Reading excerpts for the 3rd Sunday of Lent
Exodus 3: Moses was in Midian leading the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, and he came to Mt. Horeb, and there an angel of the LORD appeared to Moses in fire flaming out of a bush.And God revealed Himself to Moses saying “I AM who am….and This is what you shall tell the Israelites: I AM sent me to you.”
1st Corinthians 10 warning: I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our (Jewish) ancestors were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea, and all of them were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. Yet God was not pleased with most of them, for they were struck down in the desert (due to their unbelief)… Therefore, do not grumble as some of them did, for their story is passed down as a warning to us: whoever thinks they are standing secure, should take care not to fall.
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The 3rd Sunday readings heed warnings. They say: Don’t lose your faith, as like in grumbling about in your life, as did the ungrateful and unfaithful Exodus Jews who never made it to the promised land. God has appeared personally at Mt. Horeb as the Great I AM revelation, but it wasn’t enough for many of them. For ourselves, in comparison, let us not falter and fall into our own self-camps of what we want to be, to our liking, but work to be humble, faithful persons to God, working in a common-good practice of Catholic faith. The text of First Corinthians 10 is to the church there in how it matches their Eucharistic Faith and of living in an honest conscience. Take a look later at it.
Yet it leads to a gospel line of Jesus when He says: If you do not repent,
then you will all perish. It’s clear and direct from Jesus—what kind of heart do you carry. Is it humbled and His? Lent is giving you due time to check it out.
We can direct this review as to being descendants of the Pilgrims Faith to Maryland in 1634 to now. Are we good Catholics in the Old Line State?
We live in a land of sown Catholic faith. Maryland was founded for it’s cause, and God led the Catholic Calvert’s expedition here for religious freedom, for Catholicism and other religion to be practiced here freely, rather than to be persecuted, tortured or killed for it—like back in England. Maryland was founded in 1634 and back in 1582 the Catholic persecution was so fierce in London, England, that a London priest John Payne had been racked and tortured, imprisoned, and then killed later on April 2nd, on false charges of plotting murder against the Queen. He was one of many to face martyrdom, with the English anti-pope kings trying to abolish Roman Catholicism of its thirteen-century history in the land; so it’s quite surprising that in the early 1630’s that there would still be a powerful Catholic man in the government chain of command who would be Lord Chancellor Calvert, who’d be given allowance for an expedition for a mission land in America, with religious freedom for Catholics in the plans in the New World.
I was born on April 2nd in London, not very far from the place of the martyr and saint Fr. John Payne. His saint’s day is April 2nd. I took a pilgrimage several years back to London’s Tyburn Convent where the martyr Payne (and others) are remembered, and I celebrated a Mass there, proclaiming: I am Fr. John, son of London, and now Marylander who has become a priest. Hero Fr. John Payne, England will get back her Catholic identity as is slowly happening in my time, and I remember the sacrifice of your time. and I am here to serve in my time faithfully, as you did to the point of death, in that Tower of London, in your time. I live in free Maryland of the USA.
One thing is still certain in our same Catholic faith. We need to keep getting back to square one for God’s faithful to us, and for our need of repentance and faith and love back to Him. Sin and death remain among us, but there is freedom in Jesus Christ. He has paid a price so amazing for all of our sins. I am so in debt to Jesus. Lord, have mercy on me, and Lord, have mercy on us.
As it says in a Country Gospel song, these are the simple facts.
I had a debt I could not pay,
He paid the debt He did not owe,
I needed Someone, To wash my sins away.
And now I sing a brand new song, “Amazing grace”,
Christ Jesus paid the debt, That I could never pay.
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But that’s not all, Christ lives in me,
I once was blind but now I see.
It pleased the Father To reveal the Son in Me,
That I become the same as He; so free indeed
My Jesus paid the debt, that I could never pay.
So I will live the life, in the Grace of God today.