Lenten Activities: Prayer, Fasting and Sharing

PRAYER is the most important - Drawing closer to God Opportunities are Weekday Mass, Stations of the Cross, Prayer group.
FASTING from drink, food, TV - to make room for better things; Visiting house-bound, reading next Sunday's readings, Bible study, Lenten Study program.
SHARING by putting aside what is saved by fasting and using the Lenten Appeal envelopes to bring it to Mass each Sunday.
Remember - Fasting and Sharing are the 2 wings that make our Prayer fly

This Sunday's Readings;

FIRST READING: Exodus 3:1-8.13-15

Moses was looking after the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, priest of Midian. He led his flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in the shape of a flame of fire, coming from the middle of a bush. Moses looked; there was the bush blazing but it was not being burnt up. 'I must go and look at this strange sight,' Moses said, 'and see why the bush is not burnt.' Now the Lord saw him go forward to look, and God called to him from the middle of the bush, 'Moses, Moses!' he said. 'Here I am' he answered. 'Come no nearer' he said. 'Take off your shoes, for the place on which you stand is holy ground. I am the God of your father,' he said 'the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.' At this Moses covered his face, afraid to look at God.

And the Lord said, 'I have seen the miserable state of my people in Egypt. I have heard their appeal to be free of their slave-drivers. Yes, I am well aware of their sufferings. I mean to deliver them out of the hands of the Egyptians and bring them up out of that land to a land rich and broad, a land where milk and honey flow.'

Then Moses said to God, 'I am to go, then, to the sons of Israel and say to them, "The God of your fathers has sent me to you." But if they ask me what his name is, what am I to tell them?' And God said to Moses, 'I Am who I Am. This' he added 'is what you must say to the children of Israel: I Am has sent me to you.' And God also said to Moses, 'You are to say to the children of Israel: "The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you." This is my name for all time; by this name I shall be invoked for all generations to come.'

Psalm 102:1-4.6-8.11 :

Response: The lord is compassion and love.

My soul, give thanks to the Lord,
all my being, bless his holy name.
My soul give thanks to the Lord
and never forget all his blessings.

It is he who forgives all your guilt,
who heals every one of your ills,
who redeems your life from the grave,
who crowns you with love and compassion.

The Lord does deeds of justice,
gives judgement for all who are oppressed.
He made known his ways to Moses
and his deeds to Israel's sons.

The Lord is compassion and love,
slow to anger and rich in mercy.
For as the heavens are high above the earth
so string is his love for those who fear him.

SECOND READING: 1 Corinthians 10: 1-6.10-12

I want to remind you, brothers and sisters, how our ancestors were all guided by a cloud above them and how they all passed through the sea. They were all baptised into Moses in this cloud and in this sea; all ate the same spiritual food and all drank the same spiritual drink, since they all drank from the spiritual rock that followed them as they went, and that rock was Christ. In spite of this, most of them failed to please God and their corpses littered the desert.

These things all happened as warnings for us, not to have the wicked lusts for forbidden things that they had. You must never complain: some of them did, and they were killed by the Destroyer.
All this happened to them as a warning, and it was written down to be a lesson for us who are living at the end of the age. The one who thinks he is safe must be careful that he does not fall.

GOSPEL: Luke 13: 1-9

Some people arrived and told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with that of their sacrifices. At this he said to them, 'Do you suppose these Galileans who suffered like that were greater sinners than any other Galileans? They were not, I tell you. No; but unless you repent you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen on whom the tower at Siloam fell and killed them? Do you suppose that they were more guilty than all the other people living in Jerusalem? They were not, I tell you. No; but unless you repent you will all perish as they did.'

He told this parable: 'A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it but found none. He said to the man who looked after the vineyard, "Look here, for three years now I have been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and finding none. Cut it down: why should it be taking up the ground?" "Sir," the man replied "leave it one more year and give me time to dig round it and manure it: it may bear fruit next year; if not, then you can cut it down."

Understanding the Liturgical Cycle

The Lectionary is arranged into two cycles, one for Sundays and one for weekdays. The Sunday cycle is divided into three years, labeled A, B, and C. 2005 was Year A, 2006 was Year B, 2007 was Year C, and so on. The Liturgical Year begins on the 1st Sunday of Advent (usually late November) and ends with the Feast of Christ the King.

In Year A, we read mostly from the gospel of Matthew. In Year B, we read the gospel of Mark and chapter 6 of the gospel of John. In Year C, we read the gospel of Luke. The gospel of John is read during the Easter season in all three years.

The first reading, usually from the Old Testament, reflects important themes from the gospel reading. The second reading is usually from one of the epistles, a letter written to an early church community. These letters are read semi-continuously. Each Sunday, we pick up close to where we left off the Sunday before, though some passages are never read.

The weekday cycle is divided into two years, Year I and Year II. Year I is read in odd-numbered years (2003, 2005, etc.) and Year II is used in even-numbered years (2002, 2004, etc.) The gospels for both years are the same. During the year, the gospels are read semi-continuously, beginning with Mark, then moving on to Matthew and Luke. The gospel of John is read during the Easter season. For Advent , Christmas, and Lent , readings are chosen that are appropriate to the season. The first reading on weekdays may be taken from the Old or the New Testament. Typically, a single book is read semi-continuously (i.e. some passages are not read) until it is finished and then a new book is started.

This year (2010) is Year C/II