Vol. 37 No. 19                       MARCH   7, 2010                        (Cycle C) 3rd SUNDAY OF LENT Unless you repent you will all likewise perish ENTRANCE ANTIPHON My eyes are ever fixed on the Lord, for he releases my feet from the snare. O look at me and be merciful, for I am wretched and alone. PENITENTIAL RITE Every human being is created to reach his/her goal of creation. An entire life-time is given to each one of us to bear fruits for eternal life. God, the author and sustainer of life is ever present with us on our life-journey, especially in our moments of suffering, struggle and despair. He wants us to learn a lesson from each of the events happening around us. Let us resolve to produce abundant fruits in this life, and now to celebrate this Eucharist worthily let us turn to God with a repentant heart. I confess… OPENING PRAYER Let us pray: Father, you have taught us to overcome our sins by prayer, fasting and works of mercy. When we are discouraged by our weakness, give us confidence in your love. We ask this... FIRST READING (God calls Moses and appoints him to lead the Chosen People out of Egypt, and promises His abiding presence with him.) A reading from the Book of Exodus  (3:1-8,13-15) Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian; and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked, and lo, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, “I will turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.” When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here am I.” Then he said, “Do not come near; put off your shoes from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. Then the Lord said, “I have seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters; I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land; a land flowing with milk and honey.” Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘the God of your fathers has sent me to you’, and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ What shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I am Who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you’.” God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you’: this is my name for ever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.” This is the Word of the Lord PSALM (102) 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. R./ 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. R./ 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. R./ The Lord is compassion and love, slow to anger and rich in mercy. For as the heavens are high above the earth so strong is his love for those who fear him. R./ SECOND READING (St Paul reminds the Corinthians that what happened to the Israelites in the desert is a warning for all Christians.) A reading from the First Letter of St Paul to the Corinthians (10:1-6,10-12) I want you to know, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same supernatural food and all drank the same supernatural drink. For they drank from the supernatural Rock which followed them, and the Rock was Christ. Nevertheless with most of them God was not pleased; for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things are warnings for us, not to desire evil as they did. You must never grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. Now these things happened to them as a warning, but they were written down for our instruction, upon whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. This is the Word of the Lord ACCLAMATION (Mt 4:17) The Lord says, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” GOSPEL (In the gospel we see how Jesus rejects the popular belief that the misfortunes which befell some Galileans are willed by God as punishment for sin. And Jesus tells the Jews that they too will perish unless they repent.) A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Luke (13:1-9) There were some present at that very time who told Jesus of the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered thus? I tell you, No; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen upon whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, No; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Lo, these three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down; why should it use up the ground?’ And he answered him, ‘Let it alone, sir, this year also, till I dig about it and put on manure. And if it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’ ” This is the Gospel of the Lord CREDO I believe in God,/the Father Almighty,/ Creator of heaven and earth./ I believe in Jesus Christ,/his only Son, our Lord./ He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit/ and born of the Virgin Mary./He suffered under Pontius Pilate,/was crucified, died, and was buried./He descended to the dead./On the third day he rose again./He ascended into Heaven,/and is seated at the right hand of the Father./He will come again to judge the living and the dead./I believe in the Holy Spirit,/the Holy Catholic Church,/the communion of saints,/the forgiveness of sins,/the resurrection of the body,/and the life everlasting./ Amen. PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL Cel: Dear brothers and sisters, our God is full of compassion and love. He is well aware of our sufferings, and accompanies us on our journey towards our heavenly home. With deep faith let us bring before Him all our needs, saying: Response: Lord, hear us in your love. 1. For our Pope, bishops, priests and all the leaders of the Church: that they