Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Lectionary: 245
Lectionary: 245
The angel brought me, Ezekiel,
back to the entrance of the temple of the LORD,
and I saw water flowing out
from beneath the threshold of the temple toward the east,
for the façade of the temple was toward the east;
the water flowed down from the right side of the temple,
south of the altar.
He led me outside by the north gate,
and around to the outer gate facing the east,
where I saw water trickling from the right side.
Then when he had walked off to the east
with a measuring cord in his hand,
he measured off a thousand cubits
and had me wade through the water,
which was ankle-deep.
He measured off another thousand
and once more had me wade through the water,
which was now knee-deep.
Again he measured off a thousand and had me wade;
the water was up to my waist.
Once more he measured off a thousand,
but there was now a river through which I could not wade;
for the water had risen so high it had become a river
that could not be crossed except by swimming.
He asked me, "Have you seen this, son of man?"
Then he brought me to the bank of the river, where he had me sit.
Along the bank of the river I saw very many trees on both sides.
He said to me,
"This water flows into the eastern district down upon the Arabah,
and empties into the sea, the salt waters, which it makes fresh.
Wherever the river flows,
every sort of living creature that can multiply shall live,
and there shall be abundant fish,
for wherever this water comes the sea shall be made fresh.
Along both banks of the river, fruit trees of every kind shall grow;
their leaves shall not fade, nor their fruit fail.
Every month they shall bear fresh fruit,
for they shall be watered by the flow from the sanctuary.
Their fruit shall serve for food, and their leaves for medicine."
back to the entrance of the temple of the LORD,
and I saw water flowing out
from beneath the threshold of the temple toward the east,
for the façade of the temple was toward the east;
the water flowed down from the right side of the temple,
south of the altar.
He led me outside by the north gate,
and around to the outer gate facing the east,
where I saw water trickling from the right side.
Then when he had walked off to the east
with a measuring cord in his hand,
he measured off a thousand cubits
and had me wade through the water,
which was ankle-deep.
He measured off another thousand
and once more had me wade through the water,
which was now knee-deep.
Again he measured off a thousand and had me wade;
the water was up to my waist.
Once more he measured off a thousand,
but there was now a river through which I could not wade;
for the water had risen so high it had become a river
that could not be crossed except by swimming.
He asked me, "Have you seen this, son of man?"
Then he brought me to the bank of the river, where he had me sit.
Along the bank of the river I saw very many trees on both sides.
He said to me,
"This water flows into the eastern district down upon the Arabah,
and empties into the sea, the salt waters, which it makes fresh.
Wherever the river flows,
every sort of living creature that can multiply shall live,
and there shall be abundant fish,
for wherever this water comes the sea shall be made fresh.
Along both banks of the river, fruit trees of every kind shall grow;
their leaves shall not fade, nor their fruit fail.
Every month they shall bear fresh fruit,
for they shall be watered by the flow from the sanctuary.
Their fruit shall serve for food, and their leaves for medicine."
Responsorial
PsalmPS 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9
R. (8) The
Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
God is our refuge and our strength,
an ever-present help in distress.
Therefore we fear not, though the earth be shaken
and mountains plunge into the depths of the sea.
R. The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
There is a stream whose runlets gladden the city of God,
the holy dwelling of the Most High.
God is in its midst; it shall not be disturbed;
God will help it at the break of dawn.
R. The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
The LORD of hosts is with us;
our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
Come! behold the deeds of the LORD,
the astounding things he has wrought on earth.
R. The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
God is our refuge and our strength,
an ever-present help in distress.
Therefore we fear not, though the earth be shaken
and mountains plunge into the depths of the sea.
R. The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
There is a stream whose runlets gladden the city of God,
the holy dwelling of the Most High.
God is in its midst; it shall not be disturbed;
God will help it at the break of dawn.
R. The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
The LORD of hosts is with us;
our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
Come! behold the deeds of the LORD,
the astounding things he has wrought on earth.
R. The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
Verse Before
The GospelPS 51:12A, 14A
A clean heart create for me, O God;
give me back the joy of your salvation.
give me back the joy of your salvation.
GospelJN 5:1-16
There was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
Now there is in Jerusalem at the Sheep Gate
a pool called in Hebrew Bethesda, with five porticoes.
In these lay a large number of ill, blind, lame, and crippled.
One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years.
When Jesus saw him lying there
and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him,
"Do you want to be well?"
