Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Lectionary: 244
Lectionary: 244
Thus says the LORD:
Lo, I am about to create new heavens
and a new earth;
The things of the past shall not be remembered
or come to mind.
Instead, there shall always be rejoicing and happiness
in what I create;
For I create Jerusalem to be a joy
and its people to be a delight;
I will rejoice in Jerusalem
and exult in my people.
No longer shall the sound of weeping be heard there,
or the sound of crying;
No longer shall there be in it
an infant who lives but a few days,
or an old man who does not round out his full lifetime;
He dies a mere youth who reaches but a hundred years,
and he who fails of a hundred shall be thought accursed.
They shall live in the houses they build,
and eat the fruit of the vineyards they plant.
Lo, I am about to create new heavens
and a new earth;
The things of the past shall not be remembered
or come to mind.
Instead, there shall always be rejoicing and happiness
in what I create;
For I create Jerusalem to be a joy
and its people to be a delight;
I will rejoice in Jerusalem
and exult in my people.
No longer shall the sound of weeping be heard there,
or the sound of crying;
No longer shall there be in it
an infant who lives but a few days,
or an old man who does not round out his full lifetime;
He dies a mere youth who reaches but a hundred years,
and he who fails of a hundred shall be thought accursed.
They shall live in the houses they build,
and eat the fruit of the vineyards they plant.
Responsorial
Psalm PS 30:2 AND 4, 5-6,
11-12A AND 13B
R. (2a) I will
praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
I will extol you, O LORD, for you drew me clear
and did not let my enemies rejoice over me.
O LORD, you brought me up from the nether world;
you preserved me from among those going down into the pit.
R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
Sing praise to the LORD, you his faithful ones,
and give thanks to his holy name.
For his anger lasts but a moment;
a lifetime, his good will.
At nightfall, weeping enters in,
but with the dawn, rejoicing.
R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
“Hear, O LORD, and have pity on me;
O LORD, be my helper.”
You changed my mourning into dancing;
O LORD, my God, forever will I give you thanks.
R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
I will extol you, O LORD, for you drew me clear
and did not let my enemies rejoice over me.
O LORD, you brought me up from the nether world;
you preserved me from among those going down into the pit.
R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
Sing praise to the LORD, you his faithful ones,
and give thanks to his holy name.
For his anger lasts but a moment;
a lifetime, his good will.
At nightfall, weeping enters in,
but with the dawn, rejoicing.
R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
“Hear, O LORD, and have pity on me;
O LORD, be my helper.”
You changed my mourning into dancing;
O LORD, my God, forever will I give you thanks.
R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
Verse Before
The GospelAM 5:14
Seek good and not evil so that you may live,
and the LORD will be with you.
and the LORD will be with you.
Gospel JN 4:43-54
At that time Jesus left [Samaria] for Galilee.
For Jesus himself testified
that a prophet has no honor in his native place.
When he came into Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him,
since they had seen all he had done in Jerusalem at the feast;
for they themselves had gone to the feast.
Then he returned to Cana in Galilee,
where he had made the water wine.
Now there was a royal official whose son was ill in Capernaum.
When he heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea,
he went to him and asked him to come down
and heal his son, who was near death.
Jesus said to him,
“Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.”
The royal official said to him,
“Sir, come down before my child dies.”
Jesus said to him, “You may go; your son will live.”
The man believed what Jesus said to him and left.
While the man was on his way back,
his slaves met him and told him that his boy would live.
He asked them when he began to recover.
They told him,
“The fever left him yesterday, about one in the afternoon.”
The father realized that just at that time Jesus had said to him,
“Your son will live,”
and he and his whole household came to believe.
Now this was the second sign Jesus did
when he came to Galilee from Judea.
For Jesus himself testified
that a prophet has no honor in his native place.
When he came into Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him,
since they had seen all he had done in Jerusalem at the feast;
for they themselves had gone to the feast.
Then he returned to Cana in Galilee,
where he had made the water wine.
Now there was a royal official whose son was ill in Capernaum.
