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Message of the Day
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Prayer is continual abandonment to God. Prayer does not mean asking God for all kinds of things we want; it is rather the desire for God Himself, the only Giver of Life. Prayer is not asking, but union with God. Prayer is not a painful effort to gain from God help in the varying needs of our lives. Prayer is the desire to possess God Himself, the Source of all life. The true spirit of prayer does not consist in asking for blessings, but in
receiving Him who is the giver of all blessings, and in living a life of fellowship with Him.
... Sundar Singh (1889-1929) Which of these statements do you resonate with? Find challenging?
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Readings of the Day
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Daniel 9:4b-10
Psalm 79:8, 9, 11 and 13 Luke 6:36-38 Jesus said to his
disciples: ‘Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate. Do not judge, and you will not be judged yourselves; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned yourselves; grant pardon, and you will be pardoned. Give, and there will be gifts for you: a full measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap; because the amount you measure out is the amount you will be given
back.’ USCCB lectionary
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Reflection on the Scripture
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“Give, and it shall be given to you.” —Luke 6:38 The context of today’s first reading is Jeremiah’s prophecy that the exile from Jerusalem would last seventy years (Dn 9:2; Jer 25:11). Daniel “tried to understand”
this prophecy (Dn 9:2), knowing he could give to his people the strength and encouragement to hold on to their faith even under the worst conditions. Likewise, if we only understood more parts of the Bible, we could set people free, heal the sick, reconcile enemies, and transform lives. How can we understand God’s Word more deeply? The Lord helped Daniel understand His Word by calling Daniel to: earnest prayer (Dn 9:3), fasting (Dn 9:3), and sackcloth, ashes, and the
confession of both his sins and those of his people (Dn 9:3-5, 20). Daniel’s prayer, fasting, and repentance were answered. The Lord sent the archangel Gabriel to reveal the meaning of the Scriptures to Daniel (Dn 9:21). How committed are you to understanding the Scriptures? Will you pray, fast, and repent? Or will you only make a halfhearted effort to understand God’s Word, and then blame God’s Word for not speaking to the circumstances of your life? Do you
love people enough to give them only the best, that is, the truth and light of God’s Word? If you truly want to understand much more of God’s Word, you can. Receive God’s Word “not as the word of men, but as it truly is, the word of God at work within you who believe” (1 Thes 2:13). Prayer: Father, this Lent may Your Word be more precious to me than thousands of dollars (see Ps 119:72). Promise: “Yours, O Lord, our God, are compassion and
forgiveness!” —Dn 9:9 Presentation Ministries
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Spiritual Reading
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Dilexi Te: On the Human and Divine Love of the Heart of Jesus Christ, by Pope Francis (completed by Pope Leo XIII), 2025.
https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/20241024-enciclica-dilexit-nos.html
CHAPTER TWO
ACTIONS AND WORDS OF LOVE
32. The heart of Christ, as the symbol of the deepest and most personal source of his love for us, is the very core of the initial preaching of the Gospel. It stands at the origin of
our faith, as the wellspring that refreshes and enlivens our Christian beliefs. Jesus' Words 46. At first glance, all this may smack of pious sentimentalism. Yet it is supremely serious and of decisive importance, and finds its most sublime expression in Christ crucified. The cross is Jesus’ most eloquent word of love. A word that is not shallow, sentimental or merely edifying. It is love, sheer love. That is why Saint
Paul, struggling to find the right words to describe his relationship with Christ, could speak of “the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal 2:20). This was Paul’s deepest conviction: the knowledge that he was loved. Christ’s self-offering on the cross became the driving force in Paul’s life, yet it only made sense to him because he knew that something even greater lay behind it: the fact that “he loved me”. At a time when many were seeking salvation, prosperity or
security elsewhere, Paul, moved by the Spirit, was able to see farther and to marvel at the greatest and most essential thing of all: “Christ loved me”. 47. Now, after considering Christ and seeing how his actions and words grant us insight into his heart, let us turn to the Church’s reflection on the holy mystery of the Lord’s Sacred Heart. |
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