Lent 2023 First Reading

Saturday of the first week Moses speaks to the people in Deuteronomy 26: 16-19. The Study Bible says it is a, “ completion and explanation of the law proclaimed on Mount Sinai.” “And today the Lord is making this agreement with you: you are to be a people peculiarly his own, as he promised you;Continue reading “Lent 2023 First Reading”

Lent 2023 First Reading

Friday of the First Week of Lent Today we hear from the prophet Ezekiel, of “dry bones” fame. He is the first Jewish person to receive the call to prophesy outside the Holy Land. The children of Israel are captives in Babylon. Ezekiel says, “If the wicked man turns away from all the sins heContinue reading “Lent 2023 First Reading”

Lent 2023 First Reading

Thursday of the First Week of Lent The first reading for today is taken from the book of Esther. Haman, adviser to King Xerxes of Persia, wanted to have all of the Jews in the empire exterminated in a single day. Esther, a Jew by birth and Queen to Xerxes, is, “seized with mortal anguish.Continue reading “Lent 2023 First Reading”

Lent 2023 First Reading

Tuesday of the first week of Lent “An invitation to Grace” is the heading in the Study Bible that precedes the verses for today. Isaiah 55: 10-11 says, “Just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down And do not return there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful,Continue reading “Lent 2023 First Reading”

Lent 2023 First Reading

Monday of the first week of Lent Today’s reading is from Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18. According to the study Bible, this is a continuation of the law given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai. If the Israelites keep these external laws, then it would show their, “intimate union with the Lord.” What strikes me todayContinue reading “Lent 2023 First Reading”

Lent 2023 First Reading

Saturday after Ash Wednesday The reading from Isaiah today is a continuation of yesterday’s message. “Thus says the Lord: If you remove oppression, false accusation, and malicious speech; If you bestow your bread on the hungry and satisfy the afflicted; Then light shall rise for you in the darkness, and the gloom shall become forContinue reading “Lent 2023 First Reading”

Lent 2023 First Reading

Saturday after Ash Wednesday The reading from Isaiah today is a continuation of yesterday’s message. “Thus says the Lord: If you remove oppression, false accusation, and malicious speech; If you bestow your bread on the hungry and satisfy the afflicted; Then light shall rise for you in the darkness, and the gloom shall become forContinue reading “Lent 2023 First Reading”

Lent 2023 First Reading

Friday after Ash Wednesday Isaiah really packs a punch in the first reading for today. I could spend an entire Lent with his words. He says, “would that today you might fast so as to make your voice heard on high! This…is the fasting that I wish: releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs ofContinue reading “Lent 2023 First Reading”

Lent 2023 First Reading

Day 2, Thursday after Ash Wednesday Today’s reading is taken from the book of Deuteronomy. According to the Catholic Study Bible, Moses is speaking to his people on the eve of his death. These are some of his final words. Moses tells the Israelite community they have a choice to make, and that choice willContinue reading “Lent 2023 First Reading”