Saturday of Passion Week: Daily Lenten Meditations

THE ACCEPTABLE TIME 

“Now is the acceptable time.” What wisdom in the words! Procrastination is a disastrous thing even in the ordinary walks of daily life, but in the spiritual life it can be an irreparable catastrophe.

How swiftly life’s precious minutes speed by to lose themselves in an endless eternity! And each precious minute as it wings its fleeting way goes richly laden with golden opportunities of wondrous worth. And is it not greatly to be feared that for some of us at least many of those golden opportunities are lost irretrievably because of our procrastinating spirit?

Oh, yes, indeed, we tell ourselves, we will begin that life of greater holiness, that life of generosity with God; that life of otherworldliness and mortification and prayer. We will, yes, but like the young man of the Gospel who would go first and bury his father and then come and follow Jesus, so, too, we plead for delay—we ask God to wait. Tomorrow, yes, we promise it, shall see us setting bravely, boldly forth on the glorious quest for sanctity.

Tomorrow! Fatal word! Tomorrow, then again tomorrow, and all the while, with lightning speed, the precious present which alone holds possibility for actual accomplishment, flashes by bearing away forever graces that, if used, would have made saints of us!

“Now is the acceptable time.” The acceptable time to cleanse my soul of the stains of sin, to speak the pardoning word, to repair the injury done, to set aright my every account with God and man.

“Now is the acceptable time.” Oh, let us seize upon that precious now lest tomorrow be a time of bitter, useless regretting.

O Sweetest Heart of Jesus, I implore that I may ever love You more and more.

EPISTLE AND GOSPEL:  Taken from the Angelus Press 1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal

EPISTLE:  Jer. 18:18-23

Jeremias anathematizes “those who invent devices against the just.”

 In those days the wicked Jews said one to another: Come, and let us invent devices against the just: for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet: come, and let us strike him with the tongue and let us give no heed to all his words. Give heed to me, O Lord, and hear the voice of my adversaries. Shall evil be rendered for good, because they have digged a pit for my soul? Remember that I have stood in Thy sight, to speak good for them, and to turn away Thine indignation from them. Therefore deliver up their children to famine, and bring them into the hands of the sword: let their wives be bereaved of children, and widows: and let their husbands be slain by death: let their young men be stabbed with the sword in battle. Let a cry be heard out of their houses, for Thou shalt bring the robber upon them suddenly: because they have digged a pit to take me, and have hid snares for my feet. But Thou, O Lord, knowest all their counsel against me unto death: forgive not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from Thy sight. Let them be overthrown before Thine eyes, in the time of Thy wrath do Thou destroy them, O Lord our God.

GOSPEL:  Jn. 12: 10-36 

Jesus, acclaimed by the crowd, foretells His Passion.

At that time the chief priests thought to kill Lazarus also, for many of the Jews by reason of him went away and believed in Jesus. And on the next day a great multitude that was come to the festival day, when they had heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet Him, and cried: Hosanna, blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel. And Jesus found a young ass, and sat upon it, as it is written: Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh sitting on the colt of an ass. These things His disciples did not know at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of Him, and that they had done these things to Him. The multitude therefore gave testimony, which was with Him when He called Lazarus out of the grave, and raised him from the dead. For which reason also the people came to meet Him: because they heard that He had done this miracle. The Pharisees therefore said among themselves: Do you see that we prevail nothing? Behold the whole world is gone after Him. Now there were certain Gentiles among them, who came up to adore on the festival day. These therefore came to Philip, who was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying: Sir, we would see Jesus. Philip cometh and telleth Andrew. Again Andrew and Philip told Jesus. But Jesus answered them saying: The hour is come that the Son of man should be glori-fied. Amen, amen, I say to you, unless the grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, itself remaineth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world keepeth it unto life eternal. If any man minister to Me, let him follow Me: and where I am, there also shall My minister be. If any man minister to Me, him will My Father honor. Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. But for this cause I came unto this hour. Father, glorify Thy name. A voice therefore came from heaven: I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. The multitude therefore that stood and heard said that it thundered. Others said: An angel spoke to Him. Jesus answered and said: This voice came not because of Me, but for your sakes. Now is the judgment of the world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to Myself. (Now this He said, signifying what death He should die.) The multitude answered Him: We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth forever: and how sayest Thou: The Son of man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of man? Jesus therEfore said to them: Yet a little while the light is among you. Walk whilst you have the light, that the darkness overtake you not; and he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. Whilst you have the light, believe in the light: that you may be the children of light. These things Jesus spoke: and He went away, and hid Himself from them.