When he heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea,
he went to him and asked him to come down
and heal his son, who was near death.
Jesus said to him,
“Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.”
The royal official said to him,
“Sir, come down before my child dies.”
Jesus said to him, “You may go; your son will live.”
The man believed what Jesus said to him and left.
While the man was on his way back,
his slaves met him and told him that his boy would live.
He asked them when he began to recover.
They told him,
“The fever left him yesterday, about one in the afternoon.”
The father realized that just at that time Jesus had said to him,
“Your son will live,”
and he and his whole household came to believe.
Now this was the second sign Jesus did
when he came to Galilee from Judea.
Meditation: Jesus - the divine physician
Do you approach the Lord Jesus with expectant faith
for healing, pardon, and transformation in Christ-like holiness? Isaiah
prophesied that God would come not only to restore his people, he would also
come to recreate new heavens and a new earth (Isaiah 65:17).
Jesus' miracles are signs that manifest the presence of God and the coming of
his kingdom of power and glory. When a high ranking official, who was very
likely from King Herod's court, heard the reports of Jesus' preaching and
miracles, he decided to seek Jesus out for an extraordinary favor. If this
story happened today the media headlines would probably say: "High ranking
official leaves capital in search of miracle cure from a small town
carpenter."
Believe and take Jesus at his word
It took raw bold courage for a high ranking court official to travel twenty miles in search of Jesus, the Galilean carpenter. He had to swallow his pride and put up with some ridicule from his friends. And when he found the healer carpenter, Jesus seemed to put him off with the blunt statement that people would not believe unless they saw some kind of miracle or sign from heaven. Jesus likely said this to test the man to see if his faith was in earnest. If he turned away in irritation or with discouragement, he would prove to be insincere. Jesus, perceiving his faith, sent him home with the assurance that his prayer had been heard.
It took raw bold courage for a high ranking court official to travel twenty miles in search of Jesus, the Galilean carpenter. He had to swallow his pride and put up with some ridicule from his friends. And when he found the healer carpenter, Jesus seemed to put him off with the blunt statement that people would not believe unless they saw some kind of miracle or sign from heaven. Jesus likely said this to test the man to see if his faith was in earnest. If he turned away in irritation or with discouragement, he would prove to be insincere. Jesus, perceiving his faith, sent him home with the assurance that his prayer had been heard.
It was probably not easy for this man to return to his
family with only an assuring word from Jesus that his son would be healed.
Couldn't Jesus have come to this man's house and laid his hands on the dying
child? However, without a moment's hesitation the court official believed in
Jesus and took him at his word. He began his journey back home with renewed
faith and hope - ready to face whatever might await him - whether it be the
anguish of his distraught family and or the scorn of unbelieving neighbors.
Before he could even make it all the way back to his home town, news reached
him that his son had recovered. What astonishment must have greeted his family
and friends when they heard that his son was instantly restored to health at
the very moment when Jesus had pronounced the words - your son will live!
The Lord Jesus brings healing and restoration to those
who trust in him
Jesus' miraculous healings show his generous kindness and extravagant love - a love that bends down in response to our misery and wretched condition. Is there any area in your life where you need healing, pardon, change, and restoration? If you seek the Lord with trust and expectant faith, he will not disappoint you. He will meet you more than half way and give you what you need. The Lord Jesus never refused anyone who put their trust in him. Surrender your doubts and fears, your pride and guilt at his feet, and trust in his saving word and healing love.
Jesus' miraculous healings show his generous kindness and extravagant love - a love that bends down in response to our misery and wretched condition. Is there any area in your life where you need healing, pardon, change, and restoration? If you seek the Lord with trust and expectant faith, he will not disappoint you. He will meet you more than half way and give you what you need. The Lord Jesus never refused anyone who put their trust in him. Surrender your doubts and fears, your pride and guilt at his feet, and trust in his saving word and healing love.
