Friday, March 8, 2019

Friday after Ash Wednesday

Saint John of God (1495-1550)

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 3:1-12 Qualifications of the Monastery Cellarer
Mass: Is 58:1-9a; Resp Ps 51; Mt 9:14-15


Lord, make me know your ways, teach me your paths.


On Ash Wednesday Jesus told the disciples, 'When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites.' Today the disciples of John ask Jesus, 'Why do we and the Pharisees fast much, but your disciples do not fast?' Back to Ash Wednesday. 'When you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.'

Ask the Lord for strength and go forward with humility, doing what you can. But don't put make-up on your soul, because the Lord won't recognize you. Let us ask the Lord for the grace to be consistent, not to be vain, not to want to appear more worthy than we are. Let us ask for this grace, during this Lent: the coherence between formality and the reality, between who we are and how we want to appear.
(Pope Francis, homily, March 8, 2019)

SAINT JOHN OF GOD, PRAY FOR US.

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