The Word of March 10, 2023

Read and listen to the Word of March 10, 2023

Friday of the second week of Lent

• St. John Ogilvie SJ priest and martyr (1579-1615)
• St. Marie-Eugénie of Jesus virgin and founder (1817-1898)

First Reading

There he is! The lord of dreams has arrived! Come on, let's kill him!

From the book of Genesis
Gn 37, 3-4.12-13a.17b-28
 
Israel loved Joseph more than any of his own sons, perché era il son avuto in vecchiaia, e gli aveva fatto una tunica con maniche lunghe. I suoi fratelli, vedendo che il loro father she loved him more than any of her own sons, they hated him and couldn't talk to him in a friendly way.

His brothers had gone to feed their flock father in Shechem. Israel said to Joseph, "Do you know that your brothers are grazing at Shechem? Come, I want to send you to them." Then Joseph set out again in search of his brothers and found them in Dothan.

They saw him from afar and, before he got close to them, they plotted against him to kill him. They said to each other: "Here it is! The lord of dreams has arrived! Come on, let's kill him and throw him in a cistern! Then we will say: "A wild beast has devoured him!". So we'll see what happens to his dreams!"
But Ruben heard and, wanting to save him from their hands, said: «Let's not take his life». Then he said to them, "Do not shed the blood, throw it into this cistern which is in the desert, but do not strike it with your hand»: he intended to save him from their hands and bring him back to his own father.

When Joseph arrived at his brothers, they stripped him of his tunic, the long-sleeved tunic that he was wearing, grabbed him and threw him into the cistern: it was an empty cistern, without water.

Then they sat down to get food. When, looking up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with camels laden with resin, balsam and laudanum, which they were going to take to Egypt. Then Judas said to the brothers, “What is the gain in killing our brother and covering his blood? Come on, let's sell it to the Ishmaelites and ours hand do not be against him, for he is our brother and our flesh." His brothers listened to him.

Some Midianite merchants passed by; they pulled up and took Joseph out of the cistern and for twenty shekels of silver they sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites. So Joseph was taken to Egypt.
 
Parola di God.

Responsorial Psalm
From Ps 104 (105)

R. We remember, Lord, your marvels.

The Lord called famine upon that land,
removing the bread support.
Before them he sent a man,
Joseph, sold into slavery. R.
 
They bound his feet with stocks,
the iron locked his throat,
until his word came true
and the oracle of the Lord proved his innocence. R.
 
The king sent to untie him,
the leader of the peoples made him free;
made him lord of his palace,
head of all his possessions. R.

Gospel acclamation

Praise and honor to you, Lord Jesus.

God ha tanto amato il mondo da dare il Figlio unigenito;
whoever believes in him has eternal life. (Cf. Jn 3:16)

Praise and honor to you, Lord Jesus.
 

Gospel

This is the heir. Come on, let's kill him!

From the Gospel according to Matthew
Mt 21, 33-43.45-46
 
During that time, Jesus he said to the chief priests and the elders of the people:
«Listen to another parable: there was a man who owned land and he planted a vineyard. He surrounded it with a hedge, dug a hole for the press and built a tower. He leased it to peasants and went far away.

When the time came to harvest the fruit, he sent his servants to the farmers to collect the harvest. But the peasants took the servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. He sent other servants again, more numerous than the first ones, but they treated them the same way.

Da ultimo mandò loro il proprio son dicendo: “Avranno rispetto per mio son!”. Ma i contadini, visto il son, dissero tra loro: “Costui è l’erede. Su, uccidiamolo e avremo noi la sua eredità!”. Lo presero, lo cacciarono fuori dalla vigna e lo uccisero.

So when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those peasants?”
They replied, "He will put those wicked men to a miserable death and lease the vineyard to other peasants, who will deliver the fruit to him in due time."

IS Jesus He said to them, "Have you never read in the scriptures:
“The stone that the builders rejected
it has become the cornerstone;
this was done by the Lord
and it is a marvel in our eyes”?

Perciò io vi dico: a voi sarà tolto il regno di God e sarà dato a un popolo che ne produca i frutti».
Hear these parables, the chief priests and the Pharisees they realized he was talking about them. They tried to capture him, but they were afraid of the crowd, because he considered him a prophet.
 
Word of the Lord.

Saint Bonaventure (1221-1274)

Franciscan, doctor of the Church

The Mystical Vineyard, chap. 3, § 5-10 (transl. cb© evangelizo)

“They took him, they drove him out of the vineyard and killed him”

“I am the true vine,” he says Jesus (Jn 15:1). (…) Ditches are dug around this vineyard, that is, traps are dug cleverly. When you plot to lead someone into a trap, it's like digging a grave for them.

For this reason we complain, saying: "They dug a pit before me" (Ps 57:7). (…) Here is an example of these traps: “They lead a woman caught in adultery” to the Lord Jesus saying, “Moses, in the Law, commanded us to stone women like this. What do you think?" (Jn 8,3ff). (...) And another: "Is it lawful or not to pay tribute to Caesar?" (Mt 22:17). (…) But they saw that these traps did not harm the vineyard; indeed, digging these ditches they fell into them themselves (Ps 57:7). (…)

Then, they 'dug' again: they 'pierced' not only the hands and feet (Ps 22:17), but they also pierced the side with a spear (Jn 19:34) and exposed the inside of this most holy heart, which had already been wounded by the spear of thelove.

In the canticle of his love the Groom says: "You have wounded my heart, my sister, bride" (Can 4,9 Vulg). Gentleman Jesus, your heart has been wounded bylove from your wife, your friend, your sister. Why then did your enemies need to strike him again? What are you doing, enemies? (…)

Do you not know that this heart of the Lord Jesus, already stricken, is it already dead, already open, and can it no longer be stricken by further suffering? The heart of the Groom, of the Lord Jesus, has already received the wound of thelove, the death oflove. What other death could he have? (…) Even martyrs smile at threats, rejoice under blows, triumph when they kill them. Why?

Because they are already dead for love in the heart, "dead to sin" (Rom 6:2) and to the world. (…) The heart of Jesus he was wounded and put to death for us (…); physical death triumphed for a moment, but to be conquered forever.

E’ stata annientata quando Christ è risuscitato dai morti, perché “la morte non ha più potere su di lui” (Rm 6,9).

WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER

In every age, those who have authority, any authority, even in the Church, nel popolo di God, possono essere tentati di fare i propri interessi, invece di quelli di God stesso.

IS Jesus he says true authority is when one does service, it is in serving, not exploiting others.

The vineyard belongs to the Lord, not ours. Authority is a service, and as such it must be exercised, for the good of all and for the spread of the Gospel.

It's bad to see when in the Church people in authority look out for their own interests. (Angelus October 4, 2020)

The Gospel of the day

The Word of March 10, 2023

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