Pope Francis releases his prayer intention for March:
"For the martyrs of our day, witnesses to Christ".

The Holy Father emphasises that there will always be martyrs among us and that

"this is a sign that we are on the right path" as the courage and witness of the martyrs, "is a blessing for everyone".

Thus, Pope Francis invites all the faithful to pray for those who risk their lives for the Gospel.

“imbue the Church with their courage and missionary drive.”

 

 ＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

Micah 7:14-15, 18-20

 

Ps 103:1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12 The Lord is kind and merciful.

 

＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊      

Luke 15:1-3, 11-32*

(...) Jesus continued,

 

《The Name of God Is Mercy 》:

 "Mercy is the first attribute of God. The name of God is mercy."

mercy is the divine attitude which embraces,  it is God's giving himself to us, accepting us, and bowing to forgive."

 

 Monday, February 26

 ＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

Daniel 9:4b-10

I prayed to Yahweh,

Neither Joseph nor Jesus takes revenge;

both become the cornerstones for the redemption of the very families that rejected them.

In this parable of the ungrateful tenants, They forgot the fact that they were only stewards not the master.

The Lord is giving us a chance for conversion. The world is the Lord’s. We are but his stewards.

  

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13a, 17b-28a*

(...)They saw him

Jesus went up the mountain with His closest apostles, the three Peter, James and John.

A shining cloud with a voice appeared designating Jesus as the Beloved Son.

Jesus transfigured together with the appearance of Moses and Elijah.

That is why three are needed to witness this supernatural event.

For in the Jewish tradition three are needed to testify in order for what they claim to be considered as truth.

The three witnessed fumble unable to contain the truth they see.

 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

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

Sometime later

 The rich young man who asks Jesus how he can inherit eternal life is told
that he is to sell all he has and distribute the money to the poor.

When this makes him sad (because of his wealth)
Jesus comments that the rich tend to have more difficulty entering the kingdom of God .

Pope Francis once said that the person of Lazarus teaches us.

They are also children of our God that deserve our acceptance, respect and love.

In this Lenten season, let us be reminded of the need for renewal in our relationship with one another.

 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

Jeremiah 17:5-10

This is what Yahweh says,

 『As we love others like Christ loved us, we will see people change around us, for love covers over a multitude of sins.』

Continues Jesus' teaching on love and humility,

After commanding believers not to seek revenge in the face of insults,

Jesus expands the idea of love to include one's enemies.

Jesus' disciples must do good works, as the salt of the earth and light of the world.

Believers should not seek revenge, we should strive to be perfect, as God is perfect.

  

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊      　

Deuteronomy 26:16-19

On this day,

Jesus said to them, “You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant,

but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”

Here is Jesus achingly confiding in his beloved ones the heart breaking reality of his impending death.

In today's gospel neither the disciples nor the mother of the sons of thunder show empathy towards Jesus,

they do not have a word of consolation for him.

 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

Jeremiah 18:18-20

Then, they said,

We tend to overlook the smaller sins that we commit everyday unaware.

Sin doesn’t just happen; Unless it is mastered, by God’s grace, it grows like a weed and chokes the fruitful vine.

For God always forgives our sins, thus we should do the same towards our neighbors.

 

St. Polycarp, bishop & martyr

 ＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

Ezekiel 18:21-28

If the sinner

 There are strong words from Isaiah on his people and their rulers.

He calls the leaders of God’s people “rulers of Sodom” and speaks of the people as “people of Gomorrah”.

“One of the most notable and original features of the teaching of the Hebrew prophets is their repeated insistence

that the Lord is more concerned with men’s behavior in their social relationships than with the formal worship offered to him” .

  

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

Isaiah 1:10, 16-20

Hear the warning of Yahweh,

 You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.

The “cathedra”, was a fixed “seat” of the Bishop, placed in the mother church of the Diocese – hence the word “cathedral” –

Which was the symbol of the Bishop’s authority who, as a successor of the Apostles,

is called to protect the flock and transmit the teaching of the Gospel to the Christian community.

 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

1 Peter 5:1-4

Beloved: I now address