1ST WEEK OF LENT
Psalter: Week 1 / (Violet)
Ps 34:4-5, 6-7, 16-17, 18-19
From all their distress
God rescues the just.
1st Reading: Is 55:10-11
As the rain and the snow come down
from the heavens and do not return
till they have watered the earth,
making it yield seed for the sower
and food for others to eat,
so is my word that goes forth out of my mouth:
it will not return to me idle,
but it shall accomplish my will,
the purpose for which it has been sent.
Gospel: Mt 6:7-15
When you pray, do not use a lot of words, as the pagans do; for they believe that, the more they say, the more chance they have of being heard. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need, even before you ask him.
This, then, is how you should pray:
Our Father in heaven, holy be your name,
your kingdom, come, your will, be done
on earth, as in heaven.
Give us today, our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts,
as we forgive those who are in debt to us.
Do not bring us to the test,
but deliver us from the evil one.
If you forgive others their wrongdoings,
your Father in heaven will also forgive yours.
If you do not forgive
others, then your Father will not
forgive you.
Reflections
WHEN YOU PRAY DO NOT USE A LOT OF WORDS
One prayer that does not use any word is MEDITATION. In mediation, we do not ask God for this and that, we do not speak words of praise, or sorrow, or thanksgiving. But all these are present in us when we are just present to the PRESENCE. People who are in love do not have to talk to each other. They are in bliss just being in each other’s presence. So it is when one meditates. One does not think. In fact thoughts would be a distraction. One does not also frantically banish thoughts. One just takes note of them and they disappear. Do you know that when rain falls on a duck’s back, it does not penetrate its feathers? Yes, because there is oil in a duck‘s feathers, so the water just rolls off the duck‘s back to the ground. In meditation, our thoughts also can just roll off like that when we do not pay attention to them. Instead we focus on our breath — breathing in, breathing out (God’s ruah!) and we may have a mantra like “peace,” “love,” “Jesus,” etc. It is the only way we can go into the depths of our being and meet the God who dwells in us.
Daily Reflection 2018
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Biblical Texts are taken from Christian Community Bible, Catholic Pastoral Edition (57th Edition) The New English Translation for the ROMAN MISSAL
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