"Lord Jesus, your love never fails and your mercy
is unceasing. Give me the courage to surrender my stubborn pride, fear and
doubts to your surpassing love, wisdom and knowledge. Make be strong in faith,
persevering in hope, and constant in love."
A Daily Quote for Lent: Christ our physician is present to bring
healing and restoration, by Gregory the Great, 540-604 A.D.
"I see only one thing that I need to explain to you: why the one who had
come for a cure heard the words 'Unless you see signs and portents, you do not
believe.' The one who was seeking a cure for his son surely believed; he would
not be seeking a cure from one he did not believe could do it.
"Why, then, did he hear the words 'Unless you see signs and portents, you do not believe,' when he believed before he saw the sign? But recall what he was asking, and you will see that his faith was in doubt. He asked Jesus earnestly to come down and heal his son. He was asking for the physical presence of the Lord, who is nowhere absent in his spirit. He had little faith in one he thought could not heal unless he was physically present. If he had believed completely, he would have known that there was no place where God was not present. He was considerably distrustful, then, since it was not the Lord’s greatness he esteemed but his physical presence. He sought a cure for his son even though his faith was in doubt, since he believed that the one he had approached had the power to cure, and yet he thought he was not with his dying son. But the Lord whom he asked to come revealed that he was not absent from the place he was invited to. He who created everything by his will performed the cure by his command alone." (excerpt frpm FORTY GOSPEL HOMILIES 28.24)
"Why, then, did he hear the words 'Unless you see signs and portents, you do not believe,' when he believed before he saw the sign? But recall what he was asking, and you will see that his faith was in doubt. He asked Jesus earnestly to come down and heal his son. He was asking for the physical presence of the Lord, who is nowhere absent in his spirit. He had little faith in one he thought could not heal unless he was physically present. If he had believed completely, he would have known that there was no place where God was not present. He was considerably distrustful, then, since it was not the Lord’s greatness he esteemed but his physical presence. He sought a cure for his son even though his faith was in doubt, since he believed that the one he had approached had the power to cure, and yet he thought he was not with his dying son. But the Lord whom he asked to come revealed that he was not absent from the place he was invited to. He who created everything by his will performed the cure by his command alone." (excerpt frpm FORTY GOSPEL HOMILIES 28.24)
MONDAY, MARCH 12, JOHN 4:43-54
Lenten Weekday
(Isaiah 65:17-21; Psalm 30)
Lenten Weekday
(Isaiah 65:17-21; Psalm 30)
KEY VERSE: "Jesus said to him, `Your son will live,' and he and his whole household came to believe" (v.53).
TO KNOW: Jesus returned to Cana in Galilee where he had changed water to wine (Jn 2:1-12), the first "sign," or self-revelation of Jesus in John's gospel. A royal official approached Jesus and begged him to heal his dying son. Jesus was dismayed because the people refused to believe in him unless they witnessed "signs and wonders" (v.48). When the man begged him a second time, Jesus told him that his son would live. On the strength of Jesus' word, the official returned to his home. On the way, his servants met him and announced that the man's son had recovered at the very hour that Jesus declared he would live. The official and his whole household came to believe in Jesus' saving power. This was the second sign that Jesus performed in Cana in Galilee.
TO LOVE: Do I put my trust in the Lord's healing word?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, help me to have faith even when I do not see any evidence.
www.togetherwithgodsword.com
Monday 12 March
2018
Our
Lady of Guadalupe.
Isaiah
65:17-21. Psalm 29(30):2, 4-6, 11-13. John 4:43-54.
I
will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me—Psalm 29(30):2, 4-6,
11-13.
Go
home, your son will live.
It
is an unlikely meeting. Facing ridicule from his friends and colleagues, a
desperate royal official (probably from Herod’s court), travels 30 kilometres
to Cana to beg Jesus to come immediately to Capernaum to heal his dying son.
His faith in the Galilean carpenter is sorely tested when the only assurance he
receives from Jesus is that, on his return, he will find the boy fully
recovered.
