Churches of the Day

Wednesday of the First Week of Lent

During the season of Lent our eyes are focused on the crucifixion and the grace to accept it)

FIRST READING

A reading from the prophet Jonah            3: 1-10
The people of Nineveh renounced their evil behaviour.

The word of the Lord was addressed  to Jonah:
'Up!' he said 'Go to Nineveh, the great city, and preach to them as I told you to.'
Jonah set out and went to Nineveh in obedience to the word of the Lord.
Now Nineveh was a city great beyond compare: it took three days to cross it.
Jonah went on into the city, making a day's journey. He preached in these words,
'Only forty days more and Nineveh is going to be destroyed.'

And the people of Nineveh believed in God; they proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least.
The news reached the king of Nineveh, who rose from his throne, took off his robe, put on sackcloth and sat down in ashes. A proclamation was then promulgated throughout Nineveh, by decree of the king and his ministers, as follows:
'Men and beasts, herds and flocks, are to taste nothing; they must not eat, they must not drink water. All are to put on sackcloth and call on God with all their might and let everyone renounce his evil behaviour and the wicked things he has done.
Who knows if God will not change his mind and relent, if he will not renounce his burning wrath, so that we do not perish?'


God saw their efforts to renounce their evil behaviour. And he relented: he did not inflict on them the disaster which he had threatened.

The Word of the Lord.                     Thanks be to God


Responsorial Psalm                   Ps 50:3-4,12-13, 18-19  Rv 19
Response                                        A humbled, contrite heart, O God, you will not spurn.

1. Have mercy on me, God, in your kindness. In your compassion blot out my offence.
O wash me more and more from my guilt and cleanse me from my sin.                               Response

2. A pure heart create for me, O God, put a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence, nor deprive me of your holy spirit.                     Response

3. For in sacrifice you take no delight, burnt offering from me you would refuse,
my sacrifice a contrite spirit. A humbled, contrite heart you will not spurn.                        Response

Gospel  Acclamation                 Ex 3:11
Glory and praise to you, O Christ !
I take pleasure, not in the death of a wicked man - it is the Lord who speaks -
but in the turning back of a wicket man who changes his way of life.
Glory and praise to you, O Christ !

Or                                                     Joel 2:12-13
Glory and praise to you, O Christ !
Now, now- it is the Lord who speaks -
Come back to me with all your heart, for I am tenderness and compassion.
Glory and praise to you, O Christ !

GOSPEL

The Lord be with you.                      And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke  11:29-32     Glory to you, O Lord
The only sign it will be given is the sign of Jonah.

The crowds got even bigger and Jesus addressed them,
'This is a wicked generation; it is asking for a sign. The only sign it will be given is the sign of Jonah.  For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation.

'On Judgement day the Queen of the South will rise up with the men of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and there is something greater than Solomon here.

On Judgement day the men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation. and condemn it, because when Jonah preached they repented; and there is something greater than Jonah here.'

The Gospel of the Lord.           Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ


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Gospel Reflection          Wednesday             First Week of Lent          Luke 11:29-32

Today’s responsorial psalm is one of the great penitential psalms in the Book of Psalms. It is a Jewish prayer but it has spoken to Christians from the earliest days of the church. It is a prayer anyone of us could pray when we feel the need for God’s forgiveness. The psalm acknowledges that what pleases God more than the sacrifices that were carried out in the Temple in Jerusalem is what the psalm calls a ‘humble, contrite heart’. What speaks most powerfully to God is what is in our heart. That is why in the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, it was the prayer of the tax collector that was pleasing to God. His simple prayer, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner’ revealed a humble and contrite heart.

