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The Third Week of Lent
Feburary 28 to March 5
With this week, we conclude the first part of Lent.
We continue our lessons in the faith, as our practices of Lent become deeper and more full of grace.
We enter into this week reflecting upon the Scrutiny that makes up our intense prayer for those Elect, preparing for Baptism.
And, as we beg, as Church, that they be freed from sin and from all anxiety, we ask those same desires for ourselves.
The simple and powerful words of the Opening Prayer guides our daily prayer.
We continue to wake each morning, pausing to ask for the graces we desire for the day.
Throughout each day, the background of our thoughts and feelings is
more and more taken up with what this journey means for our personal change of heart,
the renewal of our Baptismal commitment to be placed with Jesus,
and our growing desire to act in solidarity with the poor.
We go to bed each evening, after pausing to give thanks
for the gifts of the day.
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Sunday
February 28
“Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare your praise.”
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Collect:
O God, author of every mercy and of all goodness,
who in fasting, prayer and almsgiving
have shown us a remedy for sin,
look graciously on this confession of our lowliness,
that we, who are bowed down by our conscience,
may always be lifted up by your mercy.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Today's Readings
Daily Meditation:
Form a new heart within .
This Sunday brings us closer to the font of renewing our baptismal commitment.
It is also the first of three Scrutinies for the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults.
We are deeply aware that there is a struggle going on in us.
We turn to God, that we might not become discouraged.
We rely on God's compassion and love for us.
We acknowledge who we are
- sinners who experience the consequences of our selfishness -
but we know we are loved and we desire to be filled with hope.
We go into this week renewed in our desire to continue our
prayer, fasting and generosity toward others.
Today's Daily Reflection
Intercessions:
Let us praise our loving Redeemer, who gained for us this season of grace,
and pray to him, saying:
Lord, create a new spirit in us.
Christ, our life, through baptism we were buried with you and rose to life with you,
- may we walk today in newness of life.
Lord, you have brought blessings to all mankind,
- bring us to share your concern for the good of all.
May we work together to build up the earthly city,
- with our eyes fixed on the city that lasts for ever.
Healer of body and soul, cure the sickness of our spirit,
- so that we may grow in holiness through your constant care.
Closing Prayer:
Loving Father,
and always you welcome me back.
Your mercy and love gives me confidence
Thank you for the invitation to share, fast and pray
so that you can form a new heart within me.
Your powerful compassion for my weaknesses
leads me to ask for mercy
and await with great hope the Easter joy you share with us.
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May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.
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Monday
February 29
“Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare your praise.”
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Collect:
May your unfailing compassion, O Lord,
cleanse and protect your Church,
and, since without you she cannot stand secure,
may she be always governed by your grace.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Today's Readings
Daily Meditation:
We cannot be saved without you.
Today we are reminded of the terrible irony: a prophet is not well received at home.
Jesus was not accepted by those who saw him as all too human.
And, he was unable to act with power in their lives.
Is this Lenten season getting us out of our comfortable complacency,
and helping us see the prophetic one in our midst?
Is it helping us listen better, reach out with deeper longing,
find a greater intimacy with the only one who can save us?
My soul is thirsting for the living God:
when shall I see God face to face? (Psalm 42)
Today's Daily Reflection
Intercessions:
Praise to Jesus, our Savior; by his death he has opened for us the way of salvation.
Let us ask him:
Lord, guide your people to walk in your ways.
God of mercy, you gave us new life through baptism,
- make us grow day by day in your likeness.
May our generosity today bring joy to those in need,
- in helping them may we find you.
Help us to do what is good, right and true in your sight,
- and to seek you always with undivided hearts.
Forgive our sins against the unity of your family,
- make us one in heart and spirit.
Closing Prayer:
Merciful God,
Free your Church from the sins of this world
and protect us from evil we see
and the evil we prefer to ignore.
We need your guidance, Lord
for we cannot do this alone.
Only with your help can we be saved.
Thank you for your desire to save us and love us.
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May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.
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Tuesday
March 1
“Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare your praise.”
