Saturday March 23, 2024
ST. TURIBIUS OF MOGROVEJO, Bp (Opt. Commem.)
Office: Psalter Week 1
Mass prop. Preface of Passion I
Vestment: Violet
Today’s Rosary: The Joyful Mysteries
Click HERE for the Previous Catholic Daily Reading
Vespers I of Palm Sunday
HOLY WEEK BEGINS TOMORROW WITH PASSION SUNDAY
ENTRANCE ANTIPHON Cf. Ps 22:20.7
O Lord, do not stay afar off; my strength, make haste to help me! For I am a worm and no man, scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
COLLECT
O God, who have made all those reborn in Christ a chosen race and a royal priesthood, grant us, we pray, the grace to will and to do what you command, that the people called to eternal life may be one in the faith of their hearts and the homage of their deeds. Through our Lord..z
FIRST READING
“I will make them one nation.”
A reading from the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel (Ezekiel 37:21-28)
Thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, I will take the sons of Israel from the nations among Which they have gone, and will gather them from all sides, and bring them to their own land; 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. 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. “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. 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. 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. My dwelling place shall be with them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Then the nations will know that I the Lord sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary is in the midst of them for evermore.”
The word of the Lord.
Also Read: Daily Reading for Friday, March 22nd, 2024
RESPONSORIAL PSALM Jeremiah 31: 10.11-12ab.13 (R. 10d)
R/. The Lord will keep us, as a shepherd keeps his flock
Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,
and declare it in the islands afar off;
say, “He who scattered Israel will gather him,
and will keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock.” R/.
For the Lord has ransomed Jacob,
and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him.
They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Sion,
and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord. R/.
R/. The Lord will keep us, as a shepherd keeps his flock
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. R/.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION Ezekiel 18:31
Glory and praise to you, O Christ. Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, says the Lord, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Glory and praise to you, O Christ.
GOSPEL
“Together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (John 11:45-57)
At that time: Many of the Jews who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him; but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council, and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. If we let him go on like this, every one will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation.” But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all; 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.” He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus should die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. So from that day on they took counsel about how to put him to death. Jesus therefore no longer went about openly among the Jews, but went from there to the country near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim; and there he stayed with the disciples. Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover, to purify themselves. 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?” Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if any one knew where he was, he should let them know, so that they might arrest him.
The Gospel of the Lord.
TODAY’S REFLECTION
With the approach of Holy Week, the tension between Jesus and the Jewish leaders was getting to a head. One event after another increased their animosity towards him. The latest was the raising of Lazarus from the dead. For them, that was one miracle too many. It had taken place in public. There was no way anyone could deny it. It had the potential of increasing Jesus’ popularity and the number of those believing in him. It was time to stop him in his tracks. The high priest Calaphas prophesied that he should die rather than that the whole nation should perish. His prophecy would come to pass in due course, except that the death of Jesus would not be for the sake of the Jewish nation alone, but for all of God’s children scattered throughout the world.
PERSONAL DEVOTIONAL FOR LENT
The world is a noisy place and if we do not try to seek solitude we will be lost in the noise and will be unable to connect with God, pray to Him and listen to Him speak to us.
Silence, both interior and exterior is very urgently needed in this time and age, because it helps us to pray well and more importantly to hear God when He speaks to us and if we hear Him and act in accordance to His guidance we will not be deafened by the noise of the world.
Today, try and access how noisy you have become. Work on yourself by seeking solitude. Try to have a quiet time where you can be alone with God and straighten your rough paths.
Let Us Pray,
Help me O God to grow in my spiritual life. Deliver me from the noise in my life and in the world which deprive me from staying recollected in you. Amen.
Daily Reading for Saturday March 23, 2024
Reading 1, Ezekiel 37:21-28
Responsorial Psalm, Jeremiah 31:10, 11-12, 13
Gospel, John 11:45-57
Reading 1, Ezekiel 37:21-28
21 say, “The Lord Yahweh says this: I shall take the Israelites from the nations where they have gone. I shall gather them to- gether from everywhere and bring them home to their own soil.
22 I shall make them into one nation in the country, on the mountains of Israel, and one king is to be king of them all; they will no longer form two nations, nor be two separate kingdoms.
23 They will no longer defile themselves with their foul idols, their horrors and any of their crimes. I shall save them from the acts of infidelity which they have committed and shall cleanse them; they will be my people and I shall be their God.
24 My servant David will reign over them, one shepherd for all; they will follow my judgements, respect my laws and practise them.
25 They will live in the country which I gave to my servant Jacob, the country in which your ancestors lived. They will live in it, they, their children, their children’s children, for ever. David my servant is to be their prince for ever.
26 I shall make a covenant of peace with them, an eternal covenant with them. I shall resettle them and make them grow; I shall set my sanctuary among them for ever.
27 I shall make my home above them; I shall be their God, and they will be my people.
28 And the nations will know that I am Yahweh the sanctifier of Israel, when my sanctuary is with them for ever.” ‘
Responsorial Psalm, Jeremiah 31:10, 11-12, 13
10 Listen, nations, to the word of Yahweh. On the farthest coasts and islands proclaim it, say, ‘He who scattered Israel is gathering him, will guard him as a shepherd guarding his flock.’
11 For Yahweh has ransomed Jacob, rescued him from a hand stronger than his own.
12 They will come, shouting for joy on the heights of Zion, thronging towards Yahweh’s lavish gifts, for wheat, new wine and oil, sheep and cattle; they will be like a well-watered garden, they will sorrow no more.
13 The young girl will then take pleasure in the dance, and young men and old alike; I shall change their mourning into gladness, comfort them, give them joy after their troubles;
Gospel, John 11:45-57
45 Many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what he did, believed in him,
46 but some of them went to the Pharisees to tell them what Jesus had done.
47 Then the chief priests and Pharisees called a meeting. ‘Here is this man working all these signs,’ they said, ‘and what action are we taking?
48 If we let him go on in this way everybody will believe in him, and the Romans will come and suppress the Holy Place and our nation.’
49 One of them, Caiaphas, the high priest that year, said, ‘You do not seem to have grasped the situation at all;
50 you fail to see that it is to your advantage that one man should die for the people, rather than that the whole nation should perish.’
51 He did not speak in his own person, but as high priest of that year he was prophesying that Jesus was to die for the nation-
52 and not for the nation only, but also to gather together into one the scattered children of God.
53 From that day onwards they were determined to kill him.
54 So Jesus no longer went about openly among the Jews, but left the district for a town called Ephraim, in the country bordering on the desert, and stayed there with his disciples.
55 The Jewish Passover was drawing near, and many of the country people who had gone up to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves
56 were looking out for Jesus, saying to one another as they stood about in the Temple, ‘What do you think? Will he come to the festival or not?’
57 The chief priests and Pharisees had by now given their orders: anyone who knew where he was must inform them so that they could arrest him.
