3rd FRIDAY OF LENT - Gospel (Mark 12:28b-34) - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE
- NHA CHUA CHA
- Mar 14
- 4 min read
FIRST READING - Hos 14:2-10
"We will never again say, ‘Our god,’ to the work of our hands."
A reading from the Book of Hosea
2 Return, Israel, to the Lord, your God;
you have stumbled because of your iniquity.
3 Take with you words,
and return to the Lord;
Say to him, “Forgive all iniquity,
and take what is good.
Let us offer the fruit of our lips.
4 [a]Assyria will not save us,
nor will we mount horses;
We will never again say, ‘Our god,’
to the work of our hands;
for in you the orphan finds compassion.”
5 I will heal their apostasy,
I will love them freely;
for my anger is turned away from them.
6 I will be like the dew for Israel:
he will blossom like the lily;
He will strike root like the Lebanon cedar,7
and his shoots will go forth.
His splendor will be like the olive tree
and his fragrance like Lebanon cedar.
8 Again they will live in his shade;
they will raise grain,
They will blossom like the vine,
and his renown will be like the wine of Lebanon.
9 Ephraim! What more have I to do with idols?
I have humbled him, but I will take note of him.
I am like a verdant cypress tree.[b]
From me fruit will be found for you!
10 [c]Who is wise enough to understand these things?
Who is intelligent enough to know them?
Straight are the paths of the Lord,
the just walk in them,
but sinners stumble in them.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY - Mk 12:28b-34
"The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart."
✠From the Gospel according to Mark
28 One of the scribes, when he came forward and heard them disputing and saw how well he had answered them, asked him, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” 29 Jesus replied, “The first is this: ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! 30 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32 The scribe said to him, “Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, ‘He is One and there is no other than he.’ 33 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.” 34 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.
3rd FRIDAY OF LENT - Gospel (Mark 12:28b-34)
THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE
Dear people of God,
Today's Word of God calls upon all of humanity to repent of our sins and return to God.
From of old, in many and various ways, God has always called the people of this world to repent of our sins and return to Him, just as the prophet Hosea obeyed God's command to call the people of Israel to abandon their sinful ways and return to God.
Today's Word of God also tells all of humanity that in this world, there is no commandment as important as the commandment to love God and love neighbor, which Jesus Himself taught His disciples.
When one of the scholars of the law came to Jesus to test Him, asking, “Which is the most important commandment of all?”
Jesus answered the scholar of the law, as well as all people in this world, that the most important commandment is: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.”
Alongside this, God also teaches humanity another commandment that is no less important, that is: “You must love your neighbor as yourself. “
These two important commandments must intertwine and unite as one, for they both spring from God's loving heart; only in God is there love.
No one can say: “I love God with all my soul, with all my strength, and with all my mind,” and yet not love their fellow human beings as themselves.
If someone fulfills only one of these two important commandments, it is not yet pleasing to God; God demands greater perfection: that these two important commandments must become one and must be lived out together.
That is also the very invitation of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who came down to earth to become man.
Today's Word of God invites us to listen to the Word of God and put it into practice: by resolving to renounce the path of sin and return to God the Father.
Lent is an opportunity that God grants to humanity: to repent of our sins and draw closer to God the Father.
Therefore, whoever listens to and puts these two important commandments into practice, their soul will find happiness in the Kingdom of Heaven.
God loves humanity, so this is also a way that God teaches people to enter and enjoy happiness in the Kingdom of Heaven hereafter.
Today's Word of God further reveals that love is of paramount importance and endures forever; it never fails, and this love will be more important than all burnt offerings or sacrifices offered to God.
For God Himself is love, and this love will overshadow all of humanity when we know how to open our hearts and souls to listen to God's commands, which are to worship God alone as the only One, and to love our neighbors as ourselves.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
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