Daily Readings

Reading I:  Jer 7:23-28

Thus says the LORD: 
This is what I commanded my people:
Listen to my voice;
then I will be your God and you shall be my people.
Walk in all the ways that I command you,
so that you may prosper.

But they obeyed not, nor did they pay heed.
They walked in the hardness of their evil hearts
and turned their backs, not their faces, to me.
From the day that your fathers left the land of Egypt even to this day,
I have sent you untiringly all my servants the prophets.
Yet they have not obeyed me nor paid heed;
they have stiffened their necks and done worse than their fathers.
When you speak all these words to them,
they will not listen to you either;
when you call to them, they will not answer you.
Say to them:
This is the nation that does not listen
to the voice of the LORD, its God,
or take correction.
Faithfulness has disappeared;
the word itself is banished from their speech.
 

Responsorial Psalm:  95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9

R.    (8) If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;
    let us acclaim the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
    let us joyfully sing psalms to him.
R.    If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us bow down in worship;
    let us kneel before the LORD who made us.
For he is our God,
    and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.
R.    If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Oh, that today you would hear his voice:
    “Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
    as in the day of Massah in the desert,
Where your fathers tempted me;
    they tested me though they had seen my works.”
R.    If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
 

Verse before the Gospel:  Jl 2:12-13

Even now, says the LORD,
return to me with your whole heart,
for I am gracious and merciful.
 

Gospel:  Lk 11:14-23

Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute,
and when the demon had gone out,
the mute man spoke and the crowds were amazed.
Some of them said, “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons,
he drives out demons.”
Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven.
But he knew their thoughts and said to them,
“Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste
and house will fall against house.
And if Satan is divided against himself, 
how will his kingdom stand?
For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons.
If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul,
by whom do your own people drive them out?
Therefore they will be your judges.
But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons,
then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.
When a strong man fully armed guards his palace,
his possessions are safe.
But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him,
he takes away the armor on which he relied
and distributes the spoils.
Whoever is not with me is against me,
and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”

 

Father Kirk's Daily Lenten Reflection
Thursday of the 3rd Week of Lent: March 16, 2023

In today’s gospel Jesus was accused of casting out demons by the power of Satan rather than the power of God.  Obviously, those people were completely mistaken and misguided when they said: “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons.”  Jesus offers a rather smart-aleck answer saying: “You may be right but … what if you’re wrong?  If it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons, then the Kingdom of God is upon you.”

Thomas Brooks a 17 century English author and preacher had this to say about Satan: “Satan promises the best but pays with the worst. He promises honor and pays with disgrace. He promises pleasure and pays with pain. He promises profit and pays with loss. He promises life and pays with death.”

Do we really believe that the Lord has the power to work wonders even today?  Do we really believe that it is by the finger of God that the Lord performs his deeds?  If so, then we must repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand.