Friday March 22, 2024
Office: Psalter Week 1
Mass prop., Preface of Passion 1
Vestment: Violet
Today’s Rosary: The Sorrowful Mysteries
Click HERE for the Previous Catholic Daily Reading
ENTRANCE ANTIPHON Ps 31: 10.16. 18
Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am in distress. Deliver me from the hands of my enemies and those who pursue me. O Lord, let me never be put to shame, for I call on you.
COLLECT
Pardon the offences of your peoples, we pray, O Lord, and in your goodness set us free from the bonds of the sins we have committed in our weakness. Through our Lord. .
or
O God, who in this season give your Church the grace to imitate devoutly the Blessed Virgin Mary in contemplating the Passion of Christ, grant, we pray, through her intercession, that we may cling more firmly each day to your Only Begotten Son and come at last to the fullness of his grace. Who lives and reigns with you. .
FIRST READING
“The Lord is with me as a dread warrior.”
A reading from the Book of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 20:10-13)
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.” 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 dishonour will never be forgotten. O Lord of hosts, who test the righteous, who see the heart and the mind, let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you have I committed my cause. Sing to the Lord; praise the Lord! For he has delivered the life of the needy from the hand of evildoers.
The word of the Lord.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM Psalm18:1-2a.2bc-3.4-5.6 (R. 6)
R/. In my anguish I called to the Lord, and he heard me
I love you, Lord, my strength;
O Lord, my rock, my fortress, my saviour. R/.
My God, my rock where I take refuge;
my shield, my saving strength, my stronghold.
I cry out, “Praised be the Lord!”
and see, I am saved from my foes. R/.
R/. In my anguish I called to the Lord, and he heard me
The waves of death rose about me;
the torrents of destruction assailed me;
the snares of the grave surrounded me;
the traps of death confronted me. R/.
In my anguish I called to the Lord;
I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice;
my cry to him reached his ears. R/.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION John 6:63c.68c
Glory and praise to you, O Christ. Your words, Lord, Are Spirit and life; you have the words of eternal life. Glory and praise to you, O Christ
GOSPEL
“They tried to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands.”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (John 10:31-42)
At that time: The Jews took up stones to stone Jesus. Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of these do you stone me?” The Jews answered him, “We stone you for no good work but for blasphemy; because you, being a man, make yourself God.” Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, you are gods’? If he called them gods to whom the word of God came (and Scripture cannot be nullified), 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’? If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; 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.” Again they tried to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands. He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John at first baptised, and there he remained. And many came to him; and they said, “John did no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true.” And many believed in him there.
The Gospel of the Lord.
TODAY’S REFLECTION
“Actions speak louder than words”-that is what Jesus implies in today’s Gospel. The Jews accused him of blasphemy because he claimed to be the Son of God. They understood that rightly to mean that he was a divine Person, equal to God. In their mind, that was blasphemy, and the punishment for it was death. Jesus invited them to look at his actions, the miracles he performed. Who else could do such things if not a divine person? If what he said about himself did not convince them, then his actions should convince them. The Jews were not impressed. They still wanted to arrest him and have him put to death. Every day God’s works abound in the lives of believers. We need faith to be able to see them and recognize them as coming from him.
Also Read: Daily Reading for Thursday, March 21th, 2024
PERSONAL DEVOTIONAL FOR LENT
There is only one channel through which we communicate and commune with God, that is, through prayer. God answers prayers when we pray well and through our attitude of prayer we can please God or displease him. It is not the quantity of words we use in prayers that matter or make it to be heard by God, but the quality of our words and disposition. God already knows what we need even before we ask Him, but we must be ready to pray in the manner that Jesus has taught us.
A good prayer must begin with praise and respect for God, in humility we ask Him for our daily provisions and also pray for the needs of others. We must acknowledge our sins before him and ask for forgiveness as we are willing to forgive others. Finally we ask for His grace to conquer temptations and for His deliverance from evil.
Raise the standard of your prayer life, improve the quality of the words you use in addressing God and you will definitely witness a new turn in the response you get from God. Your break-through will surely shine out like the brightness of the sun for the word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord for you will never return back to Him empty.
Let us Pray,
Lord Jesus, teach me to love others as you loved us and gave your life for our sake. Amen.
Daily Reading for Friday March 22, 2024
Reading 1, Jeremiah 20:10-13
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 18:2-3, 3-4, 5-6, 7
Gospel, John 10:31-42
Reading 1, Jeremiah 20:10-13
10 I heard so many disparaging me, ‘Terror on every side! Denounce him! Let us denounce him!’ All those who were on good terms with me watched for my downfall, ‘Perhaps he will be seduced into error. Then we shall get the better of him and take our revenge!’
11 But Yahweh is at my side like a mighty hero; my opponents will stumble, vanquished, confounded by their failure; everlasting, unforgettable disgrace will be theirs.
12 Yahweh Sabaoth, you who test the upright, observer of motives and thoughts, I shall see your vengeance on them, for I have revealed my cause to you.
13 Sing to Yahweh, praise Yahweh, for he has delivered the soul of one in need from the clutches of evil doers.
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 18:2-3, 3-4, 5-6, 7
2 Yahweh is my rock and my fortress, my deliverer is my God. I take refuge in him, my rock, my shield, my saving strength, my stronghold, my place of refuge.
3 I call to Yahweh who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my foes.
4 With Death’s breakers closing in on me, Belial’s torrents ready to swallow me,
5 Sheol’s snares every side of me, Death’s traps lying ahead of me,
6 I called to Yahweh in my anguish, I cried for help to my God; from his Temple he heard my voice, my cry came to his ears.
7 Then the earth quaked and rocked, the mountains’ foundations shuddered, they quaked at his blazing anger
Gospel, John 10:31-42
31 The Jews fetched stones to stone him,
32 so Jesus said to them, ‘I have shown you many good works from my Father; for which of these are you stoning me?’
33 The Jews answered him, ‘We are stoning you, not for doing a good work, but for blasphemy; though you are only a man, you claim to be God.’
34 Jesus answered: Is it not written in your Law: I said, you are gods?
35 So it uses the word ‘gods’ of those people to whom the word of God was addressed — and scripture cannot be set aside.
36 Yet to someone whom the Father has consecrated and sent into the world you say, ‘You are blaspheming’ because I said, ‘I am Son of God.’
37 If I am not doing my Father’s work, there is no need to believe me;
38 but if I am doing it, then even if you refuse to believe in me, at least believe in the work I do; then you will know for certain that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.
39 They again wanted to arrest him then, but he eluded their clutches.
40 He went back again to the far side of the Jordan to the district where John had been baptising at first and he stayed there.
41 Many people who came to him said, ‘John gave no signs, but all he said about this man was true’;
42 and many of them believed in him.
