Readings for Tuesday of the First Week of Lent[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary for Tuesday of the First Week of Lent:[3]
Reading 1: Isaiah 55:10-11
(Thus says the LORD:)
For just as from the heavens
the rain and snow come down
And do not return there
till they have watered the earth,
making it fertile and fruitful,
Giving seed to the one who sows
and bread to the one who eats,
So shall my word be
that goes forth from my mouth;
It shall not return to me void,
but shall do my will,
achieving the end for which I sent it.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Is 55:10-11
Since it’s short, here is what the Jerome Biblical Commentary says about this section of Isaiah:
“10-11. The Word comes from God, but it can be heard only when it is soaked up in human life and spoken with human accents. Dt-Is (Deutero-Isaiah refers to the second half of the book, written during the Babylonian exile) explains world history, particularly the sacred history of Israel, through the deep, omnipotent presence of the Word (cf. Wis 8:1; 2 Cor 9:10). M.-E. Boismard attributes to this text the immediate origin of the Johannine theology of the Word (St. John's Prologue [Westminster, 1957] 100). We hear its echo in John's doctrine of the Eucharist-the Word come down from heaven and received as bread (Jn 6:32, 35).”[4]
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Responsorial Psalm:[5] Psalm 34:4-5, 6-7, 16-17, 18-19
R. (18b) From all their distress God rescues the just.
Glorify the LORD with me,
let us together extol his name.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
R. From all their distress God rescues the just.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.
R. From all their distress God rescues the just.
The LORD has eyes for the just,
and ears for their cry.
The LORD confronts the evildoers,
to destroy remembrance of them from the earth.
R. From all their distress God rescues the just.
When the just cry out, the LORD hears them,
and from all their distress he rescues them.
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted;
and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.
R. From all their distress God rescues the just.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 34:4-5, 6-7, 16-17, 18-19
Psalm 34 is a psalm of thanksgiving for God’s deliverance. The just cry out to the Lord and he hears them and rescues them.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: Matthew 6:7-15
"In praying, do not babble like the pagans,
who think that they will be heard because of their many words.
Do not be like them.
Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
"This is how you are to pray:
Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy Kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
"If you forgive men their transgressions,
your heavenly Father will forgive you.
But if you do not forgive men,
neither will your Father forgive your transgressions."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Mt 6:7-15
We are given St. Matthew’s version of the Lord’s Prayer (see also Luke 11:2-4). We are told not to pray like the “pagans” notice he is not saying the hypocrites here – pagans of that era “babbled” long lists of names hoping one of them would be effective. The written commentary on this section is rich and I recommend reading the footnotes on this section for a good explanation of the various sections within the prayer.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
The Gospel of John begins with these words; “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” When we read the reading from Isaiah this morning those words from John came instantly to mind.
So shall my word be
that goes forth from my mouth;
It shall not return to me void,
but shall do my will,
achieving the end for which I sent it.
Yes, indeed, God sent his Word to the world and it transformed the world before it returned. “Now is the time of fulfillment;“ is what Jesus said in Mark’s Gospel on Sunday. Now today we see one of the predictions he came to fulfill.
When we follow the Word to the Gospel of Mathew we find one of the means by which he accomplishes God’s will through us. He taught us to pray and the Gospel today that gives us the Lord’s Prayer is a direct response from the Jesus to the disciple’s request.
Our Lenten discipline calls us to a more fervent prayer life. It is through prayer that we communicate our conscious will to God and through the meditative pause that is part of prayer that God communicates with us. The grace imparted at our baptism gives us special access to our Father in heaven. When we call upon him, we believe he hears and responds.
The challenge placed before us is one of familiarity. Too often when we use those familiar words, they become just a vocalization without meaning, “babble”. Think about the last time the Lord’s Prayer was used. Was it at Mass, during the devotion of the Rosary or Stations of the Cross? Was it during Morning Prayer or as part of some other moment of formal prayer? When the prayer was said, were the words a prayer or was the thought elsewhere- on the next part of the devotion; on some past activity or some future plan?
The challenge for us is when we pray as Jesus taught us, the words and thought must be united and they must be our own. It is this way that we truly become a people of prayer and walk the way the Lord taught us in truth.
Pax
[1] ALTRE
[2] The picture used is “Prayer of the Spinner” by Gerrit Dou, c. 1630
[3] Text of Readings is taken from the New American Bible, Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana
[4] Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Inc.© 1968
[5] Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 1973, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved.