The sick man answered him,
"Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool
when the water is stirred up;
while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me."
Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your mat, and walk."
Immediately the man became well, took up his mat, and walked.
Now that day was a sabbath.
So the Jews said to the man who was cured,
"It is the sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to carry your mat."
He answered them, "The man who made me well told me,
'Take up your mat and walk.'"
They asked him,
"Who is the man who told you, 'Take it up and walk'?"
The man who was healed did not know who it was,
for Jesus had slipped away, since there was a crowd there.
After this Jesus found him in the temple area and said to him,
"Look, you are well; do not sin any more,
so that nothing worse may happen to you."
The man went and told the Jews
that Jesus was the one who had made him well.
Therefore, the Jews began to persecute Jesus
because he did this on a sabbath.
Now there is in Jerusalem at the Sheep Gate
a pool called in Hebrew Bethesda, with five porticoes.
In these lay a large number of ill, blind, lame, and crippled.
One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years.
When Jesus saw him lying there
and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him,
"Do you want to be well?"
The sick man answered him,
"Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool
when the water is stirred up;
while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me."
Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your mat, and walk."
Immediately the man became well, took up his mat, and walked.
Now that day was a sabbath.
So the Jews said to the man who was cured,
"It is the sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to carry your mat."
He answered them, "The man who made me well told me,
'Take up your mat and walk.'"
They asked him,
"Who is the man who told you, 'Take it up and walk'?"
The man who was healed did not know who it was,
for Jesus had slipped away, since there was a crowd there.
After this Jesus found him in the temple area and said to him,
"Look, you are well; do not sin any more,
so that nothing worse may happen to you."
The man went and told the Jews
that Jesus was the one who had made him well.
Therefore, the Jews began to persecute Jesus
because he did this on a sabbath.
For the readings of the Optional Memorial of Saint Francis of Paola, please
go here.
Meditation: "Walk
and sin no more"
Is
there anything holding you back from the Lord's healing power and transforming
grace that can set you free to live in wholeness, joy, and peace with God? God
put into the heart of the prophet Ezekiel a vision of the rivers of living
water flowing from God's heavenly throne to bring healing and restoration to
his people. We begin to see the fulfillment of this restoration taking place
when the Lord Jesus announces the coming of God's kingdom and performs signs
and miracles in demonstration of the power of that kingdom.
One
of the key signs which John points out in his Gospel account takes place in
Jerusalem when Jesus went up to the temple during one of the great Jewish
feasts (John 5:1-9). As Jesus approached the temple area he stopped at the pool
of Bethzatha which was close by. Many Jews brought their sick relatives and
friends to this pool. John tells us that a "multitude of invalids, blind,
lame, paralyzed" were laid there on the pavement surrounding the pool
(John 5:3). This pool was likely one of the ritual baths used for purification
for people before they went into the temple to offer prayers and sacrifice. On
certain occasions, especially when the waters were stirred, the lame and others
with diseases were dipped in the pool in the hope that they might be cured of
their ailments.
Do
you want the Lord Jesus to make you whole?
The lame man that Jesus stopped to speak with had been paralyzed for more than 38 years. He felt helpless because he had no friends to help him bathe in the purifying waters of the pool. Despite his many years of unanswered prayer, he still waited by the pool in the hope that help might come his way. Jesus offered this incurable man not only the prospect of help but total healing as well. Jesus first awakened faith in the paralyzed man when he put a probing question to him, "Do you really want to be healed?" This question awakened a new spark of faith in him. Jesus then ordered him to "get up and walk!" Now the lame man had to put his new found faith into action. He decided to take the Lord Jesus at his word and immediately stood up and began to walk freely.
The lame man that Jesus stopped to speak with had been paralyzed for more than 38 years. He felt helpless because he had no friends to help him bathe in the purifying waters of the pool. Despite his many years of unanswered prayer, he still waited by the pool in the hope that help might come his way. Jesus offered this incurable man not only the prospect of help but total healing as well. Jesus first awakened faith in the paralyzed man when he put a probing question to him, "Do you really want to be healed?" This question awakened a new spark of faith in him. Jesus then ordered him to "get up and walk!" Now the lame man had to put his new found faith into action. He decided to take the Lord Jesus at his word and immediately stood up and began to walk freely.
