Readings & Reflections: Saturday of the Fourth Week of Lent & St. Catharine of Bologna, March 28,2020

In the reading from the Prophet Jeremiah and in the responsorial psalm, it is as if Jesus himself is speaking: “I, like a trusting lamb (am) led to slaughter. O Lord of hosts… to you I have entrusted my cause!… Do me justice, O Lord, because I am just… Sustain the just.” The guards refuse to arrest Jesus. Why? “Never before has anyone spoken like this man.” We beg the Searcher of mind and heart to give us the same conviction about Jesus Christ.

AMDG+

Opening Prayer

Heavenly Father, You have asked me to follow your Son, our Lord Jesus and live His life. Although it is my deep desire to follow your will for me, I fail so often to stay on that path. I cannot do it alone, loving Lord. I need your help and guidance. I need to remember your love for me and I want to remember how very much I need You in my life. Lord, may I keep my body pure as temple of the Holy Spirit. May I offer myself this day to the service of others and do your will in all things throughout the day.  Teach me to seek the bread of everlasting life, the Bread that is your gift. In the Mighty Name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Reading 1
Jer 11:18-20

I knew their plot because the LORD informed me;
at that time you, O LORD, showed me their doings.

Yet I, like a trusting lamb led to slaughter,
had not realized that they were hatching plots against me:
“Let us destroy the tree in its vigor;
let us cut him off from the land of the living,
so that his name will be spoken no more.”

But, you, O LORD of hosts, O just Judge,
searcher of mind and heart,
Let me witness the vengeance you take on them,
for to you I have entrusted my cause!

The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 7:2-3, 9bc-10, 11-12
R. (2a) O Lord, my God, in you I take refuge.

O LORD, my God, in you I take refuge;
save me from all my pursuers and rescue me,
Lest I become like the lion’s prey,
to be torn to pieces, with no one to rescue me.
R. O Lord, my God, in you I take refuge.

Do me justice, O LORD, because I am just,
and because of the innocence that is mine.
Let the malice of the wicked come to an end,
but sustain the just,
O searcher of heart and soul, O just God.
R. O Lord, my God, in you I take refuge.

A shield before me is God,
who saves the upright of heart;
A just judge is God,
a God who punishes day by day.
R. O Lord, my God, in you I take refuge.

Gospel
John 7:40-53

Some in the crowd who heard these words of Jesus said,
“This is truly the Prophet.”
Others said, “This is the Christ.”
But others said, “The Christ will not come from Galilee, will he?
Does not Scripture say that the Christ will be of David’s family
and come from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?”
So a division occurred in the crowd because of him.
Some of them even wanted to arrest him,
but no one laid hands on him.

So the guards went to the chief priests and Pharisees,
who asked them, “Why did you not bring him?”
The guards answered, “Never before has anyone spoken like this man.”
So the Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived?
Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him?
But this crowd, which does not know the law, is accursed.”
Nicodemus, one of their members who had come to him earlier, said to them,
“Does our law condemn a man before it first hears him
and finds out what he is doing?”
They answered and said to him,
“You are not from Galilee also, are you?
Look and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.”

Then each went to his own house.

The Gospel of the Lord.

Reflection 1 – The true identity of Jesus

While the Jews knew where Jesus lived, they were wrong in assuming where He was born. Because they stubbornly refused the circumstances before them, they missed the true identity of Jesus. The Jews obviously have been blinded by their pride and hardened spirits that they missed Jesus. They missed the true identity of Jesus. They missed His purpose. They missed everything that would have made the difference between life and death. They missed the only Way to heaven. They missed God’s presence in their lives as they continue to wait for the Anointed One even to this very day.

As I look deep into my heart and try to see how I have clung to what I know and what I think I know, I at times reject a lot of things in my life. I consider myself quite like the Jews of Jesus’ time.

Before my renewal, I was not able to accept the realities of life and often times I allow my past to always influence my present circumstances. It is only when life has been turned around and upside down that I start to look into the truth behind my life. Only when situations are desperate, life threatening and painful, when life makes a complete turn around for the worst, that I am able to confront the realities of life. It is only in extreme and painful life reversals that I come to see God with a clearer perspective.

That is only the time when I begin to see things the way God wants me to see them. That is the time when I find God’s presence very active in my midst. Otherwise, I was quite prone to setting everything by my side as I proceed with my own plans and my own way of doing things.

Today with God’s Word deeply imbedded in my heart, I realize that I need to follow the model Jesus gave us in Nicodemus who pointed out that the Jews never gave Jesus a fair chance. I need to give God and those whom God has sent to me a chance in my life. I need to be open to the events and the people in my life to speak to me, find out all I can, before I dismiss them for being worthless and for what may in fact be God’s way of drawing me closer to Him, His way of revealing His presence in my life. I have to set aside my pride and my intellect and let God’s wisdom prevail so that He will always be present in my life. Otherwise, I might lose Him altogether just the way the Jews did.