Confronted
with this sign (John’s preferred word for miracle), the official enters more
fully into the mystery revealed in Jesus. Like the Samaritan woman and her
townspeople we met earlier in this chapter, he and his whole household become
Jesus’ disciples. ‘Lord, make me strong in faith, persevering in hope and
constant in love.’
Blessed
Angela Salawa
Saint
of the Day for March 12
(September
9, 1881 – March 12, 1922)
Blessed
Angela Salawa’s Story
Angela
served Christ and Christ’s little ones with all her strength.
Born
in Siepraw, near Kraków, Poland, she was the 11th child of Bartlomiej and Ewa
Salawa. In 1897, she moved to Kraków where her older sister Therese lived.
Angela immediately began to gather together and instruct young women domestic
workers. During World War I, she helped prisoners of war without regard for
their nationality or religion. The writings of Teresa of Avila and John of the
Cross were a great comfort to her.
Angela
gave great service in caring for soldiers wounded in World War I. After 1918,
her health did not permit her to exercise her customary apostolate. Addressing
herself to Christ, she wrote in her diary, “I want you to be adored as much as
you were destroyed.” In another place, she wrote, “Lord, I live by your will. I
shall die when you desire; save me because you can.”
At
her 1991 beatification in Kraków, Pope John Paul II said: “It is in this city
that she worked, that she suffered and that her holiness came to maturity.
While connected to the spirituality of Saint
Francis, she showed an extraordinary responsiveness to the action of the
Holy Spirit” (L’Osservatore Romano, volume 34, number 4, 1991).
Reflection
Humility
should never be mistaken for lack of conviction, insight or energy. Angela
brought the Good News and material assistance to some of Christ’s “least ones.”
Her self-sacrifice inspired others to do the same.
LECTIO DIVINA: JOHN 4,43-54
Lectio Divina:
Monday, March 12, 2018
Season of Lent
1) OPENING PRAYER
Lord our God, almighty Father,
You want us not to turn to the past
to regret it and to mourn over it
but to hope in the future,
in the new earth and the new heaven.
Give us a firm faith
in Your Son Jesus Christ,
that notwithstanding the shortcomings of our time
we may have faith in the future,
which You want us to build up
with Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
You want us not to turn to the past
to regret it and to mourn over it
but to hope in the future,
in the new earth and the new heaven.
Give us a firm faith
in Your Son Jesus Christ,
that notwithstanding the shortcomings of our time
we may have faith in the future,
which You want us to build up
with Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
2) GOSPEL READING - JOHN
4:43-54.
At that time Jesus left [Samaria for
Galilee. For Jesus himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his native
place. When he came into Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, since they had
seen all he had done in Jerusalem at the feast; for they themselves had gone to
the feast. Then he returned to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water
wine. Now there was a royal official whose son was ill in Capernaum. When he
heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and asked
him to come down and heal his son, who was near death. Jesus said to him,
“Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.” The royal
official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Jesus said to him,
“You may go; your son will live.” The man believed what Jesus said to him and
left. While the man was on his way back, his slaves met him and told him that
his boy would live. He asked them when he began to recover. They told him, “The
fever left him yesterday, about one in the afternoon.” The father realized that
just at that time Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live,” and he and his
whole household came to believe. Now this was the second sign Jesus did when he
came to Galilee from Judea.
3) REFLECTION
• Jesus had left Galilee and set forth
toward Judah in order to arrive in Jerusalem on the occasion of the festival
(Jn 4:45) and, passing through Samaria, He was returning again to Galilee (Jn
4:3-4). The observant Jews were forbidden to pass through Samaria, and they
could not even speak with the Samaritans (Jn 4:9). When the Assyrians conquered
Israel, the Jews there ended up scattered throughout the area and the Assyrians
adopted the the God of Israel, Yahweh, and their practices. The Jews within
Judah denied that any non-Hebrew had a right to worship Yahweh, or to worship
outside of Jerusalem. Jesus did not care about these norms which prevented
friendship and dialogue. He remained several days in Samaria and many people
were converted (Jn 4:40). After that, He decided to return to Galilee.