In today’s first reading, the preaching of Jonah touched the hearts of the people of Nineveh. Their humble and contrite heart expressed itself in a period of fasting and in putting on sackcloth and ashes. In the gospel reading, Jesus laments the failure of his own contemporaries to allow their hearts to be touched by his preaching, even though he is greater than Jonah, and greater than Solomon. ‘There is something greater than Solomon… than Jonah here’. We continue to live in the presence of this greater one, now risen Lord. He continues to proclaim his gospel to us, the gospel of God’s unconditional and faithful love for us all. When we open ourselves to this wonderful gift of the Lord’s love, we cannot but realize that we haven’t always loved him in return. We haven’t made a return for all he has given us. That is why today’s responsorial psalm is a prayer that we can always pray. Such a prayer, prayed with a humble and contrite heart, is a prayer that will always be heard by God and will leave us at peace with God.

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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd. and used with the permission of the publishers.  http://dltbooks.com/
The Scripture Reflection is made available with our thanks from his book Reflections on the Weekday Readings : The Word is near to you, on your lips and in your heart by Martin Hogan and published by Messenger Publications c/f www.messenger.ie/bookshop/

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For homily resources for this Sunday's Gospel click here:  https://www.catholicireland.net/sunday-homily/

 

 Second Sunday of Lent, Year A

Lent brings us into the heart of the Paschal Mystery. The selected disciples are brought to the mountain top where they are given a vision of a transfigured Jesus talking with prophets Moses and Elijah about his upcoming death and resurrection.

Saint of the Day: March 1st; St David, abbot and bishop, and patron saint of Wales,
C/f A short life of this saint can be found below todays' Readings and Reflection.

FIRST READING

A reading from the Book of Genesis 12:1-4
The call of Abraham, father of the people of God.

The Lord said to Abram,
'Leave your country, your family and your father's house, for the land I will show you.
I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you and make your name so famous that it will be used as a blessing.
 I will curse those who slight you.
'I will bless those who bless you:
All the tribes of the earth shall bless themselves by you.'

So Abram went as the Lord told him, and Lot went with him.

The Word of the Lord              Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm          Ps 33: 4-5, 18-20. 22.R/v 22
Response                              May your love be upon us, O Lord,  as we place all our hope in you.

l. The word of the Lord is faithful and all his works to be trusted.
   The Lord loves justice and right and fills the earth with his love.        Response

2. The Lord looks on those who revere him, on those who hope in his love,
    to rescue their souls from death, to keep them alive in famine.          Response

3. Our soul is waiting for the Lord.  The Lord is our help and our shield,
    May your love be upon us, 0 Lord, as we place all our hope in you.   Response

SECOND READING

A reading from the second letter of St Paul to Timothy   1:8-10
 God calls and enlightens us.

With me, bear the hardships for the sake of the Good News, relying on the power of God who has saved us and called us to be holy - not because of anything we ourselves have done but for his own purpose and by his own grace.

This grace had already been granted to us, in Christ Jesus, before the beginning of time, but it has only been revealed by the Appearing of our saviour Christ Jesus. He abolished death, and he has proclaimed life and immortality through the Good News.

The Word of the Lord                            Thanks be to God.

Gospel  Acclamation                       Mt 17:5
Glory and praise to you, O Christ !
From the bright cloud the Father's voice was heard '
This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen t0 him.'
Glory and praise to you, O Christ !

GOSPEL   

The Lord be with you.                        And with your spirit

A reading from the Gospel according to Matthew        17:1-9
His face shone like the sun.

Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain where they could be alone. There in their presence he was transfigured: his face shone like the sun and his clothes became as white as the light. Suddenly Moses and Elijah appeared to them; they were talking with him. Then Peter spoke to Jesus.
'Lord,' he said 'it is wonderful for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.'
He was still speaking when suddenly a bright cloud covered them with shadow, and from the cloud there came a voice which said,
'This is my Son, the Beloved; he enjoys my favour. Listen to him.'
When they heard this the disciples fell on their faces overcome with fear.
But Jesus came up and touched them. 'Stand up,' he said 'do not be afraid.'
And when they raised their eyes they saw no one but only Jesus.
As they came down from the mountain Jesus gave them this order.
"Tell no one about this vision until the Son of Man has risen from the dead."

