Friday, March 14, 2014

 

Saturday First Week of Lent

March 15, 2014
Saturday First Week of Lent 
[St. Louise de Marilac, religious]

Dt 26: 16-19 / Ps 119: 1-2, 4-5, 7-8 / Mt 5: 43-48

Reading: Dt 26: 16-19
On this day, Yahweh, your God, commands you to fulfill these norms and these commandments. Obey them now and put them into practice with all your heart and with all your soul. Today Yahweh has declared to you that he will be your God, and so you shall follow his ways, observing his norms, his commandments and his laws, and listening to his voice. Today Yahweh has declared that you will be his very own people even as he had promised you, and you must obey all his commandments. He, for his part, will give you honor, renown and glory, and set you high above all the nations he has made, and you will become a nation consecrated to Yahweh, your God, as he has declared.   

Gospel: Mt 5: 43-48 
You have heard that it was said: Love your neighbor and do not do good to your enemy. But this I tell you: Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in Heaven. For he makes his sun rise on both the wicked and the good, and he gives rain to both the just and the unjust. If you love those who love you, what is special about that? Do not even tax collectors do as much? And if you are friendly only to your friends, what is so exceptional about that? Do not even the pagans do as much? For your part you shall be righteous and perfect in the way your heavenly Father is righteous and perfect.

Reflection:
We often hear people exacting revenge on their enemies because they have been wronged. People hurt others because they have been hurt by them. We may have done something bad to other people ourselves, but it is because they did it first to us. Very tempting to do so, but is this right? The Lord teaches us in this gospel that for those who have hurt us, we grant ourselves the ability to be patient and to pray for them that they may turn over a new leaf. We do not judge, for it is the Lord who does the judging between the good and evil. Offer love not only to our loved ones, but also to strangers. Start off by offering a smile to people we pass by on the way to work or school. Make a simple greeting to the guard directing the traffic, to the shopkeeper offering her goods. The Father is righteous and offers mercy. Let us make Him our role model in our everyday endeavors.     

Prayer Requests:
We pray ...
... for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.
... for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
... for families who are in need of healing.
... for world peace and reconciliation.

Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers and for those who need our prayers the most.

Have a good day!

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   |  The Daily Prayer, a service and an apostolate of the
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