March 8, 2013

USCCB »  Bible »  Daily Readings

 « March 7  |  March 9 »

Friday of the Third Week of Lent 
Lectionary: 241

Reading 1HOS 14:2-10

Thus says the LORD:
Return, O Israel, to the LORD, your God;
you have collapsed through your guilt.
Take with you words,
and return to the LORD;
Say to him, “Forgive all iniquity,
and receive what is good, that we may render
as offerings the bullocks from our stalls.

This is what the Lord says to the people through the Prophet Hosea:

Come back to God, O Israel. You have fallen because of your sins.  Therefore, ask God to forgive you and return to Him making sacrifice.

Assyria will not save us,
nor shall we have horses to mount;
We shall say no more, ‘Our god,’
to the work of our hands;
for in you the orphan finds compassion.”

Other nations can't save us.  Nor can any creature.  There is only one God.  So turn to Him who protects the orphans and the poor.

I will heal their defection, says the LORD,
I will love them freely;
for my wrath is turned away from them.
I will be like the dew for Israel:
he shall blossom like the lily;
He shall strike root like the Lebanon cedar,
and put forth his shoots.

God says, I will forgive them and heal them.  I am no longer angry with them.  I will quench Israel's thirst and they will bloom like lilies of the valley.  My people will grow like the trees of the Lebanon forest.

His splendor shall be like the olive tree
and his fragrance like the Lebanon cedar.
Again they shall dwell in his shade
and raise grain;
They shall blossom like the vine,
and his fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.

They shall be as glorious as an olive tree and smell like the cedars of Lebanon.  Israel  will again be cooled there and grow their food.  And they will bloom like the vine  and be renown like the wine of Lebanon.

Ephraim! What more has he to do with idols?
I have humbled him, but I will prosper him.
“I am like a verdant cypress tree”–
Because of me you bear fruit!

The tribe of Ephraim I will not forget.  They will turn to Me and leave their false gods.  I have brought them low but now I will let them get up.  He will be like a green cypress tree because of Me, Ephraim will also bear fruit.

Let him who is wise understand these things;
let him who is prudent know them.
Straight are the paths of the LORD,
in them the just walk,
but sinners stumble in them.

Let the wise and prudent man understand.  God's ways are the right ways.  The righteous prosper in them.  But the wicked fall. 

Responsorial PsalmPS 81:6C-8A, 8BC-9, 10-11AB, 14 AND 17

R. (see 11 and 9a) I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.An unfamiliar speech I hear:
“I relieved his shoulder of the burden;
his hands were freed from the basket.
In distress you called, and I rescued you.”
R. I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.

I am God,  listen to me.
Whose voice is thin praying?  When ever he is in trouble, he prays and I save him.

“Unseen, I answered you in thunder;
I tested you at the waters of Meribah.
Hear, my people, and I will admonish you;
O Israel, will you not hear me?”
R. I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.

Even though you haven't seen me, I answer your prayers.  I am guiding you, but you will not follow my Word.  O Israel, why won't you listen?

“There shall be no strange god among you
nor shall you worship any alien god.
I, the LORD, am your God
who led you forth from the land of Egypt.”
R. I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.

I said, "don't worship false gods, I am your God who saved you from Pharao."

“If only my people would hear me,
and Israel walk in my ways,
I would feed them with the best of wheat,
and with honey from the rock I would fill them.”
R. I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.

If you would listen to me, if you would obey me, then your table would be filled with the best the land could offer.

GospelMK 12:28-34

One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him,
“Which is the first of all the commandments?”

A student of the Law asked Jesus, "what is the greatest of the commandments?"

Jesus replied, “The first is this:
Hear, O Israel!The Lord our God is Lord alone!You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.

Jesus replied, "The first says,
The Lord our God is Lord alone!You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.

The second is this:You shall love your neighbor as yourself.There is no other commandment greater than these.”

The second says, " You shall love your neighbor as yourself."  There is no greater commandment than these two.

The scribe said to him, “Well said, teacher.You are right in saying,He is One and there is no other than he.And to love him with all your heart,
with all your understanding, 
with all your strength,
and to love your neighbor as yourselfwith all your understanding, with all your strength,and to love your neighbor as yourselfis worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

And the student replied, "Very good answer, Rabbi.  You are correct in saying that God is one and there is no other and that we should love him with all our heart, mind and soul.  And also that we should love our neighbor is worth more than any animal sacrifices."

And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding, he said to him,
“You are not far from the Kingdom of God.”
And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

When Jesus saw that the young man understood the Commandments, He said to him, "You are very close to the Kingdom of Heaven."  And no one challenged him any further.