Thursday, February 29, 2024
Weekday of Lent 2
Office- Psalter Week 2
Mass prop. Preface of Lent II
Vestment: Violet
Today’s Rosary: The Luminous Mystery
Click HERE for the Previous Catholic Daily Reading
FIRST READING
“Cursed is the man who trusts in man, blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord.”
A reading from the Book of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 17:5-10)
Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his arm, whose heart turns away from the Lord. He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.” The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately corrupt; who can understand it? “I the Lord search the mind and try the heart, to give to every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.”
The word of the Lord.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM Psalm1:1-2.3.4 and 6 (Psalm 40:5ab)
R/. Blessed the man who has placed his trust in the Lord.
Blessed indeed is the man
Who follows not the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stands in the path with sinners,
nor abides in the company of scorners,
but whose delight is the law of the Lord,
and who ponders his law day and night. R/.
He is like a tree that is planted
beside the flowing waters,
that yields its fruit in due season,
and whose leaves shall never fade;
and all that he does shall prosper. R/.
Not so are the wicked, not so!
For they, like winnowed chaff,
shall be driven away by the wind.
For the Lord knows the way of the just,
but the way of the wicked will perish. R/.
VERSE BEFORE THEGOSPEL Luke 8:15
Glory and praise to you, O Christ. Blessed are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bring forth fruit with patience. Glory and praise to you, O Christ.
Also Read: Daily Reading for Wednesday, February 28th, 2024
GOSPEL
Good things came to you and bad things to Lazarus, now he is comforted while you are in agony.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Luke 16:19-31)
At that time: Jesus said to the Pharisees, “There was a rich man, who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, full of sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table; moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried; and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes, and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus in his bosom. And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy upon me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in anguish in this flame.’ “But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that you in your life time received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said ‘No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.”’
The Gospel of the Lord.
TODAY’S REFLECTION
“No man is an island”. That is the title of one of the many books of the renowned Cistercian monk, Father Thomas Merton. We humans depend on one another on a lot of things in the physical world to come into existence and to function. The prophet Jeremiah, however, cautions against putting too much trust in people and the things of this world. God is the only one who can and who should be trusted a hundred percent. That is because God can never let us down, whereas people and things can let us down, even when they don’t want to or mean to. The rich man in the Gospel story let Lazarus down by not caring for him and was, in time, made to pay for it very dearly. As far as it lies in our power we should not let down those who look up to us for a helping hand.
A MESSAGE FROM LAZARUS
My name is Lazarus, I am sure you still recognize me. My body was always covered with sores, your house dogs loved licking my sores. I was always there by your gate, and I knew you had more than enough to eat and drink, every day you had a party in this house. You always invited people to come and dine with you. You invited senators, governors and the richest businessmen and women but you never looked at me. You did not consider me a human being because I was poor.
Each time you saw me, you pretended as if I don’t exist. You wished I could just disappear. You thought I was simply lazy or that I was being cursed for living in such an impoverished condition. You blamed my condition on the government and everybody else but never saw yourself as capable of helping me. You didn’t realize I was a gift to you. When I died, I went to heaven and was taken to Abraham’s side but your Oga also died and was taken to Hell Fire. From the midst of hell, he saw me and begged Abraham to ask me dip my finger in water to cool his tongue.
In life he had gallons of water to drink and waste and here he was begging for just one drop. And he couldn’t get the drop so he begged Abraham to send me to you to warn you. Your Oga still loves you, he doesn’t want you to come and experience hell fire so I am here to warn you. Hell is real, please do all your best to avoid it! Be kind and generous to the poor and needy.
Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, Jesus says, that you do unto me. Don’t share your food only with the rich, also invite poor people to table. You can afford to spray dollars at occasions and people like me are scattered all over the place unable to eat even one meal a day. Above all, I want you to know that God sees everything that happens. For years I was there at your gate, God was giving you countless opportunities to change your heart and do something but you refused. I warn you now before it is too late.
Although Abraham told your Oga that even if someone rise from the dead, you will not believe, I decided to come all the same. Believe me or not, my name is Lazarus and this is my message to you!
PERSONAL DEVOTIONAL FOR LENT
Bitterness and jealousy is a disease that kills the one who harbor them and not the one they are projected upon. When you live a life without bitterness and jealousy, you will be contented with what you have and you will be able rejoice with others when God makes use of them, instead of you, to achieve something in this life.
Be a team player, use your gift well for good and remember that there is something you have, others do not have, therefore, bring out the best in you, excel and help others to do the same instead of running them down.
Today, try to see how you can use your word or action to encourage that your brother or sister, instead of trying to do away with them. There is enough space for all of us to excel, therefore, do not pull anyone down, instead, contribute to their rising.
Let us Pray,
Lord Jesus, help me to listen to Lazarus and act accordingly. Amen.
Daily Reading for Thursday February 29, 2024
Reading 1, Jeremiah 17:5-10
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 1:1-2, 3, 4, 6
Gospel, Luke 16:19-31
Reading 1, Jeremiah 17:5-10
5 Yahweh says this, ‘Accursed be anyone who trusts in human beings, who relies on human strength and whose heart turns from Yahweh.
6 Such a person is like scrub in the wastelands: when good comes, it does not affect him since he lives in the parched places of the desert, uninhabited, salt land.
7 ‘Blessed is anyone who trusts in Yahweh, with Yahweh to rely on.
8 Such a person is like a tree by the waterside that thrusts its roots to the stream: when the heat comes it has nothing to fear, its foliage stays green; untroubled in a year of drought, it never stops bearing fruit.
9 ‘The heart is more devious than any other thing, and is depraved; who can pierce its secrets?
10 I, Yahweh, search the heart, test the motives, to give each person what his conduct and his actions deserve.
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 1:1-2, 3, 4, 6
1 How blessed is anyone who rejects the advice of the wicked and does not take a stand in the path that sinners tread, nor a seat in company with cynics,
2 but who delights in the law of Yahweh and murmurs his law day and night.
3 Such a one is like a tree planted near streams; it bears fruit in season and its leaves never wither, and every project succeeds.
4 How different the wicked, how different! Just like chaff blown around by the wind
6 For Yahweh watches over the path of the upright, but the path of the wicked is doomed.
Gospel, Luke 16:19-31
19 ‘There was a rich man who used to dress in purple and fine linen and feast magnificently every day.
20 And at his gate there used to lie a poor man called Lazarus, covered with sores,
21 who longed to fill himself with what fell from the rich man’s table. Even dogs came and licked his sores.
22 Now it happened that the poor man died and was carried away by the angels into Abraham’s embrace. The rich man also died and was buried.
23 ‘In his torment in Hades he looked up and saw Abraham a long way off with Lazarus in his embrace.
24 So he cried out, “Father Abraham, pity me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in agony in these flames.”
25 Abraham said, “My son, remember that during your life you had your fill of good things, just as Lazarus his fill of bad. Now he is being comforted here while you are in agony.
26 But that is not all: between us and you a great gulf has been fixed, to prevent those who want to cross from our side to yours or from your side to ours.”
27 ‘So he said, “Father, I beg you then to send Lazarus to my father’s house,
28 since I have five brothers, to give them warning so that they do not come to this place of torment too.”
29 Abraham said, “They have Moses and the prophets, let them listen to them.”
30 The rich man replied, “Ah no, father Abraham, but if someone comes to them from the dead, they will repent.”
31 Then Abraham said to him, “If they will not listen either to Moses or to the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone should rise from the dead.”