“The main challenge to our faith today is not in the direct rejection of God but in overcoming our lukewarm faith. Such a faith rejects God indirectly when we are “happy” to do the minimum for God. If such faith is not renewed, we may one day lose our faith altogether.” (Fr Philip Heng, S.J.)

Direction

We have to open our hearts to God and to those Whom He has brought into our lives. We should always be open to the Spirit.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, give me the grace to see things beyond my own myopic vision and let your wisdom guide me in all that I shall endeavor to do in your Name. In Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Reflection 2 – Reaction to Jesus’ words

When resistance and opposition to God’s word rears its head how do you respond? With fear and doubt? Or with faith and courage? The prophet Jeremiah was opposed by his own people because the words he spoke in God’s name did not sit right with them. They plotted to silence him and to “cut him off from the land of the living” (Jeremiah 11:19).  Jeremiah responded with meekness and prophetic insight “like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter” (Jeremiah 11:18).

Are you willing to take a stand for the Lord Jesus?
No one can be indifferent for long when confronted with Jesus and his claim to be the Messiah and Savior of the world. Jesus’ message and the miraculous signs he performed caused division for many in Israel. Some believed he was a prophet, some the Messiah, and some believed he was neither. The reaction of the armed officers was bewildered amazement. They went to arrest him and returned empty-handed because they never heard anyone speak as he did. The reaction of the chief priests and Pharisees was contempt. The reaction of Nicodemus was timid. His heart told him to defend Jesus, but his head told him not to take the risk.

Who is Jesus for you? And are you ready to give him your full allegiance? There will often come a time when we have to take a stand for the Lord Jesus and for the truth of the Gospel – the good news of God’s kingdom and the free gift of salvation which Jesus came to bring us. To stand for Jesus and his kingdom may provoke mockery and opposition. It may even entail suffering and hardship – such as the loss of job, reputation, or life.The Lord Jesus richly rewards those who suffer for his name’s sake.

Costly grace versus cheap grace
There are fundamentally only two choices that determine the course of our lives and the final destiny that awaits us: the choice to live for God’s kingdom of peace, joy, and righteousness or the pursuit of the world’s kingdom which stands in opposition to God’s authority and commandments. We can choose to obey God’s word and believe in his promise of blessing or we can choose to follow the voice of those who promise success and happiness apart from God’s truth and laws. The costly grace and freedom – which the Lord Jesus offers to those who embrace the cross for his sake – leads to joy and blessing in this life as well as the promise of eternal happiness with God. Cheap grace – which tries to bypass the cross for the sake of being my own master and the ruler of my own destiny – leads to emptiness and endless futility. Who do you choose to be the master and ruler of your life and destiny?

“Lord Jesus, your Gospel brings joy and freedom. May I be loyal to you always, even though it produce a cross on earth, that I may share in your crown of victory for all eternity”. – Read the source:  http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/2020/mar28.htm

Reflection 3 – Why did you not bring him

So the guards went to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why did you not bring him?” The guards answered, “Never before has anyone spoken like this one.” So the Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd, which does not know the law, is accursed.”

The Gospel today is a continuation of yesterday’s story. The people were confused about the identity of Jesus. The Jewish leaders sent the temple guards to apprehend Jesus. When they returned, they were questioned by their superiors, “Why did you not bring him?” The guards answered, “Never before has anyone spoken like this one.”

Perhaps those guards were also curious about Jesus. We may surmise that while waiting for a moment to apprehend the Lord, they mingled with the crowd for some time. They saw and heard the Lord personally, and were filled with wonder at seeing His person and hearing His teachings. And they concluded with their observation: “Never before has anyone spoken like this one.”

Though a candid and innocent comment, it hits the sensitive nerves of the Pharisees and scribes, the official teachers of Israel. This statement echoes the account of the Synoptic Gospels: “The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes” (Mk 1:22, Mt 7:28-28). Another English Translation, The Message (MSG), puts it more eloquently: “They were surprised at his teaching—so forthright, so confident—not quibbling and quoting like the religion scholars.”

That Jesus taught with authority should not come as a surprise for those who have come to know that Jesus is the Eternal Word Incarnate. Being such, he speaks from His own authority, and not from anyone else. But added to this, His words have inner power because He ‘walks the talk’, so to say. His words are accompanied by action that makes them credible and cogent.

The Gospel lesson today should lead us to examine ourselves. As Christians, clergy and laity alike, we are all called to be proclaimers of the Gospel – with authority. At times we feel inadequate and uneasy in fulfilling this mission because, admittedly, we are not truly faithful to what we preach.

St. Gregory the Great gives us this reminder: “We Christians must show people what really following Jesus means. The man who has the mission of saying great things (and all of us as Christians have this sweet obligation) is equally obliged to practice them.”

