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Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent - Day of Abstinence
Today's Readings
First Reading: Jeremiah 20:10-13
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 18
Gospel: John 10:31-42
Read today’s readings at USCCBReflection
Jeremiah is surrounded. His friends are watching for any misstep. They whisper: denounce him. Maybe he'll be trapped. But Jeremiah says: the Lord is with me like a mighty champion. My persecutors will stumble. Then he sings: praise the Lord, for he has rescued the life of the poor from the power of the wicked.
In the Gospel, stones are flying again. Jesus asks the most heartbreaking question in the Gospels: I have shown you many good works from my Father. For which of these are you trying to stone me?
The answer: we're not stoning you for a good work. We're stoning you for blasphemy. You, a man, are making yourself God.
Jesus responds: if I don't do the Father's works, don't believe me. But if I do them, even if you don't believe me, believe the works. The evidence is right in front of you. The blind see. The lame walk. The dead are raised. For which of these do you want to kill me?
They try to arrest him. He escapes and goes back across the Jordan - to the place where John first baptized. Full circle. Back to where it all began. And there, away from the hostility of Jerusalem, many came to him and believed.
For families, the question Jesus asks is one your family should sit with: for which good work are you trying to stone me? When has your family been punished for doing the right thing? When has your goodness provoked hostility instead of gratitude?
It happens. The parent who sets boundaries is accused of being controlling. The spouse who tells the truth is accused of being hurtful. The family that lives differently is accused of being judgmental. For which good work do they stone you?
The psalm is the answer: in my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice. From his temple he heard. Your cry reaches his ears.
Tomorrow is the last Saturday before Palm Sunday. The stones are almost finished falling. Next week, they'll find their target.
Universal Prayer
As a family, pray together:
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For the Church - who is often stoned not for doing evil but for doing good: that she would keep doing the Father's works even when the stones fly. Lord, hear our prayer.
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For those whose good works are met with hostility - parents, teachers, pastors, missionaries: that the Lord would be with them like a mighty champion. Lord, hear our prayer.
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For our family - where we've been hurt for doing right: help us keep going. Help us believe the works even when the world throws stones. Lord, hear our prayer.
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For the faithful departed - that the God who rescues the life of the poor from the power of the wicked would rescue them into eternal life. Lord, hear our prayer.
Faith in Action
This is the last Lenten Friday before Good Friday. Make it count. Attend Stations of the Cross tonight if your parish offers them. If not, pray them at home. The stones in today's Gospel are heading somewhere specific: the cross. Walk with Jesus toward it.
“In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.”
— Psalm 18:7
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