MAR 23, 2025

3rd Sunday of Lent C

Homilies

Homilies

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Hector Molina

3rd Sunday of Lent C

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A Walk in the Word (2025)

Fr. Geoffrey Plant

3rd Sunday of Lent C

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Fr. Geoffrey Plant / Videos (2025)


Sunday Podcast (USCCB)

3rd Sunday of Lent C



Fr. Andrew Ricci

3rd Sunday of Lent C

Christ is Our Master Gardener

While teaching about the need to repent, Jesus offers a parable that challenges us to cultivate a fruitful life. Where do we get the courage to do this? We recognize that Christ is the master gardener who lovingly tends to the care of our souls!

Key Points from the Readings

1st Reading – Exodus 3:1-8a,13-15

  • Moses encounters the Lord who speaks from the burning bush.
  • God announces the plan to save the people of Israel from their bondage in Egypt and will be called “I AM” when the people ask Moses what is God’s name.

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Psalm – 103:1-4,6-8,11

  • “The Lord is kind and merciful.”
  • God is merciful and gracious, healing, redeeming and pardoning our sins.

2nd Reading – 1st Corinthians 10:1-6,10-12

  • St. Paul recounts part of the mistakes of the people of Israel as they fled Egypt.
  • We are encouraged to learn from this and seek what is good as we follow Jesus Christ.

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Gospel – Luke 13:1-9

  • Jesus speaks to the people, encouraging them to repent.
  • The Lord then offers a parable about cultivating a fruitful life, and he includes a warning if we neglect our growth.

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SOURCE: Study, Pray, Serve



Bulletin Inserts

Edrianne Ezell

3rd Sunday of Lent C

RECENT STUDY GUIDES

Vince Contreras

3rd Sunday of Lent C

INDEX

write a fifty word summary for each of these readings xxxxxxxxxxxxx Give a one word title for each reading write a roman numeral outline with bullet points that gives a breakdown of xxxxxxxxxxxx in the NAB bible. Give a title. Do not use alphabet notations. Outline should be a summary of the text and not be preaching points. Give book, chapter and verses.

Bible Study Notes

  • The Jerome Biblical Commentary
  • The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, and 
  • The Navarre Bible.

SOURCE: St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church (Picayune, MS)

The Call of Moses

In the first reading, Moses had escaped from the Egyptians and had settled down in the quiet life of a shepherd. Then, Moses saw a strange sight and decided to investigate [Ex 3:2-3]. Moses witnessed the “burning bush” on Mt. Horeb [Ex 3:2], the same mount as Mt. Sinai. According to some traditions, Mt. Sinai meant the”mountain with the burning bush.”

The following dialogue had ritual overtones; God initiated while Moses reacted. As Moses approached, God called out and Moses responded [Ex 3:4]. God gave instruction (do not enter beyond the perimeter, remove shoes as a ritual cleansing, hear the name of the divine) and Moses hid his face (to avoid the terror of experiencing God directly) [Ex 3:5-6]. God witnessed the people’s plight and promised rescue (with Moses as leader in Ex 3:10); Moses questioned his own ability [Ex 3:7-11]. God reassured him with his personal presence while Moses asked for the divine’s name [Ex 3:12-13].

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3rd Sunday of Lent C

Call of Moses

Exodus 3:1-8a, 13-15

1ST READING
Key Points


3rd Sunday of Lent C

1ST READING
Context


3rd Sunday of Lent C

1ST READING
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3rd Sunday of Lent C

1ST READING
Agape Bible Study

write a fifty word summary for each of these readings xxxxxxxxxxxxx Give a one word title for each reading write a roman numeral outline with bullet points that gives a breakdown of xxxxxxxxxxxx in the NAB bible. Give a title. Do not use alphabet notations. Outline should be a summary of the text and not be preaching points. Give book, chapter and verses.

Bible Study Notes

  • The Jerome Biblical Commentary
  • The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, and 
  • The Navarre Bible.

SOURCE: St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church (Picayune, MS)

Blessings and Warnings

1 Cor 10:1-4a Paul interpreted the history of Israel as midrash. This form of interpretation focused on the meanings of individual words and grammatical forms, while it used one verse to interpret another. The lens for interpretation was the rabbinical tradition of teachings. The images of the cloud, the sea, the manna, and the water from the rock could be found in Psalms 78 and 106, Nehemiah 9:9-21.

Paul chose these images in their relation to Christian worship. The cloud was like the incense found in the Temple; it was a sign of divine presence. The sea/water and spiritual food were sacramental images for Baptism and Eucharist.

“but the rock was the Christ” Paul wove two images for “rock” together. The permanence and stability of God were rock-like (Deuteronomy 32:4; 2 Samuel 22:2; Psalms 18:2; 71:3). But Moses gave the Israelites water from a rock (Exodus 17:6); Paul used this as a baptismal image for the Corinthians. Together, Paul implied that the permanence and life-giving qualities of the Christ.

1 Cor 1:6, 11 “(negative) impression” This word in Greek referred to the impression of a stamp made by a

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3rd Sunday of Lent C

Israel’s History

1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12

2ND READING
Key Points


Theology of the Body


3rd Sunday of Lent C

2ND READING
Context


3rd Sunday of Lent C

2ND READING
Wikipedia

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3rd Sunday of Lent C

2ND READING
Agape Bible Study

write a fifty word summary for each of these readings xxxxxxxxxxxxx Give a one word title for each reading write a roman numeral outline with bullet points that gives a breakdown of xxxxxxxxxxxx in the NAB bible. Give a title. Do not use alphabet notations. Outline should be a summary of the text and not be preaching points. Give book, chapter and verses.

Bible Study Notes

  • The Jerome Biblical Commentary
  • The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, and 
  • The Navarre Bible.

SOURCE: St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church (Picayune, MS)

The Tough Question

Luke 13:1 “About the same time” is literally “in the same moment” The word for moment, “kairos,” usually means “at the right moment,” and has theological overtones of God’s judgment or metanoia. In this case, however, the word has a general sense of time.

“whose blood Pilate mixed with (the blood of) their sacrifices” This is a Hebraism. On pilgrimage, Jews would come to Jerusalem in order to offer sacrifice at the Temple. Many times they brought their own animals for sacrifice. When Pilate “mixed human blood with the blood of animal sacrifice,” he had Jewish Galileans murdered or executed. Were they revolutionaries on their way to Jerusalem to cause a riot? Or, was this just a phrase to describe fellow Jews? The context does not tell us how literally or figuratively to take this saying. We do know Pilate moved against some from Galilee for an unknown crime or threat.

Luke 13:4 Siloam is a neighborhood in Old Jerusalem, to the south of the Temple in the Lower City.

The regional news referred to a series of executions and an accident. The Galileans were executed most likely for revolutionary activities. The ruthless Pilate made sure they made good on their sacrifices [1-2]. Eighteen citizens of Jerusalem suffered from a building collapse [4].

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3rd Sunday of Lent C

Call to Repentance

Luke 13:1-9

GOSPEL READING
Key Points


John Bergsma


3rd Sunday of Lent C

GOSPEL READING
Context


3rd Sunday of Lent C

GOSPEL READING
Wikipedia

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3rd Sunday of Lent C

GOSPEL READING
Agape Bible Study

3rd Sunday of Lent C


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