer to God, and we are changed by the effort. We should not try by all means not to sleep when we arrive at the top of the mountain, just as the three Apostles who went with Jesus slept and were almost missing to behold the glory of God, which shone on the face and the clothes of Jesus. Mount Tabor calls us to trust in the glory that awaits us. During this lent, we shall climb this mountain only through our deep and meaningful prayers, especially coming for mass, where God will reveal his glory in the silence of our hearts.

Daily Catholic Reflection: Thursday, March 14, 2025, Friday of the First Week of Lent

LENT SERIES DAY 10: FRIDAY OF THE FIRST WEEK OF LENT (The Origin of the Way of the Cross) Br Wilson (youtube.com)

Ez 18:21-28

Ps 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-7a, 7bc-8

Mt 5:20-26                                    Full Readings

Saint Maximilian

Personal Responsibility

Brethren, on this second Friday of Lent, we are all encouraged and invited to abstain from meat and, if possible, deny ourselves some food by fasting, for the sake of those who don't have. This will help us move out and give alms to the anawim of the Lord.

Daily Catholic Reflection: Wednesday, March 12, 2025, First Week of Lent

LENT SERIES DAY 8: WEDNESDAY OF THE FIRST WEEK OF LENT (Why dates of Ash Wednesday & Easter Change) - YouTube

Jonah 3:1-10

Ps 51:3-4, 12-13, 18-19

Lk 11:29-32                                      Full Readings

Blessed Angela Salawa

No More Sign than Jesus

Brethren, the sign of Jonah is mostly understood by Matthew to mean the resurrection of Jesus after three days in the tomb, just as Jonah emerged from the belly of the sea beast after three days. But the story of Jonah has lovely value also for itself. The story of Jonah is written, of course, by a Jew, mocking the Jews for their complacency and their conviction that the Chosen Race were the only ones to be saved. The message is obvious: the gentiles are more responsive to the word of God than it is to the Jew. We, as Christians, have to be careful because we have all the gospel truth, but if we don't take it seriously, other people, even those who have never heard the Gospel, will inherit the kingdom of God first before us.

Daily Catholic Reflection: Saturday, March 8. 2025, Saturday after Ash Wednesday

LENT SERIES DAY 4: SATURDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY (Why We Can't Sing Alleluia in Lent) Br Wilson - YouTube

Is 58:9b-14.

Ps 86:1-2, 3-4, 5-6

Lk 5:27-32                          Full Readings

Saint John of God

It is the Sick who Needs a Doctor

Living in denial is a terrible misfortune. No Christian should be there. The scribes and Pharisees, in their holier than thou attitude, categorised the tax collectors and others as sinners undeserving of the company of Jesus. Jesus, however, retorts that it is not those who are well who need the doctor, but the sick. The church is both a gallery of saints and a hospital for sinners. Let us ask ourselves today: Am I so wrapped up in my virtue, like the Pharisees, that I feel I do not need Jesus? Do I feel I do not need to go to confession? Am I resolved to be less judgmental of others who sin differently? Am I resolved to respond more promptly, like Levi, to the invitation of Jesus to follow him?

Daily catholic Reflection: Thursday, March 6, 2025, Thursday after Ash Wednesday

LENT SERIES DAY 2: THURSDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY (Significance of Purple Color During Lent) Deacon Wilson (youtube.com)

Dt 30:15-20

Ps 1:1-2, 3, 4, 6

Lk 9:22-25                Full Readings

Saint Mary Ann of Jesus Paredes

Choose Life or Death

Brethren, today's readings present to us the fundamental choices we have to make as Christians: to choose Life or Death as we see in the first reading, and to choose the world or to choose to save our souls, as presented in the Gospel. With the former, choosing life means following God's commandments, and choosing death means disobedience to God, who is the source of life. Moses sets out the two ways of the covenant. Choosing to love the Lord is the path to blessing, but turning away from the Lord to serve idols leads to curses. Moses urges the people to choose life and enjoy the blessing of living in the Promised Land. The two ways are echoed in the Responsorial Psalm, which “sets forth the two ways of life – the way of the righteous, which follows God’s Law and leads to prosperity (Psalm 1:1-3), and the way of the wicked, which is dominated by sin and ends in divine judgment (1:4-6)." (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: Old and New Testament, 833). The wicked, who follow the path of foolishness, are like dried-up vegetation (chaff) that the wind easily blows away. The righteous person, who follows the path of wisdom, is like a tree planted near running water that yields fruit, thrives, and prospers.

