Get Ready for Sunday

Saturday of the Third Week of Lent

Reading I Hosea 6:1-6

“Come, let us return to the LORD,
   it is he who has rent, but he will heal us;
   he has struck us, but he will bind our wounds.
He will revive us after two days;
   on the third day he will raise us up,
   to live in his presence.
Let us know, let us strive to know the LORD;
   as certain as the dawn is his coming,
   and his judgment shines forth like the light of day!
He will come to us like the rain,
   like spring rain that waters the earth.”

What can I do with you, Ephraim?
What can I do with you, Judah?
Your piety is like a morning cloud,
   like the dew that early passes away.
For this reason I smote them through the prophets,
   I slew them by the words of my mouth;
For it is love that I desire, not sacrifice,
   and knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 51:3-4, 18-19, 20-21ab

R.   (see Hosea 6:6) It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
   in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
   and of my sin cleanse me.
R.   It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.
For you are not pleased with sacrifices;
   should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it.
My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
   a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
R.   It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.
Be bountiful, O LORD, to Zion in your kindness
   by rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem;
Then shall you be pleased with due sacrifices,
   burnt offerings and holocausts.
R.   It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.

Verse before the Gospel Psalm 95:8

If today you hear his voice,
harden not your hearts.

Gospel Luke 18:9-14

Jesus addressed this parable
to those who were convinced of their own righteousness
and despised everyone else.
“Two people went up to the temple area to pray;
one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector.
The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself,
‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity —
greedy, dishonest, adulterous — or even like this tax collector.
I fast twice a week,
and I pay tithes on my whole income.’
But the tax collector stood off at a distance
and would not even raise his eyes to heaven
but beat his breast and prayed,
‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’
I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former;
for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled,
and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

- - -

Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Saturday, March 8, 2025

Happy Saturday, friend! We are so excited to share with you what's coming up this week as we all prepare our hearts by praying with readings for Sunday, the day of rest with our Lord.

Live Liturgically // This Week’s Feast Days

Saturday, March 8 (today) // Optional Memorial of Saint John of God, Religious

Sunday, March 9 // First Sunday of Lent

Letter from the Editor //

Dear Sister,

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13), Saint Paul writes to us on this First Sunday of Lent. In these Readings we see the merciful Heart of the Lord, hearing us, pursuing us, dying for us to be close to Him. He wants to lead us from the desert of our sin into the Promised Land. Jesus in the Gospel goes out to the desert for forty days, and we join Him there during Lent. While He goes to pray, He also encounters temptations—ones that appeal to His human needs and desires. And because His human will was always completely aligned to His divine will, He rebukes the tempter. But we, dear sister, are only human.

When we are tempted in the desert of our lives, we must rely on God’s help. In the First Reading, Moses tells the Israelites what to say when offering the first fruits of the Promised Land to the priest: “[The LORD] heard our cry and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. He brought us out of Egypt” (Deuteronomy 26:7-8). We can relate to these words, as we remember all the times the Lord has forgiven our sins, delivered us in moments of temptation, and brought us deeper into His Heart, which is for us a “land flowing with milk and honey” (Deuteronomy 26:9) and blood and water flowing from His wounded side. Let us cling to Him, and He will deliver us (see Psalm 91:14).

In Christ’s Love,

Susanna

Read the readings for the First Sunday of Lent:

First Reading // Deuteronomy 26:4-10

Psalm // Psalm 91:1-2, 10-11, 12-13, 14-15

Second Reading // Romans 10:8-13

Gospel // Luke 4:1-13

Prayer Practice // What temptations are you already facing this Lent? Tell Jesus about your struggles and ask Him to lead you through.

About Susanna Spencer

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Susanna Spencer holds a master's in Theology from the Franciscan University of Steubenville and is the Content and Theological Editor for Blessed is She. She is a freelance writer, editor, and speaker living with her philosopher husband and four kids in Saint Paul, Minnesota. She loves reading theology, attending beautiful liturgies, cooking delicious food, and casually following baseball. She is the author of the Gospel Studies including Seek His Kingdom: A Meditation on Matthew; narrator for Found: Advent With the Good Shepherd and Rescued: Lent With the Lamb of God; a contributing author to our children’s devotional prayer book, Rise Up; and Theological Editor of the Blessed Conversations Studies. Find out more about her here.