March 29
Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Give a Mass Offering
Mass Intentions
7:45 AM – Parishioners of Holy Cross
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
Ezekiel 47:1-9, 12
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.”
Responsorial Psalm
Psalms 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.
Gospel Acclamation
Psalms 51:12a, 14a
R. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ, King of endless glory!
A clean heart create for me, O God;
give me back the joy of your salvation.
R. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ, King of endless glory!
Gospel
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.
“The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob.”
Reflection
We all are aware of the life-giving properties of water. It nourishes us when we drink it, it cleanses us when we wash with it, and it provides us with a beautiful scene when we look at lakes and oceans. We see the influence of water in our readings today, and we recognize God’s hand in the creation of not just the water we see and use in the world but everything that the water touches as well.
We see in the first reading from Ezekiel that God is showing him the water that comes pouring out from the temple of the Lord. It is an interesting point that this scene in Ezekiel’s prophecy provides us with the total opposite of the flood scene in Genesis. Where the flood that Noah prepared for was for the purpose of wiping out life due to the sin of mankind, the flood we see here in Ezekiel is aimed at nurturing life. We see the trees, the fish, and the other creatures living near it and benefiting from the life that the water brings.
In the gospel, we see water coming into play as well. The pool at Bethesda provides healing and improved life for those who are able to enter it when the angel stirs it up. The sick man that Jesus encounters has been there for thirty-eight years and has never been able to get to the water, becoming a virtual prisoner there. Jesus frees him from this prison of opportunity, and when he tells the Jews about his healing, they do not rejoice with him at the presence of God’s healing in the world. They use it as an opportunity to persecute Jesus for healing on the Sabbath. In this scene we see not only the goodness of Jesus, but we also see the evil of the leaders of the Jews. One we need to celebrate, the other we need to avoid their example.
Peace,
Deacon Dare
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