March 28
Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Give a Mass Offering
Mass Intentions
7:45 AM – Delores M. Bossert / Kathy Maio
Prayer for Spiritual Communion
My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the most Blessed Sacrament. I love You above all things and I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot now receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there, and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen.
Readings
First Reading
Isaiah 65:17-21
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.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalms 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.
Gospel Acclamation
Amos 5:14
R. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ, King of endless glory!
Seek good and not evil so that you may live,
and the LORD will be with you.
R. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ, King of endless glory!
Gospel
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.
“I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.”
Reflection
If we ever wondered what heaven was going to be like, we get a small glimpse in the passage from Isaiah today. Through the prophet, God tells us about the new heavens and the new earth that he will create. It sounds wonderful! There will always be rejoicing and happiness. There will be no weeping, no crying and our lives will be long and full of peace, living in the houses we build and eating of the fruit of the vineyards we plant. We hear in the Psalm as well that our mourning will be changed into dancing. Maybe we should all go to an Arthur Murray studio to take some lessons. I know that my own moves need some work. All we need is a little faith and this will all come to fruition for us.
In the gospel, we see the power that faith can bring to our lives when a royal official comes to Jesus and tells him about his son who was near death. There was no big entrance or huge crowd there, just Jesus and the official, having a conversation. The man tells Jesus of the problem and Jesus tells him that his son will live. This is a very subtle miracle and yet it still conveys the power that Jesus has to heal and bring life to those who believe. And let us make no mistake, the man believes what Jesus says, and leaves the scene, going back to his home with the knowledge that his son would be healed. As he neared his home, people came and told the man that his son had recovered at just the time of his conversation with Jesus. Amazed by this subtle and quiet miracle, his whole family comes to believe in Jesus.
When we think about what faith can do for us, we marvel at the love of a God who has promised us this beautiful future. If we can only believe like the royal official did, we will be in for great things.
Keep the faith,
Deacon Dare
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