:: Faith Today: Lent 2010 ::
Third Sunday of Lent
Sunday March 7, 2010
News & Inspiration :: Today's Mass :: Divine Office :: Saints :: Intentions
loc.gov "'There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard ... he came in search of fruit on it but found none ... the gardener ... said to him in reply, 'Sir, leave it for this year also ... it may bear fruit ... If not you can cut it down.'"
News & Inspiration
Saint Bonaventure:
The Soul's Journey
into God
(click here to order)
+ Saints News: Saint Bonaventure: A Man of Action and Contemplation - Pope Benedict XVI
+ Lent: Catechism of the Catholic Church
+ Lent: Papal Message for Lent 2010
+
Bioethics: Human Dignity and Natural Moral Law
+ Abide in God and Keep His Commandments: Pope Benedict on John Chapters 15-16
+ Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes: Pope Benedict tells Church to evangelize and care for the sick in body and spirit
+ Saint Anthony of Padua: Example to preachers, one of most popular Saints ― Pope Benedict XVI Audience
News Links
:: USCCB: Bishops Call For Extension Of Trade Preferences For Haiti As Part Of Long-Term Recovery Support
:: USCCB: Bishops Call for Bipartisan Action to Advance Health Care Reform That Protects Human Life and Dignity
:: USCCB: Series of Seminars Slated to Introduce Revised Translation of Roman Missal
:: USCCB: Archbishop O’Brien Speaks At Summit Aimed At Eliminating Nuclear Weapons
:: CNS: Pope expresses sorrow over murder of Christians in Iraq
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Today's Mass
Readings: usccb.org/nab/030710.shtml
"What Happens at Mass"+ "'There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard ... he came in search of fruit on it but found none ... the gardener ... said to him in reply, 'Sir, leave it for this year also,
and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it;
it may bear fruit ...
If not you can cut it down.'"
+ "The Lord is Kind and Merciful."
+ "God replied, "I AM Who Am.'"
+ Yet God was not pleased with most of them, for they were struck down in the desert.
[ ]These things happened as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil things, as they did.'"
[please note: two different sets of Readings available today through: usccb.org/nab/030710.shtml]
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FIRST READING: Exodus 3:1-8a, 13-15
I AM Who Am: God speaks to Moses from the burning bush
Moses shepherds the flock of his father-in-law Jethro across the desert and sees a burning bush on Mount Horeb, the mountain of God. Moses realizes something supernatural is occuring when the bush is on fire but does not burn up, and pays closer attention.
God speaks to Moses, telling him "I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob." God says He has heard the cry of the Israelites being oppressed in Egypt and will deliver them from slavery, leading them to a land flowing with milk and honey that shall be their own. He tells Moses to go to his people and tell them God has sent Moses.
"The Life of Moses" by
St. Gregory of NyssaWhen Moses asks God's Name, God responds "I AM who am," and tells Moses to tell the Israelites that "I AM sent me to you."
"Y-HW-H" (sometimes writtern with e's in place of the hyphens) is actually ancient Hebrew for "I AM Who Am." (Pope Benedict reportedly has started agreeing with the Jewish tradition of now writing out the Name of God the Father, including precluding the use of the "Y-HW-H, I Know You Are Near" song at Mass.) Note that God seems to be indicating that a key to knowing Who He is is that He is the One Who exists. God is the Source of all existence itself, the Source of all Creation, which came about through His Word, Jesus. For us, He is the Source of True Life, and True Meaning, Truth Itself, and and the Source of our Invitation to Eternal Life.
Note how, for Moses, God and Mission arrive by surprise while in the midst of daily routine. Similarly, perhaps we can be inspired to tend to our daily duties while also being open to God's Call for whatever role, however small or great, God intends us for in His Divine Plan. Here, the meek Moses is to become a great figure of the Old Testament, the Deliverer of the Israelites, God's Instrument for leading them to the Promised Land and a renewal of a special relationship with God. As a foundation for their new life as a people to which they are invited, Moses also serves as an instrument for communicating God's Law to them.
Recall also how, for example, Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta was called to duties as a teacher, and then called to perform simple but profoundly needed tasks serving the poor and suffering, only to become a true global leader. Blessed Mother Teresa became a world leader by her example and other testimony to Christ and His Gospel, and by serving as God's Instrument to create and administer a global enterprise of loving service. - Back to the Top -
PSALM 103: 1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8, 11
The Lord is Kind and Merciful.
Psalm 103 proclaims: "The Lord is kind and merciful."
God pardons and heals, and secures justice. He is "slow to anger and abounding in kindness." As high as the heavens are above the earth, so surpassing is God's Kindness towards those who fear Him.
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SECOND READING: 1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12
Learning from the Exodus to remain steadfast to God and avoid evil
usgs.govThe Apostle Paul reminds us how even after the Israelites benefited from incredible miracles — passing through the parted Red Sea, having God appear to them in the cloud, receiving Food from Heaven and water from the rock — many of them they still earned God's disfavor, and some were struck down in the desert.
Recall that, in their response to God and, indeed, witnessing His Greatness, the Israelites on the Exodus were uneven and at time unfaithful in their response to God.
Saint Paul indicates that these events serve as an example to remind us not to desire evil or grumble. Moreover, we should not become complacent.
Note that, as with Jesus teaching with parables in the New Testament, one might surmise that God, in part, teaches by illustration, including the aspects of the Israelite Exodus from which Saint Paul draws lessons from us.
