Friday of the Third week of Lent

Book of Hosea

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.
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."
I will heal their defection, 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. 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.
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!
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.

Psalms

81(80),6c-8a.8bc-9.10-11ab.14.17.

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.”
“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?”
“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."
"If only my people would hear me,
and Israel walk in my ways,
While Israel I would feed with the best of wheat,
and with honey from the rock I would fill them.”

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark

12,28b-34.

One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, "Which is the first of all 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.'
The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."
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 yourself' is worth more than all burnt offerings and 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.

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St. John of God(religious (1495-1550))

SAINT JOHN OF GOD Religious (1495-1550) Nothing in John's early life foreshadowed his future holiness. He ran away from his home in Portugal, tended sheep and cattle in Spain and served as a soldier against the French and afterward against the Turks. Around 40 years old, feeling remorse for his wild life, John devoted himself to ransoming Christian slaves in Africa. He went there with the family of an exiled noble, whom he supported with his labor. After returning to Spain, he began selling holy pictures and books at low prices. At length, the hour of grace struck. At Granada, a sermon by the celebrated John of Avila shook his soul to its depths; and his expressions of self-abhorrence were so extraordinary that he was taken to the asylum. There, he employed himself in ministering to the sick. After leaving the asylum, John began sheltering homeless poor and supporting them through work and begging. One night, he found a poor man who seemed near death lying in the streets. John carried the man to the hospital, laid him on a bed and washed his feet. After washing them, John knelt to kiss them and was awestruck: The feet were pierced, and the print of the nails bright and radiant. He raised his eyes to look, and heard the words, "John, to Me thou doest all that thou doest to the poor in My name: I reach forth My hand for the alms thou givest; Me dost thou clothe, Mine are the feet thou dost wash." Then the gracious vision disappeared, leaving John filled with wonderment. The bishop became the Saint's patron and named him John of God. When John's hospital was on fire, he was seen rushing about uninjured amid the flames until he had rescued all his poor. After ten years spent serving the poor, John was called to heaven. He plunged into the river Xenil to save a drowning boy and passed away from an illness brought on by the attempt. He was 55; and was welcomed by Jesus into eternity.

misalcatolico.com

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Category: Mass by Year / Catholic Missal 2024 / Catholic Missal of march 2024