Monday, March 11, 2024

12-MAR-'24, Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent


Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent

Lectionary: 245


Reading 1

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

Psalm 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.


Verse Before the Gospel

Psalm 51:12a, 14a

A clean heart create for me, O God;

give me back the joy of your salvation.


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.


Reflection 1

Catholic Daily Reflections


Patient Endurance


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?” John 5:5–6


Only those who have been crippled for many years could understand what this man endured in life. He was crippled and unable to walk for thirty-eight years. The pool he was laying next to was believed to have the power of healing. Therefore, many who were sick and crippled would sit by the pool and try to be the first to enter it when the waters were stirred up. From time to time, that person was said to have received healing.


Jesus sees this man and clearly perceives his desire for healing after so many years. Most likely, his desire for healing was the dominant desire in his life. Without the ability to walk, he could not work and provide for himself. He would have had to rely upon begging and the generosity of others. Thinking about this man, his sufferings and his ongoing attempts for healing from this pool should move any heart to compassion. And since Jesus’ heart was one that was full of compassion, He was moved to offer this man not only the healing he so deeply desired but so much more.


One virtue in the heart of this man that would have especially moved Jesus to compassion is the virtue of patient endurance. This virtue is an ability to have hope in the midst of some ongoing and lengthy trial. It is also referred to as “longsuffering” or “longanimity.” Usually, when one faces a difficulty, the immediate reaction is to look for a way out. As time moves on and that difficulty is not removed, it’s easy to fall into discouragement and even despair. Patient endurance is the cure for this temptation. When one can patiently endure anything and everything they suffer in life, there is a spiritual strength within them that benefits them in numerous ways. Other little challenges are more easily endured. Hope is born within them to a powerful degree. Even joy comes with this virtue despite the ongoing struggle.


When Jesus saw this virtue alive in this man, He was moved to reach out and heal him. And the primary reason Jesus healed this man was not just to help him physically but so that the man would come to believe in Jesus and follow Him.


Reflect, today, upon this beautiful virtue of patient endurance. The trials of life should ideally be seen not in a negative way but as an invitation to patient endurance. Ponder the way you endure your own trials. Is it with deep and ongoing patience, hope and joy? Or is it with anger, bitterness and despair. Pray for the gift of this virtue and seek to imitate this crippled man.


Reflection 2

One Bread, One Body


“LET THE RIVER FLOW”


“I saw water flowing out from beneath the threshold of the temple.” —Ezekiel 47:1


The source of a river is often a small trickle of water. Typically, rivers get deeper through ground water and tributaries which increase the river’s depth. That is not the case in Ezekiel’s river. Miraculously, its only source is the trickle from the Temple (Ez 47:1).  Another miracle is that this river’s flow makes the salt water fresh (see Ez 47:8-9). Ezekiel is referring to the Dead Sea, the saltiest lake on earth, saltier than even the ocean. There is no life in the Dead Sea. Yet the trickle from this holy water even brings life to the Dead Sea! (see Ez 47:10)


Ezekiel’s holy river is a prophecy of the Holy Catholic Church. Jesus is Head of the Church (Col 1:18). The Church is watered by the flow of water from the side of the pierced Christ (Jn 19:34). Jesus brings life where there is no life. We look at the limitations and weaknesses of the members of the Church when we instead need to be looking at Jesus. We see a limited Church, with only a trickle of visible grace. But the life of God starts small, with only a mustard seed, only a crumb of yeast (Mt 13:31-33).


We can never limit God’s grace. We see sin abound and only a trickle of grace, rather than seeing grace abounding more than sin (see Rm 5:20). Jesus commands us: “Open your eyes and see! The fields are shining for harvest!” (Jn 4:35)


Believe that the Lord is working powerfully through His Church. Drink from the trickle of water. It will become a river of life, leaping up within you (Jn 4:14; 7:37-38).


Prayer:  Father, may I love the Church as Jesus does.


Promise:  “The man was immediately cured.” —Jn 5:9


Praise:  Rick teaches his students reverence for God’s Word merely by the way he physically handles the Bible.


Reflection 3

The Servants of the Word


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 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.


Prayers

My Lord of all hope, You endured so much in life and persevered through it all in perfect obedience to the will of the Father. Give me strength in the midst of the trials of life so that I can grow strong in the hope and the joy that comes with that strength. May I turn away from sin and turn to You in complete trust. Jesus, I trust in You.


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.


Daily Reflections on Divine Mercy


Reflection 72: An Incomprehensible Mystery

When God enters your soul, He acts in such a way that you will never fully comprehend His workings.  His grace and Mercy are such that they remain a mystery deeper than the oceans and more vast than the upper limits of the Universe.  Understanding the incomprehensible nature of God’s grace is, in fact, the first step to wisdom.  It’s the first step to realizing the omnipotence of God and His infinite Mercy (See Diary #266).


Will you ever comprehend the grace of God?  Will you ever fully grasp all that He has done for you?  Certainly not.  But if you can become all the more aware of the fact that you cannot comprehend God and His love, then you are on the road to wisdom.  Reflect upon the incomprehensible workings of grace today.  Face the great mystery of God’s infinite Mercy.  Let yourself become aware of this mystery so that you will begin to know that you do not know.  And in that realization, you will be one step closer to understanding the Mercy of God.


Lord, Your ways are so far above my ways and Your wisdom is so far above what my mind can ever fathom.  Help me, this day, to see the mystery of Your incomprehensible nature.  And in seeing this mystery, help me to begin to understand Your Mercy all the more.  Jesus, I trust in You.

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