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Opening Prayer:
Be near, O Lord, to those who plead before you,
The Readings: (alternate) In His Steps - A Lenten Series
Today:
Daily Meditation:
Come to us, free us, help us, and guide us.
Christ is the mediator of a new covenant so that since he has died,
Today's Daily Reflection
by Isabelle Cherney
Today's readings remind us of God's covenant with Abraham, and with all of us.
We are called to keep his covenant throughout the ages. In return, he will be
our God and the God of our descendants. The Psalm reminds us that we should
"look to the Lord in his strength; seek to serve him constantly." Lent is a good
time to reflect on his covenant and on our place in the world and in the Church.
This year, with the resignation of Pope Benedict, we have a new opportunity to
reflect on what it means to follow God's word and what it means to be without
papal leadership during this unique time.
I happen to be the director of a doctoral program in leadership at Creighton
University. As I reflect on these days without a leader in the Roman Catholic
Church, I keep reminding myself that we are all leaders in our own right. We all
are guides and facilitators of our followers. As Chris Lowney writes in his
excellent book Heroic Leadership, "Leadership is not a job, not a role one plays
at work and then puts aside during the commute home in order to relax and enjoy
real life. Rather, leadership is the leader's real life", we are all leaders in
the church, in our family, in our jobs, in all we do.
In today's Gospel passage the Jews did not believe Jesus. Imagine being told
that who professes that "whoever keeps my word will never see death" when this
is completely outside your experience. John's words remind me that as much as we
are leaders to many, we should not forget that we are followers of God. However,
being a follower is difficult. We have to trust that the leader means well, and
has our best interest in mind. We have to trust that the leader speaks the
truth.
During this season of Lent I pray for the cardinals in Rome, that they may find
the right leader for the Church, a leader who will bring all people together for
peace and justice. I pray that I will be open and have the courage to follow the
leaders around me, and that when acting in the role of a leader, I will always
act for the greater good and my leadership style will inspire others to become
better leaders.
and look kindly on those who place their hop in your mercy,
that, cleansed from the stain of their sins,
they may persevere in holy living
and be made full heirs of your promise.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Genesis 17: 3-9; Psalm 105:4-9; John 8:51-59
We pray more intensely now, just a week before Holy Thursday.
We desire more and more that we might be free.
Sorrow leads to profound gratitude,
when we experience the depth of unconditional love offered us.
The gratitude of a loved sinner leads to great generosity.
those who are called may receive the eternal inheritance promised to them.
The Entrance Antiphon - Hebrews 9:15
Graduate School and University College, Creighton University
Preface for Meditation:
"Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son,
your only son." God had asked Abraham to make the fundamental sacrifice, that of
his future, his inheritance, his hope. He submitted his will to the will of God
and met the challenge placed before him.
With that in mind, what do we see when we look at the cross before us? Beyond
any of the spiritual and symbolic images that it may invoke, there is one
central tenant, one core fact that we cannot deny: God did not spare His only
son. Instead he hangs there on a cross, crucified.
God the Father did not ask anything of Abraham that He himself would not one day
do. However, for Abraham and Isaac the call to sacrifice was only a test. Not so
for God the Father and his only son, Jesus Christ. There is no ram caught in the
bushes nearby, bringing at the last moment a welcomed deliverance. No, the die
was cast in the eternal heart of God and sealed by Adam’s first sin, then made
final and sure by every sin that followed after. The cup of sacrifice has been
raised to Jesus’ lips and it will not pass him by. There is no reprieve for the
lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
When we look within this one all-encompassing sacrifice, we see the echoes of
all the sacrifices that God has in the past, or will at any time in the future,
ask each of us to make. From this singular moment of agape, self-sacrificial
love, all other acts of sacrifice find their true significance, their eternal
grounding, their meaning and purpose.
So, as we look back on our past offerings and face whatever sacrifices that lay
ahead, we can know that nothing we offer will ever be forgotten, no effort we
make will ever be lost in the dustbin of time. Every effort will find its proper
place, its appointed purpose within this single transforming moment.
As we survey this wondrous cross, where Jesus hangs to die, with love so
amazing, with love so divine, what small demand then is God asking of us today?
Look upon the one you have pierced.
Fifty-Day Gospel Planner
Evening Morning
Gospel Readings: Matthew 7:1-12 (KJV)
Judge not, that ye be not judged.
For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure
ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but
considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine
eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt
thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.
Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls
before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and
rend you.
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall
be opened unto you:
For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him
that knocketh it shall be opened.
Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a
stone?
Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how
much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that
ask him?
Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye
even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and
besought him to touch him.
And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when
he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw
ought.
And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking.
After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and
he was restored, and saw every man clearly.
And he sent him away to his house, saying, Neither go into the town, nor
tell it to any in the town.
And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way,
and said unto them,
Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the
chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death,
And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to
crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again.
Bible Verse of the Day: "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door
will be opened to you". St. Matthew 7:7
Intercessions:
Christ our Lord came among us as the light of the world,
God of mercy, help us today to grow in your likeness,
Closing Prayer:
Lord,
May the Lord bless us,
Source: Portions from: Creighton University Praying Lent
by Prince Mathew
Thursday before Hosanna
(Read all Gospels during the Great Lent)
Mark 8:22-26 (KJV)
Matthew 20:17-19 (KJV)
that we might walk in his light, and not in the darkness of death.
Let us praise him and cry out to him:
Let your word be a lamp to guide us.
- that we who sinned in Adam may rise again in Christ.
Let your word be a lamp to guide us,
- that we may live the truth and grow always in your love.
Teach us to be faithful in seeking the common good for your sake,
- that your light may shine on the whole human family by means of your Church.
Touch our hearts to seek your friendship more and more,
- and to make amends for our sins against your wisdom and goodness.
all I want is to be faithful to you in my life,
but so often I fail.
Free me from my many sins
and guide me to the life I will share with you.
I wait for your promise to be fulfilled
with great hope in my heart
and your praise on my lips.
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.
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