The
Holy Spirit purifies, heals, and transforms us in Christ's image
The Lord Jesus approaches each one of us with the same probing question, "Do you really want to be healed - to be forgiven, set free from guilt and sin, from uncontrollable anger and other disordered passions, and from hurtful desires and addictions. The first essential step towards freedom and healing is the desire for change. If we are content to stay as we are, then no amount of coaxing will change us. The Lord will not refuse anyone who sincerely asks for his pardon, mercy, and healing.
The Lord Jesus approaches each one of us with the same probing question, "Do you really want to be healed - to be forgiven, set free from guilt and sin, from uncontrollable anger and other disordered passions, and from hurtful desires and addictions. The first essential step towards freedom and healing is the desire for change. If we are content to stay as we are, then no amount of coaxing will change us. The Lord will not refuse anyone who sincerely asks for his pardon, mercy, and healing.
"Lord
Jesus, put within my heart a burning desire to be changed and transformed in
your way of holiness. Let your Holy Spirit purify my heart and renew in me a
fervent love and desire to do whatever is pleasing to you and to refuse
whatever is contrary to your will."
A
Daily Quote for Lent: Christ
our physician, by Augustine of Hippo, 430-543 A.D.
"Our
wound is serious, but the Physician is all-powerful. Does it seem to you so
small a mercy that, while you were living in evil and sinning, He did not take
away your life, but brought you to belief and forgave your sins? What I suffer
is serious, but I trust the Almighty. I would despair of my mortal wound if I
had not found so great a Physician." (excerpt from Sermon
352,3)
TUESDAY, APRIL 2, JOHN 5:1-16
Lenten Weekday
(Ezekiel 47:1-9. 12; Psalm 46)
Lenten Weekday
(Ezekiel 47:1-9. 12; Psalm 46)
KEY VERSE: "Rise, take up your mat, and walk" (v.8).
TO KNOW: The third "sign, of God's mighty work in John’s gospel was the healing of the paralytic who had been crippled for 38 years. Excavations have uncovered the Bethesda pool with its five porticoes where Jesus healed the man. A popular belief of the time was that when the water became turbulent (caused by a sudden inflow through the drain) the first person to get into the pool would be cured (v.4, the account of an angel stirring up the waters is missing from early Greek manuscripts and is probably a later addition). When Jesus asked the crippled man if he wanted to be healed, the man explained that no one had ever helped him into the water (a baptismal symbol). Jesus' powerful word restored the man to full health. But the healing was surrounded by disbelief and accusations that Jesus violated the law by curing on the Sabbath. Jesus warned them that it was sin, more than physical infirmity, which prevented a person from responding to God's grace.
TO LOVE: In what ways do I need to "rise and walk" this Lent?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, heal me of everything that makes me unable to walk in your grace.
Optional Memorial of Saint Francis of Paola, hermit
St. Francis was born at Paula in the Italian province of Calabria. After living as a hermit for five years (from age 14-19) he gathered around him some companions. These "Hermits of St. Francis of Assisi" dwelt in small houses, and as "least" brethren, endeavored to live a more austere and humble life than the "Fratres Minores." This was the origin of a new order, to which he gave the name of Minims, "the least" in the house of God. The saint worked numerous miracles. He had a favorite prayer for him and for his companions, one that welled up from the depths of his being: "Out of love." Pope Sixtus IV sent him to France to help Louis XI on his deathbed. He remained there and founded a house of his Minims at Tours.
Tuesday 2 April 2019
ST FRANCIS OF PAOLA.
Ezekiel 47:1-9, 12. Psalm 45(46):2-3, 5-6, 8-9. John 5:1-3, 5-16
The mighty Lord is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge –
Psalm 45(46):2-3, 5-6, 8-9.
‘Wherever the river goes, everything will live.’
Water flowing clean and clear promises to revive, to cool, to
cleanse, to quench thirst. The power of flowing water can be awe-inspiring.
Ezekiel’s prophecy describes the water flowing from the temple and giving life
to all. This is holy water that flows from the sanctuary, nurturing plants that
produce fruit for food and leaves for healing.
The water in the pool where Jesus encounters the invalid seems
to have none of this energy, purity or potential: it is surrounded by people
who are listless and lame, who rely on others to ‘stir’ the water. The
stagnation of people and water is oppressive, in stark contrast to Jesus’
clarity and authority.
The man who has not moved for 38 years is commanded to stand up,
take his mat and walk. He is obedient and made well. Jesus has become the new
river, the sustaining water that brings life.