The following words from Pope St. John Paul II serve as a fitting conclusion:
“We need heralds of the Gospel who are experts in humanity, who know the depths of the heart of man today, who share in his hopes and joys, his worries and his sadness, and at the same time are contemplatives, in love with God. For this, new saints are needed. The great evangelizers of Europe have been the saints. We must implore God to increase the spirit of holiness in the Church and to send us new saints to evangelize today’s world.” (Oct 11, 1985).

Reflection 4 – Why they thought Jesus to be Prophet and Messiah

“As everything which is inferior to God is finite, and our intellect is capable of knowing infinite things, it is true to say that no creature can fill even one tenth part of our heart. It becomes, therefore, not merely reasonable, but even necessary, to acknowledge that the happiness of man consists in the vision of God, who alone is greater than the human heart.

“Now God, who is the term of human desire, is the satisfaction of the human heart, leaving naught else to be desired. And this because everything else, being finite, will bear no comparison to him who is infinite; and, also, because all perfection of creatures is to be found in its fullest excellence in him who is their cause….

“Our understanding, which is capable of rising to infinite things, may by the divine power be enabled to behold that which is naturally invisible to it. Thus the beatitude of man consists in the vision of God, and he is enabled to enjoy it by means of a supernatural light which is called “the light of glory.” It is plain, then, that no more reasonable or better end could be devised, as the term of human life, than the end set before us by the Christian religion.” (Source: Fr. Girolamo Savonarola, O.P. +1498 A.D., Magnificat, Vol. 16, No. 13, March 2015, pp. 326-327).

Reflection 5 – Discover the hidden joy in the sacrifice you made

One of the sacrifices we make for Christ is rejection by friends and family and co-workers due to our faith. To be “holy” means to be different from the world. Counter-cultural. Making no compromises in the moral teachings of the Church. Being bold and daring enough, and confident in Christ enough, and in love with God enough to stand firm in what is right and true regardless of the consequences.

This is not easy. No sacrifice is easy or else it is not truly sacrificial. And today’s world preaches that sacrifices are a bad thing. We are hearing from every direction, except the Church, that instead of making sacrifices we should cater to ourselves, our desires, and our ideas of what’s right and what’s wrong. Because of this, making sacrifices today is more distasteful than ever!

It takes a lot of self-discipline to make sacrifices without complaining and grumbling. I, too, struggle with this, so God in his great mercy has been helping me. The Lenten exercise that he gave me is a very restrictive diet. No meat on Fridays? That’s easy! How about no meat at all during Lent. And no sweets (except dark chocolate, of course). There’s a long list of foods that are on my “no-no” list due to the pursuit of natural healing from rheumatoid arthritis in my hands. If it were not for the pain caused by eating certain foods, I would have little self-discipline (okay, I’ll be honest, no lasting self-discipline) for this type of sacrifice. Pain is a powerful teacher.

Someday, this will build in me greater strength for other sacrifices. – (Source: Terry Modica, Good News Ministries).

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Reflection 6 – St. Catharine of Bologna
(1413-1463 A.D.)

Some Franciscan saints led fairly public lives; Catharine represents the saints who served the Lord in obscurity.

Catharine, born in Bologna, was related to the nobility in Ferrara and was educated at court there. She received a liberal education at the court and developed some interest and talent in painting. In later years as a Poor Clare, Catharine sometimes did manuscript illumination and also painted miniatures.

At the age of 17, she joined a group of religious women in Ferrara. Four years later the whole group joined the Poor Clares in that city. Jobs as convent baker and portress preceded her selection as novice mistress.

In 1456, she and 15 other sisters were sent to establish a Poor Clare monastery in Florence. As abbess Catharine worked to preserve the peace of the new community. Her reputation for holiness drew many young women to the Poor Clare life. She was canonized in 1712.

Comment:

Appreciating Catharine’s life in a Poor Clare monastery may be hard for us. “It seems like such a waste,” we may be tempted to say. Through prayer, penance and charity to her sisters, Catharine drew close to God. Our goal is the same as hers even if our paths are different.

Quote:

Catharine wrote a book on the seven spiritual weapons to be used against temptation. “Jesus Christ gave up his life that we might live,” she said. “Therefore, whoever wishes to carry the cross for his sake must take up the proper weapons for the contest, especially those mentioned here. First, diligence; second, distrust of self; third, confidence in God; fourth, remembrance of the Passion; fifth, mindfulness of one’s own death; sixth, remembrance of God’s glory; seventh, the injunctions of Sacred Scripture following the example of Jesus Christ in the desert” (On the Seven Spiritual Weapons).

Patron Saint of: Art, Artists

Read the source:   http://www.americancatholic.org/features/saints/saint.aspx?id=1378

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