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One another, Lent3C


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March 23, 2025



In confidence, let us now offer our prayers to God, the Lord who is “slow to anger and abounding in kindness”:


That our Church and parish family may pursue, with hope and determination, the possibilities for forgiveness and reconciliation in every relationship and experience: let us pray to the Lord.


That those who serve our Church as bishops, pastors, ministers, and teachers may speak the Word of God with joyful perseverance: let us pray to the Lord.


That all nations and peoples may work together to eradicate persecution, injustice, and hatred from our world: let us pray to the Lord.


The students and young people may, like the young Moses, respond to the call to become God’s messengers of compassion and reconciliation: let us pray to the lord.

 

That we may respond to God’s call to alleviate the suffering of the poor, to seek justice for the persecuted, and to come to the aid of the homeless and hungry: let us pray to the Lord.


That the souls of our deceased relatives [especially _________], will be welcomed by Christ into the presence of our Christ: let us pray to the Lord.


That the God of mercy will hear the prayers we now offer in the silence of our hearts [Pause...]: let us pray to the Lord.

 

Merciful God, hear the prayers of your people, who struggle, like the fig tree, to grow in the light of your love. As you are patient with us, may we be patient with one another; as your forgive us without condition or limits, may we forgive one another; as you hear our cries to you, may we hear the cries of one another. We make these prayers in the name of your Son, our Lord and Redeemer, Jesus Christ.


References

-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2025y, March 23). Third Sunday of lent. USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/032325-YearC.cfm

-Cormier, J. (1995). Lord, Hear Our Prayer: Prayer of the Faithful for Sundays, Holy Days, and Ritual Masses.


 
 
 

The Word today, Lent3C


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March 24 - March 29, 2025



2 Kings 5:1-15 A very lively, realistic story prepares us for the Gospel reading. There are comic elements: the disappointment of Naaman and the utterly sensible advice of his servants.


Luke 4:24-30 Our reading is really the second part of an integrated scene in Luke’s Gospel. Jesus preaches in Nazareth and is initially well received. What we really have here is a symbolic tableau, giving us the whole Gospel story of Jesus in a nutshell. The last elusive line points to Easter.


The Annunciation to the BVM


Isaiah 7:10-14, 8:10 The birth of a child—as in this reading—is always a sign of hope. Hebrews 10:4-10 Our reading today reects on the death of Jesus, in the light of the incarnation.


Luke 1:26-38 In the Bible, there are stories of couples who cannot have children. An annunciation resolves the situation. Our annunciation is similar, yet signicantly different on account of the child to be born — son of the Most High, descendant of Jacob and David, Jesus the Messiah.



Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9 Our reading reects on God’s grace to Israel and on the consequent responsibility of the Israelites to live lives consistent with that grace. It was true long ago in Judaism; it is true today in our Christian proclamation.


Matthew 5:17-19 Matthew can disconcert with his quite conservative attitudes. It is important to remember that the Law (the Torah) meant three things at the time. It meant rst of all the Pentateuch, which has lost none of its relevance for Christians. It also meant the Ten Commandments, which, in the time honoured phrase, have not gone away. Finally, it meant the rules governing the marks of Jewish identity, such as circumcision and the dietary laws. While these latter are indeed suspended for Christians, the moral law is, if anything, sharpened.



Jeremiah 7:23-28 The ministry of Jeremiah encountered tremendous opposition. In fact, his book is divided into two parts, the rst devoted to a rehearsal of the collapse of the independent kingdom of Judah. Within that, Jeremiah points out that the very faithlessness of the people was one of the causes of that calamity.


Luke 11:14-23 Just as the prophets encountered opposition, so did the Jesus. In the case of Jesus, the opposition accuses God’s prophet of aligning himself with the forces of evil. Already in Luke’s Gospel, we hear the story of the temptation, wherein Jesus resolutely rejects the devil.



Hosea wrote in the 8th century BC, at a time of immense pressure from Assyria. He can be trenchant but is also a marvellous poet of the love of God. Listen by letting any of the moving metaphors touch our hearts.


Mark 12:28-34 This great passages takes us to the hear to of the preaching of Jesus, the Jewish Messiah.



Hosea 5:15-6:6 This is really a sarcastic reading. But, behind the biting sarcasm, is the beating heart of God, reaching out to us again and again.


Luke 18:9-14 The risk for us in reading this parable is that we nd ourselves sitting in judgment on the Pharisee—that is, copying him in sitting in judgment on the tax collector. The latter’s heart-felt prayer for mercy is at the centre of the parable: can I make it my own?


References

-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2025y, March 23). Third Sunday of lent. USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/032325-YearC.cfm

-Sunday readings. (n.d.-s). Hearers of the Word. https://www.tarsus.ie/SundayReadings


 
 
 

SOCL, Lent3C

Updated: Mar 31


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Sunday March 23, 2025


Breaking the myth of deserved suffering


See


We cling to cause-and-effect explanations for tragedy—believing those Galileans must have sinned greatly, that the crushed victims somehow deserved it—because randomness terrifies us more than judgment. This psychological defense mechanism creates the comforting illusion that good behavior guarantees safety. Meanwhile, fig trees stand barren in our lives: relationships without intimacy, careers without purpose, minds full of knowledge that never transforms action. We demand immediate results while nature whispers of slow cultivation and patience.


The gardener sees beyond current barrenness to potential abundance, demanding nothing but time and attention—the very resources we're most reluctant to invest. Our modern efficiency cuts down what doesn't immediately produce, replacing the organic with the instantaneous. Yet our deepest transformations happen underground, invisible to metrics and quarterly reviews.


What if unproductive seasons aren't failures but necessary dormancy? The soil around us is being turned, uncomfortable but essential. The fertilizer smells of disappointment and limitation. But something unseen is happening beneath the surface where roots stretch toward what sustains them—not despite the darkness, but because of it.


Listen



Reflect


(Luke 13:1-9)


When confronted with others' suffering, notice your instinct to explain it away—what uncomfortable questions emerge when you abandon the belief that pain must be deserved?


Jesus challenges our rush to judgment and quick solutions—how might patiently "cultivating the ground" around your challenges reveal possibilities invisible to immediate analysis?


Consider the areas of your life appearing fruitless despite your efforts—what hidden growth might already be occurring beneath the visible surface of your struggles?


Pray


Lord, your timing transcends our urgent demands. Turn the soil of our rigid expectations. Nourish the roots of our withered hopes. Grant us courage to trust the slow, invisible work happening beneath our struggles. Transform our impatience into attentive presence that recognizes potential where others see only failure.



 
 
 
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