Saint Francis of Paola
Saint of the Day for April 2
(March 27, 1416 – April 2, 1507)
 |
| Saint Francis of Paula holding a walking stick and looking | Engraving | Wellcome Images |
Saint Francis of Paola’s Story
Francis of Paola was a man who deeply loved contemplative
solitude and wished only to be the “least in the household of God.” Yet, when
the Church called him to active service in the world, he became a
miracle-worker and influenced the course of nations.
After accompanying his parents on a pilgrimage to Rome and
Assisi, he began to live as a contemplative hermit in a remote cave near Paola,
on Italy’s southern seacoast. Before he was 20, he received the first followers
who had come to imitate his way of life. Seventeen years later, when his
disciples had grown in number, Francis established a Rule for his austere
community and sought Church approval. This was the founding of the Hermits of
St. Francis of Assisi, who were approved by the Holy See in 1474.
In 1492, Francis changed the name of his community to “Minims”
because he wanted them to be known as the least (minimi) in the
household of God. Humility was to be the hallmark of the brothers as it had
been in Francis’s personal life. Besides the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience,
Francis enjoined upon his followers the fourth obligation of a perpetual Lenten
fast. He felt that heroic mortification was necessary as a means for spiritual
growth.
It was Francis’s desire to be a contemplative hermit, yet he
believed that God was calling him to the apostolic life. He began to use the
gifts he had received, such as the gifts of miracles and prophecy, to minister
to the people of God. A defender of the poor and oppressed, Francis incurred
the wrath of King Ferdinand of Naples for the admonitions he directed toward
the king and his sons.
Following the request of Pope Sixtus IV, Francis traveled to
Paris to help Louis XI of France prepare for his death. While ministering to
the king, Francis was able to influence the course of national politics. He
helped to restore peace between France and Brittany by advising a marriage
between the ruling families, and between France and Spain by persuading Louis
XI to return some disputed land.
Francis died while at the French court.
Reflection
The life of Francis of Paola speaks plainly to an overactive
world. He was a contemplative man called to active ministry and must have felt
keenly the tension between prayer and service. Yet, in Francis’s life it was a
productive tension, for he clearly utilized the fruits of contemplation in his
ministry, which came to involve the workings of nations. He responded so
readily and so well to the call of the Church from a solid foundation in prayer
and mortification. When he went out to the world, it was not he who worked but
Christ working through him—“the least in the household of God.”
Saint Francis of Paola is the Patron Saint of:
Sailors
Lectio Divina: John 5:1-16
Lectio Divina
Tuesday, April 2, 2019
Season of Lent ✝
1) Opening prayer
Lord our God,
You have quenched our thirst for life
with the water of baptism.
Keep turning the desert of our arid lives
into a paradise of joy and peace,
that we may bear fruits
of holiness, justice and love.
Lord, hear our prayer
through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
You have quenched our thirst for life
with the water of baptism.
Keep turning the desert of our arid lives
into a paradise of joy and peace,
that we may bear fruits
of holiness, justice and love.
Lord, hear our prayer
through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
2) Gospel Reading - John 5:1-16
There was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
Now there is in Jerusalem at the Sheep Gate a pool called in Hebrew Bethesda,
with five porticoes. In these lay a large number of ill, blind, lame, and
crippled. One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus
saw him lying there and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to
him, "Do you want to be well?" The sick man answered him, "Sir,
I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; while I am
on my way, someone else gets down there before me." Jesus said to him,
"Rise, take up your mat, and walk." Immediately the man became well,
took up his mat, and walked. Now that day was a sabbath. So the Jews said to the
man who was cured, "It is the sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to
carry your mat." He answered them, "The man who made me well told me,
'Take up your mat and walk.'" They asked him, "Who is the man who
told you, 'Take it up and walk'?" The man who was healed did not know who
it was, for Jesus had slipped away, since there was a crowd there. After this
Jesus found him in the temple area and said to him, "Look, you are well;
do not sin any more, so that nothing worse may happen to you." The man
went and told the Jews that Jesus was the one who had made him well. Therefore,
the Jews began to persecute Jesus because he did this on a sabbath.
