From Today's Gospel

As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the Twelve disciples aside by themselves,and said to them on the way,"Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priestsand the scribes,and they will condemn him to death, and hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day."

Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Jesus with her sons and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something. He said to her, "What do you wish?" She answered him, "Command that these two sons of mine sit, one at your right and the other at your left, in your kingdom." Jesus said in reply,"You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?" They said to him, "We can." He replied, "My chalice you will indeed drink, but to sit at my right and at my left, this is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father." When the ten heard this,they became indignant at the two brothers. But Jesus summoned them and said,"You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Mt 20:17-28

Lord, Help me to know what I ask and to be humble in my requests. Jesus, remember me, when you come into your kingdom.

From the Gospel for March 10

Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying,"The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses. Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you,but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens hard to carryand lay them on people's shoulders,but they will not lift a finger to move them. All their works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues, greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation 'Rabbi.' As for you, do not be called 'Rabbi. 'You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers. Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven. Do not be called 'Master'; you have but one master, the Christ. The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted."

Mt 23:1-12

Lord, help me to humble myself to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

From the Gospel for March 9

Jesus said to his disciples:"Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
"Stop judging and you will not be judged.Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.Forgive and you will be forgiven.Give and gifts will be given to you;a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing,will be poured into your lap.For the measure with which you measurewill in return be measured out to you."

Lk 6:36-38

Lord, help me to remember to sow what I would like to reap.

Six Years Ago Today...

From Today's First Reading

God put Abraham to the test.He called to him, "Abraham!""Here I am!" he replied. Then God said:"Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. There you shall offer him up as a holocaust on a height that I will point out to you."

When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. Then he reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son. But the LORD's messenger called to him from heaven, "Abraham, Abraham!" "Here I am!" he answered. "Do not lay your hand on the boy," said the messenger." Do not do the least thing to him.I know now how devoted you are to God, since you did not withhold from me your own beloved son." As Abraham looked about, he spied a ram caught by its horns in the thicket. So he went and took the ram and offered it up as a holocaust in place of his son.

Again the LORD's messenger called to Abraham from heaven and said: "I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you acted as you did in not withholding from me your beloved son, I will bless you abundantly and make your descendants as countless as the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore; your descendants shall take possession of the gates of their enemies, and in your descendants all the nations of the earthshall find blessing—all this because you obeyed my command."

Gn 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18

Lord, help us to hear your voice when you call and to obey you even when we do not understand your plans. Help us to accept that it is not always for us to understand your ways because you are God and perfect.

From Today's Gospel

Jesus said to his disciples:"You have heard that it was said,You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies,and pray for those who persecute you,that you may be children of your heavenly Father,for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good,and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?Do not the tax collectors do the same?And if you greet your brothers and sisters only,what is unusual about that?Do not the pagans do the same?So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect."



Mt 5:43-48



Father please help me to love not only those dear to me, but those who may persecute me and be my enemies. Help me to remember that your love is perfect and is for all, as mine should be.

And Some Grace to Spare

I was recently reading on another site where a mom described saying yes to a request she would normally have said no to and discussing why she made an exception. The horrible thing she said yes to was a sugary sweet marshmallow lollipop thing. She describes saying yes out of weariness, but not regretting the decision later.

We all want to be good parents and do what is best for our children. That is why we set rules and limits. No more than 2 hours of tv during the week. No candy before dinner. Only milk or water at meals. But every so often, the best of us succumb to fast food or allowing a soda while out shopping or even the forbidden cartoon Spongebob for an extra hour. Does that make us bad parents? Are we now failures? Can we no longer claim our stake with our children that we make rules because we have their best interests at heart?

I have been thinking a lot about this lately because some of the comments to the post I read contained things like, "Now all your kids will want to accompany you every time you go to the store," and "I never say yes to something like that because if I do it once, the kids think it's allowed and now I've trained them so well, they don't even ask anymore!" Most of these comments were left by anonymous users or users using a pseudonym which made me wonder even more....

Personally, I think it takes a certain type of grace to occasionally make an exception. It takes grace because you run the risk of having a child now assume that the previously forbidden. It also could force you into over-explaining why in this one case we are allowing "it" and why it won't be allowed in the future. And we have now put ourselves up for all of the parents we know to now criticize our decision and makes claims like the one about how well-trained their kids are.

The little girl, to whom this mother said yes, was grateful and gracious, telling her mother how she would savor this special treat and how she was going to make it last. I don't know if mom had some explaining to do to the other kids at home or if she went into detail about how this was a one time thing for this little girl, but I am sure that God had some grace to spare when and if those things came up.

From Today's Reading

Jesus said to his disciples:
"I tell you,
unless your righteousness surpasses that
of the scribes and Pharisees,
you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven.