The Gospel of the Lord            Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

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For homily resources for this Sunday's Gospel click here:  https://www.catholicireland.net/sunday-homily/



Taken from THE JERUSALEM BIBLE, published 1966, by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd and Doubleday, a division of Random House Inc, and used by permission of the publishers.

Saint of the Day: March 1st; St David, abbot and bishop, and patron saint of Wales.

St David, abbot and bishop in the sixth century. He is reputed to have founded a number of monasteries, of strict regime.  

Patrick Duffy presents the traditions about David

St David is patron of Wales, where he was abbot and bishop. Several Irish saints were his pupils and he seemed to influenced monastic development in Ireland.

Accounts of David's life are scarce and based on oral tradition and a 'Life' written by Rhygyfarch (11th century bishop of St David's) at a time when the Norman bishop of Canterbury Lanfranc was trying to impose Roman dedications on churches in England and Wales. Rhygyfarch was keen to impress on the recently arrived leaders the importance of the Welsh saint and was not above a little exaggeration.

Family
The tradition is that David was born at Henvynyw (Vetus-Menevia) in Cardiganshire, and that his father was a prince called Sant who violated David's  mother, a nun. Norman bishop Rhygyfarch, who lived from 1057-1099 and wrote a 'Life of David' in Latin to impress the Normans, called him Sant 'holy' (sanctus by name and by merit). David is said to have been baptised by Ailbe, 'a bishop of the Munstermen', who is known to have been in Wales about that time.

At Monastic School 
David studied at the local monastic school and after he was ordained priest, he went to study under Paulinus of Wales near the Brecon Beacons. He remained with Paulinus for several years and is said to have cured him of blindness. Paulinus sent David out to make his own monastic foundations.

Rhygyfarch says David founded monasteries at Glastonbury, Bath and Leominster, but these are more likely to be Rhygyfarch's own claims to impress the Normans. But the one monastery we know he founded was that of Mynyw (Menevia) near his own birth place on the extreme south west of South Wales, facing Ireland, and now called St David's. David lived an austere life of prayer and fasting.

Strict Discipline
The monastery had a most austere regime. Instead of oxen to pull the plough, the monks had to pull their plough on their own shoulders. The diet was strict - consisting of bread, bitter herbs and salt with water or a little milk. David was called Aquaticus, because he drank only water and his monks became known as the Aquatici or "watermen". Finian of Clonard and Modhomhnoc (see 13th February) both spent time at his monastery.

Resolving Disputes
When the Pelagian heresy was being discussed at the Synod of Brevi (Llandewi Brefi in Cardiganshire), David was summoned to resolve the dispute. Shortly afterwards, in 569, he presided over another Synod held at a place called Lucus Victoriae.

The Holy Land and first bishop of Menevia
Rhygyfarch says David went to the Holy Land with two other Welsh monks Teilo and Padarn and that he was consecrated Archbishop of Wales by the patriarch of Jerusalem - probably another exaggeration! He was bishop (probably not archbishop) of Menevia, the Roman port of Menapia in Pembrokeshire, later known as St. David's, then the chief point of departure for Ireland. He died around 601 but he continued to be remembered in Ireland, and he is mentioned in the Martyrology of Oengus and in the Catalogue of the Saints of Ireland.

Diocese of Menevia
The cult of St. David was approved by Pope Callistus II in the year 1120 and two pilgrimages to St David's were 'declared' to be equal in merit to one pilgrimage to Rome. The Catholic diocese of that area of Wales is still called Menevia; the bishop currently lives in Swansea.

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Memorable Saying for Today

Be joyful, keep the faith, and do the little things
that you have heard and seen me do. '

~ Last words of David (Dewi Sant) of Wales ~

(The phrase 'Gwnewch y pethau bychain mewn bywyd' -
'Do the little things in life' - is still a well-known maxim in Wales.)

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