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Collect:
May your grace not forsake us, O Lord, we pray,
but make us dedicated to your holy service
and at all times obtain for us your help.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Today's Readings
Daily Meditation:
Do not let us be put to shame,
but deal with us in your kindness and great mercy.
Azariah asks God to remember his mercies.
He places his complete trust in God.
These days, we place our lives in God's hands,
and we let God forgive us.
The challenge of the Gospel is to forgive
as we have been forgiven.
How often we are so very much harder on others
than our God is on us!
An important Lenten examination of conscience.
'So will my heavenly Father do to you,
unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart.'
Today's Daily Reflection
Intercessions:
Praise to Christ, who has given us himself as the bread from heaven.
Let us pray to him, saying:
Jesus, you feed and heal our souls; come to strengthen us.
Lord, feed us at the banquet of the Eucharist,
- with all the gifts of your paschal sacrifice.
Give us a perfect heart to receive your word,
- that we may bring forth fruit in patience.
Make us eager to work with you in building a better world,
- so that it may listen to your Church and its gospel of peace.
We confess, Lord, that we have sinned,
- wash us clean by your gift of salvation.
Closing Prayer:
God of infinite love,
I thank you for this reminder of your love
and your call that we be more patient,
gentle and compassionate with others.
Here in the middle of Lent,
I turn to you to beg for your help.
Please soften my heart.
Help me to let go of judging others.
I ask you this, in Jesus' name.
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May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.
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Wednesday
March 2
“Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare your praise.”
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Collect:
Grant, we pray, o Lord,
that, schooled through Lenten observance
and nourished by your word,
through holy restraint
we may be devoted to you with all our hearts
and be ever united in prayer.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Today's Readings
Daily Meditation:
Make us one in love and prayer.
This was a special liturgy in the early church.
On this day the first of the Scrutinies was celebrated.
We can see why the instruction is about fidelity, but tone of the prayer is one of unity.
On this day when the community prayed so earnestly for those about to be baptized,
we can feel the power of asking that we be made one.
We might reflect upon what it is that divides us,
and what I might do to let the Spirit of Unity draw us together.
I want all of them to be one with each other,
just as I am one with you and you are one with me.
I also want them to be one with us.
Then the people of this world will believe that you sent me.
Jesus' prayer at the Last Supper for
'for everyone else who will have faith because of
what my followers will say about me.' (John 17:21)
Today's Daily Reflection
Intercessions:
Blessed be God, the giver of salvation,
who decreed that mankind should become a new creation in himself,
when all would be made new. With great confidence let us ask him:
Lord, renew us in your Spirit.
Lord, you promised a new heaven and a new earth; renew us daily through your Spirit,
- that we may enjoy your presence for ever in the heavenly Jerusalem.
Help us to work with you to make this world alive with your Spirit,
- and to build on earth a city of justice, love and peace.
Free us from all negligence and sloth,
- and give us joy in your gifts of grace.
Deliver us from evil,
- and from slavery to the senses, which blinds us to goodness.
Closing Prayer:
God, you love me as your own child. May I bend my life and will toward you so that I might accept your teaching and guidance. I am so grateful for your support in my life, now and in the eternal life you are preparing for me. I beg for your help and Spirit in my life today.
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May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.
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Thursday
March 3
“Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare your praise.”
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Collect:
We implore your majesty most humbly, O Lord,
that, as the feast of our salvation draws ever closer,
so we may press forward more eagerly
towards the worthy celebration of the Paschal Mystery.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Today's Readings
Daily Meditation:
May our love grow each day.
We are at the half-way point in our Lenten journey today.
There is so much yet to learn, to examine, to heal, to renew.
We have a sense of the patterns
we are naming and a sense of the graces we are asking for,
as well as the ways God is working in us.
We want to be ready and our Lord wants us to be confident.
So we keep asking and we keep giving thanks, throughout our day.
I am the Savior of all people, says the Lord.
Whatever their troubles,
I will answer their cry,
and I will always be their Lord
Today's Daily Reflection
Intercessions:
Christ our Lord came among us as the light of the world,
that we might walk in his light, and not in the darkness of death.