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GOSPEL: Luke 13:1-9
Repentance and the Parable of the Barren Fig Tree
Jesus speaks to accounts of fatal earthly calamities, one a massacre carried out by aggressive earthly power figure, Pilate, and another the collapse of a tower. Addressing the notion that bad events are sometimes punishment for sin, Jesus explains that is not always the case.
Jesus nevertheless warns us to repent of our own sins to avoid perishing.
Second, Jesus also shifts the focus, not just our need reject sin, but what we are to accomplish in service to the Kingdom of God. We are to bear fruit.
loc.govJesus tells the parable of the barren fig tree. The tree's owner notes that the tree's existence is drawing resources but after three years it has produced no fruit. The owner elects to cut it down.
Another figure, the gardener, asks to keep the tree going for another year, for additional care and cultivating, to see if it will bear fruit. The owner apparently agrees.
We are to bear fruit, to grow and be productive in Salvation History as ones rightly destined to become citizens of Heaven, placed upon earth to do God's Work. Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta observed, Jesus is the Vine, and we are the branches, and branches bear fruit.
Recall also how, in Matthew 25, Jesus talks of the Final Judgment as a time when He will take note of whether we have borne fruit carrying out acts of Mercy towards Him and our brothers and sisters, such as feeding the hungry, visiting the sick, and so forth.
In the parable, the owner of fig tree wishes to cut it down because it not only is failing to produce, but is actually wasting resources, such as the nutreints in the soul. The gardener intercedes requesting mercy, mercy in form of patience. But it is only a reprieve, a delay. The gardener raises the prospect that the tree could still be cut down if it does not bear fruit in the coming year. In the meantime, the gardener will continue nurturing it.
Note that, first of all, the tree is not independent, with a free-lance existence. It belongs to the owner. And the owner's existence does not depend upon the opinion or fancy of the tree. The owner's existence, and ownership of the tree are simply fact, and the tree's fate is in the owner's hands.
Note also that the tree does not act alone, and is not forced to depend upon itself. The gardener is truly trying to help it.
In the case of people, we are to cooperate with God helping us, acknowledge that we belong to Him, see that we are not in a vacuum but are interconnected with God, with what God has given us, with the Kingdom of Heaven for Which we are to bear fruit, and our brothers and sisters whom we are to serve in bearing fruit.
Note that, in actuality, bearing fruit and rejecting sin are not unconnected. Both are rooted in a shifting of perspective away from oblivious selfishness towards a recognition of right and wrong, a love of God and neighbor, and a responsiveness to a more enlightened, God-fearing appreciation of the realities around us.
Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible with Revised New Testament © 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C., at times enhanced to provide additional capitalization. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
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Divine Office (Liturgy of the Hours)
Liturgy of the Hours
Volume II:
Lent-Easter SeasonFor the Third Sunday of Lent, in the concluding prayer for the Office of Readings, Morning Prayer, and Evening Prayer (Vespers), we voice central Lenten themes as we pray:
Father, You have taught us to overcome our sins by prayer, fasting, and works of mercy. When we are discouraged by our weakness, give us confidence in Your Love. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who Lives and Reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, for ever and ever.
Morning Prayer, Third Sunday of Lent, The Liturgy of the Hours, According to the Roman Rite, Vol. II, Lent - Easter Season, Catholic Book Publishing Co., New York, 1975, at 216.
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"The Life and Glories
of Saint Joseph" Saints of March
+ "Saint of the Day" by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
+ Saints of the Day, from St. Patrick's Church, Washington, D.C.
+ Saints with Feast Days in March
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Prayer Intentions
Pope Benedict's Prayer Intentions for March 2010
+ General Intention: World Economy Just and Equitable, Caring for the Poor - "That the world economy may be managed according to the principles of justice and equity, taking account of the real needs of peoples, especially the poorest".
+ Mission intention: African Churches Serving Justice and Reconciliation: - "That the Churches in Africa may be signs and instruments of reconciliation and justice in every part of that continent"
Additional Faith Central Prayer Intentions
+ For additional support and guidance for the development of Faith Central: Catholic Home on the Web
+ For the elderly and infirmed, their protection by the Blessed Mother, and that they be treated with respect, dignity, and love.
+ For respect for human life and the dignity of the human person, from their creation
prior to conception, to natural death.
+ That God's Will be obeyed by all actions of government and all government-related actions of the populace
+ For an end to the recession, and for all humanity to work together to bear fruit in service to the needs of all
+ For those of means to divert resources to help those in the human family, locally or abroad, who are hungry, starving, or homeless
+ For peace in the world, and the conversion of the hearts of terrorists.
+ For peace in the world in families, especially for women and men facing crisis pregnancies, their preborn children, and those assisting them, especially their relatives and those volunteers and professionals dedicated to prolife work.
+ For the conversion of the hearts of sinners.
+ For the Faithful Departed, especially the relatives of those
praying and those they have met or have known.
+ For the Faithful Departed, especially those with no one praying for
them.
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Keywords: Jesus Christ, Barren Fig Tree Parable, Psalm 103, Exodus, Divine Office, Saint Augustine, Saint Paul, Liturgy of the Hours, Daily Readings, Mass, Catholic Faith, Christian, Pope Benedict XVI, Holy Father, Prayer Intentions, Catholic News
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