Thursday after Ash Wednesday
Thursday, February 15, 2018
Thursday after Ash Wednesday
"After falling, immediately rise again! Do not let sin in your heart even for a moment! " John Maria Vianney
Antifon Opener (Ps 55: 17.20.23)
When I cried to the Lord, He listened to me and freed me from my enemies. Submit your fate to my Lord and He will help you.
When I cried to the Lord, he heard my voice; he rescued me from those who attack me. Entrust your cares to the Lord, and he will support you.
Opening Prayer
God the Father of the base and purpose of our lives, light our heart and mind in planning our work. Accompany us in doing it and grant Your grace to finish it well. By the intercession of Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who is with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, alive and powerful, God, for all time. Amen.
Readings from Deuteronomy (30: 15-20)
"Today I am facing you: a blessing and a curse."
In the desert on the other side of the Jordan River Moses said to his people, "Remember, today I am confronting you with life and luck, death and accident. For today I command you to love the Lord your God by walking in his ways and keeping his commandments, statutes and ordinances. Thus you are alive and multiplied, and blessed by the Lord your God in the land which you have entered to possess. But if your heart turns away and you do not want to hear, especially if you will be led astray to worship other gods and worship him, today I will tell you that surely you will perish, and will not live in the land where you are going , crossed the Jordan River, to possess it. I call upon the heavens and the earth to bear witness against you this day: To whom I will bring life and death, blessings and cursing. Choose life so that you may not die either of you or your descendants by loving the Lord your God, hearkens to his voice, and adheres to him. For it is life for you and your days to dwell in the land that the Lord has promised with oaths to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give it to them. "
That is the word of God
U. Thank God.
Psalm Response, do = g, 2/4, PS 840
Ref. Happy to bond to Yahweh, my hope in the God of my Lord
or Blessed are those who put their trust in God.
Paragraph. (Ps 1: 1-2.3.4.6; Ul: Ps 40: 5a)
- Blessed is the one who does not walk according to the counsel of the wicked, who does not stand in the way of sinners, and who does not sit in a pool of scorners, but whose joy is the law of God, and day and night contemplate it.
- He is like a tree, planted on the edge of the stream, which produces its fruit in season, and which does not wither its leaves; what it does works.
- Not so the wicked: they are like chaff blown by the wind. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leadeth to perdition.
The Introduction to the Gospel, do = bes, 4/4, PS 965
Ref. Blessed be Christ the Lord, the King of glory and eternal
Paragraph. (Mt 10: 7)
Repent, the word of God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.
This is the Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Luke (9: 22-25)
"Whoever loses his life for me, he will save it."
Once Jesus told his disciples that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and scribes, and be killed, but raised on the third day. He said to all of them, "Everyone who wants to follow me must deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life, he will lose his life; but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What is the use of a whole world, but he destroys or harms himself? "
That is the gospel of God
U. Blessed Christ.
Reflection
The current age of today is the current of secularism, a stream that leads people to the belief that the precious thing in life is all worldly things. The earthly can be a sign of success, happiness, and achievement of life. Life on earth is measured worldly. The values of virtue, such as faith, humanity, social become relative, to the extent that they are sacrificed for worldly values.
The stream has gnawed at many people, including Catholics. They do not want to live in simplicity. They want to achieve wealth and luxury lifestyle in a way that is not good. They do not want to work hard, carry the cross and rely on God. Therefore, the Lord affirms that there is no point in living an all-sufficient life but his soul is empty and hi