Skip to main content

3rd Sunday of Lent 2013

By
Thursday marks the final day in office for our Holy Father, Benedict XVI, after which the papacy will be a sede vacante... a vacant seat.  This term is used universally in the church for when a bishop's seat (his cathedra) is vacant.  Normally when a bishop's seat is becomes vacant (through death, retirement, resignation, or reassignment), the Pope through the Holy See seeks to fill that vacancy.  But when the "seat of Peter" is vacant, the College of Cardinals gather in Conclave to elect a new pope.  This is most certainly a busy and interesting time in our Church.

It is also a very busy time for those going through the RCIA process.  This coming Sunday we enter the period of the Scurtinies.  For the next three weeks, our Elect and Candidates will listen to specially selected readings during Mass and go through special Rites as they discern or "scrutinize" their calling to full initiation.  For those attending the 1st Scrutiny this Sunday, our readings will be:

The Word for the 1st Scrutiny (3rd Sunday of Lent Cycle A):
        Exodus 17:3-7
        Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9
        Romans 5:1-2, 5-8
        John 4:5-42

For those attending one of the other Masses this Sunday, you will hear the normal Cycle C readings:

The Word for the 3rd Sunday of Lent:
        Exodus 3:1-8a, 13-15
        Psalm 103:1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8, 9
        1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12
        Luke 13:1-9

During our session this week we will visit both sets of readings and discuss their message as we discern the relevance of that message to us during the season of Lent.  You can also read more about the Scrutinies in this Catholic Update: Lenten Customs

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time - Cycle C

By
“In the beginning there was the Word…”  These are the dramatic opening lines from the Gospel according to John, and though we will not be reading from John’s Gospel this Sunday, these words ring true for our readings for this 3rd Sunday of Ordinary time.  The people are in the midst of something new, a new beginning that, as our readings will show, begin with The Word… The Word for the 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time Nehemiah 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10 Psalm 19:8, 9, 10, 15 1 Corinthians 12:12-30 (or 1 Corinthians 12:12-14, 27) Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21 Our first reading is from the book of the Prophet Nehemiah.  Nehemiah, along with the priest/prophet Ezra, are the architects of the Restoration of Israel.  Their great Exile in Babylon is over and through the grace of the Persian King, Cyrus the Great, Israel is free to return to their land, to rebuild the Temple and to rebuild their lives as the people of God.  In an effort to guild them in this new beginning, Nehemiah and Ezra g...
Post a Comment
Read more

Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

By
February 2nd is the date chosen by the Church to celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord.  When a significant feast day falls on a Sunday, the Church sets aside the readings for that normal week to celebrate the feast with these special readings: The Word for the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord Malachi 3:1-43 Psalm 24: 7, 8, 9, 10 Hebrews 2:14-18 Luke 2:22-40 or 2:22-32 While the Catholic Church today refers to this day as the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, traditionally it has also been called the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple, Candlemas, the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin, and the Meeting of the Lord .  Prior to the Second Vatican Council, Candlemas was a time where beeswax candles were blessed for use throughout the year, a tradition still followed in some parish communities.  Today the celebration focuses more on the prophecy of Simeon, and Pope John Paul II chose it as a time for renewal of religious vows (not to be confused...
Post a Comment
Read more

8th Sunday of Ordinary Time - Cycle C

By
As with last week’s readings, our readings for the 8th Sunday of Ordinary Time are usually passed over for other feast days, but since Easter is somewhat late this year, we get to finish out this stretch of Ordinary Time with some readings we rarely get to hear during Sunday Mass: The Word for the 8th Sunday of Ordinary Time Sirach 27:4-7 Psalm 92:2-3, 13-14, 15-16 1 Corinthians 15:54-58 Luke 6:39-45 Our first reading comes from the book of Sirach, also known as the Wisdom of Ben Sira, a great sage from Jerusalem who embraced the Wisdom tradition.  The work was originally finished around 175 BCE and was later translated into Greek by the author’s grandson sometime after 117 BCE during the Jewish diaspora that flourished in the later Ancient Greek Empire.  Since our earliest manuscripts for this book were found in Greek, it does not hold the same canonical status for Jews and Protestants, but more recent archeological finds have verified its Hebrew origins.  Like all Wisdo...
Post a Comment
Read more