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Catholic Daily Liturgical Guide 12.03.2022

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Catholic Daily Liturgical Guide 12.03.2022

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DEUTERONOMY 26: 16 – 19

Moses spoke to the people, saying: “This day the Lord your God commands you to do these statutes and ordinances; you shall therefore be careful to do them with all your heart and with all your soul. You have declared this day concerning the Lord that he is your God, and that you will walk in his ways, and keep his statutes and his commandments and his ordinances, and will obey his voice; and the Lord has declared this day concerning you that you are a people for his own possession, as he has promised you, and that you are to keep all his commandments, that he will set you high above all nations that he has made, in praise and in fame and in honour, and that you shall be a people holy to the Lord your God, as he has spoken.”

The Word of the Lord.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM
Psalm 119: 1 – 2, 4 – 5, 7 – 8 (R.) 1b.

R/. Blessed are those who walk in the law of the Lord!

Blessed are those whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of the Lord!
Blessed are those who keep his decrees!
With all their hearts they seek him. R/.

You have laid down your precepts
to be carefully kept.
May my ways be firm
in keeping your statutes. R/.

I will thank you with an upright heart,
as I learn your just judgements.
I will keep your statutes;
do not ever forsake me. R.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION:
2nd Corinthians 6: 2b.

Glory and praise to you, O Christ. Behold, now is the acceptable time, behold, now is the day of salvation. Glory and praise to you, O Christ.

GOSPEL


MATTHEW 5: 43 – 48

At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you salute only your brethren, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

The Gospel of the Lord.
REFLECTION: The Call to Perfection
March 12, 2022

“So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48)

Perfection is our calling, nothing less. The danger in trying to shoot for something less is that you might actually attain it. Then what? In other words, if you settle only for being “pretty good” you might actually become “pretty good.” But pretty good is not good enough according to Jesus. He wants perfection! This is a high calling.

What is perfection? It can seem overwhelming and almost beyond reasonable expectations. We may even get discouraged at the idea. But if we understand what perfection really is, then we may not be intimidated by the thought at all. In fact, we may find ourselves deeply desiring it and making it our new goal in life.

At first, perfection can seem like something only the great saints of old lived. But for every saint we may read about in a book, there are thousands more that have never been recorded in history and many other future saints living today. Imagine that. When we get to Heaven we will certainly be in awe of the great saints we know about. But think about the countless others that we will be introduced to for the first time in Heaven. These men and women strove for and found the path of true happiness. They discovered they were meant for perfection.

Perfection means we are striving to live each and every moment in the grace of God. That’s all! Just living here and now immersed in God’s grace. We do not yet have tomorrow, and yesterday is gone forever. All we have is this single present moment. And it’s this moment that we are called to live perfectly.

Certainly each one of us can seek perfection for a moment. We can surrender to God here and now and seek only His will in this moment. We can pray, offer selfless charity, make an act of extraordinary kindness and the like. And if we can do it in this present moment then what’s keeping us from doing it in the next moment?

Over time, the more we live each moment in God’s grace and strive to surrender each moment over to His will, we get stronger, and we get holier. We slowly build habits that make each and every moment easier. Over time, the habits we form make us who we are and draw us into perfection.

Reflect, today, upon the present moment. Try not to think about the future, just the moment you have now. Make a commitment to live this moment in holiness and you will be on the road to becoming a saint!

PRAYER:
Lord of true holiness, I do want to be holy. I want to be holy as You are holy. Help me to live each moment for You, with You and in You. I give this present moment to You, dear Lord. Jesus, I trust in You.https://masvingomirror.com

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