may sustain the people in faith, hope and love. R./ 2. For civil and political leaders of our country: that they may make laws and execute them for the common good, keeping in mind the genuine needs of the poor and the less privileged. R./ 3. For all Christians: that they may produce fruits of a good life and bear witness to the values of the Kingdom. R./ 4. We pray for those who are going through the dark valley of sufferings, especially the victims of war and violence, and those in prison due to unjust judgement: that they may not feel that God has abandoned them. R./ (Pray for local and personal needs) Cel: God our Father, we thank you for revealing your love and mercy through your Son Jesus. Grant us the grace to rise above our human weaknesses and be faithful to our Christian vocation. We ask this… PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS Lord, by the grace of this sacrifice may we who ask forgiveness be ready to forgive one another. We ask this... PREFACE   (P 8) Father, all-powerful and ever-living God, we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks through Jesus Christ our Lord. Each year you give us this joyful season when we prepare to celebrate the paschal mystery with mind and heart renewed. You give us a spirit of loving reverence for you, our Father, and of willing service to our neighbour. As we recall the great events that gave us new life in Christ, you bring the image of your Son to perfection within us. Now, with angels and archangels, and the whole company of heaven, we sing the unending hymn of your praise: All: Holy, holy, holy.... COMMUNION ANTIPHON The sparrow even finds a home, the swallow finds a nest wherein to place her young, near to your altars, Lord of hosts, my King, my God! How happy they who dwell in your house! For ever they are praising you. PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION Lord, in sharing this sacrament may we receive your forgiveness and be brought together in unity and peace. We ask this...   LITURGY AND LIFE The justice of God always makes itself felt, but to us it sometimes appears “unjust”! In today’s gospel Jesus clearly states that there is no proportion between the sins committed by those Galileans and the tragedy that befell them. When such tragedies happen to other people, we tend to conclude that it’s God’s punishment for their grave sins. But Scripture teaches us that our God is not a God of death, but the author and sustainer of life. He is not quick to punish or destroy. The book of Wisdom tells us, “For God did not make death, nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living” (Wis. 1:13). He made all things and put a share of his own imperishable life in all the living beings. God is very optimistic and immensely hopeful of the repentance of the sinner. Like the gardener in the parable of the barren fig tree, God waters the human heart with his grace, and manures it with his word, and lovingly awaits the fruit. So, as long as there is life, there is hope even for a great sinner. But there is a limit to human life span, and no one knows the “how” and “when” of our end. We must, therefore, bear fruit before it is too late. Death may come to us suddenly and when we least expect it as it happened to those Galileans who were murdered by Pilate, or the eighteen killed by the falling tower of Siloam. Jesus brings these examples to teach us that the misfortune that befell these people shouldn’t be judged as God’s punishment for their sins. They should rather serve as God’s kind invitation and a warning to us to listen to him and change our sinful ways. Since tomorrow is uncertain, let us learn to be fruitful while we still have time today. Christian discipleship is a gradual conversion to produce in us the fruits of the Holy Spirit who dwells in every baptized person. But the Holy Spirit received in baptism is no guarantee that we will produce good fruits, reminds Paul in his letter to the Corinthian community. The Israelites in the desert ate the same spiritual food, the manna, and drank from the same spiritual drink, the water from the rock, but were struck down in the desert because of their evil desires, rebellion and grumbling. The same is applicable to any generation that is grumbling and unfaithful, and fails to bear quality fruit. Paul’s statement, “whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall” is a warning to us that our baptism and Eucharist are not in themselves a guarantee of our salvation. They do help us but we need to work incessantly to accomplish God’s will in our lives and produce the expected fruit. God who revealed himself to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM” is ever present with us through the Church, the Sacraments, the Word of God, etc. He who assured Moses: “I will be with you”, and said that he has not come to destroy his people but to save them, and has come down to dwell with his people. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (Jn.1:14). He accompanies us on life’s journey to salvation through our ups and downs. —Fr Thomas Mangamthanath, ssp March 2010       READINGS OF THE WEEK       ( Psalter Week 3) 8 Mon  (V)  2 Kgs 5:1-15a; Ps 41:2,3, Ps 42:3,4; Lk 4:24-30 9 Tue  (V)   Dan 3:25,34-43; Ps 24:4bc-5ab,6-7bc,8-9; Mt 18:21-35 10 Wed  (V)  Deut 4:1,5-9; Ps 147:12-13,15-16,19-20; Mt 5:17-19 11 Thu  (V)  Jer 7:23-28; Ps 94:1-2,6-7,8-9; Lk 11:14-23 12 Fri  (V)   Hos 14:2-10; Ps 80:6c-8a,8bc-9,10-11ab,14.17; Mk 12:28-34 13 Sat  (V)  Hos 6:1-6; Ps 50:3-4,18-19,20-21ab; Lk 18:9-14