23rd SUNDAY OF LENT – YEAR C - GOSPEL (Luke 13:1-9) - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

“If you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!” (Lk 13:5)

FIRST READING - Ex 3:1-8a, 13-15

A reading from the Book of Exodus

Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro,

the priest of Midian.

Leading the flock across the desert, he came to Horeb,

the mountain of God.

There an angel of the LORD appeared to Moses in fire

flaming out of a bush.

As he looked on, he was surprised to see that the bush,

though on fire, was not consumed.

So Moses decided,

“I must go over to look at this remarkable sight,

and see why the bush is not burned.”

When the LORD saw him coming over to look at it more closely,

God called out to him from the bush, "Moses! Moses!”

He answered, “Here I am.”

God said, “Come no nearer!

Remove the sandals from your feet,

for the place where you stand is holy ground.

I am the God of your fathers, “ he continued,

“the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.”

Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

But the LORD said,

“I have witnessed the affliction of my people in Egypt

and have heard their cry of complaint against their slave drivers,

so I know well what they are suffering.

Therefore I have come down to rescue them

from the hands of the Egyptians

and lead them out of that land into a good and spacious land,

a land flowing with milk and honey.”

Moses said to God, “But when I go to the Israelites

and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’

if they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what am I to tell them?”

God replied, “I am who am.”

Then he added, “This is what you shall tell the Israelites:

I AM sent me to you.”

God spoke further to Moses, “Thus shall you say to the Israelites:

The LORD, the God of your fathers,

the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob,

has sent me to you.

“This is my name forever;

thus am I to be remembered through all generations.”

SECOND READING from the First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians - 1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12

I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters,

that our ancestors were all under the cloud

and all passed through the sea,

and all of them were baptized into Moses

in the cloud and in the sea.

All ate the same spiritual food,

and all drank the same spiritual drink,

for they drank from a spiritual rock that followed them,

and the rock was the Christ.

Yet God was not pleased with most of them,

for they were struck down in the desert.

These things happened as examples for us,

so that we might not desire evil things, as they did.

Do not grumble as some of them did,

and suffered death by the destroyer.

These things happened to them as an example,

and they have been written down as a warning to us,

upon whom the end of the ages has come.

Therefore, whoever thinks he is standing secure

should take care not to fall.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY - Luke 13:1-9

From the Gospel according to Luke

Some people told Jesus about the Galileans

whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices.

Jesus said to them in reply,

“Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way

they were greater sinners than all other Galileans?

By no means!

But I tell you, if you do not repent,

you will all perish as they did!

Or those eighteen people who were killed

when the tower at Siloam fell on them—

do you think they were more guilty

than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem?

By no means!

But I tell you, if you do not repent,

you will all perish as they did!”

And he told them this parable:

“There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard,

and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none,

he said to the gardener,

‘For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree

but have found none.

So cut it down.

Why should it exhaust the soil?’

He said to him in reply,

‘Sir, leave it for this year also,

and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it;

it may bear fruit in the future.

If not you can cut it down.’”

23rd SUNDAY OF LENT – YEAR C - GOSPEL (Luke 13:1-9)

THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

Dear People of God,

The Word of God today calls on all His children around the world to honor and worship God the Father, who is eternal and self-existent, who exists by Himself and has power over all creatures on this earth.

God the Father wants to remind His children that they must re-establish their faith in an eternal God the Father, who never dies, is not under the authority of any god, and whose power can never be lost. The self-existence and eternity of God the Father are above all things. In this world, in this universe, in heaven above, as well as on earth below, all are under His Almighty hand. Therefore, no one can escape Him. Even Satan must submit to His supreme power and eternal majesty—the absolute eternity of the supreme Father God, who is unmatched by anyone.

Hence, God the Father calls His children in this world to wisely run to Him, bow down, and prostrate before His authority and power. As the Word of God today, He teaches His children to know that: What He says, He does exactly as it is, like the call of God the Father to His people in Egypt and the guidance of God the Father in the life of Moses.

God the Father wants all of His children to obey His teachings, to do exactly what He says, to go when He says go, to stop when He says stop, He says take off your sandals then take off your sandals, He says come close to Him, then come close to Him, He says sacrifice then sacrifice, He says go pray, then pray, He says go work then go work, when He says speak, speak; when He says be silent, be silent; when He says raise your hand, raise your hand; when He says lower your hand, lower your hand.

Like the image of Moses, what did God the Father say to Moses? "Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground." Moses' obedience to God the Father pleased Him. God the Father continued to use Moses in His plan to lead His people into the promised land, just as God the Father taught Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, out of the dark, sinful, and full of worldly power, of Satan.

Likewise, the Word of God today teaches people to know that we must always be awake, repent of our sins, return to God the Father, and reconcile with Him and with our brothers and sisters while we still have the opportunity to live on this earth!

What God the Father wants to remind humanity to know is to look at the evidence of the story of the dead in Galilee and the 18 dead people at the stream of Siloam to be awake to the temptations of Satan while still living in this world. Do not give in to the temptations of physical passion, material passion, monetary passion, the passion for position, and the passion for honor and rights in this world anymore! Let us abandon them and live freely and lightly in the holy grace of God the Father, which means doing everything that God the Father wants. We must live a moral, holy, meek, humble, and simple life, trusting, believing, and surrendering completely to the loving arms of God the Father. We must believe absolutely that God is omnipotent and eternal, and He can do everything. That is why God the Father calls all His children to abandon sin and resist the temptations of Satan to do what God the Father wants. The time that God the Father has given people to live in this world is limited! At most, we can only live for a hundred years, a few decades, or a few years. Then we will leave this world, and our souls will have to come face to face with God the Father.

Thus, the Word of God today warns everyone when they hear the teachings of God, which is the Word of God in their conscience, soul, in the Bible, and in the teachings of the Church. Today people still have the Word of God on the Channel “The Way to Heaven”, and “The Voice of Truth” channel; so we must change our lifestyle. do not do anything contrary to God the Father anymore, do not displease God the Father anymore! Do not live in sin anymore! Do not follow the temptations of Satan and indulge in lust, be blinded by sin, or live in hatred anymore. Let's get rid of them and live a holy, moral, gentle, simple, and humble life, self-abasement before God the Father and our brothers and sisters.

We must sacrifice and endure, give up sinful passions, passions for lust, and the lust of this world to live a holy life right here on earth. Then we can bear fruit through moral, holy deeds before God the Father and our brothers and sisters. If we do not live and do what God the Father teaches, Satan will have the opportunity to act on our souls and bodies. He will make us live in sin and die in sin without any chance of atonement for our sins.

God the Father wants all His children in today's world to be awake to Satan's temptations. We must say no to them, absolutely obey God the Father, and do everything God the Father wants, not do what Satan's human desires tempt us to do.

And God the Father wants all His children to look at the images of those who died unexpectedly in today's Word of God and be awake, quickly return to God, sincerely repent, repent of our sins, and be determined to sacrifice, giving up our old selves to put on a new self in Jesus Christ. That new self must be truly meek and humble, obeying the will of God the Father above all things. And then, this renewal helps us produce good fruits of charity and forgiveness, love of God above all things and love of others as ourselves. Otherwise we will become like the fig tree that the owner will cut down with a knife and throw into the fire that will never be extinguished.

Thanks be to God. Amen.

19:00 March 23rd,2025 Prayer of Divine Mercy - The Way to Heaven