Daily Catholic Reflection: Wednesday, March 5, 2025, Ash Wednesday

LENT SERIES: DAY 1: ASH WEDNESDAY, With Deacon Karugaba, MHM (Why Do we Mark Ourselves with Ashes) (youtube.com)

Joel 2:12-18,  

Ps 51:3-4, 5-6ab, 12- 13, 14,

2 Corinthians 5:20–6:2,

Matthew 6: 1-6, 16- 18                  Full Readings

Saint Joseph of the Cross 

The Forty Days of Lent

Brethren, today we start our annual observance of the Lenten period, a period of forty days—a time for intense preparation of our hearts (and bodies) to receive the light of the risen Christ on Easter. The Forty Days of Lent is the annual retreat of the people of God in imitation of Jesus' forty days in the wilderness while he was being tempted. Forty is a significant number in the Scriptures. Moses went to the mountain to seek the face of God for forty days in prayer and fasting. The people of Israel were in the wilderness for forty years in preparation for their entry into the promised land. Elijah fasted for forty days as he journeyed in the wilderness to the mountain of God. We are called to journey with the Lord in a special season of prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and penitence (expressing true sorrow for sin and wrongdoing) as we prepare to celebrate the feast of Easter, the Christian Passover of Jesus' victory over sin, Satan, and death. Augustine of Hippo, 354–430 AD, teaches us, "Christians must always live in this way, without any wish to come down from their cross—otherwise they will sink beneath the world's mire. But if we have to do so all our lives, we must make an even greater effort during the days of Lent. It is not a simple matter of living through forty days. Lent is the epitome of our whole life." (Excerpt from Sermon 205, 1)

Daily Catholic Reflection: Tuesday, March 4, 2025, Tuesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time

Sirach 35:1-12

Psalm 50:5-6, 7-8, 14, 23

Mark 10:28-31                          Full Readings

Saint Casimir

Give up Everything and Follow Me

Brethren, Today also marks the end of our semi-continuous reading of the Book of Sirach. The passage we read describes worship that is acceptable to God. The author equates several actions to the temple sacrifices: keeping the law and the commandments are equated to an oblation and the sacrifices of a peace offering; works of charity are equated to the cereal offering (Leviticus 2:1-16); giving alms is equated to the thank offering (Leviticus 7:12); and refraining from evil and avoiding injustice is equated to an atoning sin-offering. We are encouraged to glorify the Lord generously and give generously to the Lord, who will repay us generously sevenfold.

Daily Catholic Reflection: Monday, March 3, 2025, Monday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time

Sirach 17:20-24

Psalm 32:1-2, 5, 6, 7

Mark 10:17-27                          Full Readings

Saint Katharine Drexel

Sell Everything and Follow Me

Brethren, Jesus today is stressing the danger of possessions for everyone who strives to enter through the narrow gate into heaven of eternal life. It is a curious fact that for many people, the more they have, the more they want and most probably the more stingy they become because they want everything for themselves. Conversely, the less people have, the more generous they are, knowing the value to other needy people of the little they have. But this does not merely mean that we need to be free of the preoccupations and distractions of wealth. Wealth can be a good preoccupation if the worry comes from awareness of the responsibility it brings. But making it our sole treasure, that is, allowing it to take possession of our hearts, is what Jesus warns us against: ‘How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!... It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.’

Daily Catholic Reflection: Sunday, March 2, 2024, Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Rime Year C

Sirach 27:4-7

Psalm 92:2-3, 13-14, 15-16

1 Corinthians 15:54-58

Luke 6:39-45                           Full Readings

Saint Agnes of Bohemia

A Good Tree

Brethren, today's central message, especially from the first reading and the gospel, is that the good tree bears good fruits, and obviously no good fruits come from a bad tree. This is how an authentic Christian too can be judged. A genuine Christian will be seen by his fruits: how one lives his Christian life, his way of talking and behaving, and how one is able to live in harmony, peace, and love of not only himself but also his fellow neighbours. These are the fruits of an authentic Christian. One of the important ways of knowing if one is a good tree or a bad tree is through speech. The wise sage of Jerusalem tells us that we should not praise anyone before he or she speaks. This is how to judge how one is. One shall surely be known from his fruits, especially from his or her speech.