Wednesday, March 20, 2024
Weekday of Lent (B)
Office: Psalter Week 1
Mass prop., Preface of Passion I
Vestment: Violet
Today’s Rosary: The Glorious Mysteries
Click HERE for the Previous Catholic Daily Reading
ENTRANCE ANTIPHON Cf. Ps 18:48-49
My deliverer from angry nations, you set me above my assailants; you saved me from the violent man, O Lord.
COLLECT
Enlighten, O God of compassion, the hearts of your children, sanctified by penance, and in your kindness grant those you stir to a sense of devotion, a gracious hearing when they cry out to you. Through our Lord.
FIRST READING
“He has sent his angel and delivered his servants.”
A reading from the Book of the Prophet Daniel (Daniel 3:14-20.24-25.25)
In those days, King Nebuchadnezzar said, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image I have set up? Now, if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music to fall and worship the image which I have made, well and good, but if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace; and who is the God that will deliver you out of my hands?” Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to answer you. If it be so, our God, whom we serve, can deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image you have set up.” Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the expression on his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace to be heated seven times more than it was accustomed to be heated. And he ordered certain mighty men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He said to his counsellors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They answered the king, “True, O king.” He answered, “But I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.” Nebuchadnezzar said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set at nought the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God.”
The word of the Lord.
Also Read: Daily Reading for Tuesday, March 19th, 2024
RESPONSORIAL PSALM Daniel 3:29-30.31.33.32.34 (R. 29b)
R/. You are to be praised and highly exalted for ever.
Blessed are you, O Lord, God of our fathers,
and to be praised and highly exalted for ever;
And blessed is your glorious, holy name
and to be highly praised and highly exalted for ever. R/.
Blessed are you in the temple of your holy glory
and to be extolled and highly glorified for ever. R/.
R/. You are to be praised and highly exalted for ever.
Blessed are you upon the throne of your kingdom
and to be extolled and highly exalted for ever. R/.
Blessed are you, who sit upon cherubim
and look upon the deeps,
and to be praised and highly exalted for ever. R/.
R/. You are to be praised and highly exalted for ever.
Blessed are you in the firmament of heaven
and to be sung and glorified for ever. R/.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION 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.
GOSPEL
“If the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John 8:31-42
At that time: Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham, and have never been in bondage to any one. How is it that you say, ‘You will be made free’?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, every one who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not continue in the house for ever; the son continues for ever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are descendants of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me, because my word finds no place in you. I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.” They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do what Abraham did, but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth which I heard from God; this is not what Abraham did. You do the works of your father.” They said to him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.” Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I proceeded and came forth from God; I came not of my own accord, but he sent me.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
TODAY’S REFLECTION
The Jews in the Gospel were suffering from self-delusion. They claimed that they had never been in bondage to anyone. That was a lie. All through its history, the Jewish nation had been in bondage to one foreign power after another: the Egyptians, the Philistines, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Persians and the Greeks. At the very time they were speaking to Jesus, their country was in bondage to the Romans. What they did not know was that they were even in bondage to a far greater power than them all, Satan. Jesus had come to free them and all humankind from the bondage. But if they insisted that they were free, he could not help them. Only those who admit their need to be freed from the yoke of Satan can benefit from the freedom that Jesus brings.
PERSONAL DEVOTIONAL FOR LENT
Whenever we make a resolve to start afresh after we have made a mistake or fallen, we should never give up on ourselves even if we fall after we have made the resolve. We can draw energy from Jesus who on the way to Calvary fell three times under the weight of the cross, but He always rise when He falls.
The journey to follow Jesus is one that will require greater resilience and perseverance to always rise when we fall and strive to make it to the finishing line. Apart from Him we can do nothing, but with Him we are more than conquerors.
Today, do not look at your weakness, but on Christ who is our strength. No matter what your past has been, you can begin anew in Christ. By His death and resurrection He has won us victory. Therefore, rise and become victorious over that which has held you bound for a long time. Rise Again and Again and Again.
Let us Pray,
Lord Jesus, let not my love for life enslave me to sin. Amen.
Daily Reading for Wednesday March 20, 2024
Reading 1, Daniel 3:14-20, 91-92, 95
Responsorial Psalm, Daniel 3:52, 53, 54, 55, 56
Gospel, John 8:31-42
Reading 1, Daniel 3:14-20, 91-92, 95
14 Nebuchadnezzar addressed them, ‘Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego, is it true that you do not serve my gods, and that you refuse to worship the golden statue I have set up?
15 When you hear the sound of horn, pipe, lyre, zither, harp, bagpipe and every other kind of instrument, are you prepared to prostrate yourselves and worship the statue I have made? If you refuse to worship it, you will be thrown forthwith into the burning fiery furnace; then which of the gods could save you from my power?’
16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego replied to King Nebuchadnezzar, ‘Your question needs no answer from us:
17 if our God, the one we serve, is able to save us from the burning fiery furnace and from your power, Your Majesty, he will save us;
18 and even if he does not, then you must know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your god or worship the statue you have set up.’
19 This infuriated King Nebuchadnezzar; his expression was changed now as he looked at Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego. He gave orders for the furnace to be made seven times hotter than usual
20 and commanded certain stalwarts from his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego and throw them into the burning fiery furnace.
91 King Nebuchadnezzar sprang to his feet in amazement. He said to his advisers, ‘Did we not have these three men thrown bound into the fire?’ They answered the king, ‘Certainly, Your Majesty’.
92 ‘But’, he went on, ‘I can see four men walking free in the heart of the fire and quite unharmed! And the fourth looks like a child of the gods!’
95 ‘Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego: he has sent his angel to rescue his servants who, putting their trust in him, defied the order of the king, and preferred to forfeit their bodies rather than serve or worship any god but their God.
Responsorial Psalm, Daniel 3:52, 53, 54, 55, 56
52 May you be blessed, Lord, God of our ancestors, be praised and extolled for ever. Blessed be your glorious and holy name, praised and extolled for ever.
53 May you be blessed in the Temple of your sacred glory, exalted and glorified above all for ever:
54 blessed on the throne of your kingdom, exalted above all, glorified for ever:
55 blessed are you who fathom the abyss, enthroned on the winged creatures, praised and exalted above all for ever:
56 blessed in the expanse of the heavens, exalted and glorified for ever.
Gospel, John 8:31-42
31 To the Jews who believed in him Jesus said: If you make my word your home you will indeed be my disciples;
32 you will come to know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
33 They answered, ‘We are descended from Abraham and we have never been the slaves of anyone; what do you mean, “You will be set free?” ‘
34 Jesus replied: In all truth I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave.
35 Now a slave has no permanent standing in the household, but a son belongs to it for ever.
36 So if the Son sets you free, you will indeed be free.
37 I know that you are descended from Abraham; but you want to kill me because my word finds no place in you.
38 What I speak of is what I have seen at my Father’s side, and you too put into action the lessons you have learnt from your father.
39 They repeated, ‘Our father is Abraham.’ Jesus said to them: If you are Abraham’s children, do as Abraham did.
40 As it is, you want to kill me, a man who has told you the truth as I have learnt it from God; that is not what Abraham did.
41 You are doing your father’s work. They replied, ‘We were not born illegitimate, the only father we have is God.’
42 Jesus answered: If God were your father, you would love me, since I have my origin in God and have come from him; I did not come of my own accord, but he sent me.