• John 4:43-46ª: The return to Galilee.
Even though Jesus knew that the people of Galilee had certain reservations
about Him, He wished to return to His own home town. John refers to how
badly Jesus was received in Nazareth of Galilee. Jesus himself had declared
that “No prophet is honored in his own home town” (Lk 4:24). But now, given the
evidence of what He had done in Jerusalem, the Galileans change their opinion
and receive Him well. Jesus then returns to Cana where He had worked the first
“sign” (Jn 2:11).
• John 4:46b-47: The petition of the
court official. It is the case of a gentile. A short time before, in Samaria,
Jesus had spoken with a Samaritan woman, a heretical person according to the
Jews, to whom Jesus revealed His condition of Messiah (Jn 4:26). And now, in Galilee,
He receives a gentile, the official of the king, who was seeking help for his
sick son. Jesus does not limit Himself to help those of His race only, nor
those of His own religion. He is ecumenical and receives all.
• John 4:48: Jesus’ answer to the court
official. The official wanted Jesus to go with him to his house to cure his
son. Jesus answered, “Unless you see signs and portents you will not believe!”
A harsh and strange answer. Why does Jesus answer in this way? What was wrong
with the the official’s request? What did Jesus want to accomplish through this
response? Jesus wants to explain how our faith should be. The official would
believe only if Jesus went with him to his house. He wanted to see Jesus
curing. In general, this is the attitude that we all have. We are not aware of
the deficiency of our faith. We often expect God to accomplish His work in the
way we think it should be done.
• John 4:49-50: The official repeats his
petition and Jesus repeats the response. In spite of Jesus’ answer, the man
does not keep silence and repeats the same petition: “Sir, come down before my
child dies!” Jesus continues to stand His ground. He does not respond to the
petition and does not go with the man to his house and repeats the same
response, but formulated in a different way: “Go home! Your son will live!”
Both in the first as well as in the second response, Jesus asks for faith, much
faith. He asks that the official believe that his son has already been cured.
And the true miracle takes place! Without seeing any sign, nor any portent, the
man believes in Jesus’ word and returns home. It could not have been easy. This
is the true miracle of faith: to believe without any other guarantee, except
the Word of Jesus. The ideal is to believe in the word of Jesus, even without
seeing (cf. Jn 20:29).
• John 4:51-53: The result of faith in
the word of Jesus. When the man was on the way home, his servants saw him
and ran to meet him to tell him that his son had been cured, that he was alive.
He asked them when the boy had begun to recover and discovered that it was
exactly the time when Jesus had said, “Your son will live!” He was confirmed in
his faith.
• John 4:54: A summary presented by
John, the Evangelist. John ends by saying, “This new sign, the second, Jesus
performed.” John prefers to speak of sign and not of miracle. The word sign
connotes something which I see with my eyes, but only faith can make me
discover its profound sense. Faith is like an X-Ray: it enables one to see what
the naked eye cannot see.
4) PERSONAL QUESTIONS
• How do you live your faith? Do you
have faith in God’s word or do you only believe in miracles and in perceptible
experiences?
• Jesus accepts heretics and foreigners
in a way that fosters conversion. How do I relate with people who are different
from me? How do I foster their conversion through that relationship?
• These early cultures, like the
Assyrians adopting the religion of the Hebrews over time, mixed their beliefs
as they assimilated. That was probably one reason there was such resistance to
outsiders among the Jews in Judah. This is true among cultures today. How
should different cultures be welcomed within and into the Church, while
preserving the Church’s teachings, doctrine, and culture?
5) CONCLUDING PRAYER
Make music for Yahweh,
all you who are faithful to Him,
praise His unforgettable holiness.
His anger lasts but a moment,
His favor throughout life;
In the evening come tears,
but with dawn cries of joy. (Ps 30:4-5)
all you who are faithful to Him,
praise His unforgettable holiness.
His anger lasts but a moment,
His favor throughout life;
In the evening come tears,
but with dawn cries of joy. (Ps 30:4-5)
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