"You have heard that it was said to your ancestors,
You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.
But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother
will be liable to judgment,
and whoever says to his brother, Raqa,
will be answerable to the Sanhedrin,
and whoever says, 'You fool,' will be liable to fiery Gehenna.
Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar,
and there recall that your brother
has anything against you,
leave your gift there at the altar,
go first and be reconciled with your brother,
and then come and offer your gift.
Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court.
Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge,
and the judge will hand you over to the guard,
and you will be thrown into prison.
Amen, I say to you,
you will not be released until you have paid the last penny."

Lord, help me to behave justly to all my brothers and sisters.

Small Successes

Here we go:

1) In two days, my husband and I have completely cleaned out TWO closets and consolidated them into one!

2) I have been so far faithful every day to my lenten promise to say the rosary, that day's mysteries and the sorrowful mysteries AND the rosary of the Seven Sorrows!

3) I have been making my dusting goal (all surfaces with a feather duster every day!).

Now, if you will excuse me, I have to make good on last week's small success and plan a menu!!!

Today's Readings

The First Reading:
Queen Esther, seized with mortal anguish,had recourse to the LORD.She lay prostrate upon the ground, together with her handmaids, from morning until evening, and said:"God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, blessed are you. Help me, who am alone and have no help but you,for I am taking my life in my hand.As a child I used to hear from the books of my forefathersthat you, O LORD, always free those who are pleasing to you.Now help me, who am alone and have no one but you,O LORD, my God.
"And now, come to help me, an orphan.Put in my mouth persuasive words in the presence of the lionand turn his heart to hatred for our enemy,so that he and those who are in league with him may perish.Save us from the hand of our enemies;turn our mourning into gladnessand our sorrows into wholeness."

Est C:12, 14-16, 23-25

The Gospel:

Jesus said to his disciples:"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds;and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Which one of you would hand his son a stonewhen he asked for a loaf of bread,or a snake when he asked for a fish? If you then, who are wicked,know how to give good gifts to your children,how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him.
"Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the law and the prophets."

Mt 7:7-12

Lord Jesus Christ,
Help us to remember that you answer all the prayers of us, your faithful people. Help us to accept all your answers, especially when we may not understand them.

From Today's First Reading

The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time:"Set out for the great city of Nineveh,and announce to it the message that I will tell you."So Jonah made ready and went to Nineveh,according to the LORD's bidding.Now Nineveh was an enormously large city;it took three days to go through it.Jonah began his journey through the city,and had gone but a single day's walk announcing,"Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed,"when the people of Nineveh believed God;they proclaimed a fastand all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth.
When the news reached the king of Nineveh,he rose from his throne, laid aside his robe,covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in the ashes.Then he had this proclaimed throughout Nineveh,by decree of the king and his nobles:"Neither man nor beast, neither cattle nor sheep,shall taste anything;they shall not eat, nor shall they drink water. Man and beast shall be covered with sackcloth and call loudly to God;every man shall turn from his evil wayand from the violence he has in hand.Who knows, God may relent and forgive, and withhold his blazing wrath,so that we shall not perish."When God saw by their actions how they turned from their evil way,he repented of the evil that he had threatened to do to them;he did not carry it out.

Jon 3:1-10

Lord, help me to hear your voice and recognize it as you. Help me to turn away from evil and follow the gospel.

Need Some Poetry in Your Lenten Journey

Or maybe just three questions to contemplate? Or maybe a beauitful prayer? If you answered yes to any of those three than this is the book for you...

Ashes to Easter by Father Robert Morneau includes meditations for each day of lent centered upon that day's gospel. I was introduced to these meditations in 2005 when I was a member of a Little Parish Family Group at my church and we decided to use these Lenten meditations as discussion points. The book was wildly popular among all who read it and I decided this year to pull it out again. I find it even more relevant now. If you are looking for something a little different but moving for lent, check it out!

From Today's Gospel

Jesus said to his disciples: "In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

"This is how you are to pray: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

"If you forgive men their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions."

Mt 6: 7-15

God our Father, remind us always that You alone know what is best for us. Please help us to remember to forgive others, that we may be forgiven. We do that in memory of You. Jesus, Remember me, when You come into your kingdom.

Whatsoever you do, for the least of my people...

From today's Gospel:
Jesus said to this disciples: "When the son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.' Then the righteous will answer him and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?' And the king will say to them in reply, 'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.' Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.' Then they will answer and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?' He will answer them, 'Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.' And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

Mt 25:31-46

Lord help me to see your faces in the faces of all those I meet. Teach me to find the goodness and right in all people. Remind me to always use my time, talent and treasure for the least of your people.

Today's Second Reading

Sorry, went to later mass, so this is a bit late in the day....

Beloved: Christ suffered for sins once, the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous, that he might lead you to God. Put to death in the flesh, he was brought to life in the Spirit. In it he also went to preach to the spirits in prison, who had once been disobedient while God patiently waited in the days of Noah during the building of the ark, in which a few persons, eight in all, were saved through water. This prefigured baptism, which saves you now. It is not a removal of dirt from the body but an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him.

1 Pt 3:18-22

Lord help us to remember that you wait patiently for our return. Jesus, Remember me, when you come into your kingdom.