Third Week of Lent
08th March 2024 (Friday)
Psalter: Week 3
Reading of the Day
First Reading: Hosea 14:1-9
Thus says the Lord: Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God for you have stumbled because of your iniquity. Take with you words and return to the Lord; say to him, “Take away all iniquity; accept what is good, and we will pay with bulls the vows of our lips. Assyria shall not save us; we will not ride on horses; and we will say no more, ‘Our God,’ to the work of our hands. In you the orphan finds mercy.” I will heal their apostasy; I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them. I will be like the dew to Israel; he shall blossom like the lily; he shall take root like the trees of Lebanon; his shoots shall spread out; his beauty shall be like the olive, and his fragrance like Lebanon. They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow; they shall flourish like the corn; they shall blossom like the vine; their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon. O Ephraim, what have I to do with idols? It is I who answer and look after you. I am like an evergreen cypress; from me comes your fruit. Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them; for the ways of the Lord are right, and the upright walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them.
Psalm 81:6c-8a, 8bc-9, 10-11ab, 14 and 17 (R. see 11a, 9b)
R/. I am the Lord your God: listen to my voice.
Verse Before The Gospel
V/. Glory and praise to you, O Christ
R/. Glory and praise to you, O Christ
V/. Repent, says the Lord, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
R/. Glory and praise to you, O Christ.
Gospel : Mark 12:28b-34
At that time: One of the scribes came up to Jesus and asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbour as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Daily Gospel Reflection
Highlight: From iniquity to Fidelity!
Guidelines: God’s purpose is not to punish us for our wrongdoings however big and frequent they are. Rather He wants our renovation and restoration through repentance and reparation
1. God constantly invites us to return from our path of iniquity to a consistent practice of fidelity. Once we turn away from evil and return to God, surely He will restore us to renewed dignity and prosperity.
2. A life of such return is steered by the sole and supreme norm of love: love for God and love for the other. It is a love for God that is total and holistic. It includes all our faculties, energies and capacities. It is a love that is total and entire, “with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind and with all our strength”.
3. There are no fractions or portions, no conditions or concessions. Further, it is a love for others which is like a pure love for the self. All other rules and directives are submerged into this twofold love
4. The merit of this love-teaching of Jesus is that they are not just put together in one packing, but they are presented as one unified whole. It is a single love that is two-pronged. Thereby it is very clear that both are inseparable: one cannot pretend to practise one and fail in the other.
5. A heart that loves God wholly would also make space for the other. Similarly, one who loves others cannot but be founded on God and be directed to Him. Now, the fundamental norm for loving God is totality, and no half-measures.
6. And the norm for loving the other is the measure of self-love, because Jesus exhorts: love your neighbour AS yourself. Here, we need to remember that this self-love is not a self-centred or self-directed love. It is a healthy love for the self
7. In so far our true self is created in the image and likeness of God, we need to love that real self and strive to rediscover and recapture it. Therefore, this self-love must not be equated with selfish love or self-gratification. It is a pure and productive love
8. Even in the basic sense also, to love others as one’s own self can mean not to do evil or harm to others, not to lower the due esteem and respect. This twofold love surpasses everything else, even the merely spiritual activities.
Practice: Love for God and love for others are not mutually exclusive. They are intertwined with each other so much so that each becomes an expression and testimony of the other