Let us praise him and cry out to him:
Let your word be a lamp to guide us.
God of mercy, help us today to grow in your likeness,
- that we who sinned in Adam may rise again in Christ.
Let your word be a lamp to guide us,
- that we may live the truth and grow always in your love.
Teach us to be faithful in seeking the common good for your sake,
- that your light may shine on the whole human family by means of your
Church. Touch our hearts to seek your friendship more and more,
- and to make amends for our sins against your wisdom and goodness.
Closing Prayer:
Loving God,
I hear your invitation, 'Come back to me'
and I am filled with such a longing to return to you.
Show me the way to return.
Lead me this day in good works I do in your name
and send your Spirit to guide me and strengthen my faith.
I ask only to feel your love in my life today.
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May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.
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Collect:
Pour your grace into our hearts, we pray, O Lord,
that we may be constantly drawn away from unruly desires
and obey by your own gift the heavenly teaching you give us.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Today's Readings
Daily Meditation:
Fill our hearts with your love.
Our lesson today reminds us again of God's love and Jesus' desire
that we love one another as we are loved.
On this journey, we are learning why this is a challenge for us.
We are experiencing our human weaknesses and practicing ways to be freer,
to open our hearts more fully to God's love
and to give ourselves in fidelity, every day.
You ask us to express our thanks by self-denial.
We are to master our sinfulness
and conquer our pride.
We are to show to those in need
your goodness to ourselves. (Preface for Lent III)
Today's Daily Reflection
Intercessions:
Thanks be to Christ the Lord,
who brought us life by his death on the cross.
With our whole heart let us ask him:
By your death raise us to life.
Teacher and Savior, you have shown us your fidelity and made us a new creation by your passion,
- keep us from falling again into sin.
Help us to deny ourselves today,
- and not deny those in need.
May we receive this day of penance as your gift,
- and give it back to you through works of mercy.
Master our rebellious hearts,
- and teach us generosity.
Closing Prayer:
God of Mercy,
I feel my heart overflowing with your tenderness.
I sense your loving touch deep within my soul.
I ask for your help in my weakness
that I might be faithful to your word
and I am so grateful
that your mercy for my failings
is as strong as your unbounded love for me.
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May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.
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Saturday
March 5
“Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare your praise.”
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Collect:
Rejoicing in this annual celebration
of our Lenten observance,
we pray, O Lord,
that, with our hearts set on the paschal mysteries,
we may be gladdened by their full effects.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Today's Readings
Daily Meditation:
Bring us to the full joy of Easter.
This is the last day of the first part of Lent.
Our lesson is a powerful one.
The one person praying in the temple
is proud of his spiritual accomplishments.
The other person is deeply humble before God,
and goes home having really named the graces desired.
Through our daily practices, we are placed with Jesus in suffering,
in growing surrender to the deaths of our life,
and in anticipation of the full joy of Easter
Keep me from any deadly sin.
Only you can save me!
Then I will shout and sing about your power to save. (Psalm 51:14)
Today's Daily Reflection
Intercessions:
To make us his new creation, Christ the Lord gave us the waters of rebirth
and spread the table of his body and his word. Let us call upon him and say:
Lord, renew us in your grace.
Jesus, meek and humble of heart, clothe us with compassion, kindness and humility,
- make us want to be patient with everyone.
Teach us to be true neighbors to all in trouble and distress,
- and so imitate you, the Good Samaritan.
May the Blessed Virgin, your Mother, pray for all those vowed to a life of virginity,
- that they may deepen their dedication to you and to the Church.
Grant us the gift of your mercy,
- forgive our sins and remit their punishment.
Closing Prayer:
God of Mercy and Understanding,
I know that with help
I can open my heart more fully
to the mysteries of the suffering and death
of your son.
Help me to be humble in this journey
and remember that any mercy and compassion I feel is a gift from you.
I await the joy of Easter with new longing and patience.
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May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.
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Data Source : Creighton University's Online Ministries
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