Third Sunday of Lent 

HYPOVOLEMIC SHOCK

Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.”At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. – Exodus 3:6

My 60th birthday was coming up and I was so excited about many things: the planned groundbreaking of our power plant business, my nomination as mentor for the ASEAN 50 hosted by the Philippine government, my Ph.D. graduation in Vietnam, and trips to Singapore and Thailand with my Mastermind friends. Then one busy Thursday morning, after three business meetings, I thought I was having a bad stomach. I rushed to the men’s room and instead bled profusely. I was restless and disoriented until I collapsed in the elevator. They were all symptoms of hypovolemic shock.

I was taken by ambulance to the ER. My blood pressure was barely 70/50. I had ash-white lips, cold sweat, and cool, clammy skin. My hemoglobin count was critically 8.5 (the normal is 13.5). I prayed to God that if it was my time, then His will be done. An inner voice whispered, “Trust Me, heaven is not ready for you yet.” (God can be funny too!)

 

Reflect: God is Father and Creator. Everything comes from Him and goes to Him in the end according to His will, not ours.

Dear God, I praise You for the gift of life and the blessings that You shower upon me every day. Help me to be the person I am meant to be.

St. Catherine of Genoa, pray for us.

Moses approaches the Lord and removes his sandals to show his respect for God. How do we honor Him when we come to His presence in prayer? God wants us to come to Him—there is no need to be afraid. Remember to approach the Lord with the respect He deserves.

Exodus 3:1-8, 13-15

1 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. 2 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. 3 So Moses decided, “I must go over to look at this remarkable sight, and see why the bush is not burned.” 4 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.” 5 God said, “Come no nearer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground. 6 I am the God of your father,” 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. 7 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. 8 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.” 13 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?” 14 God replied, “I am who am.” Then he added, “This is what you shall tell the Israelites: I AM sent me to you.” 15 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.” 

 

Psalm 103:1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8, 11

R: The Lord is kind and merciful.

1 Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all my being, bless his holy name. 2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. (R) 3 He pardons all your iniquities, he heals all your ills. 4 He redeems your life from destruction, he crowns you with kindness and compassion. (R) 6 The Lord secures justice and the rights of all the oppressed. 7 He has made known his ways to Moses, and his deeds to the children of Israel. (R) 8 Merciful and gracious is the Lord, slow to anger and abounding in kindness. 11 For as the heavens are high above the earth, so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him. (R)

2nd READING

Do you grumble to God when life gets tough? Remember, Jesus chose to die for our sins. Nothing we go through can ever compare to what happened to Him. Hardships are greater opportunities for growth in the faith than blessings are. Let us make the most of these opportunities.

1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12

1 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, 2 and all of them were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 All ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they drank from a spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was the Christ. 5 Yet God was not pleased with most of them, for they were struck down in the desert. 6 These things happened as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil things, as they did. 10 Do not grumble as some of them did, and suffered death by the destroyer. 11 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. 12 Therefore, whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall.

GOSPEL

God is merciful. He always gives us time to change our ways and to bear fruit. However, the day will come when our time runs out. Let us repent while we have the chance to do so. Today is the day of salvation; now is the acceptable time and year of God’s favor.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

Repent, says the Lord; the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Luke 13:1-9

1 Some people told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices. 2 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? 3 By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did! 4 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? 5 By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!” 6 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, 7 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?’ 8 He said to him in reply, ‘Sir, leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it; 9 it may bear fruit in the future. If not you can cut it down.’”

think: “God’s mercy is fresh and new every morning.” – Joyce Meyer

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T O D A Y’S BLESSING LIST 

Read the Bible in one year - Genesis 31-33  

FOUND ANY? 

My maternal grandmother had a green thumb. So did my father. Everything they planted bore fruit in plenty, even if the terrain appeared barren. It was a pleasure to eat the sweet, succulent chicos, sweet corn, and a variety of vegetables that grew around the house back in the day.

As a young formator in the seminary, I did my own version of part-time farming because I needed to organize the daily manual work that seminarians back in the day were subjected to every single day. We tried planting guyabano (sour sop), cashew, rambutan, mangoes, and many others. Some bore fruit, while many others just grew foliage and provided shade and not much else. Those trees that did brought cheers to us. The rest were a big disappointment. All were given the same tender loving care by seminarians who did manual labor at least two hours a day from Monday to Saturday. Farmers, I now realize, are the epitome of patience. What they sow today is not expected to be reaped tomorrow. My father and his only brother (who died of typhoid after drinking contaminated water) began planting coffee trees when they were eleven and nine years old, respectively. The trees did not bear fruit until my father was already a full-grown adult.

This third Sunday of Lent has lots of lessons for everyone. But I lay claim to one important lesson. For me, it is a lesson on hope, for hope is the virtue of the patient and not of those who wanted everything yesterday, not today.

The discipline of the forty days of Lent is a little too long for the impatient. We need to be reminded by the gardener of the parable: “Leave it. I shall cultivate it and fertilize it. It may yet bear fruit.” Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB

------- REFLECTION QUESTION -------

What are you hoping for to happen in your life?

Lord Jesus, You have been patient to me. May I grow in patience for others and myself, too. Amen.

Today, I pray for: __________________________________________________________