3) Reflection
• Today’s Gospel describes Jesus curing the paralytic who had
waited 38 years for someone to help him get to the water of the pool so as to
be healed! Thirty-eight years! Faced with this total absence of solidarity,
what does Jesus do? He transgresses the law of Saturday and cures the
paralytic. Today, in poor countries, assistance to sick people is lacking;
people experience the same lack of solidarity. They live in total abandonment,
without help or solidarity from anyone.
• John 5:1-2: Jesus goes to Jerusalem. On the occasion of the
Jewish festival, Jesus goes to Jerusalem. There, close to the Temple, was a
pool with five porticos or corridors. At that time, worship in the Temple
required much water because of the numerous animals which were sacrificed,
especially during the great festivals. This is why near the Temple there were
several cisterns where rain water was gathered. Some could contain over one
thousand litres. Close by, because of the abundance of water, there was a
public bathing resort, where crowds of sick people gathered waiting for help or
to be healed. Archeology has shown that in the same precincts of the Temple,
there was a place where the Scribes taught the Law to students. On one side,
the teaching of the Law of God. On the other, the abandonment of the poor. The
water purified the Temple, but it did not purify the people.
• John 5:3-4: The situation of the sick. These sick people were
attracted by the water of the bathing resort. They said that an angel would
disturb the water, and the first one who would enter after the angel disturbed
the water, would be cured. In other words, the sick people were attracted by a
false hope – a superstition. Healing was only for one person. Just like the
lottery today. Only one person gets the prize! The majority pays and wins
nothing. In this situation of total abandonment, in the public baths, Jesus
meets sick people.
• John 5:5-9: Jesus cures a sick man on Saturday. Very close to
the place where the observance of the Law was taught, a paralytic had been
waiting for 38 years for someone who would help him to go down to the water to
be cured. This fact reveals the total lack of solidarity and of acceptance of
the excluded! Number 38 indicated the duration of a whole generation (Dt 2:14).
It is a whole generation which does not experience solidarity or mercy.
Religion at that time was not able to reveal the welcoming and merciful face of
God. In the face of this dramatic situation Jesus transgresses the law of
Saturday and takes care of the paralytic, saying, “Get up, pick up your
sleeping-mat and walk around!” The man picked up his mat and started to walk
around among the people.
• John 5:10-13: Discussion of the cured man with the Jews.
Immediately after, some Jews arrived and criticized the man who was carrying
his sleeping mat on the Sabbath. The man did not know who the one who had cured
him was. He did not know Jesus. This means that Jesus, passing by that place
where the poor and the sick were, saw that person; He noticed the dramatic
situation in which the man found himself and cured him. He did not cure him to
convert him, neither so that he would believe in God. He cured him because He
wanted to help him. He wanted the man to experience love and solidarity through
His help and loving acceptance.
• John 5:14-16: The man meets Jesus again. Going to the Temple,
in the midst of the crowds, Jesus meets the same man and tells him, “Now, you
are well again, do not sin any more, or something worse may happen to you.” In
that age, people thought and said, “Sickness is a punishment from God. God is
with you!” Once the man is cured, he has to keep from sinning again, so that
nothing worse will happen to him! But in his naiveté, the man went to tell the
Jews that Jesus had cured him. The Jews began to ask Jesus why He did those
things on the Sabbath. In tomorrow’s Gospel we have what follows.
4) Personal questions
• If I were the cured man, and told not to say anything, would I
be silent or not?
• By proclaiming what had been done for him, despite his instruction, did he sin again?
• Have I ever had an experience similar to that of the paralytic: to remain for some time without any help? How is the situation regarding assistance to the sick in the place where you live? Do you see any signs of solidarity?
• Do I show the same compassion and help others without expecting a return and in a significant way every day?
• By proclaiming what had been done for him, despite his instruction, did he sin again?
• Have I ever had an experience similar to that of the paralytic: to remain for some time without any help? How is the situation regarding assistance to the sick in the place where you live? Do you see any signs of solidarity?
• Do I show the same compassion and help others without expecting a return and in a significant way every day?
5) Concluding Prayer
God is both refuge and strength for us,
a help always ready in trouble;
so we shall not be afraid though the earth be in turmoil,
though mountains tumble into the depths of the sea,
and its waters roar and seethe,
and the mountains totter as it heaves. (Ps 46:1-3)
a help always ready in trouble;
so we shall not be afraid though the earth be in turmoil,
though mountains tumble into the depths of the sea,
and its waters roar and seethe,
and the mountains totter as it heaves. (Ps 46:1-3)
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