March
5, 2016
Saturday
of the Third Week of Lent
Saint
of the Day: Saints Adrian and Eubulus, Martyrs (+309)
Reading 1
1“Come,
let us return to the LORD, it
is He who has rent, but He will heal us; He
has struck us, but He will bind our wounds.[1] 2He
will revive us after two days;
3Let
us know, let us strive to know the LORD; as
certain as the dawn is His coming, and His judgment shines forth like the light of day! He
will come to us like the rain, like
spring rain that waters the earth.”
4What
can I do with you, Ephraim? What
can I do with you, Judah? Your
piety is like a morning cloud, like
the dew that early passes away.[3]
5For
this reason I smote them through the prophets, I
slew them by the words of my mouth; 6For
it is love that I desire, not sacrifice, and
knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
Responsorial Psalm
R.
(see Hosea 6:6) It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.
3Have
mercy on me, O God, in your goodness; in
the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense. 4Thoroughly
wash me from my guilt and
of my sin cleanse me.
R.
It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.
18For
you are not pleased with sacrifices; should
I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it. 19My
sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit; a
heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
R.
It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.
20Be
bountiful, O LORD, to Zion in your kindness by
rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem; 21aThen
shall you be pleased with due sacrifices, 21bburnt
offerings and holocausts.
R.
It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.
Verse
Before The Gospel PPsalm 95:8
If
today you hear His voice, harden
not your hearts.
9Jesus
addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and
despised everyone else.
10“Two
people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was
a tax collector. 11The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to
himself, ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity - greedy, dishonest, adulterous — or even
like this tax collector. 12I
fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’
13But
the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to
heaven but beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’
14I
tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for everyone who
exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be
exalted.”[4]
[4] Luke 18:1-14 - The particularly Lucan
material in the travel narrative concludes with two parables on prayer. The
first (Luke 18;1-8) teaches the
disciples the need of persistent prayer so that they not fall victims to
apostasy (Luke 18:8). The second (Luke 18;9-14) condemns the
self-righteous, critical attitude of the Pharisee and teaches that the
fundamental attitude of the Christian disciple must be the recognition of
sinfulness and complete dependence on God's graciousness. The second parable
recalls the story of the pardoning of the sinful woman (Luke 7;36-50) where a similar contrast is presented between the
critical attitude of the Pharisee Simon and the love shown by the pardoned
sinner.
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Dear Humanity,
I personally encourage everyone to emulate JESUS' values on LOVE, FAITH, HOPE
and CHARITY, as the humanity has been a failure; which resulted to the more than two (2) years of pandemic and its after-effects on economy, not only here in the Philippines but worldwide.
And the saddest part of it, is that, it affected the POOREST of the POOR to even extremely be more poorer, in exchange of the affluent to be more richer.
Thank you and may GOD bless you and the whole family to have an enjoyed life's journey at home, Church, schools/universities, corporate commitments, public and places of interest.