My reflections for Mar. 05, 2006 - Sunday

March 5, 2006

Reading I
Genesis 9:8-15

God said to Noah and to his sons with him:
“See, I am now establishing my covenant with you
and your descendants after you
and with every living creature that was with you:
all the birds, and the various tame and wild animals
that were with you and came out of the ark.
I will establish my covenant with you,
that never again shall all bodily creatures be destroyed
by the waters of a flood;
there shall not be another flood to devastate the earth.”
God added:
“This is the sign that I am giving for all ages to come,
of the covenant between me and you
and every living creature with you:
I set my bow in the clouds to serve as a sign
of the covenant between me and the earth.
When I bring clouds over the earth,
and the bow appears in the clouds,
I will recall the covenant I have made
between me and you and all living beings,
so that the waters shall never again become a flood
to destroy all mortal beings.”

(God reestablishes a covenant with Noah that involves a commitment to never again allow such destruction of humanity as Noah witnessed in the flood. The twentieth centruy witnessed unthinkable destruction and death. Millions were killed in wars and various persecutions, yet they pale beside the destruction that resulted from the sin of mankind in the time of Noah. Let us be reminded of the destructive power of sin and thus try to avoid sin at all costs in our lives.)

Responsorial Psalm
Psalms 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9

R. Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth to those who keep your covenant.
Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior.
R. Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth to those who keep your covenant.
Remember that your compassion, O LORD,
and your love are from of old.
In your kindness remember me,
because of your goodness, O LORD.
R. Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth to those who keep your covenant.
Good and upright is the LORD,
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice,
and he teaches the humble his way.
R. Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth to those who keep your covenant.

Reading II
1 Peter 3:18-22

Beloved:
Christ suffered for sins once,
the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous,
that he might lead you to God.
Put to death in the flesh,
he was brought to life in the Spirit.
In it he also went to preach to the spirits in prison,
who had once been disobedient
while God patiently waited in the days of Noah
during the building of the ark,
in which a few persons, eight in all,
were saved through water.
This prefigured baptism, which saves you now.
It is not a removal of dirt from the body
but an appeal to God for a clear conscience,
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
who has gone into heaven
and is at the right hand of God,
with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him.

(Peter reminds us that Christ was innocent of any wrongdoing. He never sinned in His life. Yet, He chose a path of suffering and death to pay the price of our sins. It is His obedience to the Father that makes up for all of the disobedience of all men and women throughout time. This is the power that we are dealing with when we talk about God's love for us. The amazing thing is that He shares this love with us and asks us to help Him bring it to those who have never heard about it.)

Gospel
Mark 1:12-15

The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert,
and he remained in the desert for forty days,
tempted by Satan.
He was among wild beasts,
and the angels ministered to him.

After John had been arrested,
Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God:
“This is the time of fulfillment.
The kingdom of God is at hand.
Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

(Mark is very succinct in His recording of Jesus' time of trial and temptation in the desert. He reports it in a very-matter-of-fact type of way. This indicates to us that we should deal with sin and temptation in a similar manner. Really, there is not too much to say about sin other than Jesus has given us victory over it and that is that! Oh, if only it was that easy to be holy! But it is easier to be holy that we think. There is just a tendency for us to complicate matters so much that we make a simple thing difficult!)

Meditation for Lent <== Click here

God's special verse/thought for me today.
"This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel."

my reflections
think: It is Jesus' obedience to the Father that makes up for all of the disobedience of all men and women throughout time.
O Lord, I had enough of the temporal world and the human way. I've chosen to obey your calling and fulfill Your mission for me. I repent Lord for all my sins and forgive me Lord for being disobedient and blind. I've been blinded with evil and the ways of the temporal world. Lord I could see now because I found the truth by believing in the gospel. Lord help me to live according to the gospel. Lord you know my needs. Provide my family our daily bread so I focus on serving you with full dedication. Let not fear separate us again. Give me the strenght and wisdom to break my success barriers so I could explode Your will to spread Your love and mercy to Your children who are blind, lost and misguided.

thank You Lord for: the time of fulfillment.
thank You Lord for teaching me how to repent and for forgiving my sins.
thank You Lord for teaching me to believe in the gospel with sincerity.
thank You Lord for getting me out of the temporal world and the human way.
thank You Lord for making me see that You are the light, the truth and the way.
thank You Lord for breaking my success barriers.
thank You Lord for my mission to explode Your will to spread Your love and mercy.
thank You Lord for sustaining us our daily bread.
thank You Lord for letting me serve you with total dedication.