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary for Tuesday of the First Week of Lent:[3]
Reading 1: Isaiah 55:10-11
(Thus says the LORD:)
For just as from the heavens
the rain and snow come down
And do not return there
till they have watered the earth,
making it fertile and fruitful,
Giving seed to the one who sows
and bread to the one who eats,
So shall my word be
that goes forth from my mouth;
It shall not return to me void,
but shall do my will,
achieving the end for which I sent it.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Is 55:10-11
Since it’s short, here is what the Jerome Biblical Commentary says about this section of Isaiah:
“10-11. The Word comes from God, but it can be heard only when it is soaked up in human life and spoken with human accents. Dt-Is (Deutero-Isaiah refers to the second half of the book, written during the Babylonian exile) explains world history, particularly the sacred history of Israel, through the deep, omnipotent presence of the Word (cf. Wis 8:1; 2 Cor 9:10). M.-E. Boismard attributes to this text the immediate origin of the Johannine theology of the Word (St. John's Prologue [Westminster, 1957] 100). We hear its echo in John's doctrine of the Eucharist-the Word come down from heaven and received as bread (Jn 6:32, 35).”[4]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm:[5] Psalm 34:4-5, 6-7, 16-17, 18-19
R. (18b) From all their distress God rescues the just.
Glorify the LORD with me,
let us together extol his name.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
R. From all their distress God rescues the just.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.
R. From all their distress God rescues the just.
The LORD has eyes for the just,
and ears for their cry.
The LORD confronts the evildoers,
to destroy remembrance of them from the earth.
R. From all their distress God rescues the just.
When the just cry out, the LORD hears them,
and from all their distress he rescues them.
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted;
and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.
R. From all their distress God rescues the just.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 34:4-5, 6-7, 16-17, 18-19
Psalm 34 is a psalm of thanksgiving for God’s deliverance. The just cry out to the Lord and he hears them and rescues them.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: Matthew 6:7-15
"In praying, do not babble like the pagans,
who think that they will be heard because of their many words.
Do not be like them.
Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
"This is how you are to pray:
Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy Kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
"If you forgive men their transgressions,
your heavenly Father will forgive you.
But if you do not forgive men,
neither will your Father forgive your transgressions."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Mt 6:7-15
We are given St. Matthew’s version of the Lord’s Prayer (see also Luke 11:2-4). We are told not to pray like the “pagans” notice he is not saying the hypocrites here – pagans of that era “babbled” long lists of names hoping one of them would be effective. The written commentary on this section is rich and I recommend reading the footnotes on this section for a good explanation of the various sections within the prayer.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
The Gospel of John begins with these words; “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” When we read the reading from Isaiah this morning those words from John came instantly to mind.
So shall my word be
that goes forth from my mouth;
It shall not return to me void,
but shall do my will,
achieving the end for which I sent it.
Yes, indeed, God sent his Word to the world and it transformed the world before it returned. “Now is the time of fulfillment;“ is what Jesus said in Mark’s Gospel on Sunday. Now today we see one of the predictions he came to fulfill.
When we follow the Word to the Gospel of Mathew we find one of the means by which he accomplishes God’s will through us. He taught us to pray and the Gospel today that gives us the Lord’s Prayer is a direct response from the Jesus to the disciple’s request.
Our Lenten discipline calls us to a more fervent prayer life. It is through prayer that we communicate our conscious will to God and through the meditative pause that is part of prayer that God communicates with us. The grace imparted at our baptism gives us special access to our Father in heaven. When we call upon him, we believe he hears and responds.
The challenge placed before us is one of familiarity. Too often when we use those familiar words, they become just a vocalization without meaning, “babble”. Think about the last time the Lord’s Prayer was used. Was it at Mass, during the devotion of the Rosary or Stations of the Cross? Was it during Morning Prayer or as part of some other moment of formal prayer? When the prayer was said, were the words a prayer or was the thought elsewhere- on the next part of the devotion; on some past activity or some future plan?
The challenge for us is when we pray as Jesus taught us, the words and thought must be united and they must be our own. It is this way that we truly become a people of prayer and walk the way the Lord taught us in truth.
Pax
[1] ALTRE
[2] The picture used is “Prayer of the Spinner” by Gerrit Dou, c. 1630
[3] Text of Readings is taken from the New American Bible, Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana
[4] Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Inc.© 1968
[5] Